Chapter 25: Capturing The Fugitive

Ayame stands alone in the middle of an open field.

Gunshots ring out across the battlefield as the members of the Starry Sky Brigade and the target fire their weapons at each other.

She makes the connection between the scorched marks in the ground and the grass, the severed legs of some of the mercenaries, and their attempt to stop her by waving their arms in front of them all at the same time.

Ayame activates Meikyo Shisui and senses round objects beneath the field.

She recognizes the round objects.

"AP-mines!" She shouts after her realization.

She looks around in horror as she realizes there are anti-personnel mines all around her.

The number of anti-personnel mines surrounding her was astounding.

There were at least a hundred of them lying underneath the field.

"That explosion earlier must have been caused by a mine explosion. Fuck. I really underestimated this goddamn bombsmith." She curses angrily.

After thinking of what she has to do, she immediately activates her Meikyo Shisui once more, running over the blind spots in the minefield.

The bombsmith, who is shooting the gun from a window, notices her and begins shooting in her direction.

Ayame dodges the bullets by a hair's breadth with the help of Meikyo Shisui's hypersonic perception speed enhancement.

She moves in an unpredictable manner and direction, dodging them by sidestepping, jumping up in the air, and ducking down at the right moment to avoid the incoming bullets.

She escapes from the shooter's line of sight and runs toward the hut.

Ayame's eyes blaze with rage and fury as she kicks the door of the hut with all her might, sending it flying off its hinges.

She moves quickly and fluidly, and her body is seemingly a blur as she dodges bullets from the bombsmith's rifle.

With each step and movement, she channels the potent power of Asura Qi, using it to enhance her speed and agility.

Despite being under constant fire from the enemy, Ayame remains focused and determined, driven by her ferocity.

The bombsmith aims at Ayame once more, but he notices his ammo is already depleted.

He moves his hands on his belt and pulls out a knife, trying to stab Ayame in the neck, but Ayame blocks it with her hands, holding his wrists before punching his chin and nose with her other hand.

It did not take Ayame that much effort to overpower the gunman, but he struggled against her, attempting to stab her again with his knife.

He manages to hit her twice, creating a shallow cut on her skin.

Before he could try stabbing her again, she knocks him out cold with a tackle and an elbow chop.

Ayame looks around, searching for useful items that could be of use to her, and notices grenades, canned food, and a water jug for a water dispenser that was not there.

She thought about how thirsty she was and how she could use a drink.

Ayame takes the knife and the grenade, slashing the top part of the unopened water jug.

She lifts it off the ground and drinks in the torrential stream of water that splashes onto her.

After she is done drinking, she spewed the remaining water at the bombsmith's face waking him up in the process.

The bombsmith sits up, slumped forward, his eyes heavy and bloodied.

He seems to struggle as he tries to move, his limbs seemingly lifeless and unresponsive.

His movements are sluggish and cumbersome as if he is struggling against an unseen force that is weighing him down.

His perception is impaired, as his gaze seems unfocused and unclear.

Ayame knelt down and said, "You know what? You're a goddamn inconvenience. I would love to kill you right now, remove your eyes from eye sockets, pull out your teeth and tongue, and slowly chop you apart piece by piece like a fucking potato, but well, we need that bonus payment, so I won't kill you. But hey, they didn't say I can't torture you, right?"

A cheerful smile appears on Ayame's face.

Her smile would have captivated many students on her campus, but in the current circumstances, it only made the bombsmith's heart sink even deeper.

The shouts of his instincts blaring across his head, "This woman is dangerous," but there is nothing he can do.

It was already too late.

Ayame takes the gun from her holster before smashing his toenails repeatedly until it gets busted and falls off, bleeding in the process.

"AAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The bombsmith cries out in agony.

"What's wrong? Are you not enjoying this?" Ayame asks out in a completely sadistic tone before shooting a bullet from the Colt 1911 handgun at the other toenail of the man.

The bombsmith writhes in agony as she continues her gruesome torture, leaving his toes broken and bloodied.

