"Now... who can tell which one is the real Lyra constellation?" Valtava sighed with emotion.

Lila shot Valtava a glance—this wretched old man was truly wicked!

That wasn't what you said a few days ago!

"Ahem... my mistake, my mistake."

Noticing Lila's expression, Valtava coughed dryly and immediately apologized.

His words had indeed been too harsh on Lila.

But he couldn't help it—who wouldn't be bewildered by what they were seeing now?

"..."

Lila fell silent.

There was nothing she could say.

In front of Marco, she didn't even have the confidence to call herself the Lyra spirit anymore.

She had completely lost her edge.

As the final notes faded, Marco set aside his harp and stood up.

The world around them returned to normal.

The river resumed its flow, fish began to swim again, birds and beasts stirred back to life and the breeze rustled through the leaves.

Once more, nature's symphony played on.

'String's Finale... so this is the ultimate technique?'

'I thought it would be the Death-Trip Serenade.'

Marco felt the connection between himself and the Lyra constellation.

Learning the harp had truly had a profound effect on his bond with Lyra.

In just over a month, he had successfully linked with the constellation and awakened the innate technique of the Lyra Silver Cloth.

"String's Finale"—when played, the lyre would unleash countless strings to entangle the enemy, slowly tearing them apart amidst the melody.

This was a genuine combat technique, devastating in power.

But Marco had actually been looking forward to 'Death-Trip Serenade', a technique capable of lulling all things in the universe to sleep—even gods!

Mastered to its peak, it could freeze time across the entire cosmos, banishing the souls of all beings to drift in another dimension.

The effect of Marco's own playing bore a slight resemblance to 'Death-Trip Serenade', but the difference in potency was staggering.

His music could only influence his immediate surroundings, and while it enchanted all living things, it lacked any hypnotic effect.

Impressive as it seemed, its practical combat use was limited.

After all, no enemy would remain entranced by the music while being attacked.

It paled in comparison to the sheer dominance of "Death-Trip Serenade."

Mystogan's hypnotic magic had left a deep impression on Marco, which was why he had been so eager for "Death-Trip Serenade."

The sheer coolness of a single strum sending all foes crashing to the ground in slumber was undeniable.

Just think of Jigglypuff—despite being a seemingly harmless pink puffball, mastering such an ability could make it a powerhouse among Pokémon!

"What a shame." Marco sighed.

Though the Lyra constellation had granted him extraordinary talent with the lyre, composing a melody as terrifying as that would take who knew how long.

At this rate, it'd be more reliable to hope for a system quest reward.

"What's a shame? Your performance was flawless." Valtava walked over, confusion written across his face.

He genuinely couldn't fathom what Marco found lacking.

From a purely musical standpoint, he couldn't find a single flaw in the piece.

Even if he or Lila were to play it, they couldn't have done better.

Of course, that was strictly in terms of music.

When it came to magical effects, neither of them could hold a candle to Marco.

"Still far from it." Marco shook his head.

Compared to Orpheus, his current skills weren't just lacking by a little—it was a huge gap.

Moreover, his ability to play like this owed much to the resonance between his lyre and the Lyra constellation.

His own skills weren't actually that strong yet—this was truly a case of "making the best use of external aids."

The Lyra constellation was formed from the first lyre created by Hermes, who gifted it to Apollo, the god of music.

Apollo then passed it on to his son Orpheus, born from his union with Calliope, one of the nine Muses.

This connected the dots—Orpheus, the prototype of Orpheus (another transliteration of the same name), was the son of the god of music and a Muse.

His musical talent was naturally extraordinary.

In fact, Orpheus's story was essentially a retelling of the Orpheus myth.

'Does it require singing to unleash Lyra's full power?'

Marco suddenly recalled that in legends, Orpheus wasn't just a lyre player—he would also sing the beautiful songs taught by his mother while playing.

He was an exceptional vocalist, after all, given that his mother was the goddess of song.

This was why Lila, the Lyra celestial spirit, wasn't just skilled at playing the lyre—she was also an excellent singer, adept at performing both simultaneously.

"Lila, teach me how to sing."

Marco turned to Lila, who wore a complicated expression, and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Huh?" Lila was taken aback.

She stared at Marco, genuinely suspecting he intended to replace her entirely—was he really going to learn singing too?!

