The air trembled between them.
Harper's golden fur bristled as he studied Isaac with growing interest.
"You're different," his grin returned.
"That power in your body... it's not normal. But no matter what tricks you carry, you're still below me."
Isaac said nothing.
His axe rested on his shoulder. His eyes locked onto Harper… not with fear, but a stillness that made even the beast pause for a heartbeat.
Beside him, Aiah steadied herself, flames rising in her palms again.
"I'll end this," she said.
Harper chuckled. "You can try."
The fight began in a flash.
Aiah launched a storm of fireballs, each one bursting with furious heat.
Harper dashed through them with unnatural speed, flames licking his fur but leaving no marks.
He appeared in front of her, claws raised, and slashed…
Isaac intercepted with his axe, the clash shaking the stone walls.
"Go," he told Aiah.
"Don't waste your energy on his defense. I'll create the openings."
She nodded and spun away, circling wide and casting trails of fire that turned into bursts and traps.
Harper ducked, twisted, even leapt off walls like an animal, but Isaac was always there, axe swinging, blocking, pressing.
But Harper was fast. Too fast.
His claws sliced across Isaac's arm. The wound was shallow, and it began to close.
Harper blinked, then smiled. "Interesting."
Aiah flanked and landed a direct flame burst to Harper's back, but he twisted and backhanded her with monstrous strength.
She flew across the room, hit the wall, and crumpled.
"Aiah!" Isaac called out.
No response.
Harper stepped forward, towering.
"Now let's see what you really are," he growled.
Isaac raised his axe, breathing steady.
Harper lunged.
The room filled with the sound of steel, claws, and roars.
The two clashed like titans, one a beast, the other something stranger. With each exchange, both drew blood. Both healed. Wounds sealed. Flesh knit together again.
And Harper started to frown.
"You can regenerate," he muttered, voice low and sharp. "Just like me."
Isaac didn't answer. He only moved faster. More precise. More brutal.
The fight raged through the chamber, across ruins, over broken stones.
Dust rose.
Fire scorched.
Blood fell and vanished.
Then… something shifted.
Harper noticed too late.
Isaac's axe swung upward, a clean hit to the ribs.
Harper stumbled back, coughing blood that hissed against the hot floor.
"You…" he snarled, glaring. "What are you?"
Isaac raised his weapon again.
"Just a farmer."
Harper clutched his side, eyes narrowing. Blood trickled between his fingers. For the first time, his smile was gone.
Isaac stepped forward, breathing steady. He tightened his grip on the axe.
Then…
[Skill Activated: Tool Savant]
A low hum filled the chamber.
Once again, Isaac's axe began to change.
The wooden handle hardened, darkening into cold steel. The blade reforged, until a double-headed axe gleamed in both hands.
Black veins crawled from the weapon, latching onto his arm like living ink. A faint black smoke began to curl from the blades, just like before, but thicker, heavier, alive.
Harper's eyes widened. "Nice trick..."
Isaac didn't respond.
He moved.
The axe tore through the air and slammed into Harper's side.
This time, Harper felt it.
The impact threw him back, crashing him against the far wall. He slid down slowly, eyes wide with disbelief.
He touched the wound.
It was deep, deeper than before.
"What…?"
Isaac stepped forward again, black smoke curling around his arms. His voice was low.
"This is your limit."
Across the room, the captives began to wake.
One by one, eyes fluttered open.
"M-Mom…?" a small boy whispered.
"Where are we?" another asked.
There was panic—whispers, confusion—until a voice cut through the noise.
"Mona!" someone cried. "What's going on?!"
Mona stood, swaying as she helped a young girl to her feet. Her eyes locked onto the battle.
She pointed toward the man with the smoking axe.
"He's fighting for us," she said. "That man… the one with the axe, his name is Isaac."
Silence swept the crowd.
All eyes turned toward him.
A single man, standing against the monster that had imprisoned them.
And Harper… was bleeding.
The clash raged on, echoing through the ruined chamber.
Isaac blocked Harper's next strike, boots grinding into the stone. He gritted his teeth, sweat running down his brow. His breathing was sharp now. Slower.
'If I use the swarm now… with his strength…' Isaac's eyes stayed locked on Harper. 'It might not be enough. A waste.'
Not yet.
He needed the right moment.
His gaze dropped to Harper's legs… all four of them, thick and sturdy, yet bulkier than the rest of his body. Slower… harder to dodge from below…
That's where he'd strike.
Isaac took a breath. He charged.
[Skill Activated: Reaper's Spiral]
The axe spun in his hands, black smoke trailing the blades.
Then he spun, fast. Like a blur.
Whirl…
First spin, front left leg.
Slash!
Second spin… rear left leg.
CRACK!
Third… rear right.
Thud!
Final spin… front right leg.
Smash!
Dust exploded around them as Isaac skidded to a stop.
Harper stumbled.
It wasn't enough to cut clean through, his skin was too damn thick. But it knocked him off balance, all four legs struggling to regain footing after the spiraling barrage and high-speed wind pressure.
Harper's eyes widened for just a blink.
That was the window.
"Swarm Devour!" Isaac roared.
From the stone cracks, from the ceiling, from the ruins themselves.
Once again…
The swarm came.
Thousands of locusts surged like a black tidal wave, hissing, biting, clawing. They buried Harper, covering him in a crawling mass of fury and wings.
He fell.
Isaac stood, chest rising and falling. "Stay down…"
The swarm churned, swallowing Harper whole.
And for a moment…
Silence.
Then.
A faint movement beneath the swarm.
Isaac's eyes narrowed. "No…"
Realizing the swarm alone wouldn't be enough…
Isaac didn't hesitate, he charged.
His double-bladed axe pulsed with dark energy, the black veins crawling up from the handle and latching onto his forearm like living chains.
He leapt.
Higher. Faster. Harder.
The wind howled around him. Smoke coiled in his wake.
Then…
[Skill Activated: Abyssal Smash]
Isaac's eyes narrowed. He flipped mid-air, double-bladed axe aimed straight for Harper's skull.
"Die—Monster!"
The swarm below churned and hissed, drowning their enemy.
But just as the axe dropped…
BOOOOOM!
A violent explosion of crimson aura burst from within the mass of locusts.
The force collided with Isaac mid-air like a cannon.
CRACK!
His body was thrown backward, spinning, crashing against the far wall with a bone-jarring thud.
Boom!
The wall cracked on impact.
He dropped, dust and rubble falling around him.
The entire chamber rumbled.
And the locusts?
All of them…
Gone.
Turned to ash.
Their black husks rained down like scorched snowflakes.
From the center of the chaos, Harper stood tall.
His body radiated red light. Faint lines of molten energy crawled under his skin, sealing his wounds in seconds.
He took a step forward, the ground burning beneath his feet.
And then he smirked.
Isaac coughed, blood at the edge of his lips.
He pushed himself up slowly, eyes burning with defiance.
"This bastard…"
But inside, a chill crawled through him.
Suddenly, the notification system flashed.
[Activate Abyssal Overdrive? Y/N]