I, Yorii Tsugikuni, Must Do Something Chapter 21

If moments ago Yorii Tsugikuni had seemed like a gentle, refined scholar, the instant he took a step, he transformed into an ancient, ferocious god dominating the world.

Two completely different, extreme changes flowed seamlessly between motion and stillness.

This natural, unadorned appearance was Yorii Tsugikuni's true strength.

Facing Yorii Tsugikuni's sudden transformation, the expressions of everyone in Night Raid drastically changed. In that moment, they felt as if they were being stared down by death itself.

Then, the snow-white blade flashed out a section, following Yorii Tsugikuni's movement.

In that instant, the surrounding air seemed to ripple.

Endless waves of energy surged outwards, causing the seemingly ordinary Nichirin Blade in Yorii Tsugikuni's hand to unleash its true might.

"Wait, I think there's been a misunderstanding."

"The reason we were chasing Aria is because her family committed unforgivable crimes."

Looking at Yorii Tsugikuni, who had seemed ordinary just moments before, transform into a prehistoric beast in an instant.

The aura he exuded almost forced everyone to bow their heads.

Leone felt a sudden jolt of fear.

As a member of Night Raid, constantly walking on the edge of death, Leone quickly called out to stop Yorii Tsugikuni's next move.

"Unforgivable crimes?"

Hearing Leone's explanation, Yorii Tsugikuni hesitated before dispelling his offensive posture.

He was not someone who acted stubbornly.

Since the other party had offered an explanation, he wanted to see if, as Leone suggested, there was something fishy about Aria's family.

"Please, follow us."

"Once we arrive, Mr. Yorii Tsugikuni will naturally understand."

Seeing Yorii Tsugikuni withdraw his attack, Leone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Yorii, don't believe them, they're all bad people."

"They want to ambush you, Brother Yorii."

Seeing Yorii Tsugikuni about to follow Leone and the others, Aria, who had been hiding behind Yorii Tsugikuni, changed her expression.

Then, she shouted excitedly.

She tightly hugged Yorii Tsugikuni's leg, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

Yorii Tsugikuni noticed all of Aria's actions in that brief moment.

"Don't worry, Aria."

"Nothing will happen, I'm confident I can handle their ambush."

Seeing Aria's panicked appearance, Yorii Tsugikuni's brow furrowed deeply.

In his mind, scenes of Yorii Tsugikuni being with Aria's family flashed continuously.

Yorii Tsugikuni could tell at a glance that Aria was lying.

Recalling the strange behavior of Aria's family before, Yorii Tsugikuni ignored Aria's pleas.

He looked at Tatsumi beside him, took a deep breath, and said, "Bring her along, let's go take a look."

Clang!

The sturdy iron door was instantly smashed open by Leone's punch.

A nauseating smell assaulted their noses.

As the torches were lit, everything in the secret room was revealed to everyone.

"These are all foreigners captured by Aria's family."

"Under the guise of helping these foreigners, they lured them back, then controlled them and abused them in various ways every day."

Leone pointed to the people hanging in the secret room like slaughtered pigs.

These people had been severely abused.

Some were missing fingers, some had their ears cut off.

Others had their scalps peeled off.

What lay before them was no different from the legendary hell.

"Did you do this?"

"Demon, your whole family are demons!"

Looking at the scene before him, Tatsumi's face was filled with disbelief.

He found it hard to accept that the person he had been protecting was actually like this behind his back.

"..."

Yorii Tsugikuni looked at the scene before him, his mouth twitched, and he was speechless.

Yorii Tsugikuni could completely imagine how much suffering these people had endured. Every corpse had a face filled with ferocity and unwillingness.

Without a doubt, Yorii Tsugikuni was shocked by the scene before him.

Even before Yorii Tsugikuni was reborn, during the equally chaotic Sengoku period in Fusang, he had never witnessed such a scene.

Afterward, Yorii Tsugikuni shifted his gaze to Aria, who was not far away and seemed quite lost.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Aria's Strong Will to Survive, Yorii Tsugikuni's Thoughts

"Let's go."

"Take her with us, back to the Imperial Guard."

Yorii Tsugikuni gave Aria a cold look. Although he had seen humans killed by evil spirits many times before, those demons were driven by their hunting instincts. However, what he saw now was the slaughter of one's own kind, a brutal display of human depravity that struck him even harder.

