Author's note: This third chapter will continue the fight between Haschwalth and Bazz-B before delving into the past to some of the Sternritters. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.


Chapter 35: Friend 3

Inside the palace of Silbern, Wahrwelt, Soul Society

In the halls of Silbern, Bazz-B was still battling against his childhood friend: Jugram Haschwalth. For Bazz-B, this fight was more than to just kill Yhwach's powers. He also wanted to prove to Haschwalth that he was the strongest of them both by defeating him in combat. Even to this day, Bazz-B still refused to accept the fact that his growth as a Quincy was all thanks to Haschwalth's sharing powers. He was not weak, and the blonde-haired man was never his superior when it came to level of strength.

Having just fired Burning Finger 3 towards Haschwalth, Bazz-B had expected his opponent to be consumed by the lava he had unleashed. As soon as the lava began moving itself upon him, the blonde-haired man drew out his sword and began slashing the lava in half. The blonde-haired man then charged towards his opponent with his Spirit Weapon.

But Bazz-B was quick to dodge it with his Hirenkiyaku and Haschwalth missed his target. The Quincy with the Mohawk then held onto his Spirit Weapon and aimed the Reishi Crossbow at the blonde-haired man. Without hesitating, Bazz-B fired a Heilig Pfiel at Haschwalth and it was a quick shot. Unfortunately for him, the Sternritter Grandmaster caught wind of it and grabbed the arrow by his left hand with ease. This caused Bazz-B to snap once again.

"Damn! His reflexes have only increased since the last time I challenged him!" Bazz-B cursed underneath his breath, as he saw Haschwalth throw the arrow away. The hotheaded Sternritter knew what he had to do and gathered fire in his right hand before charging straight towards his opponent. "TRY SOME OF THIS!" he shouted as he was so close in actually landing his attack on Haschwalth.

But Haschwalth was quick to predict Bazz-B's moves and moved his blade to slash the young man's body, thus leaving him a critical injury. However, Haschwalth also used to power to send Bazz-B flying, and he crashed directly against the nearest wall. It caused an explosion in the palace and Silbern had been given a hole in one of its walls. Bazz-B went from flying in the air to rolling onto the ground, until he found himself right at the entrance of Silbern itself.

Even now, the battle in Silbern's courtyard was still ongoing and the rebels Sternritters were just contending to battle Yhwach's loyalists, as well as Uryu Ishida's Schutzstaffel. However, the explosion had caused them all to focus their attention on the ongoing duel between Haschwalth and Bazz.B.

Bazz-B found himself lying on the ground for a brief moment, before slowly getting up on his knees. A small pool of blood had begun forming underneath him as he was struggling to hold onto his injury. Despite how serious it was, the Sternritter with the Mohawk refused to accept defeat. He would not allow himself to be defeated like this.

As he struggled, the steps of Haschwalth could be heard, as he walked out of the hole in the wall and held onto his sword. He only glared at his opponent with his usual cold eyes. "Stand down, Bazz-B. This duel of ours will not benefit His Majesty in any way" the Sternritter Grandmaster told him.

Bazz-B was onto one knee, coughing out a big chunk of blood. He panted deeply, while managing to muster enough strength to respond. "Not benefit him in any way, you say? Well, that's pretty fucking obvious, considering…." Bazz-B said lowly and managed to lift his head up to face Haschwalth. A defiant look could be seen on the young man's face. "HIS MAJESTY IS THE ONE I'VE COME HERE TO KILL!" he spat out towards his opponent.

Haschwalth narrowed his blue eyes in displeasure, indicating that he did not like the way Bazz-B spoke about their liege. But then again, he was beginning to grow weary about his former friend and the overconfidence that existed within him.

"Burning Finger…." Bazz-B began chanting the name lowly, before stretching out his right hand and gathering fire that was formed as a blade. "4!" he then yelled out loud, demonstrating his will to continue on fighting. He quickly got up on his feet and charged towards Haschwalth.

"Must I always repeat myself…..." Haschwalth began muttering out lowly, signaling his weariness of Bazz-B's continued defiance. "BAZZARD BLACK!?" he then yelled, addressing the Sternritter by his full name. This was probably one of the few times that he ever addressed Bazz-B by that name.

Yet Bazz-B kept charging towards Haschwalth and angrily swung his blade of fire at him, only for Haschwalth to jump above it, thereby also moving away from Bazz-B. Despite this, the blade of fire managed to deal quite a damage to one of Silbern's pillars. Regardless, Bazz-B continued pursuing his opponent.

"WHAT'S WRONG!? I AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE!" Bazz-B yelled out in order to taunt Haschwalth. He could see the blonde-haired man standing on the stairs to the entrance. "RUNNING AWAY WITH YOUR TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS ONCE AGAIN! DOES THE THOUGHT OF LOSING TO ME SCARE YOU THAT MUCH!? DOES IT, JUGO!?" he yelled out and dived straight towards his opponent, indenting on slicing him with his blade of fire.

But before he could even reach his opponent, Bazz-B felt something very unusual as Haschwalth simply moved his sword at him. Before he even knew it, Bazz-B's right arm with the blade of fire flew off into the air, eventually managing to cut one of the nearby towers in two. It was obvious to Bazz-B that Haschwalth had cut off his right arm and he was now preparing to attack him once again. But before he could even land his final attack on him, Haschwalth slashed him once again on his body, landing another critical injury. But the blonde-haired man stood on the other side. Bazz-B was bleeding endlessly and he slowly fell onto his knees.

Haschwalth never looked back to see the condition he had put his opponent in, only staring out into the distance with his usual cold eyes. "You still don't get it, do you?" the Sternritter Grandmaster asked him lowly. "No matter what kind of powers you have, the level of my power exceeds far beyond yours. I am the one closest to His Majesty as his other half. And that leads me to ask you this, Bazz-B. If you so desperately wanted to kill His Majesty…...why start now?" Haschwalth said before he finally started asking his former friend a question.

Bazz-B was still on the ground panting, even starting to realize that his power was slowly drifting away. But he held onto himself in spite of this condition. "Why…it's because my goal was more than to just kill that smug bastard!" he replied lowly, yet bitterly. However, he even managed to look over his shoulder and watch Haschwalth have his back at him. "My goal was also to become the strongest Quincy! But for me to finish that, I will need to do the unthinkable: prove my superoiriy….by killing Yhwach…...ALONG WITH YOU!" Bazz-B yelled and all of a sudden, Reishi gathered around him.

Haschwalth quickly turned around and watching in surprise as string of Spiritual Power suddenly gathered around Bazz-B. The strings were controlled by his brain and the strings began to take control of his body parts, even starting to form a new replica for a right arm. The Spiritual Power even began healing the most critical injuries on the young man's body. Slowly and steady, Bazz-B rose up on his feet, showing his back to the blonde-haired man. Haschwalth was stunned by what he was seeing and could not believe in what he was seeing with his own eyes.

"That technique…...it can't be…..." Haschwalth uttered out lowly as he saw the strings control the young man's body.

"It is" Bazz-B lowly replied and slowly turned around to face his opponent. There was no blood that could be seen on him, and he only had small bruises on his face. Somehow, the Spiritual Power had cured him of those. "This is the Ransōtengai, one the many techniques that all of us Quincies are able to perform. How weird of you to not remember that fact" the young man with the Mohawk said as he faced at his opponent.

