Knights of the Digital World

Emu stood beside him, vaguely hearing something:

"For strength..."

"Don't get angry..."

"I am the guardian..."

Ignoring the little demon's nagging, Emu smiled and said to everyone, "Alright, now that the matter of Gullmon has been resolved, everyone can go back to what you're doing—Gilmon, it's time for you to start training too!"

"Eh—"

Amidst Guilmon's incredulous shouts, everyone began their new day of training, chatting and laughing.

…………

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened for the next month or so.

For Emu, "nothing special" means that nothing outside the original story happened.

In the original work, before the appearance of the Twelve Demon Lords, the story depicts the process of children and their Digimon partners building and deepening their bonds.

To be honest, most of the main characters in the third generation are considered problem children. Takato has a gentle personality, but he's also introverted and timid. He was initially frightened by Guilmon's wildness. After Guilmon evolved into Groudon, he was even more terrified.

However, his love for Guilmon and for all Digimon ultimately helped him overcome his fear. He was also the first of the three Tamers to experience a connection with Digimon and to evolve his partner Digimon to its Ultimate level.

Li Jianliang is kind and gentle. However, perhaps because he is the older brother, he often makes decisions without explaining them to Terrier. He doesn't allow Terrier to fight, nor does he explain the reasons, which foreshadows the conflict between these two good partners.

Makino Ruki is the one with the biggest problem. She has a strong personality, and although she cares about Renamon, she hides it beneath her aloof exterior. Instead, she repeatedly criticizes Renamon for failing to evolve.

Furthermore, her title of "Digimon Queen" attracted the attention of many ambitious Digimon. In the original work, her relationship with Renamon was the one that was most frequently sown.

The original story depicts the bond between these troubled children and their partners as they grow together.

Of course, Emu's arrival accelerated the growth of the three beast tamers.

Emu ignored the Digimon that appeared in the real world, leaving them to Takato and the others to deal with. However, his influence on Takato and the others became apparent.

Like Takato, who, under Emu's guidance, helped Guilmon control its wild instincts. Therefore, he is no longer afraid of Guilmon's ferocious fighting style. On the contrary, he firmly believes that Guilmon will not harm him, and is even more convinced that Guilmon can defeat its enemies.

Therefore, during the battle against Demonmon, Guilmon responded to Takato's feelings and evolved into Groudon, defeating the powerful enemy. Afterwards, thanks to its honed energy control abilities, it easily reverted to its previous form. Unlike in the original story, where it caused Takato to cry.

Meanwhile, Kenji reflected on his behavior during his conversation with Emu. After a frank exchange with Terriermon, he completely let go of his past grievances.

Because the bond between him and Terriermon was already very deep, it was just that their different beliefs prevented them from connecting. After resolving their differences, Kenra was able to easily evolve Terriermon into Gargomon.

Finally, there's Ruki, who still has the biggest problem among the three. Her long-standing aloofness prevents her from immediately revealing her true feelings, even when she understands the need to build a bond with her partner. Furthermore, her tsundere nature sometimes leads her to say hurtful things.

Thanks to Emu's existence, who became a bridge for communication between them, this pair of awkward and proud partners were finally able to open their hearts to each other and master the power of evolution.

As a result, Emu's relationship with them became increasingly closer.

Chapter 24, Mountain Wood

Besides the three tamers, the little monster... no, now it should be called a wizard monster, has also made great progress.

The twelve Demon Emperors haven't started invading the human world yet, so Gu Le Beast is actually quite safe. In the original story, she wandered around without getting into trouble.

However, perhaps because Gullmon is the embodiment of the concept of evolution, she is very sensitive to the fluctuations of Digimon and can discover newly manifested Digimon every time.

Besides the Digimon that play an important role in promoting children's growth as described in detail in the original work, there are actually many other Digimon that have not been mentioned.

In the original story, these Digimon were defeated and destroyed by Takato and his friends. However, here, relying on Gullmon's senses, Impmon dealt with most of them and absorbed a sufficient amount of data.

Furthermore, unlike his mischievous self in the original story, the little demon beast is now quite calm and composed, focused on cultivating and becoming stronger. The ancient music beast, on the other hand, consistently treats others with kindness. Therefore, their relationship has become very good.

Once you've established a good relationship with the Light of Evolution, the subsequent evolution will naturally follow.

After accumulating enough data, the little monster successfully evolved into Wizardmon. Moreover, unlike partner Digimon that can degenerate, Wizardmon, through its own evolution, has basically stabilized its Champion form and will not degenerate.

Wizardmon, unaware of Ancientmon's contribution, attributed his success to his own diligent training, fueling his even greater enthusiasm for it. Of course, he didn't abandon his protection of Ancientmon. In his view, Ancientmon's guidance in finding other Digimon to battle and accumulate sufficient data was a crucial step in his evolution.

Whether it's to repay a debt of gratitude or to continue looking for a suitable Digimon to rival, Wizardmon will never give up on Gullmon.

Among the Digimon in Emu's team, only Lionmon has not evolved because Emu has not been active.

However, Emu also had his own concerns. After all, Leomon would most likely evolve into Leomon. Wouldn't that be like giving himself a death sentence?

Anyway, Takato and the others can handle things now, so let's just believe in some superstition—last time they didn't believe in superstition and used the Ultimate Seraphimon card, getting completely crushed. If you ask Emu how he feels, he'll say he deeply regrets it. This time, he won't make the same mistake again.

Furthermore, what puzzled Emu was that Asuna Kino had suddenly become quiet. She hadn't gone to fight any more Digimon and had peacefully settled into being a primary school student.

However, everyone has their own perspective on power. As long as Asuna Kino doesn't use Decade's power to commit crimes, Emu has no right to interfere.

