《Night Ranger》Chapter 682. The Root of the Problem
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Layers upon layers of black clouds gathered above the sea as if to overwhelm the waters.
The dark light from the black clouds reflected down there, and the originally deep blue sea became somewhat murky.
The sea breeze whistled past. At this moment, the atmosphere over the sea seemed frozen.
Marvin's figure was a bit sluggish as he showed an expression of surprise.
'We're at…'
'Black Coral Islands?'
A wonderful feeling rose up in Marvin's heart.
Even if Dark Phoenix occupied Wayne's body, she was still far from being Marvin's opponent. Marvin had used Source Harvest, directly attacking her Divine Source.
Dark Phoenix couldn't have expected Marvin to have such an ability, as even he hadn't known about its effects before.
All of a sudden, her only option was to flee.
But the escape didn't go smoothly for her at all.
Wayne's long-distance teleportation spells were really amazing and would have been enough to get rid of most of this world's expert trackers.
After all, the vitesse with which the Legend teleportation spells were cast was shocking.
But she couldn't get rid of Marvin.
After levelling up his Ruler of the Night class, many powerful abilities emerged, and Endless Path was one such ability.
Naturally, if he hadn't trained and enhanced himself so much, he wouldn't be able to use Endless Path so frequently.
There were too many wonders on Marvin's body. Whether it was the tempering of the Hellish Black Flames or the Fate Power from Lorie, these powers all fused perfectly with the False Divine Vessel, supporting him and allowing him to use his abilities freely.
With Marvin bearing down at her with Endless Path, Dark Phoenix was already despairing.
Not to mention that when she wanted to use long-distance teleportation again for the 3rd time, she was interrupted!
And when she realized what had happened, she sank into a hysterical breakdown.
...
The blue ice crystals from half a year ago had disappeared from the black reef.
In their place, there was now a silent and conceited person.
Hathaway.
She didn't appear in the battle for the Fate Tablet, but she was here now.
Marvin noticed that her aura had an indescribable change from the time when they met in the Crimson Wasteland.
She had become more... perfect.
The seven-colored flower in her hand now looked flawless. She had completely received the inheritance of the Ancient Anzeds.
She was the true Witch Queen.
She could easily stop Dark Phoenix's act!
The Witch Queen, the First Plane Guardian.
...
"A few months ago, you almost killed me."
Hathaway looked deeply at Wayne, and her eyes seemed to pierce straight through his physical body as she watched that dark shadow.
"I originally thought you died completely. I hadn't expected that you had come up with a reincarnation skill as a backup for if your plan failed. I suppose your thousand years of plotting weren't spent being completely idle."
"Unfortunately, a lunatic is still a lunatic. You underwent a rare death and rebirth, and still dared to show yourself again."
As Marvin watched Hathaway from a distance, he felt that something was a bit wrong with her.
This made him feel uncomfortable.
He thought about it carefully, before finally understanding where it came from.
She seemed more mature now, but in fact, her age right now should be almost exactly the same as when she left the Crimson Wasteland.
But that kind of high and mighty temperament couldn't be hidden.
Marvin and Wayne were both there, but she was apparently only looking at the latter, because within Wayne's body was hidden the imprint of her foe.
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Marvin was ignored by her.
The coldness and indifference in her pretty eyes were even stronger than before.
Marvin noticed what sort of expression that was.
The outsiders that descended from the Astral Sea had this expression when looking over the world.
It gave a kind of inhuman aura.
This was also one of the reasons that Marvin didn't want to choose the path of ascension to Godhood. Back in his world, he knew that such a decision wouldn't affect his real personality and make him indifferent to the lives of others, as it was only a game. But now, he was in Feinan and everything was real. He didn't dare guarantee that it wouldn't happen.
The Fate Tablet in itself was an extremely mysterious thing. It might really change a person's thoughts and temperament. Why else would all the Gods seem to care so little about those in Feinan? Surely some of them had loved their homeland before ascending?
If the Fate Tablets were like this, the inheritance of the Anzeds might also be the same.
These were the mightiest powers in this world.
She was the Witch Queen.
