Darkness filled his field of vision.

　It was a world completely devoid of anything. This was neither Lacuna, nor the real world, nor even Cross Connectia where they had been adrift only moments before. Zenith now stood in the place they called the Void.

　The only light came from the firefly-like particles of data emitted by his own body, and from the glowing halo in front of him that floated above Unchained's head.

"You're really ticked off, huh. C'mon. Let's talk and make up already."

　Unchained chuckled teasingly. Zenith didn't answer; he was indeed furious—furious enough to lunge at Unchained on the spot. But frustratingly, the data making up his arms had been corrupted.

　To make things worse, he had lost an eye, throwing off his depth perception, and he couldn't accurately tell how far away Unchained was.

　Guess I won't be throwing any punches, then...

　The damage to Zenith's avatar data was done when he shielded Owen from the Black Emperor Dragon's attack. After that, his fragmented consciousness was sent through another game world, before Unchained led him here, into the Void.

　More than anything, it was the fact that he'd had to protect Owen that truly irritated him.

Zenith finally found the words to say to his "partner": "...Hey, Unchained. Ever heard of gyudon?"

"Gyudon... That's something you humans eat, right? I know of it, but obviously I've never eaten it—you know I'm not like you, don't you?"

　Beneath these words, Unchained seemed to be hinting, "Don't think of me as human." And in that moment, Zenith couldn't help but feel that he wasn't exactly normal either. He reaffirmed his impression that he and Unchained were cut from the same cloth.

　Zenith.

　The current Digimon Card Game world champion.

　Elite pro gamer.

　A genius.

　Undefeated. Unstoppable.

　Blessed with built-in aim assist.

　Born to bend the rules.

　Although there were endless titles for him, his favorite was "the Force of Nature who stands above all." This came from his reputation in the gaming community for not merely winning, but completely dominating the field, leaving the opposition not a sliver of hope.

　Zenith had a passion for winning that was practically obsessive.

　He had chosen the handle "Zenith" to signal his intent to crush everyone and reign undisputed at the top.

　But that aside...

"Well, I'll continue even if you don't understand. To me, you were supposed to be gyudon."

"...And that means?"

"Quick and simple."

　Zenith loves gyudon for two reasons: it arrives quickly after you order it, and you can scarf it down pretty rapidly as well. No other fast food comes close in terms of time:value ratio—when he first ate it in Japan, he was mind blown.

　For Zenith, efficiency was almost as much of an obsession as winning. It got on his nerves when his plans were disrupted or held up by anything trivial.

"What happened to our promise to keep Owen Dreadnought out of this?"

"Owen...? Oh! That's why you're so mad, then."

　Finally connecting the dots, Unchained clapped once to indicate understanding.

　Understanding, but not repentance.

"The data of the Imperialdramon was from the Digital World, imported via Cross Connectia, so when summoned into Lacuna there was no way to control them. And they're not exactly the type of Digimon that would follow my plan anyway."

　Unchained admitted wrongdoing, but obviously had a clear conscience, and just wanted to get the conversation over with.

　A plan, and a promise.

　When Unchained had asked him for help, Zenith had made his desires and requirements clear.

　He wanted a rematch against Owen Dreadnought on the grandest stage possible.

　When they last came face-to-face in the Digimon Card Game World Championship, Zenith had come out on top.

　However, although there was nothing dubious about how he won, the match itself was vexing and unsatisfying.

　He claimed to Owen that he'd won by fluke, but in truth, there was nothing fluky about it.

　He had been stoked—it was the biggest event, the championship finals, and just the opponent he wanted: the Crimson Dragonblade Owen. Yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that it would turn out to be a boring match. He realized his premonition was correct when he saw Owen let out a sigh just before the start, looking like his mind was elsewhere.

　Owen seemed somehow disappointed about the state of affairs, and this in turn disappointed Zenith.

　For Zenith, winning was pure joy.

　But it wasn't all about winning for its own sake.

　What he craved was the thrill of overcoming the odds—facing a formidable opponent and demonstrating that he was even better. But he knew such victories were rare, and might even be out of reach one day.

　And that was why he felt like this.

　It was a thirst for adrenaline that had motivated Zenith to climb his way to the top of multiple games. Owen denied Zenith the thrill he sought by failing to bring his A-game, and that infuriated him.

　He was intent on getting Owen to play him again, this time fully focused, and so he decided to cooperate with Unchained.

　He even agreed to hand over Vemmon, who was his partner Digimon since he started Liberator.

　It didn't matter to Zenith that he had already claimed the crown in the real-world card game—Liberator was a new stage, and a valuable new opportunity.

"You know, if that guy gets serious, he could actually beat me. He's the kind of treat I've been starving for. And yet, he was almost taken out of the game. Unacceptable."

"I really don't get why this whole battling thing matters so much to you. It seems pretty pointless."

"Enough."

　How could everyone be so oblivious? It was bizarre to Zenith how others could even go on living without seeking adrenaline.

　It's beyond comprehension.

　Perhaps it was normal human nature to lack such a drive. If so, Zenith didn't mind being considered a monster.

　And if he was a monster, then Owen was too.

　You can't remain as the Digimon Card Game World Champion for that many years without being an adrenaline junkie.

"The debugging team has plenty of strong players, right? Can't any of them scratch your itch? Cool Boy maybe?"

　Unchained's question was met with a snort from Zenith.

　He had already challenged Cool Boy, having detected his strength through "scent." He even imagined that Cool Boy might be the one to satisfy his thirst for a rival.

　In the end, Cool Boy brushed off his challenge, and he went up against his partner Omekamon instead.

