Tech Hero in Another World

After Trek's massive body hit the ground, the Colosseum crowd froze. The roar that had shaken the air just seconds earlier vanished, as if the very sound had been sucked away. Thousands of eyes stared wide in disbelief at what they had just witnessed—the undefeated Champion of ten years, felled by a foreign human who had arrived without guards, without banners, without a renowned name.

Ren stood in the center of the dust-filled arena, his breathing ragged, chest heaving. Sweat streamed down his temples, mixing with the dust clinging to his skin. For the first time in years, he had fought without full body armor. No multi-layer advanced armor—just a single gauntlet of his own creation, originally designed for extreme construction work: lifting steel beams, breaking massive boulders.

Yet the technology built to lift the world… had proven capable of toppling a giant.

Ren glanced at the gauntlet on his arm, thin wisps of steam seeping from the seams in the metal joints. (My calculations were right… even if this isn't the way it's meant to be used) he thought. He knew the graviton system wasn't designed for repeated use in quick succession. The strain he had just put on the mechanism could have caused the power core to explode with the slightest miscalculation.

At last, the cheers returned—this time swelling like a tidal wave. Some spectators shouted his name—or at least tried to pronounce it. Others remained frozen, unwilling to accept that their champion now lay unconscious.

Ren raised his hand, ready to signal his victory… but his movement stopped. His gaze shifted toward the narrow western passage of the arena—the one he'd entered earlier with Kumara. Now, it was empty. No trace of the fox girl. No sign she was even anywhere near the arena.

Ren's brow furrowed. "Kumara… where did you go?" he muttered.

Before he could take a step, a faint vibration rippled under his feet. At first it was subtle, like a far-off tremor. But within seconds, it grew stronger—its rhythm like the pounding heartbeat of some enormous beast. The ground beneath the arena began to quake, the surrounding sand leaping, and the faint sound of cracking stone rose from deep underground.

The spectators, who had been cheering, now exchanged uneasy glances. Some stepped back from their seats as if the Colosseum itself might collapse.

Ren looked down at the ground, then toward the passage where Kumara had vanished. His mind began piecing together the worst-case scenario. This was no ordinary earthquake. Too rhythmic… too focused.

"Don't tell me…" His breath caught.

A faint flash of light sparked between the stones at the edge of the arena—like lightning trapped beneath the earth. From those cracks, red light burst forth, followed by a surge of scorching heat that struck the air. Ren's skin prickled, and his breath stilled for a heartbeat.

The tremors grew wilder. The Colosseum's stone supports tore free from their joints, hovering for a split second before being hurled in all directions like massive projectiles. The crowd screamed in panic—some bolting for the exits, others frozen in place, as if afraid to miss a single second of what was unfolding.

From the next rift emerged a figure that froze the blood of all who saw it—a colossal fox. One tail… then two… three… until nine massive tails unfurled from its back. But this was not the majestic, awe-inspiring divine fox from folklore.

Ren blinked, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. "What… is that?"

Each of those tails bore a single enormous eye at its tip—eyes that rolled and blinked independently, as if alive apart from the beast's body. Their gaze was not wise, but seething with hatred so deep it felt almost tangible. Its body was in tatters, patches of skin peeled away to expose the pulsing dark-red muscles beneath. The main eyes on its head glowed with cold, vertical slits—pupils split like the edge of a blade.

Its appearance was something torn from a nightmare, a monster that would feel right at home in a world as dark as Elden Ring. And when the fox opened its mouth, the sound it unleashed was not merely a roar—it was a wave of pure terror that slammed into the soul of everyone in the arena.

Above, the full moon blazed in the night sky, a perfect backdrop for the silhouette of the creature.

---

Some time earlier, beneath the Colosseum…

Kumara ran, her own footsteps echoing around her, until the narrow stone corridor opened into a wide, domed chamber. The walls were lined with ancient carvings, and at the center stood a tall gate with a crimson arch, resembling a torii from some other world's ancient culture.

Beyond the gate lay a massive stone wrapped in thick straw rope. The knots were intricate, the fibers bound with paper talismans that swayed gently despite the absence of wind. On Earth, it would be called a shimenawa, a sacred seal. But Kumara didn't know what it was called here—though for some reason, her chest felt heavy just from looking at it.

Atop the stone sat a small fox, poised with elegance. Its golden fur shimmered faintly, its eyes gleaming like starlight.

"You've finally come…" Its voice was like a whisper in the stillness, yet clear as day to Kumara's ears.

Kumara halted, staring at the creature with silent curiosity.

"…" She said nothing, and the fox continued,

"You came here because you already know your purpose, don't you? Step closer, touch that stone… with the power your mother taught you."

Kumara's eyes widened. The words struck her heart. How could this creature know about her mother's teachings—about the miko power passed down in secrecy?

"Come closer, Kumara. Your dream is just one step away…"

She took a step forward, even as her chest tightened with doubt.

"Hey! Little girl! Stop right there!!"

A heavy voice full of warning rang out from behind. Freedy emerged from the corridor, moving quickly despite the chain remnants still hanging from his wrists.

