Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 23: Revitalization
In the Royal Realm, high above the Sereitei, Soul Society
While the 13 Court Guard Squads battled the Sternritters and other Quincies below them, the Royal Guard and its military had been forced to act, when Yhwach and his associates had entered the Royal Realm, and sat their course towards the Soul King's Palace. However, when Tenjiro Kirinji was trying to stop them with the help of his Zanpakutou named Kinpika, he noticed how he could not inflect a single damage upon the Quincy Emperor.
Knowing that Kirinji was too distressed to fight him, Yhwach, Haschwalth and Uryu proceeded towards the stairs, leaving Kirinji behind. But their way was blocked once again, when someone was standing at the top of the stairs, guarding it. It was Senjumaru Shutara, as well as the common footmen of the Royal Realm's military called the Divine Soldiers.
Yhwach and his associates stopped and watched as Senjumaru formed a line, and fixed her stern eyes upon the trio, or more specifically Yhwach. The emperor was not impressed nor disappointed.
"It has been a long time, Yhwach" Senjumaru said sternly. "How dare you enter the Royal Realm uninvited? Your killing of Genryusai only demonstrates your lack of empathy and sanity" she added to her statement.
Despite hearing this, Yhwach simply formed a smug smile and began walking up the stairs, step by step. But he did it slowly, looking up at the young woman in the process. "Is that everything you have to say?" the emperor asked Senjumaru and proceeded taking small steps upwards. "Having heard of Yamamoto's demise, I expected you to at least have the courtesy to let me pass, Senjumaru Shutara. But it seems to me that you, like other members of Squad 0, are more stubborn than I expected. Nevertheless, you should know better than to reject my demands, as what I intend on doing actually benefits all of us, even you Shinigamis" he continued explaining and had reached the top, eventually passing by Senjumaru.
But the Quincy Emperor suddenly stopped, standing beside the woman. Even so, nothing happened between them.
"Now if you have nothing else to say, run back to your precious palace while you are still breathing" Yhwach rudely told her and proceeded to move towards the Soul King's Palace.
But Senjumaru was so easy to intimidate. "Insolent fool" Senjumaru said sternly, before a group of Divine Soldiers began charging at the emperor. "You will become nothing but rust on the sword of the Soul King" she added with a quick explanation to Yhwach, who remained still.
But as the Divine Soldiers charged with their blades, Senjumaru noted that none of the blades were hitting Yhwach, despite them aiming for him. She got only cautious when seeing this, until she could hear a taunting laugh coming from somewhere.
"Who're you calling an insolent fool?" the young voice said, as someone suddenly appeared out of Yhwach's own shadow. It was the long-haired Sternrittter with two tongues in his mouth: Nianzol Weizol. "You're much more insolent compared to us" he said before facing the Divine Soldiers with his lazy expression. "Just look what you see before you. All your attacks just bend and become useless against me. You can't hit His Majesty with that" Nianzol added and faced Senjumaru.
The young woman narrowed her eyes by seeing this. "Another Quincy? Who are you?" she lowly, yet sternly demanded from him.
Nianzol simply glanced at her with a bored expression on his face. "I'm Sternritter W – The Wind: Nianzol Weizol, as well as a member of His Majesty's Schutzstaffel. Other than that, mind your own business" he introduced himself while being rude towards Senjumaru.
"Hold your two tongues, deranged one. I am the Fourth Officer of Squad 0: Senjumaru Shutara, Divine General of the North. It is unwise to get cocky with me" she said without a hint of kindness and then motioned for the Divine Soldiers to act. "Divine Soldiers, eliminate him!" she commanded them.
The Divine Soldiers did as they requested and began launching their blades at Nianzol, who stood in his coat and pretended that he wasn't following the situation. But before the swords could even hit him, they began pointing backwards, as if the tips refused to stab Nianzol. The Sternritter yawned while his tongues were hanging outside.
"You're only wasting your time" Nianzol told the soldiers, who got shocked when he began moving closer to the pointy blades, resulting in them only backing away further. "My Schrift is the letter W – The Wind. All the enemies that I've seen have turned and run away in fear, literally. Nothing hits me, not the water guy, not his weapon and not even your blades. None of them at all will inflect damage upon me" the long-haired boy added to his explanation.
Senjumaru was now joined by Kirinji, who had been listening to what was being said. "So, that's why I couldn't hit them with my Kinpika earlier. This Quincy acts as an aversion field" Kirinji noted in his thoughts grimly. "I can't believe I stressed my ass off just because of some brat hiding in the shadows" he added, feeling somewhat embarrassed over failing to notice it.
"I see" Senjumaru noted and took a few steps towards Nianzol. "Then I think I have the perfect solution to defeat you" she then said and while Nianzol kept staring at her, what was previously believed to be real pillars soon vanished, as they were only silk pictures covering the real pillars.
But out from the cover stood a line of Divine Soldiers, pulling their blades and charging straight at Nianzol. Despite this, the Quincy did nothing to even look at them.
"I believe you said all the enemies that you have seen. If so, then you won't be able to turn any of those you have not seen" she then concluded her strategy of defeating Nianzol.
Despite being told about this, Nianzol seemed pretty relaxed. "You know, I get told a lot that I'm not good with words and I never get to complete my sentences" he said and suddenly began looking backwards over his shoulder, thus bending the blades away from him once again. As hard as the soldiers tried to move, they could not attack Nianzol. "What I meant by enemies I've seen is those whose abilities I've seen. Just because I can't see them doesn't mean they're not enemies" he told everyone around him and began pointing his finger at one of the soldiers' blades. "It doesn't matter where. The moment you come at me, you'll turn away from me" he said and suddenly destroyed the three soldiers by pointing his finger near them, thus cutting them in half. Nianzol took joy in doing this. "Sorry for not being clear enough" he then told Senjumaru.
