For Our Lord

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

Digimon and High School DxD belong to their respective owners.

---

A lone soul was drifting through the expanse of darkness.

This soul belonged to a warrior and a great one at that. He had survived hundreds of battles and led numerous successful campaigns throughout his life, so much so that he was called 'General who knows no defeat'.

But even he wasn't above fate and had eventually stepped into his last battlefield. Yet the warrior didn't curse the destiny which had befallen him. No, he was feeling quite the opposite in fact. It had been the ending he'd been searching for in his long life and finally, it had been granted to him: a chance to face an opponent with skills and will rivaling, even surpassing, his own.

To put it simply, it had been the perfect closure for Tactimon and he couldn't help but grin as the memories of the fated duel came back to his mind.

---

In the ultimate battle that would decide the fate of the Digital World, the Bagra Empire was facing an offensive just outside their headquarters from the enemy which they had hastily dubbed 'the Alliance'. The opposing army had managed to gather a sizable force composed of the surviving members of Royal Knights, the remaining last pockets of Digimon resistance groups, and of course, the legendary armies of Xros Heart and Blue Fire led by their renowned young human generals.

As the battle raged between the two armies a strike force consisting of the humans and their closest Digimon partners, who had DigiXrosed into a giant warrior giant called Shoutmon X7, had managed to slip inside Bagra Empire's giant fortress, the Great Pandemonium. The small group was soaring through the air straight toward the throne room located in the stronghold's tallest tower, their mission to finally end the Xros Wars.

Sitting on the throne was the person who was responsible for this hundreds-of-years-long conflict, Emperor Bagramon, a former high-ranking angel Digimon who had been cast down by the Heavens. Along with the Fallen Angel were his most trusted subordinates, his remaining Head Officers. Standing on the right side of the throne was a cruel creature of bewitching appearance, the Demon Lord of Lust, Lilithmon. On the left side stood a soldier wearing armor reminisced that of a samurai, Tactimon.

The third and last Head Officer Blastmon was absent.

While the giant crystal-bodied general wasn't one to usually inform the other two Head Officers of his affairs and while somewhat simple-minded, the commander was a force of nature. Blastmon boasted a body and power that was among the top of the Digital World, and so it was usually overlooked if the gem-eating commander had ventured unannounced to conquer some Zone. However, Tactimon nor Lilithmon had heard from Blastmon since his departure and all the contact attempts to get him back to help bolster the Pandemonium's defenses had been met with silence. While neither Head Officer had said it out loud, it seemed that their fellow commander had been defeated.

As the invader's strike force burst through the stone wall opposite the throne, Bagramon gave Tactimon permission to unleash his sword's full might. The samurai felt how the seal his Lord had placed on the scabbard broke, awakening the slumbering beast that was dwelling inside the ancient weapon. His left hand tightened around the sheath as he heard the chain that held it in place rattle against the marble floor, no longer needing it to hide his bloodlust. He could finally bare his fangs again after so long and like a snake who struck on its prey his hand shot to the sword's hilt, ready to unleash the storm that was residing inside him.

With a draw, his final battle had begun. Tactimon jumped forward, Lilithmon not far behind him casting an offensive spell, all the while Bagramon serenely sat on his throne, observing how the scene would unfold.

However, the two Head Officers' clash against Shoutmon X7 was short-lived as the floor suddenly exploded under them, collapsing the throne room's marble floor tiles in the process.

The source of this unexpected interruption was a Digimon called Dark Knightmon, a mysterious warrior who had made his mark on the Xros Wars not a long time ago and whom Bagra Empire didn't frustratingly have much information. Lilithmon had faced this dark knight once in the Sweet Zone and what Tactimon had been able to discern from the Demon Lord's excuses for almost destroying another Zone in one of her so-called explosions, her opponent seemed to pose enough power and skills to give even her some trouble.

What rose beneath the floor barely resembled the description Lilithmon had given. The dark knight in question was composed of parts of different Digimon he had absorbed into himself in what seemed like a desperate attempt to accumulate power. Dark Knightmon, if the hulking creature could even be called that anymore, had taken more than he could bargain for. His eyes were clouded from madness and a manic cackle spewed forth from his unnaturally long mouth as the chimera-like monster boasted to take down even Bagramon himself, who continued to sit on his throne and calmly watch the spectacle in silence.

As the floor beneath Tactimon collapsed, the samurai saw rather familiar-looking crystalline spikes growing from Dark Knightmon's back and heard Lilithmon's outraged voice, her having seen the same thing. Now they knew why Blastmon hadn't shown up.

Soon Tactimon was falling along with the humans and Shoutmon X7, leaving Bagramon and Lilithmon to deal with the dark knight. A wordless wish for the mad Digimon to get what he deserved was all Tactimon could spare before he resumed his duel against Shoutmon X7. Soon any lingering thoughts on Blastmon's cruel fate were no longer on his mind as the samurai concentrated on defeating the enemy in front of him.

Before Tactimon or Shoutmon X7 knew it, their duel had led them outside the Great Pandemonium to the middle of a raging warzone. Neither side had paid any attention to the conflict revolving around them, their focus solely on each other as the two warriors continued their fierce engagement in the air.

Both sides gave their all but in the end, Tactimon bested Shoutmon X7 with a decisive strike. The Digimon were forced from their DigiXros form and were scattered on the ground, beaten and exhausted, soon to taste his sword.

To Tactimon's surprise and delight, his adversaries weren't ready to give up just yet.

The human children who had accompanied these Digimon and who shared the many hardships throughout the war with them started to encourage their friends to rise back up again, having unfaltering faith in their partners. It was all the Digimon needed to hear to continue the fight.

So pure were the hopes and dreams the young humans had for their digital friends that these feelings reached and resonated within the Digimon, giving them strength, and to Tactimon's astonishment, allowing them to evolve. The samurai witnessed in silent shock how injuries were healed, strength was restored and new shining armor and weapons formed around his opponent's bodies as their forms grew.

What Tactimon saw was not supposed to be possible. Digimon had lost the ability to change their forms eons ago. To evolve by just strongly wishing for it to happen shouldn't be feasible anymore.

It'd brought a long-forgotten feeling of excitement for Tactimon when he saw how the humans and their digital partners stood up defiantly once again, ready for a second round. The two sides had then clashed again and Tactimon felt he wasn't facing anymore the metal weapons or the claws and fists of his opponents but their blazingly hot spirits that were threatening to burn him.

At first, Tactimon successfully fended off coming attacks but the newly evolved Digimon had one more trick to show for him. DigiXrosing, the Digimon's hearts became one, beating for the same united purpose that flowed through their veins, and from that unity, a golden warrior, Shoutmon EX6, was born. With newfound vigor, Shoutmon EX6 came rushing toward Tactimon and the commander of the Bagra Army had to give his all to not become overwhelmed by the onslaught he was facing.

As the two sides continued their clash, Tactimon got a glimpse of the final act of the centuries-long play Bagramon had started, his master having finally found the answer in his quest to save the Digital World from its grim fate where only misery and death reigned. The answer, it seemed, was that there was no saving it. And so, to stop their world from being transformed into a place of eternal suffering, to stop it from getting twisted anymore by the influence of the human world where misery and apathy reigned in humanity's consciousness, Bagramon had decided to put an end to it before it would be too late.

While the battle raged between the two armies, Tactimon witnessed how the prophesized Beast of Apocalypse, Zeed Millenniummon, emerged from the Great Pandemonium's tallest spire, right where his Lord's throne room was located.

The Beast was composed of two serpentine spirits, one of rusting red, the other dark as midnight. The two snakes ascended toward the sky circling each other, forming a vortex that swallowed anything that got caught in its hungry tendrils. On top of the swirling mass of red and black two draconic heads rose of which the red one had a great horn adorning its face.

The monster dwarfed the hundred-meter tower it came from and immediately started hungrily devouring the fortress, absorbing the data that composed the massive building inside its body. It was only a matter of time now before Zeed Milleniummon would destroy the Digital World completely, leaving nothing in existence. A new era was about to begin, one where there would be no light or darkness, no space or time.

After seeing the start of the end of times, Shoutmon EX6 got furious and charged toward Tactimon with great speed. Finally, as Tactimon was forced to intercept a strike he couldn't evade, the old commander knew he had found what he'd been searching for his long life.

The upcoming attack shined like the brightest of stars and as it struck his sword, it went right through the blade, shattering it to thousands of pieces and continuing straight at him. As Tactimon felt the impact on his chest, it resonated all the way to his soul, igniting something deep inside him that the samurai had forgotten existed.

Truly, he was blessed to have been given the chance to face this warrior, Tactimon thought, as he was sent careering down, leaving a long burrow on the ground.

As Tactimon labouredly got up he graciously congratulated the Digimon and the young humans, telling them to continue to walk on the path they had chosen and to never give up, no matter what challenges lay ahead of them.

With that, the infamous commander of the Bagra Army, having loyally served his Lord to the very end, was finally freed from his duty. There were no more plans to be created, no more Zones to be conquered, and no more meetings to be had concerning the state of the Xros Wars. In a strange way it was liberating, and Tactimon welcomed the darkness that came to his mind with open arms.

---

And here he was, still in the embrace of darkness with no recollection of how he had gotten here or what 'here' actually meant, completely stripped from senses as he was. There was no way to tell how much time had passed before he had regained consciousness. The only thing the soldier — for he was a warrior without a master now — could do was think, something he had been practicing in this pitch-black world quite a lot.

After coming to his senses Tactimon had first believed he had arrived in the Dark Area, his soul having been sent to the purgatory. He was prepared to face the punishment should it be so. He was no saint, leading armies into countless conquests and battles his lord needed him did guarantee bloodshed. Warriors and innocent Digimon alike had died by his hand, such was the tragedy of war.

Getting bored thinking over again about the potential ways his soul would be tortured while waiting for the actual event to begin, Tactimon's mind started to wander. Perhaps this dark place was for him to reflect on all the sins he had committed and with enough repentance, his soul would be allowed to rest properly. Another possibility that came to his mind was he was still simply waiting for the final judgment to happen. One of the biggest battles had been taking place in the Digital World after all and he wasn't the only one to lose their life. Who knew how many others had died shortly before him and were waiting just like him?

Be it becoming mad in the void, experiencing his karma, or something else, Tactimon knew deep inside him it all would soon come to an end. Zeed Milleniummon had been released and would eventually reach a critical mass after absorbing the Digital World, collapsing their reality and razing even this plane from existence alongside him, making whoever was responsible for his fate surely disappointed that their hard work was going to be for naught.

Tactimon let the picture briefly amuse him before dismissing it. He wouldn't normally have given such frivolous things much attention but considering the situation he was in, he allowed it.

And so, the lone soul of the deceased warrior continued his lonely existence in the expanse of darkness, waiting for his inevitable end.

---

'…60478, 60479 and 604800.'
That was how many seconds Tactimon had counted after which he finally allowed himself to admit that something was wrong here. Lord Bagramon had predicted that it would take but a few days for the Digital World to be completely devoured by Zeed Millenniummon and Tactimon knew his master was rarely if ever wrong. So what did it mean that he was still here and existing?

Could it be possible those humans and Digimon were able to avert their world's destruction? Like a small flame that kindled to life, the idle thought had come to him.

A darker part of Tactimon's mind told him to forget the idea. While his opponent had exceeded his wildest estimations, even they had their limits and their spirits could carry them only so far.

'Pondering over things you can't confirm won't bring you any closer to an answer,' Tactimon decided as a final verdict, hoping to put an end to the subject but the stubborn flame of thought refused to die, leaving him in doubt.

Suddenly, everything changed.

Tactimons winced as he felt his eyes burning. It took him a moment to realize it was because he could see again, although he almost wished he couldn't, so much did it hurt to see. Forcing his eyes shut, he patiently waited for his vision to return before he carefully squinted.

His new surroundings seemed to consist of iridescent colors, constantly changing in shape. The weird colorscape reached as far as his eyes could see in every direction Tactimon looked, making it seem like orientation was just a suggestion here.

After seeing nothing else besides the expanse of colors, he diverted his gaze away from the weird landscape to himself. What Tactimon saw was not something he was expecting.

The soldier was staring at a loose flock of data that was floating around similar to flower petals carried by the wind, their shape vaguely resembling his body.

'Is this… me?' Tactimon wondered. Bringing his hands up, the soldier examined tiny floating bits of data that formed his fingers, curling them into fists before letting them open again.

It was most definitely him, his freely floating soul to be more exact. He could feel it. Now if he could only know the how and why….

Tactimon was abruptly pulled from his fascination as he realized two things. Firstly, he could feel again and not just his still aching eyes but a creeping pain all over his body that soon started to become unbearable. Secondly, he could hear again. More precisely, he could hear himself cry out in pain.

In an instant, training took over him.

Getting his voice under control, Tactimon started wordlessly repeating a familiar mantra. The stormy waters in his mind subsided, becoming a mirror-like surface that oh so perfectly reflected everything. The soldier felt himself calming down and his senses sharpened. It took some effort but he managed to reduce the agony he was feeling to the background in his mind. While it still hurt, he could now at least concentrate on other things besides the excruciating pain.

Next, Tactimon extended his senses around him. While it seemed like he was alone, the soldier didn't lower his guard. He'd had enough surprises as of late.

After securing his surroundings, Tactimon focused back on himself and grimly observed how his spectral hands were steadily dissolving like a swarm of Piranimon were shredding them to pieces. Looking around, he could see the same phenomena happening all over his ghastly figure.

To Tactimon, it was like he had entered some twisted version of Digital Space. And just like the Digital Space where anything not powerful enough to resist its hazardous nature would be reduced to noise data in mere minutes, the same thing seemed to happen here as well.

He tried to gather his power, to see if he could stop himself from breaking apart or even slow down the process but it was useless, Tactimon was too weak to fight against his disintegration and the effort just made him more exhausted.

Perhaps it would be better just to succumb to death quickly rather than trying to prolong the inevitable, a darker part of his mind reasoned.

As Tactimon's body continued to dissolve, it became harder to form coherent thoughts, his vision started to dim and his body became numb.

It was then the soldier felt he wasn't alone anymore. Something was observing him.



Something powerful.



The feeling of uneasiness came behind Tactimon and after an arduous ordeal of getting his ethereal body rotated, the soldier concentrated. He had to fight the growing headache that was getting worse by the second and the weird kaleidoscopic dimension didn't make things any easier and he cursed the ever-changing colors.

After a while, he saw it. A giant black spot, floating between the nauseating landscape, quickly growing in size.

'Not growing, getting closer,' Tactimon corrected himself.

The fast-approaching spot was so big that even with his deteriorating eyesight, he was able to tell that the silhouette belonged to a being of giant proportions and he strained his eyes to make out more details. It was challenging, but Tactimon could discern what he presumed was a giant draconic head, crimson in color with an appendage — a horn he surmised — growing from its head.

The soldier could feel the raw power emanating from the creature, its magnitude being something he had never felt before. Just the difference between him and this monster was like comparing a smoldering piece of ember to a sun. No being he had ever come across was even remotely comparable to it. No being, except that one.

There was only one creature that could compare to what he saw: the red-black two-headed dragon, Zeed Millenniummon.

'So, they were unable to change the fate of our world,' Tactimon realized and he could feel a wave of disappointment wash over him. This only meant one thing, that the Digital World was no more.

As the Dragon of Apocalypse got closer, Tactimon began to accept his fate. Only skeletal remains were now left of his ethereal body. It was only a matter if the Dragon got him before he perished.

The Dragon's crimson head was now almost on him, and as it opened it's its huge maw, the soldier began to accept his fate. He had his wish granted. There was nothing else for him waiting in the future or for anyone else for that matter.

As Tactimon was about to be swallowed by the Dragon of Apocalypse, something took hold of his spirit. The small flame that had been ignited inside him in his final battle suddenly started to shine brighter in defiance. The flame, now the size of a bonfire, spread its light and warm to darkness, burning away the shadows of apathy and despair that were gnawing at him and it made Tactimon remember the last words Shoutmon and others had declared to him before his death.

'There will come a day where there will be a happy future.'

'That will turn even that scowl into laughter.'

'We'll be making that future!'

It was such a naïve thing to believe in. What were the dreams of a few against the whole rotting world? How could you change the fate that had already been written?

But the pure conviction behind those passionate words that were said to him… That conviction made it seem like there was nothing that could stop that dream coming true. It made the impossible look possible and it made him want to believe in that impossible dream as well.

As the dragon's maw began to close on him, Tactimon made up his mind. Even if his end was imminent, even if there was no salvation in sight, he would not give up. He refused to give up! He wanted to see the future Shoutmon and the others believed in, a future where even a stubborn soul like him could laugh freely.

The dragon closed its maw and once again, the soldier was greeted with darkness.

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

In a long hallway, footsteps could be heard echoing across the marble floor.

Between the imposing stone pillars that flanked the walls, a lone figure walked with a measured pace. His gaze held firm at the two doors located at the end of the hall, not sparing a glance at the craftmanship surrounding him. Reaching the end of the hallway he stopped. A few seconds passed before the two doors slowly began to open by an unseen force, letting crisp air inside, making his cape flutter.

Behind the doors a balcony greeted him. Just like everything else in the Great Pandemonium, this observation post was built with size in mind; you could comfortably hold over forty Digimon of various sizes here and there would still be plenty of room left.

Continuing his walk the figure was soon met by a single person leaning against a parapet. Their back was turned to him, watching the mist that filled the scenery from the fortress to the distant canyons slowly glided around without destination, while the last rays of sunlight could be seen illuminating the horizon.

Stopping a respectable distance away from the watcher he knelt. His left hand came to a rest on his bent knee while his right hand hung freely. Looking downward with reverence, he announced his arrival.

''Your Highness.''

''Tactimon,'' Turning around Bagramon greeted the soldier, his deep and gravelly voice commanding attention.

Tactimon felt his lord's gaze linger on him for a moment before continuing. ''Come, let us talk.''

Having permission to stand he rose, eyes turning towards Bagramon whose left hand was gesturing for the soldier to take a place next to him.

Bagramon seemed just as same when Tactimon last saw him. His Highness' robes and cape were white as snow and without a blemish. A series of golden plates decorated his front and a silver-grey gemstone adorned on the middle of the breastplate. Bagramon's clothes came from the best tailors found in the Dress Zone who used only the best high-quality materials: the fabric was soft as velvet yet almost as strong as low-purity Chrome Digizoid.

As beautiful and masterfully crafted as his garments were it was the right side of the Fallen Angel's body that garnered the most attention. Where there used to be flesh and blood had been replaced with carved pieces of ivory wood from his lord's head to toe, the most notable part being the giant skeletal hand which was almost as long as Bagramon himself. Not many knew the origin of his master's prosthetics and even fewer the godly power and knowledge he had been granted by them. With eight beautiful ashen wings sprouting from his back and five red horns growing from his head, from where long gray hair reached over his shoulders, Bagramon truly seemed like the angel of death in Tactimon's eyes.

While his lord's appearance was formidable, shining scarlet eyes full of strength, Tactimon could also see the wisdom and empathy in them, reserved for the lives that the evil his master commanded had claimed. There was also weariness that had slowly yet steadily taken place in his countenance. The uncounted years and the Xros Wars that were still going on after centuries were getting on to his lord, even if Bagramon tried his best to hide it.

It seemed like a lifetime had passed since Tactimon had last seen his master, bringing a feeling of nostalgia to the soldier which was strange. He remembered seeing Bagramon just a couple of days ago.

It was then that Tactimon noticed how his head ached a little. While rare, he sometimes got these for not letting his mind rest enough.

'I must have spent too much time in the command center', Tactimon reasoned, making sure not to repeat this easily avoidable mistake in the future before clearing his head and focusing back on the present.

After coming to stand to his lord's side, Bagramon returned to marvel at the misty sights to which Tactimon felt compelled to join. Neither of them said a word, enjoying the silence for what it was. Yet Tactimon's headache was growing by the minute, the soldier trying his best to ignore it.

''I hope I didn't pull you away from anything urgent?'' As always, Bagramon voiced his concerns to Tactimon even when he knew the answer ahead.

''Your summons will always take precedence over other matters, Your Highness,'' Tactimon assured.

''If you say so. Your constancy is always appreciated,'' Bagramon replied.

''I am unworthy of such praise. It's only natural for a servant to come when his lord is calling,'' Tactimon insisted in a hurried tone, not being used to the praise of his master.

Glancing from the corner of his eye, Bagramon saw how Tactimon had his head lowered. A short and barely heard chuckle came from the Fallen Angel and a small contained smile formed on his lips. Even after the two had known each other for several lifetimes worth, Tactimon still acted formally around his lord, no matter the situation.

Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere with this, Bagramon decided to change the subject for the real reason he had asked Tactimon to come.

''How is the situation on obtaining the Code Crowns progressing?''

''The rate at which we have conquered Zones has seen a decline for the first time. Bamboo Zone's conquest has come to stall since the Blue Fire arrived there and the Lava Zone's code crown has fallen to the Xros Heart. We are also experiencing an unusually high amount of resistance from the City Zone and I believe we won't be able to hold it, should either of the Human General's forces arrive there,'' Came his ready answer.

''I see. Continue your good work, Tactimon,'' Bagramon said, satisfied with what he heard.

While many would have found Bagramon's answer unusual or even insulting, Tactimon knew better.

All Three Head Officers, the closest people to Bagramon, knew the Xros Wars were started because His Highness wished to see the end of the injustice that inhabited the Digital World, but only Tactimon was entrusted with the true objective of his lord's plan. Conquering the world was not Bagra Empire's end goal like many Digimon feared. What Bagramon wanted was to have a war between light and dark to find out which side prevailed. It didn't matter if their Empire faced defeat or success, as long as those human children were facing tribulations everything would proceed as His Highness had planned with none the wiser.

Yet again Tactimon was left impressed while reminiscing the time Bagramon had revealed his true plan to him. Truly, you would need to scour the earth and the very heavens to find someone as wise as his master, the soldier firmly believed.

