Digital Hackers' Memories

"This is all your own doing, you humans brought it upon yourselves!"

His voice clearly turned angry. When Sword Emperor Beast thought of the accident eight years ago, he felt that even if he destroyed the entire human world, he still wouldn't be able to vent the hatred in his heart.

"The EDEN network created by your father became the 'road,' while you five children broke through the 'dimensional wall'!"

The voice was firm and powerful. Sword Emperor Beast didn't think it had done anything wrong at all, because it was all started by humans.

"Then, the real nightmare began! The invaders began to erode our world,"

In the accident eight years ago, Yuko Kamishiro's father used the EDEN network to connect the real world and the digital world.

Then, in order to study the essence of the Digital World, that group of arrogant humans actually sent materialized human spirits into the Digital World.

The direct consequence of this was that some unknown life form from a higher dimension discovered the loophole in the "dimensional wall" and sent an entity called the "Invader" into this dimension.

To the world as a whole, the invaders are like a terrifying cluster of cancer cells, capable of gradually eroding and infecting the essence of the world, slowly turning it into cancer.

Unfortunately, due to the existence of those five human children, the Digital World became the first "sick" world.

"This……"

It was completely unexpected that there was such a hidden story behind the Sword Emperor Beast's initiation of this war.

This sudden reality left the trio speechless with surprise, and then the Sword Emperor Beast said something that shocked them even more.

“I have judged the sins of EDEN’s founder, Kamishiro Satoru. The remaining sins… will be borne by the rest of humanity.”

With a tone that was both hateful and relieved, Sword Emperor Beast calmly revealed the truth about Kamishiro Satoru's "suicide" as if he were crushing an ant.

When faced with his personal secretary who harbored feelings for him, Kamishiro Satoru had no idea that "she" had been replaced by some unknown entity, and naturally "committed suicide."

Throughout the entire process, Sword Emperor Beast created a perfect suicide scene without anyone noticing anything amiss.

"It was you... who... took Dad..."

Her initial anger suddenly turned into grief. Yuko Kamishiro never expected that the truth she had been investigating for so many years would be revealed at this moment.

The person who raised him and whom he considered family was actually his father's killer?

"Unforgivable! There's only one person I will never forgive!"

Sadness and anger ignited completely in Yuko Kamishiro's heart, transforming into a burning flame of hatred capable of searing the soul.

As the flames of revenge burned within her, a faint, almost imperceptible dragon roar suddenly came from behind Yuko Kamishiro.

In a daze, those present seemed to see a ghost-like white-clad boy through Yuko Kamishiro's body.

That was Yuko Kamishiro's avatar on the EDEN network—YUGO, who was also the true partner of Infinite Dragon Beast, an artificial intelligence that surpassed the entire era.

Clearly, in a sense, he can be considered a side of Yuko Kamishiro's YUGO, while also inheriting some of her memories and emotions.

Especially in this era where the barrier between virtual and reality is gradually weakening, YUGO seems to be able to influence the reality that Yuko Kamishiro lives in through certain means.

"Hmph! What's unforgivable is you humans. How many times do I have to say that?"

However, the "strangeness" appearing on Yuko Kamishiro only made SwordEmperor even angrier. It was unclear whether this anger was due to the other party's words or YUGO's influence on Yuko Kamishiro.

"Examon, aren't you tired of these insects' excuses?"

Thinking of this, SwordEmperormon no longer hesitated and turned to Examon, talking to himself.

"Rejoice! Dragon Emperor—Examon will burn away all the sins of you humans!"

The massive digital waves that gathered out of thin air transformed into a physical entity capable of influencing celestial phenomena. The thunderous spectacle made Examon, who was rising, appear like a true deity.

"You think you can stop us?"

With a tone that was both mocking and arrogant, as the enormous Examon flapped its wings and took flight, SwordKingmon's tone became increasingly manic.

"Hahaha! The end of this world is about to begin! You will all return to dust and turn to ashes!"

At this point, SwordKingmon suddenly changed its gaze and decided to send Examon's first attack to the inexplicably appearing Beelzemon.

"First, face trial! You traitor!"

