MIGHT AS WELL BE OP - Chapter 655

Chapter 655: Truly Unfair

It felt as though the crushing weight of the entire universe had descended upon their very existence, as if reality itself had chosen to press down upon their souls.

In that instant, whatever elemental throne of power they had been seated on or leaning against shattered into nothingness with overwhelming force, breaking apart as though made of fragile glass before the presence that now reigned over them.

Their knees buckled and slammed into the space below with dreadful ease, the act not forced but effortless.

Their own auras, which in times past had shaken the stars and sundered worlds, tried desperately to flare in defiance. But, it was futile. Their energy could not even stir, as if smothered under the suffocating shadow of a higher existence.

Cold beads of sweat rolled steadily down their spines, staining their regal garments as their eyes quivered in terror.

They all felt it. The same sensation seized them at the same time, Death.

There was no mistaking it. They knew without a shred of doubt that Anthony could end them all with a single strike. With one attack, every one of them would be erased, gone as if they had never existed.

And this realization carved deep wounds into their pride, for these were beings who could reduce planets to dust and crush celestial Astra bodies as though they were nothing more than clay figurines.

Iserios Von Deathwrath, the Dragon King of the Dragon Domain. Aeltharion Moonwhisper the Elven King of the Elf Domain

Gorath Storm, the patriarch of the Titan Domain. Baldor Ironhammer the patriarch of the Dwarf Domain.

Elara Bloodmoon, the Blood Queen of the Vampire Domain. Aurelius Ignis, the Phoenix King of the Phoenix Domain. Kaelen Wildhart, the Patriarch of the Demi human Domain.

These were the giants of their generation, beings who had stood above countless others for millennia. Slowly, their gaze rose as one, lifting to behold the boy who stood before them, staring down with an expressionless expression.

Their thoughts, unwilling but unrestrainable, drifted back to the past. They remembered the first time they had witnessed Anthony in the Bloodbath Tournament, where he had carved through opponents like a predator amidst lambs. Then came the Starborn Tournament, when he displayed power so unreal that even they, the rulers of Domains, could not help but whisper suspicions.

They had known, even then, that Anthony would one day climb to stand among them. It had never been a matter of debate or possibility; it was a fact, a certainty etched into the marrow of reality. The only question had been when.

Some of them, calculating within their immortal arrogance, had guessed a thousand years. Anthony, after all, was an outrageous genius, but even geniuses required time to reach their level.

But only two short years had passed. In their millennia-long timeline, such a span was less than a blink, a breath, a fleeting flicker. It should have been impossible. It defied every natural order, every law of progress and cultivation they had known. And yet, impossibility itself now stood before them in human flesh.

Their memories flashed again, recalling the days after the Starborn Tournament, when the Eclipsain race had descended upon them. Anthony of that time had not fought alongside them. He had been forced to hide within his Mirror Dimension. They, the mighty Domain leaders, had protected him then.

‘Life is truly unfair…’ each of them thought bitterly as they remained on their knees, powerless beneath the suffocating aura of the boy they once deemed beneath them.

Anthony’s gaze swept across them without a ripple of emotion.

If he had been a tyrannical Emperor or a cruel Villain, he would have wiped them out then and there, but Anthony was not that type of person.

He remembered the time he had saved these same so-called leaders, dragging them back from the brink of death after Lilithra, with a single casual punch, had rendered the Titan Patriarch unconscious and nearly slain the Dwarf Patriarch.

He had rescued them then, and how had they repaid him? By testing him, by probing him like some curiosity, as though his life were theirs to play with.

Anthony shook his head slightly, the faintest movement breaking his stillness. He decided to let it go. Perhaps he could excuse it as the arrogance of the old generation trying to discipline the new.

But if they dared to overstep again, if they crossed that line once more, then he would not hesitate to help them to the grave.

With that single thought, the suffocating heaviness vanished. The looming death that had hung over them dispersed, and the immeasurable weight pressing down upon their shoulders dissolved into nothingness.

One by one, they rose to their feet. With a single thought, their elemental thrones reformed and reappeared beneath them, shimmering into existence as they each sat back down in stiff, awkward silence.

Anthony, meanwhile, walked to the far side. As he moved into a sitting posture, space itself trembled and folded upon itself, weaving a throne for him as though reality acknowledged his supremacy.

The silence stretched, heavier than any battle they had ever fought. The seconds felt like eternities.

Anthony could sense their emotions well enough. Embarrassment weighed on them like chains, humiliation they could not swallow. But he could not care less. They had forced him to cut short precious time with Vega for this meaningless gathering of ancient pride.

“Is there anything you all called me here for?” Anthony finally broke the silence, his voice calm but edged with steel. “If not, I have better things to do. The military awaits me.”

“Hah! HAHAHAHA!” Gorath Storm, the Titan Patriarch, was the first to break the tension, his booming laughter echoing through the sanctuary. “We are simply glad to have you among us, boy!”

Anthony’s eyes flicked to him, regarding the giant with measured calm. He had always seen Gorath as a simple man, one who sought nothing but endless battle.

But, beneath that simplicity lay a body unlike any other. Anthony could not deny a measure of respect; after all, not just anyone could survive a punch from Lilithra, even one delivered with only a fraction of her true strength.

“If possible,” Aurelius Ignis, the Phoenix King, spoke next with a shameless smile, “I would still love to invite you to the Phoenix Domain. Perhaps we might also seal the bond of our bloodlines by having you marry my daughter, just as I proposed after the Starborn Tournament.”

Anthony’s brow twitched faintly. He remembered that offer clearly. Two years ago, had he been the same as then, he might have jumped at the opportunity, for he had been single. But now, things had changed. His life had changed. He was no longer alone.

He sighed, tired of their words. They had nothing of value to discuss, nothing worthy of dragging him here. With another faint sigh, he rose from his spatial throne, and in an instant, his figure vanished from the sanctuary, leaving the Domain rulers to stew in silence.

There was no need to indulge their endless discussion.

Anthony reappeared above the Abandoned Desert of Ruins, gazing down upon the barren expanse.

‘It seems the soldiers are almost done with the clean-up,’ he thought, watching the organized bustle below. ‘We should be leaving soon.’

His gaze shifted outward toward the citizens still gathered at the edges of the battlefield. They refused to leave, clinging desperately to the chance of seeing him again. He exhaled softly, then descended from the sky, his feet touching the earth.

The moment the crowd saw him, a wave of people surged forward like ants drawn to sugar, desperate to reach him. With a flick of will, Anthony activated Infinity, stopping them all in their tracks before they could crush themselves against him. Calmly, he instructed them to form lines.

The military would soon depart, but until then, he could spare a few moments. He would sign their shirts, their trinkets, their keepsakes. Small gestures, perhaps, but ones that meant the world to them.

‘I will spend a few years in the Divine Realm with Vega after this,’ Anthony thought as he summoned clones to assist him, each moving with flawless ease. ‘That will wash away all this stress.’

And so, amidst the fading battlefield and the adoring citizens, Anthony got to work.