A great battle loomed!

"Will this change in Saint last forever? Will he always be a good person?"

After much thought, Mo Si decided to ask outright.

Kudamon wasn't the secretive type. As long as it wasn't confidential, he would probably answer.

Hearing her question, Kudamon gave a faint smile and thought, She's worried that I altered his free will, isn't she? Just what I'd expect from Angewomon!

As a holy Digimon with a compassionate heart, it was only natural for her to think that way.

Kudamon explained, "Once the spiritual energy I left in his body runs out, he'll revert to his true nature. But that will take a long time."

"So there is a limit..." Mo Si secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She had actually been a little worried that Kudamon might use that trick on her. The thought of losing her current, slightly perverted personality was terrifying!

Pursuing the Path of the Saints was fine, but if her personality became normal, life would be far too boring.

Since she would eventually revert, though, there was nothing to fear.

A little later, at eight in the morning-

Thomas H. Norstein and Yoshino Fujieda arrived at the Command Room one after the other and clocked in.

When they saw Mo Si, they both greeted her.

"Where's Marcus Damon?" Mo Si asked curiously.

Yoshino said, "Marcus has school. He won't report in until classes are over."

Unlike the protagonists of the earlier Digimon series, who were elementary school children, the protagonist of the fifth series, Marcus Damon, was a fourteen-year-old in his second year of middle school-the same age as Taichi Yagami and the others in the second series.

"What about you two?" Mo Si asked, looking at Thomas and Yoshino.

She hadn't watched the fifth series many times. Aside from the famous "Marcus Damonmon" meme, she had forgotten many of the details.

"I've already graduated," Thomas said.

He was the same age as Marcus Damon, yet this boy genius had already graduated from the Stockholm Royal Academy. He was also a world boxing champion, excelling in both academics and combat. Rational by nature, he had been rated by DATS as its finest member of all time.

-The classic high-IQ second male lead.

"I... graduated too," Yoshino said with a sheepish smile.

Only, she had graduated from high school, not university.

Nor did she plan to attend university. Working for DATS effectively made her a civil servant, and once the problems caused by Digimon were resolved, she could transfer to the Metropolitan Police Department.

-Very much an ordinary employee's outlook.

"So that's how it is. Marcus Damon is the only one still in school," Mo Si said with a smile.

The one who loved fighting most was the one still in school.

In a way, that was quite a contrast.

Just then, Miki Kurosaki announced, "We've detected a Digimon signature in K1 District!"

"I'll handle it," Thomas volunteered.

With that, he took his Digivice and headed out. This was their routine assignment: whenever a Digimon appeared, they would go deal with it, beat it back into a Digi-Egg, and bring it back.

Under normal procedures, the recovered Digi-Egg would be sent back to the Digital World.

But with Kurata as a wildcard, sending them back to the Digital World wasn't safe. Kudamon had therefore asked DATS to hold on to the Digi-Eggs for now. Once Kurata was dealt with, they would send them all back together.

They're still the early-stage protagonist team, all right, Mo Si thought.

At this point, the protagonists could only evolve their partner Digimon to the Adult level. Since they didn't even have Ultimate-level combat power, they could only stay behind and provide logistical support in the coming operation against Kurata.

The same went for Mo Si. She would have to remain in the rear.

Her combat power wasn't enough to take part in the operation against Kurata either.

It was a little disappointing, but as long as Kurata died, it didn't matter whether she was the one who killed him.

"I'm heading back to my room."

With nothing to do in the Command Room, Mo Si said goodbye and returned to the room DATS had assigned her.

"Full-Body Reception: Myotismon Soul!"

As the light of a magic circle flashed, Mo Si took on her Blood Queen form.

Previously, she had only received the Myotismon Soul or the ZombieSatanmon Soul when fighting enemies. By contrast, she received Gatomon's Soul while playing around in her everyday life, which had made her mastery of Gatomon's Soul the highest of the three.

She had even developed Gatomon's latent ability: physical flexibility that made her body ten times more supple.

That tenfold flexibility was also what had allowed her to defeat Bio-Quetzalmon last time.

"By maintaining the Blood Queen form for a long time, even if I can't unlock any latent abilities, I can get more accustomed to this power and reach full power," Mo Si muttered, also explaining her reasoning to Angewomon.

Meanwhile, Saint had already contacted Kurata.

Kurata didn't question Saint's claim that he "wanted greater power."

That was simply the sort of person Saint was. He had originally become a Digimon Hunter for power and battle. Now, after being defeated by Chirinmon and escaping only after suffering humiliation, it was perfectly reasonable for him to want greater power so he could return for revenge.

So Kurata sent someone to bring Saint to him.

The instant Saint got out of the car and saw Kurata, excitement surged through him. I actually got close to this villain so easily! But it's not time to deal with him yet. I need to gather evidence first.

Seeing Saint stare at him with burning eyes, Kurata assumed it was a look of hunger for power. He smiled. "Saint, relax. Don't be so impatient. You'll have greater power soon enough."

Everyone had Digisoul, but bringing it out required talent.

Among Kurata's subordinates, only the three Digimon Hunters-Saint, Nanami, and Ivan-could bring out their Digisoul.

None of the others could do it, including Kurata himself.

Through technology, however, Kurata could still use Digisoul. He called it "artificial Digisoul."

Compared with Digisoul brought out directly, artificial Digisoul was no worse in terms of functionality. It was merely less convenient to use and required carrying an external storage device.

That made the three Digimon Hunters who could bring out their own Digisoul valuable. They might be hired muscle, but they were rare hired muscle. As long as their demands weren't excessive, Kurata would satisfy them.

"You want me to relax?"

What Saint wanted now wasn't power, but evidence-in other words, a chance to see a Space-Time Shock Bomb.

So he feigned anger and said, "Let me go to the Digital World. Only fighting will soothe my rage."

Kurata raised an eyebrow, sensing that something was slightly off.

But geniuses were often confident, even conceited, and Kurata was a conceited genius.

He put Saint's slight abnormality down to anger.

"Then go and blow off some steam."

Kurata led Saint to the warehouse where the Space-Time Shock Bombs were stored, took out a bomb, and set it. Then he walked to an open area and casually tossed the armed Space-Time Shock Bomb away.

Bang!

The bomb exploded, though the sound wasn't loud.

Or rather, human hearing could only pick up the sound of the bomb's metal casing shattering. The true sound of the Space-Time Shock Bomb lay beyond the range of human hearing and couldn't be heard.

After the explosion, a golden ring appeared in the air.

Inside the ring was a pitch-black tunnel, with green patterns flashing through it from time to time. There was no telling where it led.

This was the Digital World Portal!

A camera at Saint's waist recorded everything.

The footage was also transmitted to DATS headquarters.

At three in the afternoon-

Marcus Damon and Agumon arrived at the Command Room.

The moment they entered, they heard Miki Kurosaki's voice. "The evidence is here!"

Marcus Damon jolted. Though he had no idea what had happened, he instinctively felt that a storm was coming.