Author's note: This chapter will be the final of the Friend-chapters. WARNING: This chapter will reveal you something shocking that will take place in Silbern's throne room. Reader's discretion is advised. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 36: Friend 4
Flashback, 1200 years ago, inside a tavern, the town of Antiquität, Lichtreich
As the oafish man named Mask De Masculine made this declaration, many of the customers in the mess hall could not help but to watch him with surprised eyes. Each of the guests had different reactions to Mask's declaration, with some viewing him as clown, while others starting to take an interest in fighting him. No one had seen this man before, except for Bazz-B, who had also seen him in a tavern in Eisenschild. The man with the moustache simply smiled with confidence, while his tiny partner clapped his hands together in admiration of his taller partner.
"Listen up, you fiends! I am Mask De Masculine and I demand some worthy opponents to fight me!" the man with the moustache said while surveying the mess hall for any potential opponents, not just the Sternritters. Mask cracked his gloved fists. "Now then, which of you are tough enough to accept my challenge? Hopefuly some of you sitting in this hall are more than happy to…" as he was speaking so loudly, his eyes caught the glimpse of a Reishi Arrow headed directly towards him. With his quick reflexes, Mask grabbed it and threw it away.
The one who had just fired it was Bazz-B, who had just gotten off his seat at the long table and brought forth his Spirit Weapon. The punkish man grinned as he saw the tall man catch he arrow.
"Hey! Correct me if I'm mistaking, but I heard you say something about worthy opponents, am I right?" Bazz-B asked while blowing off the smoke of his Reishi Crossbow. "Well. You called, I answered!" he then said with a smug look.
Seeing this only made Mask narrow his eyes at him for a brief moment. But he soon smiled gleefully as he was kind of happy to see Bazz-B accept his challenge. "Finally, a Sternritter who wishes to fight me. Let us see if you are worthy of wearing that outfit!" he then said, trying to taunt Bazz-B.
The hotheaded man had no means to continue this talk, so he simply let his Spirit Weapon do the talking for him. Bazz-B fired multiple arrows at his opponent. But to his surprise, Mask grabbed the nearest table he could find and used it as a cover against the incoming arrows. The tall man then lifted the table up in the air, thus revealing a cocky grin at Bazz-B, who got angered by seeing this.
"Is that the best you can do!? Hah! I laugh at your archery!" Mask taunted Bazz-B before throwing the table towards the group of Sternritters, which surprised everyone in the mess hall. This resulted in a dusty bomb. Many of the customers were screaming in shock, as it left quite a ruckus in the tavern. The bartender became furious at Mask's actions.
"You imbecile!" Äs Nödt said to him while slamming his hands on the counter. "You do remember the rules: no fighting in the mess hall! Fighting must take place down in the basement!" the black-haired man angrily reminded Mask.
The blonde-haired man with the moustache simply shrugged him off. "Sorry about that. But I sense a brawl coming, so I might as well start it here right now!" Mask said before he stomped his right foot on the floor, thus making one of the nearby barrels come at him. Mask took hold of the barrel and was ready to throw it once again. He grinned cockily. "Alright, "so-called" Sternritters! Are you ready for some more!?" he then asked, trying to taunt his opponents.
But he snapped as he could feel someone aiming a Reishi Rifle towards him. Mask turned right and saw who was emerging from the dust. It was Lille Barro, whose Spirit Weapon was that of a rifle made of Reishi. The bullets he fired at that time were made out of Reishi, nothing else. The man with the white eyepatch was quick to fire his rifle.
"Try some of this, fool!" Lille berated Mask, who only managed to avoid the bullet by falling backwards, this landing his middle back on the counter. Lille was stunned, yet he did not give up just yet. "Heh, you got lucky! But not this time!" the black-skinned man was about to shoot another round, only to feel himself getting pierced by a Reishi Lance in his stomach. Lille was then thrown against the wall, like a dart.
"Hah! You're not getting him, weakling!" the bullying voice came from Driscoll, who was grinning with satisfaction over seeing Lille being caught by his lance. The black-haired man then fixed his aggressive eyes upon Mask, who was still leaning backwards. "Now as for you…COME HERE AND FIGHT ME FOR REAL!" Driscoll taunted at him.
The moment Mask rose up on his feet, he immediately turned left and aimed threw the barrel at Driscoll. The bullying man was getting it right at his face and it was a barrel filled with wine. The black-haired man fell on his behind and angrily wiped off the wine on his face. Driscoll immediately got back on his feet and angrily glared at the blonde-haired man dressed like a blacksmith.
"Motherfucker! You'll pay for that with your life!" he angrily cursed at Mask, who merely stood there feeling so confident about his abilities.
Mask grinned. "Then why don't you come here and do something about it? Actions speaks louder than words, repulsive fool!" he then taunted the aggressive Sternritter.
As Driscoll charged against the man with the moustache, Mask simply ducked to avoid the black-haired man's uppercut before launching himself at Driscoll in the air and then throw him down towards the middle of the floor. Mask had actually decided to throw him on the ground as he could see Bazz-B, NaNaNa and Berenice charge at him. As Driscoll was thrown, he hit those three Sternritters. Due to Driscoll's enormous size and strength, the floor cracked and a giant hole was formed in the middle of the mess hall. Customers, tables and other furniture were dragged along with it the broken wood. Mask had made quite a mess in the tavern.
"YOU DID IT, SUPERSTAR!" James exclaimed loudly, never ceasing his admiration of the man dressed as a blacksmith. Mask was now standing on the counter and watched the results of his fighting skills. "NO ONE'S BETTER THAN YOU!" the chubby man added to his praising of Mask.
Mask only appreciated it with a bow and even did that towards the other customers, who had not fallen into the hole in the middle. Then again, the whole place was trashed. However, the muscular Quincy did not seem to care about that and continued to put on a show.
"Thank you, thank you and thank you! The Superstar appreciates your support!" he told those he could see. But none of these customers seemed to be willing to give him some applause. He had completely wrecked the place. Mask fixed his attention on the bartender, who merely glanced at him with his arms crossed. "I beg of your forgiveness, barkeep. Hopefully you are capable of fixing this place back to what it used to be, am I right?" the man with the moustache asked Äs.
The black-haired man merely glanced at him with nothing but disappointment in his eyes. "Is that all you have to say?" he asked with annoyance in his voice. Äs then began looking at the damaged mess hall and the giant hole in the middle that that had taken almost every customer with it, with the exception of those standing by the counter or at the entrance.
One of the few Quincies lucky to not have fallen in the hole was Luddenwig Van Gogh. The white-haired boy stood at the stairs that led to the tavern's entrance and looked as Mask continued acting so high and mighty in front of everyone in the mess hall. The teenager was suddenly interrupted by hearing a familiar voice calling to him from behind.
"Hey there, Dummkopf! What are you standing here for?" the sarcastic voice came from Askin Nakk Le Vaar, as he along with Quilge Opie were standing behind him and glancing at the kafuffle currently taking shape in the mess hall. "We heard that a brawl was gonna happen in this tavern and wanted to witness it. It looks like we arrived a little too late" the black-haired teenage boy remarked smugly while putting his hands into his pockets.