"Don't worry. Everyone has their own bad habits" Senjumaru said, but suddenly narrowed her eyes. "But then again, I don't recall saying that they were the only ones you couldn't see, did I?" she suddenly asked him sternly. Nianzol snapped, as he could see that Senjumaru had a needle in one of her artificial hands, and she stepped towards him. "An enemy is one that is around you, so close that it could touch you without you even realizing it. That robe you are wearing, while you were busy with the soldiers, I took the liberty to make some adjustments on it. And so I did. I remade everything" she then revealed cunningly, with Nianzol noticing that there were four marks on his robe and it caught him by surprise.
"What….no…...no way!" Nianzol uttered out in disbelief.
Senjumaru held the needle in her artificial hand. "What I find unbelievable, is the fact that I myself am a fast worker. People don't call me the Great Weave Guard for nothing" she stated.
Nianzol faced her angrily. "You filthy bitch…..." he muttered angrily. "LIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS WILL STOP ME!" he then spat at her.
"To be able to don a robe from me is an honor. You, a lowly pawn, ought to be thankful and appreciative. And don't you dare think that you would be able to take it off alive" she then said and suddenly held another needle with her artificial arm. "This is the end for you. Puncture…Shinhari!" Senjumaru suddenly activated her Shikai.
The moment she activated her Zanpakutou, Nianzol's robe began piercing through his body, letting blood stream out from all openings. It was obvious that Senjumaru's Zanpakutou had managed to infiltrate his robe thanks to her adjustment. And now, the young Quincy was bleeding, before falling onto the ground in his own pool of blood.
"Oh, that's right. We were in the middle of a conversation, weren't we? About bad habits, if I recall" Senjimaru suddenly said with slight humor in her voice. "I always seem to forget to take out those pins when I sew. Quite a bad habit of mine, if you ask me. I do feel very sorry for your own bad habits though" the woman told the dying Quincy while he was lying there in his blood.
But Senjumaru began focusing her attention on Yhwach, and she brought with her more Divine Soldiers to her side. Yhwach had so far remained unfazed when seeing the battle between her and Nianzol, and it was almost as if he didn't care. Nevertheless, Senjumaru confronted him, along with her troops.
"It looks like we will be able to finally point our blades at you from now on" Senjumaru said while glancing at the long-haired man with moustache.
Yhwach chuckled, finding Senjumaru to be quite amusing when she believed she could take him on. "Are you certain of that?" he asked her smugly, before a line of shadow was formed underneath him, summoning more Soldats to his side. "My Soldats are all I need to deal with the Divine Soldiers, but you on the other hand" the long-haired emperor said and four silhouettes appeared from the shadow, eventually revealing themselves. Senjumaru snapped as more Quincies in hooded coats appeared. "My Schutzstaffel shall deal with you" the emperor finally concluded as they stood before him.
These Quincies were Sternritter X – The X-Axis: Lille Barro, Sternritter M – The Miracle: Gerard Valkyrie, Sternritter C – The Compulsory: Pernida Parnkgjas and Sternritter D – The Deathdealing: Askin Nakk Le Vaar. As they (save Pernida) removed their hooded coats, they assessed what they were up against.
"Well, here we are. What happened to Nian…oh…...oh dear…that's not a sight to behold" Askin was wondering where Nianzol was, until he witnessed his corpse lying in his own blood. The flamboyant man then stroke his hair. "Okay, gotta make myself look good then" he said while facing forwards.
"You got that right!" Gerard said while removing his hooded coat and then putting his shield on the wooden floor. "If you are not going to make yourself useful, then you cannot blame me for cutting you down by accident!" he boastfully exclaimed and pulled out the blade of his called Hoffnung. "These fiends shall taste the wrath of my Hoffnung!" he exclaimed aggressively.
Lille sighed while seeing this. "Listen, Gerard. Remember what we've talked about rushing off into…" he was too late to explain, as Gerard already flew straight towards Senjumaru, forcing the Captain of the Schutzstaffel to let out a sigh. "Crazy fool" he muttered underneath his breath.
Gerard flew towards Senjumaru, who were using one of her artificial arms to clash with his sword. But as the Quincy with the winged helmet swung his weapon, he cut off the artificial arm, even slashing her in the process.
"Hah! Do you honestly think that you will be able to stop my sword with that thin arm of yours!?" he asked tauntingly.
Senjumaru used Shunpo to dodge Gerard's slash, and then called upon her soldiers. "Divine Soldiers! Soul King Formation! Stop these intruders!" she called out.
Out of the blue, an enormous divine soldier suddenly appeared and landed right behind Senjumaru, fixing its gaze upon the Quincy intruders.
"Wow, that is s a huge beast right there…." Gerard remarked with admiration of the giant soldier. He then turned around to face his comrades. "What do you guys think?" the blonde-haired man asked them while pointing his thumb at the giant soldier.
Askin stared at him dumbfounded. "Is he serious right now?" he wondered, not getting what Gerard was so excited about. He could suddenly notice Pernida taking a few steps forward.
Lille scoffed at Gerard's question. "So what if it's huge? It doesn't matter a rat's ass to us" he replied, motioning for Pernida come forward by nodding his head at him.
Senjumaru could not help but to overhear the conversation between the Schutzstaffel. "What did you just say?" she sternly asked the black-skinned man.
Lille stared at her with an unfazed glance as Pernida was gazing upon the giant solider. "So what if it's huge? That's what I said, fool" he told her with rudeness in return.
But the giant soldier's body suddenly began compress itself and its bones shattered so easily. Senjumaru was caught completely by surprise when she saw how the soldier was compressed into a round ball. This was Pernida's doing, as the hooded individual kept gazing upon the soldier.
