Zero naturally recognized the boy in front of him, but he couldn't openly admit it, so he asked symbolically, making it convenient for both sides to introduce themselves.
"Koushiro Izumi…"
Though indifferent while dealing with LadyDevimon, Koushiro clearly became modest and polite when facing ordinary people. He introduced himself with a friendly smile, prompting Rina to suddenly remember something.
"Ah! You're the genius boy Yuuko's family hired before, who also helped design the EDEN System, right?"
Koushiro had indeed been hired by Kamishiro Group to assist with parts of the EDEN System's design—proof that Kamishiro employed people based purely on talent, even if they were just children.
Aside from this, Koushiro had another identity: he was a close friend and practically a brother to Taichi Yagami.
Zero, familiar with the original plot, naturally knew that Koushiro had always been the brains of the original Adventure group, responsible for solving numerous technical issues for the team.
Since they were practically on the same side, there was no need for excessive politeness. Unfortunately, Taichi wasn't here right now.
However, Koushiro seemed to feel it was better this way. "Could you keep my involvement with Wizardmon a secret from Taichi for now?"
Though uncertain of his reasons, Rina readily nodded. "Sure, no problem. You're Taichi's friend, so I'm guessing you don't want to worry him, right?"
As they spoke, both sides exchanged intel.
"…So Wizardmon also came to the Real World? Does this mean things in the Digital World have stabilized for now?"
Wizardmon previously chose to stay behind in the Digital World to help Zero tidy up loose ends, particularly to protect the important "Gate."
"Yes. After that, I contacted Piximon, and we cooperated to relocate the Gate to the Fairy Lake."
Leaving the Gate at Myotismon's castle was too conspicuous. Thus, Wizardmon and Piximon—two Digimon proficient in mysterious powers—joined forces to use their signature skills.
Piximon had always excelled at spatial magic. He directly teleported the entire Gate straight to Fairy Lake.
"Incredible…! He could even manage something like that. Piximon really is impressive," Zero praised openly, but Wizardmon immediately added:
"Well, to be fair, it was mainly thanks to the Hyper Gears you provided, Zero-san…"
Having successfully broken through the Ultimate barrier, Zero's own data had undergone another update.
Once the Unmanned Mechanical Factory obtained data on Ultimate-level Digimon, it combined this data with previous field tests to finalize the Hyper Gear into its latest version.
Using the Hyper Gear to boost DigiCore computational power, Piximon could now achieve feats he'd never been capable of before—such as this massive teleportation magic, shifting the Gate directly to Fairy Lake.
At the same time, Piximon established teleportation gates between Fairy Lake and Etemon's old pyramid base. Using Etemon's leftover underground cable system, a basic intelligence communication network had been set up.
With help from the Digimon previously rescued by Zero's group, the base for the resistance against the Dark Army had finally begun to take shape.
Additionally, several powerful Digimon dissatisfied with the Dark Army's tyranny had already expressed willingness to cooperate. Together with Gennai's behind-the-scenes networking, the resistance was finally starting to look less like a disorganized ragtag group.
As the nominal commander of the resistance, Zero naturally felt pleased with this progress. Although he had never truly commanded a single battle, his position was unquestionable due to his strength after breaking through the Ultimate barrier, along with the support of the Host Computer.
With the resistance base now developing steadily, Wizardmon had mostly wrapped up matters in the Digital World, turning his focus to the Real World.
The Dark Army had also clearly shifted its main attention to the Real World, where the next large-scale battles would surely take place.
Wizardmon intended to continue interfering with them here, while also verifying a theory of his own.
After seeing Gatomon find her own human partner and feeling happy for her, he had quietly developed similar thoughts.
If he found a suitable human partner, it could drastically boost his power—mutual cooperation would benefit both sides immensely.
But suitable human partners weren't easy to find; compatibility was key, like finding a life partner. Where would he easily find someone with matching personality and skills?
Yet, Wizardmon had truly found one—Koushiro Izumi, who held an insatiable curiosity toward the unknown and was himself a technological genius.
During their first collaboration, both quickly realized they got along well. Both were intellectual, technique-oriented types, naturally sharing plenty of common interests.