Luddenwig only narrowed his eyes, as he did not feel happy to see his roommate whom he usually did not get along with. But Quilge suddenly drew his blade and pointed it towards Mask, who had barley taken notice of his arrival. The four-eyed man glanced at him with determination.
"You there, barbarous oaf! By the order of His Majesty himself, I place you under…" Quilge's declaration to Mask was interrupted as he felt a hard kick on his behind. It was Askin's doing, the smug-looking teenage boy taking pleasure in having kicked the bookish guy's butt. Askin had kicked Quilge so hard that he had fallen into the hole in the ground.
Askin grinned with pleasure. "Why spoil the fun, Quilge? The party's only getting started!" the teenage boy exclaimed as he jumped down in the hole, leaving Luddenwig behind.
Mask had taken notice of the Sternritters entering the fight and he grinned. The man dressed like a blacksmith was ready to join the pummeling. Unfortunately for him, someone had snuck up to the bumbling Quincy from behind by using the hanging lights in the tavern. From there, Cang Du emerged out of hiding and proceeded to deliver a hard kick on Mask's upper back. This powerful managed to force him down and even broke the rest of the floor near the counter. Once again, many new objects including bottles and barrels fell down into this new hole that was created. Together, the two holes made the mess hall completely floorless and only those standing by the stairs were safe. The tavern's interior was really destroyed. Even some of the customers that were standing in the mess hall had fallen down as well.
Meanwhile, Mask's partner James was trying his best to hold onto the counter, but he lost grip and fell down to the basement. The chubby man eventually landed in an opened barrel and he was afraid that he would break his nose. But fortunately for him, there was some kind of liquid in the barrel and he had a safe landing. But this liquid was actually wine, so James had apparently landing in a barrel of wine.
Äs had not managed to fall down into the basement yet, and he took a glance at what was happening. His eyes narrowed in dispassion. "Look at this mess! Those impotent fools have turned this place into a pigpen" he remarked with low enthusiasm in his voice as he stood behind Luddenwig. The young man was also holding onto a book which closely resembled a bible. Äs turned his attention to the teenager. "So, are all Sternritters like this?" he then asked the young boy lowly.
Luddenwig simply shook his head at the bartender. "Not really. These one's must be really battle-hungry. That probably explains why they joined the Sternritters. His Majesty probably knows that men like these could be useful weapons to him" he replied in return.
"Hmmm…..I see" Äs noted while finding himself a chair to sit on and began reading his book. But he did look over to see Luddenwig just one more time. "Now if you excuse me, I am just going to sit here and read my book. I will pretend that I never saw any of this mess. Feel free to do whatever you want with your comrades, but I wouldn't jump down if I were you" the black-haired man told him in a slight bored tone.
Luddenwig got curious as he heard what Äs was saying. "What do you mean by that?" he asked the young man with the book.
"You are about to find out" that was the only sentence Äs could come up with as he returned his focus on reading his book.
The basement of the tavern, which also functioned as a wine cellar, now possessed so many wreckages from the floor above it. Broken tables, glasses and chairs formed piles of wreckages in the once dark and cold basement. Unlike the mess hall, the tavern's basement was made of nothing but stone bricks. It dotted the basement's interior, both on the walls and on the floor.
Emerging out from one of these wreckages was Mask, who had just been attacked from behind by Cang. As he got up, he stretched his neck as he heard some bones crack. "Such cowardice. How dare those fiends to attack me from behind? I shall make them pay!" he said while expressing his dissatisfaction about this. But Mask suddenly snapped as he could notice that James was not with him. "James! Where are you?" the man with the moustache asked his partner while starting to look around for him.
As Mask began his search by lifting up a table, he suddenly felt himself being in danger as someone was trying to attack him from behind once again. It was Cang, who had activated his Spirit Weapons. The black-haired man glared at him deadly, intending on fighting Mask once again.
However, Mask only grinned as he understood the picture. "Resorting to cowardly tricks, I see?" Mask asked smugly while without even hesitating grabbed Cang's left foot and then began swinging him. At the same time, he then noticed Bazz-B and Berenice coming towards them. "Well I think your tactics are….TOO SLOW!" Mask exclaimed loudly in the minute he threw Cang straight towards the charging Sternritters
"WHAT THE…AAAARRRRGHHHHH!" Bazz-B yelled as Cang flew straight towards him and Berenice resulting in those three getting blown away until they reached to one of the giant barrels of wine. It was quite a crash. And once again, Bazz-B and Berenice were experiencing painful results, even as they got covered in wine.
Mask was smirking as he saw those three blasted away only to be caught by surprise, when two other Sternritters emerged from some of the pile of wreckages. To his left was NaNaNa Najakhoop aiming his Heilig Bogen at him and to his right was PePe Waccabrada aiming his Heilig Bogen at him. The man dressed like a blacksmith stood his ground.
NaNaNa grinned as he aimed his arrow at Mask. "Heh! I got yo ass now, fool! Say hello to mah little….ARGHHHH!" the afro-haired man yelled in agony was he was shot on his left hip by PePe. The chubby man with the sunglasses grinned at NaNaNa. "PEPE, YOU BITCH-ASS MOTHAFUCKA!" NaNaNa yelled out as he was forced to land on the floor.
PePe snickered to himself. "Shut up and stay out of this! I'm taking this prey here all by myself!" he said while aiming another Reishi Arrow at his target. "Now! Let me show you the reason why pain is love!" PePe then said as he fired an arrow at his target.
Mask began stomping his right foot and he managed to get hold of a small table that was big enough to act as his shield. He managed to save himself from the arrow, but PePe was not yet finished. In fact, the chubby man had used Hirenkiyaku to appear behind the muscular man and was ready to fire another arrow. PePe grinned while seeing how slow his opponent was to react.
"Heh! You're mine now, sweet-cheeks!" PePe exclaimed and was about to fire, only to be knocked out into unconsciousness as a big brick was thrown at the black-skinned man's face. His sunglasses were broken and PePe felt himself being in his own world as he fell on the floor. The birds began swirling around his head while his nose was bleeding.
Mask was surprised in seeing this, but the moment he turned around to see who had don that to PePe, a Heilig Pfiel narrowly missed his left cheek. However, a small cut was formed and he was bleeding a little. Turning around, Mask was stunned as he could see Jerome standing there whole carrying a giant brick in his hands while Askin was standing with his Heilig Bogen. Apparently, Jerome had been the one throwing the brick at PePe, while Askin was the one who had fired the Reishi Arrow at Mask.
But they were not alone, as more Sternritters began gathering to challenge Mask. Quilge, Lille, Berenice, Driscoll, Cang, NaNaNa and Bazz-B all stood up on their feet, ready to go all out on the oafish man. However, Mask could not help but to feel excited about this, as he was seeing so many Sternritters who wanted to challenge him so badly.
In an effort to taunt them, Mask made the typical "come at me" gesture to the Sternritters. He was determined to take on these Quincies, even if they were 9 and he was one.
