MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1004: Not Enough

The air around Anthony’s katana, Aura Nova’s blades, and bodies screamed and trembled tremendously in utter madness, as though reality itself could scarcely endure the pressure radiating from them. Aura Nova’s sky-blue eyes remained locked onto Anthony, unwavering and unblinking, as though even the smallest lapse in focus would cost her dearly. She did not dare look away.

Anthony smirked the next moment. He had already discerned the internal enhancement Aura Nova had executed. He understood it instantly. In truth, he had to admit it, it was a stroke of genius. Enhancing herself internally with Sword Intent to reinforce muscle fibers, sharpen reflex arcs, and strengthen bone density was not something most would conceive of so quickly in the midst of combat. It was innovative. Efficient.

But still, despite its brilliance, it was not enough to match his strength or his speed.

The next instant, his katana flashed.

What followed was not a single strike, but a storm, an unrelenting cascade of sword attacks unleashed in a seamless torrent. Each strike was blindingly swift, precise, and merciless. The air shrieked as the blade carved through it, and every slash converged upon Aura Nova with deadly, calculated accuracy. It was not random aggression. It was refined destruction.

Aura Nova frowned as the barrage descended upon her. Even with her internal enhancements active, she could feel the suffocating pressure embedded within Anthony’s attacks. The sheer density of force behind each slash was overwhelming.

But she did not complain. She did not hesitate. She simply moved to answer.

Her body flickered out of existence, dissolving into thousands of phantomic illusions. Each illusion mirrored her perfectly, surging forward to meet Anthony’s attacks head-on with ruinous force and maddening precision. She danced across the battlefield with absurd velocity, faster than the naked eye could follow, faster than conscious thought, faster than lightning splitting the sky.

And yet, Anthony’s storm of blades kept pace effortlessly, as though she were nothing more than a child attempting to outrun destiny itself.

With a thunderous boom, the remaining hundreds of attacks collapsed upon her form. Dust and smoke erupted violently, choking the battlefield as the earth below was torn apart without discrimination. Space itself seemed to fracture under the overwhelming force.

Aura Nova felt pain lance through her skull as her body was ravaged by hundreds of sword marks. Slashes crisscrossed her flesh in brutal patterns, each wound spilling blood freely as steel tore mercilessly through her body. She did not require confirmation. She knew. If not for the Sword Intent reinforcing her internally, the cuts would have burrowed deeper, far deeper.

Her regeneration activated instantly.

Flesh knitted together with visible speed. Blood flow ceased as wounds sealed shut. Muscle fibers reattached and strengthened. Bone reformed seamlessly.

’It’s still not enough,’ she thought to herself.

Even with the Sword Intent internal enhancement, she could not match the sheer speed and power driving Anthony’s attacks. The gap between them remained vast.

But she did not relent. No, this was a spar, and she would extract every ounce of growth she could from it.

The next nanosecond, Anthony was already upon her, his katana swung mercilessly, utterly indifferent to gender, difference in power, or the fact that she was still regenerating. There was no hesitation in his blade, only execution.

Aura Nova’s reaction was instantaneous. Though her regeneration had not fully concluded, it did not prevent her from fighting at full capacity. Pain was irrelevant. Damage was temporary.

Their weapons were about to collide once more when, mid-swing, Anthony’s katana altered its trajectory with absurd ease. The motion was fluid, flawless, almost artistic. His aim shifted from her neck to her chest without the slightest telegraph.

Aura Nova’s eyes flashed with recognition and memory.

Lucian had employed a similar motion against her before. With her talent and combat intellect, there was no possibility she would fall for the same trick twice. She redirected her twin short swords immediately, angling them to intercept the altered strike.

But, she felt no impact, no force, literally nothing. Her blades sliced through empty air.

Before comprehension could settle within her mind, a nauseating crunch of flesh being torn apart echoed across the battlefield. Anthony’s katana had never truly changed course, it had merely deceived her perception with raw speed and finesse. In a silver blur of motion, the blade cleaved cleanly through her entire right arm. Steel met flesh with merciless precision.

’What?’ Her thoughts trembled, not from pain, but from pure, unadulterated shock.

She may have improved after her battle with Lucian. Her perception had sharpened. Her instincts had grown keener. But the opponent standing before her was not Lucian.

It was Anthony.

And against him, her hope of blocking had been futile from the very beginning.

With a heavy, sickening thud, her severed arm struck the wasteland battlefield. Blood arced through the air before splattering onto the scorched ground.

Aura Nova did not hesitate, she immediately retreated, creating distance between herself and Anthony while ignoring the pain radiating from her shoulder. But the moment she moved, Anthony was already behind her.

He matched, and exceeded, her speed with ridiculous ease, his movements efficient and economical, devoid of wasted motion.

Her head snapped backward toward where he had appeared, and all that filled her vision was a silver blur descending toward her. Her reflexes surged to life. She raised her remaining arm to block, but again, the expected strike never arrived. Instead, a devastating impact crashed into her jaw with overwhelming force. The world lurched violently, inertia seized her body and flung her sideways like a discarded ragdoll.

Her body tore through the earth repeatedly, ricocheting off the terrain like a bouncing basketball, carving trenches with each impact, but she regained control mid-air.

Twisting with agile precision, she landed lightly upon her feet like a cat, sliding backward across the broken terrain. Her hand rose to touch her jaw. It hung dislocated, but it did not matter.

With a sharp snap, the bone shifted back into place. Her regeneration had already completed its work. Her severed arm reformed seamlessly at her shoulder. Flesh, muscle, bone, restored.

She was good as new, but at this moment, being good as new simply meant she was prepared to endure further punishment.

She decided instantly to shift to the offensive, without hesitation, she hurled one of her short swords toward Anthony, the blade sliced through the air like a thunderbolt.

Anthony, observing the incoming weapon, merely tilted his head slightly to the left in an almost leisurely motion. The short sword whooshed past him harmlessly, as though it were nothing more than child’s play.

But the moment he dodged, Aura Nova appeared behind him midair. She had teleported to the precise location of the short sword she had thrown. With ruthless determination, she swung her remaining blade toward Anthony’s cranium. But before the strike could descend, she felt it in real time, her attack had lost momentum.

Something had changed.

Before confusion could fully form within her thoughts, both of her hands were severed from her wrists with such surgical precision that she had not even perceived the movement.

There had been no warning. No visible slash. Just absence.

Aura Nova vanished instantly, flickering several kilometers away before skidding to a halt across the fractured terrain. Her sky-blue eyes locked onto Anthony once more, this time, there was no denial in her gaze, only realization.

Anthony did not pursue her immediately, he simply turned around slowly and met her stare with a faint smile. Her plan had been excellent. She had marked her short sword with Sword Intent, thrown it deliberately, and teleported to it the moment he evaded. It was tactical. Intelligent. But, it was useless.

Even if he had closed his eyes, such an attack could not have succeeded against him. His perception had already unraveled her intentions before she had even executed them.

And at this moment, he was not even utilizing Sense Dome. What he relied upon now was nothing more than his natural perception, granted by his eyes alone.