Nanatsuki's arrival drew every eye to him.
"Was that collapse your doing?"
Bazz-B stared, wide-eyed. He'd assumed the destruction of the hunting grounds had been caused by Sōken Ishida and Cang Du.
Nanatsuki scanned the situation outside the hunting zone.
The area had already become a battlefield—Gerard, Sōken, and Cang Du clashing. The soldiers originally stationed there had all been evacuated.
'Sōken has rallied a faction against Yhwach's guards… I should support them—to maintain balance,' Nanatsuki thought.
On their own, Sōken's forces weren't strong enough to face the Schutzstaffel. But with his help, they could at least hold the line and interrupt Haschwalth's plans.
"Sōken, what's going on here?"
Nanatsuki moved to Sōken Ishida's side.
'This Kurosaki kid… I remember him faintly from before. With power like that, he could be a real asset.'
Sōken quickly judged: if Kurosaki Haren could be swayed to their side, it would be a major boon against Haschwalth.
"We're trying to stop the selection hunt. This method of filtering the ranks—it causes too many unnecessary deaths." Sōken's tone was grave. "If you're willing… we could really use your help."
Before Nanatsuki could answer, Gerard took action.
"So you're the one who destroyed the hunting grounds?"
He raised both arms, summoning a radiant golden Reishi bow.
With his heroic figure and divine-looking weapon, he resembled a mythic avatar of justice.
Whoosh—A Heilig Pfeil vanished from the bowstring, streaking toward Nanatsuki.
CLANG—Nanatsuki unsheathed his spirit-forged blade in a flash. The arrow split cleanly in two midair, flying past his shoulders.
BOOM—The fragments exploded behind her, sending rubble and wind surging.
"Seriously? One arrow and you're throwing a tantrum? Pretty sure there's no rule against destroying the arena," Nanatsuki said, sliding the blade back into its sheath.
Then he raised his bow—Reishi arrows poured upward into the sky.
A heartbeat later, the heavens rained destruction. A storm of light descended, slamming into Gerard like a divine tempest.
thmpthmpthmp—
Arrows struck him from all angles—but Gerard didn't even flinch. Pain? He acted like he couldn't feel it.
His ability—The Miracle—transformed any negative condition he experienced into a positive result.
For him, wounds were power-ups.
A classic berserker: the more damage he took, the stronger he became.
"These scratches won't stop my march toward justice!"
The Miracle—Gerard leapt skyward, drawing his blade for a mighty aerial slash.
But Nanatsuki vanished.
His strike hit empty space.
he reappeared nearby, tossing out five metal cartridges no bigger than shell casings.
"Sprenger."
The silver capsules flew outward, landing at five precise angles. High-compression Reishi erupted from them, forming a radiant five-pointed star.
At the center: Gerard, bound in chains of pure Reishi.
Yet even confinement counted as a "negative condition"—his spiritual pressure surged violently.
One by one, the chains began to snap.
'Even restraining him just makes him stronger...' Nanatsuki frowned. This wasn't an opponent you could wear down. He needed to be eliminated in a single strike.
"You cannot stop my justice!"
Gerard raised his golden bow once more.
"That's enough."
Haschwalth appeared in front of him, calm as ever, placing a hand on the bow.
"Why are you stopping me?" Gerard's expression tightened.
"This Quincy hasn't broken the rules," Haschwalth replied flatly. "I never expected someone could destroy the arena. That failure is mine."
"You remember what this selection is really for, don't you?" Gerard asked pointedly.
In his mind, if someone ruined the selection hunt, their life could serve as substitute fuel for Yhwach's resurrection.
"If this keeps escalating, the ones who die won't be the ones you expect," Haschwalth said.
Gerard glanced around.
Sōken, Cang Du, and Bazz-B had already grouped up behind Nanatsuki.
And he remembered that earlier explosion—an attack like that might not even trigger his Miracle.
"If you'd just get involved—" Gerard started.
"I can't," Haschwalth cut him off. "They have another trump card."
He looked off to the side.
There stood Gremmy the Visionary, floating casually midair.
"Why are you siding with them, Gremmy?" Gerard demanded.
"I'm not siding with anyone." Gremmy shrugged, hands in his pockets. "I just heard the Schutzstaffel was making a move. Thought I'd come watch."
Gremmy fancied himself the strongest among the Sternritter, and had little respect for the royal guards.
Nanatsuki remembered: in his past life, Gremmy had always been powerful—but never obedient. He was locked away right up until the assault on Soul Society.
"That's all you've got, Miracle Gerard?" Gremmy smirked.
"You want to die?"
Gerard roared, swinging his blade at Gremmy.
CLANG—The sword struck his shoulder with a clang—but didn't pierce.
"You can't even scratch my defense?"
Gremmy shook his head, now holding a glowing golden blade.
Nanatsuki blinked.
That weapon looked very familiar.
Wasn't that Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Ashisogi Jizō?
'This guy has no concept of intellectual property…'
'He can manifest a Zanpakutō?'
Nanatsuki's brow furrowed. In theory—yes. Gremmy could create anything he imagined.
