Creating Ultimate Magic!

Crack—! With an explosive sound, the bedraggled blue-haired youth suddenly broke free from the cross-shaped ice prison!

"Hypnosis Magic—" Gritting his teeth against the bone-piercing cold coursing through his body, the blue-haired youth swiftly crossed the two magic staves in his hands and shouted, "Molou!!!"

As soon as his words fell, a faint pale-green magic circle suddenly emerged behind Achill and instantly unleashed its power!

Suddenly, bizarre magical illusions arose within Achill's mind. The powerful magic instantly dragged him into a deep hallucination!!

"I got him!" Taking advantage of the instant Hypnosis Magic activated, the blue-haired youth's figure flickered as he swiftly arrived behind Achill. The moment Achill fell into the magical illusion, he brought his magic staff down heavily upon Achill's back!!!

"Too real!" Just before the magic staff was about to strike Achill's back, a sharp gleam flashed in Achill's eyes. His body twisted at an exaggerated angle, and before the blue-haired youth's disbelieving gaze, he narrowly evaded the staff's attack by a hair's breadth!!

"Hyōrinmaru!!!" Seizing the moment when the youth's old force had been spent and his new force had yet to form, Achill fiercely tugged the crescent chain in his left hand again! The blue ice dragon that had been soaring through the sky immediately threw back its head with a mighty roar that shook the earth, then pounced savagely toward the blue-haired youth below, claws and fangs bared!

"Roar—" A distant dragon's cry echoed out.

Boom—! The ice dragon slammed heavily into the ground with a deafening explosion!

When the dust settled, the once-level hill had already been reduced beyond recognition! A massive crater over ten meters wide appeared before Achill. He silently stepped forward and gazed at the blue-haired youth lying in the crater, his body battered and ragged. Achill said softly, "It's over. From the moment you chose to make that mistake, everything had already ended..." There was a trace of dark sorrow in his voice.

"In the next life, I hope we can become real brothers. Real brothers, with not the slightest gap between us..." With the blade pointed downward, Achill slowly raised his Zanpakutō and murmured sadly, "Farewell, Gerard—"

With that, the Zanpakutō thrust down without hesitation—

"Triple Magic Circle: Mirror Water!!!" Suddenly, a large magic circle rose abruptly from the fallen blue-haired youth and instantly blocked Achill's Zanpakutō!

"Hm?" That was not all. A tremendous rebounding force burst from the magic circle and raced along Achill's Zanpakutō before violently striking his body! The sudden force sent him staggering back dozens of steps before he barely managed to stop!

"This is..." Achill stared blankly at his numbed right hand, stunned for a moment.

"Fivefold Magic Circle—" Forcing down the waves of bone-deep agony throughout his body, the blue-haired youth rapidly climbed to his feet. He slammed his magic staff heavily against the ground and, while Achill was still stunned, unhesitatingly unleashed his most powerful spell!

"Divine Kagura!!!!!!!"

In an instant, five enormous overlapping magic circles appeared above Achill's head! As a blinding magical radiance flashed, they immediately unleashed their greatest power!!!

A huge pillar of light descended, completely trapping Achill within it! He could not leave the area covered by the pillar!

"Sleep!!!" the blue-haired youth shouted deeply. At once, countless lasers capable of plunging most people into deep sleep burst violently within the pillar of light! They all struck the only person inside—Achill!!!

A tremendous wave of exhaustion suddenly rose in Achill's mind. His grip loosened, and he nearly dropped his Zanpakutō to the ground!

In an instant, countless images flashed through Achill's mind: his life in this world, his former life, his days as a magic failure, his days as an aimless shut-in, everything before his amnesia, even everything after it. Scene after scene linked together before his eyes, forming a bond that connected end to end, as though creating a complete cycle of life and death. It slowly enveloped Achill's consciousness. In the end, all those images transformed into an immense conviction, as if the cycle itself had awakened, filling his consciousness just as it was beginning to sink into sleep!

All things began and ended, coming from nothing into being. Nothing was both the beginning of all things and their end. Taiji was born from Wuji. Taiji meant excess; excess brought reversal, for when things reached their extreme, they reversed! Taiji and Wuji—beginning already meant ending, and ending likewise meant another beginning! Everything, whether Taiji or Wuji, ultimately came down to one word: "extreme"!

