CHAPTER 272: I AM NOT ALONE [PART 2]

Latifa slowly propped herself up from the ground, then looked at Dim Dim, who had struck his superhero pose atop the fallen Minotaur.

"Thank you, Dim Dim," Latifa said.

"Ahem!" Dim Dim puffed its chest out proudly, but it wasn’t able to do that for long because the Barbarians wouldn’t allow the princess to escape, no matter what!

"Get the princess!"

"Don’t let her escape!"

"It’s just a dwarf and a weird monster. They are no match against us!"

"Kill!"

Dim Dim jumped up high and threw dozens of alchemy bombs around it and Latifa, causing powerful explosions that blasted and injured the Barbarians in the line of fire.

However, their numerical advantage soon broke through the Dim Sum God’s defensive measures, closing the gap between them and the princess.

Suddenly, a silver flash ran past them as Alex’s War Goat rammed its horns at the enemies in front of it.

Alex also swung his bloodied hammer left and right, smashing anything that stood in his way.

When he finally arrived at the location of the Princess, he immediately extended his hand in order to have her ride behind him.

But just as Latifa was about to reach out to him, the War Goat collapsed and skidded on the ground, making Alex tumble alongside it.

"I ‌underestimated you a bit."

A cold, arrogant voice reached Alex’s ears, prompting him to glance in the direction where it came from.

The Barbarian King was mounted on top of a Savage Dire Wolf that was at least three-meters tall.

Alex then glanced at the bleating War Goat beside him and saw that its feet had been sliced off from its body.

Not far from them, an axe was buried on the ground. It was the weapon the Barbarian King had thrown to prevent the War Goat from taking his captive away.

Alex hurriedly went to Latifa’s side and stood between her and the Barbarian King.

"You are indeed very brave," the Barbarian King admitted. "If only you were a Barbarian, I would have made you my right-hand man. So you are the princess’ lover? You two look good together."

The Barbarian King walked slowly toward the dwarves, holding a sword in his hand.

"I planned to kill you earlier, but I changed my mind," the Barbarian King stated. "I’ll let you watch as I ravage the princess you love the most."

His words were cold and confident, as if he were certain that no one could stop him.

The Dwarven Champion he had fought earlier was now dead, his severed head crushed by his own hammer.

He deliberately acted more cruelly to lower the morale of the Dwarves, which worked wonders.

However, the Dwarves fighting with Alex didn’t fall into despair and fought bravely, charging toward their right flank like warriors who didn’t fear death.

As the Barbarian King approached Alex, the young man didn’t grow anxious.

In fact, he suddenly felt peace.

Latifa reached out to hold his hand, and whispered in Alex’s ears.

"I am here," Latifa said softly. "We will fight together."

The one who spoke was not Latifa but the princess who had momentarily taken over his body.

Alex understood what she meant and allowed Kael to take over his body.

In the past, he and Latifa feared that if their synchronization were to reach a hundred percent, they would no longer be themselves and become Princess Yvraine and Kael for the rest of their lives.

Maybe that was what should’ve happened, but Kael and Alex seemed to have come to an understanding.

They were not able to defeat the Barbarian King using their own powers alone.

One was an apprentice blacksmith who had invented the Martial Skill, Hammer for All Seasons, to fight for his beloved.

The other was an Oathkeeper, duty-bound to protect those whom he deemed worth protecting.

One specialized on offense.

One on defense.

Together, they made up what the other lacked.

Unfortunately, they would still fall short of the Barbarian King, who was a Rank 7 Powerhouse.

Even so, they weren’t afraid.

They weren’t fighting on their own.

Latifa and Princess Yvraine were fighting as well.

Lastly, they had Dim Dim with them.

"Kael..."

"Princess..."

The two gazed at each other with affection.

The young man gave her hand a light squeeze, as if telling her that this time, it would be different.

Princess Yvraine nodded and smiled at him, trusting her protector, who was also her childhood friend and secret lover.

———

Current Synchronization Rate: 95%

———

The two dwarves pressed their foreheads together, and a green crystal emerged from Princess Yvraine’s chest.

It hovered between them, as if fulfilling a promise that they had failed to in the past.

When the Barbarian King saw this, he no longer stood still and swung his weapon to kill Alex.

An aura blade flew towards the young man, but a green barrier blocked the attack.

"Bleh!" Dim Dim stuck out its tongue and made faces at the Barbarian King.

It had summoned a barrier to protect Alex and Latifa, allowing them to fulfill the prophecy that was denied during their time.

The princess transformed into a green mist and merged with the green jewel.

The jewel then merged with Kael’s forehead, giving him the power of the Verdant Throne.

A powerful aura expanded from Alex’s body, sending rocks and dirt flying in every direction.

An illusory image of Princess Yvraine appeared behind his back like an Over Soul, ready to fight alongside her beloved.

Latifa’s gaze was blank because the moment she merged with Alex, she also saw a part of his memories.

Both Kael‌’s and Alex’s memories.

But soon, clarity appeared in her eyes as Princess Yvraine took over, so she could fight side by side with her beloved.

"Princess..."

"Un."

Alex and Latifa took a step back, allowing their counterparts to take the stage.

They were no longer afraid of being taken over since they knew that this was the right thing to do.

Within their Sea of Consciousness, the two watched the happenings through the eyes of Kael and the Princess while holding each other’s hands.

They would be lying if they said that they weren’t feeling anxious, so they supported each other by holding hands.

"Very well." The Barbarian King narrowed his eyes. "Show me the power that would allow someone to rule the continent!"

The Barbarian then raised his sword. As red flames covered the blade, his red aura expanded, as if competing with the green aura coming out from the young man’s body.

Dim Dim had already jumped away, understanding that it shouldn’t interfere with this battle.

Everguard, which was filled with cracks a while ago, glowed golden and repaired itself in a heartbeat.

The hammer in Kael’s hand also blazed in golden flames, determined to fight one last time with its Master.

The two combatants stared at each other for nearly half a minute before both of them took a step forward.

In the blink of an eye, they clashed with each other, creating a thundering explosion that resulted in a crater hundreds of meters wide.

A battle between super humans was about to commence, and The World gazed upon this battle as if it sensed something that caught its interest.