What?! I am the System Maker?!

"Alright, let's bring this little girl to Lord Astros immediately. We've already failed to capture her for almost a full week — don't make Lord Astros any angrier than he already is." The man, seemingly the leader of the group, spoke in a low, tense voice.

Without wasting any more time, they began dragging the unconscious girl by her arms. But before they could even take a single step, an unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed around them.

"Look at you... A group of grown men bullying a defenseless little girl. Tsk, tsk. In my world, people would've called the police just by seeing the disgusting scene you're showing right now." The mocking tone of the voice filled the air, making the group freeze in place. Anger quickly turned into unease as they glanced around, searching for the source of the voice — but found no one.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!!" The leader barked, his eyes darting in every direction. But there was only silence.

"W-Winrar… W-What do we do now?" One of the men asked fearfully, his voice trembling as he turned to their leader, who clenched his jaw, wearing a grim expression.

"Winrar?" The voice chuckled, now with pure ridicule.

"Seriously? Your name is Winrar? I can't believe someone would actually name their child that. What an absolute joke!" The unseen voice laughed mercilessly. Winrar's face flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead as his anger boiled over.

"Stop hiding like a coward! If you're a real man, show yourself and face us directly!" Winrar shouted in provocation.

"Hmph! You talk as if you're not a coward yourself. Look at you… Five grown men against a single opponent? How pathetic. I'm embarrassed just watching you." The man sneered coldly, his words piercing through Winrar's pride like a blade.

"COME OUT, YOU BASTARD!!!" Winrar roared in fury, swinging his sword violently, slashing trees and bushes around him in blind rage.

"Heh… What a pitiful fool." The voice — Ren's voice — replied in disdain.

Finally losing patience, Ren decided it was time to act. He pointed his hand toward the group of men, his eyes cold and merciless.

Opening his mouth, he uttered a single word:

"Crucio."

Instantly, an unimaginable wave of excruciating pain surged through the bodies of the men. Their screams tore through the silence of the forest.

"ARGHHHHH!!! IT HURTS!!! HELP!!! LORD ASTROS!!! PLEASE, IT HURTSSSSS!!!" They screamed, their bodies convulsing uncontrollably, eyes rolling back as the overwhelming agony broke their minds.

"KILL US!!! KILL US ALREADY!!! FREE US FROM THIS MISERY!! I BEG YOUUUU AHHHHHH!!!" Winrar sobbed desperately, no longer able to endure the unbearable torment. But Ren ignored their pleas, stepping forward and gently picking up the unconscious girl into his arms.

"ARGHHHH!!!"

The screams continued to echo through the forest like the wails of tortured souls. Even the animals and monsters lurking nearby instinctively fled, terrified by the harrowing sounds of agony that poisoned the air.

After finding a suitable place to stop, Ren gently placed the little girl — or rather, Elaina — down.

"Hey... They were so ruthless, even hurting such a cute little girl this badly, even making her head bleed..." Ren sighed sadly, then used healing magic to treat Elaina's wounds.

Once he finished, he observed Elaina more closely. "Elaina... Elaina... I feel like I've heard that name before..." His gaze then fell on Elaina's white hair, and his eyes widened instantly.

Is it just a coincidence? Or is it true that this little girl is the main character from another anime — Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina? But if that's true, why would an anime character exist in Frieren's world?

Ren was puzzled and confused, but after thinking about the strange nature of the Multiverse and its alternative versions of worlds, it didn't seem so impossible anymore.

"Anyway, let's wake Elaina up now." Ren lightly poked Elaina's cheek. She frowned slightly before fluttering her eyes open completely.

"I... Where am I?" Still disoriented, Elaina was confused as she struggled to sync with reality. After a few seconds, her mind fully caught up, and she suddenly remembered something urgent and important.

Looking forward, Elaina was stunned to see a very handsome young man. Her little heart skipped a beat as his handsome face instantly charmed her at first sight.

However, she quickly recovered and glared viciously at the young man in front of her, backing away cautiously.

"Calm down, I'm not one of them," Ren said with a gentle smile, trying to reassure Elaina.

Unfortunately, Elaina didn't lower her guard and continued glaring at Ren with sharp, cautious eyes.

"Sigh... I'm quite disappointed that you don't trust your own savior. If that's the case, I'll leave you here," Ren said, pretending to look regretful as he slowly turned and started to walk away.

His strategy worked. Just as he was about to leave completely, Elaina's voice called out.

"Wait! I-I trust you! S-So please don't leave me alone here! I beg you..." Elaina pleaded fearfully, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"That's better," he smiled and walked back toward Elaina. As soon as he reached her, Elaina immediately grabbed tightly onto the hem of his shirt. Slightly surprised, Ren allowed it, knowing just how insecure she must be feeling right now.

"My name is Ren Kamijou. What about you, little girl?" Ren asked, pretending not to know, while looking at Elaina gently.

"E-Elaina, my name is Elaina..." she answered with a stutter. Ren nodded in response.

"So, Elaina, can you tell me what exactly happened to you? And why were those men trying to capture you?" Ren asked curiously. At that, Elaina bit her lip, and an expression of hatred flashed across her face.

"They..." Elaina immediately recounted everything that had happened to her in full detail, leaving nothing out.

In short, Elaina and her parents were traveling to a new city as they had decided to move to a more prosperous place. Along the way, they stopped by this village to rest for one night before continuing their journey.

However, during the night, they were suddenly attacked by all the villagers and discovered that the entire village was under the rule of a Demon. The villagers used them as sacrifices for the Demon, but fortunately, Elaina managed to escape thanks to her parents who stayed behind to hold off the villagers.

After narrowly escaping, Elaina fled into the forest. Originally, her plan was to keep running until she reached another town or village, but she couldn't bear to abandon her parents just like that. So instead, she decided to stay hidden in the forest, hoping to find a way to secretly rescue them.

"But that plan failed because you were eventually spotted by patrolling villagers, which led to you being hunted for nearly a week?" Ren said, looking at Elaina, somewhat speechless. Elaina blushed in embarrassment.

"I-I didn't know they had patrols in the forest! If I had known, I wouldn't have been caught!" Elaina insisted seriously, puffing her cheeks in frustration — which only made Ren find her even more adorable.