Hero Hack: Reversing Heroes and Raising Harem

The astral Heavenly Demon's voice echoed through the hall like rolling thunder.

"I don't know how you can be here… Whether you reincarnated or crawled back from death, it doesn't matter. You will not defeat me again."

His aura flared, the walls trembling under its pressure.

"After acquiring your body back then, I fell into a deep slumber."

"But even in that slumber, I left a fragment of consciousness awake… studying the [Heavenly Demon Art] that still lingered in your flesh."

"I learned it. I mastered it. And now... thanks to you, I have been awakened completely."

He raised a clawed hand toward Zain, flames beginning to spiral into existence.

"This time, I will take your body for good. And the Heavenly Demon Art will not save you anymore."

Zain tilted his head, smirking. "Let's see if you can actually do that, old man."

The astral figure roared and summoned [Heavenly Demon Flame] into both hands, the black-crimson fire twisting like the jaws of a predator.

Without warning, he lunged forward, his arms crossing before snapping outward in a crushing motion.

[Demon Crush].

The air split as the blow rushed toward Zain.

But Zain only grinned wider.

Crimson-black ether flared around his own hands, his flames burning hotter, denser.

He mirrored the stance perfectly, his movements sharp and refined.

[Demon Crush].

The two strikes collided with a sound like mountains grinding together.

A shockwave ripped through the hall, toppling ancient pillars and sending dust and shards of stone flying.

Zain's boots dug into the cracked floor, his arms locked with the astral figure's.

"Is that all you've got?" Zain taunted, his voice steady despite the heat threatening to melt the ground beneath them.

The astral Heavenly Demon growled. "You dare mock me?!"

"I'm not mocking you," Zain said, his smirk widening.

"I'm just showing you the difference between a thief… and the real Heavenly Demon."

Before the astral figure could respond, Zain's flames flared brighter, overpowering the old man's fire and forcing him back a step.

The ground under the astral figure's feet cracked as he slid.

His expression twisted into rage.

With a snarl, he spun and unleashed a sweeping backhand engulfed in flame.

Zain ducked under it, stepped in, and slammed his own flame-coated fist toward the old man's chest.

He was aiming to break through that glowing, intangible body.

But the impact sent a ripple across the astral form.

"Tch… tougher than I thought," Zain muttered.

The old man grinned, the fire in his eyes burning like a storm.

"Did you think my soul was weak, boy? I've tempered this form for decades."

Black-crimson light surged down his arm, condensing into a blade that seemed forged from solid flame.

The weapon crackled with killing intent, its edge humming like it could cut the void itself.

[Heavenly Demon Sword].

The old man swung it in a vicious arc, the slash tearing through the air with a scream.

Zain stepped back, his own flames swirling to his palms.

He brought them together, condensing his ether into two matching blades.

[Heavenly Demon Twin Fang].

Steel and flame collided, sparks bursting like meteor showers.

The old man pressed forward with brutal overhead chops and sweeping horizontal cuts.

Zain flowed around them, his twin blades flashing, deflecting one strike, redirecting another.

The old man growled, pulling his blade back and stabbing forward.

[Demon Heart Pierce], a thrust aimed to end the fight in a single strike.

Zain twisted sideways, feeling the edge scrape past his ribs.

He answered with his own attack, his blades crossing in an "X" before slashing out with a burst of flame.

[Demon Fang Break].

The shockwave split the ground, forcing the old man to hop back.

"You've grown," the astral Heavenly Demon said, narrowing his eyes. "But you're still not me."

Zain smirked. "That's the point."

Ether surged around him, feeding into his arms.

The air warped, flames twisting into the shape of a massive gauntlet.

[Heavenly Demon Tyrant Fist].

The old man responded instantly, channelling his own flame into a swirling vortex around his sword.

[Demon Storm Slash].

They moved at the same time.

Fist met blade in an explosion of black-crimson fire, the hall quaking under the force.

The shockwave blew the moss off the ancient walls and shattered stone columns into dust.

Neither side yielded.

"Let's see," Zain said, stepping forward through the flames, "who really deserves the name Heavenly Demon."

The old man straightened, sword burning brighter. "Of course it's me," he said coldly.

"You? You're just a child playing with my title… a fake wearing my shadow."

Zain's smirk faded into something colder. The ether around him shifted, growing heavier, denser.

His twin blades dissolved into raw flame, coiling around his arms.

"You want to see fake?" Zain laughed as he began to do something different

He stretched both hands, palms facing outward. Flames began to condense into a sphere. "I'll show you something real."

The girls watching from a distance felt their skin prickle, their instincts screaming.

[Heavenly Demon Blast].

A surge of destructive ether roared out, the black-crimson sphere growing to the size of a boulder.

It pulsed with unstable power, ready to erase anything in its path.

The old man tilted his head, unimpressed.

"That trick?" he said, chuckling. "Do you think I wouldn't know it?"

Flames erupted around him, spiralling toward his chest.

With a single step forward, he raised his free hand, mirroring Zain's stance.

An identical sphere of black-crimson fire began to form that just as dense and deadly.

"I created that technique," the old man said with a sneer. "You're just borrowing it."

The air between them began to twist violently, the two burning spheres feeding off each other's heat.

Dust and debris lifted from the floor as if gravity had loosened its grip.

Zain's gaze hardened. "Then let's see… who does it better."

The old man laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "You'll regret saying that."

He thrust his hands forward, unleashing his [Heavenly Demon Blast] in a torrent of black-crimson destruction.

Zain didn't hesitate. "Too slow."

His own blast roared out to meet it, the two forces colliding in the centre of the hall.

The instant they touched, the world seemed to hold its breath before erupting.

A deafening explosion of fire and ether ripped through the air, shaking the ground and splitting the walls.

A wave of heat rolled out like a storm, shoving the girls back as the centre of the hall was swallowed in blinding black-crimson light.