MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 960: Lesson

Anthony and Kingsley didn't leap to their feet or dash toward the arena beneath the instant their numbers lit up on the display; rather, they stayed planted in their chairs, hushed and rigid like stone figures, as if both were holding back for the other to take the initial step. This immobility stemmed not from doubt or dread, but from a wordless accord that flowed between them.

However, hidden from most onlookers there, the cause behind their inaction was brutally basic and ridiculously direct—the victor of this duel had been settled far earlier, long prior to either even pondering rising.

Vega kept quiet, her stare fixed and inscrutable while she watched the pair from nearby. She knew precisely what was unfolding and held far deeper knowledge than the crowd who only murmured guesses. She'd witnessed Kingsley's quick downfall to Anthony in just a couple of blows, a loss so rapid it seemed like a fleeting illusion, a vision cut short before it could truly start.

Even though he'd undoubtedly powered up since that time, refining his form and perfecting his skills via unyielding practice, she, Anthony, and Kingsley all recognized that nothing had changed from past to present, since the divide between them wasn't the sort that simple hard work could swiftly bridge.

Thus, they lingered in quiet.

"Why aren't you two budging?" Klaus's voice emerged from the edge, soft but distinct, his dark eyes turning their way as he addressed them with a composed manner and a tone even more serene that held subtle command.

Anthony offered a slight grin briefly before responding, his gaze drifting to Klaus's spot as he said, "That's up to my rival. If he goes, I will," he replied in an easy voice that radiated total nonchalance and utter certainty.

Klaus fell quiet, unsure of how to reply, as the statement stripped him bare and muddled his mind without a clear path.

Aaaninja, Aura Nova, Lucian, Veronica, Altheria, and the other viewers raised a brow in puzzlement, their faces mirroring one another as they puzzled over the odd deadlock playing out in front of them.

"Are you scared to fight now because of those two defeats?" Aura Nova's words sounded from beside, her look moving to Kingsley; her eyes stayed serene and sharp, free of blame or scorn, she was just posing a real inquiry, even if she didn't believe Kingsley's resolve was so brittle or quick to crumble.

Kingsley let out a soft breath as he sensed all the stares bearing down on him like a tangible burden, yet he held his tongue and stayed in his seat a bit longer, his stance relaxed, his breaths even, as if none of it fazed him at all.

"That's not it," Lucian's voice flowed steadily from nearby, steady and probing like always, "it's simply that, unlike you and Aaaninja, he grasps the pointlessness of facing off against Anthony, nothing more," he stated as if he knew the guy better than anyone else around, his voice eerily assured.

Kingsley's golden gaze flicked to Lucian briefly as he pondered how the fellow had pierced his thoughts so smoothly, like stripping away mental barriers uninvited. With that, he shook his head and got up from his chair, then dropped straight down without pause, his form slicing through the clouds like a plummeting star as he hit the arena with a massive crash, cracks tearing the ground and tremors surging out in fierce bursts.

Though he was certain of his defeat, Kingsley kept his features blank and unperturbed, his expression free of sorrow or bitterness. The setback didn't matter to him much, it was only a practice bout and no big deal, but he'd aim to absorb every bit of insight from the fight, drawing out every scrap of wisdom from the exchange however tiny.

Anthony, spotting Kingsley's landing below, just gave a sly grin before fading away as if he'd never been there, his essence scattering like fog. The very next moment, he materialized in the arena, positioned across from Kingsley with seamless accuracy.

A heavy quiet hung between the two as neither stirred, the atmosphere thickening as if the entire realm was pausing to breathe, awaiting some cue, and at last that cue arrived.

"Begin," Klaus's command sliced the sky from overhead. Yet, unlike prior clashes where fighters surged ahead and clashed instantly with raw might and fury, Anthony and Kingsley didn't shift a single step.

"You know, usually when I face off against folks, I let them reveal what they've got, to demonstrate their power, their determination, their practice, their skill, their methods, their powers," Anthony started saying as he linked his hands at his back, his locks swaying softly with the breeze, his bearing casual as if he were wandering a park instead of facing a foe.

While Anthony talked, Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos' eyes tightened to slits as he'd caught a like speech three years back, and the echo sent a shiver racing along his back.

Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos could never erase that moment, he'd fought Anthony and been beaten, then gained True Enlightenment via pure grit and progress, then encountered Anthony once more in the Starborn Tournament's finale, convinced he'd narrowed the divide. Anthony had uttered the very same lines then, those steady, nearly kind phrases that struck more fear than any warning, and those were the final sounds from Anthony before he blacked out.

'Is he gearing up to finish it in one blow like he did to me that time?' Aaaninja mused inwardly, his heart clenching, 'and it looks like Anthony and Kingsley have clashed before too, ending with Kingsley's loss,' his mind pieced together a clear and inescapable deduction.

Anthony, unaware of Aaaninja's swirling ideas, went on, "From that, I ought to wrap this fight in one strike..." he halted for a second, allowing the hush to linger, then added, "but I won't, seeing as in our last bout, I didn't let you truly show off and unleash everything you had," a faint, somewhat sorry smile touching his mouth as he said it.

"For that reason, I'll pose this to you: do you wish for this duel to serve as a teaching moment where I actually impart some knowledge, or do you prefer to fight me and attempt to claim victory?" Anthony inquired, and no further words escaped him as the atmosphere plunged into a choking hush.

Kingsley remained mute, recollections rising unwanted as he thought back to his prior duel with Anthony. He'd insisted on witnessing the gulf between them firsthand, demanded evidence of their power disparity, and he recalled precisely how it concluded. Taking him on again aiming to triumph wasn't bravery, it was folly disguised as ego.

Moreover, just before, he'd intended to gain some insight, whatever it might be, from this match, and now Anthony was openly providing that as amends for something he still didn't quite grasp.

But Kingsley avoided foolish queries like, Why? Why me? Why help? and all such useless chatter. No, the instant Anthony suggested it, he'd embraced the idea in his thoughts without any hesitation.

Drawing in a firm, measured breath, he declared, "I want this duel to be a teaching moment where you impart something to me," he said with a steady and resolute look, his golden eyes firm. Though he was the cosmos's cherished one, he realized the cosmos wouldn't shatter every rule of existence just because he desired it.

It would handle simple feats like reviving him post-death, which nearly everyone present could manage somehow on their own, and maybe lend a hand now and then with minor issues like covering costs he couldn't meet, but no greater wonders beyond that.