He actually got promoted directly.
The commotion of others had nothing to do with Beltz; he was just a bit surprised that Haschwalth would personally intervene.
Although he had just been about to stab Bakotsu, it wasn't like he intended to actually kill Bakotsu.
Was it really necessary for Haschwalth to personally step in?
And on top of that, directly making him become a Sternritter?
Could it be because the Gorosei avatars were still in an extremely fragile Freshman stage, and they were afraid his attack might affect them?
Hmm, that's not impossible.
After all, time-wise, they had been born for less than a month.
They all looked like old men, but in reality, they were still 'infants'.
Had their forms not stabilized yet?
Hmm, that should be it.
But was his previous speculation wrong?
He had previously thought that the six Sternritter positions had already been reserved, especially when he saw he was to fight Bakotsu, which confirmed this idea even more.
The Gorosei would take five positions, and someone who could help Yhwach uncover the truth would take the sixth.
But now, it was actually him who took the sixth?
"..."
Beltz stood to the side, lost in thought.
He still felt his previous speculation wasn't wrong.
Then... that meant Yhwach thought the person who could help the empire uncover the truth was him?
Although they didn't know what his soul ability was, Yhwach could see through everyone's Schrift.
So, perhaps his ability was one that could uncover the truth?
If that were really the case, wouldn't that mean making him, the perpetrator, investigate the case?
Of course, it could also be about leaving the empire to investigate the invaders.
That wouldn't be bad either.
Beltz found it amusing in his heart.
It would be best if it were as he thought.
Because he was directly promoted, during the next round of draws, whoever drew Beltz would automatically count as -1, while Beltz smoothly advanced with a 3-0 record.
The following matches weren't worth watching, so a week passed just like that.
After a week, all the promoted individuals had emerged.
The 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 groups totaled eight people, and of these eight, six would become Sternritter.
Unsurprisingly, it was Beltz and the Gorosei.
Regarding this, the remaining two had no reason to complain.
Because everyone could see the match process: Beltz and the Gorosei were effortlessly in control during their fights, while they had barely advanced with a 3-2 record.
In other words, the strongest six of the top eight became Sternritter, and the weakest two went on external missions—that was perfectly reasonable.
Beltz and the Gorosei avatars went to Yhwach's palace.
Here, they saw Yhwach with his eyes closed.
Yhwach seemed to be in slumber; even after the six of them arrived, he didn't speak or open his eyes.
The six knelt there, and finally, Haschwalth stepped forward.
He arranged for someone to place a dish of bright red blood in front of the six.
"Drink it."
Yhwach wasn't fully awake now, spending most of his time in slumber, so Haschwalth was in charge.
Haschwalth said to the six, "Then, you will become official members of the Sternritter."
Beltz picked up the small bowl before him.
This was Yhwach's blood, just like the two puddles he had left in One Piece.
He took a deep breath, then drank the dish of blood in one gulp!
"You will soon awaken your own Schrift."
Haschwalth said softly, "Wait here. By evening, I will gather the Sternritter members in the front hall, and that will also be your first formal meeting with your future comrades."
"Yes."
Beltz nodded lightly; he would stay here and wait for the Schrift to awaken.
The process of awakening the Schrift wasn't long.
Unlike the Shinigami.
For Shinigami to gain abilities, they first needed a Zanpakuto, then had to nurture it with their soul essence for half a day to achieve Shikai, followed by a series of complex processes to reach Bankai.
But for Quincy to activate their Schrift, they only needed Yhwach's blood, then waited for his soul to engrave the Schrift deep within their own soul.
What would his Schrift be?
Beltz was also very excited.
After all, abilities were a crucial factor for the future.
Although Aizen said that Shinigami battles were battles of Reiatsu, abilities were also vital, especially for Quincy. If one could get a rule-based ability, it would be like taking off immediately.
If Yhwach really wanted him to investigate the truth, would his ability be time-space travel? Mind-reading? Memory browsing?
The best would naturally involve abilities related to time-space or causality, but he knew that was too difficult.
Even the Royal Guard, whom Yhwach valued most, didn't have such abilities.
If there were such an ability, Yhwach would have promoted him to the Sternritter long ago.
So Beltz didn't hold out too much hope.
And about two hours later, Beltz had a sudden feeling of enlightenment.
He also knew what his Schrift was.
Schrift 'S', The Subconscious.
As the name implied, this was an ability to manipulate the mind, personality, and subconscious.
He could perform mental suggestions, using language, eye contact, or even Reiatsu contact to hypnotize targets and issue commands.
He could also pull targets into dreams, magnify their emotions, perform personality surgeries, and other abilities.
Of course, like Zanpakuto, Schrift needed to be trained.
The stronger the Schrift training, the more angles of manipulation became available.
Although this ability had no direct attack effects, Beltz was very satisfied!
Because this meant it was exactly as he thought: Yhwach really wanted him to investigate the invader incident!
Couldn't he say whatever he wanted?
Not to mention he had already made preparations earlier.
And an ability like The Psychologist also fit his role perfectly.
His self-positioning was as a behind-the-scenes figure, and this The Psychologist ability suited his identity best.
"It seems you've successfully awakened?"
Bakotsu suddenly spoke at this moment, clearly noticing Beltz' delighted expression.
The six of them were in one room, and no one had spoken for hours; hearing Bakotsu speak suddenly, Beltz was a bit startled.
After reacting, he said, "Yes, my Schrift has awakened."
"Then let's go out. The leader should have gathered the others by now."
It was clear that the Gorosei's Schrift had awakened earlier—no, if Beltz' speculation was correct, they might have had Yhwach's blood from the start.
So awakening their Schrift was completely natural.
And now, was it finally time to start catching the traitor?!