Quincy
The Quincy were a clan of spiritually aware humans who once fought against the hollows, using weapons composed of spiritual energy to slay them. As opposed to shinigami, Quincy absorb and channel energy from their surroundings. When a shinigami slays a hollow, this cleanses the hollow's soul and washes away its sins, allowing it to enter Soul Society. The Quincy technique to slay hollows simply destroys the soul entirely. Furthermore, using this method has the propensity to shatter the balance of the universe. When souls are destroyed, the number of souls entering and leaving Soul Society cannot remain equal. This issue prompted the shinigami to conduct a campaign to exterminate the Quincy about 200 years before the main storyline. However, at least two Quincy remain.
source: endless-bleach.com