"Leave her... behind!"

As Yorii Tsugikuni prepared to leave with Aria, Akame walked over and blocked his path.

Although she had once been a part of the Empire, she was acutely aware of its corruption.

In her opinion, if Aria were taken back to the Imperial Guard, she might not die.

"Brother Yorii Tsugikuni!"

"This really has nothing to do with me. I don't know anything about this place!"

"I've never been here before. My father and mother always scolded me whenever I tried to get close..."

Aria shook her head violently, her eyes filled with innocence and confusion.

It seemed she truly knew nothing about this, and it was all her parents' doing.

Yorii Tsugikuni did not respond to Aria's explanation. Possessing the Clear World, his observational skills were incredibly sharp.

He could see the evasiveness in Aria's eyes, that she was attempting to deceive him with lies.

"I'm very sorry."

"I need to take Aria with me."

Yorii Tsugikuni refused Akame's request.

Even if the truth were revealed, in his view, Aria could not simply be killed by them. This wasn't to say Yorii Tsugikuni believed Aria deserved death.

It was just that many things were not as simple as they appeared.

If the final judgment on Aria's family was indeed as Night Raid claimed, then Aria's family was certainly a demonic clan, stained with blood. But was Night Raid in the right?

No, in Yorii Tsugikuni's opinion, this so-called Night Raid was merely a group of outlaws cloaked in righteousness.

They used the guise of justice to carry out slaughter. Both Night Raid and Aria's family had issues.

Therefore, he could not allow these Night Raid members to simply kill Aria. Instead, he wanted to take her back to face the judgment she deserved.

"Let's go, the Empire's lackeys are coming."

Seeing that Yorii Tsugikuni refused to move aside, Akame was about to draw her sword, but Leone stopped her.

Leone shook her head at Akame. She could already hear the Imperial forces closing in.

With Yorii Tsugikuni present, it would be too difficult for them to kill Aria, so she decisively made the decision to retreat.

"Hmph!"

Hearing Leone's words, Akame, who had been gripping the Imperial Arms Murasame, loosened her hold.

Although she desperately wanted to kill Aria, she could not risk everything.

After all, in her eyes, the lives of her comrades were more important than the mission.

Night Raid operations were always hit-and-run tactics. A battle like today's was disadvantageous for them.

Looking at Yorii Tsugikuni, who remained unmoving, Akame glanced at Aria and let out a cold snort, her tone exceptionally icy.

Soon, Leone, Akame, and Mine disappeared before Yorii Tsugikuni.

Yorii Tsugikuni had often wondered what kind of organization Night Raid was.

After seeing them today, his impression of Night Raid became more concrete.

While these people did appear to be a group of outlaws, they weren't the bloodthirsty demons of legend.

They seemed to have their own code of conduct.

"What happened?"

"Did Night Raid just come by?"

Sayo, carrying Kobi, ran over quickly from a distance. She looked at the somewhat silent four and asked.

"Things are a bit complicated."

"Night Raid just fought with Master and left."

Sayo, seeing that Yorii Tsugikuni was still lost in thought, looked at Aria and began explaining the cause and progression of events.

With Sayo's explanation, Aria quickly grasped the current situation.

"Send her back to the guard's prison."

"Have a few people find some carriages and clear away the bodies at the scene."

Looking at Aria, who was hiding in the corner, Aria walked directly to her side and then slammed her heavily onto the ground.

If she had discovered these things herself in the first moment, she might have directly had her Imperial Arms bite Aria's family to death.

"Don't worry, that guy will be hanged."

"After a busy day, let's go back and rest."

Aria walked over to Yorii Tsugikuni, who remained standing there and hadn't left. In his eyes, she saw something called sympathy.

Although the deaths of these people had little to do with Yorii Tsugikuni.

It was clear, however, that he seemed to blame himself somewhat.

I noticed something strange about their family a long time ago.

If I had realized the problem sooner, perhaps these people wouldn't have died.

Yorii Tsugikuni shook his head, recalling some of the things he had experienced when he first got to know Aria's family.

He had suspected Aria's family was problematic more than once, but he had never done anything about it.

Not until now, with so many people dead before his eyes.