Haschwalth held the hilt of his sword tightly. "I don't understand" he muttered lowly while glancing sternly at Bazz-B. "Your powers were taken away by His Majesty. Therefore, you shouldn't be able to perform techniques such as the Ransōtengai. But yet you still manage to perform it now" the blonde-haired man said as he could not understand how this could possibly happen. Without warning, Haschwalth pointed the tip of his sword at Bazz-B. "Tell me, how were you able to regain your powers!?" he then demanded an answer.

Hearing this question forced Bazz-B to smirk as he liked seeing Haschwalth feeling kind of distressed for once. "How I got it back? Well, that's simple. Since me and the other Sternritters felt that our powers were needed back, we decided to regain them by any means necessary. The Soldats stationed in the Sereitei were more than happy to help us with that" he then answered smugly.

This cause Haschwalth's eyes to widen in shock and surprise at the same time. At first, he had refused to believe what he had been told by Uryu. But now that he got the answer directly from Bazz-B himself, he knew that Uryu's hypothesis was real. The blonde-haired Sternritter glared at the young man furiously. "You traitorous fiend! You and the rebels stole the life-source from the Soldats and made it your own!?" he asked in outrage at him. "How could you have committed something so despicable!? Do you have any idea what you and those fools have done!? You have all broken the strictest laws of our people! It pains me how you have fallen that…" the blonde-haired man was interrupted by an angry outburst coming from Bazz-B.

"SHUT YOUR ASS UP!" Bazz-B yelled at him in anger, thus shutting down Haschwalth completely. "WE DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY TO SURVIVE! SO WHY THE FUCK DO YOU STILL SPEAK TO ME AS IF I'M YOUR LAPDOG!? THAT BASTARD YHWACH LEFT US TO DIE ON THE BATTLEFIELD! SO WHY SHOULD I KOWTOW TO HIS WILL, LET ALONE FOLLOW HIS LAWS!?" he then asked out loud in anger.

Despite being asked about this, Haschwalth quickly gave Bazz-B his usual nonchalant glance at his former friend, as well as the silent treatment. Those things were more than enough to tick Bazz-B off.

"Your depravity sickens me, Bazz-B. Our lordship over the Soul Society has just begun, yet you insist on destroying everything we Quincies have worked for?" Haschwalth spoke up and brandished his blade. "Your fate has already been sealed. There is no way going back now, because His Majesty will not be so merciful towards your insubordination" the blonde-haired man then said, much to the irritation of Bazz-B.

"His Majesty this, His Majesty that! I'm sick of hearing your constant bullshit, Jugo!" the man with the Mohawk raged at him while narrowing his green eyes further. "One of us will die tonight! And we can only end this with one thing: A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!" Bazz-B yelled and suddenly showed a necklace that carried the Quincy Zeichen as its amulet. The amulet shined brightly and Haschwalth was forced to cover his eyes.

Haschwalth could barely see what was happening to Bazz-B, considering how bright the light was. "Damn it…...what is happening now?" he muttered underneath his breath and noticed that the light stopped shining. The young man was surprisingly stunned by what had happened to Bazz-B.

Right before Haschwalth stood Bazz-B, with a spiky Heiligenschein in the shape of the Quincy Zeichen and two wings in the shape of long, thin rods floating above his head. For some reason, the entire man's head was on fire and the Mohawk could no longer by seen. His entire torso was exposed and a big tattoo of a skull with bones could be seen on his chest. His Reishi-wing was that of two fiery wings that blazed with Reishi and flames. There was no mistaking it. This was Bazz-B's Quincy: Vollständig.

"This is it…." Bazz-B said lowly as he fixed his eyes upon his former friend. "This is the result of all the hatred and anger that I have savored inside of me! This the true form of my Quincy: Vollständig! This is Infernalixx!" Bazz-B added while saying the name of his form, which was actually Hatred of God in the Quincy tongue.

Haschwalth had to admit that he was surprised, yet he didn't seem to be impressed by Bazz-B's new form. The blonde-haired man prepared himself to fight his friend once again. "I see. You have saved everything, just for this battle?" he asked his former friend.

A vicious grin crept across Bazz-B's face. "What kind of question is that!? I've been saving this hatred for you every single time I've challenged you!" he pointed out, his flames only causing more heat around the area. Haschwalth could himself feel a little sweaty. "And now, there's no escaping from me! One or another, I'll defeat you!" the punkish man exclaimed.

"Then you leave me no choice, Bazz-B. I will put an end to this rebellious spirit once and for all. And know this:" Haschwalth spoke loudly as he held up his sword while facing his opponent. "I WILL SHOW YOU NO MERCY!" he then yelled out loud.

After hearing those words coming out from Haschwalth's mouth, Bazz-B angrily charged towards his opponent while gathering fire in his hands. "BURNING FINGER 2!" he then yelled as he then slices flames at his opponent.

As the two friends fought against each other, they both started to once again reminiscing about their past, but not as children or teenagers. Rather, it was when they were both young adults, as well as members of the Lichtreich's military.


Flashback, 1200 years ago, the town of Antiquität, Lichtreich

Three years had passed since Haschwalth had been recruited into the Lichtreich by Yhwach himself. The emperor had personally taken the boy under his wing and taught him all kinds of knowledge that was needed for a leader. And as expected, Haschwalth had emerged from a shy and timid boy, to a cold and firm-headed commander. The young man was now Yhwach's second-in-command and Captain of the Sternritters. Haschwalth was no longer recognizable, even to his former friends, who had themselves become Sternritters.

Following the advice Bernard Gabor gave them, Bazz-B, Berenice Gabrielli, Cang Du and Driscoll Berci all travelled to the town of Antiquität in the Lichtreich's central areas. This town was more than the location of Yhwach's palace. It was there where the examination of Sternritter-recruits took place. Specifically, it was inside the military academy, also known as Kriegsschlacht. Unexpectedly, the four youngsters managed to pass the exams and become full-fledged members of the Sternritters, alongside many other Quincies.

Since becoming Sternritters, Bazz-B and his comrades had managed to reunite with Haschwalth, but their reunion was hardly anything worth celebrating. Haschwalth had grown more distant and colder from his former friends, even towards Bazz-B. Even so, the hotheaded man was still determined on proving himself to be better than Haschwalth. But to his surprise, the blonde-haired man never drew his blade against him whenever he challenged Haschwalth. He only used his blade to fend off the Reishi Arrows that Bazz-B fired at him.

Outside Kriegsschlacht, one such episode was just taking place. As a newcomer among the Sternritters, Bazz-B had grown angry and irritated over being commanded and easily dismissed by Haschwalth. It was something that the hotheaded man could not stand. After Haschwalth was done having a meeting with one of the academy's instructors, he left the building and walked right into the nearby park, where there were many pillars, as well as a pavilion.

But Haschwalth suddenly stopped and drew out his Spirit Weapon. The reason he did that was because of an Heilig Pfiel that was heading towards him from behind. However, the blonde-haired man did not take this seriously and simply moved his sword and fended off the arrow. The arrow was stuck on the ground.

Sighing in irritation, Haschwalth turned around to see the one who had just fired the arrow. It was Bazz-B, who stood and glanced at him with narrowed eyes, holding his Heilig Bogen in the left hand. Since joining the vanguard, he now wore a Lichtreich-uniform, which was required by all Sternritters to do so.

