Chapter 110: He Who Challenges His Own Destiny Lavinia believed she had grown stronger. Stronger than when she had been in the Etherion Domain. The complete helplessness she had felt during those days never stopped haunting her in her dreams. In those dreams, every time she felt like everything was about to come crashing down, the figure of a young man would always appear before her, shielding her from the danger that would have left her broken otherwise. Lavinia believed that, with her sword whip in hand, she could always stand tall and show the world of the might of the Clawford Tribe. Sure, she could instantly kill Rank 1 Monsters. Rank 2 Monsters didn’t pose a threat to her either, unless they were coming at her in a group. But she understood that sometimes, there were instances when she would be unable to dodge an attack and had to take the brunt of it using her body. However, today was not that day. For someone else was enduring the blows that were meant for her. "Grrhhh–ungh!" A growl-like sound escaped Alex’s lips as he tanked a blow from a monster called Lizardman Berserker, a Rank 3 Mini Boss. Lavinia watched as Alex crashed against the wall of the dungeon, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The Lizard Man Berserker then turned its attention to Lavinia, raising its axe to slash her in half. Some distance away, Cairo and Roselia were busy holding off Aurhorn, so they couldn’t come to her rescue in time. The young lady gritted her teeth and used her sword whip to grab hold of a Lizardman a few meters away from her. With a strong tug, she pulled herself forward, dodging the attack of the Lizardman Berserker at the last second. Just as the Mini Boss was about to attack Lavinia a second time, a flying shield collided with the side of its face, making it stagger. The monster shifted its attention to Alex and roared in anger before charging at him with wanton abandon. "Diiiiiiiim Diiiiiiiiiiiim!" The Dim Sum God jumped across the walls of the dungeon, zigzagging over the heads of various monsters. Once close enough, it threw two brittle vials at the Mini Boss, hitting its head with great accuracy. Dim Dim didn’t pause and threw two more brittle vials, making sure the Mini Boss would be unable to target any of its friends for a short period of time. The little one fought just as hard as everyone else. Seeing Alex was about to be attacked by six Dire Wolves, Lavinia lunged in his direction, raising her sword whip to strike the surrounding monsters. The weapon in her hand split into three mid-swing, hitting enemies in a wide cone with a serrated edge, dealing Bleed and Critical hits. "Razor Requiem!" Lavinia imbued her full strength in this strike, which allowed her to cleave the Dire Wolves in half with her AOE attack. "Are you alright?!" Lavinia helped Alex stand up, looking very anxious at his beaten and battered appearance. "Tis’ but a scratch," Alex replied. "What nonsense are you talking about?! You’re seriously injured!" "I just wanted to say that line at least once in my life to make myself look cool, but you ruined it." "You still have the strength to crack jokes at this point?" Lavinia took out a few pills from her storage ring and directly stuffed them into Alex’s mouth. "It’s not as effective as healing potions, but it’s the best I have now," Lavinia said. "Rest up a bit. I will handle the rest." Just like a warrior princess, Lavinia used her original skill, Lashstep Mirage, to whip the ground, propelling herself, backward, and sideways, leaving behind a blurry afterimage that confused her enemies. Alex had suffered so much protecting everyone, and it was now her turn to protect him. When Dim Dim saw what Lavinia was doing, it fought alongside her by throwing brittle vials left and right. When the Dim Sum God ran out of vials to throw, it started throwing rocks, not caring that rocks didn’t deal much damage against its targets. What mattered was that it had the monsters’ attention, buying its teammates precious time. Alex’s vision started to blur, but he could still see the faint light in the distance, marking the exit that led to the City of Harmonia. Unfortunately, they were in an intersection with eight paths, and the monsters were pouring in from three of them, blocking their way. They were so close to the exit. But the continuous battles and running had left them very exhausted. Now, they were on the verge of collapse. Elaine was fighting against Lizardmen while protecting Charles, who was still unconscious behind her. Just as Alex thought that things couldn’t get any worse, he saw a purple blur run past him, headed towards Elaine. Alex didn’t even need to think and used his skill, Oathkeeper’s Duty, to instantly teleport himself to her side, just in time to block Aurhorn’s deadly charge. A cry of agony escaped the Boss Monster’s lips as it received the reflected damage of its charge. The young man, on the other hand, fell on top of the unconscious Charles with a pained groan. Alex felt a searing pain in his shoulder and understood that he might have broken it after tanking Aurhorn’s powerful charge for the umpteenth time. While his legs hadn’t been injured, they felt paralyzed. He no longer had the strength to stand up. The only saving grace was that the stun effect of the Oathkeeper’s Duty had been activated, allowing Elaine to thrust her sword at the Twilight Stag’s remaining eye, blinding it completely. "Alex!" Lavinia didn’t hesitate and ran towards the fallen young man, killing the monsters in her path. She was covered in injuries and cuts, but the sight of the Oathkeeper covered in blood had made her forget her own wounds. The only thing on her mind was to make sure that Alex wouldn’t die. Unknowingly, she fought more desperately than ever. Cairo took a single step forward before instantly teleporting beside his sister. The two Catkins fought back to back in one final desperate effort to help their comrades. They were now pushed into a corner, sticking near the wall, as they made their last stand. A wall of monsters blocked their path, preventing them from going anywhere. Aurhorn, who had lost its vision, entered a berserk state and rampaged, not caring if it killed friend or foe. However, before the Stag of Twilight could kill more of its allied monsters, a ripple spread inside the dungeon, causing all the monsters to flinch. "Hah... Hah..." The teenage boy who had remained unconscious for a long time slowly opened his eyes. He gently moved Alex away, making sure that his injury wouldn’t worsen as he propped himself up from the ground. Charles Lambert stood up and scanned the monsters around him, making them take a step back instinctively. His eyes then turned golden before his entire body was covered in a black carapace streaked with gold. Cracking sounds echoed eerily inside the dungeon as Charles clenched his fists. He then shifted his attention to the Stag of Twilight, who had repeatedly tried to kill him while he was unconscious. An otherworldly screech escaped Charles’ lips as he jumped toward Aurhorn. His hands turned into dark claws that spelled impending doom to all—not just those who had tried to take his life, but even the people who had risked everything to protect him too. He, who was supposed to die in the Dungeon of Beginnings, bared his fangs and claws at the destiny he refused to yield to.