While she was shocked, Lille removed his hooded coat, eventually revealing his Reishi Rifle. "Could it be that you for a second thought that you had the upper hand in this battle? It's too late for that now. It's just the same thing with losers in a battle. They understand things too slowly and react too slowly at the same time" the Sternritter explained, before aiming his rifle at the Shinigami. "You should've already known that the Royal Realm fell the moment His Majesty stepped into this place!" he declared and fired his Reishi Rifle, putting a giant hole in Senjumaru's own head.
The proud member of the Royal Guard had her head opened, and her entire body fell onto the wooden floor. Lille only looked unfazed as his target lied dead on the floor, her entire body completely motionless. A pool of blood was formed from her opened head.
"You idiot!" Lille snapped and looked over his shoulder to see Gerard pointing his finger at him. "Why did you kill her there!? It's on His Majesty's path! Hurry and clean up the mess!" the blonde-haired man angrily demanded.
The one-eyed man sighed in annoyance. "Will you just calm down? And for the record, I'm the Captain of the Schutzstaffel. I give the orders around here, got that!?" Lille berated Gerard before facing Pernida. "Pernida, help me with cleaning up this mess" he then requested his assistance.
Pernida gazed upon Senjumaru's body, and it began compressing itself, until it was round as a ball covered in blood. It rolled over, while the Schutzstaffel each commented about her.
"What a letdown. I cannot believe she was in the Royal Guard" Gerard commented with disgust about Senjumaru.
"You think that's bad?" Askin asked while raising an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that Nianzol even lost to her. I mean, he has only been walking with those restraints hanging around him" the flamboyant Quincy remarked while glancing at Nianzol's corpse.
Meanwhile, Lille was fixing his only eye upon the five floating cities that existed in the Royal Realm, circling around the Soul King's Palace. "Was there anyone that didn't die right away against us?" he asked while aiming his rifle at each city. His comrades watched as each of the floating cities got shot down, one by one. The moment Lille's shot pierced through them, the platforms collapsed and fell down. "There, that should take care of anyone who stands in our way. We have secured the Royal Realm" Lille said in conclusion.
"Well…that was easy" Askin remarked dumbfounded. "And I had expected this to be more challenging" he admitted.
Lille kneeled before Yhwach, who had both Haschwalth and Uryu at his side. "The way is clear, Your Majesty. You may pass" he said in respect towards his liege.
But for some reason, Yhwach was feeling very suspicious about this and he eyed both ways and everything around. He then faced his majordomo. "Do you sense it, Haschwalth?" he asked him.
The blonde-haired man nodded his head in return. "I do, Your Majesty. Something doesn't feel right. I sense trickery in the air" Haschwalth noted lowly.
Before everyone knew it, the landscape around the entire group began changing and it was done with the help with silks in picture. It completely erased the scene of the falling cities.
"What is this!? The landscape of the place is changing!" Lille noted while looking around with unease. "What the hell's going on!? Where are we!?" he asked in outrage, as he could see that there were trees standing in this landscape.
But he and the other Sternritters were in for a surprise, as Senjumaru suddenly stood there, her wounds completely vanished. But was that even the case? "This is merely a fake Royal Realm created to welcome you" the stern woman explained as the group listened. "The real one is right here…hidden by the Monk Who Calls the Real Name: Ichibe Hyosube" she then revealed to them smugly, as a written seal could be spotted in the sky. The seal vanished and the REAL Royal Realm was shown, including the Soul King's Palace.
Sitting at the edge of the way was Ichibe Hyosube, who sat while gazing upon the invaders that had arrived. He then faced Senjumaru with his usual friendly smile.
"Oh, is it time already?" Ichibe asked her. But Lille had taken notice of him speaking and was about to launch his rifle at the monk. "Then that means the Cage of Life is completed!" he exclaimed with a smile.
As Lille fired his rifle, a tree suddenly rose before him, thereby taking the shot. However, the tree did not receive a hole from it, thus shocking Lille. "What!?" he wondered in disbelief.
Sitting on one of the branches was Kirio Hikifune, who was feeling happy when seeing the trees growing taller by the minute. "Yes, I did it. It is finally complete! It's been a long time since I did such a big confinement. It sure was a hurdle" she exclaimed in her jolly-good mood.
The trees were trapping the group in a cage, considering that they even formed a blockade above them. The Sternritters did not know what to do with this.
"So…what do we do now?" Askin asked his comrades as he looked around for a solution. "Any of you got an idea?" he then asked them once again.
"Shut up, Nakk Le Vaar!" Gerard said in return, not caring about what Askin just said. TheSternritter with winged helmet was also figuring out how to get out. "What an eerie trick" he noted cautiously.
Lille was trying to fire on the trees once again, and he even did that three times, and with different aims. But it was no use. "Damn! Even if I hit the same spot, it doesn't break. And every time I try hitting the spaces, the branches get in the way!" he remarked with irritation when seeing this.
Gerard laughed when seeing Lille striving with his shooting. "Hah, and you claim you can shoot through anything? What a disgrace you are, Lille!" he mocked his comrade
But the one-eyed man ignored Gerard's insult. "Arrogant asshole" he muttered in his head, before he was interrupted by Kirio speaking.
"Actually, those shots are going through the trees" the Sternritters turned around to see the chubby woman sitting on a branch while facing down to them. "Handling food is the same as handling life. I cook to create life and I produce the ingredients inside me!" she revealed to them while demonstrating something with her left hand. "This tree bore fruit after receiving the Spiritual Pressure of me: Kirio Hikifune, Second Officer of Squad 0 and Divine General of the South" she introduced herself and faced Lille specifically. "Your bullets are made of highly concentrated Reishi. The tree of life would never miss something that yummy. Even if you were to pierce it, it only grows faster" Kirio went on explaining.
Lille got angered over hearing this explanation and all members of the Schutzstaffel knew that there had to be a way out somehow. But Kirio could read their expressions and looked at them dismissively.
