Knights of the Digital World

"That world? I remember it. It seems to have been repaired not long ago. Spacetime is no longer disordered. I can send you in."

Dark One recalled for a moment and said.

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Dark Ship!" Emu patted Dark Ship and said with a smile.

"Alright, let's go. Whoosh—"

The Darkship sounded its horn and, carrying Emu, plunged into the void, heading towards the Saviors World!

Chapter Two: The Unexpected Intervention of Brother Xiaoming

"Hey, junior, wake up! Hey!"

Emu felt herself being gently shaken, and heard shouts in her ears. She said with a hint of helplessness, "Who is it? Why is it so noisy?"

As she spoke, Emu opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and then she could see the scene before her clearly.

He was lying on a park bench, the unconscious Folded Beast clutched to his chest. Beside him stood a familiar-looking man in a black suit, a magenta camera hanging around his neck, who was looking at him with concern.

Seeing that Yongmeng had woken up, the man breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Junior, thank goodness you're alright. Otherwise, I would have felt guilty for a long time. Oh dear, it was all my carelessness. I didn't expect that you also had someone who could travel between worlds. I was also attracted by your fragment. Anyway, it's good that you're alright."

Watching this person ramble on and on, Emu tilted her head, her mind brimming with question marks:

"What are you talking about? Weren't I supposed to be going to the Saviors World with the Dark Ship? Why are you here? And you look so familiar... What happened?"

The man looked embarrassed, scratched his hair, and said with a troubled expression:

"Uh, where do I even begin? Well, let me introduce myself first. My name is Tsukasa Kadoya, and I'm just passing by as a Kamen Rider."

"Tsukasa Kadoya? A Kamen Rider passing by? Ah! It's you, Decade!"

Emu suddenly remembered the identity of the person in front of him. It was Tsukasa Kadoya, the Kamen Rider Decade, nicknamed "Little Ming" or "Little Ming Brother." He was also a very popular and extremely powerful Kamen Rider.

In his previous life, Emu had never watched "Kamen Rider Decade," but he had seen many related videos on Bilibili and knew a bit about Tsukasa Kadoya, which is why he looked familiar but didn't recognize him immediately.

"Oh? You recognize me? But I'm not called Wang Xiaoming. You should call me Shige." Kadoya Tsukasa seemed to have been to the real world and was familiar with the "Wang Xiaoming" meme, and said with a smile.

"Brother Shi," Emu called out obediently, "My name is Hosho Emu. Please continue telling me what happened."

"Hojo Emu, you share the same name as another junior. And you also seem to possess the power of Ex-Aid. What a coincidence. Alright, I'll continue."

Tsukasa Kadoya sighed and continued recounting what had happened:

"That's how it is. Some unknown entity secretly collected the power of the twenty Heisei Riders and created a system. This system selected a guy who liked Kamen Rider. However, that guy... lacked the necessary character. After obtaining our power, he abused it recklessly, and his inner demons began to spread, causing him to completely degenerate into a monster."

"We couldn't stand by and watch our power be used for evil; that would go against our beliefs. So we defeated that monster. Unfortunately, his heart had completely sunk, beyond redemption. The system that gathered the power of our twenty riders also shattered into parts and scattered to various worlds."

"I have the ability to cross dimensional barriers, allowing me to freely traverse worlds and time. In addition, I travel to various worlds myself, following the traces of system fragments to different worlds to collect these fragments."

"The fragments shattered into twenty pieces based on the knight's power, and I have now recovered sixteen of them."

"So, Brother Shi, did you meet me because of my system fragment? Are you going to retrieve my fragment and take my power with you?"

After hearing this, Yongmeng roughly understood the situation, which largely matched the information the system fragments had given him.

Despite his reluctance to part with the power of the knight, Emu had no choice but to accept if Tsukasa Kadoya wanted to take it away. After all, it wasn't his own power to begin with.

Moreover, there are no strange people or evil forces causing trouble in his world, so there is no need for this knightly power to protect him in the dark, and there is no reason for him to stay.

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood."

Tsukasa Kadoya shook his head vigorously, denying it:

"We never mind lending our power. We just hope that our power can be used for good, to protect others."

Of the sixteen fragments I recovered, most didn't even have a chance to be activated. Only three people activated their fragments and gained the power of a knight. One of them didn't even know what a knight was and was filled with fear. After I recovered his power, he was actually very happy.

