MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 972: Storm Given Form

Lucian and Aaaninja appeared upon the surface of a vast sea, their bodies carving through the water like a storm given form, like twin calamities born from the wrath of the heavens themselves. Their blades tore into each other continuously with endless force and ruthless succession, each strike colliding with the next without pause or restraint, sparks and shockwaves erupting with every impact.

The water beneath their feet screamed and convulsed violently, the sea geysering upward in the form of towering water blasts and collapsing walls of liquid devastation due to the overwhelming force of their collisions, but neither Aaaninja nor Lucian cared in the slightest, their expressions flat and detached, as they simply attacked each other without mercy nor remorse, as though the world around them had already ceased to exist.

Aaaninja’s sword flicked, and in the next instant an enormous sword arc that seemed capable of reducing the sky itself into scattered fragments tore forward toward Lucian with apocalyptic momentum.

Lucian did not hesitate, he did not dodge or sidestep, nor did he retreat, instead he met the attack head-on with an attack of his own, his katana cutting forward with absolute conviction. The world itself seemed to bloat with force and compressed energy for a fleeting heartbeat before imploding outward with cataclysmic power and a devastating wave of destruction that distorted the air and shattered sound.

The entire sea was erased with a single attack, the seabed shattering apart while distant shores broke and collapsed as water flooded outward in violent waves, sword marks tearing deep scars into the exposed terrain, but Lucian and Aaaninja were already gone as though they had never been there.

They appeared upon the crown of a towering tree, their blades streaking like twin vipers of polished steel as they lunged for each other’s throats at the exact same moment. Lucian immediately transitioned from attack to defense with seamless precision as he parried Aaaninja’s strike that had been aimed cleanly at his throat.

The moment Aaaninja’s sword was knocked aside, Lucian retaliated without the slightest delay, his katana screaming toward Aaaninja’s chest with a tearing thrust that seemed capable of bursting space itself apart. Seeing the incoming attack, Aaaninja simply raised the flat side of his blade with perfect timing to meet the strike without panic or haste.

A titanic burst of force tore outward upon collision, the tree they stood upon groaning under the unbearable pressure before finally collapsing and shattering into countless wooden splinters, gravity immediately reclaiming them as both fighters plummeted from the sky. The moment their feet kissed the earth, they were already moving again without pause, as though falling had merely been another step in their exchange.

Aaaninja’s blade slashed toward Lucian’s shoulder with lethal speed and crushing strength, Lucian’s eyes tracking the trajectory of the attack with frightening clarity, his arm rising to meet the strike as his katana blurred upward, and with a heavy clanging sound metal met metal in a violent screeching metallic kiss and hiss.

The earth below their feet sank inward from the pressure, spiderweb cracks spreading outward in all directions, then the ground began to tremble uncontrollably under the force their bodies possessed, but neither Aaaninja nor Lucian could care less about the destruction unfolding beneath them at that moment.

The next instant reality itself seemed to blink and they were gone, reduced to nothing more than afterimages of one another as their speed exceeded perception. Lucian launched a swift succession of deadly slashes, numbering in the millions, each linked seamlessly into the next in a flawless chain of lethal intent. Aaaninja’s eyes seemed to brighten faintly as he saw the incoming storm of steel.

He welcomed it head-on.

He transitioned into defensive sword techniques with absolute mastery, unleashing parries, blocks, and deflections one after another in an endless rhythm, his hand and blade blurring with such speed they appeared as though they were about to glitch out of reality itself.

Sword marks and incandescent lines tore and carved into the earth below with roaring madness, chasms ripping open and yawning toward the sky as though the planet itself were being dissected.

The moment he was done defending, Aaaninja erased the distance between himself and Lucian in less than a blink, his motion swift, precise, and utterly silent, and the instant he arrived he targeted Lucian’s heart without missing a beat. Lucian’s senses snapped toward the incoming attack, his center of gravity shifting naturally, his shoulders, feet, waist, and entire body flowing to the side as he dodged with the effortless grace of a master.

But Aaaninja already seemed to see through his evasion, his own steps immediately changing as though predicting the future, his blade coming to an abrupt halt before altering trajectory and following the exact path Lucian had dodged toward, but this time the gleaming edge aimed directly for the neck as he moved to decapitate him where he stood.

Lucian did not dare to delay, he did not blink in surprise, his reflexes and instincts simply ignited, speed tearing through his legs as he stepped backward with perfect control and dodged the slash with zero wasted movement, yet he did not merely evade, he attacked in the same breath.

Aaaninja moved to press his assault, but in the next moment he transitioned from offense to defense as Lucian’s katana blurred upward from below in a streaking diagonal slash. Aaaninja’s reaction was instantaneous and lightning fast, his head snapping to the side as the wind shredded and screamed in his ears when Lucian’s blade passed through the space his head had occupied a fraction of a second earlier.

Lucian Darkheart pressed forward immediately, his body shifting into an aggressive stance, but this time his sword did not blur forward, instead it was his foot that left the earth as it tore toward Aaaninja’s temple from the side with crushing force.

Aaaninja’s eyes flickered as his sword rose to meet Lucian’s kick with the flat of the blade, a burst of blunt impact tearing outward in concentric rings of wind that scattered debris in every direction. With his sword still firmly in his grip, Lucian launched another attack without hesitation, his katana thrusting toward Aaaninja’s ribs from the side with merciless intent.

Aaaninja immediately pushed Lucian’s foot aside as he darted to respond to the incoming strike with remarkable and flawless ease, but as their blades were about to collide once more Lucian altered the trajectory of his attack at the last possible instant, his target shifting from the ribs to the lungs with surgical precision.

Aaaninja’s eyes flashed for a brief moment as his perception seemed to stretch and sharpen, calculating every possibility in an instant, realizing he had been cornered. He could not block, parry, or dodge with his current base speed, nor could he simply attack outright and aim for mutual destruction.

With that realization his Sword Intent flared violently into life, surging around him like a raging inferno, and he vanished from where he stood as though erased from existence.

Lucian’s attack tore through empty space, slicing through it as though it were nothing more than fragile paper, the fabric of reality itself parting under the force of his blade, but in the next moment the space slowly began to regenerate, knitting itself back together as though rejecting the wound he had inflicted.