"All of you can go wild as much as you want, but you'll never be able to escape my Cage of Life" she then told them.
"Foul woman! You will regret casting this witchcraft upon us!" Gerard declared while pointing his finger at her, much to Kirio's own amusement.
Haschwalth was not amused by what had happened around them. "The nuisances these people are" the Sternritter Grandmaster noted with distaste in his voice. He then faced his superior. "What is our next move, Your Majesty? It appears that we are trapped" Haschwalth asked Yhwach with respect.
"Patience, Haschwalth. We will let the Schutzstaffel do the honor of eliminating these incompetent fools" Yhwach answered him plainly in return, before his own eyes pierced through the trees, trying to get a look at the Soul King's Palace, as well as Ichibe sitting and waiting. "However, I will deal with that monk, personally" he then revealed, even forming a slight smirk in the process.
Haschwalth formally bowed. "As you command" he said in return.
But suddenly a sound could be heard and the Schutzstaffel were treated to the way of someone who had landed before them with a sword inside the beholder. It was Otetsu Nimaiya, and he wanted to impress his enemies.
"I'm the number 1 Zanpakutou creator, also known as the Third Officer of Squad 0 and the Divine General of the West, oh yeah!" Nimaiya began stating his titles while the Schutzstaffel only stood and looked at him dumbfounded. He began a countdown from 10 to 1. "Oh-tetsu Nimaya, the God of Zanpakutou!" he then added, thus ending his own introduction.
There was only silence amongst the four Sternritters, until Askin spoke up. "What the hell did we just watch?" he asked out of the blue.
"I have no idea" Gerard responded in return, this time being "kinder" to Askin than usual.
"Screw this idiocy!" Lille expressed his irritation and glared at Nimaya, aiming his rifle at him. "Hey! If you got a death wish then why not just stand still and let me kill you?" he then suggested to Nimayia, who had just picked up his sword and was now flashing it.
"Sorry, but I can't allow small-fry like you to pass" the Shinigami said, before swinging his blade and facing his opponents with serious eyes, that could be seen through his sunglasses. "Now shut up and come at me all together. I'll take all of you bitches down, one by one. Y'all better prepare yourselves, cause the real fight starts here" Nimaiya then dared his enemies.
In the icy cityscape, Sereitei, Soul Society
The battle in the icy cityscape between the 13 Court Guard Squads and the Sternritters continued, with both sides doing what they could to win the chaotic battle. The fight between the two lieutenants: Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki and the two Sternritters: Bazz-B and NaNaNa Najakhoop was no exception. NaNaNa had of course survived being frozen by Rukia, as he was even more endurable than what he looked like. The black-skinned Quincy also sought to weaken the young woman's Spiritual Pressure by using his Schrift. However, the destructive fight between Bazz-B and Renji had also forced them to avoid each other sometimes.
Renji was currently in his Bankai form, and realized how strong these two Sternritters actually were. "Damn it! These Sternritters sure are persistent!" he noted in while running through the rubbles. "If only I could find a way to…." The red-haired man's thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice.
"BURNING FULL FINGERS!" Bazz-B yelled as he was shooting fire with all five fingers. This fire spiraled into a vortex and it headed straight for the lieutenant.
Renji immediately used Hihiou as a cover, but realized that it was not enough, as he was forced into a wall by Bazz-B's attack. "FUCK!" he cursed in anger over being in this situation.
Bazz-B grinned over seeing this. "HAH, HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, ASSWIPE!? NOT BAD FOR A CHICKEN HEAD, WOULDN'T YOU SAY!?" he taunted, finding pleasure in doing this.
Renji was still trying to shield himself from the attack, but it was almost no use.
"BANKAI!" an angry voice came from Rukia, and a pillar of ice was brought thanks to her activating her Bankai. "HAKKA NO TOGAME!" Rukia added while her entire appearance changed.
Bazz-B was blown away by the aftershock, and once he got up, his eyes widened, and he whistled in admiration of what he was seeing. "Wow…...that's one hell of an outfit. Looks kinda cute" he noted lowly, admitting that the appearance was intriguing.
Renji was surprised as well, and gazed upon how beautiful Rukia actually looked in her Bankai. "So, this is it? Rukia's Bankai. Holy hell! Her Bankai puts Captain Hitsugaya's to shame" the red-haired man admitted, watching as Rukia began taking slow steps towards Bazz-B, who had not frozen.
Rukia glanced at the Sternritter nonchalantly. "Turn around and run away, Sternritter. Anything that goes near me gets frozen instantly. I am telling you this for your own good" she lowly told Bazz-B, as the rubbles she passed by began freezing into ice.
While the man with the Mohawk was stunned about seeing the form at first, he simply shrugged off his fears and suddenly pulled our his Reishi Crossbow, aiming it at Rukia. "Sorry lady, but I don't need your help to make me chill. But hey, maybe I can help you with warming your cold heart" Bazz-B suggested and fired an arrow.
But as the arrow neared Rukia, it instantly froze before it hit her, eventually falling in the ground before the young woman. This caused Bazz-B to frown and he even noticed how cold it was getting around the area.
"Shit…...this chick's really determined to freeze me. I better find a way to…" Bazz-B's thoughts were interrupted when he spotted something happening on Rukia.
A pattern had been created around the young woman, and she eventually fell down on her stomach, considering that all parts of her body were under attack. "No…...what's happening to my body!?" she asked in distress.
Bazz-B only shrugged his shoulders and faced the one who had done this, who was NaNaNa. "Thanks, but I really didn't need your help" he said with sarcasm.
"Man, you suck! Show some mothafuckin' appreciation for once, dawg!" the lean Sternritter told his comrade. NaNaNa then diverted his attention on Rukia. "Now as for you, flat-chested hoe, sit yo ass down. I'm about to make you mah bitch!" he then exclaimed to her.
