Deep in the Squad 9 underground dungeons, standing before an interrogation room, Kōe looked at Kotetsu Isane, who had been waiting there for some time, with a rather complicated state of mind.
Having just been extorted out of two years' worth of sweets by Kuna Mashiro, he learned that the one who spread the rumor about him being a pervert was the very woman standing before him. Well, how should he put it? To some extent, Kotetsu Isane had a point in calling him a pervert.
Back at the Plains of Slaughter, he hadn't recognized her and had straight-up cursed her out as a "stinky woman." By the time they were at the Huaixiang Pavilion, he knew who she was and offered some appropriate encouragement, but such a remedy seemed utterly insignificant given the atmosphere at the time.
"Phew." Kōe let out a long sigh. He had originally planned to extort her right back to make up for his losses, but since it was Kotetsu Isane, he decided to let it go. Still, he was so mad!
"Didn't you say you've been waiting for me for a long time?" Kōe turned to Kuna Mashiro, his tone brimming with displeasure. "Aren't we still missing one?!"
"I never said you were the last to arrive. Besides, I really *have* been waiting for you for a long time!" Kuna Mashiro stuck her tongue out. Just a moment ago, he was sweetly calling her 'good sister,' and now he was losing his temper with her. *Men!*
There were three people in total who were supposed to come to Squad 9 with Kōe. Kotetsu Isane had already arrived, and he didn't plan on waiting for the other one. After all, the upcoming task didn't require him anyway.
"I'll go in first. I'll come out and call you when I need you," Kōe instructed Kotetsu Isane. Just as he reached the door to the interrogation room, Kuna Mashiro caught up and handed him a pair of sunglasses.
"Everything inside was set up exactly as you asked. If you don't wear these, I guarantee you'll get dizzy and go blind!"
"Thanks, Kuna really does know how to be considerate!" Kōe put on the sunglasses, gave Kuna a thumbs-up, and pushed the door open, stepping into the interrogation room prepared to his specifications.
The entire room wasn't large, only about five or six tsubo in size. If it weren't for the fact that everything from the ceiling to the floor was glowing, it would have been an incredibly ordinary room.
This interrogation room had only recently been remodeled by Squad 9. First, they transplanted a massive amount of Glow-Vines—a naturally luminescent plant found in Soul Society—and then laid a layer of Kidō-reinforced glass over them.
Kōe's requirement had been simple: absolutely nothing in the entire interrogation room could cast a shadow. From the looks of it, Squad 9 had done an excellent job.
At this moment, there was one other person in the room besides Kōe. His entire body was wrapped in white cloth, a white mask covered his mouth, and he was kneeling opposite Kōe with his eyes closed.
Knott Vohtz. If one were to ask which Quincy Kōe was most familiar with, it would undoubtedly be the burly man before him. The two had gone from strangers to friends, then turned into enemies fighting tooth and nail in the Star Cross Fortress. And now, he was kneeling right in front of Kōe. It truly made one sigh with emotion.
Although he couldn't see the condition of Vohtz's body, judging by his weak, ragged breathing, Kōe knew the man had suffered quite a bit recently. Of course, it wasn't just him; all the Quincies captured during this period were in the same predicament. Otherwise, why would Kuna have said that Squad 9 had a heavy workload lately?
Kōe lightly tapped his index finger. The mask over Vohtz's mouth automatically unfastened and fell to the floor with a heavy clank. It seemed the thing wasn't light at all.
Vohtz, who had previously looked so weak he might pass out, suddenly lunged forward, spitting a mouthful of saliva straight at Kōe's face. However, Kōe easily dodged such a petty trick by simply tilting his head.
"Are you little brats back for another scolding?" Vohtz didn't open his eyes, grinning as he sneered. "Setting up this giant lightbulb to exhaust me? It's not enough! Come scratch my itch a bit more, otherwise I won't be able to sleep comfortably!"
"Scratch your itch? I can consider it." Kōe smiled. He raised his hand, using Kidō to seal the interrogation room, then sat down cross-legged on the spot and continued, "As long as you don't do something like bite your tongue to commit suicide, it's fine. You won't die anyway, so why bother making things harder for yourself and suffering in vain?"
"Kōe?" Vohtz tried to open his eyes, but he could only make out a silhouette before the sudden intense light forced him to shut them again. He asked once more, "Shihouin Kōe?"
"Ah, it's me! Though I really didn't expect you to still be so energetic. As expected of Vohtz! That's exactly your style!"
Kōe's words weren't mockery. He knew Vohtz was a tough nut to crack, but he hadn't expected him to not only endure but also have the courage to 'attack' a Shinigami. He had underestimated Vohtz.
But this was the real Vohtz—the Knott Vohtz who had led the charge at the very end in the Star Cross Fortress, trying to take Kōe down with him in mutual destruction! He was worthy of Kōe's praise!
"Hehehe, you're as sharp-tongued as ever. What are you here for now? To mock me?" Vohtz chuckled, lowering his head, his hunched body trembling. "Or to show off your victor's stance? Fine, you won this time. You'd better pray you can keep winning forever!"
"I'll take your blessing, but I'm really not here to do something so boring today." Kōe rubbed his nose, speaking with a hint of embarrassment. "I just have a few things I need to ask you."
"Hahaha, so you're the one interrogating me this time? Are you going to use our friendship to persuade me to betray my kin, or are you going to promise me some high-ranking, lucrative position in the Seireitei?" Vohtz said, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face.
"Interrogation? I'm not cut out for that kind of thing. But you're not wrong; I am indeed here to persuade you to confess your transfer methods. As for the reward..." Kōe curled his lips, sighing helplessly. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. The only possibility is allowing you and your kin to pass on with some dignity, and suffer a little less."
The room instantly fell silent. Vohtz slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes locking fiercely onto the silhouette across from him.
"Don't look at me like that. I admit it sounds a bit shameless." Kōe leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his right hand and lightly tapping his temple with his left. He continued, "But sometimes, being able to pass on with dignity is actually a release. Think about it. Sometimes, death..."
"I truly regret that I didn't kill you right away back then out of consideration for our friendship!"
Kōe suddenly froze, his left hand suspended in mid-air, as if paralyzed by Vohtz's sudden interruption. In contrast, Vohtz was like an erupting volcano, pouring out a torrent of mockery, though it was unclear whether he was mocking Kōe or himself.
"A thousand years have caused you Shinigami to completely decay! Just like the name of this Soul Society, your souls have been imprisoned within corpses, marching step by step toward oblivion!"
"You! Shihouin Kōe! Even someone as young as you uses all your abilities to maintain the crumbling throne of the Shinigami! Honor, living beings! You treat them all as things to be trampled upon at will!"
"..."
"Treating you as a friend, discussing dreams with you—it is the greatest disgrace of my, Knott Vohtz's, entire life!"
"The greatest disgrace of your life?" Kōe pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering softly to himself. "Hey, are you kidding me? Why are you making it sound so real?"
"Then let me try a different approach!" Kōe stood up abruptly, walking over to Vohtz. Looking down at him, he spoke with cold indifference. "Before, I was offering. Now, I'm threatening! Hand over your kin, or we'll do it ourselves, even if the World of the Living is shattered to pieces in the process!"
"Make your choice, Vohtz. And let me see exactly what an undecayed soul looks like!"
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