Soul Magic and the Charm of That Shot~

"Who am I? Hahahaha—never thought someone would actually ask who I am?!" In the darkness, an incredibly ugly middle-aged man emerged with a strange laugh. He walked over to the black-clad man's corpse, dipped a finger into the still-warm blood, and licked it from his finger as though savoring it. With a shrill, grating cackle, he said, "My name is Esoda. You probably haven't heard it before, but if I give you my title, you might find it more familiar. They call me—the Wraith Messenger! Hahahahaha!!! So, brat, do you finally know who I am now?! Cackle cackle cackle—despair!!!" By the end, he was once again making that deranged, ear-piercing noise. His expression became incomparably savage, and violent, bloodthirsty magic power surged from his entire body!

"Wraith Messenger Esoda? A criminal who had committed countless atrocities over decades through his powerful strength. Even on the wanted list issued by the Magic Council, he ranked extremely high among evil mages! Heh, I really didn't expect to run into someone like you in a godforsaken place like this today." Achill tilted his head and scrutinized the ugly man before him, sighing calmly. "What rotten luck..."

"Hahaha, you're right! Looks like you're taking this quite well. Are you acting fearless because you know you're going to die? Or did you simply never take me seriously in the first place? But no matter what, no matter how you see me, from the moment you encountered me, your fate was already decided! So yes, you really are unlucky..." Esoda sized Achill up with the amused gaze one reserved for a dead man, then grinned wickedly. "Are you ready? If you have no final words, then your soul belongs to me..."

"Idiot—" Achill gave his evaluation without the slightest politeness. "You sure talk a lot—"

"And..." After a pause, Achill swept a disdainful glance over him, his eyes full of contempt, and said lazily, "I never go easy on brain-dead morons and assholes!"

"Who the hell asked you to go easy on me?!" Esoda shouted, so furious he laughed. "You should be worrying about your own life! Ahahahahaha—"

"There's an opening..." Achill instantly appeared behind Esoda. At some point, a long Zanpakutō had appeared in his hand. Achill laughed wildly and roared, "Die!!!" His voice was impatient yet overflowing with fervor. The instant his words fell, the Zanpakutō came slashing down with tremendous force!

"Heh, don't underestimate me—" The ugly Esoda's lips curved into an eerie arc as he bent down slightly, neatly dodging the powerful slash. Then he stretched out his withered right hand toward Achill's wide-open chest and chuckled strangely, "Brat!!!" As he spoke, a violet-black magic circle radiating icy magic power began spinning rapidly before his open palm!

"Black Wraith, Heart Devourer—"

"Roar—" The moment the words fell, a ghostly blue figure with a twisted face and an incomparably ferocious expression burst from the magic circle with a furious howl, charging straight at Achill's chest! With its claws bared and its gaping bloody maw open wide, it looked as though it wanted to swallow him alive!!!

Achill raised an eyebrow slightly. He knew there was no way he could bring this strike down now! Because Esoda had extended his hand straight out to cast the spell, though Achill appeared to have swung first, Esoda's magic would definitely hit him first if they truly calculated it. Achill's blade would only reach Esoda's body the instant after he had been struck!

At this point, someone might say, then just let him hit you! You have an incomparably sharp blade, while he is merely using magic. At worst, his magic will wound you, but you can kill him on the spot! Trading an injury for his life—no matter how you look at it, you come out ahead!!

But was it really that simple? Did he think an evil mage like Esoda was really that stupid? Did Esoda have the words "I'm a fucking idiot" pasted on his forehead?!

Since he didn't, did he really think Esoda hadn't considered that possibility?! Since he had considered it, then without question, this terrifying-looking spell had to possess something special! Otherwise, Esoda would not have used it with such confidence! Since he had used it, he must have firmly believed that this move could resolve his unfavorable situation! A spell that not only required no price to resolve his own crisis, but could even severely injure his enemy in the process—this was the magic that made the Wraith Messenger famous throughout the world—Soul Magic!!!

A strange glint suddenly flashed through Achill's eyes. Clearly, he had thought of that as well. Soul-type magic directly affected the human soul! This was entirely different from ordinary bodily injuries. As everyone knew, the soul was the most mysterious and unfathomable part of the human body! Even the strongest mage could not offer a detailed explanation for something as real yet as abstruse as the soul!

But! Once the soul was damaged, the consequences would definitely be far more serious than an injury anywhere else! Much, much more serious!!

No mage wanted by the Magic Council was someone to be trifled with! This was especially true of those ranked near the top of the wanted list. Any one of them was an existence no one could afford to underestimate!

And this pervert named Esoda—Achill's mind rapidly flashed through the information recorded on the wanted list he had once read out of boredom. This man had actually squeezed into the top fifty among all wanted criminals! Without a doubt—

His strength was definitely unimaginably powerful!!!

At that thought, Achill no longer hesitated. He flashed away, abandoned his original offensive, and retreated far into the distance!

