285. Noble Passion

Flavia smiled, her eyes viewing the fiery meteorite. Much like everyone else, she had many ways to complete this Trial but if she were to show off her Sub-Path, a more special method would be needed.

She slowly and meticulously formed hand signs. With each one she performed, a symbol the size of a fist would pop up in front of her hands before fading. She went through about seven of them and then fished out a ceremonial dagger from her storage.

She cut her palm and felt no pain thanks to the weapon’s specific enchantments. Her blood flowed out but instead of dripping off, it traveled upward to the tip of her finger. Then, all seven of the symbols returned and revolved around it as if to charge something.

“Are those runes?” Marie asked whilst watching and Higure shook her head.

“No, or at least, it’s definitely not the runes I know.”

“…that’s Theban,” Nyx said and everyone looked at her. “If you had to classify it though, those are technically runes. They are also called the Sorcerer’s Alphabet. It is a variant of the Latin alphabet used by ancient occultists.”

“Uh, did you learn that while you were a goddess?” Allan asked curiously.

“My closest friend, which I also consider my mother figure, is one of the most powerful witches to have ever existed,” she replied simply. “As far as Sorcery goes, there is no one better than her. It’s a given I would know about it.”

“Then, what is she doing right now?” Evelyn asked whilst pointing at Flavia who was pointing at the meteor with her bloodied finger.

“Those seven letters she formed are ‘E’, ‘X’, ‘I’, ‘T’, ‘I’, ‘U’, ‘M’. It’s a word. Depending on what specific kind of energy she put into the runes, it would give a different result. But considering the meaning of the word, her blood ritual, as well as the hand signs, she’s probably…” Nyx trailed as she saw a minuscule flash of red light at the tip of Flavia’s finger.

It launched a crimson bead at the meteor and seemingly disappeared in the flames. But Flavia had a smile on her face as if it was already over. She lowered her arm and calmly wiped the blood off her dagger with a white cloth.

The instant the blade was entirely clean, the meteor abruptly changed courses. As if driven by an invisible force, it turned at an impossible angle and collided against the barrier. It burst on impact and the Trial was terminated.

Flavia exhaled a pleased huff and walked back to everyone as the falling debris of the meteor faded away after being retrieved by the System.

“Hey, teach, what was that exactly?” Allan promptly inquired as she approached them.

Then, with a terrifyingly pure beaming face and a small peace sign, she answered, “I cursed it.”

“…” The blond silently took a step backward and cleared his throat. “I-I see… Nice going.”

Marie gave him a flat look as he made himself smaller behind her. “Really?”

“W-what?” He exclaimed. “That’s scary, okay?!”

“And you call yourself a man?”

“Shouldn’t you be consoling me?!” Allan retorted in betrayal.

“I can hear everything you know…” Flavia muttered with a twitching eyebrow.

“Anyway, I’ll be going. I’m last, aren’t I?” The lamia said and used Flash Step, the skill that Rakna had eventually managed to craft into a card for everyone. It even had turned into a better version than the original through his improvements.

She quickly put her hand on the Trial stone and initiated it. The barrier rose and during the time that was given to her to prepare, she channeled her mana to her hand and activated the inherent skill of her Sub-Path.

A rather large string instrument with supporting legs began to appear, floating above her palm in a half-materialized state. She waved her fingers and it swiftly settled on the ground, completing its creation and revealing itself as a long zither. She then sat on her knees and closed her eyes.

“Hm? What is that?” Natsu perked up. What he was seeing was completely alien to him. “What is that thing she summoned?”

“A musical instrument,” Rakna answered him. “That one’s called a guzheng; a traditional Chinese instrument. Basically, it’s to make music. Certainly not something you would be familiar with since you were stuck in a Fire Well all your life.”

“Hmm…” The Celestial Blaze hummed in wonder.

“What is she going to do though? I know her Sub-Path is about music, but that’s about it,” Higure tilted her head in curiosity. “Is she going to use Sound Arts?”

“Hehe, it’s much cooler than that,” Allan chuckled knowingly. “Just watch.”

On cue, Marie breathed out and extended her arms above the instrument. Her right hand slid over one of the strings and plucked it. The first note sounded so clear to the group that it was as if they were standing right next to the source.

Marie continued playing with only her right hand for a moment before her left joined in. Her pace was slow and soft. There was no aggressivity in the music and by all accounts, it seemed she was going to play in a rather light tone. The melody was neither good nor bad, but simple as it was, it was enough to catch the ears.

In fact, it was as if Marie was intending to serenade the world, and eventually, she strummed three low notes at once and opened her mouth. Her voice promptly mixed with the strings.

“Fleeting and abying… Fragile and docile… In water, they flow. In earth, they grow,” she sang softly what sounded like a lullaby and a poem, her voice bordering hypnotic. Pausing momentarily, she quickly plucked four notes in an instant from high to low.

