What was about to arrive would undoubtedly be the most massive assault by the Dark Army thus far—and Zero's group had long been prepared for it.
"Login Jump!"
With the familiar sensation of weightlessness, the network space made of intersecting grid lines appeared. Zero hopped lightly on the spot, rolling his shoulders and neck to prepare for the fierce battle ahead.
He faced what could be a massive army, yet his side had only two fighters.
"How about it? Exciting enough for you? Feeling scared now?" Zero asked with a grin, teasing Gatomon who stood at his side. It was just casual banter to ease the tense atmosphere before combat. She responded with a confident smile, shaking her head.
"Hikari's watching me, so how could I possibly be scared?"
"Haha, well said! Alright, then get ready, the enemy will probably—hm?"
Zero had just been about to guess the direction of the enemy's attack, but suddenly, his expression changed sharply.
"—Taichi, Hikari!"
With just one call, the siblings immediately understood. After all, this wasn't their first battle together. The countless fights in the Digital World had honed their reflexes far beyond those of ordinary elementary students.
Without needing another word, both of them grabbed the Crests around their necks.
AGUMON… WARP DIGIVOLVE!
GATOMON… DIGIVOLVE!
Zero and Gatomon swiftly exchanged a high-five, their bodies simultaneously engulfed in brilliant light.
With the powers of the Crests of Courage and Light released, their Digivolution was completed instantly—and just as quickly, a fine crack suddenly splintered open in the grid lines high above the network space.
In mere moments, the tiny fracture rapidly widened. Streams of water burst forth from the cracks…
…In a blink of an eye, the cracks had spread across the entire visible ceiling of the space, and with a thunderous crash like the heavens collapsing, a surge of water poured forth, forming a massive tidal wave!
This colossal wave violently smashed down, crushing the ceiling of the entire network space. Millions of tons of seawater cascaded downward, as if the sky had inverted, pouring an ocean down from above…
…It was truly, "Flying torrents three thousand feet down, a river of stars from the heavens cast!"
The spectacular sight matched perfectly with the ancient poem. Zero swiftly deployed his Brave Shield, while Angewomon spread her arms, unleashing holy light, forming a barrier with Zero.
The instant their defenses were up, the crushing force of the ocean slammed down upon them.
Zero had no doubt—without even needing the enemy hiding within this deluge to act, just this massive amount of water crashing down could turn steel into scrap metal!
At that moment, Taichi embraced Hikari tightly, protecting her. Amidst this dizzying cataclysm, he had no idea how long it lasted…
Finally, when everything seemed settled, he cautiously opened his eyes… and immediately gasped in shock.
The previously empty network space was now filled by an endless, vast ocean.
They were surrounded by water on all sides. Only the tiny patch beneath their feet, maintained by the power of their Crests, remained unchanged.
They stood like castaways on a lonely island amidst a boundless ocean.
No, given the size of their foothold, perhaps it was more accurate to say a tiny boat.
"What…what is this…?"
Taichi blinked incredulously, while Zero narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"…I see. Merely by existing, a powerful entity can drastically influence its surroundings."
Because everything in the Digital World was data—in other words, information—an extremely powerful being was itself an immense source of information, continuously influencing everything around it through sheer presence.
This enormous stream of data could rewrite the surrounding space according to its will.
In simpler terms, this was a "Domain."
And there was a common misconception about Domains: that a certain place was considered a "Divine Domain" because a god existed there… but this was entirely backward.
It wasn't that the god existed because this was a "Divine Domain," rather, it was because a god existed here that this became a "Divine Domain"!
Just as Myotismon could alter his surroundings, creating a domain of mist, or Devimon could summon dark clouds merely by appearing, these were simple expressions of Domains.
And the stronger the being, the greater the changes they caused.
Thus, such a massive rewrite of the environment—from dry land to endless ocean—proved that the enemy before them was a monster far beyond Myotismon, or indeed, any enemy Zero had ever encountered!