"You need to cease this foolishness. Personal fights between Sternritters are not only forbidden, but also punishable by death" Haschwalth told Bazz-B, with no emotion detected in his voice. The blonde-haired man then turned his back on him, who snapped in return at seeing his former friend's rejection of him. Haschwalth continued walking. "Provoke me all you want. You won't get the reaction you seek" he then added to his explanation while continuing moving.

Bazz-B stood and watched as his friend simply chose to ignore him instead of fighting him. Anger slowly began boiling inside of him, as he could not take it anymore. He got furious over being rejected and underestimated as a weakling. He absolutely hated it!

Haschwalth continued moving on, and he entered one of the town's many streets. As the Captain of the Sternritters walked, he could hear a sarcastic chuckle coming from nearby. It came from a Quincy, who was leaning against a nearby building. Apparently, he had seen Bazz-B's attempt to challenge Haschwalth.

"What a shame. Constantly getting picked on by some newbie must suck, don't you think?" the voice came from Hubert Opie, who merely glanced at the blonde-haired man with smug-looking eyes. "And yet you allow him to continue. Perhaps you're not fit to be captain material" he then told Haschwalth with sarcasm in his voice.

Haschwalth stopped on his tracks and glanced over at Hubert. "That may very well be true. Which is why I will be sure to follow your example, Vice-Captain Hubert Opie" he told him.

Hubert glanced back at his superior with no enthusiasm in his eyes. That's right, since the Sternritters were created, Hubert was now currently the vanguard's vice-captain, thus being Haschwalth's second-in-command. However, neither he nor Haschwalth shared any particular good relationships with one another, as Hubert often found Haschwalth's authority to be too soft. Yet despite this, Haschwalth had himself been given permission to appoint his vice-captain, and he chose Hubert over all the other alternatives, including Bernard Gabor. Why he did that remains a mystery.

Hubert looked to his left side and spotted Bazz-B standing by the pavilion. "Speaking of example, this newcomer. He's the monkey from Eisenschild, right?" he asked his captain with a slight smirk forming across his lips. "Leave him to me. I'll smack some sense into that bum and remind him where he stands on the food chain" the vice-captain insisted.

The blonde-haired man sighed at hearing this. "Personal fights among Sternritters are punishable by death. Is someone like him really worth giving up your life for?" Haschwalth then asked his subordinate.

"Heh. If I do this when no one's watching, then His Majesty will be none the wiser" Hubert pointed out smugly

"But I am always watching, never forget that" Haschwatlth reminded him, much to the irritation of Hubert. "I am the Captain of the Sternritters. Therefore, I am in charge of making sure that none of you are dead by something as ridiculous as infighting" the blonde-haired man added to his explanation.

Hubert only got angrier at hearing Haschwalth speak to him as if he knew more. Yes, ever since Haschwalth had joined the Lichtreich, he had always resented in the blonde-haired man getting more respect and devotion from Yhwach than him. Three years ago, he was only a mere powerless kid. Now, he was suddenly the second strongest man in the empire, right next to Yhwach.

"You sanctimonious brat! Don't speak to me as if you're His Majesty!" the black-haired man snapped at Haschwalth, who had already begun walking away, thus infuriating Hubert even more. "Hey! Don't walk away from me when I'm…" Hubert was interrupted by a familiar voice calling to him.

"Hey faggot! Shut up for a minute!" the bullying and rude voice came from Driscoll Berci, who had been entering the street just now and watched Hubert arguing with his captain. He had grown in size and had gained some facial hair along his cheeks. Like Bazz-B, he also wore a Lichtreich-uniform.

Hubert glared at him angrily. "What did you just call me!?" he yelled at him.

Driscoll merely grunted in return while poking his left ear with one of his fingers. "Oh, you want me to call you it again? Your call, faggot" he then said in his rude and disrespectful tone as usual.

Hubert's patience had run out and he reached for his sword and was about to attack his fellow Sternritter, only to have two Sternritters appear before him by using Hirenkiyaku. It was his younger cousin Quilge Opie and the mild-mannered Robert Accutrone. Quilge was still the same bookish and awkward guy as a Sternritter, even as he had reached adulthood.

"Gosh, Cousin Hubert! You need to chill out" Quilge told his cousin while trying to block his path.

"Move your ass, Quilge! I'm not gonna stand by and let this beast insult me like this!" Hubert snapped in return.

"Listen to yourself, right now!" Robert scolded him. "You are supposed to be the Vice-Captain of the Sternritters. Don't let this newcomer get the best of you!" the young man then went on scolding his comrade.

"What's going on here?" all three Sternritters turned to the right side and could see a young woman dressed in a Lichtreich-uniform with a hat on her head and a skirt instead of pants. Her eyes were pale as the white itself and her shoulder-length hair was bright as the fields of gold. This was another of Yhwach's military officers, who had been inducted into the Sternritters. Her expression was that of calm and reserved, similar to that of Haschwalth. "I beg your pardon. But I could not help but to overhear you three making all this noise" she apologized while bowing her head in a formal manner. She was speaking in an English accent, although it sounded different.

Robert smiled by seeing her. "Ah, Imogene Ingleright, so lovely to see you" he said to her like a true gentleman. "Or should I perhaps say Imogene Lloyd with regards to your engagement" he then added with a hint of humor in his voice.

The young woman simply glanced at him with dispassion. "Your charm eludes me, Robert Accutrone. It is hard for me to believe why Floyd still hangs out with you and Bernard. But enough of that, I have a message from Lord Yhwach" she told him in return and began glancing at Hubert. "Vice-Captain, His Majesty demands your presence at Eiskrone this instant. He says it is urgent" she said to him with formality.

Scowling, Hubert reluctantly agreed to go. "Fine, I will go and see what he wants. I was getting tired of being surrounded by idiots, anyway" the black-haired man said, and he vanished from the scene with the help of his Hirenkiyaku.

When he was gone, Imogene resumed her talk with her fellow Sternritters and she sounded kind of very irritated. "Why were you trying to school Hubert like some child? He is the Vice-Captain of the Sternritters, for heaven's sake" she asked in dispassion while crossing her arms in dispassion. She then noticed the snickering coming from Driscoll. Imogene sighed deeply. "Let me guess, it was Driscoll trying to provoke him with another homophobic slang" she then guessed to them.

Robert adjusted his glasses. "What else do you think was the reason behind all this?" he asked and suddenly noticed Quilge walking past him and straight towards Driscoll. He looked very pissed. Robert shook his head with a chuckle. "Well, I guess the apple can't fall far from the tree" he then noted while facepalming.

The four-eyed man drew out his blade and angrily pointed it towards the tall Sternritter. "What's the big idea, you big bully!? How dare you insult my cousin!? He is your vice-captain! Respect him!" Quilge snapped at him.

Driscoll did not seem to take Quilge's words and behavior seriously, so he rudely flipped off his middle finger at the young man with glasses. The tall man even took pride in mocking his dignity, yet Quilge got angrier by the minute.

"You goddamn bully! I really hate you!" he said in return, only for Driscoll to simply walk away, something which stunned Quilge. But he quickly came back to his senses. "Hey! Where are you going!?" he then barked another demand at Driscoll.

"Shut your mouth, pipsqueak! I'm going to sleep, so unless you want me to hang you in the locker room and give you a wedgie, go find someone else to bother!" Driscoll replied in his usual bullying tone and expression. Even as a young adult, Driscoll still was the same bully and had almost zero respect for those around him, except for Yhwach of course.