But Marvin's heart felt uncomfortable. He preferred that dependable Legend Wizard. He liked that woman who had always stood on the tallest peak with a faint smile, looking into the distance.
Looking down on something and watching over it were two different things.
Unfortunately, regardless of what Marvin liked and disliked, things had already happened in this way.
Hathaway broke the curse and was reborn, gaining the crown of the Witch Queen.
A lot of her memories disappeared. Of course, it was also possible that she deliberately didn't want to remember. They shouldn't be enemies, but it was unknown whether they would become close friends again.
Marvin had already had a feeling that it would end up this way as early as when he was in the Crimson Wasteland.
Because at that time, he occasionally saw the indifference in her eyes.
As time passed, she became stronger and stronger, while fewer and fewer things would be able to enter her eyes.
Marvin couldn't help but sigh.
But these things weren't important now.
He shook his head, focusing on Wayne's body once again.
He was about to use Source Harvest again to drive Dark Phoenix out of Wayne's body, but Hathaway made her move first.
...
Under the effect of an invisible Witchcraft, Dark Phoenix couldn't even move.
As Marvin watched attentively, Hathaway extended her hand and gave something a gentle tug.
The malicious shadow within Wayne's body howled in grief as it was pulled out.
The body automatically fell down.
Marvin's eyes twitched and he rushed over, catching his younger brother.
'Plane Guardian…'
Marvin's heart lurched.
He definitely hadn't made a mistake!
In that split second, Hathaway showed the abilities of a Plane Guardian.
This was the first time Marvin saw the power of a Plane Guardian in Feinan after the Four Guardians died!
'That flower was actually so important to her…'
Marvin examined Wayne and found out that his body was fine, which calmed him down. Wayne was just sleeping.
Although Dark Phoenix was vicious, her reincarnation ability must have been limited in some ways. If she wanted to survive, she definitely couldn't afford to harm Wayne.
But neither Marvin nor Dark Phoenix had expected to run into someone like Hathaway during the pursuit.
They hadn't even known that this young Anzed Witch Queen had regained her frightening power.
...
Black Coral Islands.
Hathaway still didn't look at Marvin, instead keeping her attention on a shadow that was floating above her hand.
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The shadow seemed very weak, and an ugly face would occasionally appear from time to time before dispersing into particles of dust as if trying to escape.
But a powerful force was locking her there, unable to move.
"This is a very interesting reincarnation ability. How many centuries did it take you to figure out something like this?" Hathaway coldly watched Dark Phoenix as she observed, "You can actually turn your consciousness into a ball of Chaos Power."
"No wonder you were able to escape death."
"You have always been trying to find the right body, but the will of a Legend Wizard is too powerful. Mortals can't handle it, and most of the Wizards already died in the Great Calamity. You must have worked hard to find a proper medium."
"A young Legend Wizard who had a calm mind and great potential, yet lacked the appropriate resistances... no wonder you could sneak in."
After saying this, her eyes left Dark Phoenix's shadow and casually looked at Marvin and Wayne a few times.
Dark Phoenix convulsed with fear. That shadow struggled a few times, but Hathaway waved her palm with a blank expression.
That shadow instantly disappeared.
She didn't die, she was put away.
Either way, it showed Hathaway's power.
She still stood on the reef, looking at the sea in a daze.
Marvin gently carried Wayne and looked at her with worry.
Suddenly, she turned back to Marvin and asked, "Don't you have some questions?"
Marvin smiled and shook his head wordlessly.
It wasn't that Marvin had nothing to ask… he shook his head precisely because it was the opposite. He had too many questions and didn't know where to start. If she was willing, he probably had enough to last for days.
Ever since his transmigration, he had almost always felt short on time. He was always in the middle of something or going somewhere.
It was also like that right now. After resolving the problem with Wayne, he needed to get back to the Sky Tower.
With Professor and Kangen there, Feinan's side shouldn't suffer too much.
But even if they believed in Marvin, believed that nothing would happen to him, they would only feel completely relieved if he returned in person.
Not to mention that the conflict was over something as important as the Fate Tablet.
Thus, despite having so many things to ask, Marvin couldn't just stay here and ask them all.