"Tch… another nuisance," the little fox hissed.

"Ah… you're that man from earlier," Kumara said, surprised to see him here.

"And you—don't take another step," Freedy's voice was firm, but it carried urgency. "You have no idea what destruction will fall on this land—on this world—if that seal is broken!"

The little fox glared sharply at Freedy. "Stay back… you have no right to decide this world's fate."

"Hah… maybe I don't. But I do have the right to act when my homeland is threatened."

Kumara looked between the two of them, her heart caught in a storm of doubt.

"Think, Kumara," the little fox's voice returned, now laced with a spellbinding pull. "The chain of hatred will never break… unless you destroy all that oppresses you. Become the absolute ruler of this land! Quickly—touch the stone!"

"Wait! Don't listen to him!" Freedy shouted, closing the distance.

But before he could reach her, the fox leapt forward, its body stretching and morphing into a humanoid shape—a cold-faced man in ragged monk's robes. With a single swing of his arm, he hurled Freedy hard into the stone wall.

"Urgh!" The wolf groaned, lifting his gaze to see his opponent standing there, eyes as sharp as a drawn blade.

"Don't interfere… this is your final warning," the monk said.

Freedy grinned despite the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. "Old words… too bad I'm not good at taking warnings." He rose again, one shoulder slumping slightly, but his eyes unyielding.

"Tch… I thought this would be easy. Very well, then." The monk bowed his head slightly, then muttered, "What matters is pushing the girl… just once more."

And in an instant, he lunged, charging at Freedy.

Freedy's footsteps pounded against the stone floor, their echoes merging with the hum of dark energy seeping from the sacred stone beyond the torii. The monk stood before him, gaze cold and calculating, as though he had foreseen Freedy's every move long before it happened.

"Surrender, wolf," the monk's voice was deep, laced with venom. "You're only delaying the inevitable."

"In that case," Freedy lowered his stance, eyes narrowing, "I'll delay it as long as I still draw breath."

They clashed. The monk's arm moved like a steel whip, his palm slicing through the air with a sharp crack. Freedy raised his arm to block, but the impact numbed it instantly. A low kick from Freedy aimed for the monk's knee, but the monk spun, deflecting it with his heel, sparks of crimson light flaring in the air.

Meanwhile, Kumara stood frozen beside the great stone. Her own heartbeat thundered in her ears. From within the stone, she felt a strange pulse—hot, heavy, and… beckoning. As though something inside it was whispering, calling her name.

"Little girl!" Freedy shouted mid-fight. "Don't let him into your mind!"

But his voice was immediately drowned out by the monk's, echoing unnaturally—two voices layered into one, one human, one alien, whispering directly into her thoughts. "Look around you, Kumara. This world has never been fair to you. All the suffering you've endured… all the tears you've hidden… can end today. Touch the stone—break the chains that bind you!"

Kumara bit her lip hard. The words pierced the deepest part of her, the part she had kept locked away. Fragments of memory surged forth: her mother lying ill, the disgusted stares of the village elders, the whispered insults behind her back.

Freedy drove the monk back with a blow layered in energy, but the monk twisted his wrist, caught the strike, and countered, forcing Freedy to stumble back three steps. "She's already at the brink," the monk said, casting a quick glance toward Kumara. "One more push, and the seal will crumble."

Freedy growled. Dropping his stance, he lunged forward with a flurry of rapid attacks—right claw, left claw, a driving knee—forcing the monk to parry at high speed. The air filled with the sounds of flesh and metal clashing.

But every time Freedy tried to force him away from Kumara, the monk cunningly pivoted, circling back toward the stone, as if deliberately keeping the fight in a line that let Kumara hear his dark whispers without pause.

"Kumara," the monk's voice softened, yet pierced like a blade, "your mother didn't teach you that power so you could be someone else's puppet. With it, you could protect anything you wish… or destroy everything you hate."

Kumara shut her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her fingers twitched, lifting slightly toward the stone. And just as her fingertips were about to touch the cold surface, a wave of thick black energy shot out from it, coiling around her wrist like a living mist.

Freedy's eyes widened as he saw it. "No! Little girl, stop!" He tried to break through, but the monk slammed into him, shoving him hard to the side. Freedy's shoulder crashed into the stone wall, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the impact.

The monk laughed low, his voice blending with an unnatural echo. "Yes… feel it, Kumara. Feel the power they've kept from you all this time. One breath, and you'll become something even the gods will bow to."

Kumara panted, her eyes snapping open, pupils beginning to split into narrow vertical slits. The air in the chamber grew stiflingly hot, and the paper talismans on the shimenawa began to burn at the edges.

Freedy forced himself upright, blood dripping from his temple. He leapt forward, catching the monk's strike with both hands before shoving him back. "If you want the girl… you'll have to go through my corpse first!"

"With pleasure." The monk struck, his attack so fast the air around him erupted in a blast of heat.

The battle raged anew. Freedy's claws tore gashes in the monk's robes, while the monk's palm slammed into Freedy's ribs with such force that his breath caught in his throat.