In an instant, a huge gale reappeared, sweeping towards the Fallen Hell Beast with the force to engulf everything.

In this process, houses were blown down, tall buildings collapsed, and even the invisible digital waves seemed to be affected, turning into real lightning currents.

Rumble!

Under the thunder and lightning, everything around seemed to become an electrified medium, a manifestation of Examon's power.

......................................................................................................

"To suffer!"

Beelzemon immediately recognized SwordEmperormon's intentions, but when Examon launched its attack with the power of "Dragon Emperor," Beelzemon inevitably hesitated.

It wasn't out of fear, nor was it due to being caught off guard.

The hesitation of the Fallen Hellmon was a physical hesitation. He felt as if the dragon's might of the Examon had frozen the air itself, and he was just a tiny amber worm in that frozen zone.

No matter how much the Fallen Hell Beast struggled, it could only watch helplessly as dark clouds covered the sky and lightning struck down menacingly upon it.

Chapter Ten: The Roaring Red Dragon

Behemoth!

At the critical moment, Behemoth, which had been parked downstairs, raced along the wall at a ninety-degree angle and instantly appeared next to Fallen Hellmon.

Immediately afterward, having gained a moment to catch its breath, Beelzemon decisively drew the twin pistols hidden on Behemoth and fired several shots at Examon and Emperormon.

boom! boom! boom!

After three gunshots rang out in succession, the oppressive and intimidating dragon's might dissipated instantly, and Examon let out a roar at the opportune moment.

Because of Examon's enormous size, Beelzemon's three shots unsurprisingly struck its body, causing it intense pain.

However, the three shots fired during the fall into hell only caused it a little pain.

"hold head high!"

While its massive size certainly gives Examon the "weakness" of having nowhere to hide, it also allows it to be immune to damage to some extent.

In particular, the "eggplant" of the Fallen Hell Beast, which overemphasizes its destructive power, can indeed shatter the bodies of creatures of the same size with a single blow.

However, when facing a behemoth like Examon, the shotgun's lethality is far less than expected.

At the very least, Examon didn't seem to care about the pain it had just experienced. Instead, it seemed to be enraged and suddenly drew its "Dragon Emperor Spear".

—Ambrose!

It is both a "long spear" in the sense of cold weapons and a "firearm" in the sense of firearms.

From the perspective of the Fallen Hell Beast, the enormous spear, as tall as a pillar of heaven, crashed down from the sky, and the air itself seemed to shriek in the wake of the swift strike.

Silence—Boom!

The spear, imbued with immense force, slammed into the entire building, while various explosive bullets, splitting off from the spear shaft, shot towards the Fallen Hell Beast at astonishing speed.

Rumble…

In the blink of an eye, the entire building was as if it had been subjected to a saturation bombardment, turning into a ruin of rubble.

To make matters worse, Examon didn't consciously control the force of its attack this time, making everyone present its target as well.

From a distance, the multi-story building was mostly shrouded in smoke and fire.

Especially the top dozen or so layers, which were pierced through from the very center by the "Dragon Emperor's Spear," looked like a piece of tofu that had been pierced by chopsticks.

The military personnel watching the battle nearby had no doubt that if the roaring red dragon wanted to, it could crush the entire building to pieces as easily as squashing a block of tofu.

......................................................................................................

"Examon!!!"

As Examon's primary target, Beelzemon, shrouded in smoke and mist, remains in a state of uncertainty.

However, the SwordEmperormon standing in front of Examon unfortunately became the biggest victim of this attack.

Completely unprepared for the rampaging Examon to target him as well, SwordKingmon flew to a relatively safe location in a rather disheveled state before glaring angrily at Examon.

"This is the real Examon."

Just then, a voice that sounded very familiar to the Sword Emperor Beast came from behind it, startling it so much that it almost had a cardiac arrest.

"Omegamon?!"

Turning his head in time, Swordmon noticed that Omegamon had also appeared in the real world sometime earlier.

At this very moment, standing on Omegamon's palm are none other than Takumi and his two companions, who are also targeted by Examon.

