Control Center, Schatten Bereich
The soldats were on even higher alert today.
They may have initially succeeded in decimating Seireitei and killing its head captain, but with the loss of Yhwach and the death of Haschwalth by an unknown foe, they were forced to be vigilant, monitoring anything that comes in and out of their realm, as well as the Human World and Soul Society itself.
"Captain, we've detected a strange distortion in the northern part of the town," one of the soldats monitoring Karakura Town reported.
"Pinpoint the exact location and keep your focus on that anomaly" his overseeing officer gave him instruction
Leaning behind the walls of the control center, Bazz-B was eavesdropping. His eyes were about to lose life, slowly filling it with desire for revenge.
"The target is moving away from where we spotted it sir. It's heading for the riverbank, but we pinpointed its exact location from where it appeared: Kitawase Prefecture, Ishida Residence– seems like another quincy is present there."
"Disregard that quincy, he's not our priority"
Bazz-B walks away from the walls of the control room, having heard what he needed to hear. Ahead of him were the female sternritters donning their white cape, waiting for his signal.
He needed no words to tell them they're heading out. All he needed was a stare and a nod.
"Where do you think you're all going?" an unknown voice called them out
Bazz-B turned around and saw who called them; a tall and slim man sporting a medium length black hair with white streaks, with a strand hanging down in front of his face, reaching his mouth.
"Don't try to stop me Askin, I'm in a foul mood today" Bazz-B coldly threatens him
"You're already in a foul mood ever since Jugo was dead" the slim man, Askin Nakk Le Vaar, sarcastically retorted, trying to get into the former's nerves.
"Oi, stickman, do you have a death wish or something?" Liltotto immediately interjected with a threat of her own
"If you're heading there looking for your own grave, leave me out" he added, dismissing the blond petite's threatening remark.
Ignoring his scathing remarks, Bazz-B and the female sternritters left the realm and headed to Karakura Town.
Still…Alex Mercer, huh? If this man was able to beat Yhwach in a fight, then he might be a fellow of my great interest. Then again, I can't get a read on this creature unless I face him with my own eyes
Karasu River
It was raining moderately. The weather was slightly poor.
A teenage man with a slender build, wearing frameless glasses, wanders aimlessly under the rain. He has been clutching a notebook in his hand the whole time. His eyes were cast with doubt.
Lately, he had been searching for proof…
A connection…
The truth of his mother's death…
Perhaps he had found out the truth, which was too much for him to handle
"Uryu!!" someone familiar has called out to him
The boy turned towards the sky to find out who was calling out his name
It was his father, Ryuken…
…along with an unknown man, perhaps someone he is acquainted with.
"Dad? Who is this guy?" Uryu asked his father as the pair landed towards him.
"You must be Uryu Ishida, call me Mercer," Alex introduced himself in front of him.
All of a sudden, he sensed something was wrong. He activated his thermal vision and saw an extreme heat signature heading towards them.
"Duck"
Mercer immediately pushed the pair out of harm's way and transformed his right arm into a shield. To his surprise, his shield has a different form from the normal ones; Instead of its usual craggy appearance, it has an inverted, five-pointed crimson cross imprinted on the front. The moment the projectile made impact with the shield, it briefly dispersed into scattered reishi before being gathered towards the shield, causing it to glow brighter.
Whoa… that's not how my shield supposed to work
The Ishidas summoned their separate heilig bogen, preparing for a fight.
"No… he's after me, not you" Alex immediately gestured Ryuken to stand down, confusing him
"But I thought you said they might conscript–"
"I thought so too, until I recognized this guy. Leave the place and wait for me there. I'll handle these pests"
Ryuken looked at Mercer and thought about what he told him back at the manor.
If anything, I feel sorry for whoever's fighting this creature
Finally confirming Ishida's safety, Mercer turned to his opponent; a man in a red Mohawk with two earrings in his left ear, coming out of the shadows.
"Ignore those quincies that run away. We'll deal with them later" Bazz-B instructed the female sternritters before turning his attention towards Mercer
"That Freund Shield, you must be using Jugo's Schrift" he pointed out the shield Mercer used
"Jugo? Oh you must be his friend, Buzzard Black" Mercer responded
"What right do you have to call me by my real name!!?"
Without hesitation, Bazz-B pulls out his heilig bogen and fires two more shots at Mercer. In a quick fashion, he caught both arrows in a single swipe before dispersing them into reishi, which he immediately absorbed.
To answer Bazz-B's show of force, he turned his right hand into claws and lunged at the former. Bazz-B immediately took a step back from Mercer's attack.
Such speed! To create a huge distance by only taking a single step. Mercer thought as he noticed how his opponent made a huge gap between them.
"Like I thought… the way you caught that arrow… you moved just like Jugo"
"I'd take that as a compliment, but just so you know, I don't just move like Jugo"
He made that snickering remark before his human form suddenly turned into black. His shield later retracted as it underwent a quick transformation. Bazz-B watches in disbelief as Mercer slowly transforms into a tall, young-looking man with a thin build and long blonde hair, which descends past his shoulders, and blonde eyelashes. This face was someone the former was familiar with.
What… in the world?
