Because I Love You

I have to say, this is really exhausting.

Qin Chu's body was so strong it could be described as being made of steel, yet he still couldn't quite hold on, and when he woke up the next morning, he couldn't help feeling dizzy.

On the contrary, Athena looked radiant, as if she had recovered considerably without her noticing.

Looking at the woman curled up in his arms, Qin Chu's fingers stroked Athena's wavy hair, his expression somewhat strange. Although he was very tired, Qin Chu had to admit that, regardless of feelings, in terms of physical compatibility alone, Athena was the woman who could perfectly match him.

The feeling Athena gave me was also the strongest.

The thoughts that Qin Chu had forcibly suppressed before involuntarily surged up from the depths of his heart once again.

He wanted to know why Athena had appeared on the ice plains.

Athena easily noticed Qin Chu's slight change. She nuzzled her head against Qin Chu's chest for a moment before raising her head and glancing at Qin Chu gently. "What are you thinking about?"

"How did you know I encountered danger on the ice plains?" Qin Chu asked quietly, his gaze fixed on the ceiling above him.

Athena was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Qin Chu to ask such a question.

However, Athena didn't think much of it and quickly answered after a moment's thought, "I don't know either."

"Have no idea?"

Athena shifted her head slightly, finding a more comfortable position on Qin Chu's chest.

Athena enjoyed the previous indulgences, but Athena also enjoyed the tenderness that followed.

He pressed his ear against Qin Chu's chest, listening to Qin Chu's heartbeat.

This even gave Athena a warm feeling of their souls merging. At the same time, Athena could also perceive the subtle differences between Qin Chu when he faced her, Ekaterina, and Sylph, and when he faced Angelica, Big Saya, Little Saya, Antia.

Even compared to Antasia, Norma, Violet, Ileta... even compared to the two Magic Creature girls, Heloise and Ieta, she is inferior.

There seemed to be a slight barrier between the three of them and Qin Chu.

No matter how intimate or wild they are during their indulgences, this barrier will always exist.

This made Athena feel a little sad.

However, Athena did not blame Qin Chu because of this subtle difference.

She knew exactly where these subtle differences came from.

Regardless, the three of them were once members of the former Hero's Party, and they had all gathered together to plot against Qin Chu.

They once deeply loved the former Hero.

Even if all three of them eventually abandoned the plan for various reasons, sided with Qin Chu, made a deal with Qin Chu, or even became Qin Chu women.

However, it's perfectly normal for Qin Chu to harbor some resentment.

But for Athena, she would never allow this resentment to continue. She would do everything in her power to melt away and penetrate this thin barrier with her sincerity!

Athena believed that this was not too difficult and that she would be able to do it soon.

She is a very confident woman.

Chapter Two, 8,000 words, is here. Many thanks to "Stealing Electric Arc Star" for 1,666 coins, and to reader 20191206234214048 for the 1,000 coin reward. Thank you for your support.

Chapter 558 Because I Love You

(12,000 words)

In fact, Athena harbored some doubts about the relationship between herself, Ekaterina, Sylph, and Qin Chu.

This relationship is clearly abnormal.

The most abnormal one was Ekaterina.

To Athena, Ekaterina's state was as if her mind had been manipulated by some mysterious force; the once valiant Valkyrie seemed to have become a pet in front of Qin Chu.

Athena had a strange feeling that Ekaterina seemed to have transferred all the love she once had for Jello onto Qin Chu. The deeper Ekaterina's love for Jello was, the stronger her love for Qin Chu was now.

It's more accurate to say that in Ekaterina's heart nowadays, Jello seems to have completely disappeared.

I have completely forgotten that person.

Athena couldn't determine what caused Ekaterina's strange transformation.

It's possible that because she was tricked by Rosweisse and forced to give her virginity to Qin Chu, Ekaterina's personality changed drastically, causing her to harbor hatred towards the original Hero's Party. Or it could be due to other reasons.

Next is Sylph.

