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Chapter 345. Shining Soul

――In a private room of the inn.

“【Come forth, Paulo Hoentz】”

With Adamas pointed out, I called his name.

“Uwaaa—Gyaaaar!”

Paulo’s soul, dragged from the spirit world, was pierced by Adamas’s blade and vanished. Tonight, Adamas hungers for the souls of dark beings…

“Well, next up, 【come forth, the other Night Elf who died in Officia’s Apartment】”

I thrust my magical arm into the gate of the spirit world, rummaging around.

“Owaaa—Gyaaaaar!”

Same as before. The soul of the nameless Night Elf shattered into dust upon touching the ecstatic blade of the Holy Sword.

“If Edgar saw this, he’d be wide-eyed asking, ‘What happened to her true name!?’”

Antendeixis said, somewhat astonished.

Hmm. Well, since the death scene was quite close, and with enough magical power and preparation, it’s easy to pull out a soul like this. Sorry, Edgar.

“Now, moving on…【come forth, Officia】”

This is the main event. Since she’s the leader, I want to ask her various things.

“—Aaaaah?! Nooo—!”

Dragged out, Officia clutched her head and screamed. She probably stopped time the moment I cracked open her head.

“Aah… huh?… Ah!”

Her eyes widened at the suddenly changed surroundings, dazed, and then she noticed me.

“Eek!”

Letting out a pitiful scream, she tried to escape, but of course, she was blocked by the soul-binding barrier I had prepared.

“N-no! Somebody help meee!”

Banging against the invisible barrier in a half-crazed state, Officia. I quickly recited a spell to calm the spirit.

“Ah… ahh…”

“Well then, let’s talk. You have died. And you are in a state called forth by my necromancy.”

Looking at her translucent hands, Officia was stunned.

“I… I’m dead… And you are Hero Alexander… no, the Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias, aren’t you?!”

Pretty impressive she figured it out, just for using a teleportation spell.

“Why!? Why on earth are you doing this?! Have you lost your mind, demon race! What grudge do you hold against us?!”

Despite using the calming spell, she was still furious. Well, her realizing my true identity doesn’t matter to me. Besides, I have no intention of granting her a parting gift.

I silently pointed Adamas at her.

“…”

Officia instinctively recoiled in fear from the searing holy blade, backing away to her limit.

“Let’s skip to the chase. I want you to spill whatever information you have regarding the other spies. Specifically, the whereabouts and titles of Night Elves and informants hidden in neighboring regions and nations, excluding Ixel, Paulo Hoentz, and Outluke.”

“W-who would… talk to you?!”

“You’re not going to talk even after dying, huh? What admirable guts.”

I smiled cruelly. To instill fear in her soul and crush her will to resist.

“I’ll give you a few good reasons to loosen your lips. First, I am a master necromancer, and I can easily see through your lies.”

—Night Elves all learn the art to mask their expressions, but they often have fiery tempers and are quite emotional.

Moreover, in the state of a spirit, their feelings are directly reflected. The current translucent Officia clearly displays her anger, fear toward me, and even her despair over her own circumstances.

It’s not that I can see through her lies; it’s just that her face betrays her immediately.

And I won’t give her the luxury of getting used to this situation and calming down.

“Next, if you speak honestly, I promise you peace in the afterlife as a reward.”

“Peace in the afterlife…?”

Officia showed further fear at the ominous words.

Yes, when flipped around—it’s the same as saying that if she doesn’t talk, she can’t hope for a peaceful sleep.

“If you refuse to provide information or give false testimony, I will launch your soul to heaven and send it before the gods of light.”

“…………?”

It seemed she didn’t immediately understand what I was saying.

However, as she grasped the meaning—her face turned pale with fear and despair.

“That’s right. Your soul will be burned for eternity in the presence of the gods of light, without ever being invited to the garden of the gods of darkness.”

—Why the sinister and malevolent Night Elves don’t eagerly delve into necromancy.

It largely stems from religious reasons. The art of necromancy, which invades the realm of death, is forbidden, and it is believed to incur the wrath of the gods of darkness. They have a firm conviction that the souls of the dead are to be summoned to the garden of the gods of darkness—meaning the underworld—and naturally, they hope their own souls will be welcomed in the presence of the gods of darkness…

“Such a thing… A mere necromancer couldn’t possibly—”

“—Couldn’t, huh? I see you’re unusually optimistic for a Night Elf, aren’t you?”