Quilge stood in anger and watched as Driscoll vanished from the scene. But he was calmed down by Imogene and Robert. In fact, Imogene even held on his shoulder, thus preventing Quilge from using Hirenkiyaku to pursue Driscoll. The young man was kind of furious about this.

"Just let it go, Quilge. You know that Driscoll won't waste energy on someone like you" the young woman encouraged him with her usual calm voice. A hint of irritation could also be felt by her, as she despised infighting amongst the Sternritter's ranks. "Besides, you know the penalty. His Majesty despises infighting among us Sternritters" the bright-haired woman pointed out to him.

Hearing this, Quilge sighed in defeat before heading towards the military academy. As he walked, he kind of felt somewhat annoyed about the fact that he could not get his hands back at Driscoll. But then again, he knew it was better being alive than being dead.

Robert felt himself tired of speaking about this subject and felt like switching over to something else. And the mild-mannered man knew just the right thing to talk about. He glanced at Imogene smugly.

"So, where is Floyd now?" he asked her in a charming manner.

The young woman sighed and glanced at him sternly in return. "He's stationed up at Eiskrone. Therefore, I just spoke with him before heading down here. Is that all what you wanted to know?" she replied, albeit sternly and filled with annoyance.

The four-eyed man simply waved his hand at her in a whimsical manner. "There is no need for you to be so hostile, Imogene. I am just happy on your behalf. Bernard is also that as well. Come now, we have all been good comrades in the past. All of us were terrific military officers of His Majesty" Robert spoke up in a soft tone.

When hearing this, a slight smile crept on Imogene's mouth. This indicated that she felt glad to hear what Robert had just told her. She nodded her head at him in appreciation. "Hmmm…I appreciate your blessings, Robert" she told him in return.

While all this had been ongoing, Bazz-B leaned down to where his arrow was stuck and picked it up in a swoop. He sat on the grass to reflect on the words that had been said to him by Haschwalth just now. Somehow, he felt irritated by hearing what was said to him.

"Damn it…why the hell does he keep dodging my attempts?" the young man wondered as he looked at the arrow. Bazz-B had taken notice how vastly different Haschwalth had become since joining Yhwach.

Even though he was found by the emperor three years ago, Bazz-B sometimes wondered whether his former friend had always been Yhwach's second-in-command from the start. By that, it meant even to the day they first met as young children. He didn't know why, but Bazz-B had in private mourned the loss of the Haschwalth he knew.

"Why are you doing this to me…...Jugo?" he wondered.

Bazz-B could hear someone approach him, yet he didn't bother to see who it was. He could tell who was approaching him and he merely closed his eyes in irritation. A familiar voice was spoken to him.

"There you are! I've been looking all over the town for you, handsome" the voice came from Berenice Gabrielli. She still had pink hair with bangs. She also wore a Lichtreich-uniform similar to that worn by Imogene. Furthermore, she also wore a cap on her head as well as skirt instead of pants. The young woman smiled smugly. "I was starting to feel kind of lonely, so I decided to go and see where you had run off to" Berenice added.

But as she got a closer look at him, Berenice could see the somewhat downed look on Bazz-B's face. The pink-haired woman sat down beside him and watched as he kept staring at his Reishi Arrow. This made it clear for Berenice what had just happened.

"Are you still butthurt over Jugo refusing to fight you?" she asked him in disbelief and began groaning before she facepalmed. "Come on, you can't focus all your energy on him forever. He's not the same guy anymore, Bazz" she insisted to him.

"And how would you know?" Bazz-B suddenly asked lowly, not even looking at the young woman sitting next to him.

Berenice only glanced at him curiously and raised an eyebrow in return. "Excuse me? You're really starting to make me feel like a dimwit, right now. I'm just saying that you shouldn't waste time with…." Berenice was interrupted by seeing Bazz-B fix his angry eyes on her right now.

"What the hell do you know us!?" he suddenly snapped at her. "I get it! I know you, Cang or Driscoll could care less about Jugo! But for me, who grew up in the same place as him, it's drastically different!" Bazz-B told her without holding back his temper.

Berenice simply made a gesture with her hand to calm him down. "Easy there, buster! No need to get hissy with me!" she told him before sighing deeply in annoyance. "Sheesh, you're as impulsive as you were back in Eisenschild. Personally, I'd hoped you would mature throughout the three years. But even as a Sternritter, you're still the same brat" she then told him.

Hearing this caused Bazz-B to grunt in return, and he even began facing upwards to the blue skies. "And you're still the same noisy bitch as usual" he rudely relied back to him.

The young woman merely huffed and looked into another direction as well. "Whatever, Bratty Bazz" she responded with her nickname for him.


Inside the military academy of Kriegsschlacht, Antiquität

In one of Kriegsschlacht's many classrooms, one of the Sternritters: Viktor Zeidritz, was having a session in front of a class of Quincies. Apparently, the elderly man was teaching something to them. It involved around the Quincy's ideals and goals. Zeidritz was showing this on a blackboard, where he had drawn a Hollow right in the middle of a group of Quincy archers.

"Now as you can see, the importance of us Quincies eliminating Hollows is absolute" the white-haired man told them all and they listened carefully while taking some notes as well. "Hollows are creatures born out of the darkness. They live to devour anything, just to satisfy their hunger for souls. As such, creatures like them never deserve any form of sympathy or compassion. They must be exterminated" he sternly told them while showing them this.

Among those who sat in the classroom listening was Cang Du. Since he became a Sternritter, Cang grown calmer and focused on the tasks he had. As such, he attended lessons such as these, as they gave him more information about how to be stronger and prepared for killing Hollows. Yes, the young black-haired man had never forgotten how Hollows slaughtered his family. Therefore, he felt more encouraged to fight as he listened to Zeidritz's explanation

"Still, those foolish Shinigamis believe that lost souls such as Hollows deserve to be in paradise. Such utter nonsense!" Zeidritz snapped and even threw the stick he held on the ground. The man with the eyepatch then faced the students who were seated before him. "This is what separates us Quincies from those deluded dwellers of the Soul Society. They follow a false ideology…a false king…and a false theory about the so-called end of the world. How I despise their…stupidity!" he then expressed his open distaste about the Shinigamis, as well as the Soul Society.

But as he was trying to compose himself, a shy voice suddenly interrupted him. "But aren't the Shinigamis' theory true?" it came from a young white-haired teenager. All the other students then focused their attentions on him, each of them glancing at him with raised eyebrows. "I mean, Hollows are dangerous and they need to be stopped. But what about the balance of the world? And Hollows were once Pulses, are they really that evil?" he then asked the teacher with a kind of curious voice.

Zeidritz only walked towards the young boy's desk, his eyes narrowing at the sight of him. The white-haired boy with shoulder-length hair simply glanced at him with slight worry in his eyes. Eventually, Zeidritz slammed his right hand on his desk and fixed his eyes upon the student. Like many others, the young boy was also a Sternritter.

"Luddenwig Van Gogh. How many times have I told you to never question the philosophy of His Majesty?" Zeidritz sternly asked him, thus making the young boy slightly worried. "Tell me, have you been brainwashed by someone?" he then asked the young boy named Luddenwig.

