"Thus, Digivolution is a power nearly every Digimon seeks, and it's also the key to survival in this world."
Listening to Zero's explanation, Taichi understood maybe half. After all, he was just an elementary school kid; overly complicated stuff was clearly beyond him.
But he did grasp quite a lot, especially about evolution. The practical demonstration from earlier was more than enough for Taichi to get the gist.
"So, it's basically like leveling up or class advancement in a video game?"
Taichi thought for a few seconds and gave the closest analogy he could think of. Zero immediately laughed.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it~"
Evolving to get stronger—this basic cause-and-effect logic wasn't hard to grasp. And the way Digimon became stronger by defeating and absorbing data from other Digimon was basically identical to leveling up in RPGs.
But this wasn't a game. Even though Digimon could return directly to the Village of Beginnings after death, they'd lose nearly all their experiences; essentially, it wasn't much different from reincarnation.
And for humans, if they died here, there wasn't even a chance at reincarnation—they'd instantly GG right there.
In that sense, the Digital World truly wasn't a place for elementary schoolers to mess around in. Without partner Digimon, they'd be practically helpless.
That's why Zero couldn't just leave the Yagami siblings behind. Until he reunited with Rina and Hajime back in the Real World, he'd have to travel with Taichi and Hikari.
As they were busy clarifying the situation to each other, Drimogemon, who had been carrying the three, stopped nervously.
"We've arrived... it's here..."
Zero immediately lifted his head to look. Before them was the dead end of a branching cavern path, a small sealed chamber.
Within this sealed chamber sat a neatly placed, closed box—obviously, the Tags.
However, surrounding the box were four metallic pillars, woven through with bluish-white electric currents, forming a protective cage around the Tags.
"..."
Apparently, the Dark Masters hadn't just casually tossed the Tags somewhere random; they'd at least left behind a protection device.
"This is a seal set up by Machinedramon-sama, one of the Mega-level Digimon of the Dark Masters..."
Drimogemon honestly confessed. Hearing this, Zero instantly understood.
"Mm, looks like something from the Metal Empire, all right..."
If this protection had been arranged by Machinedramon, it obviously wouldn't be easily destroyed.
"So, we need that box inside?" Taichi stared blankly at the protective device, momentarily lost in thought. Meanwhile, Zero had already jumped off Drimogemon's back and rapidly evolved into Agumon form.
"Yeah, let's at least give it a try first. Here goes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zero immediately spat out a fireball. The flying flame crashed into one of the device's pillars, and a surge of bluish-white electricity flared out, instantly dissipating the fireball while leaving the device completely unharmed.
"...Alright, expected as much."
In his current Rookie form, Zero could roughly unleash the destructive power of an average Champion-level Digimon. Yet, that fireball hadn't even scratched it.
Still, this wasn't surprising. If this was enough to breach the device, it wouldn't really count as protection.
"Taichi, Hikari, and Drimogemon... all of you step back a bit..."
As he gave that warning, Zero was already enveloped in flowing light, swiftly transforming into GeoGreymon. The underwater cavern's tunnels were wide enough, but accommodating Zero's current bulk was definitely tight.
Taichi guessed Zero was about to launch some major attack, immediately pulling Hikari back to what he believed was a safe distance. Zero glanced quickly, confirmed it was fine, and inhaled deeply...
...In the next second, Zero spewed forth a raging firestorm. The roaring flames twisted into a crimson tornado, instantly filling the chamber with the protective device and Tags!
The explosive heat surged violently. Even though it wasn't aimed at Taichi, the sheer intensity made him stagger two steps back, utterly unprepared for such force—
"Ugh..."
He hurriedly raised his arm to shield his face, bracing against the fierce waves of heat rushing over him. Although not directly exposed to that terrifying pillar of flame, just its aftershock was enough to terrify any ordinary person who'd never witnessed such power.
Even Drimogemon beside them froze in shock. It knew Zero was strong, but this blazing display already exceeded its imagination.
This wasn't power a Champion-level Digimon should possess—and Zero's next action made it clear this was just the beginning.
Zero's throat rumbled as he inhaled sharply again, thick hind legs stomping heavily on the ground. The flames bursting from his mouth suddenly doubled in size!
From within the encircling flames came cracking sounds, a series of explosions reverberating so violently the entire passageway began trembling.
After this fierce bombardment, Zero ceased spitting flames...
...The walls of the chamber had been burned into a layer of black, glass-like crystallization, and the rocky walls of the passage were thoroughly cracked. Yet, despite all that, the protective device remained completely intact.
That bluish-white electric net shielded the box containing the Tags, utterly unharmed by the bombardment.
"...As expected from Metal Empire craftsmanship. No choice now."
Zero understood clearly: breaking this device would require heavier measures. He'd considered blasting away even the base, extracting the whole protection device outright.
But the earlier bombardment had revealed a metal foundation beneath the flooring, seamlessly integrated with the pillars. Even destroying the floor wouldn't disable the device.
And digging it out along with its foundation risked damaging the cave's structural integrity.
This underwater cavern wasn't very sturdy to begin with. The previous explosion had already left the tunnel dangerously unstable. Adding more force would undoubtedly trigger a cave-in or even collapse the whole cavern, flooding it with seawater.
Zero considered silently for half a minute before calmly speaking:
"Drimogemon... you should leave first. With your abilities, even a cave-in won't trap you."
After all, Drimogemon specialized in tunneling; even if the cavern completely collapsed, it could dig itself an escape route. Zero thus urged it to save itself.
"Uh, then... what about you guys?"
Drimogemon froze. Earlier, it worried Zero would betray it after guiding them here—such backstabbing was normal in the Dark Legion—but Zero was clearly honorable, letting it go since it cooperated.
"I naturally have my methods. Why? Want to stay and keep me company?"
That single line terrified Drimogemon into trembling. Obviously, Zero had something even more devastating in store. The earlier explosions had already been horrifying; something stronger would undoubtedly destroy the cavern entirely.
Just because it could dig out didn't mean Drimogemon enjoyed getting buried alive. It frantically shook its head.
"No, no, no! No need, no need! I'll leave right away, no trouble at all!"
And with that, it rapidly spun its drill-nose, plunged headfirst into the ground, and disappeared instantly...
After Drimogemon left, Zero beckoned Taichi and Hikari.
"Taichi, Hikari, come over here."
Hikari immediately agreed, fearlessly running to Zero's side. Taichi, however, hesitated clearly.
He was still shaken by Zero's last blast. If Zero unleashed something even stronger now, wouldn't the shockwaves be even scarier?
Could Zero really protect them from this close?
But seeing Hikari unhesitatingly running forward, Taichi—as the older brother—could only sigh helplessly, quickly following behind her.
"Hehe..." Zero sensed Taichi's hesitation, but thanks to Hikari, he'd quickly made his decision.
"You're a good brother. Now then..."
Seeing them arrive safely, Zero roared without hesitation... his body instantly covered in Evolution's brilliant light.
Far away, Drimogemon heard that roar and jolted in panic as its DigiCore sent out a severe warning!
Such intensity—no doubt, something big was coming!
GEOGREYMON—SUPER DIGIVOLUTION...
RIZEGREYMON!!!