I chuckled wickedly, like an evil necromancer. Officia’s face twisted in horror. I didn’t have any real proof that I couldn’t pull off such a feat.

“I don’t know what will really happen.”

Well, you know. Whether the mental realm I call “the spirit world” is actually equivalent to the underworld is becoming increasingly dubious lately.

Undead “disappear” when purified by sunlight, but it’s unclear whether they truly vanish or simply become inaccessible due to necromantic interference. Let alone which deity they would be sent to…

I have no idea either.

But it’s useful for intimidation.

“U-uhhhh…”

Though Officia no longer had body heat, she trembled as if thrown into a frigid land.

Despite having vowed to exterminate Forest Elves and dedicate their souls to the gods of light, she was now terrified at the thought of being sent to the gods of light herself. It’s quite laughable.

However, it seems being scorched by sunlight is considerable pain for Night Elves, and assuming that continues for eternity… it wouldn’t be compared to any casual torture.

“Well then, when you next speak, any words other than assent will be regarded as refusal. I’ll give you a little time to ponder; but if I grow tired of waiting, I’ll just move on to other Night Elves… By the way, your comrades have all perished. No need to emphasize that again.”

At my words, Officia showed a pitiful expression, seemingly further crushed by despair. I guess this is what happens when you’re hit with a double dose of hopelessness…

A chilly silence lingered that felt more like a summer night.

“I understand… I shall tell you everything you wish to know…”

Eventually, Officia began to kneel slowly.

“So… please let me die in peace…”

Tears of magical energy dripped from her eyes, vanishing into the void.

“Very well. In light of your sincerity, I’ll spare your soul from being sent to the gods of light.”

I nodded magnanimously.

“It seems you intend to keep your promise.”

For now, anyway.

“So far, I’ve been shattering in Adamas or burning in sunlight, but what precisely do you intend to do with her?”

Crush the soul with dark magic.

“Ah… Was that what Enma and Claire were doing? Apparently, that causes substantial pain.”

It’s true, but I can’t just send her back to the spirit world and call it a day. I’ll make sure it’s quick as possible.

“Hoho…”

That wasn’t supposed to be a ‘hoho.’

—After that, I completely drained Officia for information, learning about other spies and agents both inside and outside the country.

As expected of a commanding officer overseeing the Tritus Principality and its surrounding regions, the amount of information was quite significant. It was impossible to memorize it all, so I was taking notes… but if these were to be seen, that’d be quite bad. This is beyond just a hoard of classified information.

“That’s all… I swear to the gods, all the truth I’ve told…”

“Good. I will temporarily keep your spirit.”

“…Huh?”

Officia stared blankly. I pulled out a handful of her hair that I had secretly cut earlier from my pocket.

“I’ll check the validity of some of your testimony, and if there are any blatant lies, I’ll penalize you by sending you before the gods of light.”

“…………”

“Don’t make that face. You swore you’d tell the truth, right? Then you shouldn’t be worried. Isn’t that so?”

“…………”

Just when she thought she might be freed, she learned of her fate to remain trapped even in death, causing her to crumble down.

If I don’t add in more magical energy, her identity might just collapse into a pile of dust. I’m not letting you escape…

“Or do you wish to make a correction? I’ll let it slide now if you do.”

“…N-no. There’s nothing…”

Oh, she spoke the truth at least. Seems she’s devout.

“Understood. Then, sleep for a while.”

“…Please, just one thing. Tell me…”

As I tried to inactive her soul, Officia squeezed out her voice.

“What is it? If it’s something I can answer, I might do so.”

I responded haughtily—

“What happened to Senior Virosa?”

At her question, I felt like I had been slapped.

“…She’s dead.”

I killed her.

Should I let you know? I almost said it in a retaliatory mood, but held back. Virosa is still unaware of her death. Her usefulness is dwindling…

“Aah… Aahhhh! Aahhhh—!”

While still kneeling, Officia let out a heart-rending scream.

