Pharaoh jumped in front of Orpheus and shouted at him with a worried expression, "Orpheus! Do you realize what you're doing!? Do you think Lord Hades will let you off!?"
The two were located very close to each other, and both being musicians, they often discussed music together. Pharaoh respected Orpheus like a senior.
This prevented Pharaoh from treating Orpheus the same way he had treated Orpheus in the original story.
Hearing Pharaoh's words, Orpheus silently closed his eyes and turned his head aside, saying, "I know very well. I will go to the Fourth Circles later to plead for Lord Hades's forgiveness. But I cannot stand by and watch innocent lives perish in the Underworld."
"Orpheus-san..." The people saved by Orpheus looked at him with sorrowful and regretful expressions as they spoke.
Pharaoh shook his head and sighed, saying, "Orpheus, you are truly foolish."
After saying this, a murderous intent flashed in Pharaoh's eyes. He took out his Demon Harp and looked at Issei Hyoudou and the others, saying, "Then I will finish you off here. Though this beautiful sea of flowers will be stained with blood, if I end you here, nothing will happen."
"Pharaoh..." Eurydice's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Pharaoh's back and spoke.
"Kiss in the Darkness!" Pharaoh began to play his Demon Harp once more. The oppressive sound of the strings rang out again, causing the surrounding atmosphere's color to shift to a dark purple.
Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng!
The Demon Harp's sound directly assaulted everyone's souls, causing them such agony that they instinctively covered their ears with their hands. Some even began shaking their heads violently in pain.
Everyone was tormented unbearably by the Demon Harp's sound. Even experts and veterans like Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael were in such pain that they wanted to pierce their own eardrums.
Pharaoh saw their intention and seemingly kindly reminded them, "It's useless. Even if you pierce your eardrums, it won't help. My harp sound directly attacks the soul. Even if you lose your hearing, this sound will still assail your spirits."
"Stringer Nocturne!!"
Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng!
A beautiful melody, opposite to Pharaoh's, rang out. It alleviated the pain caused by the Demon Harp for everyone, and the sound waves of the two even collided and neutralized each other.
"Orpheus!!" Pharaoh exclaimed, looking at Orpheus who was playing his silver lyre and radiating a white Cosmos.
"You know this! Lord Hades will not forgive you! Put down the lyre!" Pharaoh said to Orpheus while continuing to play.
A determined look in his eyes, Orpheus continued to play the beautiful melody and said, "I know very well. But I cannot let people with pure souls die before my eyes."
"Then let's settle this, Orpheus of Lyra. I've wanted to compete with you since long ago—to see whether your harp is superior or my Demon Harp reigns supreme." Pharaoh said with full fighting spirit, his Cosmos radiating more intensely. A purple phantom of a Sphinx appeared behind him.
"Come then, Pharaoh of the Sphinx." Orpheus responded with equal fighting spirit, radiating a brilliant and powerful Cosmos. The phantom of his guardian constellation, Lyra, materialized behind him.
The sounds of their harps clashed against each other. Their power was evenly matched, making it difficult to determine a victor for the time being.
The expressions of agony vanished from everyone's faces. They then rushed into the range of Orpheus's harp melody, enjoying the beautiful tune from the Lyra constellation:
"So this is the harp sound of the legendary hero Orpheus, renowned for his music."
"What a moving melody."
"Indeed, it's as if our souls are being redeemed."
Orpheus and Pharaoh's performances intensified, but soon the advantage became apparent in their instruments.
Bang!
A sound like something snapping rang out. It was Orpheus's lyre—one of its strings had broken. But Orpheus did not give up because of this.
"Orpheus!!" Eurydice shouted worriedly.
Seeing this, Pharaoh smiled with a confident, victorious expression and said, "It seems victory is mine now, Orpheus."
"What are you saying, Pharaoh! The match isn't over yet!!"
"That's right, that's right! Orpheus-san only broke one string!!"
Seeing Pharaoh's attitude, Issei Hyoudou and Saji both shouted at him with expressions that said, "The match isn't decided yet!"
Pharaoh, seeing that unwelcome noise had intruded upon his contest with Orpheus, shouted at the two of them irritably:
"Shut up! You two who know nothing about music! The string that just broke was the G string! That is extremely important to Orpheus!"
"For an Orpheus who has lost the G string, it's like a tiger with its fangs pulled—nothing to fear."
Hearing this, Issei Hyoudou and Saji also realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly shut their mouths, turning hopeful gazes toward Orpheus.
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