Gerard Valkyrie

is a Quincy and a member of the Wandenreich's Sternritter with the designation "M" - The Miracle, as well as one of Yhwach's. He is also the heart of the Soul King.

Appearance
Gerard is a tall and broad muscular man with light, shoulder-length hair. He wears a winged helmet and a white cloak fastened at the front with three buttons and a black Hagal rune on the left-hand side. Underneath this cloak, he wears a red cape held by a pin on both shoulders, gauntlets on either arm, black pants with a white X-shaped belt and disc-shaped buckle, and white shinguards with discs on his kneecaps. Underneath his mask, Gerard has black sideways M-shaped marks covering the sides of his face, and wears a thin black braid around his scalp.

Personality
Gerard is a very aggressive man, rushing forward to attack Senjumaru Shutara almost immediately after being summoned to the Soul King Palace. He is also very confident in his power, proclaiming that Senjumaru could not hope to stop his blade with her delicate arms, and reacting with interest and amusement rather than apprehension when she summons a massive guard to fight him; even when confronted by several lieutenant- and captain-level Shinigami, Gerard demanded that they all attack him at once because none of them would stand a chance in a one-on-one fight with him. However, he is unnerved by Kirio Hikifune's cage of trees, referring to it as an "eerie trick". He boisterously commends his opponents if they impress him in battle, and believes he is the greatest and mightiest of the Quincy.

He holds Yhwach in very high regard, as he loudly berated Lille Barro for killing and leaving Senjumaru's "corpse" in Yhwach's path and even ordered him to clear it up immediately.

In contrast to most Sternritter, he is benevolent toward most of his teammates, having caught and carried Pernida Parnkgjas after it fell off the Soul King Palace, and openly expressed his approval for Uryū Ishida after the latter explained his method of protecting Yhwach. However, this attitude is not expressed towards all of his allies, as he promised to kill Askin Nakk Le Vaar if he fell behind in battle.

History
Gerard and Pernida Parnkgjas did not have any special powers bestowed upon them by Yhwach, as they were the only Sternritter who possessed their special abilities from the beginning. Eventually, Yhwach bestowed a Schrift upon each of them in recognition of their status.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
When Yhwach summons his elite force, the Schutzstaffel, Gerard is among those who emerge from his shadow. Taking off his white cloak, Gerard promises to cut down Askin Nakk Le Vaar if the latter gets in his way before attacking Senjumaru Shutara, who blocks with her needle. However, Gerard easily destroys her needle with a single slash of his sword, Hoffnung, and demands to know if Senjumaru thinks she can block Hoffnung with her thin arm before attacking once more. When Senjumaru summons a much larger version of her guard, a grinning Gerard notes how big it is.

After Lille Barro seemingly kills Senjumaru, Gerard berates him for leaving the body in Yhwach's path before expressing disbelief at someone so weak being in the Royal Guard. When Kirio Hikifune surrounds the group with a cage of trees, an unnerved Gerard comments on how eerie it is before taunting Lille for being seemingly unable to pierce it with his Heilig Pfeil. After listening to Hikifune explain the nature of the cage, Gerard and the other Sternritter watch as Ōetsu Nimaiya lands before them and proclaims that the real fight begins here. Gerard immediately attacks Nimaiya, who dodges before cutting him down.

Soon afterward, Gerard is resurrected through the power of Yhwach's Auswählen. After Yhwach kills the Soul King and is confronted by Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, Gerard and the other Schutztaffel arrive to confront them, with Gerard noting that he expected more of an army to oppose them. When Uryū Ishida manages to accurately predict what Lille is about to tell him about properly protecting Yhwach, a laughing Gerard proclaims that Uryū has their acknowledgment.

Later, Gerard and the other Schutzstaffel sit on couches in the palace. Noticing Uryū looks worried, Gerard assures him that Yhwach is going to completely absorb the Soul King without being harmed. After Yhwach completely absorbs the Soul King, Jugram Haschwalth informs Gerard and the others of this, to their surprise, before bringing them to the Soul King's chambers, where they find Yhwach oozing darkness. When Yhwach turns around to reveal that he has gained several more eyes, Gerard and the others are shocked. Due to Yhwach's immense power, the top of the palace shatters, forcing the Sternritter to move to pieces of rubble for safety.

Afterwards, Gerard is present alongside Haschwalth and the other Sternritter when Yhwach explains the name of his new palace, Wahrwelt, and how it will be the cornerstone of their new world. Later, a messenger informs Haschwalth that the Schutzstaffel have each gone to a different part of the city.

Gerard runs through the city, looking for opponents, but runs into a dead end. He then curses his fellow three Schutzstaffel. Eventually, Gerard confronts the Shinigami who have not been taken down by Lille and commends them for making it so far before proclaiming that they will have to get past him. When Renji Abarai attempts to confront him alone while the others move on, Gerard blocks their path with his cape before demanding that they all attack him at once.

Renji and Byakuya Kuchiki manage to wound Gerard. They send him flying back, saying the Quincy should not underestimate a captain and lieutenant and that he could never hope to beat them. However, Gerard laughs and says he would need a miracle to do that. Gerard explains that miracles should only occur under certain circumstances so that people recognize them for what they are. As Gerard proclaims that he will show the Shinigami a true miracle, Byakuya engulfs his head with Senbonzakura before flicking the blades sideways, which causes Gerard's bloody helmet to fly off, and blasting Gerard a second time.

However, as Byakuya and the others attempt to leave, an enormous Gerard appears before them, having used The Miracle to increase his size, and admits that he has never been damaged to this extent before. Gerard breaks off and throws a tower at the Shinigami, forcing them to scatter, before smashing his hand into the area where Shinji and Momo are. When Byakuya attacks him with Senbonzakura, Gerard blocks the petals with his hand before destroying the building where Byakuya is standing. After blowing away Rukia and Renji with his breath, Gerard proclaims that there are no miracles coming to save the Shinigami.

