Knights of the Digital World

"What is this..." Kouji was a little confused.

"It should be a map, right? It looks like the Digital World..." Suddenly a voice rang out, making Kouji shudder and startle him.

Kouji turned his head and saw a large group of people staring at him. The one speaking was a strange white humanoid creature wearing a pair of shorts. He introduced himself: "Hello, I am Pokomon."

"Ah! It's you!" Takuya recognized Kouji at this moment and said with some displeasure. He still vividly remembered Kouji's coldness, after all, it had happened just a few hours ago. Takuya said somewhat reluctantly, "I'm Kanbara Takuya."

"..." Kouji looked at them for a while, but instead of introducing himself, he turned to leave. At this time, he was still a cold person. Although kind, and in the original story he would rush to help Junpei and Tomoki when they were in trouble, he didn't want to get involved with others, believing that he could rely on himself. He traveled alone in the early stages, only joining Takuya and the others in the later stages.

"Kouji... is that you?"

However, a trembling voice from the crowd made Hui Er stop in his tracks. He turned around abruptly and saw a boy in a green jacket who looked somewhat like him: "You...who are you?!"

“I am…Kiichi! Your twin brother, Kiichi! My name is Kimura Kiichi!” Kiichi said excitedly.

“How…how is this possible? You…” Kouji wanted to say that Kouichi was lying to him, but when he saw Kouichi’s face, which was almost identical to his own, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

"Really... let's talk over there." Hui didn't want to make his family affairs public knowledge, so he walked to the side.

Huiji remained silent, but did not object; instead, he quietly followed.

"Huh? Are Kouichi and that guy brothers?" Takuya asked, looking surprised.

"Forget about Yuuki and the others, Takuya, you've already met Kouji, can't you tell? Kouichi and Kouji look so alike," Emu retorted.

"Hahaha... that guy was wearing a headscarf... I didn't recognize him..." Takuya laughed sheepishly, "I wonder what they'll talk about."

"That's none of our business, just wait." Although Emu was also interested in listening, Huiyi clearly didn't want others to overhear, so she decided not to force herself on him.

The children shared the same thought, so they simply pulled Bokomon aside and asked him to tell them about the Ten Warriors. After all, it was Bokomon who had revealed Gengarmon's identity in a single sentence, which gave the children a strange sense of trust in him.

Chapter 10, The Wild Wolf of Light!

Bogomon seemed to enjoy the children gathering around him, bombarding him with questions, but he still coughed and said in a serious tone, "Knowing beforehand isn't good; it takes away the mystery. Just like knowing what the present is beforehand might make you lose interest in it. Let's wait until you can transform before revealing it!"

“That makes sense!” The children were completely taken aback and nodded repeatedly.

Only Emu strongly suspects that even Bokomon itself doesn't know. In the series, the All-Knowing Book is only refreshed after a new fighter appears, allowing Bokomon to explain things to the children. However, considering that the Dark Warrior in the original work is both Darkmon and BlackLionmon, it's clear that the fighters evolved from Warrior Souls aren't always the same. It's uncertain whether Grodonmon and Nunamon, these seemingly evil warriors, are simply evil forms of Cherubimon's minions or true warrior forms.

In Yongmeng's view, the Book of Knowledge is more like a search engine. It only appears when Bogomon sees an object and wants to find its information. Since Bogomon doesn't know what the other fighters are like, the Book of Knowledge naturally can't appear.

Of course, he wasn't Bogomon; these things were purely his own speculation. But only this explanation would be more in line with the original plot.

While Emu was lost in thought and the children were chattering amongst themselves, Keiichi led Keiji back. Both of them had slightly red eyes, but seemed to be in good spirits. Keiichi had a smile on his face, and Keiji's originally aloof demeanor had softened considerably, making him appear much gentler.

"Hui'er, come and say hello to everyone," Huiyi called out.

Kouji seemed quite uncomfortable with this kind of thing, but at his older brother's urging, he bowed to the children and introduced himself, "Hello, I am Minamoto Kouji."

Seeing their reactions, Emu felt even more certain that he hadn't made a mistake in saving Kouichi. In the original story, Kouji cared deeply for Kouichi. When he first learned the truth, he even lost the will to fight. And even when Kouichi was controlled by Cherubimon, he always thought about his younger brother. Several times when he had the chance to kill him, he managed to restrain himself. If Cherubimon hadn't exerted so much effort to control him, who knows when this brother-obsessed boy might have broken free and run away.

Unfortunately, Cherubimon, with his twisted sense of humor, was quite interested in the spectacle of brothers killing each other. He initially erased Kouichi's memories, but after Kouichi regained them, he infused his mind with dark energy, making him hate Kouji and fight him. As a result, after Kouichi was rescued, he was filled with guilt, constantly overthinking and feeling like a sinner. Kouji, that stubborn tsundere, was also incredibly awkward without Kouichi's initiative, unsure how to approach him, making things very awkward for both brothers.

