Digital Hackers' Memories

Although the last stubborn beast to make its move lacked the conceptual means to attack its enemies, the sheer force it created completely destroyed this alternate dimension that once belonged to the Royal Arena.

—Combat Technique: Heavenly Fist!

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PS: After laying the groundwork for two more chapters and preparing all the clues, I will probably focus on developing Takumi as the true "protagonist".

PS2: In the previous volume, the powers of Omegamon and Alphamon should have been temporarily "disabled," just like in the game.

Otherwise, with them acting as babysitters, it would be incredibly difficult to highlight Takumi's "single-minded desire to save everyone" protagonist image.

However, without the participation of these two Royal Knights in the final battle, even if WarGreymon wins, it won't have much prestige; it's practically an unsolvable problem...

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Odin's Realm

"what is that?!"

Looking out over Mount Infinity from elsewhere in the Digital World, the World Tree, which had been somewhere between existence and non-existence, suddenly transformed into an indescribable entity made of tentacles.

Mount Infinity is the main body of that indescribable evil god, while the invaders around the world are its tentacles that spread out, constantly eroding and assimilating everything in the digital world.

"It's the Royal Knights fighting!"

BanchoLeomon was the first Digimon to sense the true source of this "abnormality".

This is because it not only has a close friendship with Gankomon, but has also seen Alphamon and Omegamon in the real world.

So when those few small black dots suddenly appeared near Mount Infinity, the sharp-eyed BanchoLeomon quickly recognized them.

Leaving aside the three Royal Knights, Alphamon, Omegamon, and Gankomon, Breviluddramon, Durandamon, and Kaiyomon have all appeared in the Odaiba Building and are Ultimate-level beings with combat power comparable to the Royal Knights.

As for the Infinite Dragon Beast?

Needless to say, it was the culprit that directly breached EDEN's firewall, causing the human world to become wary of Digimon.

Diablomon, however, is an Ultimate form that BanchoLeomon has never seen before.

But being able to fight against the Invaders alongside the other Ultimate-level beings, it's obvious that he is definitely no less than a Royal Knight.

"Even Sistermon has appeared, and there are humans among them."

With its sharp eyesight, Bancho Yurimon narrowed its eyes and quickly saw the true appearance of those small black dots.

Besides the several Ultimate forms, the blue Sistermon protecting Takumi and his companions is also quite eye-catching.

"So, that's the true form of the Invader? It really is related to the World Tree!"

The aloof and arrogant leader of the Spiked Beasts was also gazing into the distance, but its eyes were more fixed on that indescribable creature that resembled an evil god.

"No, the will of the earth tells me that thing is not the World Tree!"

BanchoGolem, having barely regained its mobility, refuted BanchoSpikymon's claim, because it could sense a sense of unease on that mutated Mount Infinity, a feeling quite different from the Digital World.

That was definitely not the World Tree, or rather, it was merely an unknown entity wearing the "shell" of the World Tree.

His composition is far more perfect than the invaders scattered throughout the world, a difference as great as that between a Digimon and Yggdrasil.

"In any case, the culprit has finally shown up."

Bancho-DouDoumon finally interrupted the budding argument with a single sentence, his gaze more serious than that of the Invaders who were once again agitated by the materialization of the Invader Mother.

"Let's go to Infinite Mountain! Although we can't control the final outcome of the battle, we must at least prevent these invaders from returning to their original forms."

At this very moment, that indescribable evil god, existing between existence and non-existence, is calling upon His kin, summoning the invaders scattered throughout the world back to the Mother.

Once they have truly assembled, the real Invader, the Matrix, will descend upon the Digital World as a “creator.”

By then, the Corruptor Mother, who has truly broken through dimensional boundaries, will be even more difficult to deal with than it was in the Void Arena.

The only saving grace is that the combined attack by the Alpha Beasts has temporarily shattered the Invader's mother body.

If He wants to reassemble His form in the Digital World, it will take at least a considerable amount of time.

Before that, as long as YUGO can successfully separate the Invader Mother from the World Tree, this crisis will be temporarily resolved.

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

Meanwhile, at the foot of the alienated, infinite mountains.

