Marvin's heart felt a bit heavy.

He carefully inspected the Book of Nalu and found that there were no discrepancies in particular.

Common sense dictated that Raven couldn't betray him. Even if she fell into some unexpected situation, under the influence of the Book of Nalu, there should be no way for her to turn against him.

But Marvin didn't know if the Gods had any special methods to get information from Raven in spite of the Book of Nalu.

After all, even though this Artifact was very powerful and mysterious, it was still only an item.

Those people attacking the Universe Magic Pool were real Gods!

...

But he wouldn't be surprised if the Black Dragon God was the one behind this attack.

He and Marvin held rather deep enmity toward each other. As a Black Dragon that managed to ascend to Godhood, the Black Dragon God had it pretty hard.

Because of his race and alignment, it was very difficult for him to gather Faith in Feinan. Even after the Great Calamity, when the Gods entered Feinan, the Black Dragon God didn't have many opportunities.

If he were the only Dragon God still in this world, it would be fine.

Unfortunately, the former Chromatic Dragon God didn't die. He was now masquerading as Evil Spirit Overlord Tidomas and ruling the 2nd Evil Spirit World.

As long as he was there, the Black Dragon God would never dare to step out and try to get a share of the Dragon Race's territory.

He could only rope in his own Black Dragon Race.

But, tragically for them, there were almost no Black Dragons left in Feinan.

All the Black Dragons had been cleanly killed by Marvin except for one, Izaka, who had become Marvin's mount!

Looking at it that way, it was no wonder that the Black Dragon God decided to attack.

As long as they knew who the enemy was, dealing with the problem would be a lot easier.

Marvin quickly considered the best course of action. For the moment, at least, it didn't matter too much how the Black Dragon God had found out about his plan. The Gods always had various means, Raven might not have betrayed him at all. The Black Dragon God might have used some of his Divine Source for a specialized Divination that could track his movements. In any case, he could only speculate about that for the moment.

The Black Dragon God also had a certain amount of influence in the Underdark.

Currently, the most important matter was figuring out what kind of opponent the enemy had sent and what kind of preparations to make.

From the previous fight, it could be seen that the shadowy figure was unwilling to fight both of them. Even if it was a Clone, it seemed only prepared to trail them and escape if it was caught.

Marvin was a bit puzzled as he considered this.

The hatred between and the Black Dragon God was so huge, so how could he retreat from a fight?

The only explanation was that there was a bigger scheme at hand, or a trap waiting for him.

Marvin shared his thoughts with Jessica and the latter agreed with his inferences.

"As you said, it makes plenty of sense for the Black Dragon God to hate us to the bones."

"But you might have forgotten something: Our synergy is quite formidable. Even a Divine Servant of the Black Dragon God wouldn't be able to resist us."

"The Universe Magic Pool has yet to completely shatter. For now, these Gods might at most be able to conduct some rituals and allow a few Angels to descend. But this technique requires the use of many infants, and besides the church of Dawn and Protection in the North, the other Gods shouldn't have this kind of ability."

"So the Black Dragon God would be able to send some Divine Servants of decent strength at most. But not ones that are too powerful. After all, if they were too powerful, it would lead to a backlash from the Plane Will."

"That person wouldn't be able to beat us in a fight, and thus there is nothing to be afraid of," Jessica said, calmly concluding her analysis.

Marvin nodded. "My only apprehension was that he was quite skilled at hiding. I didn't even notice him initially."

"Also…"

He hesitated for a moment before muttering, "What if he caused a problem with the Crypt Monster?"

...

Marvin's worry wasn't baseless.

From the moment that the strange figure showed itself, he kept thinking about what the assailant's goal was.

The combination of the Ruler of the NIght and the Fate Sorceress was enough to sweep through half of the Underdark.

They wouldn't even have to consider an insignificant Divine Servant!

If the other side was more powerful, it most likely would have made a move already.

It might have only been a probe. Perhaps it didn't feel confident enough in its ability to fight such an overbearing duo.

If it couldn't win there with the element of surprise, then it likely wouldn't be able to do so anywhere else.

Marvin surmised that there were only two opportunities for that enemy: the Crypt Monster's territory and the Eternal Frozen Spring.

He didn't consider the latter for the time being. Surely the Black Dragon God's Divine Servant wouldn't be foolish enough to enter the Eternal Frozen Spring. It was such a risky place, and doing so would make it likely to suffer a loss.

'Then it's the Crypt Monster?'

Marvin furrowed his brows as plans starting to arrange themselves in his mind.

The dark river continued flowing along extremely quickly.

And they were gradually getting closer to the coldness.

When a loud banging sound echoed, Marvin was roused from his thoughts.

"No way." Jessica calmly jumped down from the boat.

She landed on the brittle layer of ice and saw that the dark river was still flowing below it.

But the further ahead they looked, the more deeply frozen it seemed to be.

"The Deep River froze?"

Marvin clenched his teeth.

This shouldn't be able to happen to the Deep River's waters.

How big of an incident had befallen the Eternal Frozen Spring? Could it be that the seal had already fully collapsed?

If the Final Ghost Mother was able to control the heart of the Eternal Frozen Spring, then even if he held the Demon Subduing Sword, the odds of success wouldn't be too good!

Regardless, they still had to advance step by step.

They would first settle the problem in front of them.

Marvin thought for a moment before telling Jessica, "I'll take the lead. The Black Dragon God's main target should be me."

Without waiting for a response, he went ahead and quickly sped across the frozen river.

Jessica frowned but didn't refuse. Instead, she used her Fate Power and slowly melded her body into the darkness.

On this ice-cold river, two indistinct shadows were approaching one of the most dangerous places in this world.

...

"They're coming."

A man was sitting cross-legged under a huge icicle.

Darkness was his eye. Thus, he was everywhere.

He had countless clones, so losing just one didn't matter.

It was only a scale.

The man slowly stood up, his gaze fixed into the darkness toward the east.

He could see faintly see Marvin speeding across the surface of the ice.

He would reach this place in an hour at most.

'Another one? Hidden?' He squinted, revealing a monstrous smile.

Then, his wide, black robe suddenly floated up, and his expression became very fanatical:

"There is no use in hiding!"

"Today, you'll be buried in the darkness!"

The icicle behind him shattered quietly and slowly slid down, exposing a sharp, sinister claw.