Digital Hackers' Memories

Seemingly hearing Alpha Beast's whisper, Sanada Shin spoke with a bitter expression.

"In the final battle against SwordEmperormon, HellBegmon had already evolved into Diaboromon."

"It was only because of the breaths of the Fragrant Beast and the Dynasmon that it had to send me away ahead of time and die in the Free Zone itself."

"So, my 'Digimon Capturer' actually already contained Diablomon's evolution data."

Even if Sanada's new "Digimon Catcher" contains ready-made evolution routes, it would still take several years to find and raise a Digimon that can evolve into Hellmon.

However, what makes Arata Sanada "unconventional" is that he is a genius boy, the leader of JUDE, and the former strongest hacker of the EDEN network.

Of course, compared to Yuko Kamishiro, who has already lost "YUGO" as a support, he might be able to remove the "ex" prefix.

The premise is that he doesn't encounter another girl with the same "genius" title, Erika Mishima, who single-handedly deciphered the data structure of Arkadimon and successfully rescued her brother.

"You successfully 'revived' Diablomon using that intercepted digital wave?"

Alpha Beast, which is extremely sensitive to data, saw through Sanada's new approach at a glance.

The opponent used the massive amount of data that he obtained when he transformed into Aya to successfully reshape the evolutionary path left behind by Diablomon in "Digimon Catcher".

In a sense, apart from lacking memories of spending time with Sanada Shin, this "copy" born from the data of Diablomon can be considered the original Diablomon.

“I don’t think this counts as a ‘resurrection’.”

Calmly uttering a statement far beyond his years, Sanada Shin didn't say anything more to Alphamon, turning around and commanding Diablomon to charge towards the nearest Terminal 7D6.

boom!

In an instant, a violent explosion echoed across the deformed, boundless mountain.

Immediately afterwards, Takumi and Yuko, who had already formed a tacit understanding, also commanded their Digimon partners to rush forward, forming a perfect formation with Diablomon, who had joined the battle first.

"Omegamon! Let's go too!"

Seeing this, Nokia, who was already bursting with excitement, also swung her fist and rushed forward, forcing Omegamon to stay close to her side and protect her firmly.

"They really are just a bunch of kids!"

With a smile reminiscent of "Kyoko Mukai" appearing on its lips, Alphamon, after reaching a consensus with the other will within it, decisively drew its usual holy sword, Gredalfa, from the void.

Chapter Thirteen: The Holy Knight of a Parallel World

At the heart of the World Tree, on the canopy of a colossal tree that stands like a towering pagoda.

When the stubborn beast jumped down from the sky, it saw a scene completely different from what it had imagined.

Suddenly, a huge pit appeared in the center of the once lush tree canopy, and the burly skull beast was kneeling in the very center of the pit.

Correspondingly, the Skull Beast's magic spear had fallen more than ten meters away and was stuck diagonally in the trunk of the World Tree.

The sturdy magic shield was shattered into several pieces, with only a small piece remaining as a "handle," which the skull beast still held firmly in its hand.

"Skull Beast?"

This was the first time the Stubborn Beast had ever seen the Skull Beast in such a sorry state, completely shattering its preconceived notions of this "perfect knight."

"A stubborn beast?"

Upon noticing the newcomer's identity, the skull beast, though disheveled, maintained its composure and looked up in surprise, its face revealing undisguised astonishment.

"Why are you here?"

As an outlier among the Royal Knights, he even nurtured a true savior for them.

Stubborn Beast's stubborn personality, just like its name, is well-known among the members of the Royal Knights.

If it weren't for the fact that the Stubborn Beast's prestige was as outstanding as his reputation, World Tree might even have considered bestowing upon him the title of "Retirement Seat," equivalent to the "Blank Seat."

After all, if Alphamon is a recluse who is rarely seen, then Gankomon lives a semi-retired life where he only takes on tasks when needed and will never personally intervene if possible.

"I'd rather train my apprentices at a leisurely pace."

"The problem is that this crisis is clearly beyond the capabilities of Sistermon and Jesmon to resolve."

