SCHWARZE NACHT
(Written by Kishyotai)
When Tokyo was invaded by a Vastro Lorde, the Quincy organized under the Treaty of Constantinople and voted that the Extinction Level Event spoken of in the treaty had happened. Under this, the Quincy assumed an aggressive role in pacifying the growing Hollow threat, concentrating their power in Tokyo and in Eastern Europe. Wartime conditions demanded that the family’s heads stay in one area so decisions could be made quickly and, under the rule of the Progenitor, the Quincy quickly established themselves against the Hollows.
The Central 46, wary of the Quincy’s powerful abilities and the effect they may have in a large battle, came to the conclusion that the humans were being too short-sighted and that the occurrence in question wasn’t an Extinction Level Event. Yet, in one of the largest gaffes of their rule, they hadn’t elected to tell the Quincy but took the cessation of the treaty as a declaration of war. Instead, they told then-captain-commander, Gabriel Faust, what had to be done: genocide.
On April 16th, the Gotei executed one of its most efficient operations in its long history. A three-division force headed by Ninth division captain, Saika Rakushun; Seventh division captain, Ishin Katsuji; and Eleventh division captain, Leon Valiente Simeon, all but carried out the eradication of the Quincy. The Gotei 13 retrospectively estimated 98% completion of the operation, which although had no name is known by surviving Quincies as the Schwarze Nacht; the "Black Night."
Gabriel Faust detailed a plan modified from previous invasion protocols and selected his three most rebellious captains. He believed that while the Quincy were being shortsighted, the Central 46 had thought up a solution only they could think was right. In order to try and rectify their mistake, even by a little, he chose the invasion force based on who would let innocents live at their own discretion.
The Seventh division was deployed to Tokyo while the Ninth and Eleventh divisions were deployed at the estate of the Progenitor. Ishin Katsuji was assisted by Third division member, Takebachi Soramaru, in the purging of Tokyo. Saika Rakushun and Leon Valiente Simeon were charged with the death of the progenitor and the family heads.
The Ninth and Eleventh divisions attacked a complex that was completely isolated, so collateral damage worries were limited to human, non-spiritual aware individuals who worked as servants or helping hands at the large mansion. This operation was done with brutal efficiency, and not a single survivor escaped. After an initial two-pronged attack by Simeon's division, the Ninth division erected a barrier so that no Quincy could flee from the area. It was simply a matter of time before any non-Shinigami was found, also due to the brilliance of the captain of the Ninth division's technological preparations. The operation only encountered difficulty when the progenitor and family heads were engaged, but the Gotei 13’s pair of captains eventually persevered.
The dedication to their orders was matched only by the captains’ unyielding resolve to save part of the families. Women and untrained individuals under the age of 15 were spared and non-involved humans had memory wipes of a terrible infectious disease while Quincies that were spared were given high-grade memory alterations that would pacify them as long as no one explicitly brought the subject up.
Aside from that, any and all Quincy were killed.
The assault on Tokyo went similarly but, without the full power of the Ninth division, complete success couldn’t be attained. The Seventh division members executed a perfectly-timed, simultaneous strike on the Quincy strongholds under the cover of their tentative alliance, infiltrating the compounds before carrying out their orders. Katsuji foresaw the attempts at escape and detached squads to envelope fleeing Quincy. The Shinigami found the toughest task to be hunting down Quincy who had lived in Tokyo and, thus, knew the city better than they did. A few splinter cells of Quincy who hadn’t revealed themselves to the main families composed the majority of the survivors, with Quincies who were already at large at the time of the attack being all but eradicated.
As a whole, the operation was an immense success. Every main line from every family was wiped out. Officers had also led teams into the houses of the Quincy families and eradicated the weakened families who lacked their highly-trained, main-line members. Some Quincy families that had remained secluded from public interaction, however, survived with considerably less damage than their politically-active counterparts. While their main lines were wiped out, the branch family members all but disappeared and avoided the attacks of the Gotei 13 altogether. The after-action reports by the Second division estimate 2% of the Quincy population remained at large, with one-quarter of them even considering them searching for others.
Those Quincy that did survive focused only on self-preservation, whether for themselves or for their families as well. Cynicism was no longer a thought, but instead a reality as any individual simply attempted to survive long enough to pass on his or her blood and arts to the next generation. Every Quincy knew that Soul Society would not suffer their organized presence, but someone who could rally the Quincy would rule over them with unquestionable power.