The so-called extreme was reincarnation! The cycle that connected every beginning and every end. The way of extremes was the cyclical reincarnation of reversal at the utmost limit!

Suddenly, an ethereal voice slowly sounded in Achill's mind. Like a splash of cold water over his head, it instantly awakened his drowsy consciousness and restored his clarity!!

"Ultimate Magic—" A low roar rolled from Achill's throat, deep and filled with an indescribable majesty and force! His eyes, which had been more than half closed from exhaustion, suddenly released two soul-stirring rays of divine light!

He casually planted Hyōrinmaru in the ground. His pale hands slowly traced two vast semicircles before him like intangible willow catkins. Faint afterimages formed an abstruse and profound pattern, a mysterious design the blue-haired youth in the distance could not understand—one that was unmistakably the Taiji Diagram! The yin-yang double-fish Taiji Diagram inherited from five thousand years of civilization!!!

"Ultimate Magic..." Achill's indifferent voice slowly emerged. Then his hands abruptly clasped together, held upright before his chest in a prayer-like gesture! Looking up at the five immense magic circles overhead, the faint Taiji Diagram before his chest slowly revolved around his joined hands. With an incomparably solemn expression, Achill enunciated each word: "Ultimate—Path—Reincarnation!!!!!!" The moment the final word fell...

Boom—! An invincible, invisible force of dissolution erupted violently from Achill's body!! An enormous Taiji Diagram spread out, enveloping everything within a hundred-meter radius!

The first to be affected were the five magic circles above his head. Under that strange magical power, they were like snow melted by spring sunlight, vanishing bit by bit until they had completely disappeared into the vast earth and sky!!!

"Gasp—" The blue-haired youth watching from afar could not help drawing in a sharp breath! In utter shock, he blurted out, "Creation Magic?!!"

That was right. The move Achill had used was none other than a brand-new magic he had created after, in his inexplicable haze, fortuitously grasping the essence of the Way and the meaning of reincarnation—Ultimate Magic!!!

"H-How was that possible?! How could it be possible?!!" The youth stared fixedly at Achill, his eyes filled with extreme shock!

"Whew—" Achill let out a light breath, picked up Hyōrinmaru from the ground, and calmly watched the blue-haired youth before him.

"You—" Seeing this, the youth instinctively backed away several steps and raised his magic staff, preparing to attack again! However...

Slap— Achill gently placed his hand on the youth's newly raised right hand and said calmly, "Stop. You are not Gerard..."

The youth's body suddenly froze completely. Stiffly turning his head, he struggled to look at Achill, who had appeared beside him. When had he gotten there?!! He had clearly been standing some distance away only moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye he had appeared at his side and stopped his next spell! And he had not sensed a thing?!!!

The youth's face was filled with shock as he screamed inwardly, When had he gotten so close?!!

"What is your name..." Achill gazed at the face that was exactly the same as Gerard's in his memories and softly asked, "Why do you have the same appearance as Gerard, even the same..."

Temperament!

Achill did not say those two words aloud, because he knew some things could no longer be undone. Even if Gerard had once possessed an upright temperament almost identical to the person before him, now everything had vanished like smoke.

What had passed could never return.

"My name is Gerard—" After a moment of silence, the blue-haired youth slowly spoke. At that point, he paused slightly and looked at Achill's expression.

"..." Achill merely nodded slightly without saying a word, because he knew the youth had not finished speaking.

"Strictly speaking, I am Gerard from Edolas!" Seeing no unusual reaction from Achill, the youth continued, "You can call me—Mystogan! Mystogan is the name I use in this world!"

"So that's how it is. Edolas..." Achill's eyes showed understanding upon hearing this. From the memories he had inherited, he knew that Albert had once told him their world was called Earth-land, and that alongside this world existed another parallel world called—Edolas!

"My name is Chen Wuming... no, you should still call me Achill! Achill is my true name now..." After thinking about it, Achill decided that since he had already come to this world, he should adapt to its customs and continue using the name that belonged to this world!

Thinking this, Achill gave the youth before him a slightly apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mystogan. I had just recovered my memories back then, so..."

"It's all right. I understand." Mystogan shook his head magnanimously and smiled kindly. "The Gerard of this world must have been someone very important to you! Otherwise, seeing my appearance would not have suddenly restored your old memories."

"Yes, in the past..." Achill sighed. With a lonely expression, he glanced once more at that familiar face before sinking into deep memories...