Now that Emu has intervened, Kouichi doesn't have as many burdens and naturally takes the initiative to approach Kouji. Kouji, who craves family and friendship, naturally accepts his twin brother's initiative. Therefore, although it's the first time the two brothers have met since they grew up, they quickly become familiar with each other after a short chat, without any of the awkwardness seen in the original story.

Unlike Emishita, the children introduced themselves one by one: "I am Takuya Kanbara."

"I am Yuki! Himi Yuki!"

"My name is Izumi Orimoto."

"I am Shibayama Junpei."

"Hehe, I'm Emu Hojo. Hello."

"I'm Bokomon~" "I'm Questionmon~"

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, Kouichi said, "Kouji's Digivice has a different display than ours. Bokomon mentioned before that it's a map, and I think it might be related to Fighter's Spirit. Why don't we go take a look together?" Kouji, who was next to him, also silently took out his own Digivice and had it project a map.

"Sometimes I really can't tell if Kouji or Takuya is the main protagonist. This Fighter's Soul map guide seems to have only been available to Kouji. He's practically being treated like a favorite son." Emu muttered to himself as he looked at the map.

The other children didn't think so much about it. They were preoccupied with what Emu had said: everyone might possess their own Fighter's Spirit. Now, seeing the map in Kaguya's hand, even though they didn't know if it was a guide to the Fighter's Spirit, it was still a form of proof for Emu's theory. They all became excited: "Let's go! Let's go see!"

As they spoke, a group of children surrounded the two brothers, Kouichi and Kouji, and led by the two native residents, Pokomon and Quizmon, to the location shown on the map.

"Hehe, don't be nervous. We'll all be working together from now on, we're all friends. Relax." Huiyi saw that Huier seemed a little uncomfortable and quickly comforted him with a smile. Huier nodded and forced a smile, saying, "It's okay... bro."

Upon hearing the way Huiyi addressed him, Huiyi smiled even more broadly, and seemed to walk with even more energy, revealing his brother-complex nature.

Led by the two natives, the group quickly found the underground labyrinth. It wasn't actually that hard to find; even Kouji in the original story found it after wandering around for a while. Speaking of which, Kouji's entrance in the original story was truly cool—he jumped down, grabbed a cable, kicked a water pipe, and single-handedly beat dozens of Pagumon. Honestly, before Daimon's appearance in Part 5, Kouji was probably the strongest among the kids in terms of fighting power.

"Wow, it's so empty. But there's nothing there either." The children looked around the underground maze with curiosity. It was completely empty, except for a bottomless pit in the very center.

"Bogomon, did you come to the wrong place?" Takuya was as outspoken as ever.

“According to the map, this is definitely the place. I’ve lived in this area for so long, how could I be wrong?” Pokomon said confidently. The Questionmon standing next to him tilted its head and asked, “Really?”

Bogo's face turned red with anger: "Of course it's true! Didn't you look at the map too?"

The question-and-answer beast hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "I didn't understand it..."

"Ugh! I'm so angry! I'll flick you!" Bokomon was so angry that he was about to flick Questionmon's belt, but the children quickly stepped forward and pulled him back, with an expression that said, "Bokomon, forget it."

"If the location is correct, what should we do now?" In the end, it was Koizumi, the only girl in the team, who grasped the crux of the problem and asked.

Upon hearing this, all the children turned their attention to Emu. Emu's previous deductions had left a deep impression on them, and now they had complete faith in his reasoning abilities.

Yongmeng sweated profusely: "Why are you looking at me? I don't know anything without enough information. Perhaps we should consider that deep pit?"

Emu couldn't remember clearly. After all, it was a childhood memory. Being able to recall the general plot was already a testament to his excellent memory. As for the Soul of Light, he only remembered being in this pit. How to get out... well, he couldn't remember that. Anyway, the protagonist was in danger, so he just got out.

“That makes sense! As expected of Emu!” The children nodded in agreement, finding Emu’s suggestion very useful. They all gathered around the deep pit, looking at the dark hole with concern.

"Hey Pokomon, do you guys have a flashlight? Shine it inside, we can't see anything at all," Junpei said first.

"A flashlight... I think I have one." The question-and-answer beast responded, reaching into its red leggings and pulling out a large flashlight, asking, "Who wants to use this?"

The children's lips twitched, and they said, "It would have been better if you had come."

Although I know that Digimon are different from humans, do you really have to pull this thing out of your crotch? Others have a four-dimensional pocket, and you have a four-dimensional crotch? Kids feel a bit uncomfortable looking at a flashlight.

The question-and-answer beast was rather good-natured, or perhaps he simply didn't understand much. When the children said that, he just said "oh," turned on his flashlight, and shone it into the deep pit.

