In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

“By the way, how are we going to get down here? There aren’t any stairs or anything like that.” Nero glanced down and then turned to the two heroic soldiers.

The two heroic soldiers exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Jump down."

"Jump, jump, jump down!?" Nero took a step back, his face pale. "You guys aren't kidding, are you? It's at least twenty meters down here!"

If she were at her peak, this height wouldn't be a problem, but right now her magic is as scarce as water in the desert. If she jumped down directly, she'd probably be instantly killed.

“This is the king’s order to us—to take you to the city wall and then jump down,” one of the heroic soldiers said expressionlessly.

"Also, please hurry. The king said that the longer we delay, the more dangerous the situation may become," another heroic soldier added.

Nero's expression shifted for a long time before he finally sighed and stood by the city wall.

She still chose to believe in Yanan, the man who had never let her down.

Glancing at the height below, Nero gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, steeled his resolve, and leaped forward, plummeting rapidly downwards amidst a strong sense of weightlessness.

Just as she was about to land, a section of the ground suddenly bulged upwards, and Nero's body slammed heavily onto it. However, what she felt was not a solid, cold hardness, but rather a soft, bouncy texture like cotton.

"Da Vinci's personally handcrafted 'super cushioning mat' is guaranteed to bring you the comfort of floating among the clouds," Da Vinci said with a smile as he stepped forward. "If you're satisfied, please give us a five-star review!"

"Well done, Da Vinci. I'll promote you and give you a raise as soon as we get back."

Amidst Leonardo da Vinci's muttering, "You've never paid me a salary," Nero turned to look at Fujimaru Ritsuka and extended his palm.

The latter immediately understood her meaning and grasped her hand with his right hand, which was marked with a Command Seal.

"[—I declare that you have given yourself to me, and I entrust my destiny to your sword...]"

The magic's brilliance faded as Nero successfully formed a contract with Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"By command of the Command Spell, restore, Nero!" Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted, clenching her right hand.

In the dazzling red light, one of the Command Seals gradually faded into a dim trace, while at the same time, a powerful magical force was transmitted to Nero through the contract, like a timely rain, instantly boosting Nero's strength to its maximum.

"Well done, Ritsuka!"

Nero summoned the Primal Flame: "Now it's my turn for revenge!"

"Wait a minute, Your Highness!" Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly grabbed Nero, who was walking back. "According to the plan, you absolutely cannot show yourself now!"

"How can that be!" Nero exclaimed anxiously. "Anan is inside fighting the Lion King alone, and I must go and help him!"

"Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness, but going now will not only be of no help, but will also bring trouble to Mr. Anahn." Da Vinci stepped forward and laid out Anahn's plan in its entirety, "...Once you show yourself at this time, Merlin will immediately realize that Mr. Anahn has infiltrated the royal city. At that time, Mr. Anahn will be attacked from both sides, and the situation will be even more dangerous than it is now."

"So, am I just supposed to watch helplessly?" Nero gripped the Primal Flame tightly, unwilling to give up.

“You should be able to understand, Your Highness.” Leonardo da Vinci sighed and turned to look at the Wailing Wall, which stood as tall as a giant. “On the path of challenging the gods, only a very few can ever stand to the end.”

......

Like the sun rising and painting a brilliant corona, then exploding into a dazzling torrent of fire that fills the sky—a spectacle only seen at the end of the world. The scorching sun rises and shatters, endlessly repeating this cycle, until the blazing red flames roll and stretch to the edge of the dark sky, staining the thick clouds with the same color, as if a wave has ignited the entire sky.

At the tower at the end of the world, which stands alone and isolated, two figures clad in azure silver armor gaze at each other from a distance of hundreds of meters. One of them holds a holy spear that emits endless radiance, while the other holds a greatsword that covers a rolling tide of fire. Their dark and holy blue gazes collide through the void, like two peerless swords, carrying astonishing sharpness and killing intent.

This desolate land, created by the power of God, is no longer the sacred and solemn place it once was. In the repeated violent collisions, it has been completely washed away into ruins. The white chalk bricks paving the ground were either crushed into powder by the aftershocks of the collisions or burned into charred slag by the scorching flames. But even so, the flames seem to burn silently on the empty ground, as if they will never be extinguished. Even the authority of God cannot extinguish them.

After countless ages, the last god in the world finally met his challenger. He wielded the power of fire, vowing to burn this distorted world, along with the will of the gods, into utter nothingness!

Arthur stared silently at the dark-haired man opposite him, as if looking in a mirror, reflecting another person who was similar to him but different.

Did I really do something wrong?