While he wasn't sure how much his fellow Head Officers suspected they were being left out, and even if they held some unvoiced suspicion, Tactimon knew it wasn't something worth getting worried about. Lilithmon had sworn to defend her beloved lord to her last breath and Blastmon was someone who simply didn't care, being happy to just admire his own body in the mirror and search which Zone held the most gems to devour. Tactimon himself would follow his lord without a question. After all, unwavering loyalty was one of the traits Bagramon had ensured the perfect soldier would carry.

Thinking about his two close associates brought gloominess to Tactimon, which was starting to bother him. What was it with these distracting and suddenly emerging emotions with him? His headache was also getting worse by the second, almost like something was trying to worm inside his head. On top of that, he felt that something was plain wrong here and a looming feeling of unease was starting to take hold of the soldier. He had to voice these thoughts to his master.

''Your Highness, do you feel as if something is not as it should be?'' Tactimon asked and looked at Bagramon, who continued to gaze at the misty scenery where dusk was starting to fall.

''Hmm. Please elaborate on what you mean.''

''I apologize,'' he bowed his head instinctively while fighting the headache, the pain was starting to become distracting, ''but it's hard to put into words. I feel something is very wrong here. When I try to concentrate on what this could be, the answer eludes me, like a dream that one tries to remember after waking.'' There was something important Tactimon was missing, something he shouldn't have forgotten.

''Curious. I feel no such thing.''

Was he the only one who felt this then? Perhaps he should inquire if Lilithmon or Blastmon had noticed anything unusual.

No wait, Blastmon was absorbed by Dark Knightmon, Tactimon remembered and chided himself for forgetting something so essential before his mind finally caught up on what he had just thought.

Like a flash of lightning realization struck Tactimon and his memories came rushing back to him: how he had died, found himself in a limbo of sorts, and then… everything after that was hazy. Deciding to drop that part for now his head snapped in Bagramon's direction.

''There was a battle raging right outside the gates of the Great Pandemonium, Your Highness!'' Realizing he had raised his voice, Tactimon composed himself, not letting the pain inside his head get the better of him before continuing with a more measured tone, ''The Xros Heart and Blue Fire, we fought them here. I fought against them and they bested me.''

Feeling how his hands were squeezing the parapet with such force that cracks were starting to appear, Tactimon let go of the stone structure and fully turned towards Bagramon.

''Your Highness, you finally found the answer, and with that the path that had to be taken,'' Tactimon looked around as if seeing everything for the first time before focusing back on his lord. ''How can we still stand here if the world ended?''

The feeling of wrongness was starting to become oppressive.

''I do find this strange indeed,'' Bagramon remarked, still facing the misty landscape. When he spoke again, Tactimon's lord sounded no longer himself.

''I have a question for you as well,''

Bagramon turned around and black eyes met Tactimon's visor. As his lord opened his mouth, the soldier heard a lifeless and apathetic voice that sounded plain wrong coming from his master, ''Why do you smell Red?''

'What!?' Tactimon took a step back and witnessed as everything started to collapse around him. The sky, the floor, Bagramon, everything before his eyes was crumbling away while shadows rose. Before he knew it, the all-too-familiar darkness greeted him.

But this time the soldier wasn't alone.

Tactimon found himself surrounded by countless reptilian eyes. Twice his size with slitted pupils, the black orbs somehow illuminated the otherwise lightless place with their ethereal glow, the aura they emitting threatening to make his skin crawl. The eyes formed a single impossibly long line making twists and turns seemingly at random, continuing so far that the necklace of stars became distant constellations, until completely disappearing from his sight. Everywhere he looked, he saw how the black eyes circled him around like a lazy snake. Every eye, from the closest to the distant ones and beyond was staring at him, never blinking.

This thing was the origin of the wrongness he had felt in his mind and with distress, Tactimon realized that he had somehow let this creature enter his mind unknowingly.

The shock was quickly replaced by anger. How dare this thing sully his inner sanctuary with its presence, to allow it to stay in His Highness' most trusted officer mind any longer was to spit in his lord's memory!

Tactimon sprang into action. His first response was to strike at the closest eye to him in hopes of breaking the assailant's concentration and severing the connection they shared, or at least hindering it enough so he could force the assailant out of his head. The plan was quickly discarded when the soldier realized in alarm that he couldn't move. His limbs felt like lead as if El Doradimon's weight had been applied to his whole body. Even words refused to come out of his mouth, so great was the force holding him in place.

Quickly switching in approach, Tactimon gathered whatever strength he had left to raise his mental barriers in an attempt to shield his memories, but this turned out to be futile. The power this alien presence wielded seemed as infinitely great as the number of eyes it had and his previously unconquered mental fortresses' gates were left open, allowing the entity to devour all the knowledge he held unopposed.

To his small relief, the unknown assailant didn't seem to have made any attempt to dig the deepest parts of his mind where his most closely guarded secrets were, being content in going over his surface memories, for now at least.

Tactimon was not letting this window of opportunity be wasted. Seeing how outmatched he was, there was only one approach left, one born from desperation and hopes of buying time to think of a better plan.

Having invaded his mind, the creature had formed a mental connection between the two, meaning Tactimon should be able to relay his thoughts and feelings to the opposite party and vice versa. The creature in question seemed to possess at least some intelligence so he hoped this worked. Otherwise, things would become much more dire.

Taking a nonexistent breath, he reached out.

'Begone, out of my head! The memories of the dead are not for sharing!' Saying his piece with all the authority and emotion the former Head Officer of the Bagra Army could muster, Tactimon saw how the eyes surrounding him suddenly halted their movement and felt the alien presence mostly withdrawn from his mind.

''At last, you are conscious.''

Thousands of beings spoke as one from everywhere. Unprepared, the tidal wave of voices came crashing down, making Tactimon's head ring. Three words, yet they carried such strength.

'I thought you would never wake up,' the creature soon continued with its thundering voices.

Having gotten back his bearings, Tactimon was ready this time, bracing against the torrent. While the chorus reverberated throughout his whole body and soul, he sensed no anger or other strong feelings imbued with the message.

Having guessed right he was dealing with an intelligent being, Tactimon carefully chose his next words. 'While this soul might be at the end of its journey, the knowledge I possess is still mine. Who are you, who is so interested in what I hold?'

'I am Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis. Dragon God born from Nothingness, the embodiment of Infinity,' the now appointed Dragon God rumbled.

Ophis. A name Tactimon was not familiar with. It seems he had ended up far from home indeed. The power he felt from Ophis, along with the titles the dragon carried at least made one thing certain: He was dealing with someone he should avoid offending.

Since the other party had given their name, he felt compelled to do the same.

'You are speaking with Tactimon, Ophis, Dragon God of Infinity,' Tactimon respectfully announced, feeling no need to add titles for himself. In his eyes, not having a master to serve anymore meant he was nothing more than a simple warrior who had lost his life.

'You are not of this world, Tactimon.' Ophis stated, its eyes beginning to circle him once more in their leisured pace.

'That seems to be so,' Tactimon warily agreed, leaving out the complaint of her having most likely learned this from reading his mind. It would not do well to antagonize the dragon, not yet at least.

Deciding to take the lead in their conversation, Tactimon braced himself and prepared to ask a question that would decide the course of this conversation, bracing for what the answer would be.

'Tell me, Ouroboros Dragon, for what reason have you sought me?'

The few seconds that passed before Ophis answered felt like an eternity to Tactimon.

'I sensed Great Red's presence outside the Dimensional Gap and came to investigate. When I arrived I found your lingering soul, its essence almost fully evaporated, and I got curious. By connecting my mind to yours, I have been able to keep the remnants of your essence from completely disappearing, at least for a while longer.'

So he had been on the borderline of annihilation? How delightful.

It would certainly explain what had happened to Tactimon at least. He had been hallucinating in a near-death state and while being at his most vulnerable, had unknowingly offered Ophis straight access to his prided mind. Be it the truth or not, the soldier agreed that his life was nearing its end. He felt very frail, just a single breath and he would shatter into millions of pieces, he imagined.

But he couldn't give up just yet, Tactimon reminded himself and would have gritted his teeth, should he have had any. He still wasn't sure what Ophis' intentions were, seeing that the dragon was still keeping his data from scattering to the winds of the cosmos. He needed to ascertain the dragon's motives.

It was best to make the most of the situation, Tactimon decided. He at least wanted to have some answers about this bizarre state of afterlife of his.

'Pardon my ignorance, Ouroboros Dragon, but as an outsider, this ''Great Red'' and ''Dimensional Gap'' are not something I am familiar with.'

'The Dimensional Gap is a plane of absolute silence located between the various worlds. I was born there, enjoying its silence,' The thousands of eyes slightly narrowed and Tactimon could feel a faint feeling of annoyance emitted from Ophis, the Dragon God displaying emotion for the first time. 'Then came Great Red, a dragon of great nuisance. He invaded my home, bringing his incessant commotion that deprived me of the silent existence. Despite my efforts, he would not leave the Dimensional Gap, and so forced me to abandon my home.'

So this Great Red was someone that Ophis regarded as an enemy and was powerful enough to drive out the Embodiment of Infinity? Tactimon's mind began to work on this new information. Could this be a trap created by Great Red to lure Ophis here by using him as bait? If so, Great Red must have found Tactimon when he was unconscious. The soldier tried to remember what had exactly happened after his demise, but the memories were spotty and blurry at best. The last thing he could remember was being swallowed by Zeed Milleniummon.

Seeing no progress on that part of the puzzle, Tactimon decided to focus on Ophis' revelation of the existence of multiple worlds.

While the Digital World had been split into many Zones that could be thought of as worlds of their own, those still existed within the digital realm, just like the Dark Area. Theories and hypotheses of alternative dimensions had been proposed by scholars throughout the times but nothing concrete was ever found to support these claims. To hear that there were more universes out there than his own, not counting the Human World of course, was quite a revelation with all the implications it carried.

Tactimon sighed. The more answers he got, the more questions he was left with it seemed. There were too many unknowns and if he wished to get a full picture, he would need to ask more questions. This he believed would not be a problem, his conversation partner didn't appear to hesitate at all telling him about their past which was most likely because it didn't consider him a threat in any capacity. As much as he loathed to admit it, Ophis' assessment was accurate.

But perhaps the most important question was, did he really need to know anything from Ophis' reality? Tactimon had fulfilled his duty, there wasn't anything else left for him, the soldier assured himself. He only needed to ascertain what the dragon's true motives were for him and try to let it leave him alone so he could die in peace.

Tactimon's ruminations came to a halt when the thousand-eyed dragon decided to address him again, their thunder-like voice filling the silence.

'Your realm is interesting Tactimon. Similar yet different. Does there also exist a place of absolute silence between dimensions?'

So that's what Ophis wanted to know, Tactimon realized. Having lost their residence, the Ouroboros Dragon was looking for an alternative place to migrate, it all made sense now. But here came the problem: his world had been annihilated and he didn't know how Ophis would react to the news.

Should he lie or tell the truth? Tactimon was debating now what he should say. In the end, he decided to be truthful, not wanting to take the risk of the dragon discovering it was fooled, should it decide to read his memories again.

'There was something similar, yes. We called it Digital Space. Unfortunately, I cannot say if it could have been described as a place of silence akin to your home.'

'You speak in the past tense of your world. Does it not exist anymore?'

'You are correct, Ouroboros Dragon. While I did not personally witness the end, I saw the beginning of it,' Tactimon had to pause before continuing, not just because he was worrying how Ophis would react to what was said next.

'I do not believe anyone could have stopped what had been set in motion.'

Tactimon knew that destroying their world had been the correct action, only ruin would have followed had Bagramon not done so. He should feel relieved but he didn't. There was just emptiness inside him now.

Ophis was silent, mulling over what it had heard while Tactimon tried to gauge the millions of eyes' reaction.

'You refer to The red-black two-headed dragon, Zeed Milleniumon,' The Dragon God stated, making Tactimon once again wonder just how much had Ophis managed to glean from his memories.

Thankfully, he could only feel a faint feeling of disappointment being carried by the Ouroboros Dragon's words. It must have been quite unfortunate to learn there might have existed a new potential home for the Dragon God to roam, only to immediately hear it did not even exist anymore. He could empathize with the sentiment.

'Yes.'

With the mention of Zeed Millenniummon, one thing began to nag Tactimon. If he had been able to arrive in this new unknown world, couldn't the Beast of Apocalypse follow him here as well?

'The Beast, will it be able to enter this world?' the soldier asked worriedly asked.

His master's last act had been just to raze the Digital World from existence to ensure the Human World's influence couldn't twist and rot it any further. To have others directly suffer from their world's sins and failures would be… catastrophic, to say the least.

Ophis' eyes turned away from him, pupils shrinking into narrow strings as the dragon gazed into the distance, seeing something no one else could.

'I have not sensed any more disturbances in the Dimensional Gap since your arrival.' The Dragon God's voice rumbled, their pupils returning to normal before adding, 'Should it somehow find its way here, Great Red would not allow it to enter.'

Ophis seemed very confident in her home invader's ability to protect this world, Tactimon noted. He wanted to believe so as well, and so decided to defer to the Dragon God's judgment.

Then this would be it for Tactimon. He could at least perish knowing there existed worlds that would have the opportunity to avoid the Digital World's downfall. The soldier hoped whatever creatures and beings living here would have the strength to persevere and overcome the wickedness of the heart, living their lives true to their beliefs as true warriors should. While he was glad to be given a chance to learn there would be more opportunities for hopes and dreams to shine, the constant postponements of his death were starting to take their toll on him.

'Thank you, Ouroboros Dragon. Hearing that puts my mind at ease. If you do not have any more questions, I ask that you leave me be and allow this weary soul to finally lay rest,' Tactimon tried his best not to let the tiredness he was feeling seep into his words.

He hoped the dragon would grant him this last wish, the soldier could hear the eternal sleep start calling him. He was even ready to go so far as to part some of his knowledge in exchange for being finally allowed to pass away — nothing too confidential of course.

Still gazing in the distance, Ophis' eyes returned to stare at Tactimon, 'Pledge yourself to me Tactimon, and help me kill Great Red.'

'What?' Tactimon couldn't believe what he had just heard. The dragon must have been jesting.

'What use would someone as mighty as you have from me? Surely I would only be in the way?' Tactimon's voice was laced with suspicion.

'In your memories, I saw you leading others to battle many times. You knew what steps to take to achieve victory and seldom did you know defeat. If you join me, I believe that I can also obtain victory against the Great Red']

Tactimon's instinctively straightened his back upon hearing Ophis's words and he could feel pride swelling inside him. For all his prowess with the blade, his true sharpness came from his mind. Wars were not won just by strength alone after all. No matter how powerful someone's kingdom is, if you can't lead your men or know when and where to strike, you have no hope of winning. It was one of the bases of warfare and Tactimon was pleased Ophis had recognized where his merits were, even if the dragon had learned it by reading his mind.

'From my first to the last breath, I proudly served my master to the end, for he was everything I could wish for. I was content after knowing I fulfilled my duty and readily embraced death. To ask this old soldier to rise from his grave and pick up his sword once more… What would this entail?' Tactimon asked while staring at the sea of eyes.

'I have others who serve me. I lend them my power and in return, they scour the worlds, searching for ways to end Great Read. You will have the same accord: I give back your life and you will seek how to dispose of Great Red from the Dimensional Gap.'

Those terms left quite a leeway. It sounded too good to be true for Tactimon.

'That is quite a generous offer, Ophis. You seem to hold a lot of faith in someone who you've just met.'

'Why should I doubt you to not hold your end Tactimon?'

The Dragon God had him there.

'And if I were to decline?' Tactimon boldly asked.

This was the moment of truth, to see what were Ophis' true colors. Did the dragon intend to force him to become her servant no matter what, or would it settle for ravaging his mind, sucking every bit of knowledge he held, and only then discarding him to face death?

'Then I will leave and let you face oblivion.'

There was no deceit in Ophis' words. During their conversation the dragon had been blunt and outspoken, perhaps even a little harsh, but Tactimon hadn't felt he'd been lied to at any point.

Having finally realized what was being offered to him, relief and excitement came at the same time. A new chance and purpose stood right in front of him.

'Ha ha… Ha hah ha!'

Could this be the future Shoutmon had been talking about? To think that a day like this would come to a soul like him, and so soon too!

'You are a strange one, Tactimon.'

It seemed Ophis did not understand his joy. Sobering himself, the soldier took a serious stance.

'Before I give my answer, I have one request, Ouroboros Dragon. While my master has the full right to know me and use me the way they see best suited, there are things I would like to be kept between the two of us. I humbly ask for your understanding on this matter and a promise that you keep what you have learned from my memories only to yourself.'

Knowledge was power, and he wouldn't trust handing anyone else his. You never knew what weaknesses your opponents would learn from them.

'This I can do,' Ophis agreed almost instantaneously, seeing no problem with this.

'Thank you for your understanding,' Tactimon's shoulders would've sagged in relief, should he been able to move.

With that out of the way, his answer was clear.

'I will accept your offer, Ophis. From this moment onward your will is my law. Until my body turns to ash and my soul ceases to be, I will devote my life to serving you. This I, Tactimon, shall swear on my pride and honor, Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis, Dragon God born from Nothingness, the embodiment of Infinity.'

'Then take my snake Tactimon. It shall be the sign of our pact and will give you the power to return to your strength,' Ophis instructed as a small black snake manifested right before him, floating in the expanse of darkness alongside him and the thousands of eyes.

The serpent's black and oily body slithered lazily around, tasting the air. After smelling Tactimon it shot towards his face, somehow passing through his faceplate, wriggling inside him. He felt the snake's power seeping into him, and he welcomed the rejuvenating feeling. For Ophis, it was a drop of water given from the ocean but for Tactimon, it was a flood that he had to be careful not to drown in as he thirstily drank the liquid, so exhilarating was the raw power that had suddenly surged inside him.

As his strength began to return, Tactimon noticed how the darkness surrounding him had started to give way to brightness, revealing blurry spots. As more light continued to seep in, the spots began to take shape and sharpen.

Soon a rocky and barren landscape greeted him. Looking up he could see the sky mostly hidden by clouds that glided toward the distant horizon trying to hide the sun as its beams peeked behind the grey curtain. Here and there tall and steep rock formations rose from the dryland breaking the otherwise flat surface.

Realizing how blind he'd been to the world around him, Tactimon now understood how close he had been facing oblivion. Basking in the sun's warmth, he could feel the slight breeze trying to make his cape and sash flutter while marveling at the barren landscape. Inhaling, Tactimon was hit with an arid and earthly scent of the desert. He was starting to remember what it meant to be alive.

Seeing movement in his peripheral vision, the soldier turned and was greeted by the sight of a small female, coming a little short of his chest.

The petite woman wore black shoes and a dark dress that was left open, revealing her white underwear. Her otherwise bare front was covered only by two scarves around her abdomen belonging to a large purple bow on her back, along with some very modest coverings on her chest area. Lastly, she had a pink bow tied around her neck and a bonnet on top of her head, from which a black down-hair was growing till her hips. For being in such a revealing outfit, she showed no signs of embarrassment. Appearance-wise, she could have been easily mistaken for a human child, were she not sporting two pointed ears and almost lifeless black eyes unbefitting for a girl of such age that were watching the soldier with the sharpness of millions.

While the form was different, the creepy aura the girl emitted belonged unmistakably to his new master. A moment of silence followed as Tactimon's faceplate stared back at Ophis' equally blank countenance.

'A shape-shifter then,' Tactimon wagered. That and/or he had possibly seen the Dragon God's true form while being half-dead, he wasn't certain.

Nevertheless, Tactimon would have preferred something more regal and less revealing for his master to wear, until he reminded himself Ophis wasn't Bagramon. The Dragon God could wear whatever she wanted. At least he now had an easier time looking at his master's eyes when addressing it. Or was it a her now? Tactimon would need to clarify this to avoid further confusion and potential mistakes when addressing Ophis.

''There was something linked to your soul. While the essence is separate, it bears your presence,'' Ophis said, having seemingly grown bored of their staring match.

Gone was the cascade of voices speaking as one. Ophis's new voice had taken a soft and light tone, making it more pleasant to hear, but the way his lord spoke in a monotone made it seem like life was sucked out of it. It was jarring.

But it didn't matter what Ophis sounded like for Tactimon, be it a rumbling thunder or a whisper of a wind. The world would quiet when the Ouroboros Dragon spoke, its mere presence commanding respect.

Ophis raised its slender arms in the air and dark data particles started to gather around its fingers, expanding into an elongated form that overshadowed the small humanoid dragon before taking shape.

An audible gasp escaped from Tactimon.

A massive sword several times Ophis' height was held in its left hand while in the right a scabbard was held which, while not as large as the blade, was still almost twice his master's height. For an outsider, the scene would have seemed bizarre: a small girl was holding a sword and sheat several times her size in the air with straight arms as if she had found two interesting-looking sticks she wished to showcase to her parents.

The massive sword oozed malevolent energy, its blade one big bolt of lightning frozen in time with a wide, serrated form ready to cut anything that would come touching it. Circling the blade was a snake made of shadows, its eyes many, searching for its next prey.

It was his sword, Jatetsufūjin-maru, 'Snake Sealed in Iron by God'. A sword that was made using the data of an ancient weapon belonging to the God of Regeneration, said to be able to bisect the Digital World in half. Imbued with tens and thousands of years of hatred and regrets left by fallen warrior Digimon, it was without a doubt Bagramon's greatest creation in Tactimon's opinion. Seeing it made the soldier realize how much he had been yearning to hold it again.

The snake noticed Ophis and made a round around her, letting out a hiss. Its forked tongue came fingerbreadth away from the Dragon God's nose, before returning to circle the blade.

"Rude," Ophis said, still wearing the same stoney expression.

The blade started to lose its shape, becoming a black shrinking mist to which the snake retreated. Unsheathing the blade, Ophis presented it to Tactimon, holding the scabbard horizontally.

Tactimon kneeled, staring and waiting for Ophis to chain his sword once again inside its scabbard, yet it never came.

He should really stop presuming for her to act like his former master.

Seeing no more prompt her, he finally took the sword with both hands, enjoying how the familiar handle felt in his grasp. Having his other half back he felt full, all the limbs had finally returned to the body. Holding his sword, Tactimon could feel the ever-raging storm settle a bit as it recognized who was holding it.

