“Fear can be overcome through experience. Those who know battle often come to believe this. “Fear that comes from reason” is kind. It can be conquered through force of will or through experience. It is possible to suppress such reasoned fear by severing it at its source. But true fear is without reason. It is not an emotion, but an instinct. True fear occurs without reason, without bounds. It is like a swarm of insects crawling up the body. We cannot escape from our instincts.” Ãs Nödt
Ãs Nödt is a Quincy and a member of the Stern Ritters, the elite warriors of the Vandenreich. Alongside the rest of their army, these warriors invaded Soul Society. Nödt came into conflict first with Renji and then began his real battle against Captain Byakuya, successfully stealing the shinigami’s Bankai through the use of a magic medallion. Later, he used the same very same medallion to turn against the Shinigami his owns weapons.
From there, the battle lasted quickly degenerated, with Byakuya succumbing to Nödt’s fear manipulating powers, who manage in the end to kill him. Later, Nödt was among the Stern Ritters who tried and failed to ambush Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
Powers
Nödt’s main weapons are a series of arrows or thorns that he shoots out of his mask and are capable of flying and impale his enemies. While the pure brute force of these nails is enough to kill a man, their true power lies in the ability to induce limitless fear in their victims.
Even a flesh wound is enough for these thorns to start spreading a sense of fear and danger in their target bodies, causing victims to doubt everything and lose control of all rational thought.