A Good Way to Ease Some Pain

Yamano Mirō dropped straight to his knees. Two bloody lines across his ankles were steadily draining his life away, yet he showed no panic whatsoever. His eyes darted about as he continuously searched for an opening in Asano Kiyoshi's defenses.

Watching Yamano Mirō's subtle movements, Asano Kiyoshi knew the man was still planning a counterattack. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and cast two Bakudo.

"Destroy yourself, Rondānini's Black Dog. With one leap, burn everything to ashes! Sever your own throat! Bakudo Number Nine - Collapse Wheel."

"Binding Kido Number One - Sai."

The two consecutive Kido completely pinned Yamano Mirō to the ground. Even so, Asano Kiyoshi did not let down his guard. He swung his blade and severed both of Yamano Mirō's arms. Only after the bloodstained Zanpakuto had completely reverted to its Asauchi state did he slowly walk up to Yamano Mirō and say, "I want to ask you a few questions. I hope you'll answer them properly. I'll consider giving you a quick death."

Looking at the cold-faced Asano Kiyoshi, Yamano Mirō knew he no longer had any chance of turning things around. He stared into Asano Kiyoshi's eyes, seemingly trying to read something from them, but in the end, he found nothing in those eyes.

"First question: besides you, how many fugitives capable of resisting are there here?"

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's question, Yamano Mirō merely looked up at him before silently lowering his head without saying a word.

Asano Kiyoshi said nothing. A faint electric glimmer flickered between his fingers before he released it toward Yamano Mirō's body, softly chanting, "Hado Number Four - Byakurai."

Byakurai was normally a piercing lightning attack, but Asano Kiyoshi had discovered that by controlling the amount of Reishi fed into it and making a few simple adjustments to the Reishi arrangement, he could erase its penetrating power and turn it into a simple electric shock. Of course, that required extremely precise control while also reducing Byakurai's power, so hardly anyone would bother doing it.

The lightning serpent stared excitedly at Yamano Mirō lying on the ground, letting out a crackling hum. As the smell of roasted meat mixed with a foul stench filled the air, Asano Kiyoshi looked at Yamano Mirō, whose flesh had been slightly melted by the electricity, and continued, "Second question: are the recent cases of souls disappearing in this area related to you? Or do you know any clues?"

Yamano Mirō had some backbone after all. After hearing Asano Kiyoshi's question, he did not answer. He merely glared at Asano Kiyoshi with bloodshot eyes and remained silent.

Asano Kiyoshi frowned, then reached out and dislocated Yamano Mirō's jaw to prevent him from biting his tongue and killing himself.

Then Asano Kiyoshi looked at Yamano Mirō without saying a word. Silver lightning appeared directly in his hand, and just as he was about to give him another round of electric treatment, Yamano Mirō seemed unable to withstand the pressure any longer. He twisted his body desperately, making muffled "mmmph" sounds, but with his jaw dislocated, his words were unclear.

Seeing Yamano Mirō like this, Asano Kiyoshi shook his head. Wouldn't it have been better to do this from the start?

He reached out and set Yamano Mirō's jaw back in place, then asked, "I have information on every one of you. I'm only checking with you to confirm whether all those fugitives are gathered here. As for anything else, you have no value whatsoever. Don't think you can threaten me with your own life. Killing you would make almost no difference to me!"

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, Yamano Mirō finally understood his current situation. He immediately changed tactics, transforming from an unyielding tough guy into a tearful victim. The moment he regained the ability to speak, he cried out to White Sugar with tears streaming down his face, "Sir, if I tell you all the arrangements and the distribution of personnel, can you spare me? I really haven't done anything bad! After graduating from Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy, I became a private soldier for a middle-ranking noble family. During one mission, I simply couldn't stand those nobles' ugly faces any longer. I didn't want to keep doing things worse than beasts for them, so I ran away. But I never imagined that leaving would brand me as a fugitive!"

As he said this, Yamano Mirō even bit down on the dirt and dragged himself toward Asano Kiyoshi. He raised his head as much as he could and pleaded to Asano Kiyoshi with an utterly pitiful expression, "Sir, you know how it is! A commoner without any influence like me won't get any chance to explain after being captured by the Execution Force. I'll be sent directly back to my former family for punishment. If they refuse to take me back, I'll be thrown into the Nest of Maggots! Sir, I truly had no choice! Please spare me! I swear on my soul that I have never done a single bad thing!"

By the time Yamano Mirō finished speaking, he had cried himself into a wreck. He kept crawling toward Asano Kiyoshi, begging him to spare his life.

Asano Kiyoshi watched the man wriggling across the ground like a maggot, and information about Yamano Mirō from the "phone" flashed through his mind.

Yamano Mirō probably did not know that the Twelfth Division had long ago invented something called Surveillance Bacteria. Those things were everywhere, and with Head Captain Yamamoto's tacit approval, nearly every noble household was surrounded by Surveillance Bacteria.

Everything Yamano Mirō had done had been under the Twelfth Division's surveillance.

The information on the watch was completely different from the tearful story Yamano Mirō had just told.

According to the watch, Yamano Mirō had defected because he killed a fellow private soldier of a noble family after the two argued over dividing stolen goods. He had also murdered twenty-three innocent Rukongai residents, robbed people one hundred and forty-two times, and forced himself on women fourteen times. By the laws of Asano Kiyoshi's previous life, Yamano Mirō deserved to be executed with a Gatling gun.

Still, after listening to him, Asano Kiyoshi came up with an idea. He said to the still-sobbing Yamano Mirō, "If that's true, then you are pretty pitiful. How about this? Promise that all the information you give me later will be accurate, and I can let you go. What do you say?"

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, Yamano Mirō's face lit up with wild joy. He said to Asano Kiyoshi, "Sir, I guarantee it with my life. Everything I say is true!"

Looking at the excited Yamano Mirō, Asano Kiyoshi nodded lightly. Then he said, "But you're in no condition to come with me like this. Oh, right—I've thought of a good solution. It might hurt a little, though, so bear with it."