The mercenaries could hear the sobbing wails of the bombsmith outside.

His screams of agony fill the air as she relentlessly smashes his toenails from their bloody sockets.

The man sobs for another good minute or two without Ayame doing anything.

In a high-pitched voice, as if trying to sound cute, she said, "I'm not done with you yet~."

She gently holds his hand, caressing his fingers with her soft touch before licking it with her tongue.

And out of nowhere, she bites the edge of the nails with her teeth and pulls it out violently, causing the nail to be ripped apart from the finger.

Chunks of flesh were still attached to the ripped fingernail while the bombsmith's finger bled profusely.

He is sobbing and wailing much more intensely than before.

He violently struggles, pulling his hands, and convulses, but his arm cannot escape from Ayame's hands.

She did the same with his second finger, licking it as if it were a delicious ice cream before biting the nail and ripping it out with her teeth, causing the profuse bleeding to smear red liquid on her cheeks.

He shrieked from the sharp pain caused by the ripping of flesh and fingernails, but it only fueled Ayame's sadistic pleasures.

As Ayame repeats the same process over and over, the man is only left with a single fingernail from each hand.

Ayame had planned for his thumb fingernail to be saved for last, but she had changed her mind.

"I can rip out your thumbs' fingernails, but this is getting boring, so I'm allowing you a choice. Nod, if you don't want me to rip out your thumbs' fingernails."

The bombsmith shook his head violently while his bloodied hands trembled uncontrollably, with tears streaming down his face.

"Very well. Now, all you have to do is simple. You must obey my command. Now, bark like a dog." She commanded sternly.

He refuses to bark.

Ayame responds by stepping on his nailless toes, causing the sharp pain and bleeding to intensify.

"Bark," Ayame commands again.

This time, the bombsmith did as he was told without hesitation.

"Good boy. So obedient." Ayame praises.

She gives another command, "Sit!"

The bombsmith sits down obediently on the dusty wooden floor, and his mouth gapes open in pure shock from the pain from his wounds caused by Ayame.

"Now, that's a good dog. Here's your reward." Ayame says as she pulls the man's chin, forcing his mouth open and spitting on his mouth.

The bombsmith shivered in fear but did nothing to stop her.

He closes his eyes tightly and waits for her to spit in his mouth.

After spitting on it, she forced the bombsmith's mouth shut and said, "Swallow it.

The man swallows what she spat in his mouth without complaint.

"Now, you can get back up," she instructs.

The man did as told and rose to his feet before falling to his knees and crying uncontrollably.

"You don't want to stand up? Oh... I almost forgot that dogs walk on four legs. Ayame chuckled darkly.

She found a rope inside the hut, tying it in a knot and wrapping it around the bombsmith's neck.

"This your collar. Now let's go for a little walk, shall we?" She asked.

"Aaagh! No! Enough of this! Please stop! Please don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!!!" The bombsmith begs profusely.

"Oh, you're resisting me now? Ayame laughs. "Well, I guess I have to reeducate you then."

"Noooo! No! No! Please! Please!!" He screams hysterically, begging for mercy, for help.

"Come on. Be a brave little dog. Trust me, and there will be no pain or suffering." Ayame says satirically while taking the grenade and pulling its pin off.

She puts the grenade in his mouth.

"Wait! Stop!" The bombsmith cries out, but Ayame doesn't listen to him.

She puts the grenade between his teeth. "Now, hold on tight. Good boy, good boy."

She praises while patting the gunsmith's head.

The bombsmith's tears flow down his cheek as the fear begins to intensify, but he can't say anything. He fears he might accidentally make the grenade go off.

There were many mercenaries waiting for Ayame outside when they noticed her walking out of the hut, holding a hemp rope attached to a man. The target.

They also noticed the grenade in his mouth.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sam asked Ayame.

"Oh, this? It's a human fireworks. Isn't it amusing for a bombsmith who had bombed and killed so many people to die in a stellar explosion of flesh, blood, and bones?"