If Marco mastered her singing techniques as well, who could possibly tell which of them was the true Lyra celestial spirit?!

"Alright."

Despite her inner grumbling, Lila ultimately agreed.

Though she'd been disheartened before, she was inherently kind and optimistic—traits that had allowed her to quickly recover and reappear before Marco.

Now, Lila found herself growing excited.

She looked forward to witnessing the moment Marco's musical talents were fully realized.

Perhaps he truly was more favored by Lyra than she was—after all, even the stars above seemed to shine brighter for him.

Without delay, Lila began instructing Marco.

This was something only she could teach, as Valtava wasn't particularly skilled in singing.

"..."

Valtava listened attentively nearby, shaking his head—not in disapproval, but in admiration.

Marco's singing talent was also remarkable, far surpassing his own.

After just over a month of training, Marco had already surpassed his teacher.

Valtava was only proficient in instruments, with barely passable singing skills—soon, Marco would outshine him in every aspect.

*****

At the Fairy Tail guild hall, Mira watched as Marco hurried out.

She'd heard he'd recently taken up music and singing lessons with renowned masters, which piqued her interest—she loved singing too.

Marco's sudden, intense passion for music surprised everyone—he'd never shown any inclination for it before.

Everyone thought it was just a passing whim, but he had actually been studying intensively for two whole months!

This truly exceeded everyone's expectations—Marco was dead serious about this!

"How do you think Marco's doing with his studies now?" Cana fiddled with her cards, curiosity written all over her face.

Marco hadn't performed the lyre or sing in front of anyone yet, leaving everyone curious about his progress.

"It's only been two months—probably not much progress, right? Instruments and singing are things that heavily depend on talent and effort, aren't they?" Levy made a rational guess.

Marco had never shown any talent in this area before—it wasn't like he could suddenly become a musical prodigy, right?

So at most, he'd just be getting the basics down after two months.

"Marco-sama will definitely succedd..." Juvia chimed in softly, voicing her opinion.

Though her tone was meek, her words carried firm conviction.

"I believe in Marco too!" Lisanna raised her hand, expressing her blind faith in him.

"Marco-san been practicing so much every day—his throat must be exhausted." Wendy widened her eyes, worried about Marco's vocal cords.

Maybe she could prepare some soothing tea for him?

The kids were split into two factions regarding Marco's progress: one side believed his learning pace was likely slow, while the other was convinced Marco could succeed at anything he put his mind to.

The "skeptics" were mostly those who had known Marco longer.

Because they understood him better, they weren't distrustful—they just rationally doubted he could learn so quickly.

The "blind believers," on the other hand, were the younger ones who hadn't known Marco for long.

They held an almost naive faith in him.

Erza and Mira stood as the respective leaders of these two factions.

Mira didn't necessarily believe Marco would master it quickly, but since Erza sided with the skeptics, she had to oppose her out of sheer spite—just for the sake of contradiction.

"Let's go! We'll ask Marco directly!" Whenever it came to opposing Erza, Mirajane was instantly fired up—though this time, she was genuinely interested in the matter too.

"Fine by me." Erza naturally refused to back down, accepting Mirajane's challenge without hesitation.

"They're so childish."

Watching the two lock horns, Natsu couldn't help but comment on it.

Erza was always lecturing him and Gray about fighting, yet she and Mirajane were constantly at each other's throats the moment they met.

"Thwack!"

A fist landed on Natsu's head, making him grimace in pain.

"Natsu! Which side are you on?!" Erza glared at him menacingly, her gaze shifting toward Gray as well.

"I'm with you, Erza!" Gray immediately raised his hand, joining the skeptics—while mentally apologizing to Marco.

It wasn't that he lacked faith; he was just bowing to peer pressure!

"Then I'm against it!" Natsu had been about to reluctantly yield to Erza, but the moment Gray spoke up, he reflexively opposed him.

Before Erza could get angry, Natsu quickly jumped over to Mira's side, standing tall with a smug look.

"Hahaha! Erza! Now I have more supporters!"

Mira stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a triumphant smile.

Her side now had a clear advantage in numbers—she had just pulled Elfman in, and with Natsu and Happy tagging along, they far outnumbered Erza's side!

No need to say more—victory first, courtesy later!

-----------------------------

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