A transmission from AI Herta and Screwllum.
It quieted the restless spacefleet, settling them down like a winding stream.
Not that it would've mattered much if they'd wanted to make a move anyway.
The energy readings on the detection equipment clearly showed reactions over there exceeding the threshold of an Emanator.
And it all seemed deeply connected to the Genius Society.
Who knew if some creation of the Geniuses was hidden on them?
Just a united advance force, that's all.
Even the Land of Light only had one Ultra over fifty meters leading their team.
If it really came to a fight, they'd stand no chance at all.
Seeing that 'Hertatomb' had already made her move, Herta and Screwllum began their own preparations on-site.
On one hand, they were setting up a stable signal transmission channel.
To ensure remote access to the Chronocognitive Anchor from here, allowing entry into Amphoreus.
Ambitious, sure. But honestly, no one could say for certain how long this operation targeting Irontomb would actually take.
Meanwhile, at the location of Amphoreus itself.
'Hertatomb' breached Amphoreus's outer defenses as effortlessly as returning home.
It was less like an invasion and more like simply unlocking a door with a key.
So much so that the entire Emperor's Scepter didn't even sound an alarm.
With 'Hertatomb' leading the way, World Herta and the Chronocognitive Anchor smoothly infiltrated the interior of the Emperor's Scepter.
"...That so-called mechanical genius didn't notice our entry at all?"
World Herta stood within Amphoreus, gazing at the Scepter's database.
She couldn't help but voice her astonishment.
'Hertatomb' shrank her form to a human-sized figure standing beside her.
"Perfectly normal. Right now, it's Irontomb coming home. The Emperor's Scepter naturally wouldn't react. And Zandar is probably focused on observing Amphoreus's evolution right now."
"Then he's just out of luck. Come on, let's find Demiurge first."
Since Zandar hadn't appeared before them immediately, World Herta's mind began buzzing with possibilities.
She was definitely going to take the spotlight, no question about that.
As for Demiurge, that entity Zandar had deliberately 'forgotten'—if handled well, it could become a crucial nail driven right into Amphoreus.
Using her own privileges, 'Hertatomb' moved forward with all green lights, smoothly making her way.
Along the path, she curiously inquired about the plan.
"Demiurge's consciousness should still be quite immature. From what I gather, it was Cyrene, over thirty million cycles of reincarnation, who gradually nurtured her using Amphoreus's data, bit by bit. That's why Demiurge ended up looking exactly like that individual, Cyrene."
World Herta had personally interacted with Demiurge, so she knew much about her origins and abilities.
Coincidentally, 'Hertatomb' hadn't seen the ending before arriving in this world from Earth, so this was all new information to her.
After hearing World Herta's words, 'Hertatomb' pondered for a moment:
"At this point in time, hasn't the endless cycle only just begun?"
"Not just begun—heck, it might not even be Phainon and Cyrene's turn for the next Cycle yet."
World Herta let out a soft laugh, then passed through a doorway.
They arrived in a dilapidated sector.
"To completely erase Demiurge's data, Zandar even detonated a Stellaron to physically destroy this storage sector. But even then, Demiurge survived."
World Herta moved through the ruins with practiced ease.
In an inconspicuous, tucked-away corner, she found a small, fragile cluster of data.
"If the future Demiurge was nurtured through Amphoreus's thirty million cycles, then the current Demiurge shouldn't be an exception either."
With a full understanding of Digimon architecture, and as a Primal Digimon herself, World Herta could almost be called a deity to them.
"So, what do you plan to do?"
World Herta didn't answer, instead merging the source code of a Digimon with Demiurge's data.
Finally, it transformed into something like a seed.
"Isn't it fitting for fairy tales that sprites are born from plants? So, I plan to plant her like a tree seed. Hidden enough, romantic enough—an ancient tree in Aedes Elysiae, letting her be born alongside Cyrene."
World Herta swiftly departed with the seed.
'Hertatomb' erased all traces of their presence.
Just as they were about to plunge into the Irontomb's calculation cycle and begin introducing the variable of 'hope' into Amphoreus, the belatedly aware Zandar finally sensed something amiss.
After all, even without alarms, the sudden injection of external data into Amphoreus's cycle was too obvious a change for Zandar to miss, old and frail as he might be.
And so, that ancient scholar appeared before the two, blocking their path into Amphoreus.
"Ladies, I must ask you to stop here. I have a matter requiring your clarification. The firewall I established showed no activity, yet you... how did you infiltrate this place?"
Zandar appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, tumultuous waves were already churning.
On one hand, someone had bypassed his firewall, slipped right to the doorstep of Amphoreus, nearly stepped inside, while he remained completely unaware.
Even now, as he checked the system over and over, he could find no trace of intrusion.
It was as if the firewall simply failed to recognize the entities before it, rendering it completely ineffective.
"Enough with the false courtesy, Zandar. I know you're itching to eliminate us right now. Why not take a closer look at who's standing beside me?"
World Herta opened with sarcasm, having likely bottled up this frustration just waiting for Zandar to show himself so she could let loose.
"..."
Suddenly having his identity pointed out, Zandar clearly felt some helplessness.
He believed his identity was perfectly concealed, with absolutely no possible avenue for his information to leak.
So then... where had the intel about him come from? He still couldn't fathom it.
But that entity beside her resembled some strange Herta puppet.
As Zandar focused his attention, scrutinizing closely and incorporating the massive form outside the Scepter into his observations, he suddenly sensed a dissonance.
"This is Irontomb? No... impossible? Irontomb is still gestating! Two Irontombs cannot coexist in this universe! And why does it bear Herta's head?"
Irontomb.
From every angle of detection, that colossal, skeletal frame was undoubtedly the Irontomb he desired.
Yet the true Irontomb shouldn't be like this.
Because that head—the position that should belong to Nous—why had it taken Herta's form?
More importantly, Zandar could clearly feel the gestating Irontomb, safe and sound, present right here.
One unexpected development after another forced even Zandar into deep contemplation.
From his inexplicable exposure, to today's infiltration, to the appearance of this other Irontomb, Zandar felt as if he were being manipulated by an invisible hand.
--+--