MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 412: Conceptual Destruction

Anthony walked toward his team with an air of absolute serenity.

Each step he took fell with a graceful, almost ethereal lightness upon the bloodstained earth.

The ground around him was littered with the mutilated remains of abominations and monsters, some bereft of limbs, some decapitated, others carved into pieces or reduced to mangled flesh.

A few still spasmed grotesquely, their nerves firing aimlessly, though their brains had long since been destroyed, rendering those signals meaningless.

Despite the carnage he left in his wake, not a single drop of blood marred Anthonyʼs body as he walked.

Dale, Seraphim, and Kingsley descended from the sky, landing softly before him.

Each regarded Anthony with an expression caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief.

Though they had been preoccupied with their own battles, they had remained attuned to their surroundings, silently observing one another in case of any unforeseen developments.

And they had witnessed it, Anthony wielding guns.

Not long ago, they had heard him questioning Kingsley about the very nature of firearms, revealing a complete lack of familiarity.

Yet now, without warning, he handled them with unnerving ease.

”If you already knew about guns and had access to them, why bother asking me?”

Kingsley questioned, his tone calm.

”I was simply curious”

Anthony replied with an easy smile.

”This is actually my first time using a gun. It was... exciting”

Seraphim narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied him.

”Wait”

She interjected

”You mentioned this was your first mission since enlisting in the military. And you shouldnʼt even have enough points yet. Even if you performed extraordinarily during the Military Baptism, thereʼs a limit to the number of points that can be awarded. From what you said, you received 500 points, that shouldnʼt even cover the cost of the magazines, let alone the guns themselves”

Anthonyʼs smile deepened, unfazed by her probing gaze.

”I never lied about any of that”

He said lightly.

”Letʼs just say... I have strong backing. Certain things are simply easier for me to obtain. Besides, I did tell you, Iʼm good with practically all weapons. Using a gun shouldnʼt really come as a surprise”

At Anthonyʼs words, Dale instantly appeared at his side, a sycophantic smile plastered across his face.

”Since you have such influential backing... would you mind putting in a good word for me, ahem, I mean, for all of us?”

Dale said, his tone half-joking yet unmistakably hopeful.

It didnʼt matter what rank Anthonyʼs connections held; as long as it was above Lieutenant, it was already significant enough to open many doors.

Anthony chuckled softly, casting a sidelong glance at Dale.

”I never took you for a sycophant”

He said, amusement flickering in his eyes.

”Donʼt mind that foolish bloodsucker”

Reynold interjected from the side, his voice filled with casual disdain.

”Heʼs just desperate to climb the ranks quickly so he can retire early, and spend the rest of his days chasing after women”

ʼTskʼ

Dale clicked his tongue, smirking as he shot back.

”Says the man whoʼs practically slept with every phoenix in the Phoenix Domain with a weaker bloodline, both male and female, mind you”

At Daleʼs words, Anthony instinctively took a step back, his expression subtly shifting.

Reynoldʼs sharp gaze immediately caught the movement.

He turned to Anthony, his brow raised.

”Why are you stepping back?”

He asked, his tone suspicious.

Anthony coughed lightly, answering with an awkward chuckle,

”The ground felt a little unstable... I just needed to readjust my footing”

Reynold was about to press Anthony further when Kingsleyʼs voice drifted in from the side.

”I think you all have forgotten that weʼre still in the middle of a mission”

He said, his tone utterly calm, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Though he didnʼt voice it, Kingsley had been enjoying the banter.

Yet he knew now was hardly the time for such distractions.

At his quiet reminder, the group fell silent, the atmosphere sobering almost immediately.

Despite the light-hearted exchange, none of them had allowed their emotions to waver.

Anthony had warned them earlier that the dungeon reacted sharply to emotional fluctuations, and they had each maintained strict control ever since.

The obsidian-black sky churned violently above, twisting and writhing with a fury so raw it seemed poised to unleash the wrath of the heavens themselves.

The mist coiled and thickened with every restless movement, swirling like a living, suffocating thing.

Instinctively, everyoneʼs gaze snapped upward.

”Is this damned sky about to send another wave of flies?”

Seraphim muttered, her eyes narrowing.

”We donʼt have the time to waste here. For all we know, their numbers might be endless”

Though her voice carried frustration, there was little she could do but watch.

Kingsleyʼs voice cut through the air once again, steady and composed.

”As you said... we truly have no time to waste on these insects”

His body remained utterly relaxed, every muscle resting in a state of perfect calm.

Then he moved.

A limb.

A hand.

A fist.

His lips parted, and from them came a voice, deep, resonant, carrying the weight of power and unquestionable authority, as though it descended from a higher plane.

”Conceptual Destruction”

At those words, his fist surged outward and upward, unleashing a maddening force.

There was no surge of energy.

No thunderous roar.

No shift in the atmosphere.

Everything remained eerily still, unchanged, untouched.

Then—

The changes began.

The twisting mist started to unravel upon itself, its chaotic dance faltering.

The violent energy that had seethed above dissipated, vanishing into nothingness.

High overhead, the obsidian-colored sky fractured with a soundless crack, splintering like shattered glass.

And from that single fracture, a web of cracks began to spread, consuming the sky.

And then, without so much as a single shockwave, it shattered.

Everything unraveled beneath the weight of one movement from a single human.

The sky, once thick with turmoil, split open as the darkness recoiled.

Yet, even as the heavens were cleared, there was no sun to take its place, only an emptiness where light once dwelled, but the stars still shimmered without hindrance.