"What is your command, Your Highness?" Attaching his sword to his belt, the samurai addressed his new lord.

''I will take you to my base now.''

''Very well, Your Highness.''

''I am Ophis,'' The Dragon God said, tilting its head.

''Forgive my ignorance!'' Tactimon immediately apologized and bowed his head, still kneeling. He had barely started serving his new lord and already made a faux pas, how sloppy of him! He was supposed to be better than that.

''You are forgiven,'' Ophis pardoned him, not seemingly minding his error to the latter's great relief.

Sensing now to be a good opportunity, Tactimon inquired further of how to address his master, ''How should I refer to you in the future, seeing that you have taken a new form?''

His master somehow managed to give him an even more deadpan look.

''I, am Ophis.''

Perhaps it would be alright then to refer to his master as 'she' then. Addressing Ophis as just 'it' felt insulting and denigrating to Tactimon. While calling his master just by her name wasn't as egregious, it still felt way too personal to him.

''Of course, Ophis…-sama.'' He nodded, sneaking the honorfic after her name.

''Let's go,'' cutting the silence that had fallen between the two with her monotone, Ophis' hand clasped the hem of Tactimon's sash. The air around the Dragon God and her new servant started to vibrate before both disappeared, leaving the dryland deserted once more.

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

As the samurai's and the dragon's surroundings changed, the dryland's warm and dry climate gave way to cool and stale air.

Tactimon was no stranger to teleportation. Having traveled through Zones in a variety of ways, be it through Zone Transfer via Digital Space or more magical means, his body had gotten so used to fast-traveling methods that he believed the potential side effects that might come with them were well past him.

He was proven to be wrong. Being transported by Ophis had managed to make his insides lurch but luckily he managed to hide it well, only needing to take one steadying step. His master on the meanwhile showed no signs of discomfort. Should he have a choice, Tactimon would keep magical transferences with her to a minimum and use alternate forms of travel.

Forcing the feeling of nausea down, Tactimon could see they had arrived inside a massive chamber in what he presumed was her base of operations.

Having his whole life revolved around warfare, seeing military bases and outposts teeming with troops was a sight he expected to see, were it to be training on the fields outside or readying themself to be led to different fronts. To witness messengers running in a hurry through the corridors with urgent news to the command, guards making their rounds and personnel unloading food and medicine to be stored and used, it all meant the base was alive and operational.

Tactimon could find none of it here, the place reminded more of a grave.

''Follow me,'' Wasting no time Ophis started walking, her footsteps making no sound.

Soon his boots could be heard trailing behind her, their echo making Tactimon feel like he was in a spotlight, even when there was no one but the two of them.

The chamber they had arrived in was a masterpiece of engineering. The circular metallic-blue concave roof was supported by curved pylons that hugged the walls, keeping the azure sky up. On the smooth drystone walls made of giant slabs of obsidian, engrained hieroglyphs emblazoned with gold glimmered as they passed them and Tactimon could feel powerful unknown magic radiating from the foreign symbols. Otherwise, the place seemed spartan. No monuments or statues showing the previous rulers' great exploits and accomplishments were greeting them and no fine fabrics with insignias telling what kingdom this place belonged to decorated the walls or floors. Only evenly spaced floating lanterns were giving light to the windowless space, their blue and dim shine leaving dancing shadows on the many corners. Curiously enough, while the place seemed abandoned, there was no dust to be found on the floor as he observed.

''What exactly is this place?'' Tactimon asked his new master.

''This palace was built by an unknown dynasty located in one of the many forgotten realms. It has been abandoned for eons but the magic that still lingers here is preserving the structures from the ravages of time. It also makes it a little less noisy. I mostly reside here, waiting for the death of Great Red,'' Ophis explained.

''Is there anyone else here besides us?'' Tactimon inquired while walking at a slower pace, one of his steps took two of Ophis'.

''Inside, no. There are few people outside the complex keeping watch and making sure no one comes here unexpectedly. This palace works as a neutral meeting ground. People are only allowed here when I summon them or have something important they wish to discuss, such as requiring my snakes.''

That was an interesting tidbit of information to Tactimon. Many questions were plaguing his mind but he held his tongue for now, the time to ask them would come.

Beyond the chambers stood a pair of thick metal doors which Ophis pushed open with ease. The doors faintly creaked in protest, revealing a corridor that led to a stone staircase with high steps that Tactimon estimated the stairway to be around 50 meters in height.

After the climb, the two continued without a pause and exited yet another entrance that had similar metal doors, this time left open, and entered a moderate-sized throne room.

In the center of the room was a seat befitting that of a king on a raised platform, all made from one giant slab of the same obsidian as the walls. The black stone had been masterfully carved and polished, absorbing the meager illumination that the blue lanterns provided. Steps lead from the stone's foot onto the raised level where the throne's seating was, the massive carvings back almost touching the ceiling and leaving a long descending shadow behind it.

Ascending the steps, Ophis sat on the throne and lowered her hands on the armrests. Her legs had to be pointed straight, for the throne's seating was too big to allow her to bend them.

Seeing Ophis take her rightful place, Tactimon kneeled and waited attentively.

''I will tell you now about the organization that I am leading, the Khaos Brigade,'' Ophis announced while Tactimon prepared to take mental notes.

Letting an 'ehem' sound against her balled fist in what seemed to be an attempt to imitate throat clearing, Ophis began.

''Khaos Brigade is composed of different supernatural factions loosely working together. The Brigade was created by people dissatisfied with the current status quo the world currently is in. Before I became their leader, Khaos Brigades' main goal was to oppose the warming of relations between the three Biblical Factions which have been in a frozen conflict for hundreds of years.''

''Not long ago, I was contacted by Khaos Brigade members who asked me to become their leader. A pact was struck between us, the same which you and I have.''

'In which you would gift them your power in exchange for finding the means to dispose of Great Red from the Dimensional Gap,' Tactimon dutifully recited in his head.

Ophis continued unabated, ''The largest group is comprised of devils from the True Satan faction who support their old government. They lost a civil war a few hundred years ago and were driven to the outskirts of the Underworld. They are being led by three of the four descendants of the original Satans who ruled over devil kin.''

''The second is Nirlem, a faction of wizards and witches. They have a ruling council from which chosen representatives contact me.''

''The last is the Hero Faction. They are humans, many of whom are descendants of mythological heroes and possess magical artifacts in their souls. They are led by a human named Cao Cao.''

At the mention of humans, Tactimon's glowed fingers twitched minutely.

''Those are the three main factions that make up the Khaos Brigade. There are other, smaller groups, who are working with us but they rarely come here,'' Ophis concluded her speech and took a small breath for the first time since she started talking, seemingly satisfied with her explanation.

Alarms were ringing inside Tactimon, Ophis' revelations confirming his fears.

Neutral meeting ground, people keeping watch. It seemed that Khaos Brigade was even less united than he had initially assumed and the more he went over what had been said to him, the more Ophis' lair started to seem like a prison: a remote and secure place where she would be kept and unaware of her underling's doings, being only contacted when they needed her.

''Have they found anything worthy of your notice?'' Tactimon asked, his voice neutral.

''Nothing that would harm Great Red.''

'Why am I not surprised?' he cynically thought.

''I see. If it's not too much to ask of you Ophis, since I'm a stranger to this world, could you educate me on how the Khaos Brigade as an organization operates in finer detail and tell me more about its members? This, I believe, would help me greatly in getting up to speed on what I need to do,'' Tactimon's hunched frame had come close to hugging the floor voicing his request.

''I shall,'' Ophis simply stated.

The following hour comprised of Tactimon listening as Ophis told him more about the Khaos Brigade, speaking only when he wished to have something clarified from her succinct explanation.

Much of it was what he had deduced: every faction worked mostly by themself and rarely collaborated, their ideologies seemed to be too conflicting to form anything but alliances of convenience, something he could use to his advantage.

He also came to learn the names and some general descriptions of the powers and abilities the faction leaders possessed, like Devils using the power of imagination to cast magic instead of needing to calculate the spell's formula. The biggest pieces of information were that many members of Nirlem were former expelled associates of the Magician's Council — a worldwide organization representing and governing magicians —, outlaws, or both, and the devils from the True Satan faction believed it was their birthright to rule the world.

While all this was appreciated, it was the finer details Tactimon wished to know Ophis lacked. There had to be quite an interesting dynamic going on between the groups since the Khaos Brigade hadn't already fallen apart. No doubt chicanery, conspiring, and back-stapping were taking place between the factions and it brought no satisfaction to Tactimon knowing he would become part of it. He was a general, his home was on the battlefield or in a war room planning and preparing. Interpersonal affairs had been Lilithmon's specialty.

In conclusion, these were people Tactimon would only trust as far as he could throw them if even that.

It was obvious that Khaos Brigade had sought out Ophis only because of the power she possessed. The Ouroboros Dragon becoming the Khaos Brigade's 'leader' was a great boon for its members without a doubt and helped them drive their true goals. How convenient for them to just have a dragon of unimaginable strength at their disposal, to whom they could always ask for more power like Her Highness was just a well to be bailed.

Just thinking about it made him sick.

But here came the problem. Tactimon was just a newcomer and had nothing concrete to back up his suspicions, he only had his intuition which would not be fit for evidence. To voice his thoughts here and now would mean Tactimon questioned his master's ruling and it could also put Ophis and potentially this whole organization of hers in a precarious position should the other members get the wind of it.

No, If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he would need to dig deep and be sure his suspicions were absolutely correct before making his move.

While it was not an ideal situation, in a war, there seldom was. He would overcome these obstacles and make sure his master's wish would come to fruition, with or without the other factions.

To Tactimon's small relief, Ophis did expect to have some reason why she would share additional power with her subjects. Another good news was he wouldn't need to be overly worried about his well-being here. It seemed Ophis and Great Red were the only outliers of this world and when Tactimon had asked how he would compare to other Khaos Brigade members, his master had plainly commented, ''You are a bit stronger than the others.''

How much 'a bit' meant for the Dragon God was anyone's guess.

To his mild surprise, there was one thing the disjointed sects had wholly agreed on with Ophis' approval. To ensure the Khaos Brigade's 'integrity' and 'stability', when a new individual or group wishes to become a part of the organization, every leader would be informed as soon as possible. It seemed they wanted to ensure no outsider would get their dirty hands on their prized figurehead, something Tactimon agreed on, even if this worked against him for now.

When asked, Ophis told Tactimon that she would notify the others of his recruitment today, meaning his time under the radar would be very limited.

Grateful for her consultation on the subjects, Tactimon then asked what the Ouroboros Dragon knew of Great Red.

''He's a dragon born from Dreams and Illusions and is strong,'' was her plain answer.

''Do you believe it might have been an elaborate act on Great Red's part to have you find me?'' Tactimon inquired further.

''No. Great Red is dumb and doesn't plan, he only likes to fly in the Dimensional Gap. He just found you annoying and didn't want you in there,'' Ophis seemed to be speaking from experience.

''I see. Then I believe I should finally take my leave so I can start fulfilling my duty. Are there any private libraries or other places of study where I could go and learn about this world unperturbed?'' Tactimon had refrained from asking too much about subjects not concerning the Khaos Brigade. He wouldn't want to waste Ophis time explaining things he could easily learn himself.

Ophis index finger pointed toward the left wall, ''There is an abandoned outpost at the edge of this world that no one knows about. I can bring everything you need there and no one will disturb you.''

''I couldn't possibly ask something like that from you Ophis,'' Tactimon hastily replied. He had already bothered her enough with his questions.

''I, insist,'' Ophis' continuous plank face made it impossible for Tactimon to tell what she was thinking.

''Then I'll be in your care,'' Tactimon humbly accepted, his head touching the floor for a long moment before returning to kneeling.

Rising from her throne Ophis started her descent and came to a halt before Tactimon, their eyes level. Slowly, she reached out with her hand, taking hold of the spike in his shoulder plate and soon the samurai could feel the air starting to vibrate around them.

Tactimon quickly braced himself before he and Ophis disappeared.

---

This time the teleportation hadn't made his insides lurch nearly as much, Tactimon had noted.

Currently, he was standing at the edge of the impossibly wide chasm and peered down at the dark. From where he stood, the land abruptly stopped, and a steep and deep abyss took place. He was not able to see the other side of the fall, perhaps there did not even exist one.

''Edge of the world indeed,'' he finally muttered and turned around.

Tactimon's boots crunched in the snow as he walked away from the pit and glanced again at the weathered outpost Ophis had brought him to. It was a single tower and a building surrounded by a stone wall, its sole entrance being blocked by a sturdy metal gate. The small complex was built at the end of a valley where a steep mountain range ended.

A good defensive position in his opinion.

Following their teleportation, Ophis had said she would go and get all the necessary materials for him. This had left Tactimon some time alone which the samurai used to inspect the outpost from potential traps and listening devices, mundane or magical, just in case. Nothing was found and he satisfiedly noted that some sort of magic was keeping coldness and moisture out of the stone building. After that, he had gone to survey the outpost's perimeter starting with the huge ravine from which he now continued toward a small forest where evergreens grew.

A lone rising moon shone in the starry night sky, its silver light illuminating the snowy terrain as Tactimon made his way past the trees. Being left alone allowed him to finally catch up with the strange state of affairs that had become his life.

Ophis. A peculiar dragon for sure. She was ancient and seemed to know a great deal about the world, yet talking with her made her seem… not simpleminded — he wouldn't dare to associate his master with the word and would cut the heads of whoever would say so of the Ouroboros Dragon. More suited word would be naïve-like. While it brought no joy thinking about such things of his master, Tactimon had to acknowledge that she seemed to be susceptible to others' influence.

Too susceptible.

Was that just a part of being a primordial being or something else, he didn't know. All the samurai could do was make sure no one would exploit his master any further.

Tactimon stopped and snow started to fall from the sky, slowly dyeing his cape white.

What was it that made him strike a pact with her? His decision was rushed, made on a scant amount of information. The short time he had known the dragon was nowhere adequate to form a full picture of her character, even if Tactimon had a hunch she would be a fair master. It was atypical of him so why did he do it?

Bagramon, Lilithmon, Blastmon… Tactimon was painfully aware everyone he knew and cared about had perished. So what was there left for him exactly?

A certain red Digimon's words came to his mind once again as he recited the words.

''A future where even a stubborn soul like me can laugh freely…''

It must have been that dragon Shoutmon and that dream of his that spurred him to choose this path, he reasoned. Tactimon wanted to scoff at the idea, but the longer he thought about it the more he was drawn to it.

'Very well then, Shoutmon,' Tactimon finally concurred. He would continue to live and serve his new master to find out if a future like that could be achieved or not here. To see if the people of this world had it in their hearts to overcome the dark. He would do it in honor of all the Digimon who had given their life to try and see that future happen.

A twig snapped in the distance, interrupting Tactimon's monologue. Turning towards where the noise had come from, he watched for movement before making his way.

He would dwell more on these matters later when he had time. For now, perimeters need to be secured.

The culprit had been soon found: a growing snow pile on one of the tree's boughs had reached a critical mass and broken off a branch.

The rest of his sweep had been made in silence, Tactimon deciding to enjoy the moonlight rather than thinking about gloomy topics. Nothing out of the ordinary was found after which he returned to the outpost.

After what he had estimated to be a half hour had passed, Ophis returned, announcing her arrival with her typical short and to-the-point speech to which she received Tactimon's courteous greetings.

''I have returned.''

''Welcome back, Ophis. I hope your journey was a pleasant one.''

''It was noisy.''

With that, Ophis pointed her index finger forward like a finger gun. Suddenly, the indoors were filled with a puff of smoke followed by bookshelves, desks, chairs, and many more objects, followed by a slam and a tremor that shook the whole building when the wooden furniture hit the ground. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken by the collision, Tactimon noted, as he made a quick sweep with his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the small building had been filled to the brim. Bookshelves stacked on top of each other almost reaching the ceiling, leaving only small alleys to move through the impromptu study hall. Tactimon even spotted a computer on a far-away table as he looked around.

One of the advantages Digimon had compared to humans was that they weren't shackled by language barriers. Their race could easily understand what was spoken to them and vice versa, just like the Devils and Angels of this world with their Language ability, as Tactimon had come to learn from Ophis. The same could not be said about the written word and many denizens of the Digital Word had been illiterate. Tactimon himself could read Digimoji without a problem and while having never stepped foot in the Human World, he had educated himself to be proficient in some of the most common languages humans wrote, courtesy of his late master.

Inspecting the book covers, he could see some were in English, Chinese, German, and Japanese but the majority were written in languages and texts unknown to him.

Ophis walked next to Tactimon, holding out an ornate lorgnette she had pulled from nowhere.

''This can translate most written languages,'' the Ouroboros Dragon explained as she held out the glasses.

''I am forever in your debt, Ophis,'' Thanking her for the trouble she had gone for him, Tactimon took her offering and held the lorgnettes before his eyes, the foreign words making sense now.

'How useful,' Tactimon pleasantly noted.

''Will this be enough?'' Ophis asked her servant who in turn put the lorgnettes away.

''Yes, this is more than I could have asked for. I believe that what you have brought here will provide me plenty of useful information to go through.''

''How much time do you need?''

Looking out of a window that managed to peek behind a bookshelf, Tactimon saw the silver moon had moved a little past its zenith. By estimating how much time had passed for the celestial body to move from its initial position he had seen it when Ophis brought him here to its current one, along with some additional calculations, Tactimon concluded that the day cycle here was about the same length as most of the Zone's he had been to.

''Six days. Give me six days and on the seventh, when the moon is at its highest, you shall have the beginning of the foundation that will bring Great Red down.''

''I'll be waiting,'' Ophis said as she turned to leave before adding, ''If you need me, call my name.''

Air vibrated around the Ouroboros Dragon before she disappeared, leaving Tactimon alone with a treasure trove of knowledge. Taking a row of books from a shelf, he walked toward an empty desk and where lowered his burden. His mission had finally started.

'To whomever these once belonged I wonder?'

Not wasting time, Tactimon opened the first book, eager to get his work started.

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

''…Ganges riverbed flows from the highest planet down to the Universe's lowest. Seers descend from Satyaloka by using the river's flowing waters, the most common form of travel used by the mystic-yogis...''

The audiobook narrator's double-speed voice coming from a computer was accompanied by constant sound rustling as Tactimon flipped pages in swift succession. Occasionally, he released one of his hands from the two books he had immersed himself with to write down annotations on vellum that would later be placed on top of a slowly rising paper pile in his study desk. Said pile was now reaching his shoulder's height, a fifth in line to be more exact.

Resting on the samurai's head were the lorgnettes Ophis had endowed him. The glass' ability to translate virtually any text had been an invaluable aid in speeding up his work of understanding the myriad of writings from old codexes to even older clay tablets he'd found. What would have taken years of work to translate could be achieved in an instant, something he was intensely grateful for.

The lorgnettes in question were taped to Tactimon's helmet — he had found the tape roll inside one of the bureaus Ophis had summoned — to keep them in place and to free both of his hands. While the usage of tape was in poor taste, he hadn't found anything better and so he had to settle for what was available. He, of course, would get a proper chain to replace the improvised bindings the moment he had the time.

While Tactimon's days mostly consisted of doing research, he would put the books aside and go outside to ensure no one had ventured near his temporal hide-out. He was doing these patrols at irregular intervals to make sure his sweeps could not be anticipated, should he be observed. A bit excessive perhaps, but in Tactimon's line of work, you could never be too careful. Ophis had done well in choosing this place as he had yet to see anything that warranted his attention. Even the animals seemed to avoid this place, if any even lived in this world that is.

Tactimon could have eased his burden and used Jatetsufujin-maru to summon spirits of deceased warrior Digimon from inside the sword to work as sentries. The undead would easily cover more ground than himself, letting the samurai just focus on his research, but he had intentionally withheld from doing so. Without a seal limiting his sword's power, Tactimon was very much aware of how the blade was whispering its sweet and alluring words to him. It was easy to ignore at first, but the constant suggestion to pull the blade out from the scabbard and find someone worthy whom against they could experience the rush of battle once more started to hinder his work.

Just he and his sword against whatever the world would throw against them, nothing else would matter. How the blades would clash and blood be spilled as both the soul and body focused on the dance between life and death, where one's journey continued at the expense of the other… Tactimon could feel his blood start pumping and realized what was happening again.

'Patience, my friend. There will come a time to reveal our savageness but it is not now,' Tactimon reassured his other half and he could feel his precious blade grumble in dissatisfaction before growing silent, for a while at least.

To find someone worthy to test their might against was tempting indeed but much as his heart longed for a fight, Tactimon's duty to his master far outweighed his desire to draw blood. One of the first things he did after Ophis left was to dismiss Jatetsufujin-maru to an incorporeal form waiting to be summoned back, making the weapon's influence less prevalent so the samurai could concentrate on the task at hand. No, better not to wake the slumbering beast, Tactimon had decided. He could manage guarding this place just fine by himself.

For the past four days, this has been his routine: read, patrol, and try to appease his sword. No time was spent on eating or sleeping, for a perfect soldier didn't need such things to operate. At most, an hour of meditation to let his mind recover from studying all day would have sufficed, but because time was limited, Tactimon could not afford this if he wanted to have everything ready when Ophis arrived.

Let it be known that Tactimon was nothing if not resourceful. Having a seemingly impossible task on a tight schedule was nothing new to him. To overcome this challenge, he had split his focus so different parts of his mind were each dedicated to a singular task. Two parts of him focused on reading a book each, one part of him was listening to documentaries played by the computer, another part was sorting out what he had learned while yet another part focused on writing down useful information and lastly, one part of him was recuperating from all of this.

By periodically rotating these assigned tasks, he could ensure every part of his mind would get enough rest so his mind would continue to work optimally. Managing less than this would have been unbecoming of Bagramon's best Head Officer and Tactimon would hold himself to the same standards for Ophis.

Even when patrolling, Tactimon did not stop, his brain analyzing and weaving plans from what he had learned from the library.

