Aside from Zero and MetalSeadramon's battlefield—which had already transformed into an apocalyptic hellscape—Angewomon's battle against the oceanic army continued relentlessly.
Holding out until now, Angewomon was already beginning to show signs of exhaustion. After all, the enemy was simply too numerous. Countless Digimon surged endlessly from beneath the sea, launching themselves forward without regard for their own survival…
Yet, though completely worn out, Angewomon gritted her teeth and continued fighting. As for why…
…Hikari is still watching me. How could I possibly let myself lose now?
Besides, if she could hold out just a little longer—just a little bit longer—reinforcements should arrive soon…
...
Outside, Rina, who could only anxiously watch the battle through her Digivice, wore a clearly troubled expression.
"Director Suedou… Are you still not finished? Isn't this last step just pressing Enter or something?"
Facing such an amateur remark, Suedou merely laughed it off without minding it at all.
"Haha, Rina-ojousama, you play games, don't you?"
"Huh? Yeah…"
"Then surely you've experienced launch-day server crashes, when new games fail to handle their initial load?"
"Uh, more than once…"
Indeed, at this point, launch-day server crashes were practically a traditional "supernatural event" in gaming. Rather, a launch that didn't crash was sometimes a sign of trouble.
Game launches usually marked peak player traffic—so if servers weren't at least somewhat strained, it basically meant the game was already dead on arrival.
Sure, some big studios had sufficient resources and technical prowess to ensure stability, but smaller studios? If their servers didn't crash at launch, odds were they were just planning to grab some quick cash and vanish soon afterward.
Some smaller companies didn't even limit crashes to launch—every maintenance meant inevitable delays. A 10 or 20-minute delay was considered merciful; 30 minutes to an hour was normal…
…Not to mention the mythical 24-hour delays, the legendary 48-hour ones, and the still-unmatched nightmare of a 72-hour blackout.
"Our 'Wall' must handle data flows on the scale of an entire 'world,' with absolutely no room for error or crashes~"
"…"
Framed this way, Rina immediately understood and nodded. Seen like that, taking three to five hours to launch seemed completely normal. After all, for a game, that kind of instant data influx would've probably crashed the servers into next month.
"It's not that I don't trust Kamishiro's tech, but still…"
While Rina was still chatting with Director Suedou, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
"Rina… I've taken care of things here!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Rina instantly brightened up.
"Hajime? Thank goodness! Is everything settled on your end?"
"Yes. I'll head straight to help Zero now…"
"That's great! Zero should be alright, but Angewomon and Hikari really look like they're at their limits."
Just as she spoke, another voice joined in.
"Well, then—we should also join in, right?"
It was Koushiro and Mistymon, who'd just finished dealing with LadyDevimon. Two groups of reinforcements arrived simultaneously, giving Rina's heart some much-needed relief.
Even better, if Hajime and Koushiro were done, that meant the Firewall Program was finally about to activate fully.
This battle…was finally nearing its climax!
...
"Angewomon…are you alright? Don't worry about us, just focus on fighting…"
Hikari clung tightly to Taichi's side. Right now, the space beneath their feet had already shrunk to less than half of its original size, surrounded completely by raging waves. Only the tiny patch beneath them remained safe ground.
Even this fragile haven was continuously shrinking. The barrier formed by the two Crests was rapidly approaching its breaking point.
Initially spacious enough for the siblings to move freely, it had shrunk so much they now had to cling tightly together. The situation was clearly dire.
Yet even now, Hikari still gently urged Angewomon not to worry about them, which only made Angewomon silently curse her own weakness.
Damn it… If only I were stronger, Hikari wouldn't have to suffer like this. Especially at a time like this…
"At times like this, isn't it precisely when you count on your friends the most?"
At this critical moment, a cheerful male voice suddenly cut into the battlefield. Though it was a voice she'd never heard before, Angewomon immediately recognized who it belonged to.
She was stunned. She'd certainly expected reinforcements—but not from this particular friend…
And not only her: from behind Taichi and Hikari came another familiar voice.
"Sorry we're late! You okay, Taichi?"
Taichi jumped in surprise. That voice absolutely shouldn't have appeared here. Just then, a purple glow appeared, forming into the distinct shape of two overlapping circles.
The barrier, previously supported only by the Crests of Courage and Light, had already been at its limit. Now, with the addition of a third Crest, it instantly stabilized and strengthened.
