Hero? Are You Worthy?-Chapter 341 - 216: My Name is Jie Luo, and I’m Already Dead (3)

Chapter 341: Chapter 216: My Name is Jie Luo, and I’m Already Dead (3)

Feel Ireta’s heartbeat.

Qin Chu felt this wasn’t quite right; it wasn’t a gentlemanly act.

Even though Ireta was somewhat ethereal, that was still the delicate body of a young girl, not something he could defile at will.

But just as Qin Chu reaffirmed his belief in his heart, Ireta, seeming puzzled by Qin Chu’s lack of reaction, hesitated briefly before taking Qin Chu’s hand and placing it on her chest under his astonished gaze.

Hiss...

Qin Chu’s fingers trembled, nearly curling up on their own.

This reaction had nothing to do with being a gentleman.

It was the touch of Ireta’s skin that brought this on.

Her skin wasn’t lacking in smoothness or delicacy—in fact, it felt like a piece of fine silk, smooth and supple.

But it was too much like satin.

Goosebumps uncontrollably broke out all over Qin Chu’s body, the strange sensation giving him a creepy feeling.

Her skin was cold...

Not cold like ice, but a normal yet completely un-warm cold, an indifferent cold.

It wasn’t a body temperature that any normal human could possess.

Just below the palm of his hand, he couldn’t feel even the slightest rhythm of a heartbeat.

This was a girl without a heartbeat.

Her body had long been dead.

"Divine Authority, it is ultimately the power of gods," Ireta said softly, with a gentle smile.

Perhaps because of that inexplicable sense of closeness Qin Chu had, Ireta didn’t feel any repulsion from Qin Chu’s touch.

"To bear the power of gods with a mortal body, one is destined to pay a huge price," her voice continued to be ethereal, "I don’t even know when it began..."

"Perhaps because the authority I carry is special, from the moment it descended upon me, I had to act as the Acting Death God."

"But I am ultimately not the true Death God."

"The Death God can completely erase the resentments within souls, whereas I cannot; I can only intercept these resentments, allowing other pure souls to transform into energy and re-enter the cycle of this world, while those filled with resentments all cling to me."

"I don’t know when it started, but people who came near me began to grow weak, mysteriously falling ill... They became afflicted with misfortune..."

"Until at last, those who came near me would even end up dead."

Ireta’s voice echoed in Qin Chu’s ears.

All who accepted the Divine Authority were destined to lead tragic lives.

Violet was like this, enduring a thousand years of torment, driven to madness by loneliness and erosion.

Gaia was the same...

Qin Chu had thought that Ireta could completely digest the power of the Divine Authority, but in some ways, her experience was even more cruel than Violet’s and Gaia’s.

She wasn’t mad; she was very lucid.

But it was this lucidity that forced Ireta to witness herself harming friends and family around her... a normal girl had no choice but to live detached from the world, this delicate body bearing the resentments of billions of wandering souls over a thousand years.

Ireta was not as calm as she appeared.

Qin Chu, having only felt a bit of those resentments, already found it extremely uncomfortable.

He didn’t know how it must feel for Ireta, perhaps she had grown accustomed to it, but being accustomed did not mean it was endurable; accepting the torment of pain was only a deeper form of sorrow.

"Then, I don’t know when, but my body stopped growing."

Ireta looked down sadly at her chest, which would grow no further.

Even though she was an Acting Death God, she was still a woman at heart, somewhat dissatisfied with her underdeveloped figure. After all, she had once been a young girl, somewhat fanciful about her future.

But, as her body ceased to grow, so too did those fantasies disappear!

Although in Qin Chu’s eyes, if she could have grown, she would have already done so.

"Then, even breathing disappeared, my heartbeat also stopped."

"As an Acting Death God, I had already died."

Her calm words, without much emotional fluctuation, yet conveyed a deep sense of sorrow to Qin Chu.

Ireta seemed to feel the conversation was getting heavy, her fair face clearing the gloom momentarily: "Ah, to be able to speak so freely with someone, it’s been a long time. I owe it to the seed of life within you, that you haven’t gone mad."

"I once thought about seeking out other Witches, thinking that those Demons, like me possessing Divine Authority, perhaps wouldn’t be affected by the Death Aura on me, but to my surprise, those Witches began attacking me on sight, and I could only leave."

"Thank you!"

"I originally sensed that a powerful entity with a filthy soul would appear here, so I followed," Ireta continued: "But you have burnt it all away."

Qin Chu glanced at the ashes on the ground where Ronald had been incinerated, his expression stark.

