MIGHT AS WELL BE OP-Chapter 960: Lesson
Neither Anthony nor Kingsley immediately stood up and rushed toward the battlefield below the moment the screen displayed their numbers; instead, they remained seated in silence, almost statuesque, as though each were waiting for the other to make the first move. Their stillness was not born from hesitation or fear, but from an unspoken understanding that passed between them.
But unknown to many present, the reason neither of them was moving was painfully simple and almost laughably straightforward, the winner of this spar had already been determined long before either of them even considered standing.
Vega remained silent, her gaze steady and unreadable as she observed the two from the side. She was well aware of what was happening and far more informed than the others who merely speculated in whispers. She had been there when Kingsley had lost to Anthony with barely two strikes, a defeat so swift that it had felt almost unreal, like a dream ending before it properly began.
Although he had definitely grown stronger since then, sharpening his body and honing his craft through relentless discipline, she, Anthony, and Kingsley himself knew there would be no difference between then and now, because the gap that separated them was not something mere effort could easily erase.
So, they all sat in silence.
"Why aren’t the both of you moving?" Klaus’ voice came from the side, low yet clear, his black eyes shifting toward them as he spoke with a calm demeanor and an even calmer tone that carried quiet authority.
Anthony smiled faintly for a moment before he replied, his eyes sliding toward Klaus’ position as he spoke, "that will be left up to my opponent. If he moves, I will," he answered with a relaxed tone that screamed complete indifference and absolute confidence.
Klaus stayed silent, not knowing how to react, as the words robbed him entirely and left his thoughts tangled and directionless.
Aaaninja, Aura Nova, Lucian, Veronica, Altheria, and the rest of the spectators arched an eyebrow in confusion, their expressions nearly identical as they tried to make sense of the strange stalemate unfolding before them.
"Are you now afraid to spar with others because you’ve lost twice?" Aura Nova’s voice came from the side as her gaze shifted toward Kingsley; her eyes were calm and clear, neither judging nor mocking, she was simply asking a genuine question, although she doubted Kingsley’s will was that fragile or easily shaken.
Kingsley sighed quietly as he could feel everyone’s gaze pressing against his back like a physical weight, but he said nothing and remained seated for a moment longer, his posture loose, his breathing steady, as though none of it truly bothered him.
"It’s not that," Lucian’s voice came smoothly from the side, composed and analytical as always, "it’s just that unlike you and Aaaninja, he understands the futility in challenging Anthony, that is all there is to it," he spoke as though he understood the man more than everyone present, his tone disturbingly certain.
Kingsley’s golden eyes shifted toward Lucian for a moment as he wondered how the man had managed to see through him so effortlessly, as though peeling back layers of thought without permission. With that, he shook his head and rose from his seat, then plummeted downward without hesitation, his body tearing through the clouds like a falling meteor as he descended upon the battlefield with a thunderous boom, ravines splitting open and earthquakes rippling outward in violent waves.
Although he already knew he would lose, Kingsley remained expressionless and unbothered, his face devoid of regret or resentment. He didn’t truly care about the loss, it was merely a spar and nothing more, but he would try to learn as much as he could from the encounter, squeezing every fragment of knowledge from the clash no matter how small.
Anthony, seeing Kingsley arrive below, simply smirked before vanishing as though he had never existed there to begin with, his presence dissolving like mist. In the next instant, he appeared within the battlefield, standing opposite Kingsley with effortless precision.
Silence reigned between them as neither moved, the air itself seeming to grow heavier, as though the world were holding its breath while waiting for a signal, and eventually the signal came.
"Begin," Klaus’ voice tore through the air from above. But unlike every battle before now where combatants blurred forward and tore into one another without delay and with overwhelming force and power, neither Anthony nor Kingsley moved even an inch.
"You know, normally, whenever I battle people, I give them a chance to show me what they have, to show me their strength, their will, their training, their talent, their technique, their abilities," Anthony began to speak as he clasped his hands behind his back, his hair dancing gently to the rhythm of the wind, his posture relaxed as though he were strolling through a garden rather than standing before an opponent.
As Anthony spoke, Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos’ eyes narrowed sharply to their edges as he had heard a similar speech three years ago, and the familiarity sent a chill crawling down his spine.
Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos could never forget that day, he had battled Anthony and lost, then achieved True Enlightenment through sheer resolution and growth, then met Anthony again at the final of the Starborn Tournament, believing he had finally closed the gap. Anthony had told him the exact same thing back then, those calm, almost gentle words that felt more terrifying than any threat, and those were the last words he heard from Anthony before he fell unconscious.
’Is he about to end it all with a single attack like he did with me back then?’ Aaaninja thought to himself, his chest tightening, ’and it also seems Anthony and Kingsley had already battled each other before, and it ended with Kingsley losing,’ his thoughts aligned neatly into a perfect and unavoidable conclusion.
Anthony, oblivious to Aaaninja’s racing thoughts, continued, "based on that, I should have ended this battle with a single attack..." he paused briefly, letting the silence stretch, then spoke again, "but I won’t, based on the ground that during our battle, I didn’t allow you to shine and display all that you could," a small, almost apologetic smile breaking across his lips as he spoke.
"Because of that, I will ask you this, do you want this spar to be a lesson where I will actually teach you something, or do you want to battle me and try to win against me?" Anthony asked, and no more words left his lips as the air itself seemed to sink into a suffocating silence.
Kingsley stayed silent, memories surfacing unbidden as he recalled the last time he had battled Anthony. He had demanded to see the chasm between them with his own eyes, demanded proof of the difference in their strength, and he remembered exactly how that had ended. Battling him again with the intention of winning was not courage, it was stupidity dressed up as pride.
Besides, earlier, he had already planned to learn something, anything from this spar, and now Anthony was actively offering that to him as a form of compensation for something he still couldn’t fully understand.
But Kingsley didn’t ask stupid questions like, Why? Why me? Why are you helping? and all that pointless nonsense. No, the moment he heard Anthony’s proposal, he had already accepted it within his mind without a shred of doubt.
Taking a deep breath, steady and controlled, he spoke, "I want this spar to be a lesson where you teach me something," he stated with a calm and determined expression, his golden eyes unwavering. Although he was the Universe’s favorite child, he knew the Universe wouldn’t break all Laws of Reality for him simply because he wished it.
It would only do basic things like resurrecting him after death, which everyone here could practically achieve one way or another through their own means, and perhaps assist him occasionally with trivial matters such as paying for things he couldn’t afford, but nothing more miraculous than that.