Unable to bear it, I put her soul to sleep and sealed it in the bundle of hair I had.

“…………”

I took the pendant hanging on my neck and snapped it open.

Inside the small 【hunting ground】 of the Sauroe Tribe lay the sealed bone fragments—stuffed tightly in that narrow space, I shoved Officia’s hair in with them and closed the lid.

So, she was an acquaintance. I guess she’ll be fine as long as she’s kept around for a bit…

“Ha…”

Sighing, I collapsed onto the bed.

“Good job,”

Leila, perched with her knees tucked under her in a neat sitting position on the bed, stroked my head.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks…”

She promptly provided me with a lap pillow, and I leaned into it. Lying back and looking up at the ceiling—I met Barbara’s gaze, who was sitting cross-legged upside down.

“Well, I must say, she was pitiful for an enemy. Though no sympathy is warranted.”

“That’s true…”

“Alex, as ruthless as ever, displayed quite the skillful hand. The number one necromancer in the alliance!”

“Ha ha… stop it, you’re embarrassing me.”

Barbara’s teasing somehow made me feel a little better.

“It can’t be helped. After all, they’ve committed heinous acts, and acquiring information is necessary… so you have no need to feel guilty, Alex.”

Meanwhile, Leila continued to comfort me while patting my head. With Barbara’s bluntness and Leila’s unwavering support, it’s more than I can handle. I could use more of this.

“Are we staying the night here?”

Antendeixis materialized and flopped down beside me.

“That would probably be the safest option.”

I nodded in agreement.

Since I had no business in the capital, I could’ve just used Leila to escape, but transforming into a dragon in the city would definitely be witnessed, and the wind pressure would cause subtle damage anyway…

Though I had annihilated the capital’s spies, if I stood out, rumors might spread that “someone riding a white dragon escaped from the capital,” and if by chance that reached the Demon Lord Kingdom… it could lead to troublesome complications.

I wanted to hide my traces as much as possible from the Demon Lord Kingdom.

So I decided we’d wait for dawn, then confidently walk out the city gate, allowing Leila to remove her transformation in the outskirts and move around discreetly.

“Currently, the Holy Church in Todomarl is likely consumed with questioning Outluke, and from their perspective, they may suspect other spies are around. They’ll likely allocate personnel to be cautious and investigate, meaning they won’t have time for you right now. Any actions on your part would probably begin tomorrow or later…”

“Yeah. For now, let’s just relax until morning.”

I was feeling a bit tired.

The battles weren’t that intense, but the mental strain from everything was various…

“What about that holy attribute thing we talked about?”

Barbara floated around the ceiling, inquiring.

“Should I give it a try? If the holy attribute turns out to be harmless, couldn’t it mean further enhancement?”

“Uh, I wonder…?”

I hesitated at Barbara’s audacious suggestion.

“Honestly, I don’t know what could happen, and if you were to disappear, it’d be a total disaster…”

“Yeah, I’m a bit scared of that too.”

“Let’s play it safe and first talk to the soldier’s remains in the bones. There’s one around.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

I sat up and pulled my backpack closer.

From it, I took out the soldiers’ bones.

…There should be the soul of an older soldier resting here.

It seems somewhat strange now, but I never recognized this bone as undead. Due to a spell to manipulate bones, it was merely a half-tool, yet akin to a partner like Adamas.

That’s how I viewed it.

Similar to with Adamas, I had never attempted a conversation with the older soldier, despite always feeling some will-like presence.

Nervously, I channeled holy magical energy into the bones—and they merely glowed silvery without turning to ash.

I questioned if this was actually a form of undead, even though I could currently feel it.

“…【Awaken】”

Clearly, as necromancy, I exerted my power.

To awaken the older soldier, who had long forgotten his own name.

—And beckoned him forth.

“…Fuwaaa—ah!”

With a grand yawn.

Like a fairy from a fairy tale lamp, the spirit leapt out of the bones.

“Hmm, feels like I’ve been asleep for ages. Hey, long time no see. How’s it going? Think we’re close to taking down the Demon Lord yet?”

Touching down on the floor, the older soldier stretched widely.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he flashed a grin.

—While still retaining the silvery glow of the holy attribute.

 

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