Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate!-Chapter 236: Harem VS Loyality

I swung a straight punch at Envi’s face, but he caught it with both hands, his arms trembling slightly from the force.

"Hey, Nao! What the hell is wrong with you?! Have you lost your mind?!" Envi shouted, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.

But I didn’t answer. I just glared at him and kept swinging.

He raised his arms into a defensive stance, blocking my barrage of punches one by one.

"You insane bastard!" he growled.

I finally snapped back, shouting through clenched teeth, "I’m the crazy one?! That’s rich coming from you, you damn system freak! I’ve been patient—SO patient with your nonsense, but this time... this time you went too far!"

Seeing an opening in his defense, I drove a kick straight into his gut.

He stumbled back, clutching his stomach, gasping for air.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he wheezed, still clearly oblivious.

My voice dropped as I stared him down. "You really don’t get it, do you? Fine. Let me spell it out for you."

I stepped forward, my fists shaking in fury. "You destroyed the vow I made to Serena. A vow of loyalty. Of love. She trusted me—just like I trusted her."

I paused, breathing heavily, the pain in my chest deeper than any bruise.

"But you... with that reckless mouth of yours, you hijacked my body and told them—told both Serena and Amelia—that we’d marry them. That we’d love them both. You took everything I swore to Serena and spat on it."

I looked down for a moment, my hands clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white.

"I saw her face when you said it. I saw the pain. But she... she still forgave me. That’s how big her heart is."

Envi slowly stood back up, rubbing his bruised side. "But she agreed in the end, didn’t she? So what’s the problem?!"

"The problem is that you never considered how she felt. Or how I felt!" I yelled, lunging forward and swinging another punch.

He dodged.

"Ungrateful idiot! I did that to get you out of that tight spot!" Envi snapped, finally throwing a punch of his own. I blocked it.

"You don’t get it, Nao! If we rejected Amelia’s proposal, it would’ve jeopardized our alliance with King Aslan! That would’ve put everything at risk—the entire three-kingdom pact!"

"You’re making excuses!" I barked. "Is that really why you did it? Or was it because you’re in love with her? Just admit it—you’ve fallen for Amelia, haven’t you?!"

I punched him square in the jaw, and he went flying.

I stood there, breathing hard. "I’ve noticed it, Envi. The way you look at her. The way you talk about her. You didn’t care about the consequences to the alliance. You just didn’t want to lose her."

Envi staggered to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Help you build a harem—that’s what I was trying to do! That’s the best path for us!"

"I don’t want a harem!" I shouted. "I never did. And I never will. Serena is the only one I’ve ever loved. The only one I will love."

I gripped my chest where my heart pounded, full of conviction.

The air between us suddenly grew heavy—thick with tension.

Envi’s voice dropped, filled with simmering emotion. "You talk like I don’t care... but you’re the one who’s ignoring Amelia’s feelings. You think ending the engagement just like that makes you noble?! That’s something only a cold-hearted bastard would do!"

"Oh, so now you’re blaming me?!" I snapped.

"Yes! You’re a fucking hypocrite! You don’t want to have romantic relationships with other women, but you still let Amelia, Lyra, and Freya have feelings for you!" Envi said that with such annoyance that the veins in his neck popped out.

"What are you talking about?!" I was shocked by his words and couldn’t reply.

He tore off his shirt and tossed it to the side, revealing his scarred chest. "You wanted a fight, didn’t you? Then let’s do this properly. No magic. No aura. Just fists. Let’s settle this like men."

I flipped him off. "Fine by me. I’ll beat your smug face into the dirt!"

Envi started walking toward me, fists raised.

"This is perfect," he sneered. "I’ve always wanted to knock some sense into you, you self-righteous, naive idiot!"

He charged with a flying punch.

"I’ll be the one knocking you out, you overconfident pile of glitch code!" I shouted back, meeting his fist with my own.

BAM!

Our fists collided with a thunderous crack that shook the trees around us.

We clashed again and again, fists flying, bones rattling.

"I’m going to smash that thick skull of yours! Harem is the ideal path! You’ll regret not following it!" he roared, slamming a punch into the side of my face.