"No sir. Absolutely not!" the young boy insisted and stood up from his seat saluting him in the process. "My loyalty belongs to His Majesty and His Majesty alone!" he then said while doing his best to not look like a fool in front of everyone. "My membership in the Sternritter alone proves it" he then added while facing the man with the white eyepatch.

Zeidritz continued to narrow his eye further, yet he did not do anything to Luddenwig. However, he grabbed a paper that was lying on the desk belonging to a black-skinned man who was quite obese. He wore sunglasses while he was drawing some hearts on one of his papers. The young man could see what Zeidritz was doing and reacted harshly.

"Hey! That's one of my papers! I need them to make love letters!" he pouted while seeing Zeidritz take it away from him.

The man with the eyepatch glared at him strictly. "Shut your trap, PePe Waccabrada! You're supposed to be taking notes, not drawing silly pictures! Now get your senses together! Otherwise, there will be two Dummkopfs sitting on the corner" he strictly berated the chubby man, who immediately started to behave like an angel. Seeing this, Zeidritz began making a dunce hat with the paper and he even wrote a D on it. But it did not stand for "dunce". Rather it was something else. As soon as he was finished, Zeidritz put the hat on Luddenwig's head and then pointed his finger towards a corner in the classroom. A stool was standing there. "Okay, Dummkopf! Now go sit in the corner until class is over!" the elderly man then commanded him.

Luddenwig rose up from his desk and walked towards the corner in shame, where he sat while wearing the dunce hat. The young teenager felt humiliated and simply faced the ground, not having enough guts to look at the many students that were laughing at him.

Zeidritz went back to the blackboard and got everyone's attention by poking his stick on it. He then resumed the lesson. "Alright everyone. Now that we are past this episode, we may as well continue from where we left off. Now I want to test your knowledge about the Shinigamis. If the time comes and we are to invade their home, knowing their weaknesses and strengths might come in handy" Zeidritz explained while he brushed away the Hollow-drawing on the blackboard. He then held out the chalk in his hand and eyed all the students in the classroom. "Now I want one of you to come up here and write down the name of the place where the Shinigamis dwell in the Soul Society. What is it called? Can one of you come up here?" he then asked while surveying the students.

One of the Sternritters rose up from his seat and approached the blackboard. It was a tall muscular man who had black skin. His black hair was shaven and he also seemed to possess some teeth that almost looked like fangs. Even so, the tall man slowly drew the name of the place Zeidritz was asking about and he did it phenomenally. The chalk was small, yet his hands were big. As soon he was finished, all the students could see the word Sereitei being written on the blackboard. Zeidritz smiled while giving the tall man some applause for his work.

"Quite phenomenal, Jerome Guizbatt. You have paid attention to my lessons" the elderly man commended him. Jerome simply bowed his head in appreciation before returning to his seat. Once again, Zeidritz surveyed the students once again, indicating that he was not yet finished. "Well, Jerome has demonstrated his intelligence. Now I would like another volunteer. Which one of you are brave enough to come up here and write down the name of that accursed man who leads the 13 Court Guard Squads?" the man with the eyepatch then asked, making sure that all the Sternritters got it through their heads.

This time, a young black-skinned man with shaved white hair stoop up and approached the blackboard, eventually snatching the chalk from Zeidritz's fingers. This young man was dressed in a Lichtreich-uniform and like Zeidritz, he also wore a white eyepatch. But this one covered his left eye. He quickly wrote down the name easily before nodding his head at the teacher.

Zeidritz was pleased to see the result. The name Shigekuni Yamamoto was written on the blackboard with large letters. He gave the young man some applause for his work. "Excellent work, Lille Barro. I must say, you and Jerome are becoming quite good learners" he praised him and Jerome, although Lille was already headed towards his desk.

Someone was silently muttering to himself as he heard what was being said at the blackboard. It was a very young teenager with slick black hair. He did not have the strand hanging down across his face at that time. No, he would get it many years later. He was probably at the same age as Luddenwig.

"This sucks! How come I don't get much love?" the young Askin Nakk Le Vaar asked in his head while resting his chin on his right hand. But something hit in the young boy's head. "But then again, I should've taken the initiative and written the answer…...but I didn't even know them!" he then exclaimed with a hint of stress and anger in his head.

At another table, a lean brown-skinned man with afro was drawing something on his papers. Like PePe, he also wore sunglasses and they were bigger than usual. In the future, he would have different hairstyle and teeth, but at that time, he was having a funky appearance. This was NaNaNa Najakhoop. He was currently drawing women on the papers instead of taking notes. He grinned cockily.

"Ah hell yeah! Dat hits da spot!" NaNaNa thought while continuing drawing the women. "Dem girls gotta have it all! Jugs, booties, hips, lips and even eyes! Dayum they look hot!" he added to his perverted thoughts. Yes, NaNaNa was known to be the womanizer amongst the Sternritters. Whereas PePe was interested in men, NaNaNa was interested in women. They were polar opposites in terms of sexual preferences.

Zeidritz realized that the lesson was now over and he had to end the class. "Alright. That's all for today's lesson. I will see you all in here tomorrow" the elderly man said and all the Sternritters rose up from their chairs and left the classroom. However, Zeidritz wanted some two of them to remain for a particular reason. "PePe Waccabrada and NaNaNa Najakhoop! You two are in charge of cleaning the classroom!" he sternly told them while bringing forth the mop and bucket.

Both young Sternritters snapped by seeing this, especially NaNaNa. "WHAT!? AH, HELL NAW!" he cursed out in anger by seeing this.

"How come we have to clean up the mess!?" PePe asked Zeidritz while pouting. "Can't you like, let others do it!?" he then asked in his usual sassy manner.

Zeidritz glanced at them dispassionately. "You know very well why! Because you are a couple of damn imbeciles who never takes my lessons seriously!" the elderly man snapped at them, thus forcing the two young men to take their responsibilities seriously.

Luddenwig exited the classroom, still wearing the pointy hat. As soon as he was in the hallway, he threw it away. The young boy always resented being stuck as the laughing stock in the classroom. He was on his way back to his room. At Kriegsschlacht, all Sternritters slept in a room in which was suited for two or three people. Luckily, the young boy had to share room with only one roommate, although they never got quite along well.

"Hey Dummkopf! How's it going?" the smug voice came from Askin, as he joined up with Luddenwig. The white-haired boy sighed in irritation. Askin tried to hold back his laughter. "Come on, you gotta admit that it was funny! I mean, you always tend to make an ass of yourself in the classroom" Askin pointed out.

"I don't do that intentionally!" Luddenwig snapped before stroking his white hair. "It's just that sometimes, I wonder if killing Hollows without remorse gives us a meaning in life. Maybe we should reconsider eliminating them and start purifying them instead" the young boy added, only to have his mouth muffled by Askin's hand.

The black-haired boy shushed him and carefully looked around to make sure that they were not heard or followed. "Are you seriously stupid!? You can't say stuff like that here! Hell, if Captain Haschwalth were around, he would've had your head on a plate!" Askin then told Luddenwig, who listened closely.

Luddenwig removed Askin's hand and proceeded towards the room they shared together, eventually sitting on his bed. "I have a right to express my own opinion as a Quincy! My family taught me that" the white-haired boy said while facing Askin, who sat on the bed across from him.