Soon afterward, Gerard laments how he has already defeated the captain-class Shinigami and noting that he will simply have to search for survivors before smashing the building where Hiyori Sarugaki and Hachigen Ushōda are hiding. As Gerard proclaims that making the impossible possible is the definition of a miracle, Hiyori dons her Hollow mask and fires a Cero at him, but Gerard merely brushes it off and claims that it will take more than this to defeat him, only to be surprised when Hachigen, Love Aikawa, and Lisa Yadōmaru attack him all at once. However, Gerard withstands their attacks and repels the Visored before deciding to flatten the area, only for Tōshirō Hitsugaya to appear and freeze his arm in place.

After Hitsugaya introduces himself as the captain of the 10th Division, Gerard introduces himself as a member of the "benevolent" Schutzstaffel and shatters the ice covering his arm before proclaiming that they should be friends as he smashes the area where Hitsugaya is standing. However, Hitsugaya merely dodges and states he is not interested in making friends before activating his Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, and engulfing the upper half of Gerard's body in ice. Gerard shrugs off Hitsugaya's attacks, but as he tries to crush both Hitsugaya and Byakuya, Kenpachi Zaraki arrives and chops off his forearm.

After regenerating his arm and announcing its enhanced power, Gerard stomps on Kenpachi and Hitsugaya, only to be thrown into the tower at the center of Wahrwelt by Kenpachi. When Kenpachi attacks him once more, Gerard repels his attack by batting him away with his shield, sending Kenpachi flying through multiple buildings, before unsheathing Hoffnung while noting that it is worth letting his sword rust a little against a being of darkness like Kenpachi. After Kenpachi releases his Zanpakutō, Nozarashi, Gerard clashes with him, but is ultimately pushed back once more, though he notes that Kenpachi managed to nick the blade of Hoffnung as Kenpachi sustains a large cut to his chest.

As blood spurts from his wound, Kenpachi wonders what just happened, prompting Gerard to claim that The Miracle gives form to the desires and emotions of the masses, which is what increased his size and made Hoffnung unbreakable. Kenpachi ridicules Gerard for acting like a cliched villain, only for Gerard to ridicule him in turn for not yet having realized the gap between them as they begin clashing, with the two of them complimenting each other's speed and reflexes. Slowly but surely, Gerard begins to overwhelm Kenpachi and points out the waning power behind his strikes before smashing him into the ground. Intercepting Senbonzakura in the air behind him and smashing his sword into Hitsugaya, Gerard proclaims that he is the strongest and greatest warrior who has been bestowed with everything.

Equipment
Shield: Gerard carries a large, circular bronze shield on his left forearm, which he uses as a sheath for Hoffnung when he is not using it. It is highly durable, having withstood a direct slash from Kenpachi Zaraki without being damaged.

Cape: Gerard wears a cape that can be stretched to act as a wall, preventing his opponents from passing him.

Powers & Abilities

 * Upon having physical damage inflicted on him, Gerard can convert the damage into physical size increases for his body, which he refers to as his ; his strength and durability receive proportional increases as well. If inflicted with grievous injuries, Gerard can become gigantic, towering over nearby buildings and other combatants, and becomes strong and durable enough to smash buildings with a single blow, deflect Senbonzakura with his hand, and blow away his opponents with his breath. Upon transforming into his Godly Size form, any injuries he has incurred seemingly disappear. If Gerard loses a limb, it will automatically be reformed in a flash of light with visible veins and will be even stronger. Gerard claims that his "miracles" are actually giving form to the thoughts, feelings, and desires of the masses; he grows in size due to their fear at being unable to destroy him, and his Hoffnung cannot break because it is sheathed in hope. This ability is not actually a true Schrift granted by Yhwach's blood, but rather an ability Gerard has always possessed.

Reishi Manipulation: As a Quincy, he primarily absorbs spiritual energy from the atmosphere, and combines it with his own spiritual energy to form weapons. He has an easier time collecting this energy in environments with higher concentrations of Reishi, such as in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo.

Immense Strength: With a single swing of his sword, Gerard effortlessly blew a hole through the Vestibule Road in the Soul King Palace with ease, and later damaged part of Kirio Hikifune's Tree of Life with only the force generated by his sword swing. He later leaped from one branch of the reformed Royal Realm to another, covering the tremendous distance in a single bound.

Spirit Weapon

 * Gerard's favored weapon manifests in the form of a black, double-edged sword with a black hilt. Its guard is V-shaped and has a star in the center. Gerard commonly stores it in his shield when he is not using it. It is powerful enough to easily shatter Senjumaru Shutara's needle and durable enough to withstand a direct clash with Kenpachi Zaraki's Nozarashi while only sustaining a small nick in the blade.


 * Damage Reflection: If Hoffnung is damaged in any way, the combatant who damaged it will suffer injuries in return; for example, a small nick in the blade will result in a disproportionately large cut in the opponent's body.

Quotes

 * (To Senjumaru Shutara) "A woman’s slender arms cannot hope to halt a strike from my blade!"


 * (To several powerful Shinigami) "At what point did I say this would be a one-on-one fight? In a fair duel, not even a miracle would allow you to defeat me! Come at me together!"


 * (To several powerful Shinigami) "Do you know when the phenomenon known as a “miracle” occurs? If a miracle were to occur at an ordinary moment nobody would think of it as such. 'Oh, hey.' 'You were pretty lucky there.' 'Strange things do happen.' That’s all they’d think."


 * (To the defeated Shinigami) "So terrifying it must be to be powerless! But do not cry in anguish. For no matter how much you cry out, no miracle will save you!"