With the Kamishiro Group's support, the Firewall had been successfully constructed—at least for now, the Real World didn't need to worry about sudden disaster.
Kamishiro had paid dearly for this. To launch such an enormous project in such a short time, even with their deep pockets, had been a massive expenditure.
Still, they'd obtained the complete code for the Firewall—this "living program"… which allowed Kamishiro to better understand the nature of Digimon and the Digital World itself.
They had spent ten years researching without touching even the threshold of this realm. The funds they'd poured into it were easily a hundred times the cost of this single project.
Now, even if all they'd done was step through the doorway, the view beyond was more than enough for Kamishiro to call it a worthwhile investment.
Though the final completion of the EDEN System remained a distant dream, Kamishiro could now see its possibility.
If the structure of the Digital World could be transplanted into EDEN, then Kamishiro wouldn't merely create a massive online virtual community—they would create a true, fully data-based world.
A world whose parameters could be freely adjusted at will.
Infinite resources. Infinite space. As long as the technology to convert humans into digital beings could be unlocked, then humanity could live as digital entities in the network, achieving immortality.
EDEN would no longer be just a symbolic name—it would become the true Eden of a new humanity.
Of course, with their current technology, building such a paradise was nothing more than a dream. But the existence of the Digital World proved it wasn't pure fantasy.
For those who devoted their lives to this pursuit, simply knowing the dream was possible meant every remaining problem could be solved.
And a new world could not contain humans alone. Thus, the Aether Foundation was equally enthusiastic about the EDEN System.
If successful, they could restore countless extinct species through data reconstruction.
To revive these species, they needed complete datasets—and ideally genetic models. This was Aether's area of expertise.
From existing creatures, to ancient extinct organisms, to even mythical beings—everything was theoretically reproducible.
The existence of Digimon alone was proof enough.
To Lusamine, chairwoman of the Aether Foundation, this was a lifelong passion worthy of devotion—and she backed it with massive funding.
Half of the cash flow used in the Firewall Plan came from Aether alone.
Unlike the frenzied adults obsessed with "creating a new world," the children at the center of this incident remained relatively calm.
That fiery ambition clearly didn't reach them. Even Koushiro, the resident tech prodigy, was more fascinated by the program that could create worlds than by the adults' grand dreams.
To the children, there were more pressing matters at hand.
Once again, they gathered in Rina's home. Aside from the Yagami siblings, Koushiro had joined this time as well.
Using the same excuse—"social fieldwork"—the Shinomiya Family issued the invitation.
Being a prodigy, Koushiro rarely gave his parents trouble, and they trusted him deeply. Without asking many questions, they approved his participation.
And since Taichi, his close friend, would be there as well, they had even less reason to worry.
Rina's "room" had undergone multiple renovations—her underground floor had effectively become a subterranean base larger than the villa above it.
Its initial design used Kamishiro technology. Later, Zero enhanced it using the Steel Empire black-tech he'd acquired.
Now, with Koushiro and Wizardmon joining, the base was further reinforced using Wizardmon's magical power.
At this point, it was a hybrid of human technology, Metal Empire black-tech, and unknown interdimensional magic—an underground base that, in some sense, was genuinely formidable.
"Well, everyone… shall we begin today's briefing?"
Rina sat at the round table in the command room, striking a dramatic pose with her elbows on the table and her hands clasped under her chin—an imitation of a military commander.
"…Ahem."
Zero coughed awkwardly. "Anyway, the meeting… is basically just a report of what we learned these past two days."
Three days had passed since MetalSeadramon's attack. The group had swept across the entire global network, capturing the remaining stragglers still hiding in cyberspace.
With the Reality Barrier now strengthened, sending anything from the Digital World into the Real World had become extremely difficult. All the Digimon they eliminated had crossed over before the Firewall was built.
After dealing with these "illegal entrants," the Real World was temporarily free of Digimon threats.
However—
"…Even after getting rid of so many hiding rats, we still didn't catch the most important one."
Wizardmon's tone carried clear frustration—he still hadn't gotten over the fact that LadyDevimon escaped him.