"Trying to run?" Esoda's hands danced in an eerie pattern as he laughed strangely and roared, "Too late!!!" As he spoke, three violet-black magic circles appeared before his chest, arranged in a triangular formation as they spun.

"Dance, my darlings!!!"

In an instant, the magic circles blazed brightly!

"Roar roar—" Amid a series of incomparably miserable howls, dozens of horrifying ghostly forms with ferocious faces and faint phosphorescent glows tore themselves free, one after another, roaring as they rushed toward Achill from all directions in an encircling assault!!

"Roar—" Not daring to be careless, Achill held the Zanpakutō horizontally before him and pressed his left hand against its blade. Then he roared, "Haineko!!!" The moment he spoke, his left hand swiftly swept across the blade without hesitation!

"Buzz—" Red light immediately burst from the Zanpakutō! Amid excited buzzing, a Zanpakutō resembling a viper and covered in sharp fangs appeared in his hand! To withstand this ferocious attack, he had released it without even the slightest hesitation! He had directly activated his Zanpakutō's Shikai!

Soul-type magic had always been known for being bizarre and troublesome! Achill did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. Before he understood his opponent's true trump card, being as cautious as possible was undoubtedly the wisest choice!

"Tear him apart! My lovely darlings—"

"Roar—" With a series of miserable howls, all the magical ghosts viciously pounced on the completely surrounded Achill.

"Heh!" Achill unconsciously grinned. Then, his right hand holding the blade suddenly swung backward! Haineko extended segment by segment beneath Esoda's astonished gaze, every serrated edge catching up to a magical ghost.

"Hmph—" With a cold snort, Achill flicked his right hand slightly, and the sharp serrated fangs slashed down mercilessly!

"Gah—" Accompanied by waves of shrill, miserable screeches, every magical ghost was instantly torn apart into fragments of ghostly blue light!

"Tch, they don't seem like much! I was so nervous just now too. How embarrassing..." Seeing the magical ghosts prove so utterly fragile, Achill was stunned for a moment before rubbing the back of his head in frustration, as though he found his earlier caution deeply embarrassing.

If he had not lost his memories, he would definitely have given Esoda two words without hesitation: fucking idiot! That's right, fucking idiot! Using wraiths—pure soul-type magic—against a Soul Reaper with the ability to cut souls... what else could that be but idiocy?

"What?!! Damn it!!!" Esoda's expression abruptly changed, becoming exceptionally ugly. His Soul Magic, which had always been invincible, had actually proven so fragile before Achill's attacks? Esoda could not believe it, nor was he willing to believe it! His already hideous face grew even more twisted. Too lazy to think about why this was happening, he thrust both hands upward and screamed madly, "This is the price for angering me! You—die! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The instant his words fell, a gigantic demon head radiating surging evil magic power roared as it emerged from his body. The ferocious head, dozens of meters tall, completely enclosed Esoda within it!

This was the true strength of Esoda, the Wraith Messenger! This was the unprecedented greatest power he erupted with after becoming completely serious, utterly terrified, and violently enraged!!!

"I really don't like this hot-blooded, impulsive personality..." Achill dispelled his release and returned Haineko to his Requip space. As though he had not even noticed Esoda nearby, whose magic power was fully unleashed as he prepared a terrifying spell, Achill—now returned to his usual calm self—frowned slightly and murmured, "Having a brain feels much more comfortable..."

"But—"

"Soul Magic—Demon's Judgment! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!!!" Esoda let out his final hoarse scream as he slammed both hands downward.

"Roar—" The enormous, incomparably ugly demon head immediately threw back its head and released a furious howl. Then, with its gaping bloody maw open wide, it charged toward Achill in the distance with a savage roar!

"I've already—" After silently invoking Requip, spatial ripples flickered as a short Zanpakutō appeared in Achill's right hand. He raised his left hand, bent his body slightly forward, and lightly rested the Zanpakutō beneath his left arm, using that arm to press the blade down slightly. Achill narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly like a fox whose scheme had succeeded. "Grown tired of playing..."

"Shoot to kill him—"

The instant his words fell, a dazzling cold gleam suddenly shot out from beneath Achill's wide robe! The incomparably sharp blade light instantly pierced straight through the enormous demon head, then immediately shot through Esoda's throat and out through the back of his skull!!!

"Shinsō..." Only then did the final syllable slowly fall.

"Pfft—" The extended, snow-bright blade slowly retracted without a trace of blood. Completely unlike the speed at which it had shot forth, its return was slow and elegant. With a spray of blood, Esoda fell straight backward, his face still frozen in its previous savage expression. Clearly, he had been shot dead the instant his brain received the pain signal!

Too fast! It was simply too fast! So fast that before Esoda could make any response, before he could even realize he had been killed, everything was already over...

And with Esoda's death, the enormous demon head containing immense magic power slowly dispersed into nothingness as well.

"Huh? He's already dead?" Achill stroked the Zanpakutō's blade, now retracted to the size of a short sword. His eyes narrowed as he revealed a fox-like smile, and he gave a slightly gloating, wicked grin. "What rotten luck..."