Chapter 24: It’s All Kurata’s Fault!
Kudamon carefully observed Moss. Compared to a regular Angewomon, her mask, hairstyle, wings, clothing, belt, feathered robe, shoes, physique, and even skin tone showed no difference.
The only distinction was a white emblem on her left shoulder!
It resembled the silhouette of a fairy. What was the significance of this symbol?
In the Digital World, emblems were most famously associated with the Seven Great Demon Lords, each representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins. However, this fairy emblem seemed unrelated to those symbols.
And besides, those emblems weren't tattooed onto their bodies.
Could it be that… this fairy emblem was a unique trait of a new species of Angewomon?
But if that were the case, the differences between her and a regular Angewomon were far too minor. Plus, if she were a new species, her emblem should have been something related to angels—like the Crest of Light or the Crest of Hope.
Why would it be a fairy emblem?
Kudamon was baffled.
Meanwhile, Captain Satsuma wasn't paying attention to his partner's musings. His focus was entirely on Sei.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked,"What do you mean by 'Digimon Hunters'?"
Sei glanced cautiously at Moss, no longer daring to act arrogant. He answered truthfully,"It means we go to the Digital World and hunt Digimon."
Captain Satsuma frowned."How do you enter the Digital World?"
Scratching his head, Sei thought for a moment before saying,"We use something called a Spacetime Shock Bomb. Boom—and a portal to the Digital World opens."
"That thing…"
Captain Satsuma's expression darkened as he suddenly made a connection, his face becoming grim.
His voice was serious as he asked,"Who do you Digimon Hunters work for?"
Sei answered,"Some guy named Kurata."
"I knew it…" Captain Satsuma had already suspected as much.
Tōma furrowed his brows."Captain, do you know this man?"
Captain Satsuma nodded."Ten years ago, we were teammates on an expedition team."
An expedition to the Digital World.
Back then, the Digital World was still considered an urban legend. Occasionally, there were cases of mysterious disappearances, where people would suddenly vanish without a trace.
One day, a scientist couple accidentally opened a portal to the Digital World during an experiment. To explore this new world, a former detective—now the DATS director—assembled an expedition team and ventured into the Digital World.
Satsuma and Kurata were both part of that team.
Even Masaru Daimon's father—Suguru Daimon—had been a member.
But due to an unforeseen event, the expedition was cut short. Everyone except Suguru Daimon returned to the human world.
Captain Satsuma chose not to reveal this detail, believing the timing wasn't right.
Instead, he continued questioning Sei."When did Kurata start hunting Digimon?"
Sei shook his head."I have no idea. Really. I only became a Digimon Hunter this year. I don't know how long Kurata has been doing this."
Sei was someone who only cared about power and battle. Within Kurata's ranks, he was merely a special enforcer, so the information he could provide was limited.
At that moment, a clear voice rang through the room.
"Frequent use of the Spacetime Shock Bomb will weaken the dimensional barrier between the human world and the Digital World."
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
It was Moss.
In truth, Moss already knew the information Sei had shared.
She had been hoping to extract some new details—things that weren't covered in the original timeline—but it turned out to be a disappointment.
Still, Sei's testimony added credibility to her own words.
Kudamon was startled."You mentioned the dimensional barrier… Don't tell me!"
Moss smiled."Looks like you've figured it out. As expected of—"
A Royal Knight!
She stopped herself before saying the words out loud. There was no need to attract unnecessary suspicion.
Kudamon narrowed his eyes."As expected of what?"
Moss simply smiled, raised her right index finger to her lips, and made a "shh" gesture.
"Secret."
"…"
"What are you two even talking about?!"
Masaru Daimon was completely lost. His brain wasn't built for complex theories.
Sure, he knew he wasn't the smartest guy around, but at least they could explain things in a way he could understand!
Sensing the confusion, Kudamon shifted the conversation back."If the dimensional barrier becomes too thin, Digimon will fall into the human world more frequently—and vice versa."
Tōma quickly caught on."So the reason more and more Digimon have been appearing in the human world over the years… is because someone has been constantly using the Spacetime Shock Bomb?"
Kudamon nodded."Exactly. That is highly likely."
With a hypothesis in mind, Tōma immediately accessed the DATS database, retrieving dimensional barrier readings from ten years ago and comparing them to the current data.
Sure enough, the dimensional barrier had drastically weakened over the past decade.
And the thinnest area?
Right near Tokyo!
Tōma muttered,"No wonder Digimon appear in Tokyo more often than in all of Europe combined. The highest usage rate of the Spacetime Shock Bomb is clearly in this area."
Kudamon fixed his gaze on the weakening dimensional barrier and spoke the worst possible scenario:"If this continues, the dimensional barrier will completely break… and the two worlds will collide."
This time, Masaru Daimon understood perfectly."So basically… it's all Kurata's fault, right?!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
If Kurata hadn't interfered, the dimensional barrier wouldn't have weakened, and Digimon wouldn't keep causing chaos in the human world.
It was all Kurata's fault!
Masaru clenched his fist, eager to fight."Then let's go punch Kurata's face in right now!"
The others sighed in exasperation.
Tōma replied,"It's not that simple. Kurata has at least two Digimon Hunters working under him."
Moss added,"Not only that, but Kurata has also developed an artificial Digimon called Gizmon. Its laser attacks don't just defeat Digimon—they erase them completely, preventing even a DigiEgg from forming. It reduces them to pure life energy."
"What?!"
Everyone was horrified.
The concept of artificial Digimon was shocking enough.
But an attack that permanently erased Digimon? That was terrifying.
Kudamon shuddered at the thought. He turned to Sei and demanded,"Has he already killed many Digimon in the Digital World?"
Sei nodded."Yeah. He kills Digimon and harvests their life energy."
Hearing this, Kudamon felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and fury.
While he had been working tirelessly for peace, Kurata had been committing mass slaughter.
Kurata!
Kudamon was seething."Satsuma, I have to go!"
But Captain Satsuma warned,"I understand your anger, but we can't act recklessly. This could start a war between the two worlds."
Moss challenged him."If you keep adding water to a leaky bucket, will it ever fill up? As long as Kurata exists, peace is impossible!"