Koushiro's figure…appeared clearly behind Taichi.
"Koushiro? Why are you here? And who is that…?"
Over there, next to Angewomon, a brilliant sword swept forth, wrapped in blazing flames, forcing back a wave of Digimon attempting to rush forward.
Mistymon's figure also appeared clearly.
"Wizardmon? How did you…"
Angewomon stared, astonished, at the imposing, armored mage-knight before her. Although he'd changed drastically, she could still recognize him through the familiar imprint of his DigiCore.
Recognized by her, Mistymon chuckled lightly, feigning a casual air.
"When a friend is in trouble, how could I not come running? Sorry…was I late?"
Angewomon's expression softened, and she finally laughed.
"No, your timing couldn't have been better. Thank you!"
Meanwhile, Taichi and Hikari stared curiously at Koushiro. Taichi especially looked him up and down repeatedly, making Koushiro feel a bit embarrassed.
"Ahem, well… I'll explain the details later. Right now, there's something more important we need to do, right?"
"Ah…right. But you'd better remember to explain it properly later!"
Watching all this unfold, Rina couldn't help but smile warmly.
"Haha, friendship really is amazing~ But we can't lose either… Hajime, are you ready?"
Rina grasped the Crest of Friendship tightly. Zero had given it to her as a gift, and naturally, she treasured it deeply.
On File Island, Rina had already been able to manifest a Crest on her own. Now, holding the genuine Crest, she effortlessly activated its glow.
Instantly, Courage, Light, Knowledge, and Friendship—all four Crests—shone brightly together, further reinforcing the barrier. The four Crests' combined radiance solidified into a spherical shield, securely protecting Taichi, Hikari, and Koushiro within.
With the humans safely shielded by the four Crests, Angewomon and Mistymon could now fully concentrate on combat. Hajime was also fully prepared for battle.
Yet just as Rina was about to send Hajime into the fight, Zero's voice rang out clearly.
"Rina…"
"What's wrong, Zero?"
At this moment, Zero was fiercely battling MetalSeadramon. Their battlefield was utterly hostile to outsiders. Yet due to MetalSeadramon's domain, Zero still couldn't land a decisive strike.
Thus, Zero had come to a realization…
…In the half-month that Rina and Hajime had fought together in the Real World, they'd clearly gained some entirely new kind of power.
That power had stabilized Hajime's Kimeramon form and become Rina's ace-in-the-hole.
And when Zero himself broke the Mega barrier as WarGreymon, supported by Taichi's Courage, it opened up new possibilities for him.
WarGreymon was the Mega of MetalGreymon—but Zero's strongest Ultimate wasn't actually MetalGreymon; rather, it was his GeoGreymon line…
…Having already experienced breaking through to Mega as WarGreymon, achieving a parallel evolution with GeoGreymon required only one final push.
Until now, he'd never had the chance to attempt it, lacking a suitable trigger.
But now, driven by the desperate need to overpower his enemy's domain, Zero could clearly feel his DigiCore trembling in anticipation.
If so, this was the perfect opportunity—to challenge himself once again…
Hearing this, Rina flashed a brilliant smile.
"Yeah… since you're so fired up, Zero, how could I let you down? You've been fighting alone in the Digital World, haven't you? It must've been tough. As your partner, I've never once stopped training. I've been fighting all this time too!"
The strength she'd gained alongside Hajime over the last half-month in the Real World would finally be shown!
Rina clenched her fists tightly, DigiSoul igniting like bright flames and swiftly covering her hands. She exchanged a look with Hajime, who nodded firmly.
"Alright! Let's show them the strength of our bond and growth~ Zero and I…are the strongest partners ever!"
"[DIGISOUL, CHARGE]—!"
Burning DigiSoul enveloped Rina entirely. Placing her hand firmly on her Digivice, she channeled all her DigiSoul inside…
…Still not enough!
Just this much still wasn't enough…
Nearby, Hajime, entering cyberspace, roared fiercely as the DigiSoul enveloped her, evolving immediately into Kimeramon…
And Rina clearly felt her fiery emotions—previously filled with anxiety—ignite completely, fueling her DigiSoul even hotter.
This is it!
DIGISOUL, FULL CHARGE...
OVERDRIVE!!!
In Zero's eyes, a crystal-clear image finally emerged…
...WARGREYMON—SLIDE DIGIVOLUTION!
---
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