While splitting his focus allowed the samurai to work longer and even more efficiently than he usually could, the technique was not without its flaws. Allowing only parts of his mind to breathe did not replace the need for proper rest, only postponing it. Should he work too long like this there was a danger of overexerting his brain, forcing it to shut down. Thankfully, Tactimon had estimated he could continue multitasking at this pace for another few days which was more than enough for him to get everything needed to be done.

Getting to the last page of one of the two books he was reading Tactimon threw the thick work behind him, not sparing a glance. The fifth volume of The Native American Gods and their Legends landed upright on a bookshelf, filling a gap just its size left on the shelf. In his calculations, Tactimon would need to move to the upper shelf, meaning he would have to aim a little higher next time.

Opening the next book 'How to Barter with Gods - from Roman Augurs to the Northern Noadis', Tactimon dipped his pen in inc, writing a few more notes in Digimoji before continuing his reading.

Should someone try and read his writing with a translator device, they would only see random words with no meaning as Tactimon was using one of the code languages he had personally developed for his troops in the Bagra Army. You could never be too careful after all, the translating lorgnettes he was wearing were proof of that.

Submerging back into his work, the samurai started to go over what he had already learned.

One of the first things he had wanted to know was if Digimon existed in this world as well, just to be sure. Not having found any mention of their species after going over half the library already was quite telling, as it was unlikely his species's presence would have gone unnoticed here. Adding Ophis' previous statement of him not being of this world, it seemed he was truly the last of his kind.

In the place of Digimon, a myriad of other kinds of gods and monsters walked on the many realms existing here. Interestingly, many of these beings bore a surprising resemblance to Digital World's inhabitants, many even sharing similar names. It was almost like he was back home.

Almost, Tactimon reminded himself.

On the surface, it would certainly seem like he had arrived at a world just like his own, but the illusion was quickly shattered the more he got into finer details. In the end, the resemblance was just that, a resemblance.

And yet he couldn't help but sense some sort of an underlying connection between his old world and this one.

The most apt way Tactimon could explain this was the time he was securing Art Zone's Code Crown for Bagramon. After taking over the capital, he had started his search and had come across a row of paintings depicting some local legend in one of the abandoned buildings. While every painting portrayed the same general scene they all managed to look unique, with every painter having used a different style in their work.

'Our worlds, similar yet different,' Tactimon mused, remembering Ophis' words.

The reason for these weird coincidences, he believed, had to do with one thing that was constant in both universes: humans.

While researching, Tactimon had learned that many gods and their belief systems in this world relied on humanity's faith with some scholars having even published works claiming that it was the human imagination that had first birthed the mythological figures into existence. It seemed power that humans' hearts held and how it could affect reality seemed to have been carried over to this world as well.

Tactimon knew humans had the potential to overcome many hardships, even succeeding where Digimon could not. The samurai had seen this with his own eyes and old records spoke of human children who had left their marks on Digital World's history. Humans, for all their fragility and weaknesses, had the potential to produce miracles.

But as far as he knew, these acts could only be achieved because of the bond humans and Digimon formed, where the two sides complimented each other.

Unlike in his old world, the chosen humans here seemed to have actualized their latent abilities differently. Here they wielded powerful weapons, could cast magic, and command the forces of nature by training, special bloodlines, or just by plain luck. The sheer difference in numbers and variety of individuals with these supernatural abilities had given him pause, even when he had expected something like this from Ophis' short explanation before.

Just imagining facing one of those human heroes he had read about made him giddy.

'If Hero Faction is filled with warriors like these-' Tactimon cut himself before he could give any more consideration to the idea and focused back on the two books in his hands, ignoring Jatetsufujin-maru's alluring whispers of glorious combat, the sword having sensed its owner's feelings.

He really needed to do something about his sword.

Going back on the matter, perhaps the most notable proof of the still existing human potential in this world was the Sacred Gears, miracles that the God of the Bible had created for humanity. These Gears reacted directly to the wishes and desires of their holder, evolving according to their will. Should the holder's will be strong enough, their Sacred Gear could even achieve a state called 'Balance Break', a form that had the potential to break the balance of power in the world, the most powerful of them having the potential to slay gods, or so the texts he had read said.

Evolving by just strongly wishing for it. Just like the Digimon could once in time.

'Oh Your Highness, if only you could have seen this,' Tactimon sighed dejectedly.

Here he was, the last vestige of a doomed world. A stain left to remind of a hopeless future, somehow given a second chance to see if this fate could be avoided.

Having enough of feeling blue, Tactimon focused back on the primary target of his investigation: Great Red, the Dragon of Apocalypse, True Red Dragon God Emperor, Dragon Of Dragons, and the countless other monikers given to the creature mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

He had found surprisingly little information about the dragon, considering every mythological faction seemingly knew of its existence and it was common enough knowledge in the supernatural world that it, or he, as many referred to the dragon, was considered the strongest being in existence.

Most historical texts had only a passing mention of Great Red's invasion of the Dimensional Gap. This had happened in the days of ancient, when Gods were young and worlds were beginning to emerge and the dragon had stayed in the world between worlds to this day. Great Red was rarely sighted, most of these records coming from a god or dragon who had challenged it to a fight. In every encounter, Great Red had ignored the other party, content on just flying in the Dimensional Gap, even the one time a deity had directly attacked it.

This last incident had finally spurred most leaders of mythologies into action, forbidding their members from antagonizing Great Red for fear of the dragon's wrath finally falling on them and the possible cataclysmic consequences that would follow. It was the first time in history that the different mythologies had come to an agreement, even if it was an unofficial one. To this day, the unspoken degree has been successfully enforced and Great Red has enjoyed its life in the Dimensional Gap undisturbed.

It seemed Ophis had been handed the short end if the only people to even humor her attempts to kill the Dragon of Dragons were the Khaos Brigade members. This would also make his mission more complicated as there would not be many who would be ready to help him on this endeavor, up-front at least. All of this would also paint a big target on his back, just like Ophis undoubtedly had, meaning he would have to use discretion.

'Great Red, dragon born from Dreams and Illusions…' Tactimon muttered, deep in thought.

In his old life, Tactimon and his former master, Bagramon, had had many enlightening conversations, with Bagramon always having some piece of wisdom to be shared. On one occasion, the two had discussed the nature of hope and dreams, from which Tactimon still vividly remembered Bagramon's words: ''There are two kinds of dreams, Tactimon. The ones we see in the night, and the ones we carry in our hearts. Both are equally important. Lose one, and you lose them both.''

Tactimon wondered what would happen should the epitome of Dream be somehow slain. Gods here were living embodiments of concepts and were responsible for managing the world, their deaths or prolonged absences were known to have great consequences. If Great Red was killed, would this world become similar to the Digital World? A place bereft of imagination and hope, where dreams no longer existed?

Tactimon didn't want to find out the answer.

He was honor-bound to his master and he would see to it that Ophis' home was freed once and for all. But… perhaps it didn't need to end in the Dragon of Dragon's demise.

Ophis' exact wording for him had been 'dispose Great Red from the Dimensional Gap'. To achieve this objective, he only needed to remove the dragon from the void world and ensure it could no longer pose a threat to Ophis. This might not follow the spirit of their contract, and Tactimon knew he was toying with the line, but he also wasn't disobeying her order, the samurai reasoned. Perhaps, when the time was right, he would try to broach the subject with her.

But that was for the future. He could plan and prepare all he wanted in this hideout. If he wanted things to move forward, he would also need to act. For all his ingenuity and power, he was but one Digimon and could not be everywhere at once.

In his previous life, there had been no shortage of evil Digimon willing to wreak death and havoc in the name of the Bagra Empire. Their army's ranks were additionally bolstered by countless Troopmon and other artificially made Digimon whom Bagramon had brought to life, eagerly following their master's order. Fear was what had kept the soldiers of the Bagra Empire in line, and that had usually been enough. Few had dared to try and desert the army and the ones who failed were made an example.

Now? The situation was different. Tactimon had no military apparatus to enforce order nor could he rely just on his might to cow others under his master's rule. People, competent and loyal, would be required if he wished to fulfill his duty to his new master.

Finding competent subordinates would not be a problem for him. No matter the world, there were always criminals, assassins, and other filth willing to do the dirty deed for the right amount of money or coercion. While not an approach Tactimon favored, people like that had their uses. The downside for these easily formed allegiances was they could as easily be broken, and he knew the cost.

Dorulumon, Tactimon's right-hand man and one of the most promising warriors he had met and to whom he had foolishly placed his trust, had once leaked confidential information to the enemy and deserted. The act had ruined his perfect battle plan and cost him a victory, besmirching his almost immaculate battle record. Thinking about the incident still managed to leave a sour taste in the samurai's mouth after all those years.

He made a vow to not have the same repeated here.

Tactimon doubted there would be many willingly joining him, his cause could said to be near impossible to achieve. He didn't have the charisma or the wisdom his former master had. He could lie and deceive what were his intentions, but doing it all the time came with the risk of someone finding out the truth and this would bring even more trouble.

'Did you face similar problems in your early days too, Xros Heart and Blue Fire?', Tactimon wondered.

If those two groups could grow from a handful of Digimon and humans to a well-functioning army capable of threatening the Bagra Empire in under a year, surely one of the Three Head Officers could do the same as well?

No, he would not allow himself to be outdone by them. They had already defeated him once, he wouldn't allow them the satisfaction of victory again, even posthumous!

Throwing a book behind him, Tactimon reached for the next work, his hand grasping empty. Looking to his left revealed the wooden desk's polished surface. It seemed he finished earlier than he initially estimated.

The library had provided him with a good general grasp of what to expect from this world, from history to economics and cultures to more specific matters, supernatural and mundane. Turning toward the computer's screen he sped the audio even more while starting to browse through the rest of the computer files. While the device didn't have an internet connection, the files it had made up for it.

''…if the river is thousands of kilometers long, a perfect yogi can instantly travel from one place to another simply by stepping in the flowing waters…'' continued the high-pitched voice of the narrator.

---

Throwing a piece of paper at his feet, Tactimon inspected how the talisman's inscription shimmered in dark violet before erupting in flames and leaving a black spot on the melted snow. Seeing his attempt still not working as intended, the samurai started to make some additional changes to the formula.

Tactimon had never been good at a high-level programming language, or magic, as it was more commonly called here. This was not because he was bad at math, the samurai could quite effortlessly calculate and form the necessary formulas for the spells in his mind. The problems came when he tried to launch them. At most, the magic would try to pitifully sputter to life before dying, resulting in a puff of smoke.

''Even you can't excel in everything'', Tactimon reminded himself, his mood becoming sour. For the perfect soldier to botch casting even elementary-level spells… simply embarrassing.

Him and magic not mixing was an unfortunate side-effect due to Tactimon's nature as His Highness, Bagramon, had explained to him once. It was also something Lilithmon would poke fun at when she couldn't come up with anything better in their petty disputes comparing how many Code Crowns each Head Officer had collected. He, of course, was always ahead of the other two. Fond memories, but he digressed.

While Tactimon had little to no talent for casting magic, it didn't mean he couldn't use it. Direct spell-casting was not impossible but very time-consuming to get right. Hence, one of the few things when it came to magic he could say to be competent was a simple teleportation spell. It had taken Tactimon decades to master it, but it had been necessary; more than once it had allowed the samurai to step in time to assist his troops or allow himself a quick retreat from an unfavorable battle, a flexibility the Zone Transfer method lacked.

To overcome his limitation, Tactimon used components as the spell's focus. Like the tanegashimas' on his back that drew their energy directly from him, he was imbuing the vellums with his power to try and force the formula he had written on them to activate. While the magic still didn't work as intended, he had made good progress compared to the initial unfortunate explosions of the first batch. Normally, Tactimon wouldn't have needed to try his hand at spell crafting as Bagra Empire had Digimon designated for these kinds of duties but as the samurai noted once again, these were not normal times and he would need to adapt.

Throwing another talisman, its writing started to glow, the dark purple color more prevalent than previously. After disappearing, the vellum reappeared a short distance away on a wooden board that had a magic circle drawn on it.

'Finally, a success,' Tactimon silently celebrated as the world started to darken, the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains.

'And not a moment too soon,' he nodded in satisfaction.

Tactimon would try experimenting a few more times, making final adjustments to ensure the formula worked perfectly. Seeing the fourth vellum appear on the magic circle in a row, he collected his equipment alongside the rest of the unused parchments and headed back inside. He was ready to go.

Leaving the outpost unguarded was risky, but he believed the rudimentary wards he had placed around the building would alert him, should an intruder decide to pay a visit to this corner of the world. With the constant snowing, any tracks left by him had been long covered, lowering the chances of someone discovering this place further.

He had a long debate about whether he should contact Ophis, not sure if it was proper to disturb his master with something so trivial as this. In the end, he decided not to. His master had not prohibited him from leaving the outpost and this was to do with the preparations of his plans. To ask her would be a waste of Ouroboros Dragon's time.

Tactimon left a note on his desk explaining his temporal absence with a few of the talismans Ophis could write her message should she come here while he was away after which the paper would then magically appear to him. A bit cumbersome form of communication compared to what he was used to but he was made to do with what he currently had.

After getting everything ready, Tactimon stepped outside to the courtyard, focusing on activating the familiar teleportation spell. Feeling the magic take effect, his body was briefly engulfed in static before he started to fade away. A final flash of white noise was accompanied before the samurai disappeared completely.

---

On the seventh day, Tactimon rested while giving the final touches to his plan. Sitting next to his annotations, the combined paper tower now as tall as Tactimon, was a smaller one only a couple of pages tall. While going over the document for the nth time, he felt a familiar presence arrive outside the building.

None of his wards had been activated.

Taking the lorgnettes from his head, Tactimon placed the glasses down by the golden chain attached to them. Getting up from the oak desk, the samurai walked over to the entrance door and pushed it open, the door shoveling snow away in the process.

The silver moon shone high in the cloudless starry sky, its white light making the snowy landscape glimmer in return. In the past six days, it had gotten significantly colder.

Standing before Tactimon was Ophis in her scant clothing, indifferent to the biting frost and snow, her two dull black eyes staring expectantly at him.

''Are you finished?'' A lone cloud of vapor was released from her mouth, the only indication he was talking with a living being, her pale skin not helping in the matter.

''Yes Ophis, I have prepared everything ready for you. Please,'' Stepping aside from the door Tactimon beckoned her inside.

Ophis nodded and started to wade through the knee-high snow bank.

''Other leaders have been asking to see you,'' Ophis said to Tactimon as she reached the door.

''Is that so?'' he asked, not sounding surprised at all.

''I told them you did not want to be disturbed.''

''Thank you Ophis. However, I believe I will get acquainted with them soon enough.''

Getting inside the warm building, Tactimon followed Ophis and closed the door.

''I first want to express my deepest gratitude for lending me all these materials and texts. I have written down everything I need and am ready to return these to you. All the books are in the exact order you gave them,'' the samurai addressed his master.

''You can keep them,'' Ophis simply said.

Tactimon's first instinct was to refuse her as this was way too much for someone like him. But before he could form an eloquent protest she beat him as if sensing what he was about to say.

''You asked for books and information so you could kill Great Red.''

While she showed no emotion, Tactimon got a feeling Ophis would not budge on the matter. The only option left for the samurai was to bow deep.

''Thank you Ophis. Your generosity knows no bounds.''

Hearing this, the Ouroboros Dragon tilted her head in puzzlement.

Rising back to his full height, Tactimon retrieved the small paper heap he had left on the desk, offering it to Ophis.

''Now then. I have prepared a presentation for you which is meant to explain my plan for ultimately freeing the Dimensional Gap. The notes you have will provide you with additional information,'' saying this, Tactimon pulled out a blackboard behind one the the many bookshelves.

Gesturing behind his master, he continued, ''This will take a while, so if you prefer, I have prepared a seat for you.''

Turning around Ophis could see an armchair between a stack of books. Instead of sitting on the comfortable leather, she opted to hop on one of the book piles.

Deciding not to comment on this, Tactimon continued, ''Now, if any questions come to your mind during the presentation, please do not hesitate to interrupt me. I will do my utmost best to answer each one of them.''

''I understand,'' Ophis said and started to stare at Tactimon with such intensity it was starting to make him uneasy.

Doing his best to ignore his master's soul-piercing gaze, Tactimon began to write on the chalkboard.

''I have given a lot of thought to how the Khaos Brigade's operations could be improved even further. After careful consideration, I believe two things need to be done that would greatly benefit your organization in liberating the Dimensional Gap.

First is the establishment of a new division, which I will be referring to as 'Ouroboros Division' for now. The second part pertains to the overall structure in which Khaos Brigade operates… ''

Ophis attentively listened to Tactimon explaining but after realizing no immediate solution for killing Great Red was going to be revealed, her aura subsided. Alleviated, Tactimon continued going over the necessary steps needed to be taken to establish the groundwork for her new division. For the next hour and twenty minutes, Ophis passively listened to Tactimon's presentation, mechanically turning over to the next page of her reference sheet when told she would find additional information there. Otherwise, the dragon hadn't moved an inch, being still as a stone statue. The only indication she was even listening was the blinking of her eyes, which happened exactly twice, as per Tactimon's count.

Tactimon had gone to great lengths to make the presentation as informative and easily followed as possible but because Ophis showed no expressions, it was impossible to gauge what she thought of it. He once tried to prompt an opinion from her to which she answered 'I trust in your judgment on this,' not alleviating Tactimon's fret if the presentation was up to her standards.

''… and it is for these reasons I believe it would be beneficial for you if the other group leaders are summoned to discuss more in detail concerning the matter. That is all.'' Tactimon finished, feeling oddly exhausted.

''I see. I will tell the other leaders to come to meet us in the base then,'' Ophis hopped off the stack of books and returned the sheet of papers to Tactimon.

''Thank you Ophis. I hope you found this worth your time,'' Tactimon's calm voice belied the restlessness inside him.

''I did,'' the Dragon plainly said.

While congratulations were going on inside Tactimon's head for a job well done, Ophis turned around, ready to leave.

''Should any questions or suggestions arise to you regarding the Ouroboros Division or other parts of the plan, I'm always ready to hear them,'' Tactimon urged Ophis, seeing she was about to disappear again.

''Mmhm,'' Was his master's reply.

Just when Ophis was about to teleport, her eyes caught the books she had been sitting on and stopped. Resting on the top of the pile was a dictionary.

Inclining her head, Ophis became deep in thought before marching over to her improvised seat. Opening the thick tome she started to flip through its pages, all the while Tactimon silently observed her, intrigued by her action.

A few minutes passed before she turned back to face him, and Tactimon could swear he saw a flicker of something in Ophis' eyes.

''I, have a suggestion.''

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

''How is it going, Georg? We got about four minutes before we need to get moving.''

''That's more than enough time for me to finish deciphering these runes, Cao Cao.''

Averting his gaze away from the antique pocket watch in his hand, Cao Cao looked around the dimly lit hallway, where a few of the palace's signature floating lanterns shared their meager blue glow. As usual, they were the only ones in one here, in one of the numerous wings of the Khaos Brigade's 'headquarters'.

The leader of the Hero Faction wasn't a fan of this place, a sentiment shared with other members who had the privilege of stepping in here. The ancient stone complex made it feel like you were being constantly observed, judged even.

As if you weren't welcomed here.

Well, perhaps the feeling was appropriate considering the situation, Cao Cao had to admit while tapping his spear on his shoulder as he once again checked both ends of the hallway. Should the other leaders know about their little hobby here… Well, things would get interesting.

Georg had hypothesized the reason for the feeling of paranoia was a simple side-effect left by the multitude of runes placed all over the building working in tandem. The spell's many effects lapped on each other, making some of the surplus energy created by this interfere with their senses on a subconscious level. It was more complicated than that of course, but when Georg had started to talk about theoretical magic equations fields, Cao Cao had become lost. As long as no mind-altering magic was at play here, the black-haired young man could bear the occasional visit.

What he did understand from Georg's commentary was that whoever had made runes was very skilled in their field. The usage of teleportation, messaging, and scrying magic was impossible to do inside or near the palace, even electronics had a hard time working in here. The only way to enter or contact inside the complex was the old-fashioned way, by using one of the many palace entrances.

While Ophis might have enjoyed how the wards made this place a bit more silent for her, it was also a double-edged sword for them. It meant the Hero Faction could conduct their business with Ophis here securely, but so could the other factions, unfortunately.

''All done here. One more wall of runes decoded, who knows how many others to go.''

Looking away from the hallway, Cao Cao saw Georg rise from his kneeling and dismiss the variety of magic symbols hovering over his hands. The wizard had cast a ball of light to help him see better in the badly lit hallway, where the obsidian walls hungrily ate the illumination.

''Good job Georg. Let's not let the others wait for us any longer. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression after all,'' Cao Cao said as he pocketed his watch and started to walk down the long hall, his comrade following him.

'Even the echo here is terrible,' Cao Cao frowned as he heard how the walls reflected their footstep, somehow managing to make it ominous sounding.

The wielder of the True Longinus didn't need to look at his second in command to know he was feeling anxious and it wasn't because of the building's atmosphere. Cao Cao didn't blame Georg, he was feeling the same way. He was just better at forcing the unpleasant feeling down.

Deciding to lighten the mood, Cao Cao struck up a conversation, ''Let me guess, it was another batch of structure-enhancing runes.''

''No. This time it was dust removal,'' Georg looked back at him and managed to form a small smile.

''Seriously? I'm starting to wish we had some sort of explosive poisonous gas trap spell hidden in there for even once,'' Cao Cao complained in a deadpan and shook his head. He wasn't really disappointed they had once again chosen wrong. There were thousands of runes from which they had to randomly search for the right ones.

Cao Cao could hear Georg scoff at his remark and saw his friend's shoulders relax a bit. It was good to see some of the anxiety leave the wizard's body as both of them needed to have their wits and clear heads for what was to come.

While this time they weren't lucky, every opportunity Georg got to decipher the runes made it a little bit easier for the wizard to discern which ones were unimportant and which weren't. Besides, they could always return to continue their little work another time.

If there was going to be another time, Cao Cao had to remind himself.

