Interrogation

Surprisingly, despite enduring such extreme and painful punishment, the energy constituting the Spirit of the Radiant Chanter, 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 he interrogated Abigai, that Saint Rank old woman from the Plundering Clock, she endured the torment of "Soul Punishment" to the very end, and did not renege until her soul was completely ripped out.

"Hmm." Zijin nodded, the light at her fingertips steady. "It increased the level of pain while optimizing the energy arrangement, reducing the direct damage to the spirit's essence, allowing the target to endure longer. In your world, you'd call this 'efficiency enhancement and cost reduction.'"

"Almost."

The Radiant Chanter felt an agony more terrifying than death, a pain that seemed endless. He quickly emitted a weak but clear plea for help, "Please—please stop! I—I'll tell you everything!"

"Then, the first question," Zijin summoned the Divine Favor Scepter radiating a mysterious light, suspending it before the Soul of the Radiant Chanter, "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 favor and blessings.

But Su Ming and Zijin knew perfectly well that the necromancer had been framed! The Pope would never gain Divine Favor favor because of this!

"Actually—it was the Scepter of Divine Favor obtained by the Repentant Monk Cortes." The Soul Waver conveyed a resigned frankness. "The Pope claimed it was his own, but that was merely for—publicity purposes."

With her first question answered, Zijin 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 ' plan," Radiant Chanter explained. "So he launched a full-scale investigation, during which he discovered and killed some suspicious and unidentified individuals. Then—he suddenly gained the approval of the Divine Favor Scepter."

"In other words," Zijin's voice was laced with icy anger, her silver teeth clenched, "The Pope and the Council of Cardinals 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 such scum," Su Ming comforted her. "We've already decided to wipe them out completely!"

****

Next, Zige inquired about information regarding the high-level combat strength and stronghold facilities of the Temple of Light. The Radiant Chanter had completely broken down and spoke frankly and without reservation.

As a massive organization, the Temple of Light's profound resources made Su Ming's heart pound with fear. The advantages and assistance that come from controlling or partially controlling such a force are enormous.

Towards the end of the interrogation, Zijin raised the flickering magical lightning in her hand, "Alright, pray one last time!"

After I finish praying, I will perform a ritual to help you transcend suffering and find liberation!

Radiant Chanter 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.

Zijin wasn't about to let him get away with it; she raised her hand and delivered a "Soul Punishment" strike!

The excruciating pain jolted Radiant Chanter awake. He immediately composed himself, forced himself to focus, and began to pray intently once more.

Soon, there was another response from the void. Shortly afterward, that familiar pulling force from the "Corridor of Mercy" descended once more upon the Pansy!

Clearly, the North Star Cathedral did not give up after discovering that they had pulled the wrong soul during their first attempt at guiding it. They assumed that it was just a coincidence that someone else had died near the Soul of the Radiant Chanter, which caused the mistake, so they regrouped and launched the guidance process again.

This time, the pull of the "Corridor of Mercy" struggled to reach a sufficient intensity. Su Ming killed another criminal prisoner and used the same trick to throw a fresh soul into the pull vortex, replacing the Radiant Chanter was recalled.

Inside the "Corridor of Mercy," the scene was a complete mess. A group of divine spellcasters, exhausted from overexertion, had already collapsed to the ground, slumped over. Even the archbishop presiding over the ceremony was deathly pale, his whole body trembling violently. For the second initiation, they had used up all the remaining precious materials; any shortfall had to be made up by pushing themselves to the limit.

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

This devastating blow caused his vision to go black, and he fainted in despair.

"That's enough." Su Ming said calmly, looking in the direction where the traction force disappeared. "Even if those idiots are slow-witted, they won't fall for the same trick a third time."

"Alright," Zijin replied, then raised her hand and Soul Punishment the remaining soul of the Radiant Chanter for the third time. "I'll completely annihilate him now!"

"Bay Owl! You!" The Radiant Chanter immediately let out a heart-wrenching wail of pain, "We—have no grudges—we were just fighting for our own masters on the battlefield—why must you be so ruthless?" he asked angrily, his words broken and fragmented.

"Who says there's no enmity?" Zijin's lips curled into a chilling smile. "You once invited me to join your Choir." She paused, her tone even colder. "You even planned to mold me into your ' Magic Power potion,' to provide you with power. Isn't that a deep-seated grudge?"

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

"Thirty years ago, at the Holy Light Nun Academy," Zijin 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 couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Was Zijin's memory in this regard a bit too good?

As the light from Zijin's fingertips coalesced once more, another "Soul Punishment" strike landed. Even with the improved version reducing its damage intensity, it was finally the end for the fragile Radiant Chanter.

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 vanishing without a trace.

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

"I kept a lot of the hawthorn cakes I made for the unicorn in the command center's refrigerator," Su Ming said.

Under the cover of night, the two chatted as they strolled back to their cabin.