The scorching heat filled his lungs, and for a moment he felt as if he had returned to that place filled with the smoke and fire of war. The gloomy sky was filled with cold rain, which poured down on his numb heart.

Even if he asked himself the same question over and over again, he would not get any answers. The wise man who had assisted him had long since disappeared, and the successor he had painstakingly nurtured had always resented him, even stabbing him with a sword full of anger on the battlefield.

Betrayed by all, his family and country destroyed, he wandered aimlessly through the world for over a thousand years – this was the end of the seemingly perfect King Arthur.

So, what is the reason for all this?

Arthur gripped the Radiant Spear tightly in his hand. In the hazy light, he seemed to see his former self standing before him, his eyes filled with silent questioning.

So, how exactly did I get to this point?

Fragmented memories flooded his mind, but he couldn't piece them together into a complete picture no matter what he did. Arthur shook his head, a feeling of frustration rising in his heart for the first time.

"What, are you reminiscing about the past?"

Arthur looked up at Anan opposite him, his brows furrowing slightly: "You..."

“It’s strange how I know what you’re thinking,” Yanan said, a slight smile playing on his lips. “It’s simple, because you wear everything on your sleeve.”

“Absurd,” Arthur said calmly.

“There’s nothing I can do if you don’t believe me.” Yanan shrugged, his eyes suddenly becoming deep and unfathomable. “But, Arthur, have you ever thought about why you’re unwilling to recall the past?”

"...They're all things that have long since disappeared. Whether we remember them or not, they've all turned to dust and vanished into the river of history...I don't need to waste my time on such meaningless things," Arthur said, his tone unchanged.

“That’s exactly what you’re like,” Yanan nodded. “If it were the original Arthur, he would have said something like, ‘Those were mistakes I made in the past, and every time I think about them, I feel deep remorse and pain... I have no right to recall the past because I bear such heavy sins.’”

Arthur frowned slightly: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

“Arthur, have you ever thought about how you became like this?” Anahn asked.

This was exactly the question Arthur had just thought of, but every time he pondered it, he couldn't help but recall the past and then fall into a state of agitation.

"You won't get an answer, will you?" Anan looked into Arthur's eyes. "Everyone has their own past, and even if you don't want to face it, it's still there..."

"Have you ever considered this, Arthur? Perhaps it's not that you're unwilling to search for the past, but rather... that you can't find it?"

"...It seems my judgment of you was indeed correct; you are indeed a silver-tongued fellow." Arthur raised the Holy Lance, his azure eyes filled with an inescapable chill. "But if you think you can sway my mind with just a few words, you are being far too delusional."

"Let's end this useless probing. I have no time to waste on this. Let's decide the outcome with this next strike."

“Since you’re unwilling to admit it, then I’ll have to resort to some violence.” Yanan raised the Cataclysm, and flames roared forth.

"The Holy Lance, anchored, is the anchor of the storm that tears the sky and connects the earth—shining in the Lance of the End (Rhongomyniad)!"

"Heavenly Fire Judgment, Zero Rated Power—Heavenly Fire Unsheathed!"

Chapter 54 Ayaka Sajou

Boom!

A massive black shadow descended from the sky. Before it even hit the ground, a hurricane-like wind pressure swept wildly in all directions. This was followed by a terrifying, earth-shattering sound. The earth shattered the moment it struck, countless cracks burst open, and large swathes of rock were blown up with dust and smoke. The shockwave spread outwards.

In the deep, sunken pit, the noble and elegant black dragon shook its dizzy head as it plummeted from a height of hundreds of meters, a fall that was also quite strenuous for it.

Her body was covered with all sorts of wounds, some like lightning strikes, some like fire burns, and some as if she had been pierced directly by weapons like swords. Her sturdy scales crumbled at the slightest touch, and bright red dragon blood flowed down her tender muscle tissue like a stream, making her look incredibly horrifying.

The pain surging through her body jolted Melusin back to consciousness. Fragmented images flashed through her mind, and after a brief moment of confusion, she finally remembered the meaning of these images... they were her memories from before she was shot down.

The moment Merlin stepped out of the Wailing Wall, it was like an ancient beast breaking free of its chains. Even though Melusin had sensed the danger beforehand, it was too late for her to retreat.

Merlin shot her down in just three minutes.

Only at this moment did she finally realize just how terrifying this woman's strength was... She was like the master of magic, standing in mid-air, waving her staff, and without even needing to chant incantations, all kinds of powerful magic poured out like water.