With a helpless shrug, the Stubborn Beast was well aware of its reputation among the Royal Knights, so it wasn't curious at all about the Skull Beast's surprise.

"That WarGreymon is a Paladin too, right?"

Although it is a question, the stubborn beast uses an affirmative tone here.

“Every paladin is a ‘savior’ chosen by the world, an being who embodies hope in the most desperate moments of crisis.”

"The appearance of the Paladin means that WarGreymon also has the potential to save the world."

"only……"

At this point, the usually shrewd and resourceful Stubborn Beast showed obvious hesitation.

"However, he may not be the 'savior' this time."

Before the stubborn beast could finish speaking, the skull beast seemed to have read its mind and continued speaking.

"He may not even be the 'savior' chosen by this world."

Paladins are the embodiment of "light of hope," a "line of life" chosen by the world in its most desperate times.

However, just like the Royal Knights who hold a seat among the Royal Knights, each Paladin has their own beliefs and ways of solving problems.

Even the "salvation plans" among the Royal Knights are not necessarily the same, let alone this Paladin-type WarGreymon that appeared out of nowhere.

Judging from the other party's behavior, Skullmon even suspected that the WarGreymon might be a paladin like SwordGreymon, born with the idea that "destroying the world is saving the world".

"It seems you and I share the same thoughts."

Upon hearing what the Skull Beast said, the Stubborn Beast couldn't help but exhale a breath of stale air.

"That WarGreymon is the 'savior' of another parallel world; he only came to save Renamon."

Faced with the stubborn beast's speculation, the skull beast gave an affirmative answer.

"Although I haven't been able to fully investigate his origins, judging from the current situation, he is very likely to be a 'savior' from another parallel world, just like that Ultimate V-dramon."

UltimateVeedramon, a member of the Royal Knights, was lost in an endless space-time continuum due to an accident at the time portal on its way to the human world.

Therefore, Takumi and his friends had to bring in an alternate dimension counterpart of UltimateVeedramon from another parallel universe, which finally stopped the conspiracy of SwordEmperormon and Aromamon in the human world.

As a Royal Knight who had the privilege of fighting that UltimateVeedramon (a forbidden word), Skullmon was certain that the UltimateVeedramon's strength was in no way inferior to the real UltimateVeedramon.

"The situation is getting more and more complicated."

Unable to resist touching his chin, the Stubborn Beast looked at the Skull Beast, who was still kneeling on the ground, and suddenly asked again.

"How did that WarGreymon break through your defenses?"

Although asking this question might hurt Skullmon's pride, looking at the broken magic shield in the other's hand and the mess around it, Skullmon felt it was necessary to understand the true combat power of that WarGreymon.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Skull Beast, just as Stubborn Beast had imagined, fell into a brief silence.

The Skull Beast wasn't immune to defeat, but this was the first time it had ever encountered something like this: its shield was breached head-on, and it swaggered into the very heart of the world.

Fortunately, Skullmon was not the arrogant Ultimate-level creature it was, and it quickly revealed the information it had learned from the previous battle.

"That WarGreymon seems to possess some kind of artificially created Digicore technology and has an unknown number of Ultimate-level clones."

"Moreover, he also possesses a certain explosive program that allows him to unleash power beyond the limit in a short period of time."

"It's not clear what the limits of that program are yet. The only thing we know is that that power can break through my shield and completely breach the firewall of the digital world."

"Also, although that WarGreymon was trying to hide, I still sensed an unusual 'spatial fluctuation'."

As he said this, a thoughtful expression appeared on the skull beast's face.

"If WarGreymon's final attack hadn't pierced my shield, it would likely have used its spatial abilities to force its way into the core of Yggdrasil."

To be honest, even among its adversaries, Skullmon had to admire WarGreymon's meticulous planning.

The white WarGreymon seemed to have planned the entire battle from the very beginning.

The fighting style of "considering defeat before victory, so that one can be invincible in every battle" is perfectly embodied in WarGreymon from beginning to end.

"Top-tier combat skills, the abilities of human hackers, an unknown number of clones, explosive skill moves, and some degree of spacetime manipulation..."

