MIGHT AS WELL BE OP - Chapter 689

Chapter 689: Primordial Human

Anthony stood calmly, his bloodied body trembling yet mentally unshaken, injuries tearing mercilessly through his skin. Despite the agony, his mind remained sharp, shuffling rapidly through the arsenal of abilities Klaus had not yet witnessed.

Since Klaus could render abilities useless merely by understanding their fundamental mechanics, Anthony questioned whether there was any value in revealing more of his hidden abilities and skills. After all, a man like Klaus, forged through countless battles and armed with ridiculous combat experience, could perceive and unravel the very essence of any ability with disturbing ease.

Anthony’s thoughts circled back to Klaus’s earlier words, and to his dismay, they rang true. He was undeniably strong, overpowered, broken even, but that strength was incomplete. He still required time, time he did not have, to reach a level where he could truly close the abyssal gap separating him from Klaus.

Although Authority Of Severance seemed like an ability Klaus could not easily counter, just like the transcendent flames of his Divine Flames, Anthony was painfully aware of his own limitations. His control over it was not absolute; he could not extend its influence to someone like Klaus, whose existence itself seemed to stand above such constraints… for now.

‘Sigh… he hasn’t even used a single attacking ability yet,’ Anthony thought, his mind releasing a heavy, bitter exhale.

He could not recall the last time he had felt so utterly powerless within a battle. Perhaps the closest had been against the Executioner, where victory was achieved not through strength, but through cunning, deception, and an intricate web of schemes.

Anthony still had abilities left untested in this fight, yet deep inside, he knew the truth, they would not work. Poison Body, a skill that allowed him to generate and manipulate any poison conceivable, was useless here. A man of Klaus’s caliber, Anthony reasoned, was almost certainly immune to toxins of every kind, no matter how rare or potent. That path was already sealed.

What of Quantum Manipulation? Even that had been pierced. Klaus had already bypassed Absolute Stasis, one of the most fearsome skills born from that ability, reducing it to mere nothingness before Anthony’s eyes.

In essence, if Anthony recklessly unleashed more of his skills, all he would achieve was feeding Klaus information, handing his opponent the keys to dismantle every secret within his possession.

And yet, amid despair, one final card remained.

Anthony possessed the Perfect Rank Human Bloodline, an inheritance just one rank below the legendary Primordial Human Bloodline.

That bloodline granted him dominion over all humans beneath that rank, allowing him to exert his will over any being lacking the Perfect or Primordial lineage. This was the trump card, the final edge buried within his personal arsenal, and Anthony intended to wield it now against Klaus.

Klaus stood motionless, his gaze locked upon Anthony as though waiting for the boy to make his move. The silence of that stare was unnerving. Around them, the battlefield itself bore testament to their destruction: jagged stones had been reduced to molten rivers, and the very earth beneath their feet bled into glowing lava.

Anthony’s lips finally parted, his voice carrying an authority that bent the air.

“Say you forfeit.”

The words resonated like a command etched into existence itself. In that instant, silence consumed the realm. Through the connection of their human bloodlines, Anthony’s will pressed firmly upon Klaus, demanding submission.

He could have pushed further. He could have pried into Klaus’s secrets, unraveling the secrets of his Weapon Master class, extracting innate abilities and every hidden detail. But Anthony restrained himself. He did not pry, whether out of pride, exhaustion, or simple unwillingness to degrade himself before such a man, even he was unsure.

‘I suppose this is over,’ Anthony told himself.

But the illusion of victory shattered the moment Klaus moved.

Without warning, Anthony’s chest exploded with pain as an overwhelming force crashed into him. Klaus’s foot connected with his ribs, detonating with a sun sundering impact. The force was monstrous, tearing through his entire frame as though his body were but fragile parchment.

Anthony’s figure rocketed backwards at impossible speed, a broken comet launched across the battlefield. His body smashed through stone, trees, and earth alike, demolishing everything in its path. Ravines split open in his wake, earthquakes rumbling violently as seismic waves rippled through the ruined terrain.

He finally came to rest within a massive ravine, his body crumpled in ruin. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading like a crimson lake, and an entire chunk of his upper right side was gone, obliterated by that single devastating strike. Pain seared through him, tearing at nerves, muscles, and bone. But Anthony did not scream. He did not even flinch. Instead, he lay still, staring blankly at the vast blue sky above.

‘How?’ The question echoed in his mind.

Klaus should not have been able to resist. Klaus should not have been able to defy his command. The man had no knowledge of Anthony’s exact bloodline rank, meaning his resistance was not born of preparation or counter-strategy. It was something else entirely.

Footsteps echoed steadily through the destruction, each step heavy yet calm, as Klaus approached Anthony’s battered form. Despite the catastrophic wound that had erased half of his body, Anthony clung to life. His vitality was monstrous, his resilience unnatural. Death had not claimed him, though it pressed close.

“Who would have thought you’d try to use your Perfect Human Bloodline?” Klaus’s voice carried no mockery, no ridicule, only cold truth. “If it had been against another, perhaps it would have succeeded.”

Anthony’s eyes shifted from the sky to the side, locking onto Klaus’s figure now looming above him. His mind raced.

‘He knew.’

Klaus’s gaze remained firm, piercing. “It seems desperation has clouded you. You forgot one of the very abilities your own bloodline grants.”

Realization struck Anthony like another blow. In the heat of battle, he had indeed overlooked something crucial.

The first ability granted by the Perfect Human Bloodline was simple, undeniable: immunity. Immunity to every attack from any human lacking the Perfect or Primordial Bloodline.

And Klaus had injured him. Not with tricks. Not with deception. With raw, undeniable force.

The conclusion was inescapable. Klaus himself possessed either the Perfect Human Bloodline, or something even greater.

But since Klaus had recognized and sensed the exact nature of Anthony’s bloodline, the truth was almost certain.

Klaus bore the Primordial Human Bloodline.

‘How overpowered can one person possibly be?’ Anthony thought, the faintest trace of bitter awe flickering in his mind.