"Oh yeah? I dare you to say those things in front of His Majesty himself. Then we'll see if you still wanna hold onto this individuality-crap or whatever you call it" the slick-haired boy said while lying on his bed. "Anyway, I'm gonna catch some z's for now, so will you do me a favor and try to keep it down?" Askin then requested of him before shutting his eyes to rest.

Knowing that speaking to his roommate was no longer an option, Luddenwig decided to read instead. He reached for a book that he hid underneath his pillow and began reading it peacefully. The book itself was all about Hollows and Pulses, as well as the legend of the Soul King. Even though books such as these were forbidden to read according to Quincy laws, Luddenwig insisted on holding onto those. The book told him about many things.

In another room, Jerome was currently sleeping on his bed. On the other hand, his roommates were reading books. Jerome shared room with PePe and NaNaNa. That was in his mind, a living hell, considering how his two roommates could be quite annoying at times. Among those three, Jerome seemed to be the one who was most serious and calm. The muscular man was sleeping so sweet, until he could hear a loud fart in the room and it lasted so long.

"What the hell was that!?" Jerome demanded as he got up.

Apparently, PePe had let out a large fart and it also interrupted NaNaNa from his reading. But the chubby man did not seem to care what he just did and proceeded to read his book about men as if nothing happened.

"Oops…..silly me!" PePe said with a slight hint of embarrassment in his voice. "I never expected my stomach to like have so much gas inside" he then added to his statement.

But NaNaNa was quite agitated and put his book about women away. "Bruh! What's da big idea!?" he angrily asked before he could smell something and it felt horrible. The lean-skinned man covered his nose. "Dayum, PePe! Why do you have to open up yo ass whenever you're around us!?" he then asked.

Jerome did the same thing and angrily glared at PePe as well. "Yeah! We HAVE a bathroom as a matter of fact!" the muscular man told his roommate.

PePe took a break from his reading and pointed his finger at the door in the corner in which lead to the tiny bathroom that existed in this room. "That so-called bathroom you're talking about is too small for me to fit in, darling! You know that well, since you're too tall to fit in the bathroom! Only NaNaNa fits in there!" he spoke up with sarcasm in his voice.

NaNaNa was not impressed by PePe's excuse. "Well if you started losinæ some weight then maybe you would've fit in nicely!" the afro-haired Quincy told his fellow Sternritter.

"I lose weight when I feel like it, bitch! So shut your mouth!" PePe hit back at his words.

"What'chu call me!?" Nanana didn't take kindly to this unsult.

As he watched NaNaNa and PePe continue back and forth, Jerome felt like not getting himself involved in this kafuffle. He basically laid sideways so that his back was showing them. He then put the pillow over his head, in hopes of not being able to listen to whatever foul words that was exchanged between his two lousy roommates.

In another room, Bazz-B was currently laying on his bed. He was in deep thought about the episode that had transpired earlier. But his moment of silence was interrupted when the door to the room opened and in came his roommate, Quilge. Yeah, Bazz-B was sharing room with the vice-captain's cousin, a fact he did not like. Nevertheless, the reddish purple-haired man didn't necessarily pay much attention to the four-eyed man, as he was kind of a geek not to waste time with. In fact, he rather much preferred Quilge over either Driscoll or Cang.

"Gosh, I really hate Driscoll so much!" Quilge said out angrily before noticing Bazz-B laying on his bed. "Oh, hey" he then said with no enthusiasm in his voice before walking over to his own bed.

Bazz-B laid down and rested his hands behind his neck. He then looked over to his roommate with lazy eyes. "You look kinda frustrated" he then noted to his fellow Sternritter.

"Speak for yourself, Bazz-B!" Quilge hit back at him before crossing his arms and muttering to himself. "If only that stupid law didn't exist amongst us Sternritters, then I could've given Driscoll a piece of my mind!" the four-eyed man then exclaimed in irritation.

The brash man merely grunted in return. "Ya know something. I'm thinking about the same thing as you do" Bazz-B admitted to him, although Quilge did not seem to take much notice of his statement. "I really wanna beat Jugo so bad. Hell, I just hunger to kick some ass right now" he then added to his words.

Quilge glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you planning on fighting the captain?" the young Sternritter asked his roommate before starting to pick up a book that lied at the nightstand beside his bed. "Man, you're delusional. I mean, what makes you think you can defeat Captain Haschwalth in a duel?" the four-eyed man then asked him with a stunned expression.

"Well if he was THAT strong, he would've accepted my challenges and fought me. But so far, he has only avoided me as if I'm some kind of a pest. It pisses me off!" Bazz-B said in return, not taking Quilge's words seriously.

The young man took off his hat, thus exposing his black hair with two bangs reaching to his ears. "Hmmm…don't say I didn't warn you" he then told his roommate before opening his book. But as he read, he could suddenly see Bazz-B get off his bed and head towards the door. "Where are you going?" he then asked the hotheaded man.

"Since when did you become so concerned about me?" Bazz-B asked with a scoff before forming a cocky grin at his roommate in return. "Now about where I'm going. Well, I'm heading out to town. Rumors say there's a brawl taking place in the local tavern's basement. I'm definitely gonna go there and test my skills" he said to the young man.

Quilge's glassed eyes widened in disbelief. "Whoa, are you serious? You know the rules about sneaking out during the…..." he stopped as Bazz-B exited the room, thus leaving him alone by himself. The four-eyed man could not help but to wonder whether he should actually join his roommate. But then again, he never had any interest in fighting like Bazz-B had.

Bazz-B was in the hallway and he immediately went to the door next of his. It was the room belonging to his "calm neighbors". With a smirk, the hotheaded man banged his fist on the door, doing it repeatedly.

"Hey, assholes! I'm here!" he rudely called out until the door itself opened. Cang was standing there with his usual cold and unfazed expression on his face. Despite being given this glance, Bazz-B still smirked. "Hey there, stoneface. You ready to go?" he then asked with an insult directed at him as usual.

The black-haired man was not impressed. "Why now? The sun hasn't gone down yet!" Cang sternly told Bazz-B.

"Screw that bullshit! You know how crowdy that place gets when the evening arrives" the brash man pointed out to him. "Besides, if lucky, we may be able to pick some fights earlier" he then added, trying to persuade Cang.

"Then what the hell are we standing here for?" the voice came from Lille, who was actually Cang's roommate. They were both among the most silent of the Sternritters and the fact that they shared the same room only made the atmosphere edgier. The man with the white eyepatch glanced at Bazz-B. "This place better be worth visiting. Otherwise, I'm gonna whoop your ass for lying" Lille then told Bazz-B.

Bazz-B merely scoffed at him in return. "Whatever. Now hurry up! Berenice may be over there as we speak! She may take the spot from us!" the young man then urged his comrades to follow him. The two silent types did that without hesitation.


Outside the local tavern, the streets of Antiquität

Antiquität was a town that was larger than Eisenschild. In fact, it could be considered a city, given the appearances of many taller structures that didn't exist in Eisenschild like forts and towers. But as the sun went down, there were lesser people in the streets and the trio of Sternritters were now standing outside the tavern. But the tavern itself was built at the edge of a long structure which also housed many other forms businesses. But right beside the entrance to the tavern stood a giant waterwheel, which was running along the river. What also separated Antiquität from other towns was the fact a river ran through the town.

Bazz-B, Cang and Lille entered the door and it led them to a stairway that took them downwards. Apparently, this tavern had its mess hall downstairs and it proved to be correct as the trio of Quincies arrived at it below. The mess hall itself had like many taverns in the Lichtreich, interior which was German-inspired. Even now, the mess hall was crawling with customers and they both drank and ate to their hearts' content.