"What about the remaining two?"

Emu listened attentively and casually asked a question.

Tsukasa Kadoya sighed and said, "They couldn't resist the temptation... However, I arrived in time, preventing them from causing too much damage. Moreover, their fall from grace wasn't too deep, and they eventually returned to normal life."

"As for you... because I have already collected all sixteen fragments, I actually have a suppressive effect on your fragments. I learned everything you did from it. To be honest, you did well, you are already a qualified Kamen Rider. Therefore, I will not take back your power."

Tsukasa Kadoya praised the authenticity.

"Thank you, Brother Shi!"

Hearing Tsukasa Kadoya say that his power wouldn't be taken back made Emu incredibly excited. He had been prepared to have his power taken back anyway.

"By the way, Brother Shi, if you're not going to retrieve it, why did you bring me here? Where exactly is this place? And where did the Dark Ship go?"

Yongmeng seemed to be thinking about something. He glanced around and asked curiously.

"Ahem..." Tsukasa Kadoya coughed twice, his embarrassed expression returning.

"It was an accident... My original target was a fragment of this world. Little did I know, while I was on my way, I happened to run into you traveling between worlds in a sentient tram. I wasn't paying attention, and the resulting spatial turbulence... caused you two to overturn..."

"Did you flip the car over?!"

Emu was completely dumbfounded. Could this really be done?!

"Ahem... This really was just an accident!" Tsukasa Kadoya's expression grew increasingly awkward. "Afterwards, I brought you to the world I was originally going to. The train went to find a place to be repaired on its own. It said it would come to find you when it was repaired. As my junior, I have an obligation to tell you all this, so I brought you here."

"I see... Well, I can't blame you for that, Shi-ge. Speaking of which, this world also has fragments, right? Have they awakened?"

Emu forgave Tsukasa Kadoya, and instead asked with some curiosity.

"Yes, it's awakened. It seems to be using my power." Tsukasa Kadoya nodded, then suddenly thought of something amusing and said with a smile:

"Junior, are you interested in trying to retrieve this fragment? I can retrieve other fragments faster too. Of course, I'll lend you my power as well. Decade versus Decade, isn't that fun?"

“Eh? Recycling is no problem. But I already have the power of Ex-Aid. You don’t need Shiro’s power.” Emu said.

Then, Tsukasa Kadoya gave an awkward smile, rubbing his hands together, and said, "Um, didn't we just check your fragment? It's unusable for now, and your Rider power is also restricted. It'll probably take about three months to recover..."

Emu's face darkened as she looked at her senior, who was rubbing his hands together and smiling awkwardly. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her:

Is this guy a little unreliable?

Chapter Three, The Power of Decade

Tsukasa Kadoya became increasingly embarrassed under Emu's gaze.

But there was no other way. At that time, Emu had already fallen into a coma. In order to determine whether this host was qualified and whether he was worthy of entrusting his power, he had to examine the records in the fragments.

Therefore, it was unavoidable that Emu's power was sealed.

His suggestion that Emu retrieve the fragments, and his willingness to entrust his power to her, was also to make amends to Emu.

Seeing Tsukasa Kadoya's embarrassed expression, Emu didn't want to blame him too much, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Tsukasa-nii. Please lend me your power."

Knowing that Emu had forgiven him, Tsukasa Kadoya felt a wave of relief wash over him and said with a broad smile, "Okay, no problem. Decade's power is very strong; you'll definitely like it."

As he spoke, Tsukasa Kadoya took out a belt, its surface a flamboyant magenta, and handed it to Emu along with a knight card:

"This is the new Decade Driver and the Rider Card 'Kamen Rider Decade.' Do you know how to use it? First, pull the 'Heavenly Side Slider,' then insert the Rider Card into the 'Rider Reader' on your belt, and then push the Heavenly Side Slider again to transform! Give it a try!"

Emu put the wrinkle beast aside, reached out and took the new Decade Driver and Rider Card. He glanced at Tsukasa Kadoya and saw his encouraging expression, so he didn't refuse. He hung the new Decade Driver on his waist and started operating it according to Tsukasa Kadoya's instructions: "hen-sh!"

As Emu moved, the new Decade Driver also lit up, and a sound effect rang out:

"kar!"

"decade!"

Amidst dazzling light and shadow effects, Decade, a knight with a base color of magenta and compound eyes of green, makes his appearance!

"Is this the power of your senior? It feels so strong. If I replace it with my previous combat power level, this basic form should be at least level 5, right? It's much stronger than the basic form of Ex-Aid."

Emu moved his body, experiencing the newfound power, comparing it with his previous strength, and exclaimed in amazement.

Now that he has lost the help of the system fragments, he can only have this vague feeling.

Tsukasa Kadoya smiled and said, "The final form of Ex-Aid is no weaker than Decade. It's just that in its initial form, Decade's power was indeed a bit stronger."

Yongmeng nodded upon hearing this. Putting aside his invincible father from the original work, the level 100 martial arts action player he developed himself was also exceptionally powerful.

Tsukasa Kadoya continued, "However, you might not be able to obtain the power of other Riders, as your world is quite far from the world of Riders. If it weren't so far, I wouldn't have been so tired that I didn't notice you... But it's alright. Your world has magical powers that are no less than those of the Riders, and you can draw upon their power."

Emu nodded and said, "Brother Shi, I know. You're talking about the power of Digimon, right? I've used their power to make a lot of cartridges before."

“I saw it in the fragments. You have so many interesting forms. It's a pity that your power is sealed now, and you can't get the cards…”

Tsukasa Kadoya muttered a few words of regret. However, since he had brought this upon himself, he didn't say much more and instead returned to the main topic:

“Alright, let’s talk about retrieving the fragments. First, you need to find the fragment’s host. I’ve made some preparations in the new Decade Driver; when the fragment’s host is within 500 meters of you, it will lock on and issue a warning, which you can use to track it.”

"Brother Shi, is it only 500 meters? The world is so big, where am I supposed to find him?" Yongmeng asked with some concern.

"Haha, don't worry about that. Knights are attracted to each other. Just follow your instincts and you'll meet eventually. The 500-meter range is to narrow down the area and improve accuracy. If the area is too large, it will be harder to lock on."

Tsukasa Kadoya laughed heartily, then added, "Of course, you should still go out and explore more, don't stay cooped up in one place. Otherwise, you won't be able to find anyone."

“No problem, Shi-nii.” Emu gave an “OK” sign.

“Yes, once you find the person, you need to confirm if they are suitable. Since you can't confirm this through the fragments, you need to follow the host and judge based on their behavior. After that, decide whether to retrieve the fragments based on your judgment,” Tsukasa Kadoya continued.

"How am I supposed to retrieve the fragments? The fragments should be attached to the host's soul, right? I have no way to deal with that," Emu said, troubled.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I've certainly considered that. All you have to do is defeat him and insert this card." Tsukasa Kadoya said, handing Emu a completely black card with a smile.

Emu took the card, examined it curiously, and put it away, saying, "Understood. I'll handle the recycling of this world's fragments. By the way, Shige-nii, you gave me your power, what about yourself?"

"Hahaha, do I need you to worry about me? Don't worry, I have another new Decade Driver here. The one you have is the original host's. He chose my power back then and obtained the new Decade Driver through the system." Tsukasa Kadoya laughed and took out another driver.

"That's alright then." Relieved, Emu deactivated her transformation.

"Hmm... I didn't notice before, but now that I look... how old are you?" Tsukasa Kadoya raised an eyebrow, suddenly noticing something was off—this junior is a bit short?

"Uh, it's eleven already, what's wrong?" Yongmeng replied, puzzled.

"A primary school student?! I'm starting to regret it... Maybe I should take you back?"

Tsukasa Kadoya hadn't expected his junior to be so young. He had only seen the junior's character through the fragments, not his age. Now that he knew Emu's age, his instinct was to send Emu back.

"Hey, Shige, what's wrong with being a primary school student? You've already seen my experiences through the fragments, haven't you? I've been through just as many battles as other knights! Leave this to me, I'll be fine. You go and collect the other fragments!"

Emu quickly retorted, pounding his chest loudly, trying to dissuade Tsukasa Kadoya from his idea.

Although it's not what we initially planned, isn't it fun to go on an adventure in a new world?

It's better than going back to be bored!

Upon hearing Emu's rebuttal, Tsukasa Kadoya's expression hesitated. Indeed, judging from the fragments, Emu's experiences were no less impressive than those of the other Riders. But at this age…

"Brother Shi, trust me! At worst, you can finish collecting the other fragments quickly and then come find me. Until then, I'll help you find the target, which will save you time, right?"