MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

The city trembled beneath the weight of their battle.

Neon lights flickered, their glow swallowed by the clash of titanic wills.

The pavement lay in ruins, gouged by unseen edges, while shattered vehicles lined the streets like broken relics of a forgotten era.

High above, the moon and sun bore silent witness to a duel beyond mortal comprehension.

Anthony stood unmoving, his katana resting at his side, its polished steel reflecting the fractured remains of the battlefield.

Across from him, Charles exhaled sharply, his grip tightening around his sword, its edge trembling beneath the force of his battered will.

Their sword intents clashed, an invisible storm of dominance and defiance.

Charles lunged.

His blade carved through the air, streaking toward Anthony like a decree of annihilation.

Yet, before steel could taste flesh, Anthony was gone, a blur of motion too imperceptible to trace.

A sharp, resounding clang split the night as Anthony's katana met the strike, deflecting it with effortless precision.

Charles recoiled, but Anthony did not relent.

His blade moved with an artistry beyond mortal reach, each stroke an inevitability, each swing a declaration of absolute control.

A single, precise cut traced across Charles' side, blood spilling before the wound mended instantaneously.

Again, Anthony struck, a gash across the shoulder, a deep laceration on the thigh.

Each wound sealed within moments, flesh knitting itself together as if denying the very concept of injury.

Yet healing meant nothing when the battle itself was unwinnable.

Charles' breathing grew labored.

His sword, once steady, wavered.

Sweat glistened on his brow as exhaustion clawed at his limbs.
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His stamina dwindled, the cost of endless regeneration finally manifesting in trembling fingers and faltering steps.

Anthony, in contrast, remained untouched, unshaken.

His sword intent loomed over the battlefield like an unassailable decree, the sheer weight of its presence pressing against Charles with the force of an inevitable fate.

Where Charles' intent was fierce but unstable, Anthony's was absolute, an unfaltering dominion that shaped the very air around him.

Each of his strikes carried the essence of inevitability, cutting not just through flesh, but through will itself.

Charles staggered, his knees threatening to buckle.

His body screamed for rest, his muscles drained of all strength.

He stood amidst the wreckage of their battle, surrounded by fractured stone, crushed vehicles, and the lingering remnants of their clashing wills.

Anthony took a single step forward, his silhouette framed by the sunlight.

His katana gleamed, unsullied by blood, untouched by exertion.

He gazed at Charles, expression unreadable, his stance unwavering as though the battle had been but a trivial endeavor.

Charles remained conscious, but that was all.

His body refused to move, his strength consumed by the relentless cycle of combat and regeneration.

He lay amidst the ruins, breath ragged, sword slipping from weakened fingers.

And before him, Anthony stood, unchallenged, indomitable, and victorious.

Charles fixed his gaze on Anthony, his voice barely audible as he spoke.

"You truly are strong"

Anthony stood unmoved, his face devoid of expression.

He responded, his tone calm and certain.

"I know. I've always been"

Charles, caught between amusement and disbelief, didn't know whether to laugh or to weep at Anthony's unflinching confidence.

"I have something to ask you"

He said, his voice tinged with both curiosity and a hint of resignation.

Anthony regarded him coolly.

"What is it?"

Charles pushed himself up from the wreckage, his body leaning against the remnants of the devastation.

He remained seated, his injuries healed but his energy utterly drained.

"Are you truly human?"

He inquired, his eyes fixed on Anthony with a mixture of suspicion and awe.

"You don't appear even slightly fatigued. Not a single drop of sweat mars your brow. Are you truly seventeen?"

He waited, his gaze unwavering, as if Anthony's answer could change everything.

And then, as if anticipating the question, Anthony spoke.

"I am human, and I am indeed seventeen"

Anthony said, his tone unhurried and composed.

"But as I mentioned, I am the protagonist of this story. It is only natural for someone like me to possess such strength. This is simply the standard starter pack"

His words were delivered with an air of certainty, as if the matter were settled beyond dispute.

Charles, drained of energy, could not muster the strength to laugh.

Instead, he fixed Anthony with a serious gaze, his expression unreadable.

"The protagonist, huh?"

He murmured, his mind momentarily lost in thought, as if weighing the weight of those words.

After a long pause, he finally spoke again, his voice deliberate.

"Alright, Mr. Protagonist. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. But remember, protagonists are always able to turn the tide of even the most hopeless situations"

Charles' eyes sharpened as they locked onto Anthony once more, his tone now carrying a subtle challenge.

"I have one last card to play. Normally, I wouldn't resort to it, but I'm curious to see just how long your 'protagonist' persona can endure. What do you say, dare to take it on?"

He leaned forward, his gaze cutting like a blade, eager to hear Anthony's response.

"My name is NULL ANTHONY"

Anthony declared, his voice clam and steady, carrying the weight of quiet certainty.

"And in seventeen years of life, I have carved a path through victory after victory. Defeat is a myth I refuse to acknowledge. I am the storm that cannot be silenced. I am the certainty that all must submit to"

There was no arrogance in his tone, only an unshakable truth that resonated deeply, though to any onlooker, it might have sounded the ramblings of a madman.

Charles studied Anthony intently, his gaze unwavering.

The fire in Anthony's eyes made it clear, he was not merely speaking.

He was declaring his reality, his truth. For a fleeting moment, doubt crept into Charles' mind, but only for a moment.

He nodded, resigned to the gravity of the situation.

"Very well then"

He murmured, acknowledging Anthony's proclamation.

Then, without another word, Charles lifted his gaze toward the heavens.

His voice rang out, quiet yet piercing, filled with a power that vibrated in the air around them.

"I call upon thee. Answer my call"

It was not a chant, not a summons laced with mysticism, just those simple words.

And yet, they carried an undeniable weight.

Nothing more was needed.

Then it happened.

A tremor swept across the vast expanse of the galaxy, as though reality itself had felt the shift of an ancient force awakening.

In the quiet of the infinite void, there appeared a presence so immense, so absolute, that the very fabric of the universe strained against it.

The being's form stretched to immeasurable heights, towering so profoundly that it seemed to touch the very ceiling of the galaxy, an impossible monument to power.

The stars themselves quivered in its wake, their light flickering like fragile candles caught in the midst of an unseen storm.

With each step, the galaxy itself shuddered. Planets spun wildly off course, their gravitational dance interrupted by the overwhelming force of its approach.

The darkness of space itself trembled, as if it could not bear the weight of such a presence.

Even the celestial bodies, their forms distant and untouchable, felt the air grow thick with the pressure of its approach, vibrating with an energy so pure, so raw, that the very particles of existence seemed to bend and quiver in its wake.

Time itself held its breath.

The being's gaze swept across the boundless expanse, turning, perhaps, to a singular point, the call that had reverberated through the galaxy, beckoning it forth.

And in that gaze, the galaxy trembled once more, as if it knew that nothing could resist the will of this force.

The being, sensing the limits of the world it had been summoned to, began to reduce in size, its colossal form shrinking with an air of grace, its immense power folding in upon itself.

As it drew nearer, its body compacted, reshaping to fit the confines of the planet where its caller resided.

And then, as the being's form settled upon the earth below, its presence was undeniable, overwhelming.

The world seemed to pause, suspended in that single, eternal moment.

The Spirit King has arrived.