"Huh...huh..."

Sleipmon was panting heavily as it stared intently at Skullmon, which had completely lost its ability to fight.

Beside the two royal knights, the Jade Rabbit Beast was nervously watching the battle between the invaders as it knocked them away.

Regarding the battle of beliefs between the two, the Jade Rabbit Beast, who shared similar beliefs, did not offer any advice or attempt to stop them.

Because the Jade Rabbit Beast had a similar belief back then, it forcibly led Priestmon X to the front of the World Tree, and then stopped WarGreymon, who was trying to find Priestmon X.

It has nothing to do with right or wrong, nor with stance...

This clash of different beliefs is the biggest reason why the Royal Knights have been able to get to where they are today.

"Can you admit defeat now?"

Sleipmon has pushed its power to the limit without harming Skullmon as much as possible.

If the battle continues, Sleipmon can't guarantee that it won't severely injure Skullmon again.

After all, Skullmon was already injured, and engaging in high-intensity combat would only repeat the mistakes of Swordmon and Aromamon, resulting in another loss for the Royal Knights.

"Phew...it's not a question of admitting defeat anymore, is it?"

Slightly panting, the skull beast, kneeling on one knee, glanced helplessly at the indescribable evil god behind it, which stood like a pillar supporting the sky. In addition to helplessness, its eyes showed more surprise and vigilance.

"Although we don't know what happened inside, our task now is to deal with those invaders."

Having tacitly agreed to Sleipmon's opinion, Skullmon simply swung its spear backward, piercing through an Invader that was trying to ambush it.

This is not the first Invader to try to ambush the Skull Beast, and it certainly won't be the last.

Because after Alphamon and the others joined forces to destroy the Corruptor Mother in the Void Arena, the Corruptors that were originally derived from the Corruptor Mother fell into the Digital World.

With the indescribable entity between existence and non-existence in Infinite Mountain as its "core," when these invaders reunite, it will be the time for the Invader Mother to return.

"Of course, I think so too."

Looking up at Alphamon and his group descending from the Void Arena, Sleipmon said nothing more, and the entire Digimon began to run at a speed beyond its limits.

Silence!

At this extreme speed that transcends time and space, a subspace realm, akin to a "prison," was created out of thin air, confining the fallen invaders to the vicinity of the Infinite Mountain to the greatest extent possible.

In this way, the possibility of the Invader Mother appearing outside of Infinite Mountain is completely eliminated.

—Odin's Realm!

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Two Madmen

"It's the Sleipmon and the like."

Omegamon, barely maintaining its balance in mid-air, immediately spotted the "Odin Domain" that surrounded the entire Infinity Mountain.

This is a kind of confined space that disrupts the order of spacetime by using extreme speed, and then completely isolates a specific area from the outside world. It is a special ability that only Sleipmon and UltimateVeedramon, which possess the "Godspeed" characteristic, can use.

"It seems we no longer need to worry about the remains of the mother body falling to other places."

"Unlike Omegamon and Alphamon, it doesn't have the ability to fly," said the stubborn monster standing on Breviluddramon's head.

Are you all alright now?

Takumi, who was also being protected by Breviluddramon, walked to the side of Gankomon and looked at them with considerable concern, as they had just used their ultimate attack.

"Don't worry, apart from the physical exertion being a bit high, this level of combat doesn't have much of an impact on us."

It slowly landed on the head of Breviluddramon, and the slightly tired Alphamon smiled to comfort the worried Takumi and his group.

Just as it said, when three top-tier royal knights unleash their ultimate moves at the same time, even a "god" of the level of the Invader Mother is powerless to stop them.

However, as a consequence of their all-out effort, the three royal knights also fell into a brief period of weakness.

Fortunately, this period of weakness will not last too long. The three royal knights each have their own ways of restoring their strength, and they will soon be back to their peak condition.

"The situation doesn't seem as optimistic as we thought."

Amidst Sanada Shin's terrified expression, as if saying "Don't jinx it," Nokia, who had also come closer, whispered a reminder.

"hold head high!!!"

As if in response to Nokia's warning, the Infinite Dragon Beast, which had just fallen to the summit of Infinite Mountain, suddenly let out an angry roar.