Even the 'Bambies' were utterly stunned by what they have just witnessed
"What? You look like you've seen a ghost." Mercer sarcastically asked, but in a tone ever familiar by Bazz-B
"This… can't be…"
It was Jugram Haschwalth, or rather Mercer taking the form of Jugram Haschwalth. Rather than wearing his usual Sternritter attire, he now wears a buttoned lab coat, with gray shirt underneath
Bazz-B can't help but kneel into emptiness, unsure of what to do.
"Hey rooster head! Get a grip!" Bambi called out to a stunned latter, to no avail, emptiness filled in his face at what Mercer did
"SHIT! I'm going after him. Gigi, Lil, look after Bazz-B and try to smack him back into reality"
Bambietta immediately jumped out of hiding and towards Mercer with her short broadsword.
"Bastard, I'm going to peel Jugram's face off of you before I'll blow you up"
Meninas followed suit, immediately attempting to deliver a powerful right jab at Mercer's face.
"Too sloppy"
To both's surprise, Mercer was able to intercept each of their attacks at the same time; his left claw tangled with Bambi's sword, while his right hammerfist caught on Meni's. He then pushes the former away and hurls the latter straight towards the other side of the riverbank.
"Don't count me out, you leather-headed scum" Candice emerged above Mercer with hirenkyaku, aiming her heilig bogen at him as she prepares to fire a heilig pfeil
Mercer can't do anything to avoid the attack…
…No, he won't do anything to avoid it
He could only let a smirk on his face as he turned his head to face Candice, which irked her even more
"I'll wipe that smug off your face for you, you scumbag"
From a distance, Liltotto immediately figured out what Mercer's about to do.
"CANDICE, YOU IDIOT! NO!"
It was too late. Perhaps she was blinded by rage that she wasn't able to hear Lil's warning
"GALVANO BLAST"
Candice fires a powerful shot, estimated to be at least 5 gigajoules of electricity at Mercer. The latter immediately manifested a freund schild with his left arm as he tried to block the attack from above with his right shield.
A huge explosion occurred, causing a massive blackout in the vicinity of Kitawase Prefecture.
"That should do it" Candice confidently muttered to herself as her Galvano Blast supposedly hit Mercer.
By the time the dust settled out…
Mercer appeared unharmed with his shield showing cracks.
How? He was supposed to turn to dust by my Galvano Blast?
Wait. That shield… that's Jugram's Freund Schild… How was he able to– don't tell me he is able to –?
It was already too late for her to realize…
Mercer is able to use Jugram's Schrift; The Balance
Haschwalth's Schrift enables him to take the "misfortune" that occurs within his sphere of influence and disperse it to those that have experienced "good fortune", which he believes maintains balance in the world. All the misfortune that would occur to him personally is redirected into his Freund Schild; consequently, all good fortune that an opponent experiences in inflicting wounds upon him will be wreaked back upon them in equal magnitude as misfortune, and the misfortune that he experiences merely gets deflected and absorbed into his Freund Schild, causing his opponent to experience even more misfortune.
Wounds suddenly appeared in her body, causing her to cough up blood. What was meant to be inflicted for Mercer, became hers instead. Her consciousness later slipped in and out from the severity of her wounds.
"Son of a…"
She then falls from the sky, nearly rendered unconscious from the attack. Fortunately, Meninas was able to catch her before she could even hit the ground. She then retreated towards Giselle's position so the latter can treat her grave injuries
Mercer looked at his right arm, fully toasted from the Galvano Blast he received earlier. He then looked at the shield, showing cracks despite not being used to block the attack.
So this is what Jugram's ability looked like. To redirect all damage towards the opponent… what a pain in the ass
Mercer turned around and saw Bambietta, her eyes burning with fury at what he did to the three of them, especially Candice.
"Bastard… you used The Balance to kill Candice… you coward…"
Using her anger as a leverage, reishi started to gather towards the palm of her hand.
"Seems like we're getting serious here" Mercer commented as he turned back to his original self
"I won't be using whatever that nearly killed that poor girl, but I won't hold back on you either" he pointed at Bambietta as he transformed his arms into huge swords
"Don't… underestimate… me" she shot back at him with killing intent
They both lunged each other, fully determined to come out victorious
Karakura Hospital
Both Ryuken and Uryu landed on the rooftop of the Karakura Hospital.
"What is the meaning of this? Who is that guy? What is going on?" Uryu immediately demanded an answer to the barrage of questions he just launched at his father
"Uryu, listen to me very carefully" Ryuken attempted to calm down his son, holding him firmly on each shoulder before giving him a very stern warning.
"DO NOT CROSS WITH THIS GUY! HE MAY BE OUR ALLY BUT HE'S BEYOND DANGEROUS. THE REASON WE'RE STILL ALIVE IS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT HIS PRIORITY, BUT RATHER THOSE WHO ARE FIGHTING HIM" As much as Uryu wanted to retort, he made a rather brief look on his father's eyes. Rather than meeting the icy, seemingly loveless glare he's used to, he is giving him a look of dread
Pure and utter dread
Like someone has shattered the persona of a man who nearly never gave a single thought about his son, but rather than joy he is overwhelmed by feelings of a gut-churning sense of dread and anxiousness
That eerie look amidst the unsettling silence made it clear for Uryu; his father was DEAD serious about his warning