The Greymon from File Island—partnered with humans, capable of freely evolving and devolving—had defeated the demon who'd once nearly conquered the entire island.
"Oh? You certainly did your homework."
Zero's tone revealed no fluctuations, but inwardly he'd already rung every possible alarm bell.
File Island was remote, distant enough that it shouldn't have attracted attention from the big players on Server Continent.
However, by absorbing Devimon's memories, Zero had learned about Devimon's encounter with one of the Dark Masters in the Dark Ocean—and the promise they'd made:
"If someday you appear before me again, having grown powerful enough to astonish me, I'd gladly invite you to become my ally."
Maybe it wasn't exactly high expectations, but at the very least, Devimon had been labeled an "interesting fellow," meaning it was likely he'd been under secret observation.
Even more suspiciously, the Black Gears were clearly connected to the Metal Empire and the Dark Ocean—most likely originating from the Dark Masters themselves.
Given that, the Dark Masters had probably invested some attention in Devimon, perhaps hoping he might someday become a valuable pawn in their Dark Army.
...And then, this promising pawn had been wiped out by Zero before even leaving the "novice village."
From a certain perspective, Zero's action was practically a resounding slap across the Dark Masters' faces.
Under these conditions, the Dark Masters had almost certainly become aware of Zero's existence. They hadn't acted personally—partly due to their work on Spiral Mountain, partly because they were busy dealing with the Holy Beast armies and Angel armies under the Four Sovereigns. They simply couldn't spare the resources.
But even if the Dark Masters couldn't act themselves, sending someone else to handle this issue was perfectly reasonable—and so this heavy task naturally fell upon Myotismon's shoulders.
Yet, Myotismon hadn't immediately attacked. Instead, he offered an invitation.
"As fellow Digimon, we have no need to fight each other, do we? What is it you desire... the pinnacle of evolution? Is that why you travel alongside humans? But there's no need for such tedious methods…"
Myotismon's calm, leisurely voice held some inexplicable charm, a subtle persuasiveness difficult to dismiss.
"…If we invade the human world, even without playing at childish games, we can easily obtain countless humans to facilitate our evolution. Isn't that far more efficient? And if you truly hold a particular fondness for certain humans, granting them special privileges would hardly be an issue."
According to Myotismon's logic, with the Light of Evolution lost, humans represented a critical shortcut for Digimon seeking higher evolution.
The Host Computer wished to pair humans with Digimon individually, forming cooperative partnerships—but in Myotismon's view, such a plan was hopelessly inefficient.
Digimon clearly surpassed humans by such a wide margin—so why stoop to playing house? Why not simply invade the human world directly, rounding up humans as livestock for evolution buffs?
Even if one felt genuine affection toward certain humans, it was easy enough to single out a few favorites for special treatment. After all, the world held billions of humans; raising a handful as puppets to manage the rest was a perfectly sensible arrangement.
Direct Digimon rule might trigger resistance—so cultivating human proxies to subtly transform society from within, achieving full psychological control, made far more sense.
Zero sighed inwardly. This was classic imperialism, cultivating puppet states to cement dominance. Human history had repeatedly proven how disturbingly effective this strategy could be—done skillfully, it even made the conquered gratefully accept their shackles.
Myotismon's consideration of this layer alone proved he'd carefully thought through his plan.
His invitation to Zero, courteous and sincere on the surface, certainly hid deeper motives.
The Dark Masters, after all, were constructing Spiral Mountain specifically to cripple Primary Village, severing evolution from the root. With the Light of Evolution lost and Primary Village disabled, whoever conquered the human world would monopolize Ultimate-level evolution—becoming unstoppable.
By then, humans and Digimon alike would have no choice but surrender or perish.
…And all this aligned perfectly with the intentions of the one lurking beyond the Firewall, whose true objective was breaking through into this world.
It was a scheme within a scheme: the entity beyond the Firewall used the Dark Masters to breach the Firewall, and the Dark Masters used their Dark Army to monopolize evolutionary power.
Myotismon and Devimon belonged to the higher ranks, commanding elite enforcers and expendable minions beneath them—forming a pyramid of oppression.
But Myotismon clearly harbored greater ambitions. He wasn't satisfied being a mere pawn for the Dark Masters.
