Knights of the Digital World

“No, not at all. BigDotmon was already taken back into Whalemon’s body by Igamon. The Digimon he protected were also brought here. You can go see him when we get back,” Emu replied.

"Come back... Emu, do you think our operation will go smoothly this time?"

"Palad asked."

"Yes, it will. What we are searching for now is the hope of the digital world."

Emu answered, his gaze more resolute than ever before.

Then, to the familiar sound of the ship's horn, the Darkship announced its location:

"The human world...we've arrived!"

Chapter Sixteen, Mikihara Noren

"Then, I will leave this world first and wait for your call outside of it. Call me when you need me, Emu."

The Dark Ship left these words behind and disappeared into the void amidst the sound of its horn.

"Hmm, I feel a bit bad about bothering Dark Number all this time... Next time I see Brother Shi, I'll ask him if he can teach me that dimensional barrier ability. It'll make things much easier..."

Emu waved goodbye to Dark Number, feeling a little ashamed of his frequent troubles with Dark Number.

But soon, Emu brought his wandering thoughts back and asked the Golden Armor Dragon Beast, "So, can you sense Mikihara Noren's location now?"

The golden-armored dragon closed its eyes and sensed for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Huh? Lord Norren seems to be nearby... Let me sense again. This is too much of a coincidence. Could I be mistaken... Wait, someone's coming!"

The golden-armored dragon suddenly opened its eyes and stood in front of Yongmeng and the others.

He had just sensed a powerful force approaching. However, this force seemed to be obscured by something, appearing and disappearing intermittently. If he hadn't been concentrating so intently, he wouldn't have even been able to sense it.

A moment later, a young man about 1.8 meters tall with a black, crab-like head appeared, his face full of surprise.

"I sensed the energy fluctuations and came to check... Magnamon, what are you doing here? How did you get to the human world? Lord Noren should have closed the Digital Gate."

Magnamon paused, its previously wary expression turning blank: "That voice...you're Gallantmon? How did you turn into a human?"

"Hahaha, this makes it easier to move around. I don't know when the Fragrant Beast learned the magic to transform into a human, but it's come in handy. My current appearance is that of a character from a human comic book called Sun Wukong. I really like him, so I specially asked the Fragrant Beast to transform me like this!"

Crimson Knight Beast laughed heartily.

"Oh right, you haven't answered my question yet. How did you get into the human world? Hmm? Isn't that the human child behind you who helped us find Kurata? How did you two end up together?"

Crimson Knightmon pressed on with the question.

Magnamon snapped out of its daze and hurriedly said, "Gallantmon, something's happened in the Digital World! Take us to see Lord Noren first! Also, call Aromon and Hypnomon over, and then I'll tell you the whole story."

Gallantmon's expression turned serious. Magnamon had a good reputation among the Royal Knights and was an honest man who wouldn't lie. Seeing how serious he sounded, Gallantmon didn't ask any further questions and turned to say:

"Then come with me."

The golden-armored dragon beast lifted its leg to follow. Yongmeng quickly grabbed it: "Wait, do you want to go out like this? It's too conspicuous!"

The Golden Armored Dragon Beast lowered its head blankly, looked at its shimmering golden armor, and said helplessly, "What should I do? The Fragrant Beast isn't here, and I don't know any magic to transform into a human."

As he spoke, Magnamon turned his gaze to Gallantmon, who quickly shook his head: "Don't look at me, I can't do it either."

"I can."

At this moment, Parad raised his hand and waved it, proudly saying, "I am a witch, and a mere human transformation spell is very simple! However, you cannot resist, nor can you use too much energy, otherwise the spell will be broken by your power."

The Armored Dragon Beast nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem. Thank you, Witch Beast."

"I have a name now, I'm called Parad, you'd better remember it!" Parad complained a couple of times, but then swiftly cast a human-transforming spell on the Golden Armored Dragon Beast.

After a flash of white light, the golden-armored dragon beast transformed into a boy who was over 1.6 meters tall, with red eyes, golden hair, and a resolute expression.

He stretched his limbs to get used to his new body, then hurriedly pushed Crimson Knight Beast's back and waist, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up. Don't waste any time."

Crimson Knightmon shrugged, said nothing more, and led everyone to run in one direction.

…………

"See you next time, everyone."

A blonde girl with a gentle smile waved goodbye to the playful children and walked to a tall, bespectacled blonde woman, asking softly:

"What's wrong, Fragrant Beast? You've been calling me from the side."

The blonde woman adjusted her glasses and said, "Lord Norren, it seems something has happened in the Digital World."

The girl, Mikihara Noren, looked surprised and asked, "How did you come to that conclusion? I didn't receive any message from Yggdrasil."

