MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Anthony stood utterly dumbfounded, his gaze fixed upon the figure before him. It was a man he had not interacted with for over a year.

For a brief moment, Anthony's thoughts drifted elsewhere, to the System, to the enigmatic River of Time, and to ???'s authority that had permitted such interference in the first place.

"It's been a while… Anthony," Aaaninja said with unnerving calm, his Eyes Of Genesis glowing faintly, radiating an aura that seemed to pierce through reality itself. It was as though those eyes could unravel every secret, see through every veil, and dissect the truth of existence itself.

Anthony's lips curved into a faint smile at the words. "Indeed, it has been a while," he responded, his tone calm but layered with unspoken curiosity. His smile deepened ever so slightly as he added, "So, what is this? You missed me so much you decided to drop by?"

"I am simply here to join the fun," Aaaninja replied, the corners of his lips tugging into a subtle smirk. "After all, how many beings across the galaxy can claim to have encountered the Demon King himself?"

The weight of his words lingered in the atmosphere. Although Anthony's Perfect One skill usually prevented anyone from peering through his timelines or history, Aaaninja had managed to bypass this barrier by peering directly into the River of Time.

"Then welcome to the fun," Anthony said smoothly, his expression relaxed but his heart acknowledging the gravity of the moment. A smile plastered itself on his face, yet beneath that smile he knew this was not the time for idle reunions. He had a battle to fight, and it was not one to be taken lightly.

As Anthony began to turn his head away from Aaaninja and toward the Demon King, the Mirror Dimension suddenly lurched. The very fabric of Time shuddered, dragging existence into a crawl before slamming into a complete standstill.

Aaaninja's smile widened slightly, he had foreseen this development long before it arrived.

Reality itself glitched like a corrupted script in a collapsing simulation, fragments warping unnaturally. From the distortion, a figure materialized between Anthony and Aaaninja, not as though he had appeared, but as if he had always been there, hidden until the veil was lifted.

The man stood tall, easily over six feet, with a head of flawless black hair that fell effortlessly in place. A katana rested against his waist with such perfection that it seemed more an extension of his soul than a weapon.

His shoulders were broad, his posture straight yet unforced, his eyes calm yet brimming with depth. His face embodied the very definition of charm, striking, serene, and confident. His presence was subtle, but it demanded recognition, the kind of presence that bent the atmosphere around it.

Lucian Darkheart had arrived.

Anthony blinked, momentarily stunned. 'First Aaaninja, and now Lucian?'

He had anticipated crossing paths with the two of them again, but not here, not now, and certainly not together in the midst of a confrontation with the Demon King.

Aaaninja's presence, at least, he understood. The System had notified him beforehand. But Lucian's sudden appearance was something he couldn't piece together.

"How could there be a reunion without me?" Lucian's voice rang out, smooth yet sharp, his lips spreading into a wide grin. "Anthony. Aaaninja."

Anthony's eyes smiled as he asked, "How are you even here? And more importantly… why are you here?"

Lucian's grin broadened as he replied with disarming nonchalance, "After our last encounter, I used one of my abilities, Reality Anchor. With it, I placed a decree upon existence itself: whenever the two of you meet, reality would forcibly draw me to that very location." His tone carried calm certainty, as though his words were mere facts rather than an explanation.

Anthony stared at him in speechless disbelief. He vividly remembered Lucian using this ability back during the Starborn Tournament, when Aaaninja had rewritten reality in an attempt to strip away his powers. Lucian had anchored himself then, and clearly, the same rule applied now.

"So," Lucian continued, his expression leveling into seriousness. "Bring me up to speed. What's the occasion?"

Aaaninja exhaled softly, a sigh tinged with inevitability. He had foreseen Lucian's intrusion long before he materialized, and so he explained the unfolding situation without hesitation.

Lucian raised a brow, the faintest flicker of amusement playing across his features. "Father-in-law?" he asked, confused but smirking nonetheless.

"What nonsense are you even saying? We are talking about the Demon King," Aaaninja retorted flatly.

At a distance, the Demon King remained silent.

He simply watched, his crimson eyes glimmering as they studied the newcomers. He could sense immense power radiating from both of them, their auras brushing against his perception like currents of a vast and untamed storm.

'Such special eyes,' he mused inwardly.

As if on cue, Aaaninja and Lucian both met the Demon King's gaze. Immediately, a force erupted from those abyssal eyes, an overwhelming wave of pressure that slammed into their minds and consciousness, attempting to twist and rewrite them at the very core of their being.

The same trial Anthony had endured now came for them.

Yet, just like Anthony, neither resisted, because neither needed to. Aaaninja's Eyes of Genesis rendered such attempts meaningless, stripping them apart like fragile illusions. Lucian, on the other hand, was safeguarded by the System embedded within him, an impregnable shield to any external corruption.

The attempt was futile.

Anthony's voice broke the silence with a calm smirk. "We'll talk later. For now, we focus."

His eyes sharpened as he added, "But a warning, if you have any physical enhancement abilities, use them. Even if this is just a clone, the Demon King is already physically stronger than me."

With those words, Anthony's body began to shift. His muscles coiled and bulged, reorganizing themselves with perfect efficiency. It was not raw bulk, but refined power, compressed and streamlined into the ideal physique.

This was the ability Anthony had been on the verge of activating before Aaaninja interrupted his thoughts.

Physical Multiplier.

It amplified his physical attributes anywhere from onefold to twentyfold. Without hesitation, Anthony activated it at maximum scale, instantly elevating his body into a monstrous vessel of strength.

"I already know," Aaaninja remarked with a faint smile, temporal energy swirling calmly around his form. "I saw you get punched aside earlier… and your fist being stopped with a single finger."

Anthony ignored the smug remark, his grin widening instead. "One more thing. Don't hold me back."

"That should be my line," Lucian's voice echoed.

But it did not come from his position beside them.

No.

He was already gone.

In the blink of an eye, Lucian was directly before the Demon King, his katana slicing through the air in a lethal arc toward the man's throat.

The Demon King's reaction was instantaneous. His hand blurred forward, twin swords materializing within his grasp. His right blade shot to intercept the strike.

But reality twisted once more. Time glitched. Lucian vanished from before the Demon King only to reappear behind him, his katana still screaming toward his neck. In his place, Aaaninja stood, already intercepting the incoming counterattack by phasing through it effortlessly with Temporal Shift.

Caught off guard, the Demon King did not falter. He was a being of countless battles, forged by eons of combat. Instinct sharpened his response as his left sword slashed upward, effortlessly parrying Lucian's blade.

But before he could even exhale, Anthony was already there, his fist blazing forward with a wild grin, crashing brutally into the Demon King's chest in unrelenting retaliation.