Snow Drifts~

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki..."

The faint words slipped softly from his lips. Chen Wuming gently turned his sword-wielding right hand downward, lowering the tip. As the Zanpakutō slowly pointed straight down, a long white ribbon suddenly extended from the top of its hilt, forming a large white circle that completely wrapped around the blade. Beautiful, yet not the least bit out of place...

The moment the white silk completely encircled the blade, its appearance changed. The blade, hilt, and guard all became snow-white. Gorgeous patterns were engraved upon the white hilt and guard, and with the white ribbon dancing around it, the entire sword looked so pure, so beautiful...

This was the Zanpakutō hailed as the most beautiful in Soul Society—Sode no Shirayuki!

"Requip Magic?!" Gerard frowned slightly, his expression uncertain. After all, he had just seen the plain, unremarkable single-edged sword in Chen Wuming's hand suddenly transform into this exquisite weapon! The reason he was so doubtful was that, if this really was Requip Magic, wasn't the requipping speed far too fast? It seemed more accurate to say that the weapon in Chen Wuming's hand had suddenly changed shape than that he had requipped a different weapon! But—

Looking at the incomparably beautiful single-edged sword clenched in Chen Wuming's hand, then recalling that ordinary long sword from before, even with a child's imagination far surpassing that of ordinary people, Gerard still could not connect the two! In his words—these simply weren't the same sword! Their shapes and beauty were far too different!!!

Having decided that the two had nothing to do with each other, Gerard could only conclude that Chen Wuming's Requip Magic operated at an unimaginably fast speed!

Naturally, Gerard could not imagine the difference between Sode no Shirayuki before and after its release. The gap between its unreleased and released forms was simply worlds apart! That was right, what Chen Wuming used was indeed Requip-type magic! And it was the one and only Requip Magic in this mutated world!! Because the weapons he requipped were all Zanpakutō summoned from the world of Bleach!

But as for requipping speed, Chen Wuming's speed was not actually as fast as Gerard imagined! Sending back a weapon he had already requipped was indeed simple; all it took was a thought. But summoning another Zanpakutō, especially one he had never tried to requip before, was nowhere near so easy!

It could be said that after dealing with those two mage supervisors, although using Flash Step twice had consumed a great deal of his magic power, Chen Wuming had continued attempting requip summons without pause! He wanted to verify the suspicion in his heart—could he truly summon the Zanpakutō from Bleach as his weapons?! Could he only summon Wabisuke, or could he truly summon every Zanpakutō from Bleach to become his weapon?!!

While attempting to requip and preparing to head back the way he had come, he happened to see Gerard carrying the battered Erza and throwing her into a ship!

After carefully eavesdropping on their conversation and connecting it with the incredibly sinister magic power radiating from Gerard, Chen Wuming keenly sensed something! With his powerful analytical and deductive abilities, he almost instantly judged Gerard's current state—because of some unknown reason, Gerard had fallen!!!

After reaching that conclusion, Chen Wuming felt not only sorrow, but an even deeper sense of self-reproach. Yes, self-reproach... He blamed himself for failing to fulfill his duty as an older brother, for not properly guiding Gerard, allowing him to ultimately walk down this dark and evil path.

But in truth, who could have imagined that the man who had once been so full of justice would become like this? And in less than a day...

Erza could not understand it. Chen Wuming could not understand it either...

But just as he had said, as an older brother, aside from giving his younger brother support and comfort when he was bullied, he also had to give him the punishment he deserved when he committed an unforgivable sin...

Though he was deeply unwilling and heartbroken, Chen Wuming could only force himself to act in order to stop Gerard from continuing down the wrong path! And when faced with Gerard's sudden magical attack, he finally completed another Requip Magic summon before being struck!! The Zanpakutō he summoned this time was the one hailed as Soul Society's most beautiful Zanpakutō—Sode no Shirayuki.

Erza lay at the bow of the ship, staring blankly up at Chen Wuming—or rather, at the Zanpakutō in his hand, Sode no Shirayuki!

It was too beautiful, too captivating! How could there be such a beautiful, dreamlike sword in the world? Erza thought blankly to herself, a faint yearning suddenly rising within her heart. If only... if only I had such a beautiful weapon too...

A small wish took root and sprouted in Erza's heart, laying a fine foundation for the beautiful armor and weapons she would possess in the future. Though some company was in for terrible luck~ Of course, those were matters for later. For now, let us see how Gerard would face this!

Turning back to the scene, Gerard stared suspiciously at Sode no Shirayuki in Chen Wuming's hand, as though trying to discern some clue from it. Unfortunately, there was no Bleach here for him to examine. Naturally, he could not tell what abilities the beautiful, dreamlike Sode no Shirayuki possessed! After all, Gerard was not some so-called elusive god!