But he still had time for a few questions.
He asked Hathaway, "Do the Anzeds have no interest towards the Fate Tablet?"
Hathaway sedately answered, "None whatsoever."
"Why?" Marvin was curious.
"Because that's Lance's thing. The Anzeds don't need anything of his," Hathaway answered indifferently. "I already recovered my power and regained almost all of my memories… The Anzeds' revival is imminent, so something like the Fate Tablet… isn't much."
Marvin felt speechless.
Hathaway had said all of that seriously, but the answer didn't seem to explain enough.
Even if the Fate Tablet came from Lance, it also was a very precious treasure. Besides the Abyss, which wasn't interested in Order Power, people from all over the Universe were lusting after the power of the Fate Tablet.
Why exactly were the Anzeds so uninterested?
Marvin was extremely curious about this, so he asked more specifically this time.
This time, Hathaway hesitated for a bit before slowly answering, "We aren't following the same path as Lance."
"The Era of Chaos is about to arrive, many people do not understand what that means."
"The Calamity is just a small change of the era. Forces that had been sleeping for a long time will awaken one after the other. Many things that originally shouldn't be in this world will keep appearing."
"You should have guessed some things… You have a pretty good relationship with the Truth Goddess. Didn't she tell you?"
Her tone was very strange. Sometimes it sounded like she was talking to a good friend, sometimes like a wise person that could see through the ashes of history.
Marvin was silent for a moment before calmly stating, "I don't really believe it."
Hathaway sneered, and that indifference Marvin had noticed before could be seen more clearly in her eyes. "Before retrieving my memories, I also didn't believe it. But this is a fact."
"The God Realms represent Lance's will. Many people wishfully believed that the Great Calamity had nothing to do with Lance, but in fact, if he hadn't said anything, the three Great Gods wouldn't have dared to make such a move."
Marvin knew this. Because Lance himself, or at least his memory, had acknowledged it.
But he still didn't want to believe that Lance was a lunatic that wanted to destroy this world.
Marvin had seen him. He had gotten the impression that Lance was a very gentle person. His eyes had no trace of desire.
Even if that Lance was only a memory fragment, he still couldn't connect that person with someone that wanted to destroy this world.
Especially after obtaining the message of the Book of Nalu.
Marvin truly couldn't judge which side was correct in the battle between Lance and the Plane Will.
There was nothing he could do about it for now.
Even among the people at his side, quite a few of them were inextricably linked with the Plane Will. Even Marvin himself had obtained the aura of a Child of the Plane.
This world was becoming increasingly more complicated, and before he understood the nature of the true disaster, Marvin didn't dare to blindly make a move.
He could only silence himself.
...
"Since the Anzeds have no interest in the Fate Tablet, what are you interested in?"
Marvin avoided the previous line of thought and changed the direction of the conversation.
Hathaway didn't comment on his digression and simply answered, "Lance."
"He is the root of the problem, only by finding him will we be able to end this era of chaos."
"I don't like the era of the Gods' rule. In fact, you also dislike it, that's why you did so much. But you should understand that the Gods were all made by Lance. Without Lance making the Fate Tablets, this world wouldn't have so many of these so-called 'New Gods'."
Marvin frowned as he considered her words. "You are looking for Lance?"
"Yes," Hathaway answered, "He should be in the Evil Spirit Sea."
Marvin was astonished.
Not only because she had mentioned such an unexpected place, but also because of the fact that she was willing to share that information.
The relationship between them was very strange, especially now that Hathaway had the power of a Plane Guardian. It had become a lot weirder.
"We made a guess. We believe that the Final Sovereign that is supposedly being cultivated in the Evil Spirit Sea should be Lance."
"Only the Negative Energy Plane isn't under the Plane Will's gaze. Thus, it's very likely that Lance is hiding there."
Hearing Hathaway's serious explanation, Marvin let out a long sigh.
She hadn't said much, but it was extremely rich in surprising information.
A claim that Lance was a destroyer had come from the mouth of yet another trusted person.
He even wondered whether he would hear about it from the Fate Sisters next time.
At this point, he couldn't help but ask another question:
"Why would you tell me all of this?"
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