Even without appearing directly, this overwhelming presence alone clearly indicated its identity…
Commander of the Dark Army, ruler of the "Ocean" Domain—
Data-type, Cyborg, Mega-level Digimon…
…METALSEADRAMON!
Is that guy really this powerful?
Zero couldn't help but doubt in his heart. In his memories, MetalSeadramon was strong, but among the Dark Masters he was basically a stepping-stone.
The true threats among the original Dark Masters were undoubtedly Machinedramon and Piedmon. By contrast, MetalSeadramon and Puppetmon had seemed like training wheels to give the Chosen Children battle experience.
It wasn't that they were weak, but they never displayed this level of god-like presence—"wherever I exist becomes a Divine Domain!"
Sure, the original Dark Masters had all received power enhancements from the dark forces behind the Firewall, certainly making them stronger than ordinary Digimon of the same kind. Just as there were many Demon Lord-type Digimon, but only seven carried the crests of deadly sins…
But even so, Zero instinctively felt they wouldn't surpass their peers by too much. Yet witnessing this now, a sense of unease rose sharply within him.
…This guy might be much stronger than I'd expected.
Well, whatever. There's no point guessing. If it's a mule or a horse, we'll know once we test it out. Instead of wasting time thinking here, better to just go fight head-on.
Taking a deep breath, Zero fixed his gaze on the enormous presence hidden deep beneath the ocean.
Even though the enemy lay concealed within the abyss, Zero's senses clearly locked onto its overwhelming aura. No matter how deep it hid, Zero could sense it.
Besides, it clearly had no intention of hiding at all.
"…Angewomon, watch over Taichi and Hikari. I'll handle this guy!"
Angewomon, now deadly serious, bit her lip and nodded firmly.
"Right! Be careful!"
Before she'd even finished speaking, Zero transformed into a flash of crimson, charging straight towards his opponent!
At that instant, the calm ocean erupted into chaos. Countless crimson eyes gleamed beneath the waters.
"If you want to see Lord MetalSeadramon, you'll have to get past—"
The ocean churned violently as dozens of tentacles shot upward, but Zero didn't even bother glancing at them.
"I didn't come here to fight worthless trash. Move aside if you don't want to die!"
With an angry shout, he swung the Dramon Breaker, instantly slicing through the attacking tentacles, cutting off the monster's arrogant speech midway.
The water exploded upward as countless enemies surfaced. Zero rose into the air, unleashing a fiery Great Tornado. Burning with the blazing flames of courage, he carved through the enemy ranks like a hot knife through butter, directly approaching his target.
The Ocean Army tried desperately to block him, but Zero's overwhelming aura froze them in place, none daring to move forward again.
At that moment, a deep voice resounded from beneath the waves:
"Very well. You handle the other one. I'll deal with him myself."
Receiving this order, the surrounding Digimon scattered eagerly, opening a direct path for Zero.
While Zero's way was now unobstructed, the entire pressure fell onto Angewomon.
"Hey, Zero… you really think highly of me, huh?" Angewomon sighed helplessly, though she couldn't complain much, as Zero was indeed taking on the most dangerous enemy alone.
The Ocean Army, led by two imposing figures, quickly encircled her from both sides.
Both leaders resembled marine creatures—one was a giant humanoid squid with tentacles erupting from its back; the other, a humanoid octopus-headed creature, its body strangely human but with bat-like wings stretching behind it.
These two terrifying leaders of the Ocean Army were both Virus-type, Aquatic-Beastman, Ultimate-level Digimon…
…MarineDevimon and Dragomon!
Accompanying them was a vast legion of Gizamon and Seadramon closing in from all sides.
Angewomon raised her arms, unleashing a dazzling rain of holy arrows, officially beginning the fierce battle…
…Meanwhile, Zero targeted the gigantic shadow in the depths, raised his Dramon Killers, and swung it down fiercely!
The turbulent waves parted under Zero's mighty slash!
Parting the sea with a single blow—such power could only be described as god-like!
But at that very instant, from deep below, a terrifying beam of pale-blue energy erupted—
"—[RIVER OF POWER]!!"
---
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