"Now this is only starting to get more interesting! How about you "so-called" Sternritters show me more of your talents! In that way, I will be quite satisfied for tonight!" Mask then called out to them.
The Sternritters were about to attack him, only to stop as they along with Mask could hear a loud and boastful laughter coming to them from one of the basement's tunnels. Three figures stepped out of the shadows and it was the same trio of hooded individuals that they had seen on the mess hall. It was apparent they had also fallen down to the basement. The one in the middle seemed to be the tallest of the trio and he continued to laugh so loud that all attentions were on him.
"What a spectacular brawl this turns out to be! I must admit, I never expected so many fighters to show up tonight!" the hooded figure remarked before beginning to remove his hood, thus revealing everyone his blonde hair that reached to his shoulders, as well as the winged helmet he wore on his head. Truth be told, he looked very strange and unfamiliar to the Sternritters. The blonde-haired man grinned as he got their attentions. "A pleasure in meeting all of you, Sternritters. I may look unfamiliar to you, none of that even matters to me!" he exclaimed with confidence in his voice.
Some of the Sternritters like Driscoll and Jerome seemed quite displeased by listening to the tone in this stranger's voice. But they were not the only one. Bazz-B, Cang and even Mask started to prepare their moves on him. Meanwhile, the other two strangers merely stood by the sidelines and watched as the blonde-haired man continued to taunt the Sternritters.
"Who the hell are you, stranger?" Jerome asked coldly, even going as far as to brandish his Spirit Weapon, which was in the form of a giant hammer made out of Reishi. The shaven-haired man narrowed his eyes. "If you're looking for trouble, then you might have found it. I am definitely gonna test you!" he said and began slowly walking towards the blonde-haired man.
The stringer shrugged his shoulders in return. "Normally, I would not respond to a question coming from a rude fellow like you. However, if you insist, then allow me to tell you!" he said and suddenly stretched out his hands in each direction. "You may call me…Gerard Valkyrie. Now which one of you is tough enough to take on the ultimate Quincy? I dare you come at me at once!" he introduced himself while taunting the Quincies.
Drisoll and Mask both grinned and even went to join Jerome in on the charge against Gerard. The three muscular Quinces were determined to test their might on this stranger. So far, the blonde-haired man had only grinned as he saw three people coming towards him. It was apparent that he had a bloodlust for battle. Jerome was the quickest to reach him and lifted his hammer up before preparing to slam it on the stranger.
"ALLOW ME TO PUMMEL YOU, JACKASS!" Jerome exclaimed loudly as he jumped in the air before preparing his attack.
But Jerome was stunned as Gerard managed to block his attack by holding a shield against the hammer. The blonde-haired man held the shield in his left hand and a Reishi Sword in his right hand. Jerome's attack had caused some shockwaves to be formed, yet the blonde-haired man stood his ground. Furtermore, he had loosened himself off the hooded cloth, thus exposing his black Viking armor, as well the silver cloth underneath his armor and on his legs. While Gerard's shoes were white, he actually wore Viking boots, in which the fur above the soles was black. Truth is, Gerard pretty much looked like the combination of a Valkyrie and a Viking.
"What's wrong?" Gerard asked as he gazed up at Jerome with a cocky grin. "Has your Spirit Weapon started to get rusty?" he then asked once again.
Jerome was in for a surprise as he felt himself being blown away from Gerard. This was due to his shield. The black-skinned Quincy was sent flying up towards the ceiling in the mess hall, where he eventually crashed. The tall man with black shaved hair was thus stuck up in the ceiling.
But Gerard still had to contend with both Driscoll and Mask. Driscoll had unleashed his Reishi Lances and was about to pierce his opponent. But Gerard refused to back away and proceeded to clash against Driscoll with his Reishi sword. The bullying man grinned his teeth as he clashed with his opponent.
"Hah! You think that tiny sword can withstand my lance!? You're way over your head!" Driscoll taunted Gerard to boost his confidence, as well as gaining the upper hand in this clash.
Despite this, Gerard was not keen on holding back and even to Driscoll's surprise managed to push him back with enough might. It was astounding, considering Driscoll's enormous size. "Don't judge a book by its color, simpleton! My sword is the power of hope!" the blonde-haired man exclaimed and swung his sword. Driscoll reacted by using his lance to try blocking the incoming attack. However, the bullying man became stunned when Gerard's Spirit Weapon simply tore through the Reishi Lance and even managed to land a few cuts on Driscoll himself. He screamed in agony while Gerard merely smirked to himself. "Do you believe me now!? Never underestimate the power of my Hoffnung!" he exclaimed while stating the name of his Spirit Weapon.
"NOT SO FAST!" Gerard snapped as he could hear a voice coming from above him. The blonde-haired man's eyed widened slightly in his winged helmet, as he had almost forgotten about Mask. The bumbling man with the moustache was heading straight towards him with a wrestling-inspired move. "I AM THE TRUE CARRIER OF HOPE! NOT SOME RUSTY SWORD CAN REPLACE ME!" Mask added to his exclamation as he headed straight towards his opponent.
Gerard merely frowned as he heard those words. "Hmmmm…..you have spoken your last!" he said in return and all of a sudden threw his shield like a boomerang towards the bumbling man, this hitting him straight in the face. Mask's air attack was ceased, yet Gerard suddenly appeared right before him in the air. Before Mask could even retaliate or make a move, Gerard punched him in the stomach, thus sending the blacksmith down to the floor of bricks. "Taste the might of justice, fool!" Gerard said as he suddenly threw his sword and his shield at Mask, who was lying on the ground. One by one, his equipment hit the muscular man on his chest, thus causing some series pain in Mask. But the muscular Quincy felt even more agony as Gerard suddenly landed right on his stomach with his boots, thus freeing his equipment. The blonde-haired man grabbed hold on them and got off Mask.
The group of Quincies were stunned to see what had just happened. Gerard had easily taken care of Jerome, Driscoll and Mask as if they were nothing but mere nuisances. The blonde-haired man grinned at the rest of the Sternritters, as none of them knew how to respond to this.
"Dayum! Dem homies got fucked up bad, dawg!" NaNaNa exclaimed as he watched lying on the floor while Driscoll were on his knees bleeding seriously. The afro-haired man turned his attention to Bazz-B, Cang and the others. "I say we call this a quit for real" the lean man then added while facing them.
"NaNaNa's right. That man's too dangerous to….." Berenice snapped as she could see that Bazz-B and the rest of the Sternritters were still wanting to confront Gerard. Each of them were intending on testing their abilities.
"Hey, you!" Bazz-B called out to Gerard. "I sure am impressed that you managed to take out those bumbling fools! However, don't expect me to let my ass get handed to ya!" the aggressive man said while holding onto his Reishi Crossbow.
"Hold on! Don't leave me out of this! Quilge spoke up in his bookish accent. "I can finally prove to Driscoll that I'm better in defeating opponents" he then added with an exclamation. Quilge had already drawn out his Reishi Sword.