"Okay, genius. Where to now?" Lille asked Bazz-B, who merely scoffed at him in return.

"Well, that's obvious. We ask the bartender and tell him about our objectives. Then he will show us the way" the brash man replied and pointed his finger at the counter where the bartender was currently cleaning some glasses.

The trio walked over to the bartender, who was a man with black hair and dark eyes. Somehow, he looked quite familiar to Bazz-B as he had seen that man once in the tavern in Eisenschild. The man had a somewhat melancholic appearance, as his eyes looked very empty. However, as soon as the trio of Sternritters approached him, the bartender faced them with his dark eyes.

He fixed a slight smile when seeing this. "Greetings, Sternritters. I humbly welcome you to my tavern" he welcomed them in a slight empty manner. Truth is, his voice sounded so empty, as if he was a living zombie. "How can I be of service to you mighty knights of the light?" he then asked them with formality in his voice.

Bazz-B only grunted in return, indicating that he did not care much about the man's formality. "Forget the formal crap, barkeep. We just wanna know where the brawl is taking place" he then rudely told him.

Despite being told this, the bartender didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was slightly amused about what he heard them say. "So you are here for the brawl? Then you have arrived too early, my friend. It doesn't start before midnight" he then told him while making sure Cang and Lille got that as well.

"WHAT!?" Bazz-B angrily snapped as he was about to slam his fist on the counter, only for Cang and Lille to restrain him. "Damn it! Let me go…" he then told them.

"Idiot! I told you we should've waited until later to come here" Cang told the brash-headed man.

Bazz-B only gritted his teeth in anger by hearing this. "Don't you dare say that to me, you stonfaced son of a…" before he could continue, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey there, boys! Fancy seeing you here" the voice came from Berenice, as she stood there facing the trio smugly. However, her eyes were specifically fixed upon Bazz-B. "Missed me, handsome?" she then asked him while before winking at him with her left eye.

Bazz-B sighed deeply as he heard this. "You know the answer: hell no" he replied back with no enthusiasm in his voice. "What are you doing here anyway?" he then asked her.

Berenice them motioned her head backwards towards a table where a group of Sternritters sat and enjoyed themselves with leverages. Imogene Ingleright was sitting beside a young man with messy blonde hair and facial hair. That young man, who seemed kind of intoxicated was a member of the Sternritters, as well as Imogene's fiancé: Floyd Lloyd. But apart from them, Robert, Bernard, Luddenwig, Jerome, Driscoll, NaNaNa and PePe could be seen sitting there by a long table at the corner.

"You know why. Imogene and Floyd are getting married and we thought about arranging a bachelor party…..well sort of….." Berenice said with a hint of confusion in her voice. But she then fixed an optimistic expression on her face. "Hey, why don't you join us?" she then asked them gleefully.

Bazz-B immediately scowled when he heard that. "Yeah, like we would…" he was surprised when he saw both Cang and Lille nod their heads at her before walking towards the long table and take some seats. The hotheaded man dropped his jaw by seeing this, as he could not believe that they would be interesting in joining.

Berenice smiled smugly. "Well, I see that Cranky Cang and Lonely Lille are interested, which is surprising indeed. I mean, they both tend to spend much time by themselves" she then remarked before heading towards the counter and fixing a smile at him. "Excuse me, barkeep. Could you bring three mugs of beer to our table?" she then asked him.

The bartender simply nodded his head at her with a slight smile of his own before starting Berneice's order. The pink-haired woman then headed back to the table, with Bazz-B reluctantly accompanying her.

Driscoll grinned by what he was seeing and fixed a smug look at Bazz-B as he sat across him. "Heh! I knew you would come here!" he then said to him before taking a slurp from his mug.

"Just shut up. I'm not in the mood for jokes" Bazz-B replied back while resting his chin on his right hand.

Bernard smiled by seeing so many Sternritters sitting at the long table. "Now this is a good sight to behold. I'm glad that so many of you could join us to honor a couple that is getting married while on His Majesty's service" the curly-haired man remarked before fixing his eyes upon the blonde-haired man. "Now Floyd, how does it feel to be engaged to a fine, good-looking woman such as Imogene?" he then asked his long-time comrade.

"Well, Imogene is a gran' lassy. Wat else can oi say?" the young man spoke up with a strong Irish accent. It was uncertain whether his drinking contributed to this manner of speech of his. "But den again, oi didn't propose ter 'er wi' a rin'" Floyd added while surprising some of his comrades.

"What? You didn't propose to her with a ring?" Berenice asked with widening eyes as she glanced at Imogene. "Is he telling us the truth?" she then asked her.

Imogene sighed deeply by hearing this. "Of course, he did not. What do you expect?" she replied with a sweet voice, even though it was fake.

Floyd suddenly held out a clover and showed it to everyone. "Oi proposed ter 'er wi' a clover. Yer nu waaat they say, de luk av de Oirish! Hahahaha!" he laughed before hiccupping due to the amount of alcohol that was coursing through him.

"Man, dis bum-ass fool ain't speaking clearly! I can't understand him, fo real!" NaNaNa exclaimed while feeling kind of bored. He then looked at PePe, who seemed kind of touched by seeing the couple. "And you find dis shit romantic? Dayum, you need a new hobby" the lean afro-haired man told him.

"Oh, shush with you, NaNaNa. Love is like, the most passionate thing there is!" the chubby man told him in return. He then fixed his gaze upon Bazz-B and Berenice, who sat close to one another. "Even now, I can feel the love building up between the two of you" he then pointed out to them.

Both Sternritters immediately expressed disgust at this and moved away from each other. They both looked to other directions, trying to disconfirm these rumors that had been circling above those two.

"You think that Bratty Bazz is gonna be my man?" Berenice asked PePe in disbelief. "Gross, not happening! Don't get your hopes too high, Pervy PePe!" she added with defiance in her words.

Bazz-B only snickered lowly in return. "That nickname was funny, actually" he then said in return.

Berenice smirked at him. "Wait till you hear this one: Naughty NaNaNa!" she told him.

But NaNaNa himself was confused. "What dat bitch be talking about?" he wondered.

PePe grinned. "Oh come one, silly! That's so obvious! You're like, the number one guy when it comes to checking out women!" he told him.

"What's my nickname?" Bernard suddenly asked Berenice.

She glanced at him with zero enthusiasm. "As if I would ever give you something like that! You're too mediocre to even have one!" she snapped at him.

Bernard frowned. "Now that was just rude"

Many of the Sternritters were secretly musing to themselves over this fact, as some of them did consider Bernard to be quite an annoying guy. But the exceptions were Floyd, Imogene and Robert, of course.

"Here are three mugs of beer that you ordered" the Sternritters could see the bartender stand by their table with three mugs and delivered them one by one. "I am sorry for the long wait, but someone required my attention before I could start on your leverages" the long-haired man then apologized with his soft-spoken voice.

Robert smiled at his service. "We really appreciate your services, barkeep. What would we have done without you?" he then commended the young bartender's service.

The bartender looked at Robert and fixed a smile, despite having those empty eyes. "I gladly accept your compliment, sir" he said while bowing his head formally at the Sternritters. "And by the way, since you are all Sternritters, you can call me by my real name. I am Äs Nödt. Pleased to be of acquaintance" he then introduced himself with a nod and was about to walk away, only for Bazz-B to grab the black-haired man by his right hand.