Yet the gap between ordinary Ultimate and the Dark Masters was enormous—without surpassing it, he'd remain forever a pawn.
And since he wasn't content to stay a mere lapdog, his only choice was killing the one holding his leash.
Yet Myotismon was well aware that even evolving to Ultimate on his own probably wouldn't be enough. He'd need allies.
Or rather, he'd need to trick several pawns into dying on his behalf…
His seemingly earnest offer of partnership to Zero looked sincere, like he intended to treat Zero as a brother-in-arms—but beneath it, he obviously just planned to send Zero off to his death.
Zero wouldn't accept this nonsense even without all the other complicated considerations—simply looking at it from pure self-interest, he'd never agree.
A few pleasant words, and you think I'll gladly die for you? Who do you think is dumber here?!
Still, Zero had to admit: without having read the original "script," without access to extensive information allowing deduction of the Dark Masters' and Myotismon's true intentions, most Digimon might genuinely fall for such a tempting offer.
Otherwise, Myotismon couldn't have assembled such a formidable army, including multiple Ultimate-level followers. Clearly, they'd all been duped by his extravagant promises.
Though no one dared openly oppose the Dark Masters at their peak, none genuinely wished to be their dogs. Myotismon's persuasive words had lured countless wavering Digimon into his ranks.
Zero had yet to respond—but behind him, Taichi and Hikari held their breaths anxiously.
Even elementary-schoolers could grasp the implications of Myotismon's speech. The demon casually expressed his ruthless ambition toward the human world, openly proposing to raise humans as livestock.
From humanity's perspective, accepting such a thing was impossible—even if there was a high chance they'd be among the "specially favored" humans Myotismon mentioned.
"Zero…"
Facing Myotismon's overwhelming pressure, Taichi stepped forward first, breaking the silence.
In truth, even if Taichi hadn't spoken, Zero had already made his decision—but he hadn't expected Taichi's courage at a time like this.
"Don't worry, Taichi. Like I told you… humans are my partners!"
With those words, Zero made his stance perfectly clear. Myotismon's extended hand hung in the air a few seconds more, before he finally shook his head in regret.
"I see… so that's your answer. Then—"
Suddenly abandoning his earlier elegance, Myotismon's tone turned bitterly cold.
"—You'll inevitably become an obstacle to my ambitions. Die!"
With a flick of his wrist, a deep crimson light gathered into his palm, forming a whip-like tendril of blood-red energy that slashed forward!
Zero immediately roared, unleashing all his accumulated power. Evolutionary light enveloped him, and he evolved straight into RizeGreymon!
With a Barrel Smash the gun collided head-on with the incoming blood whip. Trustworthy Chrome Digizoid once again demonstrated reliable destructive power, instantly shattering the whip apart.
Since Zero's RizeGreymon evolution had been acquired in the Real World, Myotismon's investigation of Zero's earlier exploits on File Island wouldn't have revealed this hidden ace.
Clearly, Myotismon hadn't anticipated this. Just as he prepared his counterattack, a black energy sphere struck him from the side.
"Oh? Are you also planning to take advantage of this moment?" Myotismon whipped his hand sideways, instantly dispersing the attack, glancing irritably at Etemon.
Apparently, Myotismon still held some interest in Etemon's power, perhaps hoping to recruit him too.
But unfortunately, Etemon's personality was stubbornly straightforward: he refused to serve anyone else, not even bothering to pretend. He simply insisted on being "King Etemon," a villainously simple-minded fool—exactly the type to give schemers headaches.
Damn it! I should've let you die earlier…
But Myotismon had overthought things, trying too hard to recruit Etemon. Reluctant to lose his potential power, he'd inadvertently set himself up for trouble.
Meanwhile, Etemon's irritatingly loud voice once more broke into a shrill note—
"Haha, taking advantage? Nah, I've always hated your smug face! Since you showed up, let's settle this right now!"
Naturally, Etemon wouldn't team up with Zero either—so now this devolved into a chaotic three-way brawl!
Admittedly, Etemon was a perfect wrench in the works, dragging the battle into chaos for both Myotismon and Zero.
Etemon, Myotismon, and Zero—apart from the Dark Masters themselves, this was possibly the highest-level battle Server Continent had seen. And without warning, it erupted in a desolate valley on the edge of the southern desert!