Suddenly, illuminated by the light, the pit shone even brighter. The familiar, small-armored Fighter's Spirit flew out. Kouji, as if possessed, pointed his Digimon at the Fighter's Spirit, as if he saw himself merging with a tall figure. Then—

"Fighter's Soul!" The Fighter's Soul flew into the Digimon Machine in response.

"Soul—Evolve!" A familiar stream of data enveloped Kouji. The children stepped back a few paces to make room, and then they saw a tall figure with a long scarf and covered in armor. "Wild Wolf Beast!"

"Ha! So Kouji inherited the spirit of this warrior!" Bokomon pulled out his All-Knowing Book. "The legendary warrior, the Light Wolfmon!"

Chapter 11, VS. Wild Wolf Beast (Part 1)

"So cool! Was I like him back then?" Takuya exclaimed in admiration as he looked at the dashing wolf beast.

"It seems Emu's prediction was right. We will also have a Fighter's Soul that suits us! That's great. I really can't wait to see what I will evolve into," Junpei said happily.

"Yeah. But honestly, we don't have a map to guide us. I wonder when we'll find our Fighter's Spirit." After feeling envious, Koizumi couldn't help but complain.

"Hahaha, we'll find it eventually. Kouji~ How are you feeling~" Kouichi waved excitedly to Kouji.

But the wolf-beast didn't respond. It simply scanned its surroundings with sharp eyes, and upon finding no enemies, a hint of confusion appeared in its eyes. However, it quickly shook its head and said to Hui, "Ah... Brother, I feel pretty good."

"Was Wild Wolf Beast also given a substitute at the start?" Emu keenly noticed Wild Wolf Beast's change. But thinking about it, it wasn't hard to understand. What outstanding performance could a child who had just obtained the Fighter's Soul possibly have? Without a senior's help, they wouldn't even know what the special moves were. But the senior's substitute playthrough essentially served as a demonstration for the children, at least showing them the basic operations. After that, developing their abilities would have to be up to the children themselves; the seniors were willing but unable to do much.

This is why the Beast Warrior's Soul sometimes goes out of control. Since the older warriors can no longer fight for them, the younger generation has to learn on their own. Given their unfamiliarity with the controls and the Beast Warrior's Soul's inherent wildness, it's understandable that it goes out of control.

Furthermore, the fighters always appear incredibly strong when they first appear, easily defeating their opponents. However, just two episodes later, they are immediately overpowered. This indirectly confirms the fact that their predecessors were the ones getting the fighting. For example, Takuya regressed after jumping down after evolving in the second episode; and in the third episode, he was easily defeated by a group of Candlemon—even though he hadn't evolved into Wizardmon yet—all of which demonstrate the children's strength under normal circumstances.

The only fighter who suffered a setback was Koizumi's Wind Warrior, Fairymon. However, after easily defeating the three Mushroommon brothers, she felt she had nothing more to do and returned control of the fighting, after which Fairymon was defeated by Rokudomon. The contrast in her abilities before and after was quite obvious.

Come to think of it, this seems to be similar to the protection period in the first episode of Digimon Adventure... Indeed, Digimon Adventure 4 shouldn't be called Infinite Zone, it should be called Digimon Rider!

While inwardly complaining, Emu said, "We don't have any enemies on our side right now, but we still need to test the Wild Wolf Beast's abilities. It can also help Kouji get used to them faster. So... let's fight! I need to familiarize myself with my abilities, and so does Takuya."

"Eh? Me too? But I don't know how to transform yet..." Takuya said, pointing to his nose, looking embarrassed.

"That's why we need to... Here's what we'll do: I'll spar with the Wild Wolf Beast first, and you guys can watch from the sidelines. Takuya, figure out how to transform yourself. You can't always wait until a crisis comes before you start thinking about it!" Emu scolded, and Takuya scratched his head sheepishly.

“Go ahead. Emu is right. We’ll need your protection until we obtain the Warrior’s Soul.” Huiyi noticed the wolf beast’s hesitant look and said with a smile, “Besides, Emu is very strong, so don’t worry about hurting him.”

During his conversation with his younger brother, Kouichi discovers that although his brother appears aloof, he is a kind person at heart. Having never witnessed Emu's battle with Salubimon and unaware of Emu's strength, Kouji, who has experienced the immense power of Lycomon, worries that he might harm Emu.

Seeing his brother's confident demeanor, Kouji, though still puzzled, did not refuse. He performed a graceful backflip and landed on the other side of the pit, saying, "Then, let's go."

"You guys step back a bit. Takuya, get ready, it's your turn to fight soon!" Emu instructed, and the children nodded and retreated to the edge. Only Takuya scratched his head as he walked; he genuinely had no idea how to transform!

