The Hero's Harem is Trying to Kill Him - Chapter 96 - 97: Choice of Shadows

Chapter 96: Chapter 97: Choice of Shadows

Recap

The banquet was broken beyond recognition. Illusions had torn the hall into fragments of nightmare, forcing Kai and his wives to confront warped reflections of themselves. Each wife faced her darkest twin, while Kai stood before the most dangerous foe imaginable—his own reflection, a perfect predator who knew every weakness. And through it all pulsed the crown, whispering in his heart, demanding he choose between salvation and damnation.

Section 1 – The Fractured Arena

The world was broken glass.

Every step Kai took crunched against shards that weren’t quite real, weren’t quite illusion. They floated, spun, and fractured the air into a thousand reflections—faces staring back at him from impossible angles. Some were his wives, twisted in grief or rage. Some were himself, sneering, grinning, whispering promises.

His reflection walked easily across the chaos, uncut, unbothered. A predator at home in the hunt. Its eyes glowed faintly, not with magic, but with certainty.

“You don’t belong in this nightmare,” it said softly, as if the battle was already won. “But I do. I am what you’ve always tried to bury.”

Behind Kai, Velis’s scream tore the air as her double caught her arm and nearly forced her blade into her own chest. Velis twisted, breaking free, but her eyes darted toward Kai—pleading, furious, desperate. Astra staggered back under a barrage of illusions that mimicked her charms, her magic turned against her in a cruel dance. Lyra’s strikes echoed like thunder, yet her double matched every swing, every scream, every ounce of ferocity.

The battlefield wasn’t just against enemies. It was against themselves. Against the truth they tried not to face.

And at the center—the crown.

Its pulse dragged Kai forward. He didn’t step toward it, but his heartbeat pushed him closer with every breath.

Section 2 – The Breaking Point

Steel clashed, teeth clenched, blood sprayed across shattered floor.

Kai lunged, his muscles screaming as he drove his blade with everything left in him. His reflection caught it with one hand, blade sliding with perfect precision, sparks falling like stars. The counterattack came faster than thought, the mirrored sword flashing at his throat. He ducked, twisted, barely alive by a thread of instinct.

Every time he thought he gained ground, the reflection anticipated, punished, and mocked his effort. Its movements had no hesitation. No fear. No wasted breath.

Kai’s chest burned. His arms shook with exhaustion. His reflection, meanwhile, smiled with every strike.

“You think you’re fighting me,” it said as their swords locked, voice low and patient. “But you’re fighting yourself. Your weakness. Your hesitation. And that’s why you’ll always lose.”

Behind them, Velis fell to one knee, clutching her bleeding thigh. Her double towered over her, grinning with sadistic delight. Astra spat blood, her chest rising and falling raggedly, but still stood between her reflection and Kai. Lyra’s fury cracked the air, but her blows were slowing, her body dragging with fatigue.

Kai’s reflection pressed harder, forcing his sword downward until the edge grazed his throat.

“One choice ends this,” it whispered. “Take the crown. Save them. Or keep fighting, and watch them die.”

Section 3 – Temptation’s Edge

The crown’s glow swelled, filling the hall with its heartbeat. The wives’ cries blurred into echoes, their pain into static, as visions swarmed Kai’s mind.

Velis alive, her wounds vanishing the moment the crown touched his brow. Astra triumphant, proud at his side, her laughter rich and unbroken. Lyra soft, finally free of fury, leaning into his chest as if war had never touched her.

Peace. Power. Belonging.

The reflection stepped aside, its blade lowering, smiling with victory. “There it is,” it said, voice gentle now. “The truth you’ve always hidden. You don’t want to protect them. You want to own them. To keep them, no matter what.”

Kai’s fingers twitched. His hand rose, inch by inch, toward the crown. His heart thundered in rhythm with its glow.

“Don’t you dare!” Velis’s voice cracked across the battlefield, raw with pain and desperation. She staggered forward, blood staining her torn armor. “I’d rather die on this floor than see you put that thing on!”

Lyra’s voice was venomous, her fury shaking the walls: “Kai! If you wear it—I’ll kill you myself!” Her double sneered beside her, whispering, “And I’ll help him destroy you.”

Astra laughed, bitter and broken. “Even now, he’s tempted. Even now, he listens. Tell me, Kai—will you rule us, or lose us?”

The reflection leaned close, its words for him alone: “They don’t understand. They never have. But I do. Wear it, and you’ll never need their approval again.”

The battlefield shook violently, cracks racing across the floor like veins of lightning. Glass shards whirled faster, cutting the air into ribbons. Every reflection of Kai’s face twisted—smiling, frowning, screaming, laughing—as though mocking him from every angle.

Kai’s hand hovered inches from the crown. The light was searing now, washing over his face in molten gold. His reflection stood just behind him, blade relaxed, smiling as if the game was already won.

Velis crawled forward, dragging her wounded leg, her hand outstretched toward him. Lyra tried to rise again, blood running down her temple, her voice breaking as she shouted his name. Astra pressed a hand to her chest, her expression cold, unreadable, but her eyes—her eyes were begging.

The crown pulsed once. Twice. The air stilled.

And then a voice broke through it all.

A woman’s laughter, smooth as silk, sharp as venom.

The Queen’s voice.

“All kings must wear a crown.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. His hand trembled. He could feel it—this choice wasn’t just his. It was theirs. His wives. His reflection. His enemy. His future.

The crown’s light exploded, consuming the hall in brilliance. The ground collapsed into shadow and glass.

And in the blinding white silence, Kai’s hand finally moved—

To be continued…

🌑 Preview – Chapter 98: Crown of Thorns

When the crown’s light fades, the battlefield will no longer be the same. Kai’s hand has moved—but toward what? Salvation, damnation, or something neither his wives nor his reflection expected?

Velis, Astra, and Lyra awaken to find themselves caught in the aftermath of a choice too great to undo. The Queen’s voice lingers like poison in the air, binding their fates tighter to the crown’s curse. But whether Kai chose to resist or embrace the shadow, one truth becomes painfully clear: the reflection was never his only enemy.

A deeper power stirs in the ruin of the hall. Something ancient. Something that sees every choice not as victory or defeat, but as preparation for what lies beyond.

And when the wives realize that their love may no longer be enough to reach Kai… the true test of their bond begins.

⚔️ Call-to-Action

The choice has been made, but the consequences are only beginning to unfold. Which path do you believe Kai took—did he resist the crown, or embrace it? 💀👑 Drop your theories, let’s see if your instincts are sharper than the Queen’s whispers!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by AiKurou