New York, Another Monster Appeared

Only after searching online did Kurata understand what had happened.

It turned out that the diplomat sent by the Digital World had demanded that every country reveal the existence of Digimon. She also wanted a peace conference held at United Nations headquarters to sign the Two Worlds Peace Treaty and promote the joint development of humans and Digimon.

There were even photos of the Digital World's diplomat online-a blonde female angel with a stunning figure.

Both holy and alluring, both revealing and restrained, she embodied these contradictory qualities in her appearance and attire, striking a perfect balance.

Angewomon!

As images of her spread online, fans and haters sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. Some cheered with excitement, while others reacted with contempt and resistance.

Kurata ignored the comments online and merely sneered. "So it was her!"

The Digital World's diplomat...

He had never imagined that an Angewomon he had casually captured back then would cause such a stir now!

Driven by his ambition to rule the world, Kurata had long considered the human world his for the taking. What Angewomon was doing now made him feel as though someone had stolen his home out from under him.

And it was thanks to this Angewomon that he had become a universally hated fugitive...

Old grudges and new!

A cold glint flashed in Kurata's eyes as he muttered, "A peace conference, huh? People from all over the world will gather in New York then. Perfect!"

The dangers of the Digital World exceeded his imagination. Gallantmon alone was enough to show how many powerful forces lurked there.

And the human world was equally hostile toward him.

Neither side welcomed him.

Compared with the Digital World, however, the human world's hostility was easier to resolve. All he had to do was launch an attack during the peace conference and intensify the conflict between humans and Digimon.

A faction of human extremists would inevitably emerge afterward.

Then he could work with them to mass-produce tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more Gizumon XT and enter the Digital World to harvest life energy.

You might be able to fight dozens of Gizumon XT at once, Gallantmon, but what about hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands?

The exhaustion alone would kill you!

Besides, they'd be scattered everywhere, feinting east and striking west. While you dealt with one group in the east, another in the west would already have finished collecting life energy.

Either way, I wouldn't lose.

Once the time was right, I'd conquer the human world first, consolidate its resources, and then counterattack the Digital World.

Hehehehe~ Perfect!

Pleased with himself, Kurata looked at the Digimon diplomat displayed in the information he had found and smiled contemptuously. "Let me give you a surprise, Angewomon..."

Just then, a voice he found irritating rang out. "Kurata, hurry up and make me stronger!"

This brat...

You're useless now!

Kurata turned and walked over to the Modification Capsule, then said to the shouting blond delinquent, "Get in."

"I have to get in here again?" Saint frowned, but obediently took off his clothes and jumped into the Modification Capsule.

Kurata operated the machine, extracted the Darkdramon from Saint's body, and converted him into life energy, which he injected into Belphemon, who was stored elsewhere.

"What's going on?" Saint immediately sensed something wrong inside him. "Kurata, why did the Digimon in my body disappear?"

Kurata smiled faintly. "Because you're useless now."

Saint froze at those words, then roared, "Kurata! You bastard!"

How dare you stab me in the back!

Furious, Saint punched the glass of the Modification Capsule. Unfortunately, without his Digimon, he was no longer an augmented human and could not break the thick glass.

Kurata sneered. "Watch your tone. I can end your life with the push of a button now."

Saint went pale with fright and no longer dared to act arrogant.

"Hehehe..." Kurata chuckled coldly.

In the end, however, he did nothing more to Saint and simply locked him inside the Modification Capsule. As far as Kurata was concerned, Saint was no longer useful, but he still had some value as a research subject.

Kurata left and went to the secret chamber where Belphemon was stored.

Inside stood a large tank connected to more than a dozen cables. Through the glass, he could see a sloth bear-like creature with ram's horns on his head and bat wings on his back.

Chains bound his body, and he held an enormous alarm clock against his chest.

This was Belphemon!

Sleeping peacefully, he looked rather cute, like a plush toy.

In reality, however, he was one of the Digital World's Seven Great Demon Lords, representing sloth.

This Demon Lord of Sloth was currently asleep, which made him look somewhat cute. Once he awakened, however, he would become a terrifying monster that brought catastrophe.

Kurata muttered, "If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to merge with you."

Ideally, he would invent a device that allowed him to control Belphemon remotely. Unfortunately, he was always just a little short of success and had never managed to create such a device.

Thus, he could only settle for the next best option: using the bio-Digimon technology he had developed to merge with Belphemon and gain his power.

Meanwhile, at ten in the morning in New York, inside United Nations headquarters.

"Miss Angewomon, would you consider changing your outfit? Your attire is certainly very attractive, but this will be broadcast live worldwide, and some regions still have rather conservative customs," suggested the liaison the United Nations had assigned to Mo Si.

Even open-minded America thinks you're showing too much.

"No need. This is my formal attire as a Digimon."

Mo Si waved a hand, rejecting the liaison's suggestion.

To become extraordinary, one needed extraordinary resolve. Inevitably, that meant doing things ordinary people found incomprehensible.

Shame was an obstacle to becoming extraordinary. She had to overcome it!

"Let's go."

Mo Si strode forward on her long legs, leading Etemon, Goblimon, Mushroomon, Otamamon, Gekomon, Kunemon, and the other Digimon toward the peace conference venue.

In truth, everything that needed discussing had already been discussed. This peace conference was primarily meant to establish clear goals and generate publicity.

"Miss Angewomon!"

Just then, someone hurried over. It was an operator from New York DATS.

Ever since the existence of the Digital World and Digimon had been confirmed ten years earlier, DATS branches had been established around the world. Almost every internationally renowned city had one.

"What is it?" Mo Si asked.

The operator held up a communicator. "A call from Tokyo DATS."

None of the Tokyo DATS members had come. They had all remained in Tokyo, and the only ones accompanying Mo Si were the Digimon brought along to lend weight to her presence.

Still, the Tokyo DATS members would also follow the peace conference on television, since it was being broadcast live to the entire world.

Mo Si took the communicator. "This is Angewomon."

A familiar voice came from the device. "Angewomon, this is Kudamon. We just received a message from the Digital World. Suguru Daimon sent it."

Suguru Daimon?

Mo Si figured something must have gone wrong if he was sending a message rather than coming back himself.

Sure enough, Kudamon continued, "Suguru Daimon said that Kurata has very likely returned to the human world."

Mo Si was speechless. The Royal Knights, Suguru Daimon, and BanchoLeomon had all been pursuing Kurata, yet he had still managed to return to the human world. Was he really that cunning?

Kudamon continued, "Earth is vast. We don't know where Kurata is hiding or when he'll appear again. If he shows up where you are, keep yourself safe. I'll be there within ten minutes."

Ten minutes from Tokyo to New York?

That's some flying speed!

Wouldn't that be over fifty times the speed of sound?

Mo Si marveled inwardly. Even if she flapped her wings until they broke, she could not reach one percent of that speed.

Come to think of it, I don't have any forms that specialize in speed.

"Understood."

After answering, Mo Si returned the communicator to the New York DATS member, then led the Digimon into the peace conference venue and took her seat under the gaze of countless eyes and cameras.

The plan to reveal the existence of Digimon had already been completed over the preceding ten-odd days. Mo Si's main purpose on this trip was to sign the Two Worlds Peace Treaty and lay the groundwork for their future joint development.

How things developed from there was not her responsibility as the Digimon diplomat.

She could only trust the wisdom of those who came after her.

A relatively good outcome would be a society resembling the Pokémon world, where evil organizations existed but could not cause too much trouble.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, but just as Mo Si was about to sign, something unexpected happened.

"Bad news! A monster has appeared outside!"