"Ugh... I don’t care what you think is ideal!" I growled, spitting blood. "I stand by my values! One woman. One love. That’s my path!"

I countered with a heavy punch to his jaw that sent him skidding backward.

THUD!

CRACK!

We both flew apart from the sheer force of our blows.

Envi’s punch had landed hard—my ribs ached, and the taste of iron filled my mouth. But I could see him struggling too, clutching his side and groaning in pain.

We were both battered, bruised.

....

I slowly got back on my feet, wiping the blood that trickled from the corner of my lips.

Envi’s punch had real weight behind it—just as powerful as mine.

"Get up," I growled, glaring down at him. "I’m not finished with you yet!"

Envi groaned, forcing himself to stand even though his legs were shaky.

"Tch... that’s my line, damn it! I haven’t finished beating the crap out of you yet!"

Once again, we charged at each other, fists flying.

Fighting Envi felt like punching a mirror—it was like battling myself. Every move I made, he could counter. Every trick I tried, he already knew.

It made sense. He was my system. He had absorbed all my combat experience, all my knowledge, all my instincts. Fighting him was like facing a shadow version of myself.

"Copycat bastard!" I shouted, landing a spinning Taekwondo kick that connected with his side.

But Envi didn’t go down. He grabbed my leg midair and growled, "Naive idiot!"

Then he slammed his fist into my gut.

I gasped. The pain hit hard, and my vision blurred for a moment.

But I gritted my teeth and refused to fall. I clenched my fists, closed the distance, and tackled him, locking his arm with a tight jujutsu hold.

"Let go, you psycho!!" Envi shouted, struggling under my grip.

"No chance," I grunted, tightening the hold.

Desperate, Envi lifted me up while I was still clinging to his arm—and slammed me into the ground.

BAM!

The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I lost my grip.

Envi staggered to his feet, panting heavily, and grabbed my collar to lift me up.

I could see it—he was about to punch me again. No time to think. I leaned forward and smashed my forehead into his.

"AGH!" we both cried out, stumbling back in pain.

We were both at our limits. Our breathing was ragged. Our bodies bruised all over. Our faces swollen and bloodied from trading blows.

We had been fighting for nearly half an hour—non-stop.

But neither of us would fall.

We stood there, swaying on our feet, fists clenched.

Then Envi slowly raised his arm again. "I’m... not done yet... you bastard!!" he shouted, dragging himself toward me.

I raised my fist in return. "This is it. This punch is gonna end it!" I muttered to myself, charging straight at him.

"DIEEEEE!!" Envi screamed as he threw his final punch.

"SCREW YOU, YOU DAMN SYSTEM!!" I shouted, unleashing mine.

BAM!!

Both our fists landed at the same time. His punch struck my jaw. Mine crushed into his cheek.

We both spat out blood.

But we were still standing.

My vision swam. I could barely see anything, but I caught a glimpse of Envi—he was laughing.

"Hah... hah... damn, Nao... you’re seriously strong," he said before collapsing to the ground.

I smirked through the pain. "Heh... I hate to admit it, but so are you, you jackass."

Then I fell, too—right beside him.

I rolled over onto my back, gasping, now staring up at the night sky. The moon was beautiful tonight, shining bright through the canopy of trees.

Envi rolled onto his back as well. Now we were both lying side by side, staring at the same sky.

For a while, we just lay there in silence, catching our breath.

Then, Envi spoke—his voice quiet, almost hesitant.

"Hey... Nao... I’m sorry. For breaking the promise you made with Serena..."

I blinked, turning my head slightly toward him, surprised by his sudden apology.

I gave a weak smile.

"I should be apologizing, too... You were right. I didn’t think enough about Amelia’s feelings. I only thought about my own."

Envi looked at me with wide eyes—then let out a laugh.

"So... we were both in the wrong, huh?"

I chuckled along with him. "Yeah... pretty much."

We both started laughing—bloodied, bruised, exhausted. We had screamed, fought, and now... we were laughing like idiots under the moonlight.

After a long pause, I turned my head to him again and said softly, "Hey... Envi. Do you want to know why I hate harems?"

Envi blinked and nodded slowly, curiosity on his face.

And so, under that silent night sky, I began to tell him my story.

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