Even though she activated the ancient magical runes on her body, she only lasted three minutes under Merlin's storm-like attacks... It was a complete crushing of strength. Her opponent didn't need any combat skills at all; he simply used his powerful, domineering, and unreasonable force to suppress her and Nidhogg.

By the way, where's Nidhogg?

The instant the thought flashed through Melusine's mind, a piercingly shrill roar suddenly rang in her ears.

She instinctively raised her head. High in the sky, Nidhogg, a massive creature as large as a mountain, was frozen in mid-air like a puppet. Dozens of enormous spears, seemingly forged from pure light, mercilessly pierced its body, like Jesus nailed to the cross.

Merlin walked step by step through the void, staring at Nidhogg. A hint of disgust and coldness flashed in his pale purple eyes. He raised his hand and summoned a spear of light that was more than fifty meters long.

Melusin let out an angry roar and flapped her wings, trying to fly back up, but her badly injured body could no longer support her strenuous activity, and she fell back down less than five meters from the ground.

"Go to hell, you bug."

Merlin waved his hand downwards, and the spear of light shot out instantly, piercing deeply into Nidhogg's brow.

The agonizing roar abruptly ceased, and a multitude of spiritual light surged upwards like a swarm of fireflies. Amidst this breathtakingly beautiful scene, Nidhogg's massive body gradually dissipated into the air until it vanished without a trace.

Nidhogg...is dead?

The heroic spirits on the battlefield not far away gasped at the sight, their eyes filled with undisguised fear. A legendary pure-blooded dragon had died right before their eyes, and in a manner that was almost torture. The psychological pressure and shock this brought to everyone was almost indescribable.

Even in the distant Age of Gods, only a handful of people could achieve this, and almost all of them were famous gods or heroes.

"Merlin's strength... was he really that strong?" A bead of cold sweat slid down Atalanta's forehead. As an excellent hunter, she should have possessed the unwavering resilience to remain calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain, but the scene before her was far too challenging to her understanding. The instinct to seek good fortune and avoid danger, cultivated from her childhood with wild beasts, was frantically urging her to leave... That woman was simply no match for them!

Medusa's expression was also not good. Even at her most powerful, she was only on par with Nidhogg. Now, seeing Nidhogg so easily killed by Merlin, her heart felt as heavy as if a mountain was pressing down on it, making it hard for her to breathe.

Only Asterius was completely unaffected, wielding his two giant axes and charging wildly across the battlefield, even taking advantage of everyone's momentary lapse in concentration to kill several purgatory knights.

Merlin glanced in that direction with indifferent eyes, then lowered his head to look down at Melusin.

"Well, Melusin, now you should realize the gap between you and me, right?" Even though they were hundreds of meters apart, Merlin's voice still reached Melusin's ears clearly. "As a traitor, you deserve to die a thousand deaths, but for the sake of our past friendship, I can give you another chance."

She pointed to Atalanta and the others in the distance: "As long as you kill those heroic spirits and mortal soldiers, I will forgive and forget everything you have done in the past. From now on, you will still be Lancelot, the chief of the Round Table in Camelot. How about it?"

Her response was not words, but a burst of dragon fire.

A gigantic, illusory hand appeared, casually swatting Long Yan away. Merlin looked down at the pitch-black dragon, his pale purple eyes gradually filled with icy killing intent.

"Seek death."

She raised her arm, and dozens of spears of light coalesced and rained down on Melusin like a meteor shower.

"That is our homeland, capable of healing all wounds and all resentment. Reveal yourself, Lord Camelot, the distant and ideal city!"

With the girl's delicate shout, a huge white chalk wall appeared out of thin air above the dragon. Spears of light rained down like a storm, creating a deafening roar. The white chalk wall trembled violently amidst the rumbling, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

"Hmm..."

Mashu held up the shield that radiated intense light, her slender arms trembling under the immense pressure. She gritted her teeth, her eyes showing no fear, only unwavering determination.

As if sensing the girl's unwavering will to protect, the once crumbling chalk wall not only did not slide into the abyss of collapse, but instead became more stable and solid, remaining unshaken even after all the spears of light fell.

"That is..."

Merlin stared at the chalk wall, a look of astonishment appearing in his eyes for the first time.

Her gaze pierced through the protective barrier and landed on the purple-haired girl.

"A half-heroic spirit who inherited Galahad's power...?"

Her extraordinary wisdom allowed her to understand everything instantly. After a brief hesitation, she finally shook her head and gave up her plan to continue the attack.

That white chalk wall was less a city wall and more a manifestation of some kind of mental power. As long as the user did not yield, the wall would never collapse, and no matter how she attacked, it would all be in vain.

And now, an even bigger problem lies before her.