MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 989: Familiar Love

Before either Lucian or Anthony managed to utter another word, streaks of motion blurred through the atmosphere while thunderous sonic booms detonated nearby, surrounding the pair and the limp Aaaninja. Right after that, Vespera and Riven materialized next to Lucian, seizing him in an instant hug and drawing him into a firm clasp without a second's delay.

They clenched their grasp on his frame, yanking him nearer with power that might pulverize entire worlds, yet Lucian's toughness let him weather it without any strain; he merely beamed and looped his arms around his folks, submerging himself in the intense glow of family devotion and concern that he'd come so close to forfeiting for good.

Riven Darkheart’s gaze burned red with strain, and it was clear he poured all his resolve into stemming the flood of tears, while Vespera Darkheart had already surrendered to sobs, with streams pouring unchecked over her face. Lucian stayed quiet, just softly stroking his mother's back, since no one could fully grasp the torment parents endure seeing their kid perish right in front of them, all while frozen and unable to act.

Throughout their existence, Riven and Vespera Darkheart had never experienced such utter helplessness. The second the backlash hit and Lucian began hacking up blood while fading right before them, they tried charging forward, but an overwhelming force unlike anything they'd encountered pinned everyone in place. Klaus and Amara, for all their immense might, stayed immobilized too, restrained by some superior command that defied their grasp.

"I’m sor... sorry, Lucian, I should... I should have come... I should have been there for you... I should have been..." Vespera Darkheart sobbed out, her tone quivering and hushed, her aura as a world-shaking expert at the Apexus Mana Rank completely fading away, for right then she was just a mom who'd almost lost her sole offspring.

A boy she'd labored over for ages to bring forth, battling letdowns, optimism, and sheer grit until she succeeded in creating him.

"I’m fine, Mom," Lucian said softly, a kind smile lighting his features as he kept rubbing his mother's back to soothe her shaking figure. Riven kept mute, yet his quaking stance, shaky gaze, and fierce look said volumes beyond speech, carrying the wordless promise of a dad determined to never face that impotence again.

Veronica lingered nearby, dabbing at her own tears, having nearly watched her beau perish; her past partner had fallen in combat, and now her present one had teetered on that edge too—was she truly jinxed?

Still, amid her inner chaos, she wept softly from a few meters off, since she wasn't officially kin yet, so she hung back politely, letting the Darkheart clan share their reunion undisturbed.

Lucian’s dark eyes flicked to Veronica, and though he yearned to approach and comfort her too, she'd need to hold on until he first eased his mother's distress.

Meanwhile, Zachary and Nyxss hovered by Aaaninja, their expressions ashen and somber as dreadful possibilities raced through their minds. They'd seen his last strike against Lucian Darkheart, and afterward, how he'd invoked some incomprehensible power in a frantic bid to pull Lucian back from True Death.

"What’s happened to my boy? Why’s he out cold?" Nyxss demanded, her fingers shaking as she stroked Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos’ cheek, each gesture brimming with deep affection and motherly tenderness, her sight scanning his form desperately for any wound or oddity.

Zachary lifted a hand, letting mana ripple forth in a steady surge, then pressed it to Aaaninja’s belly, cautiously feeding his mana inside to probe the inner workings, but the instant it touched, Aaaninja’s innate shield kicked in and shoved it right back out.

Even hovering aloft and senseless, his form stayed aloft independently, with no props needed, as his instinctive command kept it steady without flaw.

"His system’s pushing out my mana," Zachary announced, his scowl growing heavier; he'd planned to send his power in to check for hidden harm, but the built-in barrier blocked every probe completely.

Anthony, who'd already backed off to grant room to the Darkheart and Eternos clans, chose to approach again. He neared the clearly upset Zachary and Nyxss, offering them a steady grin—not smug or playful, but soothing and confident, like a surgeon giving good news to worried guardians after a tricky operation.

With that serene look, he addressed them, "your son is perfectly fine, he is merely mentally exhausted from pushing himself far beyond the norm," he explained gently, detailing Aaaninja’s state to keep his folks from spiraling into fear or hopelessness.

That said, Nyxss, already picturing the direst fates, totally misread his words, and who could fault her? She'd never seen her child collapse like this; the sole time he'd been out was regular slumber, not amid crisis, so her alarm and dread made total sense.

"My son is in a coma?" Nyxss burst out, her eyes bulging in dread, "how long until he comes back to us? A decade? A century?" she pressed on, since even in their wondrous, enchanted realm, comas stayed a baffling, unsolved curse regardless of their vast abilities.

Anthony let out a quiet sigh, puzzled at how his clear words had twisted into coma talk, "no, Mrs. Nyxss, I meant that he will awaken in only a couple of hours, two at the minimum and ten at the maximum," he restated evenly, spelling it out with care.

Zachary and Nyxss both exhaled deeply in relief at the correction, the heavy burden on their hearts vanishing at once. Nyxss shifted her grip on her boy tenderly before lifting him softly and rising skyward, heading for a serene spot where he could recover in peace.

Anthony then rocketed up to join his parents and Collins, halting near them as they surveyed the scene from afar above the clouds. They'd rarely fretted over such events, given how ridiculously and staggeringly strong their boy Anthony had always been, far past any sane limits.

"Baby monster, don’t you figure that maybe you ought to have at least one flaw, so your mom and I could swoop in and rescue you just once?" Michael teased lightly, eyeing the clans below wrapped in heartfelt bonds.

Anthony grinned quietly for a second before answering, "but Mom already saved me a few years ago when the Demons kidnapped the students," he replied evenly.

"Please, your mother said the Demons were the ones needing rescue, since you’d already crushed them all; she just wound up aiding your classmates," Michael shot back right away, no pause.

Anthony merely shook his head and fell quiet, with Mitchelle and Collins staying mum too, as no more needed saying just then.

Altheria, Aura Nova, and Vega observed in silence from nearby, and sometime amid the heartfelt uproar, Romulus—who’d been lounging easy on Vega’s head—had vanished, though where to, the girls hadn’t a clue.