"You think you can defeat me with nothing more than such a flashy-looking thing?" Though suspicious inside, Gerard still sneered mockingly. "It seems you still do not understand. I am one chosen by the great dark mage Zeref, chosen by a great god! How could a mere mortal like you possibly be mentioned in the same breath as a messenger chosen by a god?! Do you think you are a god?!!!" The final sentence was practically roared out, as though he wanted to dispel the inexplicable fear in his heart through sheer volume.

"A god? So that's how it is..." Chen Wuming murmured softly. "It seems you truly have fallen, Gerard. That so-called god, which does not exist and is nothing but an elusive illusion, has clouded your mind. What do you think Zeref, that dark mage from history, was? Such an evil being nearly destroyed this entire world! No matter how powerful he was, he absolutely did not deserve the title of god—" At the end, his eyes flashed sharply, erupting with a terrifying gleam!!!

"Bastard!! Do not slander the god in my heart!!!" Gerard flew into a rage and screamed hoarsely at Chen Wuming in the distance. "As one chosen by god, I must make you pay the absolute price for your blasphemy! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!!!" As he roared, a dark purple magic circle radiating deep, dazzling violet light suddenly appeared beneath Gerard's feet!

"Yaaah—" With an angry roar, he crossed his arms before his chest as surging magic power burst from Gerard's young body! The powerful magical fluctuations made the surrounding ground tremble violently, while Gerard's hair was blown straight upward by the raging magic power filling the magic circle!!!

"You—" Powerful magic power filled his entire body. Enduring the pain of his body being torn apart by that power, Gerard viciously slammed both hands forward and roared, "Die! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!!!" The instant his words fell, an enormous dark purple beam of magic power erupted from between his outstretched hands and charged fiercely toward Chen Wuming in the distance!!!

"Second Dance..." Without any unnecessary words, facing the beam of magic power that had reached him in the blink of an eye, Chen Wuming merely bent slightly at the waist. He gripped Sode no Shirayuki with both hands and held it sideways before his eyes, its bright tip aimed directly at the powerful magic beam before him. Then he softly said, "White Ripple—"

The instant his words fell, a blast of ice and snow carrying extreme cold erupted from the sword tip! In an instant, everything before him was frozen solid!! Including the magic beam! Including Gerard!!!

Looking at the magic beam frozen within the white ice and snow, less than a centimeter from his face and nearly touching the tip of his nose, Chen Wuming could not help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. That was far too close! If I had been even a little later, I might have been the one who lost. No... judging from the force of Gerard's attack, if I had taken it head-on, it probably would not have been as simple as getting injured. It might even have killed me outright!

Thinking of that, Chen Wuming shook his head with a self-mocking smile and sighed. Sorrow returned to his expression as he looked at Gerard, frozen in the ice and snow and utterly unable to move, with only his head exposed. Chen Wuming's heart ached unbearably...

At this moment, due to Sode no Shirayuki's Second Dance: White Ripple, white snowflakes drifted all around Chen Wuming. The drifting snow, paired with his incomparably sorrowful expression, formed a beautiful picture centered on grief. Yet that picture carried an atmosphere of desolation that made anyone who saw it feel a pang of sorrow in their heart...

"Big Brother Nameless, Gerard..." Erza stared blankly at the two figures on shore. Beneath the ache in her heart, her eyes also revealed traces of sadness.

The two brothers who had once been as close as siblings now had to turn against each other, and one of them was even about to die like this forever. Therefore, in Erza's eyes, no matter the result or the reasons behind it, this was still a scene too painful to bear. Even if the one about to die had been in the wrong, that did not change the reality...

Big Brother Nameless must be suffering even more, right? Erza thought. For some reason, a faint bitterness welled up in her heart. Why? Why did it have to end in such a tragedy?!

Erza cried out wildly in her heart, yet helplessly...

"Farewell, Gerard..." Chen Wuming slowly walked before Gerard and looked at him, his entire body frozen with only his head exposed. With sorrow on his face, he said, "I hope that in your next life, you will not choose such a wrong path..." When he finished, he slowly closed his eyes. A clear tear slid down from the corner of Chen Wuming's eye, falling softly onto the white ice and snow by his feet with a sorrowful drip.

"First Dance, White Moon..." Chen Wuming gently swung Sode no Shirayuki, turned, and slowly walked away. His quiet voice carried far into the distance.

Behind him, a massive pillar of ice shot up from the ground, completely sealing Gerard within it...