For the past week, things had been hectic for the Hero Faction, just like with everyone else in the Khaos Brigade. Ophis, unexpectantly and without consultation, had decided in her infinite wisdom to accept a new member joining her league.

Indeed. Not a faction, not even a group, but a single individual.

The new member, this Tactimon, as Ophis had told in her short message, was either a fool who believed he could somehow benefit and survive in the Khaos Brigade alone or someone confident enough in his abilities to keep other factions from interfering with his business, in what was most likely in a fatal way.

After the reveal, Hero Factions started to immediately search for information concerning Ophis' newest recruit. A lot of time and resources were spent on this task. Libraries were scoured, databases checked, old and new favors asked from the multitude of connections they had, anything to get a clue on who this Tactimon truly was.

While their search was ongoing, Cao Cao went to question the Ouroboros Dragon directly before the Nirlem or the devils did. The young hero had, of course, covered the real reason for the meeting as wanting to inform Ophis about Hero Faction's progress in their anti-dragon research. With a fabricated report describing their small headway and the need for more of her snakes to continue their hard work, Ophis had bought the whole thing. After getting the formalities out of the way, he had inquired about Tactimon, as if talking about its newest recruit had been just an afterthought that had suddenly come to his mind.

Who was he?

What did he want?

Where was he now?

These and many more questions plagued Cao Cao's mind. He knew Ophis wouldn't tell much. The dragon was as taciturn as it was creepy.

After asking the unsuspecting dragon to tell him about the mysterious individual, this was all Ophis was willing to tell: 'I found him half-dead in a desert where I sensed Great Red. I asked him to serve me. He accepted, on the condition everything I know of him is to be kept to myself. Now he's searching on how to kill Great Red and doesn't want to be disturbed.'

Returning from the palace, Cao Cao began to wait for their search results while trying to piece together a picture from what he already had gathered.

In the end, their search had yielded nothing, there was no one with the name Tactimon existing. Cao Cao had expected this to be a possibility, their target was most likely using a cover name.

While the information he now had was not much to go by, it gave the young hero some clues about Tactimon's character.

Why did Ophis find him half-dead where it had sensed Great Red? Was he a suicidal battle maniac who had wanted to fight the Dragon of Dreams, the latter deciding to give him a lesson and Ophis arrived to see the aftermath? Very worrisome in so many aspects if true. Tactimon seemed to at least have the foresight to keep a tight leash on his personal information, or was his pride so broken from the incident that he couldn't bear to let others know about it?

For days, these and countless other scenarios occupied the his mind until Heracles had enough and literally pulled Cao Cao from his pondering, saying he was overthinking things. They would know when they would know, the group's brute had instructed him with a confident grin before Cao Cao had been lowered back to the ground.

He had to agree with Heracles. They would adjust their plans accordingly when more information was revealed. For now, the heroes of humanity would wait and see, letting the devils and Nilrem do the tail-chasing.

Seven days had passed since Ophis' announcement and as things seemed to settle down, the dragon had once again contacted them. This time she wanted every leader of the Brigade to come to the HQ and gave no reason as to why, only that they had twelve hours before the meeting would be held.

After the Hero Faction had loosely joined with the Khaos Brigade, the times he had met some of the other faction's leadership could be counted on one hand and from those times it was mostly just Nirlem and the Old Satan Faction. Most of the Brigade groups were just allies of circumstances and wanted to spend as little time as possible with the others. For Ophis to demand every leader to come? That was unprecedented.

Cao Cao guessed this was Tactimon's doing. He had his suspicions as to why and none of them were good.

Hero Faction had been forced to make a hard choice. After debating with his close circle of comrades on what to do, Cao Cao had come to a decision.

Just like the devils and Nirlem wouldn't be willing to give up the power the Dragon God was willing to share with them, neither were they. Not yet at least.

As for the other, smaller factions, should anyone decide to decline Ophis' direct order, it would be the same as leaving the Brigade and they would be targeted without mercy as no loose ends were tolerated. There was no leaving the Khaos Brigade once you joined.

Cao Cao had to give it to Tactimon. He had played his cards right this time, either by accident or skill.

After their decision, Hero Faction started to prepare for the worst. As the time for the meeting drew near, Cao Cao took their heavy hitters with him to wait outside the palace grounds. Jeane, Heracles, Siegfried, Perseus, and many others who had joined his cause came with him while a reinforcement group, including the young Leonardo, waited elsewhere to step in and assist if necessary.

Having arrived near the palace, Cao Cao had seen hundreds of devils and Nirlem's magicians filling the area as well as some other smaller groups, fallen angels being the largest of these. Their auras told him each one was a veteran fighter.

Tensions had been high as the forces surrounding the palace stared at each other. The ongoing winter weather paled in comparison to the cold glares exchanged as each side restlessly waited for whatever was about to happen. Just a small mishap and the powder keg would explode, breaking all hell loose.

Looking up from his pocket watch, Cao Cao saw he and Georg had finally arrived inside the familiar chamber, its metallic-blue roof hanging high above them. Opposite, two metal doors stood open, telling them to enter.

They had three minutes before the meeting would start.

Cao Cao stopped, Georg, following suit.

''How're you feeling?'' he calmly asked and glanced at the wizard.

''Nervous, if I'm being honest,'' Georg confessed, adjusting his suit collar with one hand.

His friend was doing a good job hiding his anxiousness in Cao Cao's opinion.

''A little bit of nervousness is good, keeps the mind sharp. Just remember what we discussed. If things play right, this will be just another boring conversation with Ophis,'' he advised and began walking again.

''Yes. You're right,'' taking a calming breath, Georg followed.

While the wizard used a levitation spell, Cao Cao climbed the long and steep stairway. The light exercise worked as a warm-up and helped the blood bump in his brain. As his steady footsteps echoed, the young hero saw the final pair of open doors slowly grow in size.

Whatever would happen, he was ready. The Hero Faction was ready.

Crossing the last pair of doors Cao Cao entered the throne room first as the vanguard and Georg right behind him, ready to support if needed.

Inside the room, Cao Cao could immediately sense the change in the atmosphere. If the situation outside was cold, it was freezing here, the tension palpable.

The two continued to walk until they came across the other occupants of the room. Everyone else had seemingly already arrived, most of them quite early too no doubt as it was the first time for most of them to see the palace. The small groups gave each other a wide breath and stayed silent, the few who were conversing between themself were using magic to not let their voices be carried beyond and to obscure their lips from being read.

Looking around, Cao Cao spotted a few humans belonging to Nirlem and other, smaller magician groups. There were also three fallen angels and a few other supernatural creatures. Most of them were low-level trash compared to him and Georg that could be easily dealt with. The only ones he would need to be cautious were the Satans' descendants and a person who was wrapped in old brown robes.

While no features could be seen, Cao Cao could tell they were a high-ranking angel by the intensity of the holy aura surrounding them. Seeing an angel here surprised him as they must've taken quite a risk to come here all the way from Heaven.

Before the groups, sitting on the oversized obsidian throne that almost took one-third of the room was Ophis, radiating her creepy otherwordly aura, and who was currently …sleeping? Cao Cao wasn't sure. The dragon had its eyes closed, but it was hard to say anything involving her.

Since they were a full minute early, they could try and shift the setup a bit more in their favor.

On his left were two Nirlem's council members by the looks of it, a man and a woman, neither of which he was familiar with. Both wore long and dark ropes emblazoned with markings typical to their organization and only showed their lower faces. The two had a cautious aura around them and Cao Cao could feel the glare under their hoods when they saw him.

Was Nirlem still sour he had managed to get the possessor of the Longinus-class Sacred Gear, Dimensional Lost, to join the Hero Faction over them? Most definitely.

Speaking of Georg, he had dispelled his levitation spell and was standing on the floor, consciously ignoring the two magicians.

The young wizard seemingly adjusted his glasses. Acquaintances, he gestured to Cao Cao.

The young wizard's total disregard for the two magicians made them purse their lips, becoming visibly agitated.

Now this was even better than he had hoped. Who knew it was such a small world?

Proceed with the plan, Cao Cao tapped his spear two times on his shoulder, signaling his friend to continue bothering the two magicians. His second-in-command wasn't here just to decipher runes and work as added security after all.

Getting the other parties emotional and distracted would work in their favor. It wasn't going to be too hard either with everyone being so tense here.

Looking to his right where his own targets were, Cao Cao spotted two devils standing a good distance away from the other groups. Their auras belonged to that of an Ultimate-Class devils and while both had a calm if reserved facade, it was clear neither of them enjoyed being here.

Katerea Leviathan, a bespectacled tan-skinned woman owning a voluptuous figure and bundled brown hair, and Creuserey Asmodeus, a handsome-looking man with fair skin and pointed ears, who had his long black hair tied behind his back. Both devils had looks that rivaled most models and the extravagant and form-fitting clothes the two wore further accentuated their attractiveness. Katerea's especially, whose outfit showed a fair bit of her tan skin, especially around her bosom.

You couldn't get more obvious with your intentions even if you tried in Cao Cao's opinion. He didn't understand why the descendant of Leviathan even bothered dressing like that, only an idiot was going to fall for her 'charms' here. He knew devils were deceitful creatures, known to use illusions to fool their prey. You shouldn't trust what you saw.

The two devils' eyes met his own, contempt shining clear in their eyes. A feeling Cao Cao wholeheartedly shared.

The stare was broken as he exaggeratedly tapped his spear on his shoulder, making the two devils involuntarily flinch at the light movement of the ultimate holy weapon. Even in its dormant state, everyone could feel the spear's holy presence across the room.

Making another sweep with his eyes, Cao Cao didn't spot Shalba Beelzebub anywhere.

'Damn. The old devils truly think this is going to get ugly if one of their leaders decided to abstain from the meeting,' his eyes narrowed in thought before self-confidence quickly replaced his worry.

''Seems Shalba didn't find it in himself to join us today. How unfortunate,'' Cao Cao spoke aloud, deciding to test the waters.

Creuserey's brows knitted when she saw Cao Cao's cocky smirk, but the devil's composure held otherwise.

''Mind your own business, human,'' the descendant of Asmodeus seethed the last word before haughtily continuing. ''Stick your nose in other's businesses and you will find it along with your head swiftly removed. You would do well to learn some manners.''

''I'm in all ears, pretty boy,'' Cao Cao ignored the jab and instead scratched exaggeratingly his earlobe while staring directly into the eyes of the pointy-eared devil.

Creuserey, clearly not appreciating how he made fun of his appearance, began gritting his teeth while his hands balled into fists; a sight Cao Cao greatly enjoyed.

''For someone acting so brazen, you sure took your time, Cao Cao. Why, it almost seems you were afraid to come here,'' Katarea decided to step in before her partner fully lost his self-control.

''Nah, we just got lost. This palace is a labyrinth with all these turning and swirling corridors. You have to be really careful or you might end up lost here, permanently even,'' Cao Cao quipped back, fully aware how their conversation had now drawn most of the room's residents' attention.

Creuserey's nostrils flared, ''You–!''

''Everyone has arrived. The meeting starts now,'' The devil's outburst was cut short by Ophis' announcement.

Humiliated, Creuserey was forced to swallow his anger and drop the subject but the look he gave Cao Cao promised this incident wouldn't be forgotten.

After making sure the two devils stayed where they were, Cao Cao looked towards the throne, seeing the Ouroboros Dragon had her eyes open. It was showtime.

''With all due respect, Great Ophis, what is it that you need all of us here for?'' One of the Nirlem's magicians warily asked, wanting to cut to the case straight away.

''Our master has summoned you here to discuss the future of the Khaos Brigade,'' an unknown voice spoke behind everyone in Japanese.

–!

Cao Cao ignored the shouts of alarm and faster than the eye could follow, he swirled around. His spear was already in his hands, ready to strike.

A lone figure stood before him at the doorway.

'How long had they been there!?' Cao Cao thought in distress. He hadn't sensed their approach at all.

The towering person was head taller than him and clad in dark armor from head to toe. The air of discipline emanating from him as well as the royal blue cape and crimson sash he wore gave Cao Cao the impression of a military officer. Looking up, the young hero could spot three massive guns hanging from his back, barrels pointing down, before his eyes finally met the samurai-esque helmet. The red flame markings inscribed on the armor and the glow behind the helmet's yellow lenses gave an allusion that the warrior had come straight from purgatory. Those two eyes, cold and calculating, sized everyone in the room.

Cao Cao realized this must be Tactimon. He was not going to enjoy how there was going to be another person whose expression he couldn't read. Even when the samurai wasn't emitting any hostile intent, his aura alone made sweat droplets appear on his temple.

Despite his young age, Cao Cao had accumulated experience with the supernatural that rivaled even the most seasoned exorcists. He had fought and slain devils, vampires, dragons, and countless other magical creatures and monsters. He had even seen a few gods. Cao Cao knew what kind of dangerous and powerful monsters lurked in the shadows and preyed on humanity. With his experience, he believed he had a good estimate of what to expect from Tactimon, not even counting out the possibility they would be some sort of deity.

He had been partially correct in his assumptions. Tactimon was someone who clearly walked in the realm of gods. He had just underestimated how high.

While Ophis was the true monster among monsters, the dragon was passive and indifferent toward most things, rarely acting. Unlike her, he got the impression that the person before him wouldn't be hesitant to demonstrate his power, should he feel the need to.

Looking at Tactimon, Cao Cao felt like he was back to being the young boy in China where he first encountered the Monkey King, feeling small and insignificant. His instincts were telling him to get as far away as possible, but he didn't let the primal fear dictate his actions. Instead, he started to analyze the situation he had found himself in and to try and find a way out of it.

Tactimon, who didn't seem to be off-put by Cao Cao pointing the True Longinus's blade that now radiated holy power towards him, soon ignored the young hero and started walking towards the throne. The act got Cao Cao out of his stupor, finally lowering his spear.

He would no longer rest it on his shoulder.

His eyes continued to follow Tactimon, not letting him out of sight even after he had passed him. The ones who were in his way silently moved away, giving the samurai a wide berth.

Only now did Cao Cao finally notice a giant sword on his belt. The weapon was bigger than Tactimon and was bound in its scabbard with a thick chain. The malicious aura surrounding the sword gave Cao Cao goosebumps and he felt his spear burn in his tight grip in response to the unholy presence. He wasn't sure which one he should be more worried about, the sword, or its owner.

Code red? Cao Cao heard Georg scratch his neck next to him, having momentarily forgotten his second-in-command was still there.

Negative, he made a short inhale through his nose. That plan wouldn't work anymore, not when something like that was here. Cao Cao was sure of it. The young hero pulled the hem of his uniform, seemingly straightening it. We continue the original plan.

With no way to contact the outside forces, they were at the complete mercy of Tactimon, the throne room having become their prison. He just needed to make sure it wouldn't become his or Georg's execution ground as well.

Tactimon came to a rest before the great obsidian throne. With the help of his hand, he swiveled his cape away from his legs and kneeled.

''Thank you, Ophis-sama, for summoning us all here.''

Ophis in turn simply inclined her head as she watched the kneeling warrior. If Cao Cao didn't know any better, the dragon was puzzled by the groveling display.

''You are Tactimon?'' One of the fallen angels' trembling voice broke the following tense silence.

Ignoring the question, Tactimon rose, his movements measured and calm. Taking his place on the right side of the throne, the samurai's left hand came to rest on his sword's pommel before he turned to face the room's occupants.

''That is correct,'' his voice was clear and audible, belonging to someone accustomed to giving orders as he resumed to talk.

''You have all shown your loyalty to Ophis by answering her summon. Unfortunately, it seems not everyone thinks as highly of the pact they've made with her. Those few groups who haven't complied with the Ouroboros Dragon's direct order to arrive here have shown their true colors and will be treated as traitors to our cause and shall be eliminated on sight.''

Cao Cao didn't like how Tactimon was already talking like he was their boss. Not that he was going to voice his opinion.

Not waiting for a response, Tactimon continued. ''All of you are aware of how I joined the Khaos Brigade to assist Ophis in freeing the Dimensional Gap a week ago. After having conversed with our master, many interesting things have come to my attention, the main one being the disappointing lack of progress you've all had with your end of the bargain.''

So that was the reason Tactimon had him and the others come here, to discuss where were their promised solutions to Ophis. If it was just to talk, Cao Cao wasn't too worried about it. The Hero Faction had fabricated documents and other watertight proof to show they had seemingly been working in earnest on finding ways to help the dragon. Originally, he had prepared these in case someone in the Brigade, mainly the devils, tried to devise a plan to frame them as traitors.

Too bad if other factions hadn't prepared for a scenario like this happening.

''Certainly, you must understand what we are dealing with here! To remove the strongest being in existence from the Dimensional Gap… It's not a simple matter!'' one of the Nirlem's magicians said in distress.

''The only other being to even stand a chance against it is Ophis and even with the Brigade's combined strength helping it– her, the victory would not be guaranteed,'' Katerea continued with only a light quiver, having recovered fast from her initial shock. ''To succeed, we need to be one hundred percent sure the attempt will work. Should we fail, there wouldn't be left much to search for an alternative solution after a cataclysmic battle of that size.''

It was the same argument recited almost from word to word Khaos Brigade had given to Ophis for why attacking Great Red head-on wasn't such a good idea, to which she, thankfully, had found sound.

''That is the conclusion I have come to as well,'' came Tactimon's ready reply.

Did he agree due to the logic or out of self-preservation, Cao Cao could not say. He sighed in relief nevertheless.

''To succeed, the plan has to be perfect,'' curiously, while the samurai spoke in Japanese, the last word was said in English, ''There is no room for failure indeed. It is also where the next problem comes in, the lack of coordination between the factions.''

''I wholly agree. Unfortunately, working together has proven to be quite difficult,'' Katerea said while not so subtly glancing toward Cao Cao.

Oh, he saw what the devil was hinting at alright. Try and throw them under the bus it seems.

Cao Cao heard Georg snap one of his press buttons, Your expression.

Right, he realized, letting his facial muscles relax. Soon he was plastering a carefree smile.

''The Hero Faction has always been open for cooperation. Sadly, our calls had been met with silence,'' he easily lied through his teeth, to which both the Nirlem and the devils scoffed but didn't rise to his bait.

''I have been led to believe that due to your 'differing modus operands', it is challenging for you to find ways to cooperate,'' Tactimon commented, no humor found in his voice.

''That's one way to put it,'' Cao Cao tentatively agreed, not enjoying how the samurai's focus was now solely on him.

''Indeed. To overcome this weakness, Ophis, in her graciousness, has allowed me to establish a new branch in the Khaos Brigade called the D5 Division.''

''And what does this D5 exactly do?'' The throne room's sole angel asked skeptically, having finally joined the conversation.

The question made Tactimon finally divert his gaze away from Cao Cao.

''While the D5 will also be working towards a solution on getting rid of Great Red, just like you all are, the division will also work as a centralized agency in the Brigade, meaning to help you communicate with each other.''

''If you have found something that can help our master, you will share it with the D5, who in return will aid you on this matter by lending manpower, information, or other things depending on the need. Along with this, I will also expect you all to send comprehensive weekly reports concerning your progress and what you have done to achieve this to D5 to be reviewed.''

''I assume you'll be the one leading this D5?'' Creuserey asked, carefully keeping his tone neutral.

''That is correct.''

Cao Cao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow for what Tactimon had laid out for them. He could have easily forced the factions to submit to him, even do something worse, but he didn't. He restricted them just enough so he could monitor and ensure they honored their contract with Ophis, while still maintaining most of their autonomy to do what they wanted.

Cao Cao realized Tactimon was doing this because he needed them, or rather the factions' resources and networks which the samurai probably lacked at the moment. He must have calculated it to be more beneficial and efficient to let them work on their own accord toward Ophis' goal rather than being forced. In other words, Tactimon couldn't ensure they would follow their promise and not bail out should his grip be too tight on them, at least for now.

By offering his assistance, he even made sure that the benefits of this new arrangement would outweigh the disadvantages. Getting a power multiplier like him to help was an opportunity of a lifetime for most of the Brigade. Tactimon knew he would be used for their ulterior motives, which is why by presented the offer the way he did. To profit from this, they would just have to figure out how to combine their and Ophis' goals. Nothing that would be too hard for him.

Risking a glance toward the devils, Cao Cao saw Katarea and Creuserey had a dangerous glint in their eyes, having realized the same. No doubt they were already weaving plans on how to use this opportunity to their advantage.

He had to give it to Tactimon. He was using the stick-and-carrot approach to get what he wanted quite well.

But it begged the question of why. Why make them search for ways to kill Great Red?

The answer seemed simple at first for Cao Cao. Tactimon was someone who was truly crazy enough to want to kill the Dragon of Dragons. But was there more to it than that? The samurai acted as if he was a loyal follower of Ophis, but so did they all.

''This is not what we agreed with Ophis!''

Cao Cao saw one of the Nirlem's magicians had taken a step forward. He seemed to be surprised by his outburst by the way his mouth hung open.

''It isn't?'' Tactimon's voice took a dangerous tone.

''I-I… Well…'' the magician stammered, now realizing how way out of his league he was.

''Did you not take Ophis' snake and pledge yourself to our master? To promise Great Red would be destroyed? That she could return to her silent world once more?'' Even when Tactimon's fiery gaze was directed at the trembling magician, the question was pointed to all of them.

The room's atmosphere started to become oppressive and Cao Cao felt how his ears began to ring. Some took steps back.

Looking up at the throne, Cao Cao saw Ophis, passively observing the scene. As always, there was no expression on the creepy dragon's face.

''Yes! Yes, I did— We all did and will continue to faithfully serve Great Ophis!'' The now crouching magician blurted in panic, his skin pale and ropes damp from sweat.

Like a curtain, the suffocating feeling was lifted and Cao Cao let out a breath he realized he had been holding.

''Then these changes bring nothing new you haven't already promised to her,'' Tactimon said with finality.

'Well played Tactimon,' Cao Cao silently congratulated while he got his racing heart under control.

He had to give credit where it was due. Tactimon had planned the way this meeting would go from beginning to end. Cao Cao had already lost the moment he had decided to come here.