Rukia only looked over her shoulder in anger, feeling her entire body becoming paralyzed and numb. "You sanctimonious, disgusting…..PIG!" she spat at him, only for NaNaNa to put more pressure on Rukia, much to her own agony.
NaNaNa grinned wickedly. "Ain't wise of you to keep badmouthin' me, hoe! I own all of yo body as of now" he went on disciplining her.
Renji's eyes widened in surprise when he saw NaNaNa scheming with his technique. The Lieutenant of Squad 6 gritted his teeth. "That son of a bitch! He'll pay for this!" he yelled and ran straight towards his target, only for a Heilig Pfiel to narrowly miss his cheek, thus leaving a cut mark. It was Bazz-B, who had fired his Reishi Crossbow with a smirk.
"Hey, hey, hey! You think I'm just gonna let you go off so easily!?" the punkish Quincy taunted him. "I almost had you there hadn't it been for that frozen chick interfering! Wanna go another round?" he then challenged Renji.
Renji shrugged his shoulders and forced a cocky smirk in return. "Fine by me. I'll gladly take my chances with you, chicken head!" he said, once again making fun of Bazz-B's Mohawk and it got him pissed off for real.
Bazz-B got furious once again and aimed five fingers at the Shinigami. "I'M GONNA BURN THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU, COCKSUCKER!" he yelled in anger and was about to launch his attack, only for him to stop when he felt something unusual. In fact, the punkish Quincy began looking up to the skies, and even NaNaNa, did that as well, as the lean man stopped torturing Rukia for a minute.
But they were not the only Sternritters who were behaving like this. Even now, Robert Accutrone had used his ability to appear on the top of a rubble, and the elderly man was facing up towards the cloudy skies that were currently raining on him. Apparently, he knew what was happening above the Sereitei and what their liege had in store for those who were below the Royal Realm.
"No…...it cannot be…" Robert uttered out words lowly while facing the skies with fear and shock. "Have mercy on us…my liege…this must be a great misunderstanding…." he added to his statement in a pleading way.
As he stoodg there, Robert was eventually approached by Liltotto Lamperd, who was confused by her comrade's behavior. She had overheard the words he had said.
"Hey, Accutrone. What's the big deal?" the young girl asked him with little pleasantries in her voice. "We're supposed to eliminate the enemy army" she then added to her question.
After gazing up to the rainy skies for a brief moment, the four-eyed man fixed his shocked eyes upon the young Sternritter. "Have you begun noticing that His Majesty has left the Sereitei?" he asked her warily.
"Duh! Of course, I know! What does that matter to us?" Liltotto asked as if it was not that big of a deal.
Robert was still feeling a hint of worry inside of himself. "He has left us all behind, and none of us has been asked to accompany him as his Schutzstaffel to the Royal Realm" he then pointed out to her.
Liltotto remained unimpressed. "So what? We'll just kill the enemy and wait for him to come back, plain and simple" she told him while scoffing at his words.
Robert slowly began to show more of his uneasiness and Liltotto was wondering if he was becoming paranoid or something. But that was not really the case. He only got slightly more distressed by Liltotto's attitude.
"Don't you get it…" Robert spoke up lowly, before he angrily grabbed both of Liltotto's shoulders and moved down to her level. "DON'T YOU GET IT!? THIS IS THE END FOR US!" he yelled out in anger and fear at the same time, forcing Liltotto to actually take his words for real this time. "WE HAVE BEEN DEEMED USELESS FOR THE UPCOMING BATTLES!" he added to his words.
"Just what in the hell are you talking about!?" Liltotto asked while removing himself from Robert's grip.
Robert facepalmed in sadness. "Newcomers like you know nothing about the horrors His Majesty are capable of!" he said before facing Liltotto once again. "The Sternritters was formed solely for His Majesty! We exist for his sake only! He hates lies, so I am not telling you anyone of those when I say that we Sternritters were formed for his sake, seeing as we are expendable! When His Majesty created his Schutzstaffel, he prioritized their survival above ours! Do you know what means for us!? All Sternritters that are deemed useless…WILL BE CUT DOWN BY HIS MAJESTY'S AUSWÄHLEN!" he said in fear and could suddenly feel something struck above him.
Liltotto watched in pure shock, as light struck down upon Robert, the elderly man doing nothing to move. As soon as the light vanished, nothing but a skeleton in a Wandenreich-outfit remained of what was once Sternritter N – The Narrower: Robert Accutrone.
Liltotto was not the only one that had witnessed Robert's death, as the other Shinigamis and Sternritters were watching this with horrified looks.
"What the fuck…that Sternritter just got his entire skin….ripped off..." Shinji noted as he saw Robert's skeleton fall amongst the rubble.
Byakuya was facing up at where the light had come from. He also got a closer look at the skeleton of his adversary. "That man was taken all his life away from him" the captain noted while he could not help but to pity the deceased Sternritter. "Despite committing many acts of evil, I cannot help but to feel sorry for him. He never deserved a fate such as this" Byakuya added to his thoughts.
But as the Sternritters were watching, a voice soon invaded their thoughts and it came from none other than Yhwach himself. Each of them stood and listened with shocked realizations. "Attention to all Sternritters fighting in the Sereitei. As all of you may know, we are all comrades and are on the same page in all battles. And as comrades, we are supposed to help one another whenever one of us are in grave danger. Right now, my Schutzstaffel is in dire need of your assistance and you shall all help them, by giving your sources of power and life to them! That is an absolute order! So prepare for my Auswählen! such is my will as your emperor!" Yhwach's voice commanded the Sternritters' thoughts, as they each had angry reactions to this.
But as soon as they heard the announcements, the Sternritters abandoned their current opponents and ran for the nearest hiding place as quickly as possible, not wanting to get killed by Yhwach's Auswählen.