"Hold it, barkeep! You're hiding something from us!" the hotheaded man told him, only for Äs to swat his hand away.

The bartender turned around and fixed a disapproving glance upon Bazz-B. "I believe I just told you my name, fool. It's Äs Nödt" the black-haired man sternly told him before motioning his head towards one of the other tables in the mess hall. This made the brash man look in the direction he was gesturing his head at. From what he could tell, there were three people who sat by themselves. They all wore dirty, hooded cloth, which concealed their identities completely. "Do you see those three over there? Like you, they have a particular interest in the brawl that's taking place around midnight. They will be participating in it. However, I would be careful if I were you. Some say, they are the strongest of Quincies that exists in the Lichtreich" Äs then informed Bazz-B before taking his leave.

Some of the other Sternritters had taken notice of the three hooded strangers sitting at the other edge of the mess hall. Like Bazz-B, they had also been interested in seeing who they really were underneath those filthy clothes.

"So those three are also here for the brawl?" Cang wondered, his stern eyes narrowing further as he glanced at the hooded trio. "Somehow, I think these three may be more than just Quincies" the black-haired man added to his statement.

"Yeah, Who are they, really?" Lille asked lowly. "I've never seen them around town before. Hell, they may not be Sternritters" the black-skinned man with the white eyepatch spoke up his mind while seeing the three strangers sitting to themselves.

"Why are you two acting like a pair of sissies all of a sudden?" Driscoll asked them both with his usual bullying grin. "Oh, I get it! Maybe you two want to chicken out" he then tried to taunt them.

Both Cang and Lille glanced at the tall man with eyes of displeasure, not even saying something back in return. Neither of them seemed to take Driscoll's words for real. The same thing could be said for Jerome and his roommates.

"My god, Driscoll! Don't you ever shut up!?" PePe rudely asked the tall man.

Driscoll fixed his stern eyes upon the chubby man. "I wasn't talking to you, queer. So butt out" Driscoll said before fixing his eyes upon Jerome, who seemed less than pleased to see him. "Say Jerome, are you participating in this brawl or whatever game its called?" he then asked him with a cocky grin.

Jerome sighed deeply in annoyance. "What kind of question are you asking me? Of course, I am….." before Jerome could continue, a large burp was let out by one of the Sternritters.

To everyone's disgust, it was Floyd who drank up the three mugs of beer that was reserved for Lille, Cang and Bazz-B. The blonde-haired man was acting even more drunk than usual, much to the embarrassment of his fiancé. His fellow Sternritters could not believe their eyes.

"What the…..did he just….." Lille uttered out in disbelief.

"I….I can't believe he really did that" Berenice said.

"Dayum! Dat fool sure drank a handful!" NaNaNa remarked by what he was seeing.

Imogene facepalmed by hearing this. "Bloody hell, Floyd! You are such a donkey!" she expressed her open irritation of her future husband's drunken habits.

Right now, Floyd was in his own world and his fellow Sternritters could tell it by just looking at the way he was behaving right now. The blonde-bearded man patted his stomach lightly. "Ah, dat felt deadly! It tasted loike a whiskey in de jar!" Floyd spoke up with his Irish accent. He then faced Bazz-B, Lille and Cang, knowing well that he had just drank up their mugs of beer. "Sorry aboyt dat, lads! Me Oirish throat likes de consistence in de jars. Naw 'ard feelings, aye?" he then spoke to them before he lost balance and fell from his chair.

Imogene, Bernard and Robert quickly got to his side and helped him up. "Okay, Floyd. Maybe you have had enough alcohol for tonight. How about we bring you back to your room?" Bernard asked his friend nicely, even though he could see that Floyd was not able to listen to what was being said. "Any of you up for returning to Kriegsschlacht?" the curly-haired man then suggested to them.

"I was hoping you would say that" Robert said in return and the three Sternritters helped up their drunken comrade and went up the stairs to the exit, even though it was challenging in helping Floyd up the stairway.

As Luddenwig saw them leave, he could not help but to wonder whether he should've accompanied them back to the military academy. Without thinking he ran off from his seat and headed straight towards the stairways. But unbeknownst to the young white-haired boy, someone was blocking his way. In the minute he was to turn, someone tall bumped into him. This caused the teenaged boy to fell on his behind and he looked up to see who it was.

It was a tall and muscular man, who was dressed like a German blacksmith. Not only was his slick hair noticeable, but also the long mustache that hang underneath his nose and over his mouth. Accompanying the tall man was a tiny man with a chubby form. Luddenwig felt embarrassed over bumping into a stranger and immediately got up to apologize.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir. I didn't mean to…." The white-haired boy was interrupted by the tall man speaking.

"Hah! Aren't you a bit too short to be a Sternritter, boy?" the man asked him before walking past Luddenwig. He could not help but to slightly laugh at the young boy. He then fixed his attention on Äs, who was still standing by the counter "Hmmm….I was told that there would be Sternritters coming there, but I did not expect them to look so…..small" he told the bartender.

Äs only rolled his eyes in return and pointed his finger at the group of Sternritters sitting by the long table. "The REAL Sternritters are sitting over there, you oaf" the black-haired man told him and the man looked at the direction he pointed at.

"Wow! Look at that group, Mask!" the tiny man said to his partner. "They sure look promising, don't you think?" he then asked the man whom he referred to as Mask.

Mask only grinned with enthusiasm in his voice. "Certainly, James! I will gladly be able to test my skills upon one of these so-called Sternritters. Perhaps then will I, Mask De Masculine, become the number 1 superstar in the entire Lichtreich!" he then declared while facing the group of Sternritters.

To be continued…


Author's note: Well, the third of the Friend-chapters. The next will be the final of them all. In this case, I want to show you some of the Quincies that would later go on to become Sternritters. And yes, Imogene Ingleright and Floyd Lloyd are the parents of twin brothers: Loyd and Royd, who would later go on to join the Sternritters. I wanted them to have an English and Irish tune, as it matched their personalities. Also in this chapter, Lille, NaNaNa, PePe, Jerome, Askin, Äs and Mask were given a chance to appear. As did Luddenwig, although he's only an OC. The next chapter will tell us about the brawl taking place in the tavern. It will also take us to the present and conclude the duel between Haschwalth and Bazz-B. What will happen between those two friends? Stay tuned. Now let us take a look at the new terms we were introduced to in this spectacular chapter.

Infernalixx – meaning Hatred of God: This is the Quincy: Vollständig of Bazz-B. When he takes that form, his head will burn, including his Mohawk. Also, he has wings of fire, as well as tattoos of skulls marked across his muscular torso. While in that form, Bazz-B's fire capabilities only increases. (Fun fact: When imagining how his form would have looked like, I looked at the design of Firestorm from the DC Universe, particularly when it came to his burning head)

Kriegsschlacht – German for "War Battle": This is the military academy in which all those who wishes to join the Lichtreich's military attend, where they get tons of education and strict discipline.

Dummkopf – German for "Dumb Head": This is a term that is usually used by Quincies to refer to those who does not follow the ideals of Yhwach and instead begins questioning them. Such is common for teachers at Kriegsschlacht to do when disciplining students. Being labelled a Dummkopf is the same as a dunce.