In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

Artoria suddenly heard a steady breathing sound beside her. Turning her head, she saw that Anaen was fast asleep with his eyes closed.

A hint of hesitation flickered in her azure eyes. Artoria cautiously stepped forward and softly called out, "Teacher?"

Nothing happens.

Artoria gently shook Anahn's arm again.

There was still no response.

Artoria gently bit her lower lip, and her flawless face suddenly flushed slightly.

She removed the leg armor, then knelt down and gently lifted Yanan's head, placing it on her lap.

After doing all this, she glanced nervously at Yanan, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw that he was still fast asleep.

She gently stroked the golden hair by her ear, gazing at Yanan's peaceful sleeping face, her azure eyes filled with tenderness and affection.

As if thinking of something, Artoria's pretty face suddenly turned even redder than before, and she murmured softly, "If I miss this chance, I'll never have another one."

She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, lowered her head, and gently touched Yanan's face with her moist red lips before immediately raising her head.

It was just a simple kiss, but Artoria seemed to have just gone through a fierce battle, breathing heavily and her budding breasts heaving slightly.

Her pretty face was covered with a beautiful blush, as if water could be squeezed out with a gentle pinch, and her clear, lake-like blue eyes were filled with obvious guilt and shyness.

Artoria gently ran her finger along her lips, a sweet smile curving her lips slightly.

From the moment Ragnarok ended and the world fell into the cracks of time, this lost divine kingdom lost its concept of time. The rules of day and night were shattered, and only the sky, heavy as rock, shrouded it all day long.

After an unknown amount of time, Yanan finally woke up from his sleep.

"Mmm—I haven't slept this well in a long time."

He was about to stretch when he suddenly realized that something seemed off.

Why does my pillow feel so soft... and what's with this familiar scent?

He opened his eyes in confusion and saw a beautiful face sleeping soundly.

Click!

As if struck by lightning, Yanan's mind went completely blank.

Why...why did I end up sleeping on Artoria's lap?!

Anan swallowed hard and moved his body little by little, intending to escape the "crime scene" before Artoria woke up.

However, at this moment, Artoria, who had fallen into a deep sleep, could no longer maintain her upright posture. Due to inertia, her upper body involuntarily fell forward.

Anan's eyes widened in terror: "Wait..."

However, before he could finish speaking, his head was buried in two soft, full mounds, and the fragrance that filled his nostrils instantly became even stronger.

"Hmm..."

Feeling an unusual touch, Artoria slightly furrowed her smooth brows, slowly opened her sleepy eyes, lowered her head, and her holy blue eyes widened instantly.

Oh no, I overslept!

She quickly sat up and asked anxiously, "Teacher, are you alright?"

As Yanan gradually recovered from the shock, he suddenly shuddered and stood up instantly as if by reflex.

The two stared at each other, neither knowing what to say, creating an extremely awkward situation.

“Um… Lily… I remember, I didn’t sleep on your lap before.” Yanan scratched his head awkwardly, breaking the silence first.

Artoria guiltily shifted her gaze to the side: "I just... wanted to make Teacher more comfortable to sleep in."

"Ahem... I see." Yanan coughed twice, using the power of Feather Dust to calm himself down, and smiled, "As expected, Lily is a very understanding girl."

"I...I just did what a student should do," Artoria said in a barely audible voice.

Yanan's lips twitched slightly. What kind of student would let their teacher sleep on their lap as a pillow?

Chapter Nineteen: The Lost Kingdom

After flying for more than thirty hours, Artoria suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "What's that up ahead?"

As Yanan gazed into the distance, he saw an aurora that had appeared out of nowhere, stretching far across the sky and earth, constantly changing colors, sacred and magnificent.

The giant eagle circled in place, its body trembling slightly, refusing to go forward, as if it had a strong fear of the aurora.

Nidhogg's voice suddenly echoed in Anan's mind:

"The Aesir Kingdom is just ahead. That aurora is a restriction placed by Odin. Any creature that forcibly enters the kingdom without the gods' permission will be killed by that aurora immediately."

Yanan stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Then let's go down."

The giant eagle swooped down, carrying Anahn and Artoria to the ground.

"Thank you for your hard work. I hope we'll meet again someday."

Yanan patted the giant eagle's head, and the eagle rubbed against him reluctantly before flapping its enormous wings and soaring into the high sky.

"I thought you were going to kill it, teacher," Artoria remarked.

“There aren’t many fantasy species like this left. Killing one means one less. Why bother doing such a thing?” Anan smiled and turned to look at the light curtain that stretched between heaven and earth.

Viewed from this angle, he truly appreciated the grandeur and vastness of the light curtain. The ancient and majestic aura it exuded made him feel a profound sense of insignificance and humility in the face of towering mountains.

"For a restriction that has lasted for thousands of years to still produce such an effect, just how powerful must the Norse gods have been back then?" He sighed softly, his heart filled with endless emotion.

He had once faced the god-king of the Danu tribe and even killed him with his own hands, but the threat Nuada posed to him at that time was not even as great as the light barrier blocking his way at this moment.

As expected, gods cannot be generalized... Anan thought to himself, then asked Nidhogg, "What should we do next?"

“Use the primordial runes,” Nidhogg replied. “The primordial runes belong to Odin’s power and can easily pass through this barrier.”