Giselle Gewelle found cover beneath a pile of boulders, in which she had kept the zombified Bambietta Basterbine. She quickly hid while standing on the top of the zombie. She was soon joined by her fellow female members of the Sternritters, who had all used their wings to reach this place. But Meninas McAllon needed to shrink her muscular size and it took some time before she got inside. But as the lights appeared once again, she entered in the nick of time. The light hit right outside the entrance and they noticed something.
"Damn it, my wings!" Liltotto exclaimed while seeing her shark-tooth wings disappear.
Candice Catnipp also felt the same with her own wings, as did her comrades. "So our powers are taken away…...even if we stay away from the light!?" the blonde-haired girl noted with distress in her voice.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Liltotto asked out in anger before looking up to face the skies. "WHAT WERE WE TO YOU!?" she asked Yhwach out in anger.
While they were hiding there, Bazz-B and NaNaNa had also begun finding a way to avoid the lights, and they narrowly managed to avoid them. But still, they could feel their powers being taken away, as the two Sternritters were practically forced to the ground, almost being dragged by not even being near the light.
"DAYUM! MAH POWERS!" NaNaNa yelled out in shock while facing up to the skies. "WHY ARE YOU DOIN' DIS TO US!?" he then asked out in anger as well.
Both Renji and Rukai had been watching the event taking place in shock. "What's happening!?" Renji demanded an answer from both Sternritters, as they were standing near them.
Bazz-B only looked up at both Shinigami lieutenants. "That's what we would like to know!" he said before facing the skies with outrage. "YOU FINALLY SHOW US YOUR TRUE COLORS, YHWACH! WELL, TOO BAD! BECAUSE THAT'S NOT NEWS TO MEEEEEEE!" he yelled up to the rainy clouds.
Back underneath the boulders, the female Sternritters were all fearing for their own continued existence when seeing that their leader had abandoned them. Giselle continued to hug Bambietta tightly, not wishing to die. Meninas had also showed her fears for her life as well and hid behind Candice and Liltotto, who had their eyes fixed upon this chaotic field.
"I don't wanna die here!" Meninas and Giselle expressed their fears together while clinging to themselves
"Just get a grip, girls! None of us are gonna die here!" Liltotto told them. "NOT IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!" she then declared loudly.
But she was not the only one to have said that statement out of anger and determination. Bazz-B was having similar thoughts as he and NaNaNa had their powers taken away from them. However, only NaNaNa seemed to be more afraid of dying than the man with the Mohawk.
"IT'S GAME OVER, BRUH!" NaNaNa yelled out in fear while seeing the light. "WE AIN'T GONNA MAKE DIS THROUGH!" he added to his words.
But Bazz-B was not so willing to give up. "Quit bullshitting me, NaNaNa! I'm not giving up so easily!" he said to his comrade and faced the skies with determination and anger. "THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT I'M GONNA DIE IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!" he then yelled angrily, signaling his determination.
While the Auswählen was still ongoing, the many Shinigamis had taken notice of the lights and that they were coming from above, which they realized that Yhwach was currently in the Royal Realm. Even now, Head-Captain Shunsui Kyoraku had taken notice of the scene, as he was watching it from the transformed Squad 1 Barracks, with both his lieutenants at his side.
"Well, this is quite a scene we're looking at" Shunsui noted to his subordinates while adjusting his hat. "I think it's time for us to make our move, Nanao and Okikiba. The enemy leader is already in the Royal Realm as we speak" he noted warily while facing the transformed landscape.
Nanao snapped when he was hearing what her superior was suggesting. "Hold on, captain. Are you saying we should follow Urahara's suggestion?" she asked him.
"That's right. And I'll leave him in charge of gathering up all the captains and lieutenants at the Squad 12 base" Shunsui told her before he started walking away, with both lieutenants following him. "I'll be coming there soon. But first, I gotta get out and assess the current damages the Sereitei has received in wake of this invasion. Then we can continue with Urahara's plan" the head-captain told them as they listened closely, wondering what their captain had in store for all the Shinigamis.
"But Captain Kyoraku" Nanao interrupted Shunsui and he turned around to face her. "Why is there a need for us to head to the Royal Realm? Isn't it the Royal Guard's responsibility to defend the Soul King's Palace?" she asked him, wanting an honest answer from her superior.
Hearing this only caused Shunsui to chuckle lightly in return. "Now, now, Lil' Nanao. I did tell you all during the captain summit that we of the 13 Court Guard Squads would take matters into our own hands" the pink-clad Shinigami said and proceeded to move on, with his lieutenants tagging along. "Besides, they may think that they're such hotshots, but I know that stopping the enemy is something only the Court Guard and the Royal Guard can do united, which is why we're going up there" the man with the eyepatch added while keeping up with his pace.
Up in the Royal Realm, high above the Sereitei
The members of the Royal Guard were in shock at seeing what Yhwach had just performed, as they had first expected him to make his move to attack them. But instead of launching an attack, the emperor was rather concentrating on bringing his Schutzstaffel back to life. And just as Nimaiya thought he had easily disposed of them all
Resurrection. That was the thing Nimaiya and the others could see as all five members (Lille, Gerard, Pernida, Askin and Nianzol) rose up from the wooden floor, having the wings of angels sprouted out from their backs.
"No…how can this…...be!?" Senjumaru asked as she was filled with uneasiness in her voice.
"That bastard!" Kirinji noted angrily inside him. "He was trapped inside the Cage of Life! How in the hell was he able to revive his fallen men!?" he added to his distress.
Even Kirio could not believe her eyes. "Good heavens...this does not look good..." she remarked.
But the members of the Royal Guard were not the only ones who were terrified by seeing this. Even Uryu widened his eyes when he saw Yhwach revive his fallen Schutzstaffel by using his Auswählen. "I…..I never knew such powers even existed!" the crown prince remarked in his thoughts, as he was indeed surprised that the emperor was capable of such. "I thought the Auswählen could only kill Quincies, not revive them..." Uryu was still at loss for words.
