Although Gray had mocked her, whether something was impressive or not depended on who you compared it to—comparing it to Marco was indeed unnecessary.
Hisui summoned her Lyra Constellation Armor, donning the armor just like Erza across from her.
Above the sky, the Lyre of the Lyra constellation radiated light, showering starlight over the armor, making it gleam with silver brilliance.
"It really does look good."
After carefully examining the Lyra Constellation Armor on Hisui, Erza nodded in satisfaction.
The shops where Marco crafted the armor's exterior were all recommended by her, and she had also offered some design suggestions.
After all, this was armor designed for female use, and Marco had inevitably struggled with certain aspects during the design process—Erza's input had been crucial.
Having tinkered with armor since childhood and purchasing every new model whether she needed it or not, Erza was a true expert in this field.
Because of this, Hisui was at a slight disadvantage when facing Erza.
She might have been less familiar with the Lyra Constellation Armor she wore than Erza was.
"Death Trip Serenade!"
Hisui knew she had no advantage against Erza—her only path forward was to go all out.
Without hesitation, she unleashed her ultimate move.
Whether this melody would take effect was the key to this battle.
'Hum!'
Magic surged wildly with the sound of the lyre.
The starlight gathered on Hisui's body converged onto the lyre in her hands, spreading outward as the strings were plucked.
The melody reached Erza's ears, immediately making her eyelids grow heavy as drowsiness rushed uncontrollably toward her mind.
"It worked!"
Seeing that Erza seemed affected, hope suddenly flared in Hisui's heart.
Once the "Death Trip Serenade" took effect, even Erza would have no choice but to fall asleep!
"BOOM!"
However, just as hope rose in Hisui's heart, Erza abruptly snapped her eyes open.
A violent surge of magic erupted from Erza's body as she forcefully resisted the hypnotic melody with sheer magical power.
"Hisui... still hasn't mastered it yet."
Marco, watching from the side, shook his head.
Hisui's strategy wasn't flawed—it was simply that the gap in their strength was too vast.
From what Marco knew, Erza's "hypnosis resistance" wasn't actually that high—Mystogan had been able to put her to sleep.
Of course, Mystogan's sleep magic, 'Mist Body: Naraku' was indeed powerful—even Makarov could only barely resist it.
That guy specialized in this type of magic.
He had an even stronger technique, "Dream Illusion," with greater hypnotic power than "Mist Body: Naraku."
But the Lyra constellation's "Death Trip Serenade" was no weak spell—its hypnotic effect was merely a secondary function.
The true power of "Death Trip Serenade" was time suspension and soul banishment—but these were realms far beyond Hisui's current capabilities.
Not just Hisui—even Marco, with his proficiency panel, hadn't yet reached the highest mastery of this technique.
It was indeed a difficult move to master.
"..."
Seeing that the "Death Trip Serenade" had failed, Hisui's heart sank.
She loved this melody dearly and had practiced it the most—it was practically her signature piece.
Although the name of this piece was "Death Trip Serenade," its effect was actually hypnotic, which Hisui greatly preferred.
Compared to directly emitting sonic slashes that would cut enemies to pieces, putting them to sleep was a method of attack that Hisui favored far more.
If even her most proficient technique had failed, Hisui didn't believe any other melody could turn the tide.
"Bzzzt!"
Erza, however, didn't hesitate and immediately charged toward Hisui.
Truthfully, the hypnotic melody still affected her—she had to continuously release magical energy to resist the lulling tune.
Under normal circumstances, she might have truly fallen for it and dozed off to the music.
But this was a direct confrontation, and she had long known about Hisui's abilities, so she naturally wasn't unprepared.
This was the value of intelligence.
Many spells were like this—exceptionally lethal upon first encounter, capable of overwhelming those who didn't understand them.
But once their secrets were exposed in advance, once their mysteries were unraveled, they became far less fearsome.
Just like now, facing Hisui, Erza had been preparing all along, allowing her to instantly unleash her magic and resist the hypnosis.
"Twang!"
Seeing Erza charging at her, Hisui had no choice but to change the melody.
Once "Death Trip Serenade" failed to hypnotize its target, continuing it would be pointless.
As Hisui altered the tune of her lyre, dozens of crescent-shaped silver slashes shot toward the oncoming Erza.
Erza moved swiftly, weaving through the silver crescents, her sword flashing as she shattered each slash.
Though she had only taken a few steps, Erza had already broken through the barrage of silver crescents, closing the distance to Hisui in an instant.
With unstoppable momentum, Erza swung her sword at Hisui, who was hastily retreating.
"Clang!"
In her haste, Hisui could only block the strike with her armguard.
She could have used her lyre to defend, but Hisui treasured the instrument too much—she refused to do so.
"BOOM!"
Struck by the sword, Hisui was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the nearby Crystal Wall.
Her Lyra Constellation Armor remained unscathed—this was inevitable, as even Erza couldn't damage it.
The armor's base was crafted from rare materials, making it an incredibly durable suit even without further enhancements.
After being refined by Marco, its strength, while not on par with genuine Saint Cloths, far surpassed that of ordinary armor.
After all, at its core, the materials infused within were not much different from those of Saint Cloths—only its mechanisms weren't those of an authentic Saint Cloth.
At the very least, Marco had granted them legitimacy, linking them to the constellations, star maps, and Saint Cloths, allowing them to harness the genuine abilities.
"Cough, cough!"
Hisui fell to the ground, barely managing to steady herself.
Now, she felt she hadn't trained hard enough in the past.
Once Erza closed in, she had barely kept up with her pace—she had nearly failed to block that sword strike with her armguard.