Fragrant Beast shook its head and said, "I can't be sure either. It's just that before, Gallantmon and I sensed energy fluctuations, and he took it upon himself to investigate. To prevent any accidents, I left a location spell on him. Through the spell, I sensed Magnamon's aura near Gallantmon... This is very abnormal."

Aromamon paused, giving Mikihara Noren time to process and think, before continuing, "Lord Noren, as you know, the gate between the Digital World and the Human World should now be openable only by you. Even gods can only transmit information, not Digimon. Under these circumstances, the fact that Magnamon still managed to come to the Human World further illustrates that something is wrong in the Digital World."

“You’re right. Fragrant Beast, you are the wisest among the Royal Knights, and I trust your judgment. Now, what should we do?”

Without much consideration, Mikihara Noren agreed with the Fragrant Beast's judgment and asked about the next steps.

Fragrantmon wasn't surprised. Among the Royal Knights, she was the only one who could combine the powers of all of them, making her the Digital World's foremost strategist. If she had stayed with Yggdrasil, the Royal Knights might not have been defeated by Barbamon.

"According to the information transmitted by my magic, Gallantmon is heading this way with Magnamon. Besides them, there are some unfamiliar presences..."

They must be allies. There were probably Wizardmon or Witchmon among them who cast a human-transforming spell on Magnamon; otherwise, their movements wouldn't have been so conspicuous, showing no attempt to avoid humans.

Aromamon analyzed the information at hand, then shook its head again, saying, "We currently have too little information. To formulate the next plan, we need sufficient intelligence. For now, we just need to wait here for Gallantmon and the others to arrive."

"Also, Lord Norren, please summon the Eight-Legged Horse Beast back first. Then, we'll formulate a plan based on the information brought by the Golden Armored Dragon Beast."

Noren nodded, closed his eyes, and silently summoned the eight-legged horse.

This is also an ability granted to her by the World Tree, allowing her to call upon her guardians at any time to ensure her safety.

Next, we just wait.

Chapter Seventeen, The World Tree's Hidden Move

The three royal knights who followed Norn to the human world each had their own roles: Aromatic Beast was a top strategist, responsible for devising plans in case of emergencies.

Gallantmon ranks among the top three in combat power among the Royal Knights, and is even among the top-tier Ultimate Knights, specializing in combat.

The eight-legged horse-beast has spent a long enough time in the human world to have its own network of connections—not to mention, Satsuma Rentaro has already secured a high position in the Japanese government.

The eight-legged horse-like beast has been spending most of its time communicating with Satsuma Rentaro, seeking some material assistance. After all, while its appearance can be changed with magic, resources are something else entirely.

Of course, the eight-legged horse-mon also revealed some relevant information to Samo Rentaro. He still hoped that humans and Digimon could coexist peacefully. Revealing this information was also a way of hoping that Samo Rentaro would pay more attention to the situation and prevent someone like Kurata from starting a war between the two worlds.

The eight-legged horse beast was still talking with Satsuma Rentaro when it suddenly received Noren's summons. Thinking something had happened, it quickly bid farewell to Satsuma Rentaro and rushed back to Noren's side.

However, Norren was unharmed, and his two colleagues seemed normal as usual. It was Emu's sudden appearance that surprised him. He still had an unfinished agreement with Emu.

But what exactly was the reason Norn summoned him back? Could it be because of Eternal Dream? The eight-legged horse beast thought it was unlikely.

Or perhaps, it was that unfamiliar, short young man beside Emu? His aura was rather strange, as if veiled by some force, yet its underlying essence felt somewhat familiar. Who was he? Was it because of him that I was summoned back?

The eight-legged horse-beast, which looks like a bald human male, is now full of questions, and a big question mark seems to be popping up on its smooth forehead.

Before the eight-legged horsemon could ask any questions, the aromamon adjusted its glasses and said, "Eight-legged horsemon, we can talk about it later. This little guy is Magnamon. He came to the human world specifically to tell us about the changes that have occurred in the Digital World. Let's listen quietly to him tell us what happened."

Upon hearing this, the eight-legged horse beast closed its mouth, nodded, and walked to the side of Crimson Knightmon, listening silently.

Fragrant Beast nodded to Golden Armored Dragon Beast and said, "Golden Armored Dragon Beast, we can begin."

Upon hearing this, the golden-armored dragon beast nodded slightly and quickly recounted its experience.

"What?! This is happening in the Digital World?! I'm going back to smash Barbamon's head in!"

Gallantmon was furious after hearing Magnamon's account and wished he could rush back to the Digital World immediately.