''That is quite a wonderful plan, Tactimon. The True Satan Faction can't wait to start working together with the D5,'' Katerea said, her sugary tones failing to hide the nervousness that had returned to her, ''It is also admirable to be leading the division all by yourself. You must be having your hands full, no? We would be more than happy to lend our aid to you.''

'And by help, you mean having the place filled with spies,' Cao Cao's mind helpfully translated. He wasn't going to bother with his own favor-making attempt.

He had already pieced a good picture of Tactimon's character and knew what the samurai was going to say.

''Your concerns and assistance are unnecessary. I have everything well underway.''

---

Exciting the palace grounds, Cao Cao welcomed the bite of the cold wind on his face and drew a deep breath. It was a welcoming change to the throne room's dense and oppressive air.

Soon familiar figures could be seen in the distance.

''Welcome back guys~!''

''Cao Cao, Georg.''

''Finally, it was starting get boring around here!''

''Damn, you two look like you ran the marathon.''

''Jeanne, Siegfried, Heracles, Perseus,'' Cao Cao greeted his comrades as he came to a stop before them.

''So, how did the meeting go?'' Siegfried asked as he weighed one of his demonic swords on his shoulder.

Looking at his close circle of comrades, Cao Cao saw everyone was eager to hear what had gone inside the palace.

''Better than expected,'' he said in earnest. Seeing Heracle's expectant look, he added, ''And no, there won't be fighting this time.''

''That's a letdown,'' the inheritor of the spirit of Greek's hero grumbled.

''Before we continue any further, Georg, if you would?''

''Of course, Cao Cao,'' the wizard nodded, eager to leave the place as well.

As Georg activated his Sacred Gear, the group was enveloped in purple mist and transported away from the winter landscape where other factions' forces were starting to make their leave as well.

As they made their journey in silence, Cao Cao's mind began to wander.

Tactimon... truly a terrifying opponent. Not only did the power he wield belong to a different world, but he was also intelligent. The Hero Faction would need to discard all their previous plans and rethink their approach entirely in going forward. They couldn't afford to give the samurai a reason to dispose of them as none of them had a chance against that monster.

Having finally met Tactimon, Cao Cao was afraid. Afraid of the samurai and what he represented. A chasm so wide he wasn't sure if humans could cross it.

The fog dissipated and the group found themself inside a familiar building that worked as the Hero Faction's headquarters.

Yes, Cao Cao was afraid but it was nothing to be ashamed of. Being afraid was normal, and it was what made him human. More than that, he was also a hero. And heroes continued to press onward despite their fear. They were not ready to face Tactimon now, but in the future, they would.

Hero Faction's mission would remain the same. They would show the supernatural world why humanity shouldn't be taken lightly. That even gods could die by mortal hands.

By taking control of the Khaos Brigade, Tactimon had unknowingly become one of the stepping stones to reaching this dream.

Cao Cao could feel the beginning of a grin on his lips as he prepared to tell the other about the meeting.

---

'Leeches, all of them,' Tactimon thought in disgust, having finally been left alone in the throne room with his master. He couldn't understand how Ophis tolerated these two-faced liars.

Even when his mood was surly from getting more proof for his suspicions, he was pleased with how the meeting had gone. Everyone had fallen in line without much of a problem and he had gotten all the necessary reforms he wanted implemented. There was so much more he wished he could have done, but doing so would have been a venture and the last thing he wanted was to be responsible for dismantling Ophis' organization.

No, this outcome was acceptable to him. He would now focus on getting the D5 Division up and running while those fools were bickering between themself. After that, the only thing left to do was wait. Either they honored the contract they had with the Ouroboros Dragon and he collected the fruits of their labor or they would try and betray her, in which case he would be ready to remove the tumor.

No matter the outcome, Ophis would win.

Glancing towards his master, Tactimon saw she had moved to the edge of her throne and was now kicking her legs back and forth while staring at nothing. He should leave too so she could enjoy whatever silence this place provided undisturbed.

''I will be taking my leave now, Ophis,'' Tactimon said as he bowed before her. ''As always, if there is anything I can do for you, do not hesitate to contact me.''

Ophis eyes landed on him. ''Bring me Great Red's head.''

Not exactly what he meant.

Still, things were looking promising in Tactimon's opinion. As an added plus, Ophis had agreed to abbreviate her newly renamed Ouroboros Division.

Dragon of Dragons Deadly Destruction Day Division would have been a mouthful.

---

Ajuka Beelzebub heard automated doors open behind him as a guest he was expecting stepped inside his private lab.

''A little bat told me you've been spending quite a lot of your time here as of late. Should I start to worry about you moving your responsibilities as Satan to your peerage so you can spend your time in here?'' An amused voice spoke.

''I've dealt with the most matters before I came here. You know I'm not like Falbium,'' Ajuka replied, not looking away from his workbench.

''Heh, I guess so. Just ensuring I don't have to pull your weight as well. I have enough on my plate as it is. Any more responsibilities and I'll be in danger of drowning under the paperwork.''

''One more reason we should speed up the Underworld's digitalization,'' Ajuka murmured as he concentrated on his work. Getting his magic equation finished, he turned around and greeted his long-time friend.

''Hello Sirzech, it is good to see you. I apologize for the sudden call.''

''It's all right old friend,'' the red-haired Satan raised his hand in a placating manner, ''I already managed to spend some quality time with my sweet sister and see the rest of her peerage on their spring break before my return to the office.''

''I assume they are doing well then?''

''Indeed they are!'' The red-haired Satan beamed, ''Dear Rias has told me nothing but good things about her time studying at the Kuoh Academy. To think that she is soon starting her third year... Oh, how the time flies.''

Sirzech sighed before taking a more professional tone. ''But I did not come to talk about my adorable younger sister. For you to call me directly, this must be important.''

''Yes. While it might just turn out to be nothing, I believe you should know about this,'' Ajuka made his way towards a circular table and beckoned Sirzech closer.

''Remember how seven days ago my instruments detected a small rift for a few seconds in the Underworld's dimensional barrier that Great Red caused?''

''I remember. The incident is still the main talk in our scientific community, it even made it to the front page of the Underworld's news briefly. On top of that, you don't have every day Grigori contacting us.''

''Yes. At least it's good to know they are aware enough to monitor Underworld's barrier in case of things such as this happening,'' Ajuka agreed.

While the three Biblical Factions were still in frozen conflict with each other, they still kept in contact with each other. The terrible death toll on their populations the war had caused left deep scars on every side, the devils especially with the following civil war they had between the original Satan descendants who wanted to restart the war and the Anti-Satan Faction who opposed this. With no side wanting to repeat what had happened, it was decided it to be best to keep in contact with each other via backchannels to minimize the risk of a wider conflict breaking out, —or in this case, to discuss and change data concerning Great Red's recent action.

''While it was a very rare occurrence, this isn't the first time Great Red has flown too close to the dimensional barriers. The last time was in the year 170 if my memory serves right,'' Sirzech said.

''173, actually,'' Ajuka allowed a small smile to form before his expression changed back to serious. ''While this is not a reason alone to get worried, there is more to it.''

The Satan Beelzebub summoned a hologram from the table, portraying numerous blue bubbles.

''These are the many worlds that exist in our universe and this,'' Ajuka zoomed out and the bubbles were covered inside an even bigger bubble, ''is the dimensional gap. As you know, we have been actively monitoring it for years now. Because of its size, it took me this long to process the data.''

Ajuka then zoomed back and a miniature dragon and a small red dot appeared next to one of the bubbles. ''Forty seconds before Great Red came close to Underworld's dimensional barrier, an anomaly was detected in the Dimensional Gap between it and the barrier.''

''What sort of an anomaly are we talking about?'' Sirzech asked, while his hand came under his chin.

''A huge energy spike.''

''Did someone try to attack Great Red?'' The Crimson Satan's expression got now serious as well.

While the incidents were curiosities on their own, those two happening in such a short period and proximity to each other did indeed paint a grim picture.

''That is still up for debate. But that's not the most interesting part,'' Looking Sirzech straight in the eyes, Ajuka continued. ''There is a chance that the anomaly didn't originate from anywhere in our universe.''

Sirzech's eyes widened. ''Are you saying it came from beyond the Gap?''

''Perhaps. Or perhaps not. The results fall under the margin of error. The only thing I can say for certain is that something happened on this exact spot.''

''But that's not what you believe, do you Ajuka? Otherwise, you wouldn't have contacted me.''

''While in science, only the things that can observed and replicated can be confirmed to exist, in this line of work, sometimes you have to follow your gut instinct.''

''Something we both are well versed in,'' Sirzech grimly acknowledged. ''Thank you for sharing this with me, Ajuka.''

''Don't mention it. I'm just doing my duty as a Satan, Sirzech.''

''It is still appreciated nonetheless, friend.''

''Speaking of duty, since you are returning to the office, could you inform Serafall and Falbium as well? I will be having my hands full going double-checking the data just to make sure there wasn't anything I missed.''

''For Beelzebub to drop his work on me. Are you sure Falbium is not influencing you?'' Sirzech whined and covered his face with his hand in mock exasperation.

''I didn't hear no,'' Ajuka shook his head in amusement as he closed the hologram and started to walk back to his workbench, ''I'll inform you if I discover anything new.''

''Try to get some rest as well, will you,'' Ajuka heard Sirzech's now normal voice before the lab's automated doors swooshed open, signaling that the Crimson Satan had exited the lab.

It seemed it was going to be another long night for Ajuka.

---

Spoiler: A.N.

This chapter ended up way longer than I expected. I'm also not fully satisfied with how this turned out, but I also want to get this out of the way so the story can progress.

Until next time!

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

Forgotten realm, Khaos Brigade headquarters

Sitting on the giant obsidian throne still as a rock was Ophis, her expression stolid. Having been left to her own devices after the meeting, the Dragon God Infinity had ever since been in an intense staring match with one of her throne room's walls, the ongoing competition having already reached its nine-hour mark, the winner still undecided. Of course, it would be foolish to assume this was really what Ophis had been spending her time doing, for appearances could be deceiving, especially when it came to the enigmatic true shapeshifter that she was.

In truth, Ophis had been carefully listening to the minute changes and shifts in the universe that the simple fact of existence emanated, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was trying her best not to.

The noise that the Dragon God heard wasn't what could traditionally be thought when speaking of sounds, of vibrations traveling through the air. What she perceived was fundamentally different. The constant flow and currents of reality were so much more, something most couldn't even start to comprehend. To describe them was like trying to make a blind man see colors. Even those rare few who possessed the skill and knowledge to sense the flow of these cosmic energies only scratched the surface, seeing just vague flashes in the murky depths of the sea of creation, unlike Ophis, to whom everything appeared as pellucid as a pond's clear waters, allowing her to experience the reality for what it truly was.

While countless mortals and Gods alike would give anything to be able to feel the universe like her, having such an intimate connection didn't come without a prize.

Although the whirls and waves the reality produced were so unlike sounds, sensing them could be said to be just the same for the Ouroboros Dragon. The closest equivalent of how she felt them was like hearing grasshoppers singing right next to your ear just loud enough that, albeit the buzz was somewhat tolerable, doing anything that required focus was a chore, not to talk about trying to stay asleep. While it was true that the embodiment of Infinity and Nothingness didn't really require such a meager thing as rest, this didn't mean Ophis wouldn't have enjoyed the respite it would have offered from the annoying noises.

There was also another noise permeating the creation. Its origin was different, yet the din was as far-reaching as the cosmos' buzz, and it was way more irritating.

The mix of these two intruding distractions had been the source of Ophis' chagrin and something the dragon had been forced to endure eons, for she could not truly close herself off from the noises. Even here, inside the palace's thousands of isolating magic barriers, she could not escape the annoying racket, and while it was quieter here than outside, it wasn't by much. Nothing would bring her true peace except her birthplace, the Dimensional Gap.

It was unfortunate that one particular thing was preventing her from returning to her home, an annoyance and the source of all her troubles in more ways than one, a dragon named Great Red.

She still remembered it like it was yesterday, the time when the dumb lizard had invaded her home.

---

For a very, very long time, Ophis had been nothing more than just existing as a simple force of nature, the Infinite Dragon God's life consisting of just dreamlessly slumbering in the Dimensional Gap, nestled between its serene kaleidoscopic scenery. One fateful day, while drifting through the void, Ophis' simple existence was interrupted by something bumping into them. This event was most unusual, for there existed nothing but Ophis themself in the world between worlds at the time. Focusing on the troublemaker, they watched it slowly disintegrate before completely disappearing from existence.

Ophis later came to learn that their first contact with the outside world had been a small rock. While the pebble had quickly disintegrated, it left its mark on the Dragon God. For the first time in their life, Ophis had felt something stirring inside them: a feeling called curiosity.

This small and barely felt emotion spurred the Dragon God to fully rise from their slumber and to see where the little interrupter had come from. While slithering in the void world in search of the strange object's point of origin, Ophis found even more things not native to their land had also appeared in their time of repose. Most of these alien things the dragon saw were in the middle of disintegrating while few of the things were powerful enough to resist the Gap's hazardous nature, curiously enough.

Seeing all this, Ophis came to realize something important. For there to exist things where nothing besides themself existed meant these strange objects had come elsewhere, outside the Dimensional Gap. Having gotten the first taste of the world outside, the Ouroboros Dragon became even more curious and left their home to see what awaited them.

It was then that Ophis came to learn there existed other worlds besides their own and — far more importantly — they were not alone.

These other creatures were a great puzzle to him. Ophis saw inside their mind and soul, easily sensing whatever feelings and secrets they held. But what use was it when these creatures were like dead languages long forgotten? No matter how long and hard the Ouroboros Dragon tried, they could not begin to understand them.

The little ones felt so alien to the Infinite Dragon God, their lives so short, the power they held nonexistent. For some strange reason, the most weakest and numerous ran and made sounds when they saw the dragon, if they didn't just fall on the ground and stopped moving altogether. Ophis didn't understand why they acted the way they did as the creatures seemed to act without distress when with their kin. What made the dragon so different from them to evoke such a reaction was a mystery to them, but it certainly made observing the little critters a chore.

To make things more manageable, Ophis decided to just follow suit and assume a new form, a wrinkled and bald-haired human male they had lastly seen, garbed in weird and torn fabrics.

After changing shape, observing these creatures became much easier. An interesting side effect, as Ophis noticed at the time, was that most started to refer to them as 'he'. Although the Dragon God did not understand the reason (for they were just Ophis, nothing more, nothing less) they didn't see any harm in it. And so, this had marked the day Ophis decided to no longer be they, but he.

Humans, crabs, unicorns, other (very weak) dragons, a particularly talkative Angel, he observed them all, mortals and Gods alike. Some for just a moment, some for years if they were particularly interesting. A number of these creatures talked to him and asked questions but Ophis mostly ignored these, for they spoke of things he didn't care or understand. Simply observing them was enough for him.

The Ouroboros Dragon observed how the seasons changed, where souls traveled after death, the birth and death of stars and so many more phenomena that caught his interest. Everything had been so new and interesting but in time, his curiosity was starting to tail off. Events just seemed to repeat themselves in an endless cycle: Peace and war reigned, civilizations rose and fell, same old decisions were made again and again. Having had his fill, Ophis started to yearn back to his world of silence and away from the creation which buzz had become quite annoying.

When the Dragon God returned to his home ready to resume his dreamless slumber, to his surprise, another dragon was greeting him. Over a hundred meters long, possessing two pairs of wings and a great horn growing from its head, the crimson dragon was no other than Great Red, the sole other Dragon God in existence with a power to match. In his time away marveling at the outside worlds, Ophis had failed to sense this newcomer enter the Dimensional Gap.

Ophis didn't know where or why it had appeared in his home, nor did he really care about its presence. However, what he did take a great issue with was the racket the red dragon had brought with it.

It had hurt to listen to the invader's constant laughter and jolliness as it flew in his home between the iridescent colorscape without care and making loops and other unnecessary maneuvers in delight. The equilibrium had been fouled at that day, Ophis' peace and quiet robbed by Great Red, whose mere existence was now polluting his world of nothingness with its dreams and other inane concepts.

At first, Ophis was unsure what to do, for no one had ever before denied his silence.

When it finally became apparent that Great Red wouldn't quiet down, Ophis tried to convey that it wasn't welcomed there, that it should leave his home at once.

When the brainless lizard ignored him, he tried to force it away. The attempt was unsuccessful, for Ophis had never needed to use his might against someone else. He was inexperienced at fighting and Great Red was at least his equal in power, easily evading and deflecting any attempt to erase it from existence.

Having no other options left, Ophis was forced to leave his home, for he couldn't bear Great Red's laughter nor its tone-deaf singing that made it impossible for him to rest. And so, leaving the Dimensional Gap, Ophis exchanged the Dumb Red's cacophony for the universe's buzzing. The relief was short-lived, for even outside he could hear the crimson bully's voice, if greatly diminished, thankfully.

From here onward, Ophis began his fruitless search to find a way to reclaim his home. He knew of no way how to destroy Great Red. In his previous journey through the cosmos, everything he had seen could not match the strength of him or the Dragon of Dreams, so insignificant everything was compared to a Dragon God.

While he continued his travels, the nagging noises accompanied him everywhere. But in hardship, brilliance emerges. The constant distraction prompted Ophis to develop an ingenious way to help him actively combat the noises: thinking.

At first, the Infinite Dragon God simply started to think about the sole thing he yearned for: he, back in his pleasant silent world with no Great Red in sight. As time went on, Ophis started to reminisce about other things he had experienced while wandering the outside world. He would recall the time he once heard frogs croaking in a swamp, or when he stood on an ocean shore and smelled its salty air, or the tingle he felt when he had been drifting in the expanse of space, bathing in the cosmic rays, and many other things he had experienced. Ophis wasn't exactly sure why he thought of these things, but he knew they weren't unpleasant to think of and so he decided it was good.

Decades turned into centuries, and Ophis' sense of thinking blossomed even further. He wouldn't just relive his memories but would also start to imagine. The Infinite Dragon God thought of things she had never thought before, imagining new things and scenarios.

It felt really weird to him.

At first, Ophs did not enjoy this new trait that had taken root in him, for imagination felt too close to the concept of dreaming, and he didn't want to have anything to do with even the slightest connection to Great Red, who embodied the concepts of Dream and Illusion. But as years passed, Ophis gradually started to accept and see the benefits of his newfound ability, for it allowed him to imagine different ways he could exact his revenge against Great Red, be it simply picturing the big lizard popping out of existence like a foam bubble to more elaborate plans, such as him strangling it to death with his bare hands.

The culmination of the Infinite Dragon God's imagination was when, inexplicably, he felt the need to change form again into something else, something that felt more suitable for him. Previously, Ophis hadn't paid much attention to his appearance. The body of an old man he had taken was just a shell for him to interact with others and served a simple function, he hadn't given it any more thought.

But now, like a caterpillar who was ready to morph into a beautiful butterfly, Ophis felt it was time for him to change again. Unlike before, he did not directly copy someone's appearance. He took bits and parts from other beings he remembered meeting while traveling the world. Pointy ears from an elf who had offered him an apple (which Ophis had no idea what to do with it), long black hair from a man who had given him a ride to a nearby port, a nose from a young girl whose lute play he had stayed to listen to, and so on. He wasn't sure what exactly dictated him to choose those particular features but it had felt right, and so he deemed it good.

After assuming the new form of a short and petite female, Ophis realized she needed clothes too. She knew most people wore them and avoided those that didn't for some strange reason. And so, she willed herself garments from a variety of people throughout the ages she had seen, choosing bits and pieces that she felt adequate to her new form.

At one point, the Infinite Dragon God came across a desolate world where an everlasting winter reigned. In this world, an abandoned and great stone palace stood in sublime solitude. Inside the fortress's dark and cold halls, Ophis found a place somewhat quieter compared to anywhere else the dragon had ever been outside her home. This day marked the day she discovered a place where she could withdraw along another thing, a brand new emotion called joy.

The following centuries Ophis spent inside the palace while thinking on how to proceed onward with her conundrum. Sometimes she left her temporary home when her unparalleled perception and senses felt something unusual happening in the universe, mostly the times Great Read flew too close to some realm's dimension barriers separating the world from the Dimensional Gap.

On one of her trips, as luck would have it, a group of individuals came to her, offering to help the Infinite Dragon God kill the dumb red. In exchange, she would become their leader and gift her snakes to power them.

She accepted the offer. Even if the chances of success were nonexistent, it had been the best opportunity she had ever been presented with and she had exhausted all her own options up to that point. The power they asked for from her was nothing since they were like ants next to her. And ants could not eat much, or else their bellies burst, this she had observed.

And so, Ophis patiently waited for her new servants to find the solution she was not able to come up with.

---

'Now, I continue my wait in here.'

Having concluded her life's story, Ophis' attention turned back to the familiar and annoying buzz that rang in the back of her mind. She had reached the present time faster than she would have liked in her reminiscence, but after the millionth of time reliving them, they started to become a bit too dull even for her.

Luckily, she now had brand new memories to go over, thanks to Tactimon's inadvertently sharing many of his with the dragon when they first met. It beat coming up with new things to think about by herself, a labor that was strangely exhausting in a way Ophis could not describe, and wasn't that an interesting feeling to have for the primordial dragon who was the infinity itself?

The appearance of the Digimon had certainly lifted her spirit. While it was quite unfortunate that Tactimon's world had its own Dumb Red, a mindless beast named Zeed Milleniummon, who had completely erased the Digital World and whatever hopes she had for finding a replacement home, she continued to be optimistic.

Unlike before, she now had followers pursuing her goal and with the addition of the samurai Digimon, her changes were even better. The fact that Tactimon came from a world beyond the Dimensional Gap meant he would hold a different perspective and could think outside the box. If someone would come up with a solution on how to kill Great Red, it would be him. Ophis was sure of it.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she had decided to take a page out of the little one's book and ask him to serve her, just like she had been asked to lead the Khaos Brigade. And just like her, Tactimon had accepted, making her pleased. The Ouroboros Dragon had never thought getting allies would have been this easy. In fact, she had never really thought of alliances of any sort before the Khaos Brigade.

