"I don't know, but that's precisely why we're here."
"That makes sense. Let me think about it... How about we persist for an hour or two as a token gesture? It would be a way of repaying the Second Holy See for their nurturing kindness."
"Then what?"
"Then we confessed, 'seriously' confessing according to Boss [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s script."
"Good."
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
The punisher's bone whip ripped through the air, making a loud cracking sound as it struck the ribs of the Soul Returner.
With skin torn and flesh ripped open, it was hard to tell whether what flew out was blood, flesh, or plant sap, but at least the feedback from the impact was very strong, making the action somewhat addictive.
However...
The Skeleton Punisher frowned, his eyebrows seemingly nonexistent.
Is something missing?
Yes, something must be missing, something... ah, it's the feedback from the human punching bag!
What kind of feedback can you get from using a human punching bag?
Of course, it was a scream.
So why didn't he shout?
Looking at the Soul Returner, who was hanging from the beam and whipped until his skin was torn and bleeding, the Punisher had a strange thought:
Could it be that my technique has become rusty due to not having worked for so long?
Or has the aging of the body's bones reached a point that can no longer be ignored?
Just as it was lost in thought, the Soul Returner, which had been like a dead fish, finally finished typing the last word in the dialog box and slowly opened its eyes.
He quickly noticed the wound between his ribs, where the skin and flesh were turned inside out, and a liquid that was hard to tell was either blood or vegetable juice, carrying a fresh plant fragrance and a sweet, metallic taste of blood.
"Well..."
He paused for a moment, then finally realized his mistake.
The skeleton was whipping itself so hard, and it didn't even react. It was incredibly disrespectful to the skeleton's hard work!
"Oh right, no, oh! It hurts! Ahhhhhh! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!!!"
The pig-like screams echoed through the interrogation cell, their piercing cries leaving both the punishers and the clerk utterly bewildered.
That's way too slow to realize!
The two skeletons began communicating on a small scale using Psionic Energy:
"It feels a bit fake."
"Is it fake? He really looks like he's going to die."
"Then why didn't he shout it out the moment he was chosen?"
"It might be because I was in so much pain that I couldn't breathe."
"That makes sense."
Humans are amazing, aren't they?
Perhaps because they had been separated from human society for too long, after a brief exchange, the two skeletons didn't really think there was anything wrong with [ Clear Soup Master's ] exaggerated acting.
And so, just like the aftercast animation of a whipping skill in all works of art, the Punisher's menacing question rang out:
"Confess, or continue."
"Snort."
[ Clear Soup Master ] spat a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood onto the skull's face:
Don't expect to get anything out of me.
"Continue!"
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
"Ah!"
This spinning top-like cycle continued for several more minutes. Perhaps one of the blows from the bone whip had been too brutal, for the Soul Returner, who had just been severely beaten, had lost his previous toughness and his attitude had completely changed.
"Time's up... No, I can't take it anymore, I really can't take it anymore, it's definitely not because time's up (voice gradually softens)."
The discipline officer and the recorder stared intently at the despicable spy, who was almost sobbing with tears in his eyes, and said:
"I confess, I confess..."
When these words reached the ears of the two non-existent skeletons, they felt as if the sun had finally shone after a rainstorm, or that rain had finally come after a long drought; they felt an immense sense of relief and comfort.
Everyone's been torturing this guy for so long, just to hear him back down, right?
Is there anything more awesome than this?
With an imperceptible smile, the Punisher began to ask the Essence Knight the questions they had prepared beforehand, and [ Clear Soup Master ] seemed to have truly broken down, starting to spill the beans, telling them everything he knew without reservation.
Upon hearing this, the skeleton recorder was overjoyed. He smiled, picked up a bone pen, and began recording with a few swift strokes.
Meanwhile, in another cell deep within the dungeon, the [ Dark Archmage ] was also in a submissive state.
However, compared to the skilled [ Clear Soup Master ], her acting skills were really lacking, and the abrupt change made the jaws of the two skeletons drop.
In addition, she wasn't very familiar with the script's rules regarding what she could and couldn't say, so she didn't even have time to practice repeatedly.
Answering rashly would likely give her away, so she had no choice but to look at the recorder in front of her and slowly begin to speak:
"Why don't you give me the paper and pen, and I'll write it myself?"
The disciplinary officer and the recorder in the cell exchanged empty glances. One of them even tapped his empty head with his knuckles, as if he couldn't understand how this guy could be wailing one second and calmly writing his own confession the next.
The other skeleton shrugged, indicating that it didn't know either.
Overall, the outcome was good, both for the skeletons and for the Soul Returner.
Forty-eight hours later, two largely identical reports were presented to the highly crystallized skeleton knight, accompanied by Psionic Energy and flattery:
"Sir Knight, your foresight is truly remarkable. These two spies were indeed hiding secrets from you."
"However, being human, they are destined to succumb to physical pain. They have now told you everything they can; please take a look."
The Essence Knight nodded with satisfaction, then asked with a hint of scrutiny:
Did they collude or memorize their answers beforehand?
The person quickly shook his head and said:
"Reporting to the Knight, no, we apprehended them extremely quickly, without giving these two men any time at all."
"Furthermore, the interrogation methods used were the same ones you taught us before, employing torture and randomized questioning in a cyclical manner. They had no time to fabricate stories."
"Um."
The well-equipped Essence Knight was very satisfied with his subordinate's answers. He took the two statements and began to read them over.
Interesting, very interesting.
Although he had already guessed their identities, there were still aspects he hadn't anticipated.
Although the two testimonies differ in details, they are largely consistent. Furthermore, considering the use of fatigue interrogation and torture, the credibility of both testimonies is quite high.
According to their testimonies, these two men were indeed spies, from the Second Holy See, and were indeed gathering intelligence within the Theocracy.
But there is one thing that these two people did not mention before, and that is their relationship with the Second Holy See.
The "they" here does not refer to the two unfortunate spies who were captured, but to a race that the Essence Knight had never heard of before.
" The Soul Returner ".
What kind of species is this?