Immediately afterwards, the World Tree, which existed in the space between existence and non-existence and had become an indescribable thing, began to sway.

Rumble…

As if they were real living things, the World Tree, which had been completely distorted, shook violently, causing the Infinite Mountain, which was on another level, to also tremble.

"hold head high!!!"

So, when everyone's eyes were on the Infinite Dragon Beast, a huge "black hole" suddenly appeared on the summit of Infinite Mountain.

Twisted, writhing tentacles, sharp, pointed claws...

The suddenly opened "black hole" was a mouthpiece more terrifying than any carnivorous monster.

Caught off guard, the massive Mugendramon, which lacked the ability to fly, fell into it, becoming the first sacrifice for the Invader Mother to descend upon the Digital World.

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

The consciousness space of the Eroder Matrix, the core area of ​​the World Tree's residual data.

"Infinite Dragon Beast?"

Having already penetrated deep into the core of the mother body and was trying to contact Akemi Suedo, YUGO immediately sensed the situation of the Infinite Dragon Beast.

"As expected of a higher-dimensional being, even with its body torn to pieces, the Invader Mother still has an absolute possibility of turning the tide."

With a long, drawn-out sigh, Akemi Suedo, who had just escaped from WarGreymon, appeared before YUGO.

"Unfortunately, He was ultimately not accepted by this world as an 'outsider'."

With a cold expression, Yugo watched as Suedo Akemi approached him little by little. He did not panic even though the Infinite Dragon Beast was being devoured by the Corruptor Mother.

On the contrary, YUGO clearly realized that since he was still here, it meant that the Infinite Dragon Beast that was his vessel was still alive.

After all, from the moment Yuko Kamishiro decided to delete her account, the virtual account named "YUGO" ceased to exist, and was replaced by an artificial intelligence that was one and the same as the Infinite Dragon Beast—YUGO.

"How do you plan to separate the data of the Invaders and the World Tree?"

YUGO didn't press Akimi Suedo for why she suddenly abandoned her original plan and chose to separate the Invaders' data from the World Tree. She simply wanted to know what to do next.

"He really is a guy who doesn't excite me at all..."

The smile that had been on her face vanished instantly, and Suedo Akemi, who had originally wanted to explain the theory of "God's Dice," suddenly didn't want to say anything more.

Talking about randomness, worldline theory, and higher-dimensional interference with a man-made virtual life like YUGO is like casting pearls before swine.

"The data for separating the World Tree is actually quite simple..."

Thinking of this, Suedo Akemi took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the space beneath her feet.

"Because someone had already separated most of the World Tree's data."

"The current Invader Mother is, at best, just a monster with the 'shell' of the World Tree on its head..."

"Even if the Royal Knights outside completely delete it without consequence, it will only return the Digital World to a time before Digimon were born, and will not completely destroy both worlds."

He casually stated an ending that no Digimon could accept, and then, regardless of what Yugo thought, he continued to explain on his own.

"But my 'divine dice' is not the one I'm looking for. A digital world that has already been destroyed cannot lead to the 'perfect world'."

With a slight frown, YUGO, a top-tier artificial intelligence, analyzed Suedo Akemi's words word by word and quickly understood their meaning.

"You want to 'reset' everything?"

Although it sounds incredible, YUGO's analysis tells "her" that this is indeed Suedo Akemi's ultimate goal.

"Yes, reset the entire Digital World to eight years ago, back to the time before the Digital World and the Human World intersected."

"Only in that way will the beings of higher dimensions not interfere with the 'Dice of God,' and only then will I be able to see the true 'Perfect World.'"

With an undisguised fervor flashing in her eyes, Suedo Akemi believed that YUGO could understand her thoughts, even if the other party was very likely not to accept them.

"For this purpose, I need your help to use the historical data remaining in the 'shell' to send the digital world back to eight years ago before the real 'World Tree' returns."

His eyes involuntarily darted around, and massive amounts of data flashed through YUGO's pupils, helping him analyze how much truth there was in Suedo Akemi's words.

"Since the World Tree will return to normal even if I do nothing, why should I help you?"