Sylph was undoubtedly a teammate abandoned by Aili and Eileen. It was Qin Chu who saved Sylph from the Magic Creature, although in Athena's eyes, the timing of Qin Chu's appearance was too coincidental, as if it were deliberately arranged.

But Athena wasn't foolish enough to reveal this, since it wouldn't benefit her in the slightest.

Most importantly, Sylph, like herself, was Evil God's Corruption, and both of them had the mark left by the Evil God in their souls. They both had to rely on Qin Chu to survive.

It's perfectly normal for certain feelings to develop within this kind of dependence.

Sylph kept saying that she was forced into becoming Qin Chu's maid because Qin Chu saved her and they had made a deal. However, Athena could see that Qin Chu's position in Sylph's heart was growing day by day, while Jello's impression of her was becoming more and more blurred.

After she deciphered Jello's true identity from the Soul Fragment Jello, Sylph's hopes for Jello were completely shattered.

As if in retaliation, Sylph focused all her attention on Qin Chu.

Athena could analyze Sylph and Ekaterina's situations, what about herself?

Athena didn't understand.

She's definitely not stupid.

On the contrary, this woman was the smartest member of the former Hero's Party.

Athena knew perfectly well that she had been tricked by Qin Chu.

Although she considered herself very clever, her little tricks were no match for Qin Chu, that cunning fellow.

At times, Qin Chu's presence even instilled fear in Athena.

Even though Qin Chu was just a Hero had just been summoned to this world and knew almost nothing about the Skyvault Continent, Athena seemed to have a strange feeling that Qin Chu knew everything about this world.

At the very beginning, when Athena arrived in the Imperial City, Qin Chu was taken away by Ekaterina and Rosweisse to rescue Benson. Athena communicated with the guards near the Hero's Palace and others who had come into contact with the Hero, and she clearly sensed that this mysterious man seemed to be deliberately trying to win over the people around him.

He was consciously trying to improve his image in the eyes of others, enhance his influence, and cultivate forces closely related to himself.

Of all the people Athena met, everyone who spoke of the Second-Generation Hero gave him a thumbs up and praised him, saying, "He's really a great guy."

At that time, I should have sensed that something was wrong with this man, but unfortunately, I was only angered by the comments that the Second-Generation Hero was better than the First-Generation Hero.

Furthermore, considering that the Second-Generation Hero, who was new to the area, didn't have much strength, they didn't take this to heart.

Then, my first real encounter with the Hero turned out to be a nightmare.

This man actually used Jello's Soul Fragment to blackmail him into submission, completely disrupting his long-planned scheme.

This action caused Qin Chu's impression of him to plummet to its lowest point, though of course, the man didn't care what his opinion of him was.

Immediately, a dramatic resurrection unfolded on this man; his beloved, whom he cherished dearly, was reborn in Qin Chu's body.

And then, somehow, she ended up having a relationship with Qin Chu without even realizing it.

Looking back now, I realize how incredibly stupid I was.

Even though so much time has passed, Athena still feels a pang of regret whenever she thinks about what happened back then.

That despicable bastard Qin Chu is clearly just fooling me. This guy is just using this method to possess my body. When I'm pinned down and calling out Jello's name, that bastard is probably secretly overjoyed, isn't he?

Athena sighed in exasperation. What kind of twisted sense of humor was this?

Would he feel more attracted to someone else's wife, fiancée, lover, or girlfriend?

Although it's unclear how Qin Chu managed to do it, it's obvious that this guy already knew about the former Hero's Party's plan against him, and all of this was simply Qin Chu's revenge.

This guy deliberately took out fragments of Jello's Soul Fragment, deliberately acted out his body being taken over by Jello's remnant soul, and even deliberately mentioned Ekaterina's sacrifice in front of him, just to provoke him into offering his pure body.

At the time, I was absolutely blinded by stupidity, and I actually accepted it so foolishly.

After that, Qin Chu went to great lengths to humiliate him, sometimes appearing before him as Qin Chu and sometimes as Jello.

