Tech Hero in Another World

Kumara's ears, which had been drooping, suddenly twitched, catching the urgency in Freddy's voice. Her eyes flew open, glassy with tears, as if she had just awoken from a pitch-black nightmare. Her lips trembled before the words slipped out—soft, yet carrying the weight of meaning.

"Am I…?"

Freddy met her gaze, steady despite the sweat and dust streaking his face. "No… what matters now is getting out of here. We need to evacuate first."

Kumara shook her head hard, her pointed ears quivering with the motion. "No!"

Freddy exhaled slowly, trying to keep the tension from creeping into his voice. "Please… this is no place for you right now."

But the girl grabbed his hand, her small grip startlingly full of resolve. "Please… let me fix this. I can help. My mother once taught me about the Three Laws Seal."

The words struck Freddy like a lightning bolt. His eyes widened. "What?"

The Three Laws Seal. That name was no mere ancient incantation; to most, it was just a legend—a story passed among explorers and scholars. Even among the kitsune, few were said to have ever seen it, let alone mastered it. The seal was believed to be able to bind or subdue power beyond limits, harnessing the pure flow of nature's energy.

"Kumara… that seal—" Freddy cut himself off, weighing the possibility amid the chaos. "No. I can't allow children to take part in a war. I'm taking you to the evacuation route."

"Nooo!" Kumara's cry rang out among the ruins, slicing through the roar of destruction around them.

Freddy let out a low growl—not of anger, but from the sudden pain ripping through his back. "Tch… ugh…" His breath hitched, and he half-collapsed to one knee. The burn across his back throbbed as if doused with molten embers.

Kumara's expression shifted in an instant—from anger to horror. Her eyes fell on Freddy's shoulder, where the scorched fabric had split to reveal flesh, red and puckered from the burn.

"Uncle, you… that wound—"

"Don't think about it," Freddy cut her off, his tone firm yet gentle. He turned his face away, unwilling to let her look at his suffering any longer. "What matters is that we move now."

Without giving Kumara a chance to argue, Freddy took her by the arm and began striding quickly toward the exit route. Every step was heavy, but he forced his legs to keep moving. Kumara could only remain silent, her gaze fixed on the man's back—the back she now realized bore a weight far heavier than just physical wounds.

---

Ren staggered back as the colossal claw of the nine-tailed fox slammed into the ground just a few meters from him, shattering the cobblestone street into flying chunks. Inside his helmet, Ultro's voice flowed steadily but with an urgent edge, delivering analysis on the monster's movements.

[Master, if we maintain this speed and keep moving northeast, we can lure it out of the densely populated zone.]

Ren growled as he vaulted over the rubble of a collapsed house. "Alright, keep guiding me. We have to get this thing out of the city before everything is completely destroyed."

He darted through the ruins, occasionally firing bursts of energy to keep his distance. But amid the chaos, something pierced his thoughts—a detail he had somehow forgotten since the very beginning.

"Oh right… what about Alfred?" he blurted, his voice a mix of worry and sudden realization.

Alfred. The Penal Plains tiger. A fierce yet intelligent beast he had seen captured by Trek before their duel. All this chaos had made him forget the original reason he accepted that challenge—to rescue the creature.

[Master, I freed it while all eyes were on your duel.]

Ren nearly stumbled in surprise. "So all this time you… followed me?"

[Not exactly…] Ultro replied curtly, as if dodging the details.

Ren snorted, half annoyed, half relieved. "Okay, fine. What matters now—damn it, we have to get out of this mess!"

Before Ultro could respond, an ear-splitting roar ripped through the air.

"GROOOAAAM!"

The shockwave forced Ren a half step back. His helmet HUD instantly flashed a warning: Shockwave detected. Dust and debris filled the air, rooftops collapsing around them like dominoes. The beast was now entirely locked onto him, its nine massive tails whipping wildly, radiating energy that made the air feel heavy.

Ren fired up the thrusters on his armor's calves, blasting himself into the air just as the monster's enormous claws swept through where he'd been standing. Sparks and rubble erupted below, while the city's remaining lights reflected off the metallic surface of the Mark II, casting a bluish-silver gleam that stood in stark contrast to the fox's blazing red eyes.

But there was no time for relief. The movements of those massive tails tracked him with lethal precision—nine whips of muscle and fur, moving as fast as spears, capable of striking at blind spots.

[Warning!] Ultro's voice rang through his helmet, its synthetic tone hardening.

