Tech Hero in Another World

The dark ripples churning above Kyuubi's head swelled wider, spinning like an ink-black vortex that split the night sky. From within the Mark II, Ren felt a sickening premonition crawl straight into his marrow. Something about this wasn't right—something far more terrifying than the raw, destructive power of the nine-tailed fox itself.

"Hey, Trek… you see that?" Ren's voice was taut over the comms, his eyes locked on the ripples without blinking.

Trek blocked a strike from the seventh tail with a deafening crash, then leapt back to the lake's edge. His breathing was heavy, yet that bitter, gravelly laugh still came. "Hah! You think I'm blind, kid? Of course I see it! And unfortunately… I know a thing or two about it."

Ren's head snapped toward him, a chill running down his spine. "Wait. You're serious? What is it?"

Trek gave a bitter grin, raising his massive axe to point at the sky. "I've seen that symbol before… not here, but carved into the walls of a secret chamber beneath the colosseum. Ancient hieroglyphs—the exact same pattern as that ripple. And when I brought a copy to a wise elder to be translated, he called it by one name." He paused, his voice lowering, heavier than before. "The Opening of the Hell Gate."

Ren nearly lost his footing, his heart hammering faster. "What!?" he shouted, barely able to believe what he'd heard.

"Yeah, kid…" Trek grunted as he blocked another tail strike, stumbling but holding his ground. "If my gut's right, this damn beast is starting a ritual to summon something far worse than itself. Think Kyuubi's bad? Just wait until that gate fully opens!"

Ren clenched his teeth, snapping his gaze back to the vortex. The once-murky haze was now shaping into a colossal arch. Slowly, it became a structure resembling an ancient torii—a shrine gate from Japan, only titanic in size and forged from pure darkness.

"No… this can't be happening." Ren muttered, dread gnawing at his mind. (Shit… this looks like Hyakki Yako, the demon parade from legend. Don't tell me… he's going to open it?)

The world's sounds seemed to vanish, replaced by a low hum from the black torii that swelled larger and larger. With each pulse of the ripple, the air grew heavier, as if being pulled into that gate. Dark shadows flickered within—vague, monstrous shapes crouched, waiting for their chance to break through.

Trek spat out a ragged breath, sweat and blood streaking his face. "This is beyond bad! If that gate opens all the way, it won't just be wild spirits. We're talking about a legion of demons—creatures my people call unkillable!"

Ren kicked his thrusters, launching upward to fire rockets at the black torii. But as they neared, the vortex absorbed them, swallowing the energy whole. His HUD blared red: attack ineffective.

"Damn it! Everything's just being eaten up…" Ren hissed.

Kyuubi's roar tore through the night again—longer, heavier than before. The air itself shook, the earth at the lake's edge cracking like brittle skin. Each shockwave of sound only strengthened the dark torii above its head. The arch was now nearly complete, veins of crimson light throbbing like the pulse of a giant heart. From between the ripples, oppressive light seeped through, proof that something on the other side was clawing, desperate to break in.

Ren's eyes narrowed on Kyuubi. Extra eyes along its tails glowed menacingly, and from its forehead a vertical eye burned brighter than the rest. Each beam of light channeled raw energy straight into the torii, feeding the summoning. His HUD displayed the energy transfer flowing from Kyuubi's body to the gate.

"Hey, Trek…" Ren barked quickly, almost shouting over the cacophony. "I think I know how to stop this ritual!"

Trek, still wrestling with the seventh tail, turned with sweat and blood dripping down his face, yet his grin remained. "Hah! Don't hang me, kid! Spit it out!"

Ren steadied his breath, then gestured sharply toward the monster's tails. "The eyes on its tails… and the one on its forehead. They're all channels. If we destroy those eyes, the flow to the torii gets cut off!"

Trek's eyes widened, then his expression hardened with grim excitement. "Ah, I see it now! That's the source, huh? Alright, kid—let's rip out those demon eyes one by one!"

Without hesitation, Trek surged forward with full strength, raising his colossal axe high. With a roar, he swung it down on one glowing eye at the end of the seventh tail. The blade split the air, striking dead-on. A shattering sound rang out, followed by a burst of black light. The tail writhed violently, Kyuubi's whole body convulsing from the blow.

But the victory came at a cost. From the opposite side, the eighth tail lashed out at blinding speed, slamming into Trek with bone-crushing force. His massive armored body was flung like a cannonball, crashing into the ground hard enough to carve out a crater. Dust and stone exploded upward, the ringing clash of steel against earth echoing across the lakeshore.

"TREK!!" Ren shouted, but he had no time to rush closer.