Ireta shook her head again: "Please rest assured, I mean no blame."

"Originally, since this soul was filled with evil and extremely powerful, it would have been troublesome for me to deal with. You burning it directly has actually saved me the trouble," she said.

After a brief pause, Ireta’s dark eyes turned towards Qin Chu’s.

Up close, her face seemed even more beautiful.

Perhaps due to her aura, one might subconsciously ignore Ireta’s beauty.

But in reality, she was a very delicate girl, like a beautiful doll.

"Mr. Brave, would you like to make a deal with me?" Ireta suddenly shifted the topic.

"A deal? What kind of deal?"

Qin Chu was somewhat startled.

He didn’t think he had anything to trade with the Daughter of Death. Trade with the Death God? With what? His own life or soul?

Nobody would consider dealing with the Death God a fortunate affair.

"You want to access the information remaining in this soul fragment, right?" asked Ireta. "If I’m not mistaken, this should be the Soul Crystal of First Generation Brave Hero Jie Luo."

Qin Chu’s eyes sharpened. "But this soul fragment is empty..."

As expected, Ireta smiled: "There’s no absolutely pure soul fragment. Even if the residual soul inside has vanished, some marks will always remain."

"Just because you can’t decipher it doesn’t mean I can’t."

"Don’t forget whose authority I have inherited."

The Divine Authority of the Death God, specifically for dealing with deceased souls.

Qin Chu’s eyes began to brighten. If indeed there was information left in this soul fragment, perhaps others couldn’t decode it, but... the Daughter of Death might actually be able to.

If even the Daughter of Death said this soul fragment was empty, then it would truly be time to give up.

"These remaining marks often hide in the most remote and darkest corners. Without a profound ability in soul matters, it is indeed difficult to peer into this content. I can help you decipher this fragment, but in return, you must do me a favor," Ireta said.

Qin Chu didn’t agree outright but instead asked, "What favor?"

While he was eager to find out what lay within Hero Jie Luo’s soul fragment, he was more worried about what unpleasant task Ireta might require of him.

"I can’t tell you just yet, but I can assure you that it will definitely not involve you committing suicide, inflicting harm, or killing someone—an unjustly cruel act," Ireta assured.

Qin Chu pondered briefly, not liking the uncertainty.

But ultimately, he handed over the soul fragment to Ireta.

Ireta gave a slight smile and received the soul fragment.

She didn’t need to breathe, yet it seemed she took a deep breath and then her dark eyes focused intently on the soul fragment in her hand, where clusters of black threads began to swiftly grow from her lace-gloved palm, densely entwining the soul fragment.

It appeared to be an extension of Ireta’s consciousness, the threads rapidly permeating every corner of the soul fragment.

No matter how deeply hidden the marks were, they couldn’t escape Ireta’s perception.

This also didn’t seem to be an easy task for Ireta; even her body was slightly trembling, and her already pale face looked even whiter at this moment.

Around Ireta, the black mist began to roll once more.

The long-dead souls emitted sharp cries and roars.

As the interceptor of resentments, Ireta bore the greatest, most horrific malevolence; not to mention whether these resentments could actually damage the body, just hearing these sharp cries and mournful wails, the venomous curses, was enough to shatter someone’s will.

Ireta had endured this environment for thousands of years.

Her resolve was probably stronger than anyone Qin Chu had ever met.

The whole process took a very long time.

Suddenly, Ireta took a long breath out: "I found it."

Qin Chu’s spirit jolted; he only saw Ireta slowly closing her eyes, apparently using her own consciousness to meticulously sense everything preserved in the soul fragment.

Then, her slightly thin lips gently parted.

It was still Ireta’s voice, but the aura and that tone seemed, in that instant, to transform into another entity.

The weird impression made Qin Chu’s hair stand on end.

The words that Ireta spoke, however, made Qin Chu’s skin crawl.

"I am Jie Luo."

"If someone is fortunate enough to see what I have left behind, then please remember one thing, do not trust me, do not trust anyone named Jie Luo."

"Because I am already dead."

"Both in body and soul!"

"They despicably stole everything from me, my body, my memories, my soul..."

"If you, like me, are also a visitor from another world, then stay away from this world. In this world, there is only coldness, cruelty, brutality, deceit, madness, greed, desire..."

"This world is fucked..."

Ireta’s voice caused Qin Chu to feel a chilling sensation at the back of his neck, as if a bug were crawling there, a strong fear making him feel as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff, with an abyss below.

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