Everyone noticed that Zhuque Beast had completely let go of his murderous intent after Qinglong Beast's persuasion, so they all de-evolved.
Remaining in evolved states consumes a lot of energy—the higher the evolution level, the more intense the drain.
"Excuse me… what do you mean by 'true enemy'?"
The person who asked was polite, so Qinglong Beast took the time to explain.
"When the Digital World first formed, there existed a force that threatened all life. We don't know what it is, where it came from, or how to fight it…"
Then one day, that entity simply vanished.
After that, the Digital World entered a golden age of evolution and prosperity. The key to this evolution was the Power of Evolution—a gift to the Digital World itself.
To protect that gift from a possible return of the enemy, the Four Sovereigns disguised the Power of Evolution as an ordinary Digimon—AncientMelodymon.
"…Now it seems that enemy is returning. Zhuque Beast wanted AncientMelodymon for battle preparations, though his methods were too extreme. For that, I apologize."
As Qinglong Beast finished, a strange, ethereal giggling echoed from the distance.
"Ehehe…"
"Giggle…"
"Hehe…"
Everyone turned to see a group of Digital Sprites floating over.
They looked like miniature, glowing cherubim—not even half a meter tall, and weightless as feathers. Though they looked like plushies, they were older and more ancient than Digimon themselves.
Long ago, the Wild Bunch in the human world developed the core data of what would become Digimon. These half-finished digital lifeforms ended up in the Digital World. There, Digital Sprites refined them into real Digimon.
Even Guilmon was created this way—Takato Matsuki designed him, and the Digital Sprites brought him to life.
"Create Digimon…" Moss mused, intrigued. If she could learn their technique, she could start her Angemon–LadyDevimon army—a "Heaven–Hell Harem Project!"
But when she tried to greet them, the Digital Sprites smiled serenely and ignored her completely.
A spirit nearby chuckled, "They only act on their own whims. Even I can't make them do anything unless they feel like it."
Moss realized her ambition wouldn't impress them, so she shelved the Heaven–Hell Army plan for now.
Maybe she'd gather Angemon and LadyDevimon types from alternate dimensions instead. A slower approach, but more reliable. After all, her Mastemon soul deserved an army of angels and demons behind it.
"Kari!" Takato suddenly shouted.
The man who had spoken was Goro Mizuno, former member of the Wild Bunch, and known as "Shibukashi."
Shibukashi added, "The true enemy is called Deletemon."
"Deletemon?" everyone echoed, confused.
Qinglong and Zhuque Beasts went quiet. They were paying attention now.
They assumed the humans had long abandoned Digimon. Yet, here was one of their creators in spirit form. Respect was due.
They didn't realize the humans had simply run out of funding. Even gods need to eat. The "abandonment" was just bureaucracy.
Shibukashi continued: "Deletemon was originally a program used to erase rogue AI, but something went wrong when it entered the Digital World. It mutated… and its destructive power grew exponentially."
Then suddenly—Shibukashi's spirit vanished.
"Mr. Mizuno?!" Takato panicked.
"Don't worry," said Koichi Kimura. "He probably just woke up in the human world. His soul snapped back."
Koji Minamoto smirked, "Koichi's been through this himself."
Koichi chuckled, "You brat…"
They laughed, easing the tension.
Tai Kamiya said, "If the Four Sovereigns only wanted AncientMelodymon to release the Power of Evolution, then there's no need for us to fight."
Henry Wong nodded and asked Qinglong Beast, "Once AncientMelodymon releases the power, can we take him with us?"
Qinglong Beast replied, "Once he does, he'll revert to a regular Digimon. He can go wherever he wants."
That was a yes.
"Come, I'll take you to him."
With a thought, Qinglong Beast made them all float, and guided them and Zhuque Beast to the core of the Four Sovereigns' domain.
At the heart was a deep crater, and at its bottom was AncientMelodymon.
"What's that?"
From the crater, red orbs bubbled up.
They looked harmless—until one touched a rock, which instantly disintegrated.
That… was Deletemon.
The Grim Reaper of data life.
"How dare it defile this sacred land!" Zhuque Beast roared and charged in—only to return moments later, bloodied and beaten.
At least he'd slowed Deletemon's spread a little.
"AncientMelodymon is still down there."
Everyone hesitated. Seeing Deletemon's power firsthand chilled them.
"I'll go," said Moss.
"Kari!" cried Kari Kamiya.
"I'll be fine," Moss smiled. "Wait for my signal."
Deletemon could destroy any data-based lifeform on contact—even Moss.
But skills and attacks were different. Deletemon didn't react the same way to those.
Moss mused, "Can it destroy Huanglong Ore?"
That mythical metal could only be damaged by itself.
She shook off the thought. Either way, it wasn't instant. That meant it could be used as a temporary shield.
"It's coming," warned Angemon Lucy.
Moss refocused, just as a red orb approached.
She flicked her hand, sending it flying into a wall—which promptly vanished with the orb.
Another approached. This time, Moss summoned a dimensional gate using her powers of light and shadow.
It led to a void outside the firewall of the first Digital World—Apocalymon's domain.
The orb entered the gate.
She'd just discovered a new defensive method—absolute void. If something has no space to exist in, it simply vanishes.
More orbs came. She kept using the gate to redirect them, buying time as she dove deeper, eventually retrieving AncientMelodymon with a flick of her Rooster Talisman power.
…
Elsewhere, Apocalymon noticed the dimensional gate again.
Not falling for it, he kept his distance—until a red orb flew out.
"Aha! So this is your little helper, Angemon Lucy?"
Sneering, he extended a tendril to grab the orb—
—and the moment it touched, the tendril vanished.
"What!?"
Another orb appeared.
"I won't be mocked!" Apocalymon fused his tendrils and used Devolution Claw.
It worked—the orb shrank into nothing.
Another came. He caught it—gone.
"Hah! Your little red orbs are nothing!"
But Deletemon felt it—a force that could truly hurt it. Its instinct wasn't to flee but to eliminate the threat.
WHOOSH!
Deletemon surged like a digital volcano through the gate—straight at Apocalymon.
Mistaking Deletemon for Moss's "ally," Apocalymon went to war.
An endless fight began.
One eternal. One undying.
One evolved in a flash. One devolved instantly.
They clashed in a storm of contradiction—neither giving ground.
Moss had only meant to redirect Deletemon.
But this… worked too.
"Send a tiger to eat a wolf. Let two devils fight."
As long as Digimon continued evolving, one day a being would emerge that could end Deletemon.
Until then… Apocalymon could be the wall.
Moss smiled, "Apocalymon, you really are a hero."
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Each 25 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)
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