In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

"Wait! I'm not ready yet..."

Before she could finish speaking, an undeniable spiritual force suddenly and forcefully entered her mental world, piercing through her mental barrier. The intense pain only allowed her to let out a scream before she fell into a coma.

Having learned from her previous experience with Atalanta, Anahn was much more efficient this time, breaking the mental shackles Merlin had placed on Medusa's mind in just two-thirds of the time, allowing her to regain her sense of self.

He then used the power of the Black Abyss White Flower to help Medusa regain her Demon Eye.

Using the power of the Divine Key three times in a row was a considerable burden on Anahn's spirit, so he had to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​helping Asterius recover and return to his room to rest.

Three hours later, Asterius slowly awoke, recalled what had happened, and instantly became enraged, letting out another furious roar that shook the heavens and the earth, even causing the surrounding marble pillars to shake off dust.

However, at this moment, he suddenly felt that the atmosphere was not quite right. He turned his head and found that there were three women standing in front of him.

"This guy is so noisy..."

"Let's knock him out... or we can have Medusa petrify him."

"The power of the Demon Eye is dangerous. Let's knock him out. Anyway, this guy is tough and looks like he can take a beating."

Asterius: ? ? ?

Chapter Forty-Eight: A-Yiwen

After resting for about five hours, until the midday sun cast its most scorching rays upon the earth, Anaen finally recovered to full strength and immediately rushed back to the palace to remove Asterius's shackles.

But when he saw Asterius's appearance, he paused in his tracks... Could someone tell him what those two panda eyes were all about?!

He turned to look at the trio beside him—Atalanta stood with her arms crossed, looking like it was none of his business; Melusin seemed hesitant to speak, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to start... Finally, Medusa, looking embarrassed, stepped forward and said with her head down:

"I'm sorry, he was a bit agitated when he woke up, and I wanted to calm him down... but I couldn't control myself..."

Yanan: ......

If he remembers correctly, Medusa seems to have a unique skill called [Super Strength], right?

Fortunately, Asterius possessed the skill [Demon by Nature], which enhanced his defense; otherwise, those two punches would probably have been no different from Lu Zhishen punching Zhen Guanxi...

But if you wanted him to quiet down, why did you shoot him in the eye...?

After glancing at this mature woman who seemed somewhat naive, Anaen sighed helplessly, stepped forward, placed her hand on Asterius's head, and began to use the power of Feather Dust to break the mental shackles.

Whether it was because Asterius was simple-minded or because he had been beaten several times before, his mental activity was not very high, and the power of the shackles was also much weaker. It took Anaen only half the time to break them.

Incidentally, he also helped Asterius heal his injuries—from yesterday until now, this guy has basically been getting beaten up, first by Anarn, then by Melusin and Medusa... It's heartbreaking to see a descendant of a divine beast being bullied to this extent.

Even after the repairs were completed, Asterius still did not wake up. Breaking the mental shackles would affect his mental state to some extent, so he would need a period of rest to recover.

"Do you all remember what happened before?" Yanan turned to look at Medusa and Atalanta.

A monster and a hero, two figures from Greek mythology, exchanged a glance, a subtle awkwardness instantly settling on their faces.

“Don’t worry, no one will hold you accountable for what happened before. After all, you were not in control of yourselves back then.” Yanan saw through their thoughts at a glance and comforted them. “I just hope that you can provide us with some assistance – the Holy Roman Empire is currently severely lacking in combat power, and we need your help.”

“Of course. If you hadn’t saved us, we would probably still be under Merlin’s control. Besides, saving this world is the very purpose of our arrival here.” Medusa nodded. Her gentle voice was completely at odds with her domineering and mature appearance. If you only listened to her voice, you would have the impression that she was easy to bully.

“My opinion is the same as Medusa's... How dare she tamper with my will! Merlin, I will never let her off easily!” A fierce glint flashed in Atalanta's wild eyes.

“That’s good. On behalf of the Holy Roman Empire, I welcome you both to join us.” Yanan nodded. “I will arrange for someone to show you around the place later. If you don’t need it, you can explore on your own. However, we will soon be having a decisive battle with Camelot. I hope you can get yourself ready before then.”

"A final battle?" A hint of surprise flashed in Atalanta's eyes. "So soon?"