Each noticeably manifested its effects on the world, and the ground around Marie began to shed its dreary nature. In its place, a small patch of green began to appear. At the same time, strands of mana emerged from the guzheng and spread in the air.

The meteor on the other hand, somehow, slowed down and gradually began to sway from right to left as if it had started to behave like a leaf riding the wind.

Rakna’s eyes widened a bit as he understood what was happening.

“{Oh? Now, that’s interesting…}” Fray commented in his mind.

Marie plucked another string and a rotund pulse of force spread outward from her. “In color, they will surprise you… In time, they will remind you,” she sang with a small smile on her face as flowers began to grow next to her. “You are the petal falling to the land… The stem rooted for aland…”

The lamia paused her playing and looked up at the meteor that was merely falling with the wind like it weighed nothing. Then, she played one single string. “You are the flower…” She sang over it and followed up with the last line. “Of this fairyland…” She intoned softly and the meteor instantly burst into thousands of green flower petals with one last pluck of the strings. At the center of the cluster, a giant flower was glowing; a green rose.

“The Emerald Rose of Shangri-La.”

As the petals rained down, and the sound faded out, the Trial rang out its clearance and Marie let out a long breath before pulling her arms back. She stood up and the instrument disappeared on its own.

“{Beautiful,}” Fray couldn’t help but comment with a broad smile as he watched the petals through his host’s eyes. “{A kindred being she is. Her songs fold onto reality as she performs them, much like my stories. That is no shabby ability. Her Sub-Path… must at least be a Legendary Class.}”

“You’re right,” Marie said as she rejoined the group, responding to the fabulist’s telepathy.

“{If I may ask, it is to my understanding you have spent all your life inside a Dungeon. However, a Sub-Path of that caliber requires more than minor compatibility. Do you perhaps have an idea on what could have possibly given you that opportunity?}”

“…yes,” the lamia replied with her head hanging low. “A Host that once raided my Dungeon. She was the first and only person I had ever seen using music as a weapon; I believe it was about five years ago. I fought against her party… and won,” she said bitterly. “I killed them. With their bodies left behind, before the System launched the reset for my Dungeon, I took a look at her equipment and I found recordings, books, and instruments.”

“The hour or so that I miraculously had to skim over them were enough to enthrall me,” she said and looked at the sky. “Sadly, the reset came and all of it disappeared. Since then, alone, within the last floor of that castle, I sang whilst imagining the music in my head. It felt less solitary…”

Allan made a soft expression that was rarely shown on his face and Marie smiled weakly at him.

“{I see…}” Fray spoke up solemnly. “{I understand. You have a noble passion. There is nothing for me to question anymore; you have received a power worthy of you.}”

“Thank you,” Marie replied smilingly and Allan fondly patted her head. She gave him a half-hearted glare because of it but didn’t shake him off, which incited him to laugh lightly.

“Well then, shall we go up now?” Higure pointed at the sky with a small smirk.

Rakna snorted and opened the transfer window. He selected the highest Plateau to skip and the confirmation arrived right after.

❮ ◈ ❯

The selection has been confirmed.

The Host, Rakna Xiorra, and his party will now be transferred to the 100th Plateau, Atlantis. You will be automatically dropped at the main hub in thirty seconds.

Brace yourself for the spatial transfer.

❮ ◈ ❯

“Ah… I see now. I can infer what this Plateau is from the name alone,” the therian remarked.

“{I know, right?}” Fray chuckled. “{Wait for it; you will be enchanted in an instant.}”

“You sound oddly excited now that I think about it,” Flavia interjected curiously from the side. “Is there something you are looking forward to there?”

Inside Rakna’s soul, Fray smiled melancholically and stood up from his seat in his library. “{Maybe you could say that,}” he answered and walked to a lectern that was always highlighted. Resting on its top was an old book; the first he had ever written with his family’s support. “{Is it weird? It is my hometown after all… I grew up in Atlantis,}” he uttered whilst caressing the book.

“No wonder,” Rakna hummed. “Do you think there’s a chance we’ll find your successor there?”

“{Hm… It is more likely than for any other Plateau at the very least.}”

“I guess we’ll find out,” the therian replied and a light soon swallowed the group.

❮ ◈ ❯

3… 2…1…

Transfer to Atlantis Initiated.

❮ ◈ ❯

AhraManyu

There. You're finally gonna get the 100th Plateau! Yay!

And fucking hell, this just nails in the fact that I'm still far from done with this story. To put in everything I want and reach the ending I envision without it feeling too rushed, I probably will need at least 200 more chapters. Man, I need to speed up somehow. I also want to do the novel for the Sage of The Crystal Mountain in parallel but it's gonna be hard if I continue like this.