"Why are you still not dead?"
Before making a move, Isaac could not help asking the doubt buried deep in his heart.
"Put down your axe and I will tell you."
Zayne glanced at the axe in Isaac's hands and showed a trace of fear.
"Forget it then. I will find the answer myself."
Isaac tightened his grip on the battle axe. In combat, he would never put it down, just like a bull warrior would never remove his mask.
Zayne frowned. He had wanted to trick Isaac into lowering his guard for a sneak attack, but the plan clearly failed.
Isaac swung the battle axe and charged forward. With every step he took, the ground beneath his feet trembled violently.
Zayne's expression turned solemn. Facing Isaac, he did not dare show even a hint of carelessness.
"Forbidden Spell Infernal Overdrive."
"Forbidden Spell Swiftstep Waltz."
Two Forbidden Spells were cast in succession, instantly pushing his condition to its peak.
"Hmph. Burning your own lifespan in exchange for power. How long do you think you can last?"
Isaac sneered at Zayne's approach as he brought the battle axe crashing down.
Zayne raised Starfall Skytrace to meet the blow. The collision sent him staggering backward, blood spraying from his mouth.
His expression darkened further. A level forty two Awakened truly lived up to the reputation. Even with ninety nine layers of Sacrificial Blade Technique, combined with Infernal Overdrive and Swiftstep Waltz, he was still no match.
But his advantage was simple.
He could not be killed.
Though he had been blasted back by a single strike, Zayne surged forward again as if nothing had happened, Starfall Skytrace raised high.
Isaac was equally shocked inside. Zayne looked no more than a teenager, yet he had managed to withstand Isaac's full power strike.
Isaac no longer held back. A dazzling radiance burst from the battle axe, carrying even greater force as it came crashing down once more.
Zayne lifted his blade to block, but the impact sent Starfall Skytrace flying from his hands. The axe continued forward and smashed into Zayne's shoulder with unstoppable momentum.
Crack.
A bone chilling fracture echoed through the air. Zayne's shoulder and collarbone shattered under the blow.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body flew backward like a cannonball, slamming hard into a nearby wall.
Just as Isaac moved in to finish him off, Zayne suddenly sprang back up. His left hand unleashed terrifying purple red flames while his right hand pointed skyward to summon lightning.
"Forbidden Spell Hellfire Armageddon."
"Forbidden Spell Worldbane Thunderfall."
This time, Zayne sacrificed everything he could. He was aiming to summon the legendary Abyssborn Thunderfall.
Forbidden Spells were not omnipotent. No matter how powerful they were, the caster still needed sufficient strength to support them.
Zayne was only level sixteen. Ordinary lightning would never be enough to seriously injure Isaac.
A massive sphere of purple red Hellfire hurtled toward Isaac. His gaze sharpened. Sensing the danger, he did not allow the flames to touch him. The battle axe swung down through the air as if splitting the heavens.
"Sunfall Divine Axe."
The axe erupted with blinding brilliance. The Hellfire sphere was cleaved cleanly in two, failing to touch Isaac at all, let alone harm him.
Then the night sky itself seemed to tear apart.
A single bolt of lightning filled with chaotic energy raged across the heavens. It was only as thick as an arm, yet its color shifted endlessly, deep purple one moment, furious red the next, as if containing every hue and transcending them all.
The thunder roared, shaking heaven and earth.
Isaac's pupils shrank. He felt a crisis unlike anything before. He swung his battle axe with all his might to block, but the lightning moved as if alive, slipping past the axe and striking him directly.
An overwhelming force surged through his body, as though it were tearing him apart from the inside.
He screamed.
The battle axe flew from his grasp as he was hurled backward, crashing heavily onto the ground. Shock and disbelief filled his eyes. He could not believe that someone so young had forced him into such a state.
Zayne gave him no chance to recover. He retrieved Starfall Skytrace and flashed forward, raising the blade to strike and end Isaac's life.
Just as Zayne thought he had succeeded, Isaac suddenly crossed his arms in front of his body and blocked the blow head on.
Bang.
The impact sent numbing shock through Zayne's arm. He stared in disbelief as Isaac's black armor glowed faintly orange, a mysterious power clearly protecting him.
"This is…"
Zayne's pupils contracted as realization dawned.
"A refined rare grade armor."
Isaac looked at him coldly, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"That is right. This Divine Radiance Black Armor has been with me for many years. I refined it to seven stars. Its defense has long reached an astonishing level. Your attacks only made me look a little miserable. They cannot deal fatal damage."
Killing intent surged in Isaac's eyes. With a gesture, the battle axe flew back into his hand. He swung it brutally, splitting Zayne open from chest to abdomen, his organs spilling onto the ground.
Zayne staggered backward, blood gushing from his mouth. He knew he was truly in trouble now.
Equipment could be refined. Through refinement, its attributes could be continuously enhanced. Each successful refinement added one star, up to a maximum of nine.
A seven star rare grade piece of equipment was already comparable to an epic item.
No wonder even Abyssborn Thunderfall had failed to seriously injure Isaac.
If he could not break through the Divine Radiance Black Armor, there was no way Zayne could defeat him. One could not be killed, the other could not be harmed. The fight would drag on endlessly.
"What kind of monster are you? How are you still alive after this?"
Isaac was shaken to the core. He had seen Zayne's organs spill out, leaving barely half of them intact, yet Zayne was still moving as if nothing were wrong. It completely defied reason.
"Do not talk yet. Let me think."
Ignoring his own injuries, Zayne lowered his head and searched through the Forbidden Spells he possessed, looking for a way to break the stalemate.
Soon, his eyes lit up.
He did have one Forbidden Spell designed specifically to shatter extreme defenses.
"Seven star refined rare grade Divine Radiance Black Armor?"
Zayne raised his head, a cold smile forming.
"Let me see just how hard it really is."
"Forbidden Spell Eternal Adamant."