I feel like a toy, immersed in an endless cycle.

God knows how I survived that period of inner struggle and conflict.

When exactly did I begin to change?

Athena did not answer Qin Chu's question, seemingly lost in her own world. Qin Chu did not press her, but simply gazed quietly at the woman in his arms.

Time passed second by second.

Oh, right.

It seemed that even amidst Qin Chu's almost relentless humiliation and torment, her spirit was still struggling to hold on, while her body seemed to have already succumbed first.

Gradually, they became less resistant to the invasions of Qin Chu.

What terrified her even more was that Qin Chu's occasional concern sometimes brought her pleasure.

Originally, there was only Jello in her heart, but unknowingly, Qin Chu had also occupied an undeniable place in the depths of her heart.

The real turning point came when he went to the snow-capped mountains to rescue the Muse.

That was the first time I had compared Qin Chu and Jello.

The comparison revealed that Qin Chu was superior to Jello in every way... This caused Athena to experience severe self-doubt: why was she so infatuated with Jello, and why did she feel such disgust for Qin Chu?

Where does this intense feeling of disgust come from?

She even said that she felt physically disgusted by Qin Chu before she even met him... This feeling is clearly very abnormal. Even if she likes Jello and no other man could possibly have a place in her heart, she shouldn't have such a strong feeling of disgust towards a man she has never met.

Moreover, since they were even planning to kill Qin Chu, they should normally feel guilty towards Qin Chu, not intensely disgusted by him.

It was around that time that she began to seriously doubt her mental state.

She wondered if her soul and spirit were being manipulated or influenced by some mysterious force.

She was also puzzled by Jello's popularity... It was understandable that she liked Jello, after all, Jello had saved her once, but what about the others?

After all, if judged solely on appearance, Jello is the kind of person who would be completely unnoticed in a crowd, so ordinary that it's almost unsettling. You can't find any attractive qualities in Jello at all.

Yet this is the very man who has driven countless men and women mad and obsessed with him.

Jello's criteria for selecting members of the Hero's Party were also difficult for Athena to understand. Apart from a few, the vast majority of the members were morbid, crazy, or even bloodthirsty and cruel, having killed countless people.

These people, burdened with countless sins, were naturally redeemed after following Jello.

To verify this, Athena even sought out Saint Monica and underwent an examination, only to find that she had no abnormalities and her soul showed no signs of being manipulated.

Athena could only forcefully suppress her doubts, thinking that she was simply overthinking things.

But once the seeds of doubt are sown, they are not easily eradicated.

During the operation to rescue Muse, I learned for the first time what was imprinted on the fragment of Jello's Soul Fragment, and for the first time, I gained an understanding of the real Jello.

However, at that time, Athena also suspected that this was likely a plan deliberately arranged by Qin Chu to trick her.

It wasn't until she personally deciphered a Soul Fragment that she finally understood that in Jello's heart, these women were nothing more than tools to nurture recipients.

At this point, Athena finally gave up on Jello completely and had no more lingering feelings for him.

On the contrary, her feelings for Qin Chu seemed to be growing stronger.

It was Qin Chu who saved him when he was being assassinated by Aili and Eileen.

It was Qin Chu who saved him when he was targeted by the will of Evil God.

It was Qin Chu who repeatedly ventured into his own Soul World, destroying one statue after another from the Evil God's Altar within his body.

Athena was fully aware of just how dangerous these actions were.

If Athena had initially harbored some resentment towards Qin Chu for using his schemes to possess her body, that resentment had unknowingly vanished.

Athena smiled.

That smile seemed exceptionally gentle.

She cautiously lifted her eyelids, peering at the man's face.

She realized her own feelings, and whether they were the result of a scheme or coercion, it didn't matter anymore.

Previously, it was Qin Chu who was pursuing her.

Now, it's my turn to win over Qin Chu, to completely capture this man's heart, and to break down the barrier between us.

Athena's gentle gaze made Qin Chu slightly uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"