After hearing the information about the Skull Beast, even the powerful Stubborn Beast couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"From which parallel universe does such a pervert originate?"

Chapter Fourteen: Three Different Futures

"After all this talk, don't you have any 'good news' to tell me?"

After memorizing all the information about WarGreymon, Gankomon turned its head to look in the direction leading to the core of Yggdrasil and asked Skullmon again.

"Of course there is good news."

With a forced grin, the stubborn beast spoke in a way that was hard to tell whether it was happy or frustrated.

"Although that WarGreymon forcibly broke through my defenses, its Dragonbeast Killer was shattered, and its combat power has decreased by at least half."

To put it bluntly, most of WarGreymon's fighting power is concentrated on its Dragon Killer ability.

Even if that white WarGreymon is an aberrant individual among WarGreymon, it is certain that its Dragonbane Buster is its strongest offensive weapon.

"Also, when that guy forcibly broke into the Digital World, the 'Shield of Courage' was destroyed by Examon."

Hearing two pieces of "good news" in a row, the stubborn beast, who had been frowning, finally relaxed a little.

Dragonbane Buster and Shield of Courage are arguably the ultimate weapons for all WarGreymon.

Without these two powerful weapons, WarGreymon might not fall below the Ultimate level, but its combat power would inevitably be greatly reduced.

"Okay! At least things aren't too bad."

With that, the stubborn beast turned and walked toward the core of the World Tree.

"..."

As always, Skullmon remained silent, watching Gankomon's receding figure, its mind replaying WarGreymon's arrogant expression.

It's such a pity I can't have another fair fight with you.

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

Almost simultaneously, inside the core of the World Tree.

"Is this the core of the World Tree? It's... a bit rudimentary than I imagined?"

After losing the Shield of Courage, they also lost the Dragonbeast Slayer...

At this moment, after WarGreymon shed its two most crucial weapons, it transformed into a tall dragon-man whose body was merely covered by armor.

It lacked its former sharpness and imposing presence, but possessed a more domineering and ferocious aura than before...

Especially with the various cracks appearing on its armor, WarGreymon now looks like a "monster" that has just emerged from hell.

Fierce, eccentric, cruel, tyrannical...

In the eyes of Jade Rabbit Beast, WarGreymon has now been labeled with any word that can be used to describe a "monster".

"The interior of the World Tree is actually a pagoda-like structure with an infinite corridor, which is quite unexpected."

Dragging the Jade Rabbit Beast, whose body was several times larger than his own, downwards, WarGreymon didn't care at all about the Jade Rabbit Beast's opinion of him, just as he never took the other's betrayal to heart.

In WarGreymon's eyes, if he didn't need Jade Rabbitmon to guide him, he wouldn't even consider bringing this "burden" along.

"Is this the way we go next?"

Although this tower-like place appears to be just an endless spiraling corridor, WarGreymon will not let its guard down.

From the subtle changes in the Jade Rabbit's expression, WarGreymon also discerned the answer it sought.

In fact, this was also the core purpose of WarGreymon forcibly dragging Jade Rabbitmon to create the world; he didn't need the other party to say anything.

As long as he asks questions where there are obvious data anomalies, WarGreymon is confident that he can deduce the answer from the subtle changes in the other person's face.

Ultimately, Jade Rabbit Beast was never a cunning creature; in fact, during its Black Ear Beast era, Jade Rabbit Beast could be described as single-minded.

In this situation, as long as WarGreymon doesn't act foolishly, finding the core of the World Tree is only a matter of time.

"You're only making things worse!"

As WarGreymon slowly traversed the Infinite Corridor, Jade Rabbitmon, who had been keeping a straight face, finally couldn't hold back any longer and warned in a low voice with a look of fear on its face.

"Priest Beast X has now 'merged' with the World Tree, and the World Tree is eliminating any trace of the Invaders' existence through a reboot."

"If this process is interrupted, Yggdrasil will crash due to a program bug, and at that point, the Digital World will truly be beyond saving!"