MIGHT AS WELL BE OP-Chapter 956: Two Weaknesses
Aura Nova stared down at Lucian, who simply stood there and stared back at her with a faint, easy smile that didn’t match the gravity of the situation. Aura Nova couldn’t understand how the battle had taken such an absurd and almost unbelievable turn, one moment it had seemed as though they had seamlessly transitioned into a battle of magic and long-range exchanges, spells colliding and energies tearing through the air, then the very next instant, Lucian was already upon her with his katana drawn, close enough for her to see the calmness in his eyes as though the distance between them had never existed at all.
She couldn’t understand how the battle had taken such a drastic and unreasonable turn, so she floated in the air as she stared down at Lucian while her brain and mind ran through various possibilities and countless scenarios at frightening speed, analyzing every movement, every second, every fluctuation in mana and space, besides, she still didn’t understand how the illusion had even worked on her in the first place, because by all logic and past experience, such a thing should have never been capable of deceiving her senses so completely.
Lucian remained where he was with that same relaxed smile as he stared at Aura Nova with the calm demeanor of a seasoned master casually schooling an inexperienced student, his posture straight yet unthreatening, his presence quiet yet undeniably oppressive, as though the battle had already been decided long ago and he was merely waiting for her to reach the same conclusion.
"Do you know your weakness, Aura Nova?" he asked rhetorically as he didn’t expect Aura Nova to answer, his tone light and almost conversational, but Aura Nova did respond without hesitation, her voice steady and devoid of irritation.
"Enlighten me," Aura Nova stated as she stared at Lucian with absolute calmness and composure, her expression unreadable and devoid of pride or defensiveness, because if it truly was a weakness of hers, then she was more than willing to hear it without excuses or denial.
"Your mistake from the very beginning was thinking your lack was merely battle experience in close combat, then after that, after you lost in Sword Intent against me, you now believe your weakness lies there," Lucian began to speak, completely unbothered that Aura Nova had answered his rhetorical question, his words flowing smoothly and patiently, "that, exactly, is the issue. You are far too short-sighted, Aura Nova," he continued to speak without moving an inch, his gaze never leaving from her face.
"At the beginning, I was genuinely happy and eager to spar and battle against you, I truly was, but now..." he paused for a brief moment as though carefully searching for the right words that would not sound overly harsh yet still convey his disappointment, "I’m not that interested for now," he sighed softly as he spoke as though the entire expectation he had carried since meeting Aura Nova had quietly crumbled and shattered.
Aura Nova didn’t speak, she didn’t shout or retort like anyone else might have done in her position, she simply remained suspended in the air as she floated in place while listening to his words with calm focus, because she understood that Lucian wouldn’t lie at this moment, he had absolutely no reason to fabricate anything or mislead her after all.
"You only see a small part of the issue, Aura Nova. Your weakness lies in two separate segments. First, battle experience itself, not in fragments or specific areas, but as a whole in its totality," Lucian continued like a master carefully explaining their shortcomings to a student who had potential but lacked polish.
"You lack general combat knowledge, battle strategies, adaptability, and tactical acumen, you have the raw talent and overwhelming power, but not the refined experience itself. Just like how you got injured twice within a single split second, I’m sure you still don’t know how... right?" he stated, his eyes still locked onto Aura Nova as he spoke as though if he broke eye contact for even a moment she would somehow fail to grasp the lesson he was trying to drill into her mind.
Aura Nova didn’t reply, but Lucian’s words were undeniably true, painfully so, because she indeed didn’t understand how Lucian had pulled off such precise and perfectly timed attacks without her noticing even the faintest warning sign.
"But I won’t tell you the answers, because if I did, how would you truly learn?" Lucian spoke with a gentle and almost teasing smile. How he had managed to injure Aura Nova was actually quite simple and straightforward, while she was fully occupied dealing with the Void Eater spell, he had simultaneously cast an illusion spell in conjunction with it, layering deception upon destruction, and he had already expected Aura Nova to survive the Void Eater spell anyway, because that spell had merely served as bait from the very beginning.
Lucian had already guessed that Aura Nova wasn’t naturally immune to illusions like he, Anthony, and Aaaninja were. Anthony was immune to illusion because he was simply an absurdly overpowered existence that defied common sense and logic, then he, Lucian, was immune to illusion because of his system protection that automatically filtered and rejected such interference, then Aaaninja was immune to illusion because of his overwhelmingly broken Eyes Of Genesis that perceived truth beyond falsity. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Lucian had guessed that Aura Nova needed her Omniedit ability to actively be immune to illusions. Although she could still see through illusions without her Omniedit ability, she would still need a split second or whatever tiny fraction of time to naturally discern the truth without it, and Lucian had deliberately banked everything on exploiting that microscopic delay.
Aura Nova, who had been destroying the Void Eater spell with overwhelming force, had suddenly been attacked again without warning, she had moved purely on instinct and reflex without conscious thought, not having enough time to even sense the illusion properly, and Lucian had instantly capitalized on that fleeting opening with ruthless efficiency, although he hadn’t decapitated her, he had at least taken her arm as payment for that moment of vulnerability.
As for her second arm and how Lucian had read her location even before she appeared there, he could still sense the subtle spatial fluctuations she left behind during her movement and teleportation. Space itself was like water, and moving through it must inevitably cause ripples and disturbances no matter how small, but Aura Nova hadn’t yet learned how to completely hide or erase those ripples, making her movements predictable to someone experienced enough to notice.
"I’m sure on the Dusk planet, you simply overwhelmed your opponents through sheer destructive power alone, hence your lack of all-round battle experience and refined strategy as you simply brute-forced your way through everything without resistance," Lucian continued as he struck the nail directly on the head with unsettling accuracy.
"In the end, your Omniedit ability, your greatest strength, has ironically become your greatest weakness. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible and terrifying ability, but against people of the caliber of myself, Aaaninja, and Anthony, it will inevitably fall short," he stated calmly and matter-of-factly as he stared steadily at Aura Nova without arrogance, merely stating a truth he believed undeniable.
Aura Nova’s mind spun as she listened to Lucian with absolute focus, her thoughts racing as memories flashed rapidly through her consciousness, replaying her countless battles throughout the Dusk planet one after another. She never truly had the need to strategize or think deeply about tactics or positioning, she could simply pause time itself and erase anyone and everyone without difficulty, and with that much overwhelming power at her disposal, she never needed to do anything tedious or complicated.
But with opponents who were born equally as strong as her, or even stronger, she inevitably fell short, because indeed, her greatest strength had slowly and subtly become her greatest weakness on a stage of this level where experience, precision, and intellect mattered just as much as raw force.
Aura Nova remained silent even at this realization, because she understood that saying anything wouldn’t change absolutely nothing.
Only action, growth, and putting in the necessary work would ever change anything at all.