Askin only rolled his eyes as he heard what was being said. "Geez, no wonder why everyone finds you annoying" the black-haired teenager said while holding onto his Heilig Bogen. He then glanced smugly at Gerard. "Hmmmm…..whoever you are, you would make a perfect Sternritter, no doubt about it" he then noted in his head.
Lille aimed his Reishi Rifle at the blonde-haired man. "Stay out of this, all of you! I alone am capable of hunting this prey perfectly on my own. My shots never miss!" the man with the white eyepatch said while standing ready to fire.
"It is too soon to sound arrogant, Lille Barro" Cang sternly told him before narrowing his eyes at Gerard. "That man…his power is incredible…..." he noted warily in his head.
Gerard simply held up his shield and began tapping it with his sword. "Why are you standing there arguing about who wants to go first!? Come and get me at once! I will take all of you down, just like I did with those three buffoons!" he taunted at them. Apparently, he wanted to face them all. But Gerard could take notice of Driscoll and Mask as they were now standing up to their feet. But Driscoll was still bleeding seriously. Gerard only grinned. "Oh, still alive I see? Perhaps I underestimated your resolve" he admitted to himself.
Mask held onto the injury on his chest. "No one hurts the Superstar…..NO ONE!" the man with the moustache exclaimed as he pointed a finger at the man with the winged helmet on his head.
"I'LL SWEAR, I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR APART, LIMB FROM LIMB!" Driscoll yelled out in anger and even managed to run towards Gerard, despite his critical injury.
Gerard could see that the entire group of Sternritters were now headed straight towards him, and the blonde-haired man hoped that this would bring him some satisfaction in combat. He stood his ground with his sword and shield.
"HAH! THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! ARE ALL OF YOUR WORTHY TO BE CALLED STERNRITTERS!? I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT!" he exclaimed with bloodlust rising in his voice.
However, the charging Quincies were in for a great surprise, as a giant hand made out of stone suddenly headed straight towards them. It was actually an arm made out of stone. The arm was coming so fast, and none of the Sternritters were able to perform Hirenkiyaku to avoid it in time. They were all taken by this giant hand, as it continued straight towards the wall of bricks. The rocky arm was strong enough to make a hole in this wall and it took the Sternritters along with it.
In fact, the hole could be seen from the outside, as an explosion erupted by the tavern. The giant rocky hand had managed to reach the giant waterwheel spinning by the tavern. The rocky hand's strength pushed the waterwheel down into the river. The waterwheel then proceeded to float on the water until it was held back by one of the town's bridges, which was made of rocks. The Sternritters were thrown outside as well, as they all landed in the river. But some of them were fortunate enough to get on land quickly.
Bazz-B got up on his feet from the water and watched as his clothes were soaking wet. It made him furious with anger. "FUCK ME! MY CLOTHES ARE SOAKING WET!" he angrily said while seeing how wet they were.
Quilge was shivering as he got up from the river. The evening had come and it was getting colder in the air. The four-eyed man froze as his wet clothes only helped him feeling colder by the minute. "G-GODDAMNIT! M-MY BALLS ARE F-FREEZING!" the young man with the two bangs said as he felt cold.
"THIS IS SO AGONIZING!" Askin exclaimed as he also felt cold in his wet clothes. Even his hair was wet. "NOT THE HAIR TOO!" he then added to his outrage.
Cang only glanced at the two Sternritters with nothing but narrowed eyes, hinting his displeasure about how whiny they were behaving just now. "What a couple of immature cubs…" he spoke up lowly. The black-haired man then fixed his eyes upon the hole in the tavern. "That ability…..what was that!?" he then asked in a slight angered tone.
"Look! It's that blonde-haired loudmouth again! But there is someone standing beside him!" Lille noted as he could see Gerard standing in the hole looking at them, but he wasn't alone.
The one standing beside Gerard was one of the other hooded strangers, and probably the smallest of the trio. He merely glanced out to where the Sternritters were standing. Gerard however, only glanced at his comrade with a deep frown.
"What's the big idea? There was no need for you to intervene, Gremmy!" Gerard sternly told the one standing beside him. The little individual removed his hood, thus exposing his child-like face, messy blonde hair and crimson eyes. This was without a doubt Gremmy Thoumeaux. "I was perfectly capable of handling these ruffians on my own" Gerard added to his statement.
"Spare me your baseless complaints, Gerard!" Gremmy snapped, his hands tucked inside the pockets of his hooded cloth. He then glanced at the group of Sternritters with empty eyes. "What good is there in wasting time with ants, whose power pales before ours? I simply intervened to prove to them why they can never match up to our strength" the young boy added, his voice so mature despite his childish appearance.
Gerard only scoffed at those words. "Tch, whatever" he said, not even giving much thought about what Gremmy just told him.
Meanwhile, Driscoll had only gotten angrier by being humiliated like this. In fact, he even held onto a Reishi Lance and glared at both Gerard and Gremmy standing in the wall. The bullying man could not stand being reduced to this condition. "EAT THIS, COCKSUCKERS!" he yelled as he threw the lance towards the duo.
But before the lance could even hit its targets, something astonishing happened right before the Sternritter's eyes. The giant waterwheel that had previously been pushed out due to Gremmy's attack earlier was back and rolling again, thus protecting them from the lance. It was shocking, considering that the waterwheel was no longer seen standing by the bridge. The waterwheel was somehow used as a cover by Gremmy and Gerard.
"Damn! How the hell just happened!?" Lille asked as he felt discomfort by seeing this.
"Gosh! I think I need some new glasses!" Quilge added to his statement.
Bazz-B only shrugged his shoulders before he began walking away from the group, only to stop as he could see someone blocking the way before him. The other Sternritters took notice of this as well, and they could see that there were certain people riding on horses. As they got closer, the group was in for a shock as Jugram Haschwalth could be seen sitting on a horse, alongside other Quincies. Among them were his vice-captain: Hubert Opie and other members of the Sternritters: Friedrich von Algora and Imogene Ingleright. They were all riding on horses, accompanied by guards.
"What the…..Jugo….." the punkish man uttered lowly as he could see the blonde-haired man glance at him with his usual disapproving eyes. Bazz-B was beginning to hate this glance now.
Hubert chuckled by what he was seeing. "Well what do you know? Here we are on our night patrol, only to find some unruly Sternritters wreaking havoc in the tavern" the black-haired man noted with slight distaste in his voice, especially since he saw Bazz-B and Driscoll being among them. "All of you better have an explanation for this" he added sternly.
"Cousin Hubert!" the vice-captain was interrupted by the voice of Quilge, who ran straight to his horse, before standing by the horse's left side. The four-eyed man was trying to make an impression on his cousin, who so far, seemed less then pleased to see him. "Oh boy, you should've seen me back in the tavern! I was able to kick butt and land some scratches onto my…." Quilge was interrupted by a hard slap on his face coming from Hubert. The vice-captain showed no remorse for his actions. He continued to glare at Quilge disapprovingly, as the slap had caused him to lose his glasses, as well as making his face bleed.
