Chapter 219: The First Jie Luo’s Warning
Jie Luo was dead, of course. This was common knowledge throughout the Heavenly Continent.
But Qin Chu had a strange feeling that the death described in the soul fragment wasn’t the same death everyone knew about.
And what did Jie Luo mean by “they stole everything from me: my body, my life, my soul, my memories”?
The eerie message, delivered in Ireta’s emotionless voice, although not explicitly horrifying, made his scalp tingle.
Qin Chu shivered. It seemed he was about to learn some of the true secrets of this world.
He listened intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.
After a brief pause, Ireta continued:
“Perhaps what I’ve left behind will confuse you…”
“But let me tell you from the beginning…”
Qin Chu was in luck. Jie Luo had left a message within his soul fragments, scattered across the land. And this fragment seemed to be the beginning of the story.
“I come from a beautiful world called Earth.”
“I lived in a romantic country.”
“I had a beautiful girlfriend. I swear she was truly beautiful… but why did her best friend always seem more alluring…? Ah, I’m such a bastard, I should repent.”
“But it was such a romantic country.”
“So, it wasn’t my fault, it was the world’s.”
“Alright, perhaps I’m rambling. This seems like irrelevant nonsense… Now, for the important part.”
“I spent a romantic night with my girlfriend’s best friend. We were both very satisfied.”
“Perhaps…too satisfied. I died, I think… When I woke up again, I found myself in a strange place.”
“A time tunnel, do you know what that is? It felt like that.”
“I seemed to be traveling to some mysterious world.”
“This must be what they call ‘transmigration.’ Perhaps I was going to become the protagonist of a novel, a manga, or a movie… I had some regrets. I should have prepared a glove with some embedded gems…”
“Then, I heard a woman’s voice. She said I was chosen by fate, the Hero.”
“I was to travel to a world ravaged by Demon Beasts, shrouded in darkness, and bring light and hope.”
“I couldn’t see her, but her voice was beautiful. She must have been a goddess. I wonder if she would be more exciting than my girlfriend’s best friend…”
“I wanted to ask her more, but the passage suddenly closed.”
“I found myself in a dark, empty place, seemingly the Void. Seven… strange beings appeared before me.”
“They were so ugly, clearly not benevolent. They wanted me to submit to them, to become their believer?”
“Hahahahaha… what a joke! I am a citizen of the noble country of Francia! Our history boasts heroes like Joan of Arc! Surrender is not an option!”
“I believe in God.”
“I will never surrender to these ugly monsters.”
“I wanted to fuck their mothers.”
“Wait, what are these ugly monsters saying? They want to erase my consciousness, even destroy my soul, and create a fake one…?”
“Wait, wait, wait… please, no! If my consciousness is erased, my soul destroyed, then will I still be me?”
“Where’s the goddess who summoned me? Help!”
“Are they serious?”
“Alright, I surrender!”
“Fuck traditions.”
“I knelt before those seven ugly bastards, expressing my sincere submission. They were so powerful, so terrifying. Although they were ugly, being their believer didn’t seem so bad. After all, they promised me supreme power, strength, wealth, and countless beauties. I swear, I’ve never been so devout, not even when praying to God.”
“Actually, I don’t care about the beauties. I’m not that kind of person.”
“Besides, I don’t know much about that Heavenly Continent. Maybe these seven ugly monsters are the good guys?”
“But damn it, my submission didn’t earn me their favor. It seemed that my initial refusal had angered them.”
“My consciousness was stripped away.”
“I watched as they copied all my memories. Strange tentacles wrapped around me, injecting a foul-smelling mucus into my body. They said I wasn’t handsome enough, that I didn’t fit the human aesthetic…”
“They remade my body according to human standards. It was… strange. Not fat, not thin, not tall, not short, his face neither masculine nor feminine, his eyes neither big nor small, his skin neither fair nor dark.”
“Just looking at it filled me with terror.”
“It was human, but completely devoid of any distinguishing features, just…human.”
“They injected strange threads into this new Jie Luo’s body, instilled my memories, and then his eyes gained a spark of life. He transformed from a puppet into a soul with consciousness. They gave him a mission!”
