Chapter 300: Eliminate Athena?
Airi and Eileen.
They were sisters, inseparable since childhood, sharing everything. They were so close that they could anticipate each other’s thoughts and movements in battle without a single word.
Eileen believed they would remain together forever, even into old age. Despite the countless lives they had taken, they were completely open and honest with each other and with Jie Luo.
But Airi felt differently.
She was willing to share everything with her sister, except Jie Luo. She wanted him all to herself, his affection solely hers.
She wouldn’t share him with anyone, not Sylph, Athena, Ekaterina, Loseweisse, or even her own sister.
She hadn’t realized the intensity of her possessiveness until now.
She even hoped that when Jie Luo was resurrected, she would be the only one he saw, the two of them together forever. That would be true bliss.
The thought made her tremble.
Her clear eyes focused on her sister’s back, her teeth biting her lip… Should she eliminate her sister too…?
The thought startled her.
Gods, how could she think such a thing?
That was her sister. She could kill anyone, but not her sister.
No, never.
She reaffirmed her resolve.
Seemingly sensing her sister’s gaze, Eileen turned around: “Airi, what’s wrong?”
Airi shook her head, her voice clear and innocent: “Nothing, sister…”
She paused, then asked: “Sister, what do you think of Athena?”
“Athena?” Eileen tapped her cheek thoughtfully, her small figure making the gesture endearing. The image of Athena’s voluptuous figure flashed through her mind, and her face fell: “I hate her.”
In fact, she hated all women with better figures than her own.
Athena, Ekaterina, Sylph, Loseweisse… they were all targets of her resentment.
Whenever she saw a woman with a more impressive figure, she would curse them inwardly.
Once, a noble lady had looked at her flat chest with pity. That night, Eileen had snuck into her home and… ruined her figure. She had heard the woman went mad afterwards. Serves her right.
The only woman she had ever liked was a noble lady named Louisa, whose figure was even flatter than her own.
It was the first time Eileen had felt confident about her body.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought, and looked at her sister questioningly: “Why are you asking about Athena?”
“I don’t think she’s a good person,” Airi said, frowning. “I heard that shameless woman has given herself to Qin Chu, the Second Hero.”
Eileen gasped: “Really?”
Athena, so devoted to Jie Luo, had given herself to Qin Chu?
Airi nodded vigorously: “Yes, it’s true. Apparently, it was to help Qin Chu win the duel against the First Prince, to increase his mana.”
“That mana was Jie Luo’s! That shameless woman gave it to Qin Chu! How disgusting!”
“Do you think someone like that would truly be dedicated to resurrecting Jie Luo? Do you think she’s truly on our side?”
“And she’s been spending a lot of time with Qin Chu lately. They seem very close.”
“I suspect she’s Qin Chu’s spy within the former Hero Squad…” Airi said, emphasizing her words to incite her sister.
She was telling the truth, but she conveniently omitted certain details.
It worked. Eileen began to suspect Athena as well.
Airi continued: “I’m worried Muse might have been killed by her. Even if she obtained Jie Luo’s soul fragment, she wouldn’t give it to us.”
“Sister, should we… eliminate her?” A sinister glint appeared in Airi’s eyes.
…
Meanwhile, Athena, unaware of the Twin Thieves’ plot against her, remembered Qin Chu’s warning.
She had parted ways with him, feeling a pang of reluctance… but also a sense of relief.
There were things she didn’t want to do in front of him.
He was intelligent and perceptive… Like when she had gone to assist Muse, a voice had warned her to stay away, but she had ignored it.
Why had she fallen for Jie Luo?
And why had she fallen for Qin Chu?
These questions plagued her.
A voice in her head whispered, Why bother? Isn’t this good enough?, but she couldn’t ignore the questions.
And was the information from Jie Luo’s soul fragment, revealed by the mysterious woman, true, or fabricated?
She knew it was wrong to doubt her master… but… her stubbornness wouldn’t let her rest until she knew the truth.
Now, alone and away from Qin Chu, she could investigate.
She had seen Ireta probing the soul fragment. Although she had never tried it before, she felt she could do it too.
She glanced around, making sure she was alone, then stopped, placing the larger soul fragment in her hand.
She took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on the fragment.
She remained in this position for a long time.
She wasn’t Ireta. She couldn’t manipulate souls as easily, neither her own nor others’. This was a significant challenge.
One minute, ten minutes, an hour…
Night fell.
Athena stood motionless, her body trembling slightly. Suddenly, a thin, black thread emerged from her forehead.
Her eyes widened slightly. It was a strand of her own soul. She carefully guided it, moving it slowly through the air, wrapping it around the soul fragment.
Then, she slowly probed its depths.
“Tsk, she actually did it,” Qin Chu muttered, watching from a distance.
Despite having parted ways, he had been following her secretly, curious to see what she would do.
As expected of the smartest member of the Hero Squad. Even with her altered memories, she had sensed something was amiss and was seeking the truth.
He didn’t intervene. This was perfect.
He wanted to see her reaction when she saw the information within the soul fragment.
“This woman’s talent is remarkable,” Ireta commented, also observing from a distance.
While Athena’s methods were crude compared to hers, they were still impressive.
This was a long and arduous process for Athena. Ireta could extract information instantly with her numerous soul threads.
But Athena only had this single, fragile strand.
Like a tentacle, it explored the soul fragment, like trying to decipher raised text with closed eyes, relying only on touch.
Despite her intelligence and willpower, it was a difficult task.
Athena meticulously analyzed the information, her face growing paler with each passing hour.
Finally, as dawn broke, she opened her eyes.
Her face was drained of color. She stumbled back, collapsing to the ground, gasping for breath.
Maintaining such intense focus for so long had taken a toll on her mental strength. A sharp pain pierced her head.
And what pained her even more was the realization that Qin Chu had been telling the truth.
The soul fragment contained a clear record of the First Hero, Jie Luo, being summoned, intercepted, his soul destroyed, and his body taken over by an entity created by an Evil God…
The Jie Luo she admired… a creation of an Evil God? His purpose to eliminate the other summoned heroes?
A hollow ache filled her chest… but it wasn’t enough to break her. Perhaps because another figure now occupied her heart?
She didn’t suspect that Qin Chu had planted the information within the fragment. It aligned too perfectly with Jie Luo’s actions.
On one hand, there was Jie Luo, the man who had saved her, the man she had loved for years.
On the other hand, there was the truth of his identity.
The conflict tore at her, a tormenting dissonance… Ireta had sealed a portion of her feelings for Jie Luo, but not all of them.
She still loved him.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Who were they trying to resurrect? Jie Luo, or a creation of an Evil God?
No… even if he was a creation of an Evil God, he had killed countless Demon Beasts.
And he had saved her. That couldn’t be denied.
But why had he saved her? Considering his other recruits – Benson, Muse, Karsus, Ronald, Airi, and Eileen – she didn’t fit his usual criteria.
Had he simply been attracted to her powerful magical potential?
She hugged herself tightly.
The desire to uncover the truth intensified.
Just then…
Two figures emerged from the forest.
Airi and Eileen. They had finally caught up.
Seeing Athena sitting on the ground, seemingly distraught, a murderous glint appeared in Airi’s eyes.
This… was the perfect opportunity to kill her.
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