"I don't wanna hear another word from you, Quilge!" Hubert snapped, while Quilge began holding his nose. "How many times do I have to say this? I can care less about you and your….." Hubert was interrupted by someone grabbing him by his shoulders. It was Algora, who only glanced at him with dispassion. The tall man then began leaning onto his comrade while whispering something
"Don't take it too far while around the captain, Hubert. He and His Majesty are two sides of the same coin. The only thing you will achieve in your disciplining of Quilge is nothing" Algora whispered, thus forcing Hubert to reconsider his actions.
The black-haired man focused his attention on Haschwalth, who had so far, only glanced at him with his usual cold eyes. Reluctantly, Hubert lowered his head in shame, trying to show respect to his superior.
"Sorry, captain. I apologize for my outburst" Hubert said, although his gentle voice was in reality a fake one.
Haschwalth proceeded to glance at the Sternritters before him, his frown never vanishing. "All of you are to return to Kriegsschlacht this instant. I thought I gave you all permission to go our just because of celebrating Imogene's engagement to Floyd. Therefore, I expected all of you to come back to the academy" he told them sternly before eyeing the bright-haired woman, who only closed her eyes and lowed her head slightly. "But here I see you wasting your time causing such kafuffle and vandalism inside a tavern. His Majesty shall be notified of your actions. Then, we will decide on a better way to keep you all leashed. But from now on: now venturing into town during the evening! As Sternritters, all of you are supposed to be examples to our empire!" the blonde-haired man strictly berated them before his horse began turning around. But Haschwalth looked over his right shoulder, indicating that he was not finished with the group. "Tomorrow, all of you are to have a full-day class by Viktor Zeidritz. That class is an obligation to you all. None of you may leave Kriegsschlacht. Come along now" Haschwalth concluded his order and his fellow Quincies followed him.
The Sternritters followed their captain, yet Bazz-B was feeling anger and frustration inside of him. Once again, he was forced to kowtow to Haschwalth. He hated that fact. How did he end up from being a good friend and pushy inspiration for him to a bad-tempered underling and doormat in Haschwalth's eyes? The young man would one day prove himself before him.
"Just you wait, Jugo" he thought in his head as he watched Haschwalth riding his horse. "I'm not done with you, yet! We still have a score to settle! That will be our destiny, our fate!" the young man added to his thoughts.
Present time, inside Silbern's courtyard, Wahrwelt, Soul Society
Bazz-B thought he had done it. By launching his Full Burning Fingers, he wanted to believe that he had managed to defeat his long-desired opponent. He was even in his Quincy: Vollständig right now. The atmosphere in the courtyard was silent and even Bazz-B himself felt strange in this time of hour.
However, he could still hear some steps behind him, and it made the young man widen his green eyes. Before he even knew it, he felt himself being feetless. This only confirmed it, as Bazz-B fell onto the ground, his body feeling so much pain and suffering. Bazz-B could not believe this. He was now at the end of the rope and he even heard steps coming towards him. Briefly looking to his right side, he saw Haschwalth standing there, his face still carrying empty eyes and no emotion.
Despite the condition he was in, Bazz-B could not help but to chuckle by seeing Haschwalth standing and himself not. Apparently, something had come into his mind. In fact, he even began crawling towards his former friend, although he could only reach to his coat. Bazz-B still continued chuckling, which was quite ironic, given his critical condition.
"You got me there…...Jugo" the brash man said while blood streamed from his lips. "Fuck…...things never go the way you want them to, do they…" he then asked, his voice feeling slightly weaker by the minute. However, something happened to Bazz-B's green eyes and they were filled with sadness. He was even facing the ground. "I thought looing to you…would hurt so much more than this…" he then admitted, for the first time having some form of humility in his voice.
Despite hearing this, Haschwalth remained unfazed. He even began taking a step backwards, this making Bazz-B fall onto his stomach once again. The blonde-haired man had no regret for the condition he had put his friend in. "I tried to tell you how vast the gap between our powers were, but yet you didn't listen. Your lack of management was what became your undoing, Bazz-B" Haschwalth coldly told his lying opponent, who managed to briefly look up at him. But Haschwalth was not yet finished with him. He began lifting his Reishi Sword high in the air. It was apparent that he was now willing to finish off his friend for good. Bazz-B had no power to resist or even move. He only watched as the blonde-haired man was preparing to deliver the final blow. "I should have done this before you even became a Sternritter. All this time, you have desired this. Now I grant you it. Look upon me, Bazz-B. YOU WILL NOW RECEIVE THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD HIMSELF!" the blonde-haired man said and began dropping his sword towards Bazz-B's body.
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" both Bazz-B and Haschwalth snapped as they heard someone scream so loud at the two. It was a female voice. Haschwalth turned to his right side and saw none other than Uryu's Schutzstaffel. Berenice was standing there. Her eyes were streaming with tears. The pink-haired woman with the purple bang was crying by what she was seeing. "STOP THIS…...PLEASE!" Berenice added with a pleading tone while sobbing.
While she was in tears, Driscoll, Cang, Jerome and BG9 were acting rather passively. All of them were silent as they could see what Haschwalth was to actually do to Bazz-B.
"What is the meaning of this…" Haschwalth spoke up lowly while watching Berenice and the other Schutzstaffel standing there. "I thought I told you imbeciles to take care of the rebel Sternritters!" the blonde-haired man strictly berated them.
"They have already fled from the courtyard, Haschwalth" Cang pointed out to him lowly. "The explosion you and Bazz-B caused in Silbern made us all lose focus on the rebels. That enabled them to escape" he then added lowly.
Haschwalth scowled as he heard this. "And you let them escape!?" he asked in utter dispassion in his voice. "Damned fools! Do you even realize what you have…" Haschwalth's scolding was interrupted by one of the Schutzstaffel.
"We are Crown Prince Uryu's Schutzstaffel. Therefore, we answer only to his commands alone! You have no sway over us, Haschwalth!" BG9 reminded the blonde-haired man. "Our orders were to protect Silbern from the rebels. But now, they have fled from us. Therefore, we see no merit in going after them" he added with his robotic voice.
The blonde-haired man only narrowed his blue eyes as heard those. "Careful what you say to me…Bernard Gabor" he addressed the Sternritter by his real name…...or perhaps the name he had as a living Quincy once.
"TO HELL WITH THIS REBELLION-BULLSHIT!" Berenice screamed in anger and sadness while facing Haschwalth. The young woman faced him with slight anger in her eyes. "Please….no more bloodshed…..I beg of you, Jugo" the young woman then added as she looked down at Bazz-B.
"He is a traitor" Haschwalth's reply was like a bullet in the heart. "There is no hope for him, Berenice Gabrielli. Now do me a favor and shut up before I…" Haschwalth was suddenly blocked on his path by Jerome, who merely stood there while crossing his arms.
"Grandmaster Haschwalth, let Bazz-B die peacefully instead of executing him like some animal" Jerome lowly requested from him. "He has been a victim of His Majesty's Auswählen. He has had enough suffering for now, you can see that" the tall man then added while pointing out something to him.
