Reply me or reply to me?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,
Please clear my confusion. Which one is correct sny why

Reply me as soon as possible.

Or

Reply to me as soon as possible.

Which one is correct and why. When I searched on Google, it says that reply is transitive verb thetefore it will take To, but I have often read “reply me”.

A friend has said that while using ‘reply’ as a noun it will not take ‘to’ but when using ‘reply’ as a verb it will take ‘to’.

Please, please, please clear my confusion and explain it to me thoroughly.

2

The pattern to follow is 'to reply to sb\sth’. Same with ‘reply’ as a noun. thefreedictionary.com/reply

Eg How to Reply to Someone Who Hates You.
How should I reply to someone who says “nice” after I tell them where I’m from?
Is it only visible to that person that you reply to?
You can reply to a comment on a Page post by going to the comment.
19 Hilarious Ways To Reply To A Text.
This page is to help you to reply to enquiries.
I’m writing a reply to your letter.