"Yeah, I know!" Ren shot back quickly, his eyes locked on the trajectory of the nearest tail.

He knew dodging completely was impossible. Instead of trying to evade, he raised both gauntlets, summoning a hexagonal energy shield that flared with blue light. The impact came instantly—the crack of air colliding with a heavy thud, launching his entire body like a steel ball struck by a giant hammer.

The Mark II's armor groaned, stability indicators plummeting. Ren's body crashed through the wall of an old building, sending him sprawling onto the street.

[Shield integrity: 62%. Body stability: decreasing.]

"Noted…" Ren panted, forcing himself up and rolling his shoulders to ease the ache spreading through them. He fired up the thrusters again, this time at full speed, threading through narrow alleyways to draw the fox farther away.

Its tails slammed into the ground behind him, kicking up waves of dirt and shards of wood in all directions. Trees toppled like twigs, and the earth trembled with every step the creature took. Each time Ren cut between trees, the nine-tailed fox followed without hesitation, driven by a predator's unerring instinct.

After nearly two minutes of brutal pursuit, Ren finally burst past the city limits, breaking into the forest's edge. The air here was damp, rich with the scent of wet earth and leaves freshly touched by rain. Moonlight filtered faintly through the gaps in the canopy, casting shifting, living shadows.

[Move the confrontation to the coordinates of the large lake in the middle of the forest. No civilians within a one-kilometer radius,] Ultro reported quickly.

"Good. That's the perfect spot," Ren muttered, his breathing heavy but his eyes focused.

He skimmed low between the trees, his calf thrusters keeping him clear of the massive roots jutting from the ground. The sound of water grew louder—the restless ripple of waves stirred by the night wind.

Within seconds, the forest opened up and Ren shot out into the edge of a vast lake. Its waters reflected the silver glow of the moon, but the shallows were firm enough to serve as footing while leaving ample room to maneuver. A thin mist curled across the surface, adding an almost mystical tension to the scene.

Ren landed in the middle of the shallows, water splashing outward in a wide circle. He rolled his shoulders, fingers tightening inside his gauntlets. His heartbeat matched the pulsing power of the Mark II.

It didn't take long. The giant shadow emerged from the dark forest, its body lowered, tails swinging wildly. Each step crushed tree trunks and sent massive ripples across the lake's edge. Its crimson eyes gleamed, catching the moonlight like embers from hell.

Ren smiled faintly beneath his helmet. "Okay… let's dance."

The thrusters on his back ignited, bursts of blue flame cutting through the mist and glinting off the lake's surface. Small explosions from his smart missiles splashed into the water, sending sprays toward the beast's face. The fox answered with a rage-filled leap, shattering the lake's surface like a storm surge.

The real fight had begun—in the middle of the forest, atop calm yet treacherous waters, far from the city… but nowhere near safe for either of them.

Ren skimmed low, only a few meters above the moonlit water. The thrusters on his calves and back carved long ripples in the lake, slicing through the thin mist that hung in the night air. That roar came again—deep, furious, resonating from the chest of a primordial creature.

Along the lake's edge, trees toppled one after another, crushed beneath massive steps that shook the earth. The nine-tailed fox emerged from the darkness, eyes blazing like hellfire. Each tail moved with destructive force, whipping the ground and pulverizing boulders the size of houses. The path it left behind was nothing short of annihilation.

Ren twisted in a wide arc, circling to maintain distance. Inside his helmet, the HUD projected Ultro's rapid analysis—speed, strength, and movement trajectories of the enemy. The Mark II's arsenal was limited; no heavy missiles, no plasma cannon. All he had were a few short-range smart missiles, a light grenade launcher, and the energy shield built into his gauntlets.

[Master, chances of holding out for more than five minutes are below thirteen percent.]"I know, Ultro… but we don't have a choice," Ren replied, eyes never leaving the monster's movements.

In his mind, he tried to find an opening—a way to stall the fox long enough for reinforcements, or at least for something to happen. He even allowed himself a half-joking thought in the middle of this deadly situation.

(Normally, I don't believe in miracles… it's against my logic. But… in a scenario like this? Well, two or three broken bones might be a fair price to pay.)

The fox leapt. The motion tore through the air, sending a blast of wind that split the lake like a curtain. Ren rolled left, thrusters flaring blue, narrowly avoiding claws that could have torn him in half. Water erupted as high as a house, closing his view like a sudden downpour.