Haschwalth was not impressed. "Sympathy towards your enemy? Your philosophy disgusts me, Jerome Guizbatt" he said in return.
"It is not sympathy, Haschwalth" Jerome then spoke up, thus surprising the blonde-haired man. "Executing our enemies like this, makes us no different than our own enemies. Do you wish to imitate the methods of the Shinigamis and Arrancars? If we Quincies are to prove our worth in this world, then we must follow our own way of justice. Executing the enemy, makes us all no different than our foes. Wouldn't you agree with me, grandmaster?" the tall man spoke up in a very mature manner, which even astounded Haschwalth.
"There is more reason for you not to do this to him. Don't you realize how much Bazz-B has done for you?" Berenice said, while drying her tears. "When you were alone and weak, he took you in, trained you, toughened you and even took pity on your suffering. He became the only friend you ever had in this world!" the young woman pointed out to him while stretching out her hands. Even now, she now stood before Bazz-B's lying body, thus preventing Haschwalth from ever attacking him. "After everything he's done for you…...this is how you wish to repay his friendship? Jugo…...I won't sit by and let you ruin this bond…..as a former friend of yours" the young woman added, her voice still feeling a little sad.
But she was also joined by the rest of the Schutzstaffel, even Driscoll and Jerome. Haschwalth was only surprised as he could see how loyal these Sternritters were to Bazz-B, despite his plans and actions. None of the Sternritters knew what kind of action Haschwalth would take now, but he merely glanced at them with his eyes of emptiness.
After 10 seconds, Haschwalth simply decided to walk away. However, he had some final words for the Sternritters. "Very well. I will not bestow punishment upon him. He may die in peace. However, get rid of this piece of trash this instant! His Majesty's courtyard is not to be defiled by his blood" the blonde-haired man simply told them while looking over his shoulder. He then proceeded to walk up the stairs and into Silbern itself. Haschwalth had no regret using this kind of tone in his voice.
The Sternritters continued to watch their fallen comrade, as he was slowly beginning to lose sight of everything around him. However, Bazz-B was currently invaded in his head by voices he had heard since his childhood. For some reason, he began to lightly smile as he heard those voices. It reminded him about something.
"Jugo, you will be my underling starting today. Don't listen to what the adults have to say. I'll teach you whatever you want to know. Let us become the strongest Quincies together, Jugo" Bazz-B's eyes slowly closed as he was taken back to those memories. These memories were something he had wished he could relive. They were probably the happiest days of his life.
As Bazz-B slowly closed his eyes, he could see something bright appear before him, yet he did not have to strength to have his eyes open. He completely shut them and began entering the world of dreams. No longer could he hear anything expect for those days as a young boy. He felt himself standing the woods with his only friend, just as they had done as children.
Inside Yhwach's throne room, Silbern
While the majority of the Sternritter rebels had fled the courtyard, some of them remained determined to continue on with the mission to topple Yhwach. In fact, two of the rebels had used Bazz-B's clash with Haschwalth as an opportunity to sneak past the guards and use the confusion to their advantage. It made it possible for them to sneak up into Yhwach's own balcony, thus arriving at his throne room.
Liltotto Lamperd and Giselle Gewelle were those two brave enough to infiltrate Silbern amidst this confusion. But they were not alone, as the zombified Bambietta Basterbine and Robert Accutrone were joining them on this daring attempt. But due to the night, when Yhwach and Haschwalth's powers were swapped, the girls felt very optimistic about this mission. As they stood on the balcony, they sat down to catch their breaths. The two zombies only stood still, almost as if they were guards.
"That was a close one! We were fortunate enough to use Bazz-B's kafuffle as a diversion" Giselle told her comrade, while looking over from the balcony. "But the same thing can't be said for Meni and Candi" she added while thinking about her friends.
"It can't be helped" Liltotto said while panting. "We were the only ones who were willing to take the risk. They and NaNaNa were not. Consider ourselves fortunate that no one saw us" she added while facing her fellow Sternritter, who was beginning to sweat.
"Man, flying up here was a pain in the neck" Giselle said while wiping off the sweat on her face. She then faced around with a hint of curiosity on her face. "Wow, we've really made it, Lil! This is His Majesty's balcony" the black-haired girl added as she got up on her feet.
Liltotto did the same thing and followed Giselle and her zombies. "Yeah, which means this is his throne room" the little girl said as the group of four entered the room. "Now remember Gigi, don't be loud" she then reminded her, although Giselle seemed to behave in a whimsical manner.
The moment the group of four entered the throne room, they could see that everything was empty. The only notable exception was Yhwach, who was sleeping so deep on his throne. So far, he had not even opened his eyes, something which even stunned the rebel Sternritters.
"Look! There he is! He's…" Giselle's noisy mouth was shut by Liltotto, as she quickly hushed the goofy girl. Giselle was confused at this, yet Liltotto glared at her with seriousness in her eyes.
"Idiot! Didn't I just tell you to not be loud in here!?" Liltotto whispered onto her comrade angrily. The blonde-haired girl them looked around while holding onto Giselle's mouth. Liltotto sighed in relief before letting go of her friend's mouth. "Well, it seems that Yhwach is here all by himself. There are no guards to protect him" the young girl added while whispering.
The Sternritters and the zombies began sneaking unto the sleeping emperor, who had not opened his eyes. Liltotto and Giselle could see that it was odd for him to be having a deep sleep such as this, as they had expected him to at least take notice of their Spiritual Pressures.
"Hey Lil" Giselle whispered to her comrade lowly. "Is it just me or do His Majesty look…different?" she then asked Liltotto, who only shrugged her shoulders in return.
"Beats me. But that's something I could care less about" Liltotto whispered back and suddenly activated her Heilig Bogen. The young girl then aimed a Heilig Pfiel at the sitting emperor. "Let's do this, Gigi! We'll be the ones to make that bastard pay for what he has done to us!" she added to her face.
Giselle also activated her Heilig Bogen and readied a Heilig Pfiel as well. Now that Yhwach was in a defenseless position, the two Sternritters now saw this as an opportunity to get rid of him once and for all. Even as the girls shot their arrows, the emperor did not awaken. The Reishi Arrows neared their target and both girls were watching this with gleeful smiles, finally being able to carry out their vengeance against the man who had abandoned on his battlefield. However, something was not right as the two arrows suddenly disintegrated before they could even hit Yhwach. Liltotto and Giselle snapped in outrage at this.
"What the hell…..." Liltotto lowly asked as she watched her Heilig Pfiel being reduced to nothing but smaller particles of Reishi. "This has to be a joke…..what happened!?" she then added inside her head.
"Our arrows…they disintegrated…" Giselle noted in utter disbelief. She then began facing Liltotto. "You saw what happened, Lil. His Majesty did nothing. He's still asleep" the young girl then pointed out to her.
Liltotto began taking steps towards Yhwach and she turned around to face Giselle and her zombies. "Come on, Gigi! I think we best do this by killing him with our own hands" she then urged her and the zombies to come after her.
