Digital Hackers' Memories

With that bizarre appearance, Sanada Shin suddenly stomped through the road and charged towards the Fallen Hell Beast not far away.

boom! boom! boom!

The sound of a bullet piercing flesh, the sharp clang of metal on metal...

In the next few minutes, Sanada's new fighting style perfectly demonstrated to Beelzemon what it means to "fight against an outsider".

Besides transforming into a gigantic biological organism, that deformed arm could also actively shrink and twist, turning into a rotating "drill bit" similar to an electric drill.

The original Sanada Shin certainly didn't have such a biological transformation ability, but after consuming Behemoth, the jet-black digital alloy gave him the ability to transform his arm into a hard object.

Combined with the regeneration and transformation abilities of the mutated right arm, this resulted in the arm that can change in countless ways today.

Most outrageously, after realizing that close combat posed no real threat to the Fallen Hellbeast, Sanada Shin once again controlled the mutated arm, which then mutated into a miniature version of a Gatling gun.

Da da da da…

Its powerful thrust is enough to penetrate steel plates several meters thick, and the bullets it spews out are miniature hardened tentacles that retain the devouring properties of the Invader.

The result of the two combinations was that everything hit by Sanada Shin became food for the invaders, resulting in blurry mosaic-like patterns.

It's important to understand that this isn't the EDEN network or the digital world; it's the real physical world.

Yet, in this physics-based world, those tiny tentacles that retain some of the characteristics of the invaders can still convert everything they come into contact with into data and absorb it.

"This is practically a 'killer attribute' in another sense."

After a long absence, the Fallen Hellbeast uttered a sarcastic remark and, upon seeing this, immediately spread its two pairs of wings and flew into the sky.

He didn't want to be hit by those strange bullets due to momentary carelessness, even if those special bullets might not be as effective as he imagined.

"Want to run?"

Seeing this, Sanada Shin promptly looked up at the sky, and his mutated right arm changed again, quickly transforming into a high-powered sniper rifle with a built-in scope.

"Run away? I don't think you have any right to make me run away."

The third eye between its brows turned from red to blue, and the Fallen Hell Beast looked down at Sanada Shin, while the cationic cannon in its hand switched to burst fire mode.

Silence! Silence! Silence!

As a result, the incredibly powerful cationic cannons rained down from the sky, forcing Sanada Shin to hide in all directions before he could even snipe the Fallen Hell Beast.

Even so, the cation cannon, with its astonishing penetrating power, pierced through Sanada Shin's hiding place time and time again, and several times it almost pierced through his other half of his body before it was mutated.

Compared to a single, lethal cation cannon shot, this burst firing mode, which could perhaps be called a cation gun, is more suitable for dealing with agile opponents like Arata Sanada.

Realizing this, Beelzemon decisively adjusted its original fighting style, using its ability to fly to firmly occupy the high ground and snipe targets.

Chapter Eighteen Supplementary Clauses to the Hacker's Code

"That was... that human hacker?"

Just as the battle between Beelzemon and Sanada Shin reached a stalemate, SwordEmperormon, which had recently made a "strategic retreat," also noticed this sudden battlefield.

Especially for Arata Sanada, who was fighting Beelzemon, the memory of SwordEmperormon was still fresh in his mind.

After all, there aren't many beings in the human world today who can drive Sword Emperor Beast to the brink of defeat, and EDEN's former strongest hacker, Arata Sanada, happens to be one of them.

Sword Emperor Beast knew far more about the hacker who, despite being human, had forced him to abandon the God Era Group than the hacker had imagined.

The leader of Zaxom, the legendary strongest hacker, and one of the first five to travel to the Digital World...

Regardless of their identity, they were all dazzling in the eyes of the Sword Emperor Beast.

However, what Sword Emperor Beast found strange was why Sanada Shin was in this place?

Back in the last siege, the four Royal Knights, led by Swordmon, destroyed the opponent's Digimon partner and completely deleted and formatted the area "contaminated" by Hellmon.

So why has Arata Sanada, who is now appearing near Odaiba, regained the power to fight against Ultimate-level beings?

And why did the battle occur during the Fallen Hell?

"Is it the power of the Corruptor?"

After a brief intrusion, Swordmon captured live footage of the battle between Arata Sanada and Beelzemon via cameras near Odaiba.

Let's leave aside the Fallen Hell Beast that suddenly grew wings and whose power seemed to be approaching its own limit.

