Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 351 Interrogation
Surprisingly, despite enduring such extreme and painful punishment, the energy constituting the Spirit of the Radiant Singer, which was already on the verge of collapse, did not dissipate further.

"You improved this spell?" Su Ming keenly noticed the difference. Last time, when interrogating Abigail, that Saint-level old woman from the Bell of Calamity, she endured the torture of 'Soul Punishment' to the very end, and didn't renege until her soul was completely ripped out.

“Hmm.” Violet nodded, the light at her fingertips steady. “It increased the level of pain, optimized the energy arrangement, and reduced the intensity of direct damage to the spirit’s essence, allowing the target to…last longer. In your world, you might call this efficiency enhancement and cost reduction.”

"almost."

The Radiant Chanter felt an unbearable pain, more terrifying than death itself, and quickly emitted a weak but clear plea for help, "Please...please stop! I...I'll tell you everything!"

"So, the first question," Violet summoned the divine scepter that radiated a mysterious light, suspending it in front of the Radiant Singer's soul, "how exactly did Pope Augustus obtain this thing more than a year ago?"

The Temple of Light publicly claims that Pope Augustus personally killed the evil necromancer involved in the "Spirit Cloud Ghost" project, and thus gained divine favor and blessings.

But Su Ming and Zi Jin knew perfectly well—the necromancer had been framed! The Pope would never gain divine favor because of this!
"Actually... it was the scepter of divine favor that the vengeful monk Cortes obtained." The radiant chanter's soul fluctuations conveyed a resigned frankness. "The Pope claimed that he obtained it himself, but that was just for... propaganda purposes."

With her first question answered, Violet immediately followed up with, "Then, what exactly did Brother Cortes do to gain divine favor?"

“He believed there was another culprit behind the ‘Spirit Cloud Ghost’ project,” Hui Yongzhe explained. “So he investigated with all his might, and in the process, he discovered and killed some people with strange whereabouts and unknown identities. Then… he suddenly gained the approval of the Divine Favor Scepter.”

"In other words," Violet's voice was filled with icy anger, her silver teeth clenched, "the Pope and the Cardinal Council knew the whole truth from the very beginning! But they deliberately covered it up and used it to frame others! How many innocent necromancers have died because of their conspiracies! These people deserve to die!"

"There's no need to get so worked up over scum like them," Su Ming comforted him. "We've already decided to wipe them out completely!"

****
Next, Violet inquired about information regarding the high-ranking combat strength and stronghold facilities of the Temple of Light. The Radiant Chanter had completely broken down, revealing everything she knew without reservation.

As a massive organization, the Temple of Light's profound resources filled Su Ming with trepidation. The advantages and assistance derived from controlling, or partially controlling, such a force were immense.

Towards the end of the interrogation, Zi Jin raised the crackling magical lightning in her hand. "Alright, pray one last time! After you pray, I will perform a ritual to help you pass on and release you from suffering!"

Hui Yongzhe followed the instructions and began praying again.

However, after experiencing the dramatic changes and torment just now, his mind was already scattered, and the prayer waves he released were chaotic and disordered, far less intense and clear than before.

Violet wasn't going to let him get away with it, and immediately slapped him with a "Soul Punishment"!
The excruciating pain jolted Hui Yongzhe awake. He immediately composed himself, forced himself to focus, and began to pray intently once more.

Soon, a response came from the void once more. Shortly afterward, that familiar pulling force from the 'Corridor of Compassion' descended once more upon the Pansy!
Clearly, the Polaris Cathedral, after discovering they had pulled the wrong soul during their first attempt, hadn't given up. They assumed the mistake was simply due to someone else dying near the Soul of the Radiant Singer, so they regrouped and launched another attempt. This time, the 'Corridor of Mercy' struggled to reach sufficient strength. Su Ming killed another heavily convicted prisoner, using the same tactic to throw a fresh soul into the vortex, replacing the Radiant Singer as it was recalled.

Inside the Hall of Mercy, the scene was one of utter chaos. A group of divine spellcasters, exhausted from their power, lay sprawled on the ground. Even the archbishop presiding over the ceremony was deathly pale, his body trembling violently. For the second initiation, they had used up all the remaining precious materials; any shortfall had to be made up for by pushing themselves to the limit.

When the archbishop exhausted his last bit of strength and sensed the fluctuations of the soul he had brought back, he discovered that it was yet another unfamiliar soul that had recently died!

This devastating blow caused him to faint in despair.

"That's enough." Su Ming looked in the direction where the traction force disappeared and said calmly, "No matter how slow those idiots are, they won't fall for the same trick a third time."

"Alright then." Violet responded, then raised her hand and struck the remaining soul of the Radiant Singer with the 'Soul Punishment' for the third time. "I'll completely annihilate him now!"

“Chestnut Owl! You!” The Radiant Chanter immediately let out a heart-wrenching wail of pain, “We…have no grudges against each other…we were just fighting for our own masters on the battlefield…why must we be so ruthless to kill each other—” he asked angrily, his words trailing off.

"Who says there's no enmity?" Violet's lips curled into a chilling smile. "You once invited me to join your choir." She paused, her tone growing even colder. "You even planned to mold me into your 'magic potion,' to provide you with the power you needed—isn't that a deep-seated grudge?"

"...When did I ever do such a thing!" the Radiant Chanter retorted angrily, his soul light flashing intensely.

"Thirty years ago, at the Holy Light Sisters Academy," Violet said. "You have such a bad memory!"

"..." The soul fluctuations of the Radiant Chanter froze instantly. He couldn't possibly remember a casual remark he made thirty years ago.

Su Ming felt a little emotional, thinking that Zi Jin's memory in this regard was just too good!
As the light from Violet's fingertips coalesced once more, another strike of 'Soul Punishment' descended. Even with its reduced damage intensity after modifications, it was finally the end for the fragile Radiant Singer.

His soul, filled with extreme resentment and bitterness, flickered violently a few times like a candle in the wind, before finally collapsing completely, turning into dim specks of light and disappearing without a trace.

"Su Ming, I'm a little hungry." Zi Jin stretched.

“I kept a lot of the hawthorn cakes I made for the unicorns in the command center’s refrigerator,” Su Ming said.

As night fell, the two chatted and strolled back to the cabin.

(End of this chapter)