But despite three days of sweeping the network, they found no trace of her. Either she never entered cyberspace… or she was still hiding somewhere in the Real World.
If that was the case, it was a headache indeed. Until they dragged that cunning rat out, they couldn't safely leave the Real World to deal with the Digital World crisis.
"Maybe she's not in the Real World anymore?" Gatomon suddenly offered.
Everyone paused.
"Uh—you mean she already returned to the Digital World? It's not impossible… but after going through all that trouble to send her here, and now that the Firewall is up and makes returning harder, would the Dark Masters really let a precious agent leave without accomplishing anything?"
"Or rather…" Zero frowned, his tone deepening. "…She secretly completed some mission we don't know about—and returned afterward."
"Mm…"
That possibility was indeed very real. For a moment, the mood turned heavy.
"Maybe we should try contacting Gennai?"
After a brief silence, Zero's suggestion passed unanimously. It had indeed been a while since their last contact, and no one knew the current state of the Digital World.
Deciding immediately, they used the upgraded communications network in the underground base to send a call out to Gennai.
After an agonizing wait through a lengthy dialing tone, the connection finally went through.
The moment it connected, Gennai's face occupied two-thirds of the screen…
"…Thank goodness, you finally called! If you hadn't contacted me soon, I was about to reach out to you myself!"
Gennai's voice clearly carried anxiety. Zero immediately sensed trouble.
"What happened, Gennai?"
"What happened? Something terrible happened!!!"
"!"
Everyone present was startled and immediately asked for details.
"Just recently, the Dark Army suddenly revealed a fifth commander—someone beyond the Four Dark Masters! He's launched an all-out invasion on Server Continent!"
"What? A fifth commander in the Dark Army?!"
Ocean, Forest, City, Abyss—those were the four domains governed by the Dark Army's four commanders, the so-called "Four Dark Masters."
Now, where the hell did a fifth commander suddenly pop up from?
"He calls himself the Digimon Kaiser. He's built structures called 'Dark Towers' on Server Continent and controls Digimon with devices called 'Dark Rings.' He's rapidly assembled a terrifying invasion force!"
"?!"
Digimon Kaiser, Dark Towers, Dark Rings…
…Zero obviously wasn't unfamiliar with these terms—but wasn't this the plot of Adventure 02? Why was the Ichijouji kid already on stage before the original Adventure story was even finished?!
Zero briefly felt his mind spinning. Clearly, the plot's derailment had gone far beyond anything he'd anticipated…
"…The Dark Towers are obviously downgraded versions of Spiral Mountain's programming. The Dark Rings are upgraded versions of the Black Gears. And this Digimon Kaiser even possesses a Digivice capable of forcibly evolving Dark Ring-controlled Digimon to the Ultimate level!"
"…"
Yes, in the original series, he indeed used Dark Rings to control Taichi's Agumon, forcing evolutions into SkullGreymon and a virus-type MetalGreymon…
Though these forced evolutions were only effective within the Dark Towers' range and couldn't last very long, it was already enough.
Even the armies commanded by the Dark Masters weren't fully composed of Ultimates, yet with the Dark Rings, the Digimon Kaiser could command an army of Ultimate-level Digimon at will.
An entire force of Ultimate-level Digimon—even if their duration was limited to three minutes—would easily dominate Server Continent. Zero's Resistance wouldn't stand a chance.
All the land previously liberated after defeating Myotismon had fallen swiftly back into the Kaiser's hands, and his rate of expansion was already surpassing Myotismon's earlier progress.
One particular individual played a major role in swiftly reclaiming Myotismon's territory:
Digimon Kaiser's so-called partner Digimon—the triple-defecting LadyDevimon…
"Damn it…looks like we can't delay any longer!"
Zero fought down the urge to cough up blood. The Dark Masters were already enough of a headache—why did this damn brat with acute eighth-grade syndrome have to show up and cause trouble right now?!
The Resistance they'd painstakingly built up would be destroyed completely if this brat kept rampaging unchecked…
"Since LadyDevimon's already back in the Digital World, there's nothing left to worry about here. Let's go—we're heading back too. Time to deal with this arrogant brat who clearly hasn't learned his lesson!"
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