MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 886: Suicidal Thoughts

Anthony walked away with a calm, unhurried demeanor. With a simple tug of his will, his body lifted effortlessly from where he stood, floating into the cosmic expanse as though gravity itself had lost all meaning to him. In a few moments, he drifted toward the place where Aaaninja and the rest of the group had gathered, his presence serene and unbothered, as if what had just transpired was nothing more than a passing distraction.

“You really didn’t go easy on them,” Aura Nova intoned as her gaze drifted toward the members of the Netherborn race. Their bodies twitched and convulsed faintly, their expressions twisted in pain as the aftereffects of Anthony’s soul manipulation continued to torment them.

“I did,” Anthony replied with a light smile, his tone casual and almost playful. “If I didn’t, they would have been dead by now,” he added, his smile widening just a little. The only reason Anthony hadn’t killed them was simple: they hadn’t truly come for his life, and more importantly, he himself had been the root of the misunderstanding from the very beginning. He had chosen to play to see how far things would go, and now they were merely paying the price for that choice.

“Well… they kind of deserved it a bit,” Aura Nova replied after a brief pause. She could still vividly recall the gaze of the man who had spoken against Anthony earlier. His eyes had not only held hostility, but something far more repulsive, an intention to peer into her soul, and Akira’s soul as well.

Though it had remained nothing more than a fleeting thought within the man’s mind, Aura Nova had sensed it clearly. She always could. She had an innate sensitivity to malice, to twisted curiosity, and to intentions that leaned toward harm.

Lucian, Aaaninja, Kingsley, and Vega offered no reaction. They merely cast a brief glance toward the older generation of the Netherborn race before averting their eyes entirely, their expressions utterly dismissive. If Aaaninja or Lucian had been in Anthony’s position, the Netherborn would not have survived. There would have been no hesitation, no mercy extended.

Others from the older generation of various races observed the Netherborn with thinly veiled contempt, as though looking upon a group of fools who had failed to grasp the most basic rule of existence. Reality did not care about good or evil. Justice was nothing more than a concept invented by the weak to make themselves feel righteous. Power was power, regardless of whether it was obtained through holy means or demonic ones.

If the Netherborn lacked the strength to oppose Anthony, then why had they spoken out at all? Why provoke someone they could not defeat? Wasn’t this the most basic principle of survival? This understanding was precisely why the others had remained silent and simply watched from the sidelines. Even if Anthony wielded demonic energy, if they could not kill him here and now, then what use was any grand speech about justice or morality?

Besides, could they even contend with those mad individuals from the Blue Planet? The Dragon and the Titan could certainly be dealt with easily enough, but the remaining three, those three humans, were anything but pushovers. No one present was willing to gamble everything over a single person. They had just concluded a battle that had lasted for hours, their bodies and essence still bearing unhealed wounds. To provoke another conflict at this moment would have been nothing short of suicidal.

As for the Netherborn, their attempts to heal their damaged souls proved entirely futile. Their innate racial ability allowed them to manipulate souls, but compared to Anthony’s mastery at this moment, it was laughably inferior. With no other option remaining, they retrieved several strange orbs from their possessions. Crushing them without hesitation, all five Netherborn vanished from where they knelt, their forms dissolving into nothingness.

No one needed to ask where they had gone. It was obvious, they were returning to their home planet, likely to use some ancient artifact or treasured relic to heal themselves. That was probably the only method left to them.

“Your soul manipulation ability seems to have improved yet again,” Aaaninja remarked, his rainbow-colored, clock-like eyes shifting toward Anthony. During their previous battle, it had been this very ability that Anthony had used to defeat him decisively.

“I try,” Anthony replied humbly. Still, he could sense the thoughts swirling through Aaaninja’s mind. With their rematch drawing ever closer, would Anthony rely on soul manipulation once more to defeat him?

Even Aaaninja himself wasn’t confident that he could replicate what Anthony had just done. His talent was undeniable, but his true strength lay in Time manipulation, not in the domain of souls. Shaking his head slightly, Aaaninja decided to push those thoughts aside for now.

“Since you’ve introduced your mother to me,” Aaaninja said suddenly, “allow me to introduce my parents as well.”

Anthony and the rest of the group raised their eyebrows in mild surprise before nodding in agreement.

Floating downward, Aaaninja led them toward his father, Zachary, and his mother, Nyxss. Formal introductions were made, and soon everyone became acquainted with one another. Afterward, Anthony introduced his own family, his father, Michael, and his grandfather, Collins. Once again, Lucian stood out the most, his excitement barely contained as he greeted them with almost embarrassing enthusiasm.

The rest of the friend group stared at him strangely. He looked less like a powerful existence and more like a bride meeting her groom’s family for the first time. Lucian noticed their stares but chose not to explain himself. They would never understand, no matter how much he tried.

‘If Anthony uses the Authority of Information,’ Lucian thought silently, ‘will he be able to sense that I’m a reincarnator who stepped into this story?’ His thoughts spiraled further. ‘And if he does… doesn’t that mean ??? himself would also realize that this entire reality, this entire existence, is nothing more than a novel?’

He shook his head slowly, eventually coming to the conclusion that even if Anthony used the Authority of Information, he likely wouldn’t uncover the truth of his reincarnation into Might As Well Be OP.

Still, Lucian knew something else just as well, if he told Anthony the truth outright, Anthony would be inclined to believe him. Yet that possibility birthed another terrifying thought. ‘If I tell him that… will he actually hear it? Or will reality itself glitch and interfere to keep that information hidden?’

And if Anthony did hear him, and truly believed him, then what would happen next? What direction would the story take? Would Anthony finally break free from the Author’s control? And what about ??? Would he finally realize that he was not, in fact, the absolute pinnacle of power?

Lucian couldn’t help but imagine the sheer chaos such revelations might cause. At the same time, he was keenly aware that he could be captured by ??? Romulus, or even by Anthony’s system itself.

[The Host is advised to stop having suicidal thoughts]

[The system will unbind if things take this turn]

As these thoughts raced through Lucian’s mind, his system chimed coldly, informing him that it would not accompany him down a path of self-destruction.

Lucian exhaled slowly, shaking his head before finally introducing his own parents to his friends, and his friends to his parents, completing the circle of introductions.

Aura Nova and Kingsley stood slightly apart from the rest, both feeling an unspoken sense of exclusion. Neither of them truly had parents in the way the others did. One had been born and raised as an orphan, learning to survive alone from the very beginning. The other had once been raised with love, only for that love to rot into hatred, an evolution that had ended with him destroying his own family with his own two hands.