The mere fact that most of Sanada's body had been mutated brought unbelievable shock to the Sword Emperor Beast; it simply couldn't connect him with the chuunibyou (delusional) boy from before.

After all, according to the Sword Emperor Beast's investigation, Sanada Shin has always been the kind of human who is aloof, arrogant, and even a little bit of a germaphobe.

Even during the previous sieges, Sanada Shinya always paid attention to his image, maintaining his aloof demeanor at all times and in all places.

But this once chuunibyou (delusional) boy who was always mindful of his image has now become this inhuman and ghostly appearance, completely shattering the Sword Emperor Beast's preconceived notions about him.

However, what shocked Sword Emperor Beast even more than the change in appearance was Sanada Shin's new power.

The method of assimilating and merging the invader with oneself, and then indirectly controlling the mutated body through digital waves, is clearly a scheme that I once proposed.

So far, apart from SwordEmperormon itself, the only person who knows about this plan is Akemi Suedo, who specializes in researching Digital Waves.

"That guy, Suedo Akemi, was indeed up to something behind my back."

It was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical...

Sword Emperor Beast was not surprised by the "betrayal" of Suedo Akemi, because their cooperation was based on mutual benefit.

Akemi Suedo wants to gain a deeper understanding of the essence of Digital Waves and the Digital World, while Emperormon hopes to use his wisdom and research findings to open the door to the Digital World.

Therefore, from the moment the gate to the digital world was opened and a crack appeared in the "dimensional wall," the foundation for their cooperation was already gone.

Even the collapse of the Rokumoto Research Institute and the exposure of his own identity led Sword King Beast to suspect that they were inextricably linked to Suedo Akemi.

"If they are not from my clan, their hearts must be different."

"It seems that even a genius like Suedo Akimi cannot escape this ant mentality."

Whether it was regret or indifference, Sword Emperor Beast watched Sanada Shin gradually fall into a disadvantageous position, but his mind unconsciously recalled the eight years he had lived in the human world.

Aside from the young Yuko Kamishiro, Akemi Suedo, who was both an enemy and a friend, was probably the human that Sword Emperor Beast had the most contact with.

Sword Emperor Beast originally thought he could guide that genius to abandon his human stance and truly become one of his "fellow humans".

However, as things stand, the somewhat neurotic Suedo Akemi is ultimately still human, failing to live up to his own expectations and his talent.

"what?"

Just as Sword Emperor Beast was about to withdraw its gaze and leave Odaiba completely.

An intruder who seemed familiar appeared to have sensed their presence and was attempting to reverse-engineer the surveillance cameras to pinpoint their location.

Before SwordEmperor could even react to the feeling of déjà vu, Beelzemon on the other end of the monitor had already turned its gaze to the nearest surveillance camera.

The feeling of staring intently at the camera was as if Beelzemon was seeing SwordEmperormon hidden elsewhere through that camera.

No, that might not be an illusion, because Sword Emperor Beast clearly saw Fallen Hell Beast open its mouth.

[Finally found you, SwordEmperor Beast!]

Without needing to understand any lip reading, SwordKingmon could guess what the other was saying simply from Beelzemon's mocking expression.

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

"I've finally found you, Sword Emperor Beast!"

Just as SwordEmperormon had guessed, Beelzemon did indeed notice SwordEmperormon monitoring it through a camera.

Because the moment Sanada Shin appeared, the Fallen Hell Beast had already infiltrated the nearby surveillance system and implanted its worm virus into it beforehand.

As expected, things unfolded exactly as Beelzemon had predicted: its fight with Sanada Shin attracted the attention of SwordEmperormon, who hadn't gone far.

In fact, it was precisely because he wanted to lure Sword Emperor Beast to show itself that Fallen Hell Beast did not immediately break free from Sanada Shin's entanglement.

After all, compared to aimlessly searching for the Sword Emperor Beast that may have already hidden itself, luring it to show itself is a better option.

Of course, this "waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump" approach was ultimately just a spur-of-the-moment decision by the Fallen Hell Beast, so it wasn't without its flaws.

At the very least, Beelzemon couldn't disguise its invasion method, making it easy for SwordEmperormon, which had already been invaded once, to associate itself with that white MetalGreymon.

The appearance of Beelzemon and intrusion methods similar to those used in the Valhalla server incident...