Ophis' newest member was a strange one to be sure, not that she had come any closer to understanding the minds of others from when she had first stepped outside her home. She did not understand why the Digimon wanted to hear her opinions on so many matters, he said he was going to help her and she trusted him and that should have been enough in her opinion. Tactimon was perfectly able to formulate thoughts by himself, this she had checked, so why ask her? No one else in the Brigade acted quite like this, they just came to her chamber and expressed their reasons for being there after which they usually asked for her snakes before leaving. And yes, while they also used the same words and phrases Ophis had come to learn meant for respecting her, Tactimon's felt somehow different. How exactly, she couldn't quite explain this.

Ophis plopped her head up against the throne's backrest with a thud, the sound of her skull meeting the massive stone structure echoing well beyond the chamber. The curved dome-shaped ceiling seemed more appealing to stare at now, the obsidian wall bringing her no more satisfaction.

Ophis would wait inside this palace for another eternity if needed, it would be no problem for her. She was the Dragon God of Infinity and had all the time in the universe. She just wished the solution would hurry up as the Ouroboros Dragon was starting to actually have trouble remembering what it felt like to live without the constant buzz occupying her mind, and this was something she wouldn't want to experience.

'I shall go over Tactimon's memories once more,' Ophis decided.

Her next pastime chosen for the time being, Ophis started from the first memory fragment she had seen, hoping it to offer her enough of a distraction from the chore of crickets assaulting her senses. Perhaps they could give her new ideas on how to kill the stupid lizard.

---

Underworld, True Satan Faction territory

''Such impudence! He really believes he can order us like some plebeians, us, the descendants of the Satans!?''

Katarea Leviathan half-heartedly listened to Shalba Beelzebub's venting from her cozy spot in an armchair while swirling a glass of wine in her grasp, finding the lounge room's opulent decorations far more interesting to look at.

The polished parquet floor was covered with wide hand-weaved carpets, while an old but well-maintained round wooden table meant for dinner parties stood in the middle, the Asmodeus Clan's insignia carved on top of the sturdy furniture. The small flames from dozens of golden candelabras illuminated the vast room, making the wallpaper's hand-painted exotic silver flowers, commissioned a long time ago by Creuserey's mother, gleam beautifully.

This room alone was more valuable than a middle-class devil's five years' worth of salary. Katarea herself thought Creuserey was being way too modest with the decoration, even if the estate was just one of his smaller, inherited family villas.

The blood of the Satans flowed through them. It should be reflected in every aspect of their lives was what she believed and had told him such. While the Asmodeus descendant agreed with her, the handsome devil wanted to retain his estates the way they were since his ancestors had built and decorated them, which she respected.

The only addition Creuserey had made was the thick brown curtains made from the wool of a rare breed of Boramezt which were drawn to not let the purple light of the Underworld seep in.

Being forced to see the unnatural light every time she was outside never failed to make Katarea sour, being yet another constant reminder of the folly of the Satan impostors. Making an artificial sun and forcing a day cycle in the Underworld just to accommodate the fake reincarnated devils' poor needs? It was an insult of the highest order to the Devil kind.

Taking a small sip of the wine, Katarea enjoyed its slight sweetness and tinning it brought to the tip of her tongue while the Beelzebub descendant continued to stomp around.

"Ophis, once again, leaving its designated place just so happens to stumble upon this 'Tactimon', who promises it the stars and the moon. And of course, that gullible dragon lapps every word said to it without a second thought, followed by it immediately inviting this charlatan to the Khaos Brigade! This is unbelievable, I tell you two!"

Continuing her tasting, Katarea had to admit this was an excellent vintage for her elegant tastebuds, which was expected, as the wine was made by no one else than the Zagan clan's skillful brewers using the grapes they were known to grow in their lands.

'Such pity their Pillar along with their vineyards burned in the Great War. It's so hard to find good wines nowadays,' she lamented while taking another sip. She would need to ask Creuserey to gift her some more of this from his wine cellar.

"That it is Shalba. Unfortunately, we still lack any effective means to keep Ophis under control," The even voice of the Asmodeus in question agreed with Shalba.

''Tsch! If it only was possible, I would nail that dragon to a wall where it would hang and stay.''

Taking another sip, one longer than what might have been considered proper for a devil of her stature, Katarea momentarily tuned out from the heated conversation, trying to enjoy the warmth and what little relaxation the alcohol brought as her thoughts returned to that cold and forsaken realm the Ouroboros Dragon had chosen as its lair, where that damn meeting had been held.

After the first tense minutes of Tactimon's introduction, the rest of the gathering had proceeded relatively smoothly with no further disagreements voiced by anyone. Much to Katarea's and Creusereys' annoyance, their new acquaintance had explained in frustratingly great detail what he expected everyone to include in their weekly reports to his D5 Division, while everyone dutifully listened and nodded along. The talk had been boring almost – if you forgot the fact the one doing the lecture had the power and will to dispose of all of them, should the need arise.

When the meeting had finally concluded, Katarea and Creuserey wasted no time in starting to make preparations for the future. The two immediately contacted Shalba to set up a meeting which was then decided to be held in Asmodeus's Clan's territory, in one of the more remote villas where all three of them currently were.

Shalba's continued ranting brought Katerea back from her reminiscence. She saw him waving the document that had Tactimon's terms and instructions printed on it, promptly discarding the paper on the table.

''And what kind of person hides behind a mask anyway!? No, don't bother answering Creuserey, I tell you. People like that are cowards!''

'How ironic for the only one of us to abstain from the meeting to talk about cowardice,' Katarea dryly remarked to herself.

Despite her feelings on the matter, she couldn't really fault the Beelzebub. Precaution was the reason they had survived this long after the disastrous Civil War and it was only sensible that one of them would stay and watch over their lands while two of them would attend. It would be in poor taste to call him out because of this.

Even if Shalba's quick volunteering to stay behind with his transparent excuses made it a delicious opportunity to do so.

Despite his comical indignation, Katerea had to admit she was impressed by how well the Beelzebub was conducting himself after they had broken the news of what had happened in the palace. Before coming here, she had needed to excuse herself from Creusereu's company to reduce a few hills to rubble, along with one dimwitted servant of hers too stupid not to bother her at the time. Then again, Shalba was also smart enough to know not to damage Creuserey's property. All of them knew how important the family heirlooms were to the last Asmodeus descendant.

''I wholly agree with you Shalba. And trust me, he will get his due in time,'' Creusereys spoke from his armchair, the handsome devil's chin resting on his intertwined hands as he followed Shalba's circling with a hard expression, ''As will everyone else who dares try to get in our way.''

Katarea could tell that the encounter with that brat Cao Cao was still fresh in his mind. Poor Creuserey, she would need to think of something to soothe him later tonight.

Taking a final sip of her wine before setting the empty glass aside, Leviathan descendant decided now was a good time to chime in before Shalba got any more indignant.

''While Tactimon's arrival is certainly unfortunate, it has also given us some options not available before. I believe it would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity presented to us.''

Shalba's pacing came to a halt as he turned to face Katarea, the sudden motion making his black cape whirl in a wide arc. The Beelzebub had to swipe his long and well-groomed chestnut hair obstructing his intense gaze which had become slightly messy in his pacing.

''I hope you're not suggesting us to stoop so low as to serve that presumptuous, plated imbecile like some low-borns!?''

Katarea sighed. Shalba had always been the most dedicated of the three of them to reclaim their rightful positions in the Underworld. The fact he held most of his ancestor's lands after the Civil War, compared to Katarea and Creuserey whose Pillars had lost over two-thirds of theirs, along with Shalba's charisma, made the Beelzebub an invaluable asset and the main backer of their cause. Unfortunately, his bullheadedness resulted in him clashing against her more practical views from time to time.

Katarea chose her next words carefully, the wine in her blood helping mask the irritation, ''Of course not. That is not something I would ever consider us doing and neither was Tactimon foolish enough to expect us to. We are in this for a mutually beneficial gain… so to speak. If we play our cards right, there's a lot for us to gain.''

''Think about it Shalba. With enough of Ophis' snakes and now this powerful deity assisting us, we have a chance to take out those four impostors along with the traitors who sided with them for good.''

Katerea sent a brief look of approval to Creuserey. She could always count on the handsome devil to have her back.

Shalba tutted, his face morphing into an angry scowl, clearly wanting to rebut her but the prospect of having Tactimon assisting them was too tantalizing of an opportunity even for the Beelzebub descendant to pass when they sorely needed all the help they could get. She could see him coming to the same conclusion as she and Creuserey had.

When he let out a deep exhale and pinched his nose, Katarea knew she had him hooked. Basking in her victory, she allowed Shalba to compose himself in peace.

''That bastard clearly knows what he's doing. Unfortunately for him, he's not the only one who knows how to play this game.'' Shalba reluctantly admitted, his gaze momentarily falling on the floor before locking back on her. ''You are certain we can trust his word on assisting us?''

Katerea's lips quirked up, ''He will. It's clear Tactimon needs other cells to cooperate with him, no matter how much he tries not to show it. He might try to make it seem he has everyone under his thumb, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. And before he even realizes it, we'll have squeezed everything useful out of that samurai and thrown his body to rot.''

''Knowing you, you already have some sort of scheme cooking in your mind so out with it.''

''Hmph. You're as sharp as ever, Shalba. And yes, I have something in mind.'' Rising from her seat, Katarea leisurely made her way to the round table where Shalba had discarded the document with Tactimon's instructions. Taking the document, she seemingly inspected it like she hadn't already read damn the pamphlet way too many times over, deliberately making Shalba wait for a few beats longer than necessary. It had the desired effect of making the devil's temple throb as he drummed his fingers impatiently. 'Serves you right for snapping at me like that.'

The Leviathan descendant was well aware of the danger Tactimon posed. Having the audacity to posture next to Ophis as if he were her right-hand man along the dismissive way he dared to act towards her and Creuserey, it was all blunt, infuriating, and very in the nose, but more importantly, very effective way to show others he was the one calling the shots now. That along with these documents he gave to everyone with the very detailed prescription of the Khaos Brigade cells' apparent duties was a clear sign that the deity in question wasn't just a meathead whose life revolved around swinging a sword. Any acts of goodwill to garner favors would be looked at with extreme skepticism.

''Tactimon knows everyone in the Brigade is in this for themself, he won't be trusting anyone. But that's the part which we will utilize,'' she explained.

Looking back up, Katarea saw she had Shalba's full attention, his scowl having lessened into a more curious frown. Creuserey on the meanwhile had shifted in his chair and was now sitting with his back straight, no longer supporting his handsome jaw on his hands.

''…By making others seem even more untrustworthy, we can elevate ourselves in his eyes, making us the preferred partners to work with." Creuserey supplemented, appearing to realize what Katerea was suggesting. In reality, she had already told him of her plan in advance. This was all just a performance to get Shalba fully on board.

''Oh, really now? And you believe we can achieve this how exactly?'' Shalba gave Katarea an unimpressed look.

The Leviathan descendant's eye twitched. That Beelzebub was really starting to get on her nerves, which seemed to be his goal from the gleeful look in his eyes was anything to go about.

"Don't play dumb Shalba, it's unbecoming of you. You know what I mean. Thanks to our spies, we have gathered more than enough evidence from many of the factions to plant them as traitors, and what better way to do the house cleaning if not by letting the new poster boy do it.''

''Of course. How forgetful of me.'' Shalba waved one of his hands dismissively in a moc placate. ''I do agree that it's high time we finally get rid of the useless trash. But you forget one important fact. Doing so would make everyone in the Brigade openly hostile towards us when they learn it was us Devils who gave Tactimon the information.''

''It doesn't need to be us.''

''What do you mean?'' Shalba turned to look at Creuserey who just spoke from his armchair.

''We can forge it to look like someone else leaked the information, making them have all the honor that will arise from this along with Tactimon.''

No one in the room needed to be clarified the Asmodeus descendant was referring to the Hero Faction.

''You catch on quick, Creuserey,'' Katarea spoke, not needing to say who hadn't caught what she had been getting at. She greatly enjoyed Shalba's expression when he realized her silent jab.

'I definitely need to make more pre-planned meetings like this in the future with Shalba. These are way too much fun.'

Making sure her voice was back to sounding professional, she quickly continued so as not to allow Beelzebub time to form a response to her subtle insult.

"That indeed is my plan. There will be some accusations and pointing of fingers when heads start to roll but ultimately, it will lead to nothing — except creating even greater confusion and distrust between our enemies, of course.''

''And what about us? Something tells me we can't rely anymore on our old excuses nor vague promises we've made to Ophis to get more of its snakes,'' Shalba asked, looking like he had just eaten a lemon.

"An unfortunate but necessary reality we have to face. We'll just have to put up a little bit more effort on our facade for appearance's sake. Balancing between doing the bare minimum and being not too eager so as not to raise suspicion will be a non-issue."

"And if Tactimon proves to be more trouble than worth?"

'Always the skeptic, aren't you, Shalba?'

"I suggest we all start searching for those Dragon Slayers he so much wants us then. I'm sure you at least can find something useful from your lands." Katarea gave him a final smile before letting the now crumpled document she had been holding throughout their exchange fall back on the round table. ''We need more time on planning on how to remove him if the need arises. But I'm certain that with enough time and preparation, we will manage.''

''We should also keep a close eye on Nirlem. Those magicians have been willing to work with us in the past and depending on how things escalate, they can work as a useful meat to be thrown in the grinder.'' Creuserey added, having risen from his seat and walked next to them.

Subtly positioning himself between the two told Katarea Creuserey wanted her to cease annoying Shalba who was in danger of finally blewing a gasket. Reluctantly, she decided to drop her teasing.

"Agreed. What do you say, Shalba?" Katarea turned her head back to the Beelzebub descendant.

"Hmph. Fine. You have my approval," Shalba finally agreed through his gritted teeth.

"You have mine as well, Katarea."

"Excellent. We are all in an agreement then."

Hearing her satisfied words, Creuserey snapped his fingers, signaling a butler who had been silently standing in attention on the sideline. Knowing what was expected of him, the servant filled three glasses with champagne and carried them on a silver tray to them. Taking the glasses, Creuserey gave the first one to Shalba followed by her and himself.

Having been relieved of his burden, the low-class devil bowed and obediently returned to his station. The butler, like all the other Satans descendants' servants, had been trained to keep to themself what they learned in the meetings of their masters as any proper servant should. It was better than losing your tongue or worse, your life.

Creuserey gestured to Shalba, giving him the honors. The chestnut-haired devil still had a lingering frown but after a few beats, he raised his glass and spoke with pompoise.

''For too long we've been denied our destiny. By the right of our ancestor's blood, the Underworld shall be ours as we restore order. All hail the true Satans!''

''All hail the true Satans!''

Both Katerea and Creuserey echoed Shalba's declaration and raised their glasses in the air before bringing them to their lips.

As the three of them emptied their drinks, Katarea imagined a future where she was sitting on the same throne her Great ancestor once had recognized as the only true Leviathan, with Creuserey at her side. From there, she would rule the Underworld with Asmodeus and Beelzebub and restore things to the way they should be, returning Lucifaad being the capital being just one of her many, less bloody reforms that would follow her ascension.

---

Human World, Japan

The nightly city was buzzing with life. Streets were full of people returning to their homes, others heading to their just-starting night shifts while the rest were simply enjoying their time, be it in nightclubs, restaurants, doing some late-night shopping, or countless other things humans liked to do in their free time. Whatever it was, everyone seemed to be in a hurry, as such was the city life.

Adding to the mix of pedestrians was the sound of traffic as taxis, mopeds, and vans (there were just so many different kinds of human transports) swept by the lanes in long lines. Motors rumbled, tires rustled and sometimes an impatient driver could be heard honking their horn in a pointless gesture to make haste.

The whole spectacle was illuminated by street lights, making sure the night would never truly fall in the giant metropolis.

There were also billboards, so many billboards. With the number of alighted ads hanging from the giant buildings with their neon lights and LED screens, you would think the street lights weren't necessary. Speakers advertised all sorts of products that promised to make your life easier or sold services to waste your time and money, promising you a chance to forget the hardships of life for a moment.

Tactimon silently took this all in from a nearby alley as his body was hidden by shadows, the samurai having positioned him so that none of the city lights reached him.

Even without the darkness, he wasn't worried about being discovered. The long black robes covering his body from boots to helmet were imbued with perception-altering magic. While supernatural beings would have no trouble seeing the Digimon, regular humans' minds would make them simply ignore him.

Another highly useful spell used on this cloak was making it slightly bigger on the inside so no one could tell he was wearing armor, his helmet, and the three guns on his back blended seamlessly inside the fabric's confines. It was a very useful spell for remaining anonymous, especially for Tactimon, who'd been born to the world fully clothed and plated. To Tactimon, his armor was his skin, and he would never willingly strip it off.

Now he would appear as just some robed mage particularly mindful of his identity, just the way he wanted.

It truly was a pleasant surprise for him to learn just how vast and varied this world's magic crafts were compared to what he was used to.

Despite him being aware of the Human World's existence for a very long time, Tactimon had never actually been in the Zone while still being a Head Officer in the Bagra Empire, this being only his second time visiting the world (the first one being a few days ago when preparing for his presentation to Ophis and it hadn't been in a city of this size) so he wanted to appreciate the sights for a little while before moving. Despite not being the Human World he knew, the humans themself seemed to be the same where it counted, and that was what mattered the most to him.

'If the places were changed, would humans chosen from this world have been able to prevent the destruction of ours?' Tactimon wondered as people continued to walk past his hiding spot.

The samurai focused back on the busy street, ignoring his conflicting thoughts. It would do no good to dwell on the past, it would only cloud his judgment of the future.

Seeing people chatter between themself and laugh, speaking on phones – it all seemed so mundane in his eyes. It was hard to believe that from like this could come heroes and warriors of myths who proceed to take center stage in making history.

Despite his doubts, Tactimon knew better than to judge a book by its cover. He had personally witnessed the great heights humans with guts and drive could rise to. Perhaps even in this world filled with little and frivolous worriers was someone who, with the right circumstances, could become as great as the chosen children he had battled against.

Turning around, Tactimon made it deeper into the shadows, his sightseeing over. The reason for his visit was to meet someone, not ruminate over 'what-ifs'.

The one drunkard who shared the alley with the Digimon to empty his stomach unconsciously stepped aside from Tactimon's way, not even registering the robed samurai's presence. Tactimon likewise ignored the human, only granting a brief condemnation at the sorry sight.

Coming to a dead end, the samurai pressed a specific brick tile in the wall inward. Immediately, a portion of the wall melted away like a hot wax, forming a vertically shaped oval entrance.

Stepping inside, Tactimon felt his skin tickle as he bypassed a magic barrier made to keep regular folk away from the place before the hole in the wall behind him sealed itself back shut.

His new surroundings revealed to be a shabby bar of some sort that had seen better days. Only a few customers were there, sitting alone and brooding with their drinks while an overly happy pop song was playing in the background, the high-pitched voice of the singer making quite the contrast with the gloomy atmosphere. Over the counter, he saw a flickering bright red neon sign hanging with a hefty dust layer covering it.

Legless Snake

Having confirmed he had come to the right place, the samurai stepped further inside, advancing towards the bar counter. There, a fair-faced middle-aged woman was swiping her phone with a bored expression. Her appearance was otherwise that of a human, but a floating ball of flame surrounding her head which didn't appear to burn her revealed the woman's youkai nature.

'Must be an Ubagabi using transformation magic of sorts to allow her a body,' the samurai wagered with a frown. Loitering around while on the clock, even when there were little to no customers set up a bad image of the employees and by extension, the company. Should he have been her superior, Tactimon would have fired the yokai on the spot.

Finally hearing his approach, the bartender quickly put her phone away and smiled at him.

''Oh, good evening! What may I get you?''

''Sake, the cheapest you have,'' He evenly replied.

He was only making an order so as not to appear too suspicious. The fact that the bartender wasn't bothered at all by him hiding in these robes was telling enough of what sort of folks visited the place. It was also the main reason he had chosen the bar as the meeting ground with his contact.

''Ah, having one of those kind of days? Don't worry, I got ya,'' the bartender spoke and gave him a sympathetic look. Soon, he was handed a sake bottle along with a cracked ceramic cup. ''There you go.''

Paying and grabbing his beverage, Tactimon headed towards a lone booth at the far corner of the bar where his contact was supposed to meet him, but not before giving one final glance at the bartender over his shoulder. Just as he guessed, she had gone back to typing on her phone.

Seeing this, the samurai needed to make a small correction. He wouldn't have fired the youkai. No. He would have ensured she hadn't been accepted on the job in the first place.

Arriving at the booth, he saw his contact was already waiting there with a half-finished pint of beer, having come quite early, considering there were about twenty minutes before their meeting was officially scheduled to start.

Sitting with her legs crossed, the woman had blue long hair reaching well past her shoulders and yellow eyes that held a stern look. She was wearing a red trench coat with a buttoned white shirt under it, along with a miniskirt that accentuated her curves while still managing to look professional enough.

The woman silently watched Tactimon sit opposite of her on a ragged and mothy chair (this condition seemed to be shared with the bar's other furniture as well), the seat creaking as it received his weight. 'Now, time to see if she lives up to my expectations.

''Shimada Bin, correct?'' The woman asked in a matter-of-fact tone, her low voice finally breaking the silence as she gave him a once-over, seeing her employee finally face to face.

''Yes. And you must be Kill.''

Other than her overly dramatic cover name, Tactimon only knew the woman was a Fallen Angel and quite new in the data broker circles. On his first trip to Earth, she had been one of the many people the samurai had contacted as he started to set up a network of spies and alike for the D5 Division. Browsing the dark web, her short but to-the-point ad had caught his interest.

Setting his bottle of sake on the worn table, Tactimon felt a slight tingle and heard the upbeat music quiet as Kill set up a magical barrier around the booth to allow them privacy, the gesture silently approved by him.

''I overestimated how much time it would take me to come here, hence my early arrival. I'm glad that you decided to arrive early as well. I don't want to be in this dump any longer than necessary,'' Kill stated impatiently while bobbing her leg up and down.