Although Gallantmon is portrayed as a double agent and a skilled tree-cutter in many works, this is only true when Yggdrasil's actions contradict his sense of justice. When he still respected Yggdrasil, Gallantmon was Yggdrasil's right-hand man, capable and loyal, making him the most suitable candidate to be a subordinate.

"Granblue Knightmon, don't be impulsive!"

Aromamon rebuked Gallantmon. As the strategist of the Royal Knights, Aromamon held immense prestige, second only to Omegamon, the strongest and most righteous and gentle of the Royal Knights.

Even a self-centered knight like Crimson Knightmon listens to Fragrantmon.

After scolding Crimson Knightmon, Fragrant Beast herself felt a bit of a headache. She tapped lightly on her glasses and said:

"I suspected something was wrong in the Digital World, but I didn't expect it to be this serious... It's actually a god in trouble... Lord Noren, can you sense it?"

"Huh? Perhaps it's a barrier between worlds. I didn't feel anything too obvious... Oh, a while ago I did sense that Yggdrasil's aura was a bit off, with a bit more... filthy stuff. But I felt it very vaguely, and Yggdrasil didn't send me any messages, so I didn't tell you guys."

Norren replied.

"It seems that Barbamon forcibly fused with God back then... forced fusion... is this process reversible..." Aromon muttered to itself.

After muttering a few words to itself, the Fragrant Beast asked again, "Lord Norren, do you have a way to separate the fusion of the god and the Barba Beast? Or, has the god left any means to deal with unexpected situations?"

"Hmm, let me think..." Noren frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and said:

“It seems so. Yggdrasil gave me a program that, if He goes out of control, I can seize control by injecting this program into Him. In other words, I will replace Him and become the new god of the digital world.”

"However, this procedure cannot be used indiscriminately. It can only be unsealed with the approval of more than half of the Royal Knights. Currently, there are eleven Royal Knights, which means that more than six Royal Knights must believe that Yggdrasil has gone out of control and is unworthy to be a god before I can activate this procedure."

"More than half of the Royal Knights? We have four here, and Gankomon is still traveling around the Digital World with his students. With his strength, I believe he'll be fine. That makes five. Now we only need one more. But according to Magnamon, it's really hard to say what the other Royal Knights' current condition is..."

The eight-legged horse-beast frowned.

“I think Skullmon and LordKnightmon should be fine. They were the first to be seriously injured, and we sent them away first to prevent them from being killed by Barbamon. With their abilities, they might be almost fully recovered by now.”

The golden-armored dragon beast comforted him.

"Let's leave that aside for now. Didn't Bancho-Mamemon send people to find top-tier Ultimate-level fighters? We should be able to get a general idea of ​​the Royal Knights' situation once we return to the Digital World. I'd like to know, besides leaving that program behind, does Yggdrasil have any other backup plans? Like a powerful Digimon called 'Mediator' or something?"

"There is no such thing."

Noren said seriously, "What kind of being do you think Yggdrasil is? Even for a Royal Knight-level Digimon, it would take several of them working together to contend with Yggdrasil, and even if all of them went into battle, they might not be able to subdue it. However, the Royal Knights are already at the pinnacle of the Digital World. Why do you think there are other, more powerful Digimon that can control the out-of-control and rampaging Yggdrasil?"

"Okay, I knew it. You can't believe everything you read in comics..." Emu muttered to himself in disappointment.

He was actually quite looking forward to seeing VictoryGreymon and UltimateGarurumon. They're so cool!

Whether you're strong or not is a matter of time, but whether you're handsome or not is a matter of a lifetime!

Chapter 18, Reflection

"So, things are already settled, right? First find the stubborn beast, then find any Royal Knight—or you can find two more Royal Knights directly—then activate the program, seize the identity and power of the 'god' of the World Tree, and finally defeat the Barbamon that has lost its power."

Parad summarized the previous conversation and shook his head with some regret: "So, next we're going back to the Digital World to find people? I thought we'd be staying in the human world a little longer. It's been so long since I've seen Miki-neechan, Megumi-neechan, and Yoshino-neechan."

The fragrant beast silently sized up its colleagues, then shook its head and said, "It's not that simple."

Facing the questioning gazes from Emu and the others, Aromon calmly stated, "We are Royal Knights, guarding the safety of the Digital World, and protecting Yggdrasil, the god of the Digital World. We have sworn an oath to offer our loyalty and strength to the god. Now that the god has done no evil, how can we rebel?"

“That’s right! If God made the wrong decision, I would be the first to point a gun at him! But he did nothing wrong, and God himself is a victim. I cannot lay a hand on him—not even by agreeing to activate the program! That would be against my sense of justice!”