Giselle and her zombies did so without hesitation and they all charged towards Yhwach, who still remained asleep on his throne. Even as they had begun to make loud voices, his eyes were still closed. But as the rebel Sternritters neared him, Yhwach suddenly formed a smirk underneath his moustache. This only indicated that he had indeed taken notice of the rebels being present, yet he did nothing to stop them.
But the rebels were, to their astonishment, blocked by a long wall of ice. It separated them from Yhwach and his throne, as they were given their own room thanks to the icy wall. The group of rebels stopped as they could see the wall of ice blocking them from assassinating Yhwach.
"DAMN IT! THAT WALL OF ICE IS BLOCKING US!" Liltotto cursed in anger by what she was seeing. "THIS MUST BE SOME KIND OF TRAP!" she then added to her frustration.
Giselle only giggled by hearing Liltotto getting so angry. "Chill for a second, Lil. All we have to do is getting rid of this icy wall. I suggest Bambi do the job for us" she said while motioning her head at the zombified girl, who then proceeded to prepare some Reishi Bombs with her own ability. Giselle them motioned for Robert to walk right into the icy wall, as he could do that with the help of his ability. But as Robert was about to enter, something got him blown away, almost as if there was a wind or some sort. Liltotto and Giselle were stunned by what they were seeing. "What!? This doesn't seem right" the black-haired girl said in astonishment.
However, the rebels were shocked as three shadowy figures suddenly appeared up from the ground. They were standing right before the icy wall itself. As soon as the shadows vanished, the rebel Sternritters were stunned to see three hodded individuals, wearing white hooded capes. But underneath those hooded capes, they wore white double-breasted trench coats with black lapels that was fastened by four buttons on either side and which had a badge with a six-pointed cross on its left breast. They each had a black belt with a large buckle around their waists, slightly baggy white pants, and white boots with furry black liners. But what was also astonishing to the Quincies was the Spiritual Pressure that came from them.
"Lil! These guys…they're not Quincies…..they're" Giselle was stunned by what she was seeing.
"Shinigamis….." Liltotto noted warily while saying the word. Yes, she and Giselle could see that by the weapons they were carrying on their hands. These were not Spirit Weapons, but Zanpakutous. "Who are you!? And why are you defending Yhwach from us!? Aren't you supposed to kill him, given the fact he's your enemy!?" the blonde-haired girl then asked them while she was feeling distressed by the fact.
The one in the middle, who happened to be the smallest of the three, took some steps towards them and pointed his Zanpakutou at the rebel Sternritters. From what the girls could tell, he was the one who had created this icy wall. They could even see some tints of ice on his blade.
"Killing him? Why would we kill our one, true king?" the hooded individual spoke up with a very familiar voice. He even then began to remove his white hood, thus exposing his face to the Sternritters.
Giselle's eyed widened in shock, as she immediately recognized who this man was. "NO WAY….YOU!" Giselle uttered out in disbelief. "I THOUGHT HIS MAJESTY HAD TAKEN CARE OF YOUR CORPSE!" she then added as she felt really distressed.
Yes, the one who was responsible for just erecting this wall of ice, was none other than the Captain of Squad 10: Toshiro Hitsugaya. He still looked the same in terms of appearance, expect for one thing: a devious smirk that ran across his mouth. His choice of outfit resembled more of Quincy, yet the white-haired boy never had a Spirit Weapon. He still held onto his Zanpakutou.
"Surprised to see me?" Toshiro suddenly asked Giselle in a smug manner while holding his blade onto the floor. "Apparently, there must be so many questions swirling inside your mind, right now" he added smugly, his smirk never fading away.
"These are the only intruders we have to deal with!?" the gruff voice come from one of the other hooded individuals, who began removing his white hood, thus exposing another familiar face to Giselle. This man was none other than the Captain of Squad 9: Kensei Mugurama. He still had his grey mussed up hair, and retained his same disapproving frown. As he faced the group, he then cracked his fists while even fixing a smug grin. This created loud voices, as he was prepared to beat them. "Either way, I'm always up for a little warm up" he then noted in his usual intimidating voice.
Giselle had her eyes concentrated on the last hooded person, who also revealed himself by removing his white hood. She quickly recognized him and his usual smug smile. It was the blonde-haired and reserved Shinigami named Rojuro "Rose" Otoribashi, also known as the Captain of Squad 3. He along with Kensei and Toshiro was dressed in these white outfits, which made them resemble Sternritters.
"What's going on here!?" Giselle asked in a very uncomfortable manner. "You were all former captains in the 13 Court Guard Squads! Now you're….His Majesty's guardians all of a sudden!?" she then asked out loud.
Liltotto faced them with widened eyes. "Captains! Those three are Captain-level Shinigamis!?" she asked out loud while sensing their Spiritual Pressures. "Their powers…they are vast….some of them even surpasses the Shinigamis we have fought before…." The young girl added to her thoughts.
"Enough yapping!" the stern voice of Kensei called out, as he began brandishing his Zanpakutou. "The Soul King has declared you ants no longer reliable! He has called for us to dispose of you for good" he then told them. "Blast it Away, Tachikaze!" he then activated his Shikai.
Giselle felt very uncomfortable by seeing this, and she faced Liltotto. "WHAT ARE WE GONNA…." She stopped as she could see Liltotto activate her Quincy: Vollständig and it gave her the answer. Liltotto was in her Numisen, and nodded her head at Giselle. "RIGHT! WE BETTER DO THE SAME THING!" the black-haired girl said and she activated her own Quincy: Vollständig: Todentoten.
Even Bambietta and Robert activated theirs as well. The two zombies could still use their Quincy: Vollständiges, even as they were technically dead. Despite seeing this, the Shinigamis remained unfazed and simply stepped up to challenge them.
"So this is it…" Liltotto said lowly as she glared at their adversaries. "Yhwach, you would forsake us not just or your own Schutzstaffel…but for these new lackeys of yours as well…...I now see your true colors!" she remarked as she stood her ground, with her Reishi Wings formed like shark teeth ready. The young girl faced her fellow rebels. "Alright, Gigi! We best hold our ground here" she said to her as the young girl's mouth began transforming itself to a jaw of shark teeth.
Giselle simply nodded her head in return while licking some blood from her own fingers. She now looked like a zombie, mostly due to her stitches and bony Reishi Wings. Giselle and the others then faced their opponents. "Let's get those suckers!" she said and began commanding both Bambietta and Robert to attack the trio.
Bambietta was shooting some Reishi Bombs while Robert fired his Reishi Pistols at Kensei. But despite Robert being a good shooter, Kensei remarkably managed to dodge the bullets, all thanks to his fast Shunpo. It astounded the elderly zombie, and Kensei even managed to appear right before him. The grey-haired man smirked as he delivered a powerful uppercut at Robert's chin, thus sending him flying up in the air. Even though he was a zombie, he could still feel pain.
"Heh…..I don't even need my Bankai for this!" Kensei remarked and as Robert was nearing him, he delivered repeated punches, thus sending him flying towards the wall. Kensei's punches had managed to break Robert's bones. "What a waste of space!" Kensei commented, enjoying seeing Robert being broken.
