Hero Hack: Reversing Heroes and Raising Harem-Chapter 115: Footage and Fog

Zain came into the Hero Association Branch again the next day.

Blazren stood near the main command station, arms folded, expression unreadable.

Zain didn’t wait for permission.

He walked straight up to him and smirked.

"Morning, old man. So... how’d it go?" He asked, hands tucked in his pockets.

"Find anything yet?"

Blazren didn’t look at him immediately.

"Yeah," he muttered.

"And somehow I’m more confused than I was yesterday."

Zain raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Blazren turned to face him, jaw tight. "Look at this."

He tapped on the screen embedded in the command table.

A CCTV footage feed expanded.

A gritty overhead view from a damaged club exterior.

It played out with glitchy frame skips.

Zain leaned in slightly, watching.

A familiar black-and-pink blur—Velvet Demon—landed in a crouch.

Moments later, another figure dropped from above.

Slender. Short blue hair.

They clashed instantly. Kicks, claws, lightning arcs of speed.

They were fighting each other.

Hard.

Zain watched for a few seconds, then exhaled slowly through his nose. "Huh."

Blazren crossed his arms again.

"So much for them being in the same faction. They tried to kill each other."

Zain tilted his head. "Maybe it was a test."

Blazren grunted.

"It didn’t look like training."

"Velvet Demon nearly snapped her spine with that last kick."

"That’s not a spar."

Zain squinted at the video, letting the silence hang.

"Guess she doesn’t play nice with other criminals," he said with a shrug.

"Or maybe she didn’t like the tattoo."

Blazren turned his gaze to him. "She reacted to it. You saw that too, right?"

Zain nodded once, keeping his tone even. "I did."

Blazren exhaled.

"Which means she knows something about that mark."

"Or the people using it."

"Or both," Zain replied. "Still think she’s leading a group?"

Blazren shook his head.

"No. Not anymore."

"If anything, they want her—and she’s not interested."

Zain leaned back slightly, lips curling.

"Well then... Looks like the Velvet Demon’s got enemies on both sides."

He tapped his finger on the table, sighing.

"I thought this was gonna be a lead..."

"Maybe helping me figure out who she really is," he muttered.

"But now there’s another damn problem."

Blazren raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

Zain gestured at the paused image.

"That group. The one that marked that blue-haired girl."

"Same symbol. Same tactics. But no record. No affiliation. No history."

He leaned closer, eyes narrowing slightly.

"It’s like they just popped into existence."

Blazren grunted.

"Yeah. Believe me, I’ve been losing sleep over it too."

Zain smirked.

"What, fire-forged veteran like you can’t handle a mystery?"

Blazren didn’t take the bait. He rubbed his temples.

"It’s not just a mystery. It’s a bad one. Velvet Demon was already a ghost."

"Now we’ve got other shadows moving the same way she does—but against her."

He dropped his hand and shook his head.

"It’s a headache, kid."

Zain tapped the screen again.

"What happened at the end of the footage?"

Blazren sighed.

"Nothing. The feed cuts out before the fight ends."

"System crash or sabotage—hard to tell."

Zain nodded slowly.

"And the tattoo?"

Blazren exhaled again.

"I already said—unknown group."

"I ran it through every criminal registry, cult database, black-market mark log."

"Nothing."

Zain raised an eyebrow.

"What about the girls with the tattoo? Any leads there?"

Blazren shook his head.

"Put a notice out. Had heroes across BB-1, CC, and even parts of BC scanning for girls with that branding."

"Nothing."

"Either they’re good at hiding... or they’ve been cleaned up."

Zain whistled low. "That’s neat work for a ghost group."

"Too neat," Blazren muttered.

"I don’t like it."

Zain pushed off the console, stretching slightly.

"Alright then, old man. Keep digging."

Blazren frowned, arms still crossed.

"What’re you even doing here, Demon?"

"You show up, poke a few things, then disappear."

Zain smirked. "Just checking on something."

He turned, starting to walk away.

"Bye bye."

Blazren narrowed his eyes as he watched the boy vanish down the hall.

"Just what the hell are you doing, really..." he muttered.

Then he stared at the frozen screen again.

Velvet Demon was locked in mid-clash with the unknown wolf-shifted girl.

"...Heavenly Demon."

He said it under his breath.

Just that low, wary tone a veteran uses when he knows something big is coming.

---

Zain stepped out of the Hero Association building.

He stood on the landing platform for a moment.

"...So they’ve been chasing Velra, huh?"

One hand casually resting in his coat pocket.

"Should’ve figured."

His eyes gleamed faintly as he tilted his head back, thinking.

"They saw her fight the slave girl..."

"Guess Blazren finally realized she’s not part of any group."

He chuckled.

"Well then. No point guessing..."

Zain raised his left hand.

A faint glow pulsed from his palm, invisible to anyone else.

Only he could feel it.

The Flesh Brand deep inside Velra’s body reacted instantly.

A rush of data—location, direction, faint emotional pulses.

"There you are," he whispered.

BC-3.

A mid-level danger zone.

Technically still Hero territory, but mostly forgotten.

Villains, smugglers, exiled beast tamers...

The kind of place even B-Ranks hesitate to patrol alone.

"What’s she doing there?"

He quickly go there and the moment he arrived there, he saw her.

Perched casually on a half-collapsed vending machine.

Velra sat like she owned the block.

One leg crossed over the other, chin resting on her palm.

She didn’t even blink when Zain approached.

"Oh, you’re here, Master."

Zain stopped a few meters away. "You were waiting?"

"Of course," Velra said with a grin.

"You always come when I do something."

He raised an eyebrow.

"So. The girl. Blue hair. Wolf legs. What happened?"

Velra stretched lazily. "So you already knew, huh?"

Zain didn’t answer.

She stood smoothly. "Come with me. I’ll show you."

Zain’s eyes narrowed. "Where?"

Velra smiled wider. "To where she is."

He tilted his head. "So you caught her?"

Velra nodded. "Yeah. I needed information."

"But I figured... You’re better at ripping out secrets than I am."

Zain smirked faintly.

"You say that, but I’ve seen what you do with a pair of heels and a steel rod."

Velra shrugged. "That’s art. You? You’re surgical."

Zain laughed once under his breath. "Fine. Lead the way."

She turned, hips swaying, confident.

"She’s in a back room. Not bleeding too badly... yet."

Zain followed.

"Good," he said. "Let’s see how loyal she really is."

Velra’s eyes sparkled.

"Let’s find out if pain breaks a collar."