“It’s not that we want to move so quickly, but we don’t have much time left.” Anaen sighed and briefly explained the current situation to the two Greek Heroic Spirits.

"Merlin has captured Nero, and the Lion King's holy extermination is about to be completed..." The two women's expressions gradually turned serious. Just listening to Anaen's description, they could already sense how bad the situation was.

"Rest assured, we will contribute all our strength—as a way of atoning for the mistakes we made before," Medusa whispered.

“That would be perfect.” Yanan nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “By the way, there’s something else I’d like to ask you. What do you think of Ardinwen?”

“Arvidwin?” Medusa and Atalanta exchanged glances, and finally the former spoke up. “I’m sorry, we really don’t have any recollection of Arvidwin. The only thing we know is that he is the only person besides Merlin who can see the Lion King regularly, and he is also the executive officer who handles internal affairs in Camelot. Apart from that, we rarely see him, and he almost never leaves the palace.”

So that's how it is... Yanan sighed silently in his heart. He had asked Melusin about Ardinwen before and received almost the same answer.

In Camelot, besides Merlin, the most mysterious person is Ardinwen.

It's not that Yanan has any obsessive-compulsive disorder, but at such a crucial moment, it's really unsettling not to know the enemy's true strength.

“Although I haven’t met Ardinven many times, he always gives me a very strange feeling,” Atalanta mused. “He’s meticulous in everything he does, always managing to complete tasks with maximum efficiency, even eating… So sometimes I even feel like he’s not a living person, but a meticulously designed puppet…”

"A doll?" Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

......

Camelot, the royal palace.

Merlin, dressed in a white mage's robe, strolled along the empty, wide corridor. His crisp footsteps, like melodious silver bells, echoed through the corridor for a long time.

At the end of the corridor stood an elaborate and magnificent gate, behind which shone a pure white light that was difficult to see clearly, like the legendary gateway to heaven.

Beside the gate stood a tall figure shrouded in black armor, his head bowed silently, as if he might disappear into the shadows at any moment.

"How is the king?" Merlin asked.

"The King is currently in the final stage of the Holy Exorcism, and it's progressing smoothly," the dark figure responded, his voice slightly deep, but upon closer listening, it seemed somewhat distorted.

Merlin nodded: "Come with me to see the king."

"Yes." The dark figure bent down, his entire body like melted ice cream, gathering into a small black puddle on the ground and merging into Merlin's shadow.

Merlin remained calm, as if nothing had happened, and stepped through the door.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Dog Demon Bagst

Thanks to Nero's consistently good rule and Camelot's pressure, the Holy Roman Empire, now in a state of war, was running at full speed like a sophisticated machine. Army reorganization, logistics supply, and personnel allocation were all proceeding in an orderly manner.

To date, the Holy Roman Empire has produced over 1800 sets of magical armor, enough to meet the equipment needs of all its soldiers. This is largely thanks to the technical guidance provided by Yanan and the mineral deposits they found; otherwise, they might not have even been able to gather half of them.

With these magical armors, the soldiers were finally qualified to fight Camelot's Knights of Justice; otherwise, relying solely on the physical strength of ordinary people, no matter how many went, they would just be easy prey.

According to the intelligence that Anaen gathered from Melusin, Atalanta, and Medusa, Camelot currently has around 3000 Righteous Knights. Although this is nearly half less than the previous number, they can rely on Heroic Spirits to make up for the difference.

The gap between a purgatory knight and a heroic spirit is far greater than the gap between an ordinary person and a purgatory knight. If it weren't for the limitation of magic power, almost every heroic spirit could fight a small war on their own.

With everything in place, Anan decided to launch a decisive battle against Camelot two days later!

......

On a barren hill about a hundred meters high, Bagst, who had been traveling for a day and a night, gazed at the rather large city in the distance, his hands clenched so tightly under his armor that they creaked.

"Humans, do you truly intend to exterminate us all...?"

Taking a deep breath, Bagst's eyes gradually hardened. He reached out, grabbed the horn on his head, and pulled it down hard!

Click!

Intense pain stimulated Bagst's nerves, her face contorted violently, and her vision was gradually covered by a thick, blood-red liquid. The blood seemed to seep into her eyes, gradually filling her pupils and eye sockets, exuding an unsettling wildness and madness.

"Ho ho..."

