Reiko was in a near-death state.
The world began to shake.
The pressure around him twisted violently as Reiko broke free from Jean's time loop by sacrificing his own soul to the Soul King.
Then he activated Reality Shift.
"Reality Shift: World of Matter!" Reiko shouted, pain and anger filling his voice.
Jean's eyes flashed.
When his vision returned, the surroundings had completely changed.
He was standing on a wide plain with only a few trees visible in the distance. Reiko floated in front of him, his body heavily injured, blood dripping from his wounds.
"World Enemy," Reiko said.
The land behind him tore apart.
He pulled two enormous pieces of earth from the ground and hurled them directly toward Jean.
Jean did not even move.
The energy layer surrounding his body was enough.
The massive pieces of land began to disintegrate before they could reach him, breaking apart under the pressure of Jean's power.
Jean then noticed something.
Energy was increasing near Reiko.
Reiko noticed it as well. He sensed the energy of this place, and a smile slowly appeared on his face.
He clapped his hands.
The ground began to shake.
A shadow emerged.
It continued growing.
Bigger.
And bigger.
Jean knew he should have felt fear.
Instead, he was getting excited.
Then he recognized what was appearing.
The Snake of Life.
One of the only beings capable of killing a Partial Soul Release user.
"Reiko, why do you have the Snake of Life?" Jean asked.
Reiko landed on the creature's head.
The Snake of Life was nearly twenty times larger than Jean.
"I was not called Soul Eater for no reason," Reiko said.
Then his voice became louder, filled with anger.
"Jean, you shall die by my hand, and this shall be your last day!"
He raised his hand.
"Go. Consume him!"
Reiko flew away from the creature.
The Snake of Life attacked.
Jean teleported himself high into the air.
In midair, he punched the creature.
The Snake of Life was thrown backward.
It became furious and attacked again.
Jean sent it backward once more.
He was deliberately provoking it.
Reiko's anger continued rising.
This time, before Jean could punch the snake again, Reiko attacked.
"Thunder Soul Magic: Thunder Spear!"
A spear of lightning formed and flew toward Jean.
Jean saw it coming and teleported to the left.
But the Snake of Life had already moved.
Its tail struck Jean.
Jean was launched backward through the air.
"Elemental Magic: Rock!" Reiko said.
A massive rock formed directly along Jean's path.
Jean crashed into it hard.
He forced himself back to his feet.
He knew now that he could not defeat both of them together.
Then Jean laughed.
He signaled Reiko to look upward.
Reiko did not understand.
Then he suddenly felt something.
He looked up.
A gigantic sword was hanging directly above his head.
The sword dropped.
It struck Reiko and pinned him to the ground.
"The Guardian Sword," Jean said.
He turned toward the Snake of Life.
"Now, it's your turn, you freaky snake."
The Snake of Life began collecting Life Force.
It fired the gathered energy toward Jean at tremendous speed.
Jean stopped it.
He controlled the attack.
But the Snake of Life immediately struck with its tail.
The Life Force exploded.
Jean took some damage.
He watched the enormous creature carefully.
Its size.
That was what caught his attention.
It's huge. That is the only disadvantage I can exploit.
The Snake of Life charged toward Jean.
Jean teleported.
The creature turned and followed him.
Jean teleported again.
For the next few minutes, he continued provoking the snake.
Every time it came close, Jean disappeared.
Then he allowed it to approach again.
Again.
Again.
Until Jean suddenly stopped.
"Infinity."
Only then did the pattern become clear.
Jean had been teleporting in a very specific way, creating the shape of infinity.
The Snake of Life had followed every movement.
Now it was caught inside a continuous loop.
"You shall not roam freely anymore, Snake of Life," Jean said.
Jean raised his hand.
Energy began gathering from the surroundings.
"Elemental Sealing Technique V."
Huge rocks emerged from the ground on every side.
They closed around the Snake of Life.
More stone followed, completely covering its massive body.
Then one final block descended from above and sealed the top.
The entire structure began shrinking.
Jean picked it up and threw it away.
For a moment, Jean thought everything was alright.
Then Reiko's loud voice came from behind him.
"This is not over yet!"
Jean turned.
Reiko was still alive.
Jean approached and saw massive cracks spreading through the Guardian Sword, as though Reiko was destroying it from the inside.
Jean stared at it.
Impossible.
For Reiko to even remain conscious after taking that much damage was already unbelievable.
And he can damage it this much? Reiko... what the hell are you? This should have been one of my strongest techniques.
Jean was still caught in his thoughts when the sword shattered.
Reiko flew out.
His entire left side was nearly destroyed.
Blood poured from his body.
Reiko stopped the bleeding.
Then he sacrificed his left eye, his left hand, and his left leg to regenerate only his vital organs.
He looked toward Jean.
"Jean, you crushed my dream of defeating all those higher-ups, but I shall stand at the end of your life!" Reiko shouted.
His remaining right hand trembled.
Reiko placed it in front of his chest, his open palm facing toward his left.
"Atomic: Mass Creation!"
The entire land began to shake.
The ground broke apart.
Pieces of earth tore free and attached themselves to Reiko.
It continued without stopping.
More matter.
More land.
More mass.
From Jean's perspective, Reiko was becoming like a monster, devouring the land and everything upon it.
The ground beneath Reiko rose high into the air.
Reiko landed upon it while it continued consuming the surrounding land.
He combined himself with the raised mass, which continued drawing more and more matter toward itself.
Jean had to run to avoid being pulled into the tremendous pressure.
Even his speed decreased significantly.
Jean looked backward toward Reiko.
He was still gaining mass.
Still becoming larger.
Jean knew he needed a move made of pure energy if he wanted to defeat him.
The mass around Reiko began taking shape.
Hands formed.
Then legs.
Slowly, the enormous structure started resembling a human body.
It continued draining matter from everything around it.
Huge craters appeared across the land, stretching over a radius of more than a kilometer.
The pressure became so intense that Jean could no longer match his previous speed.
The land being consumed was getting dangerously close.
Jean finally reached for his sword.
"Wind Sword: Wind Domain."
The nature of Jean's sword changed into wind.
He threw the sword high into the air and pointed toward it.
"Heavenly Wind Technique: Absorb."
The sword pulled Jean upward.
Jean flew toward his weapon in the air.
Below him, the land itself began to rise.
Then it was absorbed.