“Well then, I’ll be on my way too.” Emu pulled out his cartridge, pressed a button, and a flash of light appeared on the cartridge, transforming it into the Extraordinary Action X Spinning Cartridge. “Great Transformation—”

Inserting the cartridge into the quietly appearing Player Driver, Emu transforms amidst a loud sound effect announcing his name, "Kar Ex-Aid!"

This time, Emu transformed directly into Level 2. His battle with Salubimon gave him a better understanding of his own strength; Level 2 was roughly equivalent to the Ultimate level. Level 3 should be very close to the Mega level, but probably not quite there yet. However, having never transformed before, he wasn't entirely sure. Right now, he was only sparring with Diremon to familiarize himself with his abilities, so there was no need to transform into Level 3; he'd get used to Level 2 first.

The wolf beast had never seen such a flashy transformation before, especially with its own sound effects—it was simply outrageous. However, this transformation, with its blatant special effects and sound effects, also made the wolf beast cautious. With a flick of its wrists, it pulled out two lightsabers and became wary.

“First… let’s change the location.” Emu seemed oblivious to the wolf beast’s actions, pressing the button and opening the game domain. A stream of data spread out from Emu, transforming the dark underground labyrinth into a sunlit beach, with bricks scattered haphazardly on the sand.

"Spatial teleportation? Or something else?" Wild Wolf Beast was startled when the scene changed in an instant. Kouji himself possessed considerable combat strength. Although Wild Wolf Beast hadn't managed to fight in his place, it had left Kouji with some guidance. It was like the original hands-on teaching had been replaced by learning by himself using a guide. While the effect was less than ideal, it still gave Kouji a fairly good understanding of his current abilities.

Seeing that Emu had changed the scene but hadn't attacked yet, instead just busy hammering bricks, the Wild Wolf knew it couldn't just stand by and watch. Immediately, the Wild Wolf sprang forward, quickly closing in on Emu, and slashed down with its right-hand lightsaber.

"Then, try to buff yourself as much as possible." Yongmeng nimbly dodged the wolf beast's slashes and smashed bricks at it, gaining speed boost, steel-like transformation, muscle-like transformation, and transparency. With these four buffs applied, Yongmeng vanished from the wolf beast's sight.

"Disappeared? Or was it too fast for me to see?" The wolf-beast raised its lightsaber, wary of the Eternal Dream that had vanished without a trace, pondering silently while also observing its surroundings.

"call out--"

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from behind the wolf-beast, caused by its incredible speed. The wolf-beast immediately took a small leap forward, turned around in mid-air, and slashed down with its twin swords crossed.

Unexpectedly, the wolf-like beast's lightsaber, carrying its energy, slashed down, striking the beach directly and kicking up a large cloud of sand, but completely missing its target. The sound seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"It's here."

A whisper sounded in the wolf beast's ear. Before the wolf beast could react, sparks flew from his chest, and he was sent flying by a tremendous force.

Where he had been standing, Yongmeng's figure slowly emerged, the Gashan Destroyer in its sword form resting on his shoulder, his other hand stroking his chin, looking at the wolf beast struggling to get up in the distance, thinking to himself: "Sure enough, when playing games, you have to buff yourself before you go in... Anyone who goes in directly is a reckless fool!"

Chapter Twelve, VS. Wild Wolf Beast (Part 2)

It seemed that Wild Wolf Beast was performing poorly, being completely outmaneuvered by Emu. However, this was entirely a situation carefully orchestrated by Emu. Emu's level 2 strength was already roughly equal to Wild Wolf Beast's, and she had also deliberately added four buffs to herself, significantly increasing her stats. The last buff, in particular, made Wild Wolf Beast invisible, preventing it from displaying its powerful attacks and forcing it into a passive defensive posture.

Even in this situation, Yongmeng didn't forget to set a trap. She quickly threw a small pebble from the beach to attract the wolf's attention. Then, she quietly circled around to the wolf's side and, with a long-charged sword strike, sent the wolf flying.

The wolf-beast was badly wounded by the sword, and even getting up was difficult. However, its gaze remained firm. It raised its left wrist and fired several light projectiles at Yongmeng. This was the wolf-beast's light ball skill.

Emu's buff wasn't permanent either; the previous setup had taken a lot of time, and his buff was nearing its end. Faced with these menacing light projectiles, Emu quickly dodged to the side. But the Wild Wolf Beast also used this opportunity to recover, calmly firing light projectiles at Emu, occasionally charging up to unleash enhanced light orbs.

The Wild Wolf Beast's skills are rather absurd. Its main combat ability relies on its two lightsabers to damage enemies. Its ultimate attack, "Victor of Light," is described as: a skill that slices the enemy in half with its lightsaber. Then, based on this single skill, it develops skills such as: Double Victor, Victor of Light α, Victor of Light β, and Victor of Light γ. The latter three Victor of Light skills are uniformly described as: skills that attack with lightsabers…