''This was the most convenient place for me. I have a busy schedule to keep,'' Tactimon explained, not taking offense at Kill's bluntness.

He shared the Fallen Angel's sentiment. The most merciful thing to do for this bar would be to tear it down and build it anew.

''Busy man, I see. No reason to prolong this then. Did you bring the money?''

''Yes. But the material first, as per our agreement.''

Kill's hand reached under the table and showed a USB drive. At first, she was going to slide the drive by the table, but after seeing how dirty and sticky it was from spilled drinks, she decided to hand it to him instead. Pulling out a tablet from his robes, Tactimon connected the data drive to the device and combed over its contents.

'Not bad,' He mused. Everything was quite well organized and easy to go over. His tablet's programs hadn't even found any viruses or spyware while he scrolled over the long list of countless persons' names and profiles as shown on the screen. Most of the people he had asked Kill to collect data for him were unimportant, only given to her to hide the ones he was really after. It never hurt to be careful, as Tactimon liked to think.

Soon, he found the familiar names he'd been searching for:

Amano Kotone

Amano Nene

Aonuma Kiriha

Hinomoto Akari

Kudoi Taiki

Tsurugi Zenjirou

Just as he had expected, none of the people with these names looked like the familiar human Generals he had battled against.

It was disappointing, for the samurai had hoped there to be at least a parallel version of the humans living here. He was sure they would have shown and proven their spirits' strength and conviction here as well, but alas, it was not to be so.

''I went over every possible population register in Japan and a few other countries that had the matching descriptions you gave. I also looked over the part of Grigori's database I have access to see if there was anything. I hope you found what you were looking for,'' Kill explained and crossed her arms.

''Yes, I believe I have. You've done well,'' Reaching inside his black robes, Tactimon fished out a fist-sized leather pouch and set it on the table, having found a somewhat clean spot, '' 5,000,000 yens worth in gold. As per our agreement.''

Opening the purse, the Fallen Angel's eyes were briefly engulfed in white light as she eagerly examined its contents before returning to normal. Tactimon guessed this was a spell of some kind to confirm the gold was real, which was indeed a smart thing to do. Being satisfied, she summoned a small portal and whisked her pay in there, the gold now securely stored in whatever pocket dimension it led to. Having magic was really useful, Tactimon once again noted with a hint of jealousy.

''I'll be needing someone who I can entrust to gather specific data in the future as well. Can I count on you?''

''I won't say no if the pay will be as good as this. You have something that needs digging, contact me and I'll see what I can do.'' Kill answered, her mood now having improved considerably.

''Good. Expect my call within a week. You may have the sake if you want.'' Tactimon signaled to his untouched drink and rose.

''Alright then. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Shimada-san.''

Exiting the bar, Tactimon wondered where she needed all that money. Perhaps there was some truth in the complaints concerning Grigory's salary policies he'd seen circling in some Underworld's message boards when doing his research.

Whatever her reasons, for now, he would use Kill for basic information-gathering. After he had a better picture of the Fallen Angel and if she proved to be trustworthy enough, he would see to her more important tasks. He also reminded himself need to cross reference Kill's data with a few other data brokers he had paid to do a similar job to evaluate how good her skills really were.

But all of that was for later. He still had dozens of other people he needed to meet, many of them belonging to the criminal world, unfortunately. Despite the distaste Tactimon felt from just thinking of dealing with that sort of filth, just like him, they had their part to play in the grand scheme of things.

---

Nirlem's headquarters

"…and that's when the meeting concluded, after which we left the palace, sir."

"I see. Is there anything else you wish to add?" The handsome silver-haired man asked while skimming through the tablet with the two Nirlem's council members' gathered report displayed on it.

''…Lucilio has formally requested a transfer from the representative work to other duties.''

His lips quirked upward upon hearing this. It seems that meeting this Tactimon had really rattled the man. Then again, humans were such weak-minded and pathetic creatures so he wasn't really surprised. Even the one standing before him displayed signs of nervousness.

''Very well. You may locate him in the section who is currently working on the project Resurrection, we'll be needing more hands there. I also want you to inform the Hexennacht to have their eyes and ears open, just in case. Other than that, the rest of the Nirlem's council can proceed as usual for now.''

''Of course sir.'' The magician bowed and quickly left the room, knowing a dismissal when she saw one.

Being left alone, the silver-haired man set the tablet down. Reaching into his breast pocket he took out a short and loose piece of braided silver hair, the strands shade a bit lighter than his own. Closing his eyes, he rolled the braid between his fingers. Focusing on the relaxing sensation, he leaned against the chair's backrest and let out a sigh.

While not having accounted for Ophis managing to recruit this new unknown and powerful evil spirit, Tactimon's inclusion into the Khaos Brigade would change none of his plans. At most, some of them would just be slightly sped up.

Bringing the braid against his nose, he inhaled. The intoxicating fragrance of vanilla filled his senses, giving him goosebumps. The scent was as potent as it was all those years ago when he had received this precious little present and been just a naive little boy. The spells of preservation he had cast on it made sure it would stay this way, frozen in time.

The familiar smell brought back old memories of wonder, happiness, and infatuation. These were memories of times long forgotten, when everything had been better and simpler. When everything had been as it should, and things still made sense to him.

Thinking of those times brought nothing but pain to him now. Every single memory was now just a reminder of betrayal and loss when the world around him had crumbled and his life ended. Yet his empty shell was still made to endure and continue its existence.

His expression darkened as he looked at the braid now with disgust. Swiftly, he pocketed it back in his breast pocket against his aching chest and away from his gaze, yet he knew it could never fully leave his mind.

No, even with this new development things would proceed according to his, Euclid Lucifuge's, design.

---

Spoiler: A.N.

RAAH! It's alive!

This chapter has been long overdue, but finally, it's finished!

With this, the first act of the story can be considered done. Now that other Khaos Brigade leaders have an idea of what kind of a person Tactimon is, many of them are starting to adjust their plans on how to go forward. Meanwhile, Tactimon himself is busy recruiting people and establishing the D5 Division.

The next two chapters are something I've been wanting to write for a while now, and yes, there will finally be more, proper, interactions between Tactimon and Ophis from here on now. I can also reveal that more familiar faces from the DxD side are going to make appearances very soon.

Fingers crossed that the next chapter won't take over half a year for me to write.

Thank you for reading, reviews are always welcomed, and have a pleasant day!



PS. I've made some additional (and hopefully the last) edits to previous chapters. Nothing major, mostly just correcting grammar errors that caught my eye and doing little re-formatting and dialogue polishing.

 

[Wilfred Von Gryynis]

Spoiler: Digimon Xros Wars OST #34 - Prologue

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzsxehweVSM

My name is Tactimon. After stepping onto my last battlefield in the name of my master Bagramon, I finally got to face the ultimate opponent I've always yearned to test my skill and will against.

Felled by the courageous Digimon with the help of their brave human comrades, I thought my life's journey had come to an end with the Digital World soon following. Seeing the reality crumble around me as it was being devoured by a great beast straight from nightmares, I was ready to accept my fate.

But to my great surprise, by means unknown, I somehow evaded death's grasp and ended up in an unknown world where supernatural creatures sharing striking resemblance to us Digimon live in.

Here, my barely surviving remains of data were found by the powerful deity, the Dragon God of Infinity, Ouroboros Dragon Ophis, who offered my old warrior soul a second chance in life in exchange for pledging allegiance to her.

Now, as the last of my kind in a world similar yet different to my own, I serve my new master with a new mission on my mind: to free Ophis' home, the Dimensional Gap, from the control of her archenemy Great Red, who currently resides in there. Her foe is a considerable one, for Great Red is the Dragon God governing Dreams and Illusions, and wields unimaginable power.

While there are others who serve my master with the same goal in mind, I cannot in good conscience say they are acting out of the goodness of their hearts or without an ulterior motive in mind, despite their assurances. Thus, it's my duty to keep a constant watch and ensure everyone follows Her Highness' orders without fail, all so she can finally return to her silent world and find the peace she so craves.

Tactimon out.

---

In the middle of the wilderness, far away from known civilization, stood a small and old log cabin. Great lendons surrounded the moss-roofed house that had stood there on guard for centuries.

The old trees had seen many things; they watched how a lone ranger had first arrived in their midst, falling in love with the peaceful scenery, and deciding to build a small hut from which to spend the summers.

As seasons changed and time took its toll, the ranger started to visit less and less, until they stopped coming altogether. Once well cared for, the wooden hut was now slowly succumbing to the elements as nature took back what it had once given, vegetation slowly creeping back where it had been rooted. In time, lendons would see the collapse of the cabin, if not for a new owner having purchased it recently.

It was springtime, and the forest was like an orchestra as bird song filled the air. Trees and bushes' buds were starting to open, and the telltale smell of earth wafted in the air now that the first rains had arrived. Somewhere deep in the forest, a pair of nymphs danced and laughed, celebrating the passage of a cold winter and the coming of summer.

There was no one to see when, for a briefest of moments, a flicker of white light filled the hut's dark interior as a teleportation spell was activated. A moment later, Tactimon materialized in the cramped room, needing to hunch to prevent his helmet's horn from scratching the sealing.

It had been a few days after the samurai had his shape-up meeting with the other Khaos Brigade's faction leaders, and he'd been increasingly busy since then; from making connections to expanding his information network to other, equally paramount things, every moment was spent with the goal of building and preparing the D5 Division. Only the bare minimum did he spend on resting to ensure his performance did not drop.

Much was still needed to be done, and from an ever-growing pile of work his new responsibilities brought to him, three major things needed to be resolved quickly.

The first of Tactimon's hurdles was to secure a steady and big enough influx of money, should he want to keep the Fallen Kill and other data brokers and spies working for him with the higher-than-average pay to speed up the recruitment and expansion of D5 Division's intelligence network.

Thankfully, his monetary problems would soon be over, and he would no longer have to spend as much of his focus making high-risk investments in stock markets, nor the more brazen ways of accumulating fortune — and by that, he meant stealing. The samurai Digimon wasn't the only supernatural person residing in the Human World, and he certainly wouldn't want to leave a trail for some mythology's watchdogs to follow and find what he was doing. He just needed a little bit more time to set things up, and then the money would start to flow.

His second hurdle, finding loyal and competent enough underlings, didn't have as promising outlook yet. There was a stark contrast between selling information or services directly to him and actually being part of the D5 Division. But just as Tactimon had expected, there weren't that many people willing to help him to tickle the most powerful dragon's tail, and from those few who were, even fewer were qualified enough to be considered in the D5 Division ranks without constant supervision (which had to be done by him) to ensure their compliance.

While recruitment rates weren't optimal, they were manageable for now, and Tactimon was confident that with enough effort, he would find the manpower he needed. For the time being, the samurai felt he was more than capable of taking care of the D5's workload.

Most would say Tactimon asked way too much of himself to achieve so many things so quickly, but he knew he was on a timer. Sooner or later, other factions would gain enough courage and start asking the D5 Division for assistance, or more precisely, him. For this reason, he needed everything to be as well prepared as possible if Ophi's new division was to work as intended.

The third and last of the big hurdles was setting up an actual HQ.

At the moment, Tactimon was using easy-to-abandon apartments, rented or otherwise acquired, around the globe with forged IDs. It wasn't a bad strategy in itself, as having your camp move with you allowed flexibility similar to his time in the Bagra Empire, where in his longer Zone conquering campaigns Tactimon and his army lived in tents.

Yet soon, he would need a secure location where all the important documents and artifacts — such as the library Ophis had gifted him and which origins he still wasn't quite sure of — that the D5 Division would eventually acquire and could be safely stored. For this purpose, the stronghold would need to be secure and hidden, with only a few and select having access to it. Good options would be inside a mountain, in a pocket dimension, or preferably, both.

Tactimon pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. For now, he had something else needing his focus.

The cabin's mismatched floorboards creaked as he walked and pulled a stool next to a table, both way too small for someone his size. Sitting, he lit an oil lantern to give some additional light inside the dim interior.

Despite it being a midle of spring and midday, the thick forest surrounding the cabin left no sunrays through a pitifully small window, which Tactimon believed had been put there to make the room feel less confined than to give any real illumination.

With the cabin's furniture accounted for, he set a portfolio down. 'Now, let's see what Her Highness' loyal subjects have been up to.' He mused as he opened the leather case.

Today was Saturday, eighteen hundred in Pacific time. This meant everyone in the Khaos Brigade should have sent their first weekly reports to him by now.

Despite this being a serious matter, in a certain way, Tactimon had been looking forward to this with glee. He was very curious to see just how those liars would try to twist and sugarcoat their years-long idleness and failure to achieve anything concrete on how to free Dimensional Gap into something that could even distantly be called competency, as well as what their plans were onward on continuing to serve Ophis.

He was going to enjoy pointing out holes and contradictions in their arguments.

While Tactimon was no sadist, he couldn't deny taking some pleasure in the fact that he'd given other factions only a few days to make and turn their reports in, nor that he had set numerous instructions, from a correct format to very specific things needed included on. It was the first and last wake-up call he was going to give to them to finally start doing some actual work for their master.

Each report was also sent to him on double, one on paper, one electronically, for he liked to have his evidence secure and not to worry about the data mysteriously burning or disappearing into the bitspace. And if it made other factions do even more work? All the better in his opinion.

Tactimon took the first of the many reports out of the folder. This one was from the Hero Faction, written in—

Tactimon looked in disbelief. 'Did they have an infant write this?' He blinked and leaned closer to inspect the gibberish before his eyes.

On a second look, the seemingly random scribbles did have a sort of recurrence and logic behind them, he noted. These were indeed some very obscure hieroglyphs that even he couldn't identify.

'That boy...' Tactimon frowned.

From all the Khaos Brigade's faction leaders and representatives he'd seen in the meeting, the descendant of the Chinese warlord had seemed the most troublesome one. Once again, his hunch had proven to be correct.

Hero Faction must have thought it to be hilarious, giving a report looking like a madman had scribbled it. Not that this was against his instructions per se. Since Khaos Brigade was made from a diverse group of individuals, hailing from the Human World and beyond, Tactimon had the leniency to allow each faction to write their report in a language of their choosing they were most proficient with. The only requirement was for them to stick to their choice.

He, of course, had expected a possibility of someone from the group of ticks and eels to take advantage of his one lax rule. With the lorqnettes gifted by Ophis, he would have no trouble reading this.

'You give them a finger, and they take the whole hand.' Tactimon sighed as he put the glasses on and began to go over the report's content.

Time went by and things were going swimmingly as Tactimon went over the reports while taking notes for a summary that would go for Ophis, dotting down main points of achievements everyone had done in the past (most of them blatant lies, he believed, but sadly he had no evidence to back his suspicions) and what they were currently, or in the near future, planning on doing (these were going to be true, him ensuring they'd follow their words).

Reaching for the last report in the folder, Tactimon stopped writing.

'And just might this be?'

Greeting him was another document by the Hero Faction, this one written in Chinese.

Tactimon immediately dismissed this as deliberately or accidentally sent copy. Cao Cao didn't strike as that careless or brazen enough to defy him this directly. Besides, this brick of a paper was several times thicker than their report.

No, there was something more to this, something grave. He could feel it as he set the thick folder down on with a thump, making the table vibrate and creak despite its sturdy make.

Letting his pen rest for now, Tactimon's full focus went to the mysterious twin report and flipped the first page open.

''…''

With a slightly trembling hand, Tactimon took off his lorqnettes. Looking again at the text, he saw the magic glasses hadn't played tricks on his eyes. The text still read the same.

One of the many important aspects for a perfect soldier was to never reveal their true feelings or thoughts to the enemy, and what better way to do this than to greet them with a fully closed helmet set in perpetual frown that revealed nothing even in the heat of battle, where emotions run high.

Being, in all intents and purposes, married to his armour, only a few had seen what hid underneath it. Even his own troops, despite doing his best to weed out the behaviour, stooped to gossiping about their serious Head Officer's appearance, or if he had even the capacity to smile.

With no way to see his expression, and adding his emotional self-discipline, Tactimon could act like a stone statue when needed.

The birdsong outside stopped.

The forest, full of life moments ago, became dead silent.

Animals froze in place as a sudden feeling of imminent danger washed over them. The smaller creatures scrambled to hide in whatever holes they could find, while the bigger ones tried to make themselves appear as small as possible, if fear hadn't outright immobilized them.

Inside the hut, Tactimon's focus remained on the document's contents. The further he had read, the more rigid his posture became. When the last page finally came, he resembled a bomb threatening to be set off by the slightest of disturbances.

Time crawled by in agonizing slowness as the samurai blankly stared at what he had just read, all the while the forest held its breath. The sun had hidden itself behind clouds, and everyone waited and prayed for the danger to finally pass. Only the lantern's continued soft crackle broke the silence, its flickering flame desperately fighting not to go out.

Before Tactimon was a document, full of evidence of how the many, way too many, factions of Khaos Brigade had lied, used, betrayed, Ophis' trust and goodwill for their petty and selfish goals. It was all there in black and white, far too detailed to be just some joke spun for him.

For this one time, Tactimon would have wanted to be wrong with his suspicions. Now, his worst fears had proven true.

If there was one thing Tactimon hated more than anything, it was a traitor. The gravest wrong anyone could do was to betray their master's and comrades' trust and stab them in the back.

The only thing worse than a traitor was a group of them. And that if something made him see red.

'Anger is a poor master, do not let it blind you.' Tactimon told himself, and slowly inhaled. His body might not need to breathe, but it was a good meditation method. After a moment, he let out a long, long exhale, imagining the familiar serene bond with its perfect and calm mirror-like surface that reflected away all the imperfections of the world.

After a few more breathing exercises, Tactimon gradually retained the reins and started to look at the matters more analytically. He was still angry, furious even, but the raging fire in his mind was no longer in control. Rather than clouding his judgement, the cold anger was fueling him, giving clarity and focus.

He had expected some faction to rat out the others to him at some point, but not this soon.

'At this rate, Khaos Brigade is going to dissolve and crumble before it has even done anything.' Tactimon griped and started calmly gathering his bilongins with methodical precision, but not before crossing over most of his summary, the majority of it useless now. Only the parts pertaining largest of the Khaos Brigade factions were left, for the Hero Faction's investigation had no mention of them — not that this brought him any alleviation or joy, only the opposite.

He had originally planned on meeting Ophis tomorrow on Sunday, after he had finished summarizing the reports to bring her up to date on everyone's progress, as well as sharing his personal input, but that wouldn't just do now anymore.

Rising, Tactimon turned off the lantern and took his leave. 'Her Highness must be made aware of this at once.'

It would be hours before birdsong could be heard again in the forest.

---

Teleporting to the freezing realm of his master, Tactimon activated the middle tanegashima on his back, the gun's barrel beginning to glow with power as thrust was build. Despite it being night with a thick snowstorm currently plaguing the area, the howling cold winds pulling his cape and sash did nothing to hinder the samurai as he shot up and cut through the air.

The poor visibility, along with a dozen-meter thick snow blanket hiding the earth that had appeared since his last visit, hid most landmarks that could be used for navigation, but it didn't discourage Tactimon in the slightest; he had made sure to memorize the lands near his master's palace like the back of his hand. He knew exactly where to go.

Soaring through the air, Tactimon saw small lights flickering in the snowstorm. It didn't take a genius to deduce these belonged to the bigger factions' members 'guarding' the HQ, who were using magic and whatnot to allow them warmth and visibility in this challenging weather.

'How sloppy.'' Tactimon thought in disdain upon seeing the amateurish mistake, briefly wondering if any of the watchers belonged to one of 'those' factions.

If an ambush were to happen, those who stood out would be first to be taken out, not that he cared about their lives.

Tactimon knew it was unlikely for any outsider to find his master's realm, for it was even someone of his caliber a bit of a challenge to teleport to here: his very first return here had sent him right into the Red River1.​ — as he later learned through geolocation. Fortunately, there had been no witnesses seeing the samurai, thoroughly decorated by water plants, surfacing and scrambling for land, and thus the shameful incident would follow Tactimon to his grave.

'Should something of that sort happen in my time serving the Bagra Empire…' Tactimon shook his head. He knew Blastmon and Lilithmon would have never allowed him, Bagramon's best and the most competent Head Officer, to live down an amateurish blunder like that.

If the past him, green and new, had been told that in the future, there would be a time Tactimon wouldn't need to deal with his fellow Head Officers' and their antics, he would have been most relieved. But the current him, who had served Bagramon with the two for centuries and come to know them… 'Strange how you come to yearn the things you hate.'

Tactimon shook his head. He needed to clear his mind of these distractions.

Through the falling snow, the massive silhouette of Ophis' palace slowly appeared in the distance. With the ongoing weather, he could see how the huge bubble-like magic barrier shielded it, separating the stronghold from the freezing wind and snow like a reverse snow globe. The realm's sole silver moon, slowly rising, was set behind the palace's largest tower, the crescent-like beacon beckoning him towards it.

Seeing his destination, Tactimon started to descend towards a particular hill situated a few hundred meters away from the stone structure. As important as meeting his master was, there was one thing he needed to check on first.

His boots sank knee-deep in the snow as he landed softly next to an inconspicuous snow pile. Channeling his Head Officer tone he hadn't had the chance to use much as of late, Tactimon spoke, his loud voice carrying over the howling wind. ''Speros, status report.''

A muffled sound, half groan, half yawn, came from the snow pile as it stirred to life and began to rise. As the white covers slid away, a person was revealed.

''All green here, chief.'' The now-identified Speros replied as she shook the rest of the camouflage off, not that it helped much with the constant snowing immediately starting to cover her up again.

Turning around, Speros' red eyes met Tactimon's. The watchman wore a metallic skull mask with a small hole in the middle of the frontal bone. Thick winter clothes could be seen under her dark hooded cape with a red interior as it fluttered in the freezing wind. In her gauntleted hands rested a scythe, the weapon's head decorated by a well-polished sculpture depicting a ram's head.

Striking her scythe on the snow, she started stretching her stiff limbs and continued to speak. ''Aside from the lovely performance down the Castle Greyskull, not much else has happened.''

This was Speros, a Grim Reaper who belonged to a small and obscure doomsday cult