In addition, Emu and Asuna Kana didn't really have much interaction, and the other party hadn't made any moves, so Emu wouldn't be thinking about her every day.

Right now, what Yongmeng is thinking about is, are the Twelve Demon Emperors coming?

…………

"Jianliang, shall we go to the park together today?"

After school, Keito found Li Jianliang at Shinjuku Central Elementary School, greeted him, and asked him questions.

He and Li Jianliang had become quite familiar with each other over the days, and their way of addressing each other had changed from the initially polite "Matsuda-kun" and "Li-kun" to "Qiren" and "Jianliang".

Jianliang shook his head and said, "No, I have something to do and need to go back today. Look, I've already called Big-Eared Beast back."

The big-eared beast clinging to Kenji's shoulder waved its ears at Takato and greeted him, "Takato, hello there."

"Hello, Big-eared Beast. Since you have family matters to attend to, then never mind. However, we can still walk together for a while. Shall we go, Kenji?"

Qiren responded cheerfully to the big-eared beast and then spoke to Jianliang again.

This time Jianliang had no objections. He picked up his schoolbag and said, "Let's go then."

The two walked out of the school gate chatting and laughing, but they hadn't gone far when someone suddenly called out to them:

"Please wait a moment, you two."

Qi Ren and Jian Liang turned their heads curiously to look at a man with brown hair and wearing sunglasses who was looking at them with a serious expression.

"Hello, sir. How can I help you?"

Jianliang asked politely.

The man pursed his lips, glanced at the giant-eared beast, and said, "I am Yamaki from the Cyber ​​Security Bureau. I'm here just to give you some advice: stop playing these dangerous games."

"A dangerous game?"

Qi Ren and Jian Liang exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion on each other's faces.

“Mr. Yamaki, we don’t understand what you mean. What is a dangerous game?” Takato asked.

"Don't you understand? But I see you guys are having a lot of fun—with those Digimon!"

Yamaki's expression was serious, and he said coldly, "Digimon are dangerous, uncontrollable creatures. You're just children; you have no idea how dangerous they are. You treat this like a game, laughing and playing around. But this isn't a game. I'll say it again, stop playing!"

"Mr. Yamaki, we don't understand what you mean. We have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now!"

Hearing the word "Digimon" from Yamaki's mouth made Kenryo and Takato's hearts skip a beat.

They had always thought that Digimon were a secret known only to children like them, and when it was suddenly revealed, even someone as composed as Kenjiro felt a little flustered.

They didn't want to talk to Yamaki anymore, so they left after saying a few words.

Yamaki didn't stop them, letting them leave. He adjusted his sunglasses and calmly said:

"It'll be soon. The annihilation plan is about to begin, and then..."

…………

That's how it is! What do you think?

Qiren recounted his and Jianliang's experiences and looked at his companions who were frowning in thought.

"How does that guy named Yamaki know about Digimon? Is he a Digimon Tamer too?"

Ruki asked, puzzled.

"No, it shouldn't be a tamer. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted that way. He seems to be very averse to Digimon..." Li Jianliang shook his head.

"He must be someone from the government. Didn't he say he's from the Internet Management Bureau? Don't underestimate the power of the state."

"Emu said."

"Right now, the question isn't who Yamaki is, but rather what you yourselves are thinking."

"What he said isn't wrong. Tamers are actually in a dangerous situation. Although Digimon are intelligent beings, most of them are still driven by their wild instincts. If their partner Digimon loses, the tamer will also face the threat of the Digimon."

"Just like Yamaki said. This is a dangerous game. Do you still want to continue?"

Emu was objective and truthful.

He wasn't really concerned about the danger that Yamaki mentioned. These kids all had protagonist auras, so turning misfortune into good fortune was a minor matter.

Aside from Leomon's overwhelming "death buff"—which even the protagonist's plot armor couldn't save—the others mostly escaped unscathed. Even when they encountered temporary hardships and obstacles, it was all preparation for their future evolution.

Therefore—

Leomon, you died a terrible death!

Chapter Twenty-Five, The Meeting

Putting the jokes aside for now, even disregarding the protagonist's plot armor, when the Twelve Demon Emperors were the pinnacle of power in the early to mid-game, Emu, with Decade's power, was more than capable of ensuring the children's safety.

By the mid-to-late game, Emu will either acquire stronger cards or have his system fragments reset, unlocking the power of Ex-Aid. He won't be afraid of the Four Holy Beasts. At that point, there will be even less of a threat.

The reason for asking this question now is simply that Yongmeng wants to see what the children themselves think.

In the original work, Takato was left with a deep psychological trauma by Yamaki, and almost gave up on becoming a beast tamer.

This Qi Ren, whom he has trained for so long, shouldn't be like the one in the original story, right?

"Emu, is there even a question? I created Guilmon, and I will grow stronger and stronger together with him. To me, this is not some game!"

Takato has indeed changed. The process of helping Guilmon control its wildness is also a process of Takato overcoming his fear. Takato's courage has been ignited in this process, and he expresses his views with great passion.

Although Guilmon didn't understand what was happening, it still raised its hand and echoed Takato's cry.

Jianliang reached out and touched Big Ear Beast, saying calmly, "Big Ear Beast and I have long been inseparable. I can't bring myself to back down."

Emu then turned his gaze to Ruki, who crossed her arms, turned her head slightly, and said, "Giving up... I'm the Digimon Queen! I won't give up!"

"Isn't it because of Renamon?" Emu asked with a smile.

"No, no, that's not true!" Ruki snorted.

Yongmeng nodded knowingly. She was obviously a proud and aloof old woman; it was best not to expose her.