As the roar rang out, the flames and the darkness intertwined, creating a dazzling performance.

The ancient creature was roused by those stimuli, the coldness from the Eternal Frozen Spring no longer able to suppress his awakening anymore. The frozen river was melting quickly due to the scorching flames.

A huge shadow was faintly visible in the darkness.

And what was more worrisome was that the Martyr's explosion temporarily rendered the surrounding space unstable.

If Marvin wasn't wrong, the Deep River, since it was at the very bottom of the plane, was the most stable part of Feinan.

But the Martyr's explosion still caused extreme damage to the area anyways.

Crushed rocks, broken ice, cold wind, hot fire!

The space even started distorting.

The golden thread tightened even harder against Marvin's body. He was bloody all over, but the powerful constitution granted to him by his Ruler of the Night class and his Devil Bloodline had helped him recover somewhat. However, Marvin clearly knew that if he let that Divine Fire land on his body, there would be only one end for him: Death!

That was not normal Divine Fire!

It was Self-Immolation Fire that came from a pious Martyr.

Those flames could even kill Low Gods upon direct contact, let alone a Ruler of the Night like Marvin!

As this occurred to him, he instantly gathered his wits!

"Don't come!" he warned emphatically.

A barrier was protecting his surroundings and repelling the countless rocks that were falling all around him. Otherwise, he would have already been buried alive.

He naturally knew that this was thanks to Jessica!

In a flash, the Fate Sorceress approached as she could without too much risk, her expression unsightly.

The flames were slowly consuming the golden thread from the other end. Looking closely, it was even possible to make out the Martyr's warm smile in the golden flames.

"He's got you targeted!" Jessica worriedly shouted. "Cut it off, quickly!"

Marvin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He simply had no way to cut this golden thread; he was certain of this. The Black Dragon God had dispatched the Martyr to get rid of Marvin via mutual destruction!

Forcibly trading his life to make Marvin completely disappear from this world!

All of this in spite of how precious a Martyr was.

'That guy should be the Black Dragon God's only Martyr, right?'

As the flames crept ever closer, Marvin's mind was working faster.

His Wisdom ability was operating at full strength. His brain was like a high-end computer as plans flashed in his mind one after the other before being rejected!

In a mere three seconds, he had already rejected a hundred and sixty-seven plans!

'Is it hopeless?'

Despite always being able to remain calm even in the toughest of situations, Marvin was now breathing rather heavily.

He wasn't afraid of death!

But he still didn't want to die now!

He had many people he needed to protect.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get away from that Divine Fire.

Jessica's Fate Power could still support the area from collapsing, but given some time, Jessica might also get dragged in.

Thus, he decisively told her, "Leave!"

Jessica opened her eyes wide, "What are you talking about?!"

"I need you to save me," Marvin quickly explained, "because there's no way to extinguish the Martyr's Self-Immolation Fire. We can only wait until it finishes burning!"

"When that happens, I need you to come and save me. Leave, go look for Ding!"

Time was pressing, so Marvin couldn't even afford to go into details!

The Self-Immolation Fire was already getting close to his body.

"I won't leave!" Jessica insisted.

"I'll give it a try. In this world, there is nothing that my [Power] cannot settle."

Marvin shook his head and suddenly sprang away from her!

Jessica was frozen in surprise as Marvin pierced through the thick ice of the frozen river like a bullet!

The Divine Fire also followed after Marvin, melting the ice in its wake instantly!

"Roar!"

Below the layer of ice, the ancient creature's roar burst out, spreading through the entire Underdark!

Everyone halted, showing expressions of fear, confusion, or surprise.

Marvin's silhouette disappeared into the icy river.

She saw a scarlet radiance glow in the darkness, and Marvin disappeared into the light!

"Lorie used up so much power to keep you alive, how could I let you die!?" Jessica stomped her foot in a fit of anger.

As a very willful young woman, Jessica always wanted to be in control of any situation. Normally, she would be the one ordering people around, but now Marvin was telling her what to do.

And she didn't even get a say in the matter!

This made Jessica grind her teeth in anger.

The only comforting part was that although she could tell that Marvin was in a bad situation through the Fate Power resonance, it also let her know that he wasn't dead.

'Did he think of something?'

'Wait until the Divine Fire is exhausted? Wouldn't he have burnt to death by then?'

Jessica hesitated.

"Rumble!"

A large piece of the ceiling came down, sending huge waves roaring across the Deep River!

Her Fate Power was having trouble holding it back!

Jessica clenched her teeth before glancing at that frozen river and heeding Marvin's words.

Her silhouette quickly drew back and left the collapsing area.

At the same time, her Fate Power started flickering. "I need Ding's help! Marvin will die!"

...

Hope City.

The light of Order was still warming the area under the protection of the Three Sisters.

But beyond the light, the land was still flooded with monsters. They were tearing rabidly at the light of Order, trying to break through the defenses.

That thin girl standing beside the Source of Fire's Order had a rather haggard complexion.

Suddenly, she paled even more.

She had heard her older sister's call!

'What have they encountered?'

'Marvin… will die?'

As Kate took a deep breath to calm herself, the Fortune Fairy jiggling around at her side noticed her agitation. "What's going on? Are you reaching your limits?"

Kate shook her head. "Big Sis and Marvin met some serious problem, they need you."

Ding frowned. "What kind of trouble could a duo consisting of a Ruler of the Night and a Fate Sorceress meet? Surely a God couldn't have descended yet. And you really need me. Without my help, how can you keep going?" She was clearly worried this time, and not just being sarcastic or difficult.

"I can still handle it for some time on my own," Kate reassured softly. "Go look for Daisy. Big Sis would never call for help unless the situation was absolutely critical."

The Fortune Fairy hesitated for a bit, but still agreed in the end.

Her shadow disappeared from the city wall.

The back of the girl standing by the Source of Fire seemed even more lonely now.

...

The wild beast's roars were echoing through the darkness.

The Divine Fire was like a leech, clinging to Marvin's aura and letting him get away.

He was out of options.

Things had reached the point where all he could do was to struggle desperately.

His body tore through many obstacles before finally reaching his destination.

A pair of eyes slowly opened, scarlet like huge bloody moons, closely inspecting the insignificant Human that had just approached.