Giselle was distressed as she saw this and quickly turned around alongside Bambietta. She was hoping to bring Robert back on his feet, as her necromantic powers enabled her to do so. "Lil! Try hold them off! I must get Accutrone back on track! We cannot…." Giselle suddenly felt herself stabbed, and her entire body froze. She could not see what it was but Liltotto did.
"GIGI!" the young girl shouted in shock, and could see that Giselle had been stabbed by a blade, which was formed as a golden whip, tipped off with a flower. She could see that coming from Rose, who was standing there while holding his Shikai with his usual bored and unfazed expression. Liltotto gritted her teeth in anger. "YOU BASTARD!" she yelled at him.
"Play, Kinshara" Rose said lowly and the quiet and elegant men began tapping his Zanakutou with his fingers, causing it to glow and make the sound of a guitar string. "With my Kinshara inside of you, you shall be honored to witness a real art, created in my image. Kinshara Sōkyoku Dai Jūichiban - Izayoi Bara!" he exclaimed and he sent a soundwave through the blade until it reached the tip, which was stuck inside Giselle's body.
As Giselle felt this shockwave inside of her body, it vibrated so powerful that she could no longer take it. An enormous amount of blood began sprouting out from her eyes, ears and mouth. In fact, the zombified girl had even lost her own eyes. A pool of blood had begun forming itself underneath her and Giselle fell onto her knees, with her eyeless head stuck up in the air.
Liltotto was horrified by what she was witnessing, yet she possessed enough strength to launch an attack upon Rose. She stretched her monstrous mouth into a long jaw and she felt like eating up him for what he had done to her friend. "I'LL CHEW ON YOUR BONES!" she angrily exclaimed as she launched her attack on Rose.
The blonde-haired man only raised an eyebrow at the monstrosity that was coming towards him. "Ugh. Such a demented creature" Rose noted in boredom while seeing the jaw almost reach him, only for the blonde-haired man to avoid it by using his Shunpo.
Despite seeing this, Liltotto was not jet finished and proceeded to move onto attacking Toshiro and Kensei. "I'M NOT FINISHED, YET!" she exclaimed in anger and proceeded to move on attacking the other Shinigamis. "NONE OF YOU SHALL ESCAPE MY HUNGER!" she added angrily.
Kensei was the one closest and he only shrugged his shoulders while Toshiro stood behind him. "Back off, Hitsugaya. I've got this in a bag. Watch and see" the grey-haired man said and proceeded to infuse Tachikaze with Spiritual Pressure, causing it to glow immensely. It was formed into an orb and as the giant mouth neared him, Kensei fired the orb into an energy blast at the incoming jaw, as well as Liltotto. "BAKUDANTSUKI!" he exclaimed as he fired it at Liltotto, resulting in her long jaw exploding.
The explosion took a heavy toll on the young girl, and she her entire mouth had been destroyed. She no longer had lips or teeth, not to mention how her mouth was bleeding so seriously. Most of her skin around her mouth had been blown, and even her skeletal mouth could be seen.
Kensei only chuckled with sadism as he watched what his actions had done to the little Sternritter. "Heh! Feeling a bit toothless, girl!" he said, starting to have some fun in doing this kind of thing.
Liltotto was snapping in distress and she only had a few words left to say before she ran out of her voice. The little girl faced Bambietta, and she desperately opened her mouth to shout those words to the zombified Sternritter. What was she shouting?
"BAMBI! SELF-DESTRUCT NOW!" Liltotto shouted at her and Bambietta obeyed her command. But in the minute before she could carry it out, snowflake crystals began forming themselves on the ground underneath her and Bambietta was unable to move.
This was the work of Toshiro, who had simply used one of his Shikai's may techniques to disrupt Bambietta's self-destruction. "Rokui Hyōketsujin" he said lowly and a large pillar of ice began trapping the zombified girl inside the ice. This ruined her chance to self-destruct, which would've blown the entire Silbern to pieces.
Liltotto fell onto her knees. There was no hope for her now. Her mission to assassinate Yhwach had ended so miserbly. The young girl with the bleeding mouth could even feel an enormous amount of Spiritual Pressure, yet it didn't come from the Shinigamis. Rather, it came from none other than Yhwach, himself, who had just broken the wall of ice and was now standing up from his throne. The long-haired man had even opened his new black eyes, which he had gotten from absorbing his own father. He was relieved by what he was seeing.
As he walked towards Liltotto, the three Shinigamis began kneeling before him, treating him like some kind of a god or a deity. The young girl felt herself hopeless, as the emperor approached her. But first, he seemed to have some words for his newly-acquired servants.
"Well done, my knights. You have proven yourself capable of dealing with wretched insects such as these" Yhwach commended his knights before glancing down at the Liltotto, who only fell onto her knees, while coughing out a chunk of blood. The emperor took no pity on his former subject. "Heh! You couldn't even defeat my newly acquired arsenal. This only demonstrates your uselessness as a Sternritter, which is why I raised my Auswählen upon you!" he then revealed with a hint of venom in his voice.
Despite no longer having the power to even say a word, Liltotto possessed the willpower to even shout last words towards her former liege. "FUCK YOU, YHWACH!" she yelled at him, only for her to feel a powerful punch by Yhwach himself, which caused her head to fall off and roll over the floor. A pool of blood was formed from the little girl's body. However, Liltotto's head still possessed the ability to move her eyes, and she watched as Yhwach stood above her, pointing a finger at her with a sadistic grin. This was the same technique he had used to obliterate Yamamoto's body.
"Farewell, Liltotto Lamperd. Give my regards to Hell!" he then said as he blasted her head, leaving nothing of her in its wake. After doing that, Yhwach began laughing so sadistically that he felt himself losing to his madness. This man had no regret in the action he just did. After finishing her off, Yhwach returned to his throne, while the Shinigamis were still kneeling before him. "Clean up this rubbish in my throne room. Now that the problem has been taken care of, I can finally go back to sleep" the black-haired man told them and the Shinigamis bowed their heads in return.
"AS YOU WISH, SOUL KING" they all said together as Yhwach returned to his throne.
While Haschwalth had been willing to not execute Bazz-B thanks to the encouragement from his fellow Sternritters, Yhwach's approach to this was different, as he held no regard for those lives he took away, even if they were Quincies. Whether he would ever do the same thing to these Shinigamis if they were no longer useful to him, remained to be seen.
To be continued…
Author's note: That was a long, but god chapter. This is the end of the Friend-chapters. Now as for the Silbern-part: THERE YOU HAVE IT! TOSHIRO, KENSEI AND ROSE HAVE JOINED THIS NEW ORDER OF SHINIGAMIS WHO NOW WORSHIPS YHWACH AS THE TRUE SOUL KING! More of this newfound order will be revealed in time, as there will be more members shown in that order, most of them being very familiar faces. I won't spoil what the next chapter might bring, but it will definitely be focused on Ichigo and co. See you around.