MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 992: A Lie

Right now, the entire group had made their way back to the floating cloud, where they hovered and chatted casually with each other. The intense feelings sparked by Lucian's backlash had faded away, allowing ordinary talk to resume. All that was left was waiting for Aaaninja to stir from his slumber, and already more than three hours had slipped by since his collapse.

However, no one fretted deeply over his present situation, as Anthony had declared all was well, making it so. Aaaninja simply lay in unconsciousness, and with seven hours still ticking down from Anthony's previous deadline, they merely needed to endure a short while longer.

"Come on, just tell me about that ability you unleashed—how on earth did you come up with something like that?" Vega pressed Lucian, who sat close by as the group awaited Aaaninja's return to consciousness.

"Yeah, spill it. Now that Anthony and Aaaninja can pull you back from the brink, would you ever deploy that ability again?" Veronica joined in, her earlier tears and sorrow replaced by a return to her usual self, all of them buzzing with intrigue over Lucian's mysterious power.

"And what was up with that book? It looked all fuzzy, but you scribbled in it, and boom—Aaaninja's head was gone," Aura Nova added her voice to the mix.

In that instant, Altheria stood as the sole young woman not piping up, positioned next to Aaaninja's limp form, her eyes fixed on him brimming with deep affection and raw feeling. Curiosity about some foolish power held no sway when the man she adored rested senseless right in front of her.

Lucian let out a weary sigh, a throbbing ache building in his head from the barrage of inquiries by the women. Though Anthony and Kingsley hadn't grilled him on that final technique, their expressions betrayed the same burning interest as the others. Even the elders tuned in with quiet, undeniable focus.

Lucian found himself at a loss for words, unable to divulge the real nature of the ability. While Aaaninja might freely share details of his own power, Lucian's was a separate beast altogether, carrying unique risks and ramifications.

"Sigh... I can't really explain, because even I was in the dark about its specifics until I activated it. To this day, I grasp nothing solid about it. The instant I triggered it, everything clicked, but once it's off, the knowledge vanishes from my mind," Lucian chose to fabricate an answer instead of staying silent amid the relentless prodding.

Certainly, at their caliber, these individuals could pierce falsehoods through sheer intuition alone, without invoking any skills, and they wielded powers designed to unmask deceit outright. Yet, countering that, Lucian commanded a technique that wove his deceptions into seeming truths and cloaked realities as falsehoods, muddling the line between genuine and invented.

As for its origin, he'd crafted it drawing from Anthony's own comparable gift, one that surfaced in the novel's initial chapters during his inaugural Impossible Mission at the Star Academy.

Thus, nearly all accepted his tale at face value, though figures like Anthony with his All Seeing Eyes, Vega via her Eyes Of The Universe, Amara through her Cause and Effect prowess, and Klaus leveraging his profound insight saw right through the ruse effortlessly, yet held their tongues. After all, personal abilities served as one's secret weapons and core defenses.

Aura Nova and the others took Lucian's words as gospel since they hadn't detected the fib, but their questions kept flowing. "Still, why hold it back against Anthony? Remember how lopsided your clash with him turned out—why not flip the script with this power?" Aura Nova inquired, her genuine wonder overriding even her rivalrous streak.

Lucian exhaled once more before responding, "I've repeated this from the start: taking down Anthony is a lost cause. Aaaninja was my true target, which is why I aimed the ability at him instead, and chiefly because it's a single-use power," he clarified steadily, even as his gaze hinted at layers unspoken.

His statement stunned the group momentarily, yet nods of realization rippled through. A force so dominantly mighty demanded his very life as payment, so it made sense he'd never wield it anew. Plus, if Lucian could summon such devastation at will, wouldn't that spell doom for everyone right from the outset?

"The biggest factor in skipping it against Anthony, though, is my sense that no matter its strength, it probably wouldn't faze him," Lucian concluded with conviction, his voice steady and assured, free of hype or hesitation.

His remark halted nearly everyone anew, stirring a sense that Lucian overhyped Anthony excessively. Even Aura Nova shared that vibe, pondering why such a technique would fail against him and what monstrous entity Anthony loomed as in Lucian's view.

But unbeknownst to the rest, it wouldn't land on Vega, Klaus, or Amara either, though the trio remained silent, unwilling to expose their bloodline's profound secrets merely for a quick nod of approval or spotlight.

"What a letdown—imagine if you could pull it off again; I'd love to witness how Anthony dodges or endures it," Aura Nova remarked with a sigh, blending regret with fascination over the lost chances.

The group grinned at her comment, sharing the sentiment deep down. They all yearned to observe Anthony's escape and grasp why Lucian elevated him so relentlessly, like revering an insurmountable barrier.

Though Aura Nova fell quiet after that, her thoughts raced furiously, plotting ways to mimic such a power. Yet even she harbored doubts, her own talents feeling too narrow and constrained to grasp or duplicate something so vast, defying reason and standard boundaries.

Her eyes shifted to Lucian as she continued, "Oh, and congrats on your victory—I suppose you've nailed your primary aim for showing up here," she said, her words laced with honest warmth and a hint of rivalry.

Lucian grinned in reply, "Thanks," a sly curl tugging at his lips. Aaaninja's faint during the rescue didn't diminish his triumph's glow; he'd dreamed of this for three grueling years, mentally rehearsing victory after victory.

Still, he recognized the danger of growing smug—during the bout, all had advanced at breakneck speeds, transforming beyond belief, and he was sure Aaaninja wouldn't swallow this defeat lightly, not after such brutal pressure.