Wizardmon sought deeper magical truths; Koushiro sought the secrets of the Digital World. It was a perfect match, and together they started investigating the current hot urban legend—the nighttime vampire.
Following clues left behind, the two had cornered LadyDevimon, but severely underestimated her strength.
LadyDevimon had stirred panic by spreading urban legends, absorbing the resulting negative emotions to greatly enhance her power, fully stabilizing herself as an Ultimate-level.
Though initially just a rushed evolution, the negative emotions unexpectedly allowed her strength to settle, now granting her genuine Ultimate-level power.
Still, she clearly understood that even with Ultimate-level strength, she was no match for Zero.
The instant she sensed Zero approaching, she fled immediately—like a rat hearing a cat approaching.
"I see…so that's how it is. We were also chasing this urban legend," Zero commented.
Splitting attention between handling the Dark Army's attacks on server stations and investigating the urban legend had stretched them thin, proving quite exhausting.
After all, Taichi and Hikari were only elementary school students. Occasionally pulling an all-nighter was fine, but constantly repeating it was too much for them physically.
Thus, Rina and the Yagami siblings worked in shifts. Since Zero could draw power from both Rina's and Taichi's DigiSoul, he could fight equally well with either of them.
Today happened to be Rina and Zero's patrol shift, and they stumbled upon this battle scene by chance, arriving immediately afterward.
But they'd still arrived a step too late. LadyDevimon had spent a long time infiltrating dangerous places even as DemiDevimon, surviving constant peril as a mere Rookie-level Digimon due to her extraordinary instinct for danger.
Without that exceptional awareness, she would've died countless times already—considering that any random Champion could've easily slapped her to death with minimal effort.
As a result, she'd become as slippery as an eel and cunning as a fox. Capturing her wouldn't be so simple.
"Hm, looks like we'll need more preparation. Anyway—"
Zero took out something, handing it to Koushiro.
"…Here, I think you'll need this."
Koushiro carefully took it, discovering a golden, hollow pendant inset with a purple crest shaped like a microchip, bearing the image of two concentric circles side-by-side—The Crest of Knowledge.
It perfectly matched Koushiro, tailor-made for him, and Zero trusted he'd fully utilize this Crest's power.
Koushiro appeared aware of the Crest's significance, receiving it with great care.
"Thank you…I'll make good use of it."
This meant that Zero had now successfully given four of the Crests to their intended holders. The remaining four weren't urgent—he believed opportunities would arise naturally.
The eight Crests were, after all, special "cheats" prepared by the Host Computer to counter the Dark Masters and Apocalymon. As long as Zero could handle that threat, the Host Computer wouldn't mind leaving all eight Crests in his care; it was quite generous in that respect.
With the Crest of Knowledge, Koushiro and Wizardmon gained the qualification to reach Ultimate, possibly even breaking through the Ultimate barrier.
Of course, regarding resources, the Crest of Knowledge had always been somewhat overshadowed in Adventure and 02, with MegaKabuterimon having limited performances in the plot.
But now that Koushiro had paired with Wizardmon, this combination would clearly better embody the concept of "Knowledge."
…Honestly, a magical wizard matched the Crest of Knowledge better than a giant beetle ever did. Who knew how the Host Computer selected partner Digimon in the first place…
…Did it draw lots or something?
This issue was temporarily resolved, but another troublesome matter remained:
Half this alleyway was wrecked. How to explain this publicly? With that earlier battle, nearby residents definitely noticed something.
Considering it was past midnight, and normal people were naturally more fearful than curious about loud disturbances—like hearing gunshots, most people would hide rather than investigate. Still, it'd be tricky to handle afterward.
"…Leave this to me," Wizardmon chuckled. "…I happen to be good at small hypnotic tricks. Just like that woman said, my magic may be mere parlor tricks, but right now, these little skills should come in handy."
"Hmm…" Rina nodded in agreement. "Then please handle the residents. As for this scene, I'll find a way to cover it up."
Although it seemed manageable this time, it reminded Rina and Zero of a vital truth: Digimon powers were extremely formidable. Another incident like this wouldn't be easy to cover up.
"We have to complete the Wall Plan as soon as possible and stop the Dark Army's invasion before it fully breaks into the Real World!"
---
T/N: LADY DEVIMONNNNNNNNNNNNNN
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