Since Nimaiya and the others had been too distracted by seeing the resurrections, they failed to notice how Lille was quick to fire his Reishi Rifle and blow off Nimaiya's left shoulder, until his arm was nearly loose. However, he was bleeding seriously.
"What the just happened?" Nimaiya noted while he was on the verge of collapsing, although he could still stand.
Haschwalth suddenly stepped forward and glanced at the injured Shinigami, while making sure the rest of the Royal Guard listened to him as well.
"What you just witnessed was the Auswählen. The power of useless Quincies is collected and distributed to those who need it. It's a redistribution of power" the blonde-haired man told them while fixing his eyes upon the revived Sternritters. "The ones whose powers are taken away from, dies. And the ones who are given those powers are reborn stronger than before. It's one of the many powers of His Majesty. He is not moving around Reishi, but power and life. Not even this ridiculous Tree of Life that blocks Reishi, can stop it" Haschwalth concluded his explanation.
Nimaiya was surprisingly smiling, despite his serious injury on his left shoulder. "I see…...a new power, eh?" he asked with slight amusement in his voice before facing Lille. "I guess that explains why the bullet of yours that didn't work before…...just managed to put a hole through my shoulder" he then remarked with amusement, although it sounded quite sarcastic.
Lille narrowed his only eye in displeasure. "There are two misconceptions in your statement. First of all, this is not a "new power". It's my real power, the one I didn't have the chance to use before you interrupted me" the Captain of the Schutzstaffel explained before aiming his Reishi Rifle at Nimaiya once again. "And second of all, what just went through your body…isn't a bullet" Lille revealed before he fired his weapon towards Nimaiya.
In desperation, both Kirinji and Kirio rushed to their comrade's side, trying to block Lille's shot with their Zanpakutous. However, the two Shinigamis were shocked to see that they had received holes in their weapons, meaning that the shot had pierced through them, eventually hitting Nimaiya in the middle of his chest.
"You can't stop it, no matter how many walls you put up" Lille said while moving his rifle to aim once again. "The name of my Schrift is the letter X – The X-Axis. There are no bullets coming out of my Diagramm. It just pierces anything that is between the muzzle and the target. Now that I've explained the details to you, could you do me a favor and line up in a row? I'll gladly just kill you all with only one shot" the black-skinned man then said to them.
"Not so fast, Lille!" the brash voice came from Gerard who suddenly began banging his Spirit Weapon on his shield, a hint of delight could be read upon his face. "You may be the captain, but you cannot have all these charlatans to yourself!" the man in the winged helmet exclaimed, taunting his comrade in the process.
Lille scowled. "Quit acting so sanctimonious, you jackass! We're not gonna have any stupid forms for competition while we're here!" he snapped at him.
"Don't tell me you have forgotten about me" Askin said as he approached his comrades with his hands in his pockets. "There are only three of them left, so we can split them between us. Does that sound reasonable?" he then asked both Gerard and Lille, who seemed to be less than enthusiastic about him suggesting something like that. Askin groaned and stretched out his arms in disbelief. "Come on! Don't be such dicks! We're comrades, aren't we?" he then asked them.
"Hold it!" Nianzol suddenly spoke up and faced his comrades in a vengeful mood. "All of you can have the water guy and the fat lady to yourselves. That filthy armless bitch over there…...is MINE!" he said while angrily pointing a finger at Senjumaru, who was nothing but appalled by seeing how Nianzol was brought back to life.
Both Gerard and Askin laughed at hearing his statement, much to the long-haired boy's anger and irritation. "You mean that weakling? You could not even handle her alone before we came!" Gerard pointed out to Nianzol, still laughing out loudly.
"Enough!" Lille's voice snapped and it ceased all foolishness and bickering. The Captain of the Schtzstaffel faced his comrades with nothing but irritation. "You fools seem to have forgotten something. There is still one member of the Royal Guard sitting outside the Cage of Life, but we will not deal with him" he told them before he faced Pernida and nodded his head at him.
Pernida suddenly walked towards some of the trees and he simply gazed upon them. As the hooded individual did that, the trees were bent over, almost on the verge of being destroyed. This surprised the members of the Royal Guard, while Yhwach formed a smug smile while seeing this.
"Excellent work, Pernida!" the emperor praised him and took off flying through the opening Pernida had created. "Have fun dealing with those vermin, Schutzstaffel. I have a monk to face against!" the emperor told them while escaping the Cage of Life.
"NO! COME BACK HERE, YOU…" Kirinji was held back by Kirio, who glanced at him in a surprisingly firm manner. The man with the pompadour knew what she meant by that. "You're right. Let's make our stand here!" he said to the chubby woman and they decided to face their opponents.
On the path leading to the Soul King's Palace, Ichibe Hyosube had been sitting patiently, waiting for the fight to end, until he could see some of trees being broken. The black-bearded man was caught by surprise when he could see who had escaped from the Cage of Life. That man was currently floating before him.
"Well then" Yhwach said while glancing down upon the monk, who lifted his head up to face him. "Will you be so kind and let me pass, Ichibe Hyosube?" the emperor requested him in a gentle manner.
But Ichibe only grunted at his words and rose up to stand on his feet. "Don not call my name so easily" he said and pulled out his Zanpakutou, which was in the form of a brush with black ink on the tip. "Your throat might get crushed" he then added in a surprisingly intimidating way, yet Yhwach faced him unfazed.
However, the emperor could feel Ichibe's Spiritual Pressure, and it was very powerful indeed. In fact, it was equal to that of Yamamoto himself. Yet despite feeling it, Yhwach had no fear. He even began chuckling slightly after hearing what the monk had just told him.
