Tech Hero in Another World

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East was still far from stable. Explosions, armed conflicts, and the political maneuvers of major powers continued without pause. Yet at the very least, the heart of the chaos had subsided. The mastermind funding the rebellion had been dragged from the shadows. For now, the world could exhale—if only for a moment.

At the Ares Sparta headquarters in Athens, Greece… the atmosphere was different. The steel-and-glass building stood like a hybrid between a military fortress and a corporate tower. In the upper floor, overlooking the classical city with the Parthenon visible in the distance, a woman with long black hair was packing her things.

Kaori. The figure many had come to call the goddess of war.

She neatly tucked a few simple essentials into her black military duffel. A gray tank top clung to her lean, toned frame, and around her neck hung two dog tags. One was hers, the other belonged to her missing brother, Fujisawa Naru.

"Kaori…" a raspy male voice came from the doorway. Victor, the new leader of Ares, stepped in heavily. His brown hair was streaked with gray, his face marked with the wear of years spent commanding in a world steeped in blood and money. Yet his eyes remained sharp.

"I truly hoped you'd extend your contract," he said softly.

Kaori turned, her expression cold, though her eyes hinted at something deeper. "No. I've fulfilled my promise. And you've already given me what I wanted… information about my brother."

Victor allowed himself a faint, bitter smile. "Fujisawa Naru. You two look alike… but your temperaments couldn't be more different. I knew him back when Ares was still under David's command. He was calm, calculating. And you…" he paused, his gaze sharpening. "You're a storm. Fast, brutal, unpredictable."

Kaori sighed and looked away. "I was shocked too, when I first learned the truth. Bro risked his life on the frontlines just so I could keep breathing when I was sick. And now, I don't even know if he's still alive—or long gone." Her fingers brushed the two dog tags resting on her chest.

Victor studied her for a moment, then let out a short, dry laugh. "Kaori… at first, I was stunned when you contacted us, when this organization was at the brink. But your presence was like a miracle. You truly were like a divine blessing… in fact, I'd dare say you yourself were a goddess sent down from heaven for us."

"Heh." Kaori gave a faint smirk, her tone half-mocking. "Don't flatter me too much, Victor. I know what you're trying to do. You just want me to stay."

"Tch… that obvious, huh!?" Victor scowled, then sighed heavily.

Kaori zipped her bag shut and fixed her eyes on him. "Whatever the case, thank you—for these three years."

Victor went silent for a beat before retrieving a brown envelope from the desk. He handed it to her. "Here are your papers. Since you joined as a mercenary, you lost your citizenship. But thanks to your service, I managed to restore it. Name, identity—everything is clean. You're no longer living in the shadows."

Kaori took the envelope. Her fingers trembled slightly, though her face betrayed nothing. "Thank you… this is more than enough."

Victor snorted, then laughed loud and hard. "Not even close. You've sent Ares' reputation soaring into the skies. Contracts are pouring in from every corner of the world, clients are scrambling for our name again. And you've also made me—" he thumped his chest proudly "—a lot richer!"

Kaori gave a faint huff, almost like a smile. She knew money was never the issue. With more than five billion yen stored in her accounts, she could live comfortably even if she walked away now. But behind all of it, one shadow remained: where had her brother gone? What had really happened to Fujisawa Naru?

She hadn't joined Ares three years ago just for war or money. Her true purpose was to find traces of her brother. And though she had scoured intelligence through Ares' network, the answers were always elusive. Every lead ended in silence. Yet her conviction had never wavered. Naru was still alive. Somewhere, somehow.

"Kaori," Victor's voice came again, heavier this time. "You must be careful with your strength. You're no longer just a soldier. You're more than that. Super soldier? No. Beyond even that. Out there, people will see you as a threat. And your enemies… will go after those around you."

Kaori nodded slowly. "Yes. I know. And I'll remember that."

Victor gave a faint smile, patting her shoulder. "You know, for all my greed and love of money, I still know how to value my comrades. You're one of them, Kaori."

Silence settled between them. Only the distant hum of Athens drifted in through the glass. Kaori tightened her bag, slung her sword across her back, and straightened.

"In that case… it's time I go."

She swung her bag over her shoulder, her legendary blade wrapped neatly in its long black sheath. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, her steps steady.

Victor stood at the door, watching her with a faint smile etched on his weary face. The lines of age and the weight of war were carved deep into his features. In his heart, he knew—this might be the last time he saw the woman who, for the past three years, had been the savior of his organization. A figure so many already believed was more goddess than human.

---

A few hours later, at Athens International Airport, Kaori sat alone in one of the departure lounge chairs. Her long black hair was now tied back simply, tucked beneath a baseball cap. Dressed in a dark casual jacket and fitted jeans, she looked nothing like the fearsome figure from the battlefield. To the people around her, she was just an ordinary Japanese woman waiting for her flight.

Kaori drew in a long breath, then exhaled slowly. Her chest felt heavy—part relief from finishing a long contract, part unease at the uncertainty of the path ahead.

(For these past three years, I've walked through the same hell as my brother. The hell of mercenaries. I thought by diving into this world, I'd find some clue… but the information remains scarce.)

Her thoughts drifted to her last conversation with David, the former Ares leader before Victor. The man had admitted honestly that he knew nothing about Fujisawa Naru's fate after their last encounter in Sudan, four years ago. At that time, Naru had only been missing for about a year. After that… it was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

(How could someone like Bro, who always left some kind of trace, suddenly disappear just like that?)

Kaori clenched her fist over her knee. Even though every lead had closed off, she had never truly given up. If one road was blocked, she would carve out another.

A voice from the airport television caught her attention. A large screen was showing an international news broadcast in English. The anchor, face stern, reported a story that was shaking the world.

"Right now, the world is being rattled by a mystical phenomenon that cannot be explained scientifically. A group of students in Japan has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. The case has been ongoing for three months, but only now has it gained international spotlight, as even the government has been unable to make progress regarding the disappearance of around 21 students, including their homeroom teacher. So far, authorities have found no evidence of abduction, struggle, or any physical trace. They simply vanished."

Kaori's eyes sharpened. Each word pierced into her chest.

(Vanished mysteriously… without a trace… just like Bro.)

One of the schools mentioned was in Kyoto, not far from her old home in Japan. Only a three-hour trip from her hometown. A coincidence—or perhaps fate.

"In that case…" Kaori murmured, the corner of her lips curling faintly. "I've got my reason to return."

A small flame of hope lit within her chest. If this mystery could be unraveled, maybe she'd find a thread leading back to her brother.

But just as she was about to rise and head for the boarding gate, a short notification sound chimed from her phone. Kaori reached into her bag and checked the screen. A message had arrived from an anonymous SNS account, no name attached.

A single short line.

"For the truth, click this."

Followed by a strange link.

Kaori frowned. "What is this? A scam?" she muttered.

She was about to ignore it, but before she could close the screen, the airport PA announced:

"Attention passengers, boarding for flight JL-728 to Tokyo will begin shortly. Please proceed to gate C-17."

In her haste, Kaori accidentally tapped the link. Her phone vibrated, the display shifting rapidly. She hissed under her breath. "Tch… don't tell me this is a virus—"

But she had no time to check further. With reflexive motion, she slipped her phone back into her bag and rose for the gate.

Unnoticed, the phone's screen kept flickering. The once-stable operating system now glitched, strange foreign symbols appearing like corrupted code. Then, the display froze on one image: three gears interlocked, turning in perfect sync.

Beneath it, a single word appeared.

TECHNO.

And from within Kaori's bag, that logo continued to glow faintly—like something had just been activated.