MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 926: Fifteen Minutes

Kingsley Sky remained in a kneeling position on the ground, his knees digging into the floor while his golden gaze stayed locked on Aura Nova. Above him, she drifted through the air like a divine architect, the supreme creator and the ultimate judge of all existence.

She hovered without effort, her very aura distorting the surroundings and giving the impression that reality itself only persisted by her grace. Kingsley struggled to process his emotions following this duel. A turbulent mix of bewilderment, annoyance, reverence, and shock swirled inside his heart, though he kept his expression neutral.

For his entire life, strength had been his defining trait... or more accurately, since the moment he received his Universal Blessing, power had been a constant in his life. He had never truly met his equal. During his military service, every objective was achieved with trivial ease and flawless precision.

Opponents were defeated before they could react, dangers were neutralized before they could grow, and conflicts were settled before they truly began. Combat had eventually turned into a dull, repetitive routine that offered no stimulation. Only his relentless martial training provided a sense of purpose, giving him a path to refine his skills.

However, that era of ease had come to an end.

The change started approximately two years prior, on the day he encountered a boy named Null Anthony.

Meeting Anthony had triggered a fundamental shift within Kingsley. He, who had always felt invincible and peerless, began to feel... different. For the first time, he stood before a truly formidable individual—someone whose strength was genuine and who could match him without being crushed.

During their initial mission as a team, they faced the Executioner. This entity from a superior galaxy possessed a presence so overwhelming that Kingsley’s Concept of Destruction appeared pathetic by comparison. That single meeting had damaged his self-assurance in a way nothing else could.

Following that event, Kingsley committed himself to a grueling training regimen, pushing his limits with more intensity than ever. This wasn't due to orders or personal enjoyment, but because he refused to remain stagnant in a cosmos that had suddenly revealed its terrifying scale.

Then, the spar with Anthony took place.

Kingsley had sought to measure the distance between them and understand the true gap in their power. But during that fight, the truth hit him with brutal honesty. He was unable to even track the movements. He couldn't grasp Anthony’s rhythm or perceive his actions. Ultimately, Kingsley was knocked unconscious by a single, perfect strike—a blow delivered without hesitation or wasted energy, representing absolute dominance.

Those consecutive defeats had transformed him.

The impact wasn't destructive; it was deeply constructive.

He started developing new techniques—moves he had never thought to create before because his previous foes never lived long enough to require them. He engineered variations, refinements, and complex combat systems that transcended simple power. He pioneered the Universal Technique and pushed further, inventing a process to bypass his own universal constraints. Every single breakthrough was created with one target in mind.

Anthony.

He had steeled himself for their next confrontation.

Yet, looking at his current state, the situation felt almost absurd. Despite all those secret techniques, inherent talents, and meticulous preparations, he had still suffered a loss. He had been defeated by someone who, just like him, had only recently arrived on the Galactical stage. He hadn't even found the opportunity to test his new moves against Anthony, yet they had already proven useless against Aura Nova.

Kingsley questioned if a rematch with Anthony was even worth the effort. What would be achieved?

He let out a long breath, staying on his knees as Aura Nova’s command kept him pinned both in body and spirit. 'What is the true nature of her power?' he pondered. While he grasped the basics—that she could manipulate reality—what she had just performed transcended such a simple description.

His "End Of All" technique should have wiped Aura Nova from existence. She was supposed to be deleted entirely, stripped of her life and unable to mount any defense. That move had been launched in conjunction with his Concept of Destruction, a combination Kingsley viewed as infallible. Regardless of how Aura Nova twisted reality, his Concept of Destruction should have pierced through it without fail.

And yet, she lived.

She had returned.

If that wasn't enough, his Concept Erasure—the ability that stripped the very Concept of Fighting from an enemy—had failed to stop her. Or rather, it had taken effect... but she had simply surpassed it. The logic she used to overcome it was something Kingsley could not fathom.

'Three defeats,' he mused while kneeling in the quiet. 'Are there more to come?'

His golden eyes flickered toward Lucian Darkheart and Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos. Though neither had intervened, the thought of them caused a stir of anxiety. He wondered, with total honesty, if he would fall before them as well.

His first failure was against the Executioner.

The second was at the hands of Anthony.

And now, the third was claimed by Aura Nova.

'It appears I might just be a frog in a well,' he thought to himself.

As he accepted this truth, his mind became calm. His aura underwent a subtle change, as if a hidden chamber in his soul had been opened, or a long-dormant power had finally woken from its slumber.

'It doesn’t matter how highly Anthony speaks of Aaaninja and Lucian,' he resolved with composure. 'I will challenge them. And if defeat finds me again, I will simply return to my training.'

There was no trace of malice, frustration, or hopelessness in his mind. Only pure determination.

'But first... I hope my powers return,' he thought, looking back at Aura Nova, who remained drifting peacefully in the sky. He couldn't comprehend how she had nullified every single talent, skill, and technique he owned. Even at this moment, Kingsley felt that no matter how hard he tried, he could not activate a single ability.

'Perhaps her decrees are absolute law in this form,' he speculated. 'But can they stand against Anthony?'

He pushed thoughts of Aaaninja and Lucian aside for now, as he had yet to see them fight.

"Aura Nova is the winner."

Klaus’s voice rang out from above, finalizing the match as Kingsley gave up under Aura Nova’s command. The declaration pulled Kingsley back to the present moment.

As soon as those words drifted through the air, the invisible weight forcing Kingsley to kneel dissipated. Suddenly, his link to his abilities, skills, and techniques was restored as if it had never been broken. He stood up silently. As he rose, a grin spread across his face, making him look more like a champion than a defeated warrior.

Though he kept it to himself, he had truly relished the fight.

Both he and Aura Nova had finally entered the cosmic arena, and both had vast horizons of growth ahead of them. That thought filled him with excitement rather than gloom.

Kingsley stretched his limbs, his muscles tingling with a rush of adrenaline from being pushed to their breaking point for the first time in years. As he loosened up, he knew he would be back at full strength in about fifteen minutes. That was all the recovery time required to restore his stamina.

After all, he had no wounds to close and no mana to refill.