If he'd grasped Mayuri's ability, he could create a sword that replicated Ashisogi Jizō's power. Not the Zanpakutō itself—but a version of its effects.
"That quirky Shinigami gave me an idea," Gremmy said with a sly smile—and stabbed the blade into Gerard's chest.
Gerard didn't flinch. He laughed.
"Wounds only make me stronger—"
Then his smile froze.
He looked down. White matter was leaking from the wound.
"Hollow…?" Gerard muttered, brow twitching.
"That's right," Gremmy nodded. "I was curious—would your Miracle apply to a Hollow transformation?"
This version of the blade had been modified to inject Hollow essence—poison to any Quincy. Most Quincy couldn't survive Hollow contamination for long.
Gerard stumbled back, instinctively distancing himself.
Then—he jammed his hand into the wound, yanked out the white mass—and his power spiked.
"Looks like it's not hurting him…" Gremmy observed.
Suddenly, the ground split open.
With a tremendous rumble, a massive hand burst from below.
A gigantic Gerard clawed his way out of the earth, now easily ten times his original size. Everyone else looked tiny in comparison.
"Whose side are you on?!" Bazz-B shouted.
That Hollow power had only made Gerard more dangerous.
"Can you send him to Soul Society?" Nanatsuki asked Gremmy. "Once he's there, it'll be hard for him to come back."
And if he did go, Captain-Commander Yamamoto would likely cut him down.
"Could try..." Gremmy raised a hand—behind Gerard, a Garganta opened.
"Stop!"
Haschwalth moved in again, slashing the rift apart before it could form completely.
Gerard held still this time. Gremmy's powers were unpredictable, and he wasn't confident he could kill him.
"Let's leave it at that."
The selection was unsalvageable. Haschwalth and Gerard withdrew.
"Thank you for your help," Sōken said gratefully.
"You're thanking us too early," Bazz-B warned. "They're not done. Yhwach didn't get what he wanted. The guards will be back."
"I agree." Sōken nodded. "So… I hope we can rely on each other again."
"I've already stepped forward. Of course I'm in," Bazz-B said. "We can't let the guards run wild."
Cang Du nodded silently.
"I don't care about your cause," Gremmy said lazily. "But I wouldn't mind tripping up the guards now and then."
"That's enough." Sōken smiled, then turned to Nanatsuki. "Kurosaki… I imagine you have questions. The truth is—this selection was Yhwach's way of harvesting Quincy power."
To win Nanatsuki over, Sōken began revealing some of the Sternritter's deeper secrets.
But to Nanatsuki, none of it was news.
"I'm sorry you got caught up in this," Sōken said sincerely. "If you're willing, we could really use you."
"I already wrecked their arena. Pretty sure I'm on your side whether I like it or not."
"Excellent. With you here, the guards will think twice."
Sōken had watched Nanatsuki fight. Her power left a deep impression.
"We'll try to secure you a spot in the Sternritter."
Only Sternritter could receive a Key to the Gate of the Sun—the only way to freely enter and exit the Wandenreich.
The more keys they held, the better their odds of evacuating if things went south.
"Isn't Haschwalth the commander? Why would he let that happen?" Nanatsuki asked.
"The Sternritter don't answer to him directly. Selection is done by vote—current members cast ballots. Haschwalth's hunt only grants the right to apply."
—
Days later, Nanatsuki received the Key to the Gate of the Sun.
He had become a full-fledged member of the Sternritter.
"I just blundered into this and now I'm one of the elite? By the time Yhwach wakes up, someone else might be running the show."
He turned the key over in his palm, feeling a strange mix of amusement and unease.
Other people spent years working their way up—He'd just slipped into the heart of the Wandenreich.
Still, He understood—this "Knight" title likely had no real authority. It was the result of Haschwalth's own internal contradictions.
"Looks like he's got plans of his own."
Nanatsuki recalled the bond between Haschwalth and Bazz-B.
Haschwalth was a paradox. Loyal to Yhwach without question—but still bound emotionally to Bazz-B, who wanted nothing more than to kill Yhwach.
That tension made Haschwalth unpredictable.
'Maybe he's trying to push us into fleeing to the World of the Living… If I'm with them, Bazz-B's survival odds go up.'
Nanatsuki tried to anticipate his next move.
"Teacher joined the Sternritter!"
His disciples seemed even more excited than he was.
To them—born and raised in the Wandenreich—the Sternritter represented the pinnacle of power.
"You two made it as officers of Silbern too," Nanatsuki chuckled.
Although the hunt had collapsed, all surviving participants were granted access to Silbern.
[Sternritter Recruitment Complete. Meninas McAllon Promoted to Silbern Officer. Reward Delivered.]
[Reward: 10,000 General Ability EXP]
[Sternritter Recruitment Complete. Candice Catnipp Promoted to Silbern Officer. Reward Delivered.]
[Reward: 10,000 General Ability EXP]
Meanwhile, Nanatsuki received 80,000 General EXP from all four disciples completing their Spirit Tool wrist training.
Now that his lower-tier skills had all reached mastery, the system's EXP rewards had increased dramatically.