Enraged by the loss of one of its eyes, Kyuubi immediately raised two tails at once, aiming to crush Trek's body still lying in the crater. The eyes on those tails glowed all at once, flooding the battlefield with a blinding crimson light.

Ren fired up the Mark II's thrusters, darting as fast as he could to intercept—but he knew he was too late. The tails came down like lightning, ready to pulverize their prey.

At that exact moment, another roar split the air—not Kyuubi's, but a deep, commanding bellow. From the forest's edge, a massive shadow leapt forth, landing squarely between Trek and the descending tails. A colossal penal tiger with silver-black fur snarled, muscles rippling as it braced its body. With its claws glowing, it caught Kyuubi's tails mid-swing, the impact exploding into a shockwave that split the lake in every direction.

Alfred, the great penal tiger, stood firm, claws locked against Kyuubi's strike. The ground beneath its paws cracked, a rumble like a mountain breaking echoing across the lakeshore. As the beast held the blow, a figure leapt from its back.

He was no ordinary fighter—his physique and aura revealed him as a beastman. Long black hair tied back in a rough knot, pointed ears, and eyes gleaming with the feral light of a predator. In his hands was a long spear, its tip glowing with silver radiance.

The instant his feet left Alfred's back, his movements flowed like a dance. Spinning midair, he ran along Kyuubi's tail as though stepping on polished wood rather than a writhing appendage of demonic energy. His spear slashed and thrust with pinpoint precision, each strike flashing silver as it cut the air.

Ren, still maneuvering in the sky, could only gape. "Who the hell… is he?" he muttered, eyes tracking the impossible grace of the man's movements.

Trek, battered and bloodied, muttered under his breath, almost like a whisper. "Freddy…"

Ren snapped his head toward him, brows furrowing. "Hah!? Who!?"

"Freddy," Trek rasped again, voice hoarse. "An old friend."

Before Ren could process that, Freddy reached the end of Kyuubi's tail. With a spinning leap, he drove his spear straight into the glowing eye there.

"RRRAAAAWWWRRR!!"

Kyuubi shrieked in agony, its massive body twisting violently. The eye burst apart, spraying thick black blood that rained down like foul sludge. Wherever it touched the earth, the grass burned away, leaving boiling pits in the soil. More importantly—the flow of energy into the dark torii faltered. The once-stable crimson glow flickered, pulsing erratically.

Freddy yanked his spear free, flipping back with fluid motion and landing near Trek, who was still braced against his axe. Alfred loomed in front of them, growling low, his eyes never leaving the raging Kyuubi as it thrashed in fury over its lost eye.

Freddy straightened, his spear dripping with black blood. He glanced at Trek and smirked faintly. "Hey, Trek… hell of a party. You're still alive, huh?"

Trek snorted, coughing up blood before replying. "Hah! You're just as insane as ever… I thought after being locked away this long, your brain might've softened."

Freddy chuckled quietly, voice calm though his eyes stayed sharp. "You know me. Still crazy as before. And I could say the same to you. You haven't changed a damn bit."

Hearing the exchange through his comms, Ren cut in sharply. "Wait, wait—Trek! You actually know this guy!? You have a friend!? Who the hell's crazy enough to be friends with you!?"

"If it weren't for this damn mess," Trek growled, "I'd hit you again, kid!"

Freddy turned his head quickly, confusion clear on his face. "What the hell? Who are you talking to, Trek? Don't tell me your brain's finally broken."

"Oh no, not this…" Trek raised a hand, pointing toward Ren darting through the sky, dodging Kyuubi's fiery breath. "That kid! The one flying around the fox bastard's face!"

Freddy squinted, bafflement painted across his face. "How…? What!?"

"Don't ask me…" Trek shrugged weakly, then hefted his axe again.

From above, Ren barked an order. "Ultro, patch him into comms—now!"

[Command acknowledged, Master!]

A drone zipped down from the clouds, racing toward Freddy. From its underside, a small disk dropped, glowing with a ring of blue light. Freddy, with lightning reflexes, snatched it before it hit the ground.

"What the hell is this? A disk?" he muttered, frowning.

Ren's voice boomed out of it instantly. "Hey! Can you hear me!?"

Freddy jolted, eyes widening. "Whoa! There's a voice coming from this thing!?"

"Relax!" Ren shouted again, weaving past another tail strike as he spoke. "Stick it to your ear! It works like telepathy. We can stay linked through comms. Hurry! We don't have time for small talk!"

The moment he said it, a blast of black fire roared between them, melting the ground like candle wax. Alfred lunged forward, taking the brunt of the heat with his massive frame.

Freddy eyed the device in his hand, then pressed it against his furred ear without hesitation. Instantly, Ren's voice came through, clear as if he were standing right beside him.