She clutched her heart, which was pounding wildly like a drum, and breathed heavily. The scarlet color and sticky texture felt like a raging fire, igniting her from the inside out. Her blood boiled like magma in her veins, her body temperature rose sharply, and even the surrounding air seemed to distort.

Crimson flames, tinged with black, raged across her body, burning the armor covered in magical runes almost instantly. Bathed in the flames, she resembled a ferocious demon breaking free from the prison of hell and stepping into the human world!

This is a power that doesn't belong to her, and it's the posture she least wants to face. But now, for revenge, for survival, for continuation, she chooses to embrace this power and sell her soul to the devil, even if there is an endless abyss ahead, she is willing to do it!

"Feel the wrath of the fairy!"

She raised her head and roared angrily at the heavens and earth. The smoke billowed into the sky like a pillar. It was the resentment buried deep in her heart, and a blood-soaked accusation against the fate of the fairy race!

boom!

The raging black and red flames exploded like a balloon compressed to its limit, and the rolling waves of flame swept in all directions, instantly covering the entire hill.

......

"That is..."

Atalanta stood atop the mountain peak and could see from afar the billowing smoke and the black and red flames that burned everything to ashes, like pillars reaching to the sky.

Sensing the terrifying aura that was so intense it was almost suffocating, her wild and beautiful face instantly became much more serious. Without any hesitation, she took out an arrow and shot it into the sky. A few seconds later, the arrow exploded in the sky with a bang like fireworks, and light green magical flames bloomed in the air like flowers.

The people who were discussing tactics inside the palace heard the crisp explosion and their expressions changed slightly.

"problem occurs!"

Yanan was the first to react, and his figure immediately ran out like a gust of wind. Melusin, who was the second to react, followed closely behind him, and their speeds were almost the same.

The two arrived outside the palace and saw panicked crowds and soldiers struggling to maintain order on the streets. They looked into the distance and the raging black and red flames instantly came into view.

"What is that thing?" Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others who arrived later showed a hint of surprise on their faces. Even from such a distance, they could still feel how powerful the flames were.

"Ritsuka, Mashu, you two stay here to maintain order in the Empire. The rest of you will assist." Anan calmly issued the order. "Merusin and I will go and check the situation. Without my consent, no one is allowed to step out of the city gates."

After saying that, he and Melusin flew off like two streaks of light toward the direction of the burning flames.

Two or three minutes later, Yanan and Melusin stopped about 500 meters away from the black and red flames. From this angle, the flames were even larger than they had imagined; they were practically a burning volcano.

The scorching wind sliced ​​through the air like a red-hot steel knife, while flames, interspersed with blood-red hues, burned silently in the darkness, surging and undulating like waves. One ring of fire after another expanded outwards like ripples, bringing unbearable extreme heat.

Anan frowned slightly, staring at the massive ball of flame. The terrifying heat didn't seem to affect him much. What truly unsettled him was the madness, violence, hatred, and rage buried deep within the flames...

These negative emotions, like fuel, provide inexhaustible power for this dark red flame. Rather than a flame, it is more accurate to describe it as a manifestation of these negative emotions.

Anan rarely saw such extreme negative emotions, almost comparable to the true divine key in his hand—Jizo Mitama.

It is obvious that this could not have been a naturally formed product, but rather something created by humans.

Anan turned to look at Melusin beside him and found that the latter was not frowning, but staring intently at the ball of flame, as if she had seen something incredible.

A thought flickered in his mind, and he asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Melusine turned to look at him, hesitatingly saying, "I've never seen it before, but this power feels somewhat familiar..."

Before Yanan could ask any further questions, the black and red flames suddenly changed. All the flames contracted rapidly inward, as if they were alive, and condensed into a slightly blurry outline.

“That is…” Yanan and Melusin’s pupils contracted simultaneously.

In just a few breaths, the outline became clear: it was a massive black dog, as large as a hill, with fiery black fur trembling slightly on its body. Its body was covered with magma-like red patterns, and its ferocious maw was filled with sharp fangs. Blood-red liquid flowed down the gaps between the fangs, eroding the ground and creating scorched pits.

Its eyes, completely covered in blood red, were fixed on Anan and Melusin in the sky, filled with extreme madness and rage.

Anan's body was tense, and a solemn look appeared in his eyes. This black dog was almost the most powerful being he had encountered since he came to this world!

And it's quite obvious that this guy came with ill intentions.