Tech Hero in Another World

They moved as one, the three of them darting and weaving, avoiding every whip of Kyuubi's massive tails as they lashed out like colossal scourges. Each strike that hit the ground sent shockwaves rippling along the lakeshore, tearing fresh cracks into the earth and throwing up sprays of muddy water. Ren in the sky, Trek on the ground with his axe, and Freddy dancing with his silver spear—all searching for momentum, for that single slim opening they could use to turn the tide.

"Hey, Freddy!" Ren's voice crackled through the comms, breath ragged but sharp.

"Ah, yes… you've got a question for me, flying brat?" Freddy twisted past a blast of fire, spinning gracefully before planting his spear into the ground to kill his momentum.

"Yeah, a very important one. Did you see a Kitsune girl… around twelve years old, wandering near the colosseum?"

Silence fell, broken only by Kyuubi's roar echoing across the battlefield. Freddy leapt back, flicking aside sparks of flame with his spear's tip. "Yeah… I saw her," he finally said. "I even got her out of that area. She's safe. I evacuated her somewhere more secure."

Ren exhaled in relief, still darting through the air to keep his distance. "Good… Trek, you need to tell your friend something."

Trek growled, slamming his axe against an incoming tail. The blow drove the red bison back several meters, but he held his ground. "Fred, you remember the Seal of the Three Laws?"

Freddy froze for a beat, then let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, of course I remember. You think I've gone senile?"

"You must realize," Trek pressed, voice heavy, "that girl… is the key to ending this chaos."

Freddy faltered mid-step, nearly roasted by a jet of fire if Alfred hadn't leapt forward to shield him. The beastman's eyes widened, blazing with a mix of fury and disbelief. "You can't be serious, Trek! You want to drag a child into a battlefield!? That's madness!"

"That doesn't matter now, damn it!" Trek roared back, his axe locking with Kyuubi's claws, sparks showering in the night. "If we don't act, this land will be flattened—nothing will remain! You know that!"

Freddy's teeth clenched, his spear trembling in his grip as emotion surged. "Fine… yeah, I figured this was where the talk was heading. But still—you haven't changed a damn bit, Trek."

Ren, gasping for breath, cut in from above. "You two can argue later! Right now, focus on finding momentum—we don't have much time before that torii fully opens!"

A short while earlier.

Freddy's footsteps echoed in the ruined corridors of the colosseum, his body moving swiftly as he carried a small girl on his back. The girl—Kumara, a twelve-year-old Kitsune—clung tightly around his neck, her face pale yet her eyes still burning with a courage rare for her age.

As they reached the edge of the open field, a low growl froze Freddy in place. From behind the rubble, a massive creature emerged. Its fur was silver-white, its eyes glowing gold, its body as large as a warhorse, with fangs and claws sharp enough to rend steel. A penal tiger.

"Grrrrrrr…" The deep rumble shook the air, raising the hair on Freddy's neck. His spear rose instinctively. "Damn it… I know this beast. Hunter of Monsters. The predator among predators. There's no reason it would ever be tame. If it attacks, we're finished."

But before Freddy could step forward, a soft voice broke the tension. "Wait…" Kumara drew in a trembling breath, then spoke, her voice small but steady with conviction. "You… Alfred?"

The growl shifted instantly. The massive tiger froze, ears flicking, then lowered its body. What moments ago was a predator on the hunt now moved closer, slowly, almost like a housecat recognizing its master.

Freddy's eyes widened, disbelief etched into his face. "You've… got to be kidding me…"

Though trembling, Kumara stretched out her tiny hand and brushed the thick fur on the tiger's head. "Alfred… can you help us?"

The penal tiger raised its gaze, golden eyes reflecting the glow of the dark torii above. Its breathing was heavy, a thunderous rumble deep in its chest. Yet instead of striking, it let out a low sound, almost a purr. "Grrau…"

Freddy stood frozen. His spear quivered—not from fatigue, but from sheer shock. For the first time in his life, he saw the Hunter of Monsters, the fiercest predator that never bowed to anyone, lower its head… to a child.

Kumara, with her tiny hand, patted Alfred's head as though he were nothing more than a household cat.

"This is insane…" Freddy whispered, eyes still wide.

---

Time snapped back to the lakeshore, where the battle raged at full force. The ground was splitting apart, the water boiled from Kyuubi's scorching aura, and the dark torii in the sky thickened with every passing second.

Freddy turned toward Trek and Ren, his voice booming through the chaos. "Yeah, we've already started the ritual!!"

