The image of the monster in New York appeared on the small monitors in front of every delegate in the conference hall. It had been filmed and uploaded by minor media outlets not allowed inside the United Nations Headquarters.
On screen, between the towering skyscrapers, a hulking beast loomed with six devilish wings. It was massive and muscular, its head resembling that of a ram with enormous horns. Its entire body was dark brown, its eyes glowing blood red, and all four limbs were wrapped in heavy iron chains.
Belphemon: Rage Mode!Its dormant form had been somewhat cute—but in this rage form, Belphemon was nothing but terrifying, nothing but demonic.
Just standing there, it looked like a harbinger of hell, a beast of the apocalypse.
With a single roar, the entire city of New York trembled. Glass shattered across skyscrapers like falling snow.
In an instant, it felt as if doomsday had arrived!
"Demon!"
"No—it's Kurata!"
Moss noticed the green hue on Belphemon's horns.
That was the mark of a Biomeric Digimon.
Biomeric Digimon at the Ultimate level had parts of their heads turn green, while those at Perfect level turned red.
Belphemon's green horns confirmed it—Kurata had fused with it using his Biomeric Digimon tech.
But in the original storyline, Belphemon's horns had remained unchanged. It seemed Kurata, in this timeline, hadn't achieved the same level of technical proficiency.
That, of course, was thanks to Moss. She had exposed Kurata's true identity earlier than expected, making him a pariah in the Human World and a fugitive in the Digital World—unable to manipulate events from behind the scenes as he had before.
Kurata hadn't originally intended to reveal himself by unleashing Belphemon to sabotage the peace conference.
After all, he had never shown Belphemon in public. No one would immediately associate the beast with him.
He could have used Belphemon as his secret weapon, wreaking havoc without exposure.
But he hadn't expected Moss, armed with knowledge of the original timeline, to expose him instantly.
"What? That's Kurata? How did he become like this?" said the Japanese delegate in shock, pretending to be clueless about Biomeric Digimon.
A representative from another Asian country commented with a pointed tone, "According to the records, he developed Biomeric Digimon technology—allowing humans to fuse with Digimon and gain their powers."
This made the Japanese delegate's face darken noticeably.
"Oh?"
Some delegates' eyes lit up.
Others narrowed theirs, hiding their reactions.
Biomeric Digimon tech not only allowed humans to wield Digimon powers—it could also heal disabilities, restore the elderly to youth.
In other words, some of the people in this room may already have knowledge of this technology—or may have even undergone such procedures themselves.
Meanwhile, someone else asked, "Why is Kurata even here?"
"He's clearly trying to sabotage the peace talks! Kurata is no longer a Japanese citizen. His actions are solely his own," the Japanese delegate quickly disavowed him, eager to avoid responsibility.
"Ah! It's heading this way!"
On screen, Belphemon was seen advancing toward the building.
Danger!Everyone tensed, their eyes turning to Moss with hope.
Maybe this angelic Digimon could be like a mythic savior—driving out evil, rescuing the innocent.
After all, she had remained calm and composed the entire time—surely she had a plan?
But Moss shook her head. "I'm just a diplomat. I don't have the power to stop him."
"Ah?"
Then why are you so calm?
But that didn't matter anymore.
"W-What do we do now?!"
Suddenly, three young people appeared in the video feed, each partnered with a Digimon. They charged at Belphemon.
New York DATS members!Since the existence of the Digital World and Digimon had been confirmed ten years ago, DATS branches had been set up all over the world. The more developed a region's digital infrastructure, the more likely Digimon were to appear—and the greater the need for DATS.
But compared to Tokyo, where Digimon incidents happened almost daily, New York rarely saw even one a month.
As such, the local DATS members were inexperienced—only able to evolve their partners to the Champion level.
That kind of firepower was no match for Belphemon.
Predictably, they were quickly defeated.
Then came the military response—armed helicopters, fighter jets—
Bullets, shells, missiles rained down in a storm. But they couldn't even pierce Belphemon's skin.
Useless. Useless. Useless!
In contrast, all Belphemon had to do was raise its head. From its mouth came black flames shooting into the sky.
In an instant, planes were reduced to fireballs, like dead leaves scattered by an autumn wind.
Debris fell to the streets. New York was engulfed in flames.
Doomsday.
Hell on Earth.
"It's over!"
"Are they going to use strategic nukes next...?"
"Are you out of your mind? A strategic nuke?! We'd all be caught in the blast—and there are millions of people in New York!"
"Hah. You think the higher-ups care about numbers?"
"…"
The murmurs among delegates grew grim.