I believe that as long as SwordEmperormon is still intelligent enough, it will surely figure out the true origin of Beelzemon after a short rest.

As for how much of the truth the other party can figure out, that depends on how much information the Sword Emperor Beast actually possesses.

Unfortunately, I won't give you that time.

The Fallen Hell Beast's act of risking exposing its true form to lure the enemy out may indeed be quite reckless.

However, Beelzemon is willing to take a risk for Renamon X.

—The Hacker Survival Guide

—Article 5: Any behavior or action that could potentially reveal one's true identity should be avoided.

—Supplementary clause: Kill everyone who discovers your true identity, and you'll naturally avoid revealing it.

Chapter Nineteen: Some things shouldn't be eaten indiscriminately.

Has anyone ever told you that you can't just eat anything?

After a brief exchange and pinpointing the location of the Sword Emperor Beast, Fallen Heaven suddenly shouted this to the astonished Sanada Shin below.

"what?"

Instinctively realizing something was wrong, Sanada Shin, who was dodging the "cation rain," had just left his hiding place when he felt a throbbing pain in his right arm.

Immediately afterwards, it was as if something was being conceived within Sanada Shin's deformed, giant arm, which began to expand and twist uncontrollably.

Even Sanada Shin, who was the main body, could feel that Behemoth, which had been devoured and digested by him, was reorganizing inside his arm and even absorbing the data in his body.

It was an ability completely different from the assimilation ability of the invaders, but far more ferocious in its devouring.

Under the influence of this ability, Behemoth, which had been disintegrated, quickly broke through its giant, deformed arm and reappeared on the surface.

Moreover, by absorbing the data composition of Sanada Shin as a human, the "reborn" Behemoth also gained some flesh and biological characteristics, like a punk monster that combines machinery and biology.

—The Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony!

"I already said, not everything can be eaten."

Floating in mid-air, the Fallen Hell Beast did not hesitate at all, raising its cation cannon and aiming at Sanada Shin, who was still struggling in pain.

As Behemoth's mount, Behemoth is practically indistinguishable from a real Digimon, except for lacking a Digicore.

Or to put it another way, Behemoth, which was twisted and transformed by the Flame of Gluttony and given "life," is actually a part of the body of Beelzemon.

Not to mention that Beelzemon himself was a top-tier hacker who started by researching the Invader code.

With the Gluttony Lord's authority over gluttony alone, anyone who wants to devour or assimilate Behemoth will face the "Gluttony Power" that is capable of devouring any data.

If it were the mother of the Invaders, or Sanada Shin's fully grown form, perhaps the power of the Invaders could completely assimilate Behemoth.

But at this very moment, the still immature Sanada Shin will face the backlash of the next Gluttony Demon King.

In fact, this is why Behemoth did not show any panic after being devoured by Sanada Shin.

No one can wrest control of Behemoth from the Behemoth, which is essentially an external extension of the Gluttonous Demon King.

"hateful!!"

It must be said that Sanada Shin truly lived up to his reputation as a ruthless character who managed to escape even when surrounded and pursued by the Royal Knights. Once he understood this, he gritted his teeth and decisively abandoned the deformed arm that was still suffering from the backlash.

Click...

In an instant, Sanada Shin's figure, having severed his own arm, vanished into thin air, leaving only ripples spreading in the air.

— Hacking Skills: Data Leap.

This was originally a basic skill for hackers to traverse between EDEN networks, but after referencing Takumi Aiba's "login jump" ability, it has become an escape ability that is no less powerful than that of a data entity.

However, it is because of his unique characteristics that Takumi Aiba is able to freely roam any layer that exists between networks and data, thus reaching the point of invading any place.

However, it was thanks to his powerful hacking skills that Sanada Shin was able to improve this basic hacking skill into his own unique escape technique.

"He mastered 'hacking skills' so quickly?"

Although it was expected that with the merging of the two worlds, hacking skills that could only be used in the EDEN network would eventually appear in the real world, Sanada's new talent still surprised Beelzemon.

It's worth noting that it's only been less than half a month since the digital gates opened and the two worlds officially began to merge.

Even Beelzemon, which possesses a digital core and had mastered digitalization abilities in advance, took several days to use its hacking skills in the real world.

As a pure human being, Sanada Shin not only created a "superposition state" in a short period of time, but has now modified and applied the basic hacking skill of "data jump" to the real world.

"He's a genius, but unfortunately, he's a genius who's gone astray."