The Crypt Monster felt some plane coordinates appearing in its mind. Although it didn't know where those plane coordinates had come from, its instincts told it that the power that was trying to cause it harm had come from that plane!

It was enraged!

Self-Immolation Fire had effects comparable to the most frightening Divine Punishment. If not for the Crypt Monster's great power and the protections that it gained from being a descendant of an Ancient Evil God, it might have already been burnt grievously.

Thus, prodded by the subtle but meticulous guidance of the Book of Nalu, the Crypt Monster struggled out of the frozen river while letting out thunderous roars!

The Self-Immolation Fire had burnt a huge hole in its skin.

The Crypt Monster's powerful regenerative ability was contending against the destruction of the Self-Immolation Fire!

The wound was burning, recovering, burning, recovering, over and over again. The irritating feeling was driving the Crypt Monster into a frenzy.

It subconsciously brandished its claws.

And tore a slash in the fabric of space!

This would have been a far more difficult feat had the Universe Magic Pool still been intact.

But now, the Universe Magic Pool had already collapsed under the relentless attacks of the New Gods.

Without the Plane Barrier covering Feinan, the Crypt Monster was able to break out using its powerful innate gifts.

It bellowed as it tore the space apart. Then, its huge body slowly squeezed its way through that crack!

Some distance away in the darkness, still on the way to meet Ding, Jessica looked quite shaken!

She didn't know where Marvin had gone, but the Fate Power Imprint let her know that Marvin was still alive!

'The Crypt Monster suddenly disappeared from the Underdark, where did it disappear to?'

'And where did Marvin go?'

'No wonder he told me to look for Ding.'

'Had he already figured out a plan when he said that? Was it his grasp of the Wisdom power from Lorie that revealed a path for him?'

Jessica sank into her thoughts. She stayed away from the collapsing areas and started cautiously looking for traces of Marvin while calmly waiting for Ding's arrival.

Only she could find Marvin's exact location upon getting close enough.

But Jessica had already formulated a guess.

Marvin had probably left along with the Crypt Monster.

...

Black Dragon Wing.

A majestic city rose up steeply from a vast plain.

On the countless towers, scaly people were guarding the city very carefully.

All the entry points and exits were stringently monitored.

This was a very rigid world.

The great God granted them happiness, so they had to repay him with Faith.

He taught them how to fill their stomachs and how to keep on living, but he also warned them that hierarchy could never be disregarded.

This city was the greatest embodiment of the spirit of the Black Dragon God Church.

The city consisted of concentric circles, and each circle represented a rank.

The further you went in toward the center, the higher the rank.

This was the capital of the Dragonborn Empire. Located in the very center was the Black Dragon God Temple, and the Imperial Palace was set up in the second circle.

Today was the day of the weekly compulsory prayer.

Everyone in the Imperial Capital, from the commoners to the ruler, had to participate in the prayer presided over by the Grand Pontiff.

They had to show their piety by praying earnestly. Only in that way would they attain happiness, obtain God's blessing and forgiveness, obtain redemption after death!

In every corner of the city, people walked out of their houses to kneel on the ground.

No one could ignore the rules, and they obediently looked up at the most important tower.

That was the Grand Pontiff's residence.

Each week, on this day, the Grand Pontiff would stand at the top of the tower, presiding over the capital's prayer.

Even the imperial family could only kneel outside the Imperial Palace in the 2nd circle, carefully listening to his words and praying from the depths of their hearts. Otherwise, they would have to worry about being judged as heathens and getting marked for extermination! But as long as they were truly pious, all would be well.

...

The time arrived, and each believer lowered his or her head.

When the resplendent radiance shone proudly from atop the grandiose tower, they all genuflected and kissed the ground.

God's spokesperson didn't tolerate any blasphemy.

If they even glanced at his brilliance, their eyes would be burnt out of their sockets.

God's dignity brooked no mistake.

Everyone bowed low and listened quietly to the prayer in rapt attention.

And even though they had heard those words countless times before, for some reason, every time they listened, they felt profoundly moved.

A kind of unadulterated and overwhelming happiness inundated them from deep within, making them treasure everything about their current lives.

Perhaps this was the power of absolute faith.

The prayers usually lasted fifteen minutes and not one second more, not one second less. The Pontiff was like a perfectly accurate clock that would always strike the tone at the exact moment.

But today was an unusual day.

Because after the prayer, the Grand Pontiff's voice echoed into their ears. "Today, you followers of our great God will witness a judgement."

"God has condemned a heathen to lie in the darkness forever. This is already his most forgiving punishment."

"Our greatest believer travelled to a different plane and immolated his own body in order to show our sincerity to God!"

"All of you here are fortunate enough to have the chance to witness such a scene. Watch as that stupid and arrogant heathen burns in the great Martyr's flames!"

"You are so fortunate, we are all so fortunate!"

"Open your eyes, let us see our hero, let us see that sinner!"

"Because in the imminent future, we shall launch an assault on that plane and purge it of all its filthy mortals, all of those foul and heinous sinners, make them burn in the flames of our righteous justice, all in the name of God! Believers! Steady your hearts, let your faith grow ever more heartfelt and sincere, let our almighty God feel our unshakeable faith that is far deeper than any ocean!"

As the Grand Pontiff concluded his rousing speech, the people couldn't help but look up.

The Pontiff's blinding radiance had dimmed, and an enormous, beautiful silk cloth was floating in the sky.

Intermittent scenes began to appear on it.

They saw a lone figure.

His body was covered with a black gown. It occasionally shifted, exposing the limbs… which were covered in silver scales!

This was the symbol of the great imperial family!

The Martyr had come from the imperial family!

All the people in the capital felt their excitement bubbling. Many of them knew who that was.

He was the man with the most power and potential in the entire imperial family; nay, in the entire realm! Many had predicted that he might be chosen by God to become a member of his God Realm.

But now, thanks to his sincere faith, he was given the unparallelled honor of being blessed with even more power from God and then travelling to another plane to carry out God's irrefutable will. The immense amount of power infused into his body would cause it to burst apart within days due to not being able to contain it, but that mattered not, for his soul would be forever exalted 1 !

He journeyed alone through the darkness to judge an abhorrent sinner!

And they all knew that sinner's name… Marvin!

"Kill him!"

"Destroy him!"

"Let him turn to ashes, let his soul suffer forever!"

The people began shouting energetically.

The Grand Pontiff looked around at the hordes of followers with great satisfaction. He could feel the Faith Power in the plane increasing.

Sometimes, showing judgement against sinners was more useful than just prayers.

He also looked up at the scene in the sky with a smile.

He watched as their hero successfully ignited the Self-Immolation Fire.

'Definitely dead,' the Grand Pontiff thought to himself.

He knew how frightening those flames were. Even Low Gods couldn't resist them.

Suddenly, the scene on the silk cloth disappeared.

He frowned, subconsciously looking down at those below him.

But he didn't expect that everyone would be looking right back at him, completely dumbstruck.