MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 955: Frozen World

"Let's keep going; I bet the readers and onlookers are getting bored of all this chatter," Lucian said while his mana surged upward, twisting around him like a vital current, dense and weighty, twisting and releasing like an aware sea that followed his commands alone.

'Readers?' Aura Nova wondered inwardly, puzzled briefly until her passion for books kicked in, helping her grasp it: 'He believes we're somehow inside a story, messing with the fourth wall,' she reflected silently and pushed the notion aside since it was utterly impossible for them to be trapped in a book or similar thing—the concept far too ridiculous and illogical, even for one used to bizarre realms and distorted worlds.

That idea faded, sharpening her concentration completely, as her mana surged skyward like an endless ocean flow, immense and limitless, its force expanding in unseen waves that warped the atmosphere and made the area nearby vibrate with subdued, potent menace.

"One more tip: why don't you shift into that unique mode you pulled against Kingsley and we can bypass these back-and-forth strikes," Lucian's tone rang out, steady but mocking, his mana surging aloft as if a dragon stirred to life, the air's weight growing denser by the second while structures nearby quaked and creaked, their bases quivering beneath just his aura's burden.

Aura Nova paused quietly before answering, "Has anybody ever said you really know how to flirt with danger?" her words sincere and nearly casual, yet under that serene facade a keen bite remained, for if anger came easily to her, she'd surely be raging right then.

"Actually... someone mentioned that to me lately," Lucian shot back with a grin, relaxed and somewhat youthful, since his system had warned him of it not long ago, the recollection passing through his thoughts like a private jest meant just for him.

Aura Nova said nothing further, merely shaking her head as she swiftly triggered her Omniedit power, her face turning to icy detachment like the scene ahead was merely a rough sketch ready for overhaul.

From her center, her mana burst out in wild rage, her locks whipping fiercely to the gale's pulse and cadence while existence twisted at her whim and yielded to her order like brittle crystal molded by hidden forces.

In the instant that followed, the heat in the isolated realm spiked to a mad level beyond measure, structures, vehicles, and pavement nearby dissolving into molten rivers as all things started to melt into a fiery red wasteland.

The atmosphere fractured, then broke apart right after as countless suns ignited across vast distances in the heavens, their count far exceeding a thousand, every one burning with matching frenzy and glow, tiny stars emitting ruinous warmth and holy light. At Aura Nova's mental command, they hurtled toward Lucian's spot like godly projectiles, their paths scorching through the void.

The pull of such a massive assault hit Lucian's form, a smashing power that could crush peaks, yet he stayed unmoved. For him, the onslaught fell short of true threat; it felt far too feeble, too trivial, akin to lingering under a gentle spring gust.

As soon as he uttered those lines, his mana countered the incantation, sending the scorching peak temperature crashing down into an extreme drop, introducing a chill far more profound and total. Blasts of heat and frost collided in wrath as if Aura Nova's and Lucian's energies were clashing head-on, two overlords vying for control of the shared territory.

All the stars Aura Nova had summoned froze solid from Lucian's magic's influence, their fiery exteriors hardening into still orbs of pale ice, and the melted edifices that became magma solidified completely, transforming the whole area into a frozen domain wrapped in perpetual frost as if the flow of time had halted its breath.

An wicked grin crossed Lucian's face as he swiftly mimicked a technique Anthony once unleashed on him. Though not via his Absolute Copy gift, his natural and absurd skill let him execute it with eerie accuracy, as if the method had been his own from the start.

Through the skies and vapors, Lucian's mana thundered as if the celestial vault was on the verge of crumbling, the upper air quaking fiercely while the fabric of reality shuddered with frenzied force, then it burst apart in a thunderous roar, the emptiness yawning broad and complete as a colossal, enormous jaw emerged from the shadows.

The jaw gaped wide and right away the sucking force yanked Aura Nova ahead at tremendous velocity and power, like quarry hauled without resistance into the gullet of a primordial monster.

Aura Nova responded fast, her mana surging about her frame as she steadily invoked her power without any hint of alarm, her gaze keen and assessing.

Right then, the powerful tug halted abruptly as if it had been a mere illusion, followed by the rupture of Lucian's incantation, the abyss folding shut at once, the massive jaw disappearing along with it, and everything snapped back to its usual state, the ripped reality mending itself like a gash compelled closed by invisible fingers.

Immediately after, Aura Nova's head jerked aside, spotting Lucian rushing toward her with a blade targeted at her throat just as she wrapped up wiping his prior strike from existence. Yet she wasted no time, her reflexes firing as she arched back to evade, the edge slicing the breeze and the spot her throat occupied moments ago, trailing a piercing hiss.

Yet precisely then, the Lucian she'd evaded dissolved completely as if he'd never been there, and a new one materialized directly next to her with a katana already arcing downward. Aura Nova required no explanation; she realized Lucian had tricked her, the initial strike she'd sidestepped merely a mirage, and she'd bought into it like a novice.

With Lucian's katana descending toward her throat, she twisted space to her command and shifted away, but it proved too slow, Lucian's blade slicing her shoulder like hot knife through butter, severing her entire arm without pity. The noise of tissue ripping and crimson spraying echoed between them as her detached limb dropped to the earth with a dull, nauseating impact.

As Aura Nova rematerialized elsewhere, Lucian's voice resounded.

The power pinned Aura Nova motionless at once, and he materialized there once more as if he'd anticipated her every move, treating her like an exposed page or a mere novice in his sight.

His katana struck out again and with a swift slice, Aura Nova's other hand soared free, though once more she'd evaded and broken free of the Dimensional Lock, sidestepping beheading twice consecutively by pure gut feeling and bending of space.

She rematerialized hovering in the air, and the second she did, her body had already mended as if the loss of both limbs never happened. She hovered quietly while gazing down at Lucian, who remained grounded with a serene grin and his katana back in its scabbard, appearing nearly at ease, as if their savage clash was just a light exercise.