　His victory then was never in doubt. And there was no thrill, no joy.

"He won't meet my requirements. He's like you—same scent."

　Zenith felt that Unchained and Cool Boy were alike.

　Although their abilities most likely rivaled his own, they lacked self-interest. They "misused" their strength, seeking to fulfill some great cause at the expense of personal gain.

　This was massively at odds with Zenith's ethos of self-perfection.

　He made a peeved expression, but Unchained simply shrugged and shook his head like he was uninterested, as always.

"You don't want to make life easy for me, huh? I wouldn't say I regret choosing you to be my insider on the debugging team, but I can only put up with so much of this nonsense."

"You have to keep your promise."

"Can't you think about anything else besides that silly promise? You really are irritating, but...I suppose I do owe you."

　Unchained clapped, and there was a shrill noise.

　A portal emerged between the two of them, and something familiar stepped out: humanoid but far from human, with a sleek white chassis—a battle NPC.

"What, you expect me to battle this with my body all busted up?"

"Hold your horses, partner. In fact, this is a present for you."

　Next, Unchained brings forth three flat, rectangular objects—mirrors. Reflecting Zenith from the front and each side, they show just how badly his character data polygons have been damaged.

　Standing behind him with an eerie lack of presence is the battle NPC.

"I get that you're desperate to battle Owen. Well, lucky you, I am going to keep my promise."

"And what does all of this have to do with that?"

"Don't you worry your not-so-pretty little head, I'm going to arrange everything. First things first, you wouldn't want to battle with that body, would you?"

　Just then, the NPC dispersed into a cloud of data particles and began to wrap around Zenith. Starting from his feet, his body was gradually overwritten.

"Oh."

　The process was almost like that of zipping up a mascot costume. When finished, Zenith's character data had been drastically converted.

　Fully robed and fitted with a mask just like an NPC's face, Zenith's vision had been improved and his movements made lighter.

"Hopefully you understand now I'm not the kind of AI that lets down their partner."

　Unchained continued, explaining that the time to enact their plan had arrived.

　They were going to use a massive in-game event—the conclusion to Digimon Liberator's main questline—to lure in players and harvest their character data.

"You need to play the part of the NPC Xeno."

　Xeno will be the event's final boss. Up against the best player in the game disguised as an NPC, players will inevitably be defeated one after another, losing their data as a result.

"Anyhow, I don't know exactly how exceptional Owen Dreadnought truly is, but if he is the real deal, he'll come to try and stop the event. He is a debugger after all."

　He'll definitely win all the other battles, make it to the end, and face you again.

　At that point, you can decide what you want to do.

"It's sure to be spectacular, right? I'm keeping my promise and then some."

"Finally... At last!"

　Inexplicable joy surged through Zenith's body.

　He had been convinced that his corrupted data would prevent him from battling Owen again, and so he had fallen into despair.

　He thought Unchained had either forgotten the promise or decided to ignore it, but now he realized everything had been planned one step ahead.

"So I can battle him... I'll finally get to battle him! That monster will definitely take it to the wire. Heck, he might even beat me."

"Are you even listening to me...? Eh, I don't mind either way."

　Even so, Unchained goes on.

"As worthy of an opponent as he may be, surely you're not down with losing?"

"Obviously."

　Zenith responds automatically.

　Regardless of the opponent, the notion of losing is always far from his mind.

"Our battle may end up looking close on the surface, but I'll keep just enough in reserve to secure the W. That's how the best of the best do it. And that's me."

　Knowing that he might even die, Zenith still smiles, anticipating an incomparable thrill. This was an emotion he cherished—the sort of feeling that you get vicariously when watching action movies.

"Huh, all right, then. Glad to hear it."

　Smiling calmly, Unchained remembers something, and reaches into a pocket.

"I still need to give you this."

　An item all Digimon Liberator players are familiar with.

　A deck case with a circular display embedded in the center: D-Storage.

　One thing is different about it: the coloring. Unlike the standard model, the exterior is black and the elements around the display glow purple.

"Say hi to your former partner. Yours again now."

"Vemmon!"

　Calling the Digimon's name brings it forth from the D-Storage.

　Vemmon: a level 3 with an eye-catching visor and purple torso.

　Zenith's former partner, this artificial Digimon had its data used to keep Maquinamon alive.

"If you want a re-do of the world championship or whatever, then you need to have the right deck, surely?"

"It's actually quite scary how thorough you are."

　As Zenith reached out his hand, the Digimon gave a silent nod and came closer.

　He remembered now—Vemmon had always been quick on the uptake, just the kind of Digimon he liked.

"I'm grateful for this, Unchained. I'll do everything I can to repay your kindness."

"Ahaha, that would be truly wonderful. In that case—"

　With a finger snap, Unchained summoned a large portal that enveloped the three of them.

　It looked like they were about to be sent to Lacuna, but who knows where.

　As Vemmon entered the portal alongside its partner, Unchained's lips curled into a gentle yet twisted smile.

　Zenith, or rather, Xeno the Aberration, also grinned, baring his teeth and nodding.

　Given the dark color of his mask, Vemmon couldn't tell whether its partner's eyes were smiling.

　Was this really the right thing to do?

　...No.

　Vemmon's cognition protocol immediately rejected the doubt as it surfaced.

　Being used as a tool did not matter. What mattered to Vemmon was that it could help fulfill Zenith's wish.

"I'm counting on you, Xeno."

　Without so much as a glance in Vemmon's direction, Unchained gave his partner a friendly pat on the shoulder.

To be continued.