“To hunt Fate… and the Hero.”
“I knew he had become the new Jie Luo.”
“Whether you’re from the Heavenly Continent or a Hero from another world, remember my warning: stay away from this place. If you can’t, then find a corner and hide.”
“My end has come. Is this the punishment for betraying my lover?”
“I’m such a pathetic clown.”
…
Ireta’s voice fell silent.
She opened her eyes, her dark pupils filled with sadness.
And Qin Chu, his body covered in goosebumps, finally understood.
The First Hero had died the moment he arrived in this world.
During the summoning process, he had been intercepted by the Evil Gods of the Void. They had erased his consciousness and soul, creating a puppet under their control.
The Evil Gods could create a false soul, but they couldn’t give it common sense, couldn’t make it seem truly human, so they had simply implanted Jie Luo’s memories to speed up the process.
After the process was complete, the original Jie Luo’s soul was shattered, his consciousness erased, and Jie Luo the Second was born.
But for some unknown reason, the First Jie Luo’s consciousness hadn’t been completely erased, leaving behind these fragmented memories.
And Jie Luo the Second, the Hero worshipped by the Heavenly Continent, the object of the Hero Squad’s devotion, was a puppet of the Evil Gods from the very beginning. Everything that happened afterwards had nothing to do with the First Jie Luo. He was effectively erased.
And his purpose was to hunt Fate… and the Hero.
He understood the Hero part, but what was Fate?
The First Jie Luo had mentioned hearing a woman’s voice during the summoning, even experiencing a sensation like traveling through a time tunnel.
Qin Chu hadn’t experienced any of that. He had simply been playing a game late at night, then woken up in another world.
Who was that woman? Could it be the goddess imprisoned in the Void cage? Qin Chu didn’t think so. Imprisoned as she was, she shouldn’t have the power to summon a Hero from another world. Perhaps it was related to this “Fate”?
The information from Jie Luo’s soul fragment, although answering some of his questions, had also raised more.
For example, why hadn’t the First Jie Luo’s soul been completely erased by the Void Evil Gods? Why had it awakened?
If Jie Luo the Second’s true purpose was to hunt Fate and the Hero, why did he bother fighting the Demon Beasts? Why did he challenge the Demon King to a duel and die at his hands?
And was Jie Luo the Second truly dead?
As a puppet of the Evil Gods, even the Demon King might not be able to truly kill him. His death seemed too… convenient.
“That’s all,” Ireta said quietly.
“Are you satisfied with these answers?”
Qin Chu nodded, then shook his head.
He wanted to know everything.
He looked at Ireta and handed her the other soul fragment.
Ireta took it silently and, just like before, began to explore the traces within it.
This soul fragment was smaller, and the information within was less extensive.
And it seemed to be a continuation of the previous fragment, with some parts missing.
Her voice, flat and emotionless, began to speak:
“This world is truly disgusting. The people here are all madmen, their souls filthy and corrupted.”
“Is that woman called Ekaterina? She has a beautiful face and a fiery figure, but her soul is filled with madness and filth, it’s repulsive.”
“That man is just a Hero who was recently summoned to this world. He hasn’t done anything, he doesn’t even understand what’s happening to him.”
“Just because Jie Luo… well, Jie Luo the Second, said that this man would threaten his position as the Hero, she ruthlessly killed him.”
“She snapped his neck…”
“As his blood spurted, she clung to Jie Luo the Second, a twisted, morbid smile on her face. For that avatar of the Evil God, for that so-called Jie Luo, she would do anything.”
“I could sense Jie Luo the Second’s lust for her, but he could do nothing. It must be quite enjoyable to watch but not touch, hahaha, he deserves it.”
“This is the thirty-seventh Hero she has killed…”
“Damn Fate!”
Thirty-seven?
That number didn’t seem right.
***
Note: Jie Luo is the Chinese name 杰洛 (Jié Luò) adapted for the hero. Initially, I assumed he was Chinese due to the novel’s Chinese origin. However, it’s worth noting that his name could be adapted into other languages as Jero, Jeluo, or similar variations. For consistency, I’ll retain the original name as Jie Luo.
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