Anan nodded and traced a complex dark green rune in the air with his finger. A vast and ancient aura emanated from the rune, creating a peculiar resonance with the light screen in front of him, causing the latter to ripple with waves.

The light screen then gradually dimmed, revealing a black hole large enough for two people to walk side by side.

“Be careful, this is the dwelling place of the Aesir, it might be very dangerous,” Anahn said to Artoria, who nodded with a slightly grave expression.

The two walked into the black void together, feeling a slight squeezing sensation on their skin, as if they were inside solidified jelly. However, this feeling only lasted for a moment before disappearing quickly.

A blinding light surged forth like a tide, and Anaen and Artoria instinctively closed their eyes. When they opened them again, the scenery before them had undergone a complete transformation.

The first thing they saw was a crimson sky, where flames and thunder roared and thundered, producing a dull, drum-like sound. The earth was scarred, with huge craters that looked like they had been hit by meteorites and pitch-black cracks that resembled bottomless abysses.

The dilapidated temple collapsed, its exquisite patterns scorched into mottled black marks by the flames, and its magnificent roof was smashed beyond recognition by huge stones, completely losing its former glory.

Neither the sky nor the earth could be felt to be alive; the whole world was quiet, like a tomb, filled with an atmosphere of death.

No, to be precise, this is indeed a burial ground.

—The tombs of the gods.

Anan and Artoria gazed at the desolate ruins, speechless for a long time.

"Is this... Ragnarok?" Artoria murmured, a slightly dazed look appearing in her eyes.

Yanan slowly exhaled, shook his head, and put those pointless thoughts behind him, saying, "Alright, let's stop reminiscing here. Don't forget we still have important things to do."

Artoria nodded and followed behind Anaen, walking forward.

The moment I stepped into the ruins, the desolate and deathly feeling became more and more obvious. Painful memories involuntarily came back to my mind, and negative emotions such as despair, sadness, and grief welled up in my heart. It even made me feel an urge to end my own life.

"Teacher, something seems off about this place," Artoria said, her brows furrowing slightly.

"This is because the resentment of those gods before their deaths was automatically gathered together by the residual aura of Ragnarok. That's why this situation has occurred. If it stays there for too long, even the gods will be affected."

As Yanan repeated Nidhogg's words, he pointed to the void, and a crimson feather fell from nowhere, landing on Artoria's head. The latter immediately felt refreshed, and all her negative emotions were swept away.

"Teacher, you seem to know this place very well," Artoria said, tilting her head.

From the moment we entered the land of the Nordic gods, the teacher seemed to know everything about it, as if he had been there for a long time.

“It’s because there’s a guy here telling me that.” Yanan pointed to his head.

He then told Artoria about Nidhogg's situation and also explained the purpose of his trip.

Artoria suddenly realized why her teacher was willing to take such a great risk to enter the Norse kingdom.

However, if they could really rescue Nidhogg, their chances of defeating Vortigern would be even greater.

Suddenly, Artoria's expression stiffened slightly, and she looked away as she asked, "Um... Teacher, when you're asleep, can His Highness Nidhogg sense what's happening outside?"

Anan paused slightly, as he had never considered this question before. He mentally asked Nidhogg for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, she's just parasitizing my consciousness right now. When my consciousness goes into a deep sleep, she won't sense anything. By the way, why did you ask that?"

"...It's nothing, just asking casually."

Artoria secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her heart, which had been in her throat, gradually calmed down.

I was so scared! I thought we'd been discovered...

Chapter Twenty: Valhalla

Anan and Artoria walked through this forgotten divine realm, heading towards the Rainbow Bridge.

The devastating Ragnarok left behind a considerable amount of divine power on this land. Although most of it was worn away over the long years, even what remained was enough to cause trouble.

Therefore, Anaen could only use runes to detect the surrounding magical reactions while carefully leading Artoria forward, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

After walking for about two or three hours, a palace suddenly appeared in front of them.

This was the grandest palace Anahn had ever seen in his life. Its scale alone was comparable to that of a city-state. Every wall was made of polished spears, and the roof was covered with golden shields. The palace had hundreds of doors, each over a hundred meters wide. Above the main door in the front were two statues: the head of a wild boar and an eagle with jewels inlaid in its eyes.

"Spears form the walls, shields the roof, and armor the chairs. There are 540 gates, each large enough to accommodate eight hundred warriors walking side by side. The heads of wild boars symbolize battle, and the sharp eyes of eagles survey the nine realms." Artoria murmured softly, her holy blue eyes filled with undisguised shock. "This is the legendary... Hall of Heroes."

In Norse mythology, Odin sends his handmaid Valkyries to earth to select brave and skilled warriors, who are then carried on white winged horses to Valhalla, the temple of the dead.

During the day, these warriors engage in face-to-face combat drills, and at night they feast and revel as if they were not injured, until Ragnarok arrives. At that time, these warriors will put on their armor, take up their weapons, and pour out of the 540 gates of Valhalla to fight for the gods.

Anan slowly exhaled. Although he knew he was likely to encounter Valhalla on this trip, he never expected that the descriptions of Valhalla in mythology were all true!

Using so many weapons to build a palace is simply too extravagant!

Odin has gone completely mad!

Yanan cursed under his breath, looking at the spears and golden shields, a pained expression on his face.