"What!?" Trek and Ren shouted almost in unison, their shock unmistakable.

Freddy spun his spear, batting aside a tail that nearly crushed him, then shouted back quickly, "Before I got here, I met some people—old friends. I gave that Kitsune girl a chance to perform the ritual. The site's about a kilometer away, on the eastern cliffs. See that faint light? They've already begun. Which means there's only one thing we need to do now—make this fox shut up!"

Ren narrowed his eyes, his helmet reflecting the crimson glow bleeding from the dark torii above. Inside his visor, the radar flicked a thin green line toward the direction Freddy had pointed out. Sure enough, on the eastern cliffs, a faint pulsing could be seen—a rhythmic flow of spiritual energy, unmistakable proof that a ritual was underway. His breath caught, his body tensing.

"Long-distance ritual… damn. That explains why this torii feels like it's trembling, like something's holding it back," he muttered under his breath.

Trek, who had been venting his rage through sheer brute force, slammed his massive axe into the ground. The impact shook the earth, cracks spiderwebbed outward, and scarlet energy rippled like a shockwave. He threw his head back, laughter roaring out in his usual brutal tone.

"Kahahahaha! My friend, I fear we'll be drinking after all this is over!!"

Ren raised an eyebrow, though his body was rattled by Kyuubi's roar that tore through the air like an explosion. His jetpack sputtered violently, nearly tossing him sideways before he managed to stabilize.

"Hah… Do you realize I ended up in prison because of you, Trek!!" Freddy shot back.

"Kahahaha, who cares about that now!" Trek bellowed.

Freddy shook his head, sprinting along the monster's flank toward the next sweeping tail.

Meanwhile, Ren tapped a command on his gauntlet. "Ultro, focus surveillance on the ritual site! I want a report every second."

[Order acknowledged, Master.] His drones shot skyward, whirring into formation, weaving a lattice of radar beams aimed at the cliffs.

---

But elsewhere on the battlefield, another threat stirred.

High in a towering tree, far from the immediate clash, a pale-faced monk watched the nine-tailed fox with eyes seething with disdain. His tattered turban shadowed half his face, but his gaze carried no trace of a holy man's compassion—only loathing laced with ambition.

"Bastards… absolute bastards," he muttered, his voice heavy with regret. "Good thing I'm still here. If not, Mr. X would be furious with me."

The name slipped from his lips—Mr. X.The shadowy figure that had always loomed behind the chaos. And from the way he spoke, it was clear this monk was but another pawn in an organized faction, a dark group that had dogged Ren's journey from the start.

The war between the human kingdom of Yordan and the elf nation Alfheimr—their shadow lingered there.The civil war in the Samsara Sultanate—their schemes played a hand.Even the bloody riots in Eks, the southern city of madness—their fingerprints stained the streets.

And now, once again, they had surfaced. Their true motives remained veiled in fog, but one thing was certain: they sought to keep the world in perpetual turmoil.

The monk lowered his head, his bony fingers clenching tight. From the distance, his ears caught something strange—an alien rhythm that didn't belong on a battlefield. The beat of drums. The melody of flutes. The chime of bells mingling with chanting voices.

He scowled, his sharp ears pinpointing the sound. Slowly, he turned—and his eyes widened.

Not far from his perch, hidden among the trees, a gathering encircled a massive bonfire. Flames leapt skyward, spitting red sparks into the air. Some pounded drums, others played long bamboo flutes, while the rest chanted ancient mantras in trembling voices. Spiritual light wrapped their bodies, flowing outward like mist that fused with the air itself.

A ritual. They were performing a ritual.

"No… no, no, no…" the monk hissed, his face hardening. "You think you can seal it again? Not a chance!!"

His blood boiled. Without hesitation, he flung his arms wide, his body launching forward. He bounded from branch to branch, gliding like a bloodthirsty owl. Leaves scattered in his wake, every leap bringing him closer to the firelight.

His eyes blazed with fury. "If that seal activates, all our efforts will be for nothing. Mr. X won't forgive such failure… and I won't let you complete that cursed ritual!!"

Below, the fire roared higher, signaling the ceremony had reached its crucial stage. The drummers pounded faster, the singers chanted louder, and glowing symbols of ancient script began circling above their heads.

Meanwhile, the monk plummeted from the treetops, his ragged robes whipping in the night wind.

The battle at the lake, the ritual at the cliffs, and now a new threat from the shadowed woods—all threads of fate racing toward an inevitable explosion.