Ichibe raised an eyebrow. "What do you find so amusing?" he asked, not getting Yhwach's behavior.
"It's just that…...I can sense the enormous amounts of power that dwells within you. Yes, there is no mistaking it. Your strength and power surpasses Yamamoto's! You really have improved since the last time we met, both in skills and in wisdom" Yhwach remarked, commending Ichibe all of a sudden. The emperor then pointed a finger at him. "And that is one of the many reasons why you are listed among the 5 Special War Potentials. Your wisdom and ruthlessness is unlike anything that has ever been seen in the Soul Society. In truth, you would have made a terrific head-captain" the emperor suddenly revealed to him.
Despite hearing all this, Ichibe's expression remained unchanged, as he was someone not so easy to provoke with words. But he did in fact think about it before speaking up. "Is that so? I do not know whether I should be flattered or disgusted when hearing you praise me like this" Ichibe admitted to the Quincy. "Nevertheless, my duties remains at the side of the Soul King and him alone. And you know as well as I do that I would never do something as foolish as to allow you free passage to him" he then went on explaining.
Yhwach only narrowed his eyes at the monk. "How unfortunate to hear. I had expected someone like you to be less misguided with regards to how this world truly works. Maybe you have not surpassed Yamamoto in terms of wisdom" the emperor then expressed his misgivings.
Suddenly, Ichibe's formerly friendly eyes began narrowing, indicating that he grew slightly tired of hearing Yhwach's words. "You know something, old friend? I grow tired of you constantly comparing me to Yamamoto. And the reason I say that is simple" he said and suddenly lifted his Zanpakutou up before slamming it on the wooden floor, beginning to paint a black line before himself. The monk was still glancing at Yhwach with dispassion. "While I may be as vigilant as he was, there is at least one thing that separates me from him" Ichibe said and held his brush, eventually releasing his own Spiritual Pressure in which color was black. Even now, there was a sign of growing rage and anger inside the monk and even Yhwach could feel it. "Unlike Yamamoto, I won't go soft on you as he did! And whenever I face an opponent: I will show….NO MERCY! NOT EVEN TOWARDS A SPOILED PRINCE LIKE YOU!" he suddenly exclaimed out in anger.
Yhwach only grinned in return when seeing this and he had even unleashed his own Spiritual Pressure. The Emperor of the Wandenreich was feeling so much satisfaction over this upcoming fight with Ichibe. "Yes…this is a fight I have longed for…A TRUE FIGHT!" Yhwach exclaimed out of madness.
"DELUDED FOOL! YOU ARE ONLY DECEIVING YOURSELF!" Ichibe hit back at him.
Right now, this fight was inevitable. The strongest member of the Royal Guard was now going toe to toe with the Emperor of the Wandenreich himself. This was bound to be a clash of the century.
Inside the Cage of Life, the remaining members of the Royal Guard had taken notice of Ichibe unleashing his Spiritual Pressure. They all felt like they could put their faith in him, as Ichibe was the de facto leader of the Royal Guard itself.
Kirio suddenly stepped forward and held her Zanpakutou, which was that of a large wooden spoon. Surprisingly, the chubby woman was now intending on using challenging the Schutzstaffel. "Very well, it seems that we will have to take drastic measures with regards to this fight" she said and suddenly pointed her spoon at the five Sternritters.
Gerard only smiled cockily at her. "Fool! Do you suppose that you can attack us with that thing!? It's already half-broken!" he berated her while laughing out loud.
The chubby woman fixed a frown with her mouth and then opened her eyes. "Actually, this is more than just a "thing". It is also my Zanpakutou" she then told him, but suddenly fixed a mysterious smile on her face. "But while it may look like it, it's actually not half-broken!" she sternly added to her statement.
"Schutzstaffel!" the five members turned around to face Haschwalth, as he and Uryu stood far behind them. "Stop wasting time with these simpletons! You were brought back to life to crush them! Do it now!" the Sternritter Grandmaster was getting tired of what he was seeing.
Lille glared at him with irritation. "I give the orders here, Haschwalth! Mind your own damn business!" he snapped at him.
Haschwalth was about to walk over to discipline him, until he and the others could hear Kirio's voice.
"Nourish…...Otsubu!" Kirio activated her own Shikai and the wooden spoon's edge began transforming itself into the blades of an axe. It was intriguing to see how wood soon transformed itself into steel. Kirio lifted her Zanpakutou up and suddenly slammed its butt on the wooden floor. "And now to activate the Cage of Life: Stage 2!" the chubby woman declared and something happened to the trees that previously acted as bars.
All the trees began coming together and they made a wall and a ceiling, thus trapping everyone inside, including the group of Quincies. Everyone was stunned to see this and they did not know what to do.
"What the hell!?" Askin asked, as it suddenly became dark inside this cage.
"Another eerie trick!" Gerard remarked warily while seeing this.
A small tint of light could be seen from a little hole on the top of the ceiling. However, it was apparent that they had now been trapped inside with the Royal Guard and that there was no way out. The only solution to this problem: eliminating the remaining members of the Royal Guard.
To be continued…..
Author's note: Now that was a good chapter! We got to see how Yhwach began his confrontation with the Royal Guard in another way. I also introduced you to the Schutzstaffel and Nianzol is included. Why someone as lazy as him was recruited, you will know in the next chapter. We also saw how the Auswählen affected the Sternritters in the Sereitei. And don't worry, I have no intentions of writing them off as dead. They will play a key part with the Shinigamis plan to invade the Royal Realm. And by the way, since Kubo did not show us the Zanpakutous of Senjumaru and Kirio, I have decided to give them that. The name of their Shikais are Shinari and Otsubu respectively.
Shinhari – These words have both the Japanese words for death and needle respectively It's release command is Puncture.
Otsubu – This means large grain in Japanese. It's release command is Nourish.