Kael and Reiro would reach their destination within the next two or three hours.
At the same time, Jean and the others were making their way forward, but the man standing directly in front of them brought the entire group to a stop.
Reiko.
Reiko stared at Jean.
"You have Soul Powers. How is that even possible?" he said.
Jean walked to the front of the group.
"Reiko, you bastard. What are you doing here? I thought you would have died by now. And don't you dare set your eyes on my men, or else you're dead."
Reiko's expression filled with anger.
"Jean. So you also left the Soul World. You had your own followers, and still you couldn't save your position as royalty."
Jean drew his sword and pointed it toward Reiko.
"Don't you dare say anything about it. Your Reality Shift isn't going to work on me. Leave now, or you'll be dead."
Reiko summoned the souls he possessed.
"If that's what you want, Runaway Jean."
Jean glanced toward James.
"James, don't let any of those souls get near our men. The others can just keep back and enjoy."
"But we want to fight," someone from the group said.
"No. We have a larger war in the future. Don't waste your energy here. That's an order," Jean replied.
James drew his sword as well, while the others moved to a safe distance.
Jean lowered his sword toward the ground.
"Light Soul Magic: Light Domain."
The blade pierced the earth.
Light spread outward from the point of impact, covering a massive region around Jean.
Inside the Light Domain, Jean's Light Magic and the abilities of his teammates became more powerful.
Jean looked directly at Reiko.
"Reiko, James will fight your group, so let them have their own fight. You come at me with full power, or you're dead."
"As you wish. My army, go. Win it," Reiko said.
The soul army moved past Jean and headed toward James.
Reiko tightened his grip on his sword.
If it's the Light Domain, I will not hold back.
He raised the weapon.
"The one who rules over the Dark, the one who selected me, Night Sword, show your true power."
The weather suddenly changed.
A moment earlier, the sky had been clear and sunny.
Now dark clouds began surrounding the entire area.
"Night Technique: Calamity."
Reiko suddenly struck the ground with his leg and pointed the Night Sword toward the sky. He slashed through the air, causing light to spread upward and fill the sky.
It did not affect Jean.
James and the souls were no longer there. James had taken the soul army into the nearby forest, so the other members remained within range.
Harry, one of the strongest members of Jean's Soul Division, moved forward and drew his gun.
"I guess I'll do it. Void Bullet, come."
Harry loaded the gun and fired.
The projectile vanished.
"Fool," Reiko said.
A strange figure dressed completely in black appeared in the sky.
It was Calamity himself.
"Harry, it's on you now. Handle him," Jean ordered.
"Yes, Commander," Harry replied.
"Disaster World," Calamity said.
Harry and the other eight members were instantly teleported with Calamity into another dimension.
Reiko looked back at Jean.
"So, Jean. Shall we start our sweet little fight?"
"If you want. Light Magic: Blazing Soul, arise."
Spirits appeared around Jean, including those forming his defense.
Reiko lifted his sword and split it into eight separate blades.
He sent six of them toward Jean while keeping two and charging directly at him.
Jean sent his spirits forward.
The spirits blocked the incoming swords while Jean controlled their movements.
Jean charged with his own sword.
Both of them activated Enhanced Vision.
Jean and Reiko clashed.
The force of their swords colliding tore through the air, causing the clouds above them to disappear.
Jean moved back.
"Blazing Soul, hide."
The spirits vanished.
Jean rushed Reiko again.
Reiko became alert.
He knew Jean would attack.
Two spirits suddenly appeared around Reiko and charged toward him.
Reiko quickly used his swords to block them.
The moment the swords and spirits collided, the spirits exploded into smoke.
Jean appeared through it.
His sword pierced Reiko.
In the next moment, Jean was already behind him.
Jean turned and attacked again, but Reiko was ready this time.
All eight swords were pointed toward Jean.
Reiko was bleeding, but the wound was not fatal.
"Eight Swords: Fierce Fight."
The eight swords went on a rampage.
They rushed Jean from every direction.
Jean defended himself brilliantly from each strike, but he became completely occupied with defending against them.
That gave Reiko enough time to heal himself.
Reiko called the eight swords back and combined them into a single blade.
"Soul Sacrifice."
Reiko smiled and struck himself.
Jean suddenly coughed blood.
Intense pain tore through his body.
Soul Sacrifice was a technique where the user sacrificed a soul in order to land a guaranteed hit on the target.
Because Reiko had absorbed many souls, he was the perfect person to exploit the technique.
Reiko twisted his hand.
Jean felt the same pain.
Reiko twisted his leg.
Again, Jean suffered.
Reiko was enjoying himself while Jean took all of the damage.
Jean's vision started becoming blurry.
Reiko pierced his own eye with the sword.
Jean's eye was struck by the same effect.
Reiko continued healing himself, but while Soul Sacrifice remained active, Jean could not heal himself.
Jean called his sword back.
The Light Domain ended.
The moment it disappeared, Jean suffered even greater damage.
The Light Domain had been reducing the damage reaching him.
Reiko suddenly stopped.
For the first time since leaving the High Soul World, he felt danger.
Jean tore off his jacket, exposing the injuries covering his body.
Then he lifted his sword.
The surroundings became silent.
Reiko prepared himself.
With the Light Domain gone, there was nothing left to hold him back.
Jean turned the sword toward himself.
Then he pierced his own heart.
Blood came from his mouth.
"Partial Soul Release."
The world seemed to react.
Reiko froze.
Across the Soul World, even those in the higher regions felt the enormous power.
Far away in the jungle, James had been enjoying his fight against the souls.
He suddenly stopped.
All of the souls disappeared.
James looked toward the direction Jean had been fighting.
"Jean, what forced you to use that? Did Reiko get too strong, or did we get weak?"
Even Kael and Reiro stopped when they felt the power.
Kael looked toward Reiro.
"What's That, Reiro?"
"It was definitely soul Release"
Reiro's expression changed.
"When Souls were fighting the Blood Beasts during that war, the Blood Beasts were overpowering them. Then this power was discovered. This form allows a Soul to use its pure Soul Form. That was the reason the Blood Beasts began struggling."
Kael frowned.
"But why now? Why would anyone use that now?"
"Something is going on," Reiro said.
Kael looked ahead.
"Reiro, let's go. We don't have time. If it's an enemy, we should be ready."
It was the first time in two hundred years that someone had used Soul Release.
Back at the battlefield, Jean's wounds healed.
His entire body began emitting energy, and that energy also worked as his defense.
Reiko remained careful.
Then Jean disappeared.
Reiko immediately raised his guard.
He could no longer follow Jean's movements.
"Where? I can't even notice him anymore."
The next moment, Reiko was in the air.
Then he was falling.
Again.
And again.
As though he had been trapped inside a time loop.
Jean remained in his place.
Reiko was trapped inside a simulation of time, and Jean was controlling it.
Jean moved his hand.
Reiko's heart began to tighten.
Harder.
Tighter.
Reiko's condition rapidly worsened.
He was almost in a near-death state.