Some sighed in despair. Some turned pale.
Someone, somewhere, would be willing to use any means necessary to eliminate Belphemon. And that meant everyone here—along with New York's millions of residents, tourists, and even the homeless—would become collateral damage.
Some sat in stunned silence.Some pulled out their phones to make one last call to their families.
There were no screams.
Only silence.
A silence of despair filled the hall. And since the livestream wasn't cut, that despair spread around the globe.
Silence.
A deathly silence blanketed the world.
Moss thought, Even if the nuke can't stop Belphemon, it would definitely injure me—maybe even kill me.
So she spoke up. "If we combine everyone's strength, maybe we can defeat it."
"Everyone's strength?"
The once-hopeless delegates lit up, then looked at one another.
"Do we even have that?"
Most of them worked desk jobs and would struggle to lift bricks—what strength could they offer?
What, the power to write reports? That comes after survival.
And right now, surviving at all was uncertain.
It's either death by Belphemon, or death by nukes.
Moss thought: Of course you don't.
Everyone had DigiSoul—but activating it took talent.
Maybe these people had potential in their youth—but now, they were middle-aged and burnt out.
Hearts without fire couldn't ignite DigiSoul.
"Full-body sync—Venusmon's Soul!"
Moss raised her hand. Above her, a dazzling magic circle appeared.
Its surface was covered in intricate, arcane symbols that radiated mysterious power.
"Ohh!"
Everyone stared in awe.
Bathed in its light, Moss's form began to change—she transformed into something resembling Venusmon.
"Ohhh!!"
Their eyes widened further.
From the front, Moss's new form was even more modest than before, yet somehow her charm multiplied. If she was a 10 before, she was now a 100—or even 1,000.
Then, Moss lifted her blindfold.
Venusmon wore it to seal her overflowing charm. Moss, having received Venusmon's soul, inherited that trait.
When she removed the blindfold, her charm exploded tenfold again.
The global broadcast continued.
This peace summit, the most significant broadcast in history, streamed on every public screen on the planet.
Though people couldn't fully feel the charm of Venusmon's soul through a screen, even a glimpse was overwhelming.
And when that blindfold lifted, it was like a long-darkened world witnessing the rising sun.
Light.
"!"
Everyone who saw it gasped—feeling as if their souls had been purified.
One word: Beautiful!
Two words: So beautiful!
Three words: Too beautiful!
Even her haters fell silent—then switched sides.
Even Yggdrasil, deep within the Digital World and monitoring the human network, felt something stir.
This Angewomon… truly exceptional.
Yggdrasil thought to itself.
Meanwhile, Moss's voice rang out: "When the hearts of humans and Digimon resonate, they release DigiSoul. That power can lead both worlds toward a brighter future."
With that unparalleled charm empowering her words, people across the globe began to believe in that future.
Then Moss said, "But now, someone is trying to destroy that future!"
All around the world, rage ignited.
Who dared threaten the future we share with Angewomon?!
"It's him!"
Moss pointed to Belphemon on the screen. "He may look like a Digimon, but the one controlling him is a man named Kurata Akihiro."
Kurata—you bastard!
People everywhere, of all genders and ages, were consumed by fury.
Yggdrasil didn't get swept up in the emotion. Instead, it was surprised that a human could control Belphemon.
But Belphemon represents sloth... that doesn't match Kurata's personality at all.
Sloth was the antithesis of ambition.
Those who achieve great things are never lazy.
If it had been Barbamon, the Demon Lord of Greed, he and Kurata would have been a perfect match. The fusion could've pushed them beyond all limits.
But Kurata had Belphemon. In an incompatible state—how much of its true power could he really wield?
Back in the broadcast, Moss spoke again: "Don't be angry—give your rage to me."
Give it? How?
"Burn, DigiSoul!"
No one stays young forever, but there will always be young people. And there will always be those moved to tears—those are the ones whose DigiSouls awaken most easily.
"Ah!"
"Ah!!"
"Ahhh!!!"
"Burn bright, my DigiSoul!"
All across the world, flame-like energy erupted from people's bodies.
With Moss's inspiration, those with potential began releasing DigiSoul. All DATS branches detected massive spikes in Digimon energy.
"They can do that?!"
In Tokyo DATS, Captain Satsuma was so stunned he felt dizzy.
"DigiSoul energy levels are skyrocketing!" reported Miku Kurozaki and Hiromi Shirakawa, working diligently at their stations.
While a single DigiSoul might not be that strong—together, they created an unbelievable value.
Tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions—
A number beyond measure!
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Each 10 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)
BONUS (were at 50 powerstones)