MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 884: Predator Against Predator

“I will call them,” Mitchelle spoke, her voice soft and gentle. In a blur, her figure vanished from the starry expanse, reappearing instantly before Anthony and his friends. The moment she appeared, Anthony’s eyes shifted toward her. His relaxed expression sharpened slightly in surprise. “Mom, is there a problem?” he asked, already aware that she rarely sought him out when he was in the company of his friends.

Before Mitchelle could even respond, Vega’s voice rang out, sharp yet playful. “How rude can you be, Ant?” she said with a faint huff. “You haven’t even introduced your friends to your mom, or your mom to your friends.”

At her words, Anthony paused. For a brief moment, it was as though the weight of her statement truly settled in. Then he shook his head lightly, a rueful smile forming on his lips. “My apologies, then,” he said sincerely.

Turning slightly, he gestured toward the figures beside him. “Mom, meet my friends. This is Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos, the Time Celestial. I’m sure you already know him a little,” Anthony began. His gaze shifted smoothly to the next figure. “This is Lucian Darkheart, the Walker of Worlds. And lastly, Aura Nova, the Manipulator of Reality.”

He then turned back toward them, his tone softening just a fraction. “Guys, this is my mom, Crimson Mitchelle.”

This marked the first time in twenty years that Anthony had officially introduced his group of friends to Mitchelle.

“Nice to meet you all,” Mitchelle said warmly, a gentle smile gracing her lips. There was genuine happiness in her eyes as she took in the sight before her, her son, standing among peers, forming bonds like a normal young man. Not a monster clad in human skin. Not a being burdened with absurd talent and terrifying power. Just her son, surrounded by friends.

One by one, each of them stepped forward, exchanging greetings with her. The atmosphere softened as brief pleasantries passed between them.

Lucian appeared the most visibly excited. To him, this was not merely a meeting, it was the first time he was encountering Mitchelle in the flesh. A woman introduced as early as chapter two of the story. The woman who loved Anthony more than anyone else in existence.

The memory of the chapter where Mitchelle had tortured the demons responsible for kidnapping the Omni Peak Academy students resurfaced vividly in his mind. That scene, brutal and merciless, was still fresh, still vivid.

“Maybe sometime, you all can come over,” Mitchelle added with a smile. “Perhaps after this war.”

Anthony had never truly brought friends home. Even during his last birthday banquet, when several of them had attended, Mitchelle believed it was merely because of the event itself, nothing personal, nothing lasting.

“We will,” Aaaninja replied smoothly, the others echoing his sentiment with smiles of their own.

Mitchelle nodded in response before motioning for them to follow her. She informed them that the Older Generation was currently holding a meeting.

Upon arriving at the gathering, they were briefed on the formation of a new military team. Anthony couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow. He had only just finished dominating one military force, and now he was being placed into another. However, it was quickly clarified that this wasn’t a strict military structure, it was simply a cooperative formation designed for mutual protection.

Without hesitation, the six present immediately formed a team. There was no need for discussion. No deliberation. No doubts. They were all powerful. They all possessed unique and diverse abilities, abilities that could seamlessly complement one another if the need ever arose.

That was, of course, assuming there would ever be a situation that actually required such cooperation. They were simply too special.

Although regulations stated that only five individuals could comprise a team, an exception was made for them. After all, no one could truly force rules upon beings like these. Only the weak could be compelled into decisions.

And they were anything but weak.

Soon, however, another issue surfaced, the matter of the Team Captain.

A team composed entirely of anomalies, so which anomaly would lead the others? Would one anomaly bow to another?

Anthony’s thoughts drifted briefly to a few days prior, when he had idly contemplated the idea of a battle between anomalies. It seemed that thought had now manifested into reality.

Anthony, Aaaninja, Lucian, and Aura Nova exchanged gazes, smiles slowly forming on their faces. No words were needed. They understood one another instantly.

They would fight for the position.

Kingsley, meanwhile, fell into contemplation. After a brief moment, a smile crept onto his face as well. Battle intent ignited in his eyes. He had no interest in becoming Team Captain. Issuing orders bored him. He preferred action, punches, kicks, impact, and force.

What excited him was the opportunity to test himself against Aaaninja, Aura Nova, and Lucian Darkheart, individuals whose abilities Anthony had spoken of with such confidence. With opponents like them, perhaps, just perhaps, he could grow stronger yet again.

Vega, on the other hand, appeared to be the odd one out. While the others gazed at one another like predators sizing up prey, she remained calm, detached, almost… normal.

‘Maybe I’m in the wrong friend circle,’ she mused silently as she watched the five of them.

Lucian himself held no desire for the role of Team Captain. To him, this was an opportunity, an opportunity to finally have his rematch against Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos, and to test the utterly ridiculous Aura Nova.

Normally, he would have chosen to avoid Anthony altogether. But something Aaaninja had said lingered in his mind, ‘You have no hope in yourself.’

Lucian hadn’t taken the words personally. Not truly. But they had sunk in deeper than he cared to admit.

He wanted to battle Anthony.

He wasn’t delusional enough to believe he would win. He understood reality. He understood just how broken Anthony was. This wasn’t one of those novels where a reader reincarnated into a story and suddenly defeated the main character.

Lucian knew this wasn’t that kind of story. Nor was this the beginning of an impossible ascent. Vega’s words rang true, attempting the impossible repeatedly didn’t suddenly make it possible.

Lucian would challenge Anthony for one reason only.

To see.

To witness the sheer difference between himself and the character he once read about on his phone as nothing more than a novel. To see the chasm that separated Anthony from everyone else within the Galaxy.

He wanted… to… see… it.

But unlike Kingsley, who believed he could glimpse the chasm and perhaps one day climb past Anthony, Lucian had no such delusions. He didn’t seek motivation. He didn’t seek hope.

He only wished to gaze.

Yet even then, he knew a harsh truth.

To see the chasm, one needed the power to stand at its edge. Without that power, how could one ever measure it?

Kingsley lacked the strength to stand there. He had challenged Anthony and failed to even comprehend the distance between them.

Would Lucian suffer the same fate?

Would Aura Nova drink from the same bottle?

Would Aaaninja clash with Anthony only to recognize the futility of resistance?

How would it all unfold?

Who would stand? Who would fall? Who would bend?

Who would accept reality? And finally, who would continue to deny it?

Thus, the rematch of history was decided.

Predator against predator.

Ridiculous abilities against ridiculous abilities.

Anomaly against anomaly.

Yet regardless of the outcome, one truth remained immutable. In the future, reality itself, and all within it, would bow before them.