Realizing the danger during the attack, Nokia instinctively summoned her partner and, with the help of Omegamon's power, the three of them successfully escaped the crisis.

"Even if a true Dragon Emperor goes berserk, he will never allow others to control him."

Omegamon, who had suddenly appeared, looked at Examon, who was roaring in the distance, and explained in a very calm tone.

"SwordEmperormon, your plan to control the Dragon Emperor has failed. Examon is absolutely impossible for anyone to control."

In past Digital Crisis events, there have been instances where villainous forces attempted to manipulate Examon to destroy the Digital World.

After all, the personality and violence that Examon exhibits can easily lead people to associate it with words like simple-minded and physically strong.

In reality, as the emperor who bears the weight of the entire "Dragon's Roar" domain, Examon's will is second to none even among the Royal Knights.

Omegamon once witnessed a villain who intended to control Examon being crushed to death like an ant during a crisis.

Impulsiveness, violence, and being easily controlled are never necessarily linked.

The reason why Examon is used to solving problems with violence is simply because the Digital Crisis it was born from was an apocalyptic crisis that could only be suppressed by absolute force.

Having passed the trials of the four great dragons and faced the ancient dragon ruler, Examon is undoubtedly a powerful being from any perspective.

"Examon's stubbornness was indeed a bit unexpected, but our plan has been completed."

Upon hearing Omegamon's words, SwordGoldmon breathed a sigh of relief.

While Examon's uncontrollable behavior was somewhat beyond the original plan, Aromon, who was controlling everything behind the scenes, had long anticipated this unexpected situation.

"Examon has gone out of control. Even if I don't try to control it, it will follow its instincts and destroy the human world."

Before he could finish speaking, SwordKingmon, not wanting to continue the stalemate with the dangerous Omegamon, turned and flew towards the Shibuya area.

The whole process was smooth and seamless, clearly the work of a seasoned "strategic retreat".

"Omegamon..."

Seeing this, the hot-tempered Nokia turned around and was about to signal Omegamon to give chase, but Takumi interrupted her before she could finish speaking.

"What are those?!"

Nokia and Yuuko looked over at the sound and saw that the smoke and fire that had enveloped the entire building were gradually dissipating, and Beelzemon, who had returned to his mount, was facing off against Examon unharmed.

"What?! It's still alive?!"

Looking incredulously at Beelzemon, who had withstood Examon's attack head-on without a scratch, even Omegamon, who had been keeping a calm demeanor, showed a hint of surprise.

A being capable of withstanding a single blow from Examon without dying is among the strongest even at the Ultimate level.

The current Fallen Hell Beast may not be as good as the real Gluttony Demon King, but it's not far off.

Chapter Eleven: The Dragon Emperor Who Descended from the Sky

"That was close! Is this the legendary 'Dragon Emperor'?"

Slowly raising his head to look up at Examon in the sky, Beelzemon patted his chest with lingering fear and a look of relief on his face.

Despite his current unharmed appearance, only the Fallen Hell Beast knows what he went through in that instant.

It's worth noting that Behemoth, the ride of Behemoth, was a super motorcycle built with the concept of being "the fastest in the Digital World".

Leaving aside the various mythical, demonic, and intelligent systems and structures, just to withstand the oppressive feeling brought by dozens of times the speed of sound, Vulcanusmon excavated the hardest black digital alloy from the ruins of the Steel Empire.

Afterwards, Vulcanusmon used its superb skills to refine and modify these black digital alloys, which led to the initial prototype of "Behemoth".

In a sense, Behemoth, which can freely break through the sound barrier dozens of times, is naturally a shield with the "strongest defense".

However, this very vehicle, which would not be destroyed even at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion, actually transformed from the outside in after taking that blow from Examon.

It looks like an electric car that has been run over by a truck; Behemoth's current appearance is quite pitiful.

"Consider this a debt I owe you. Next time, I'll definitely fill up your car with the highest purity gasoline."

As if talking to a real person, Beelzemon gently stroked the twisted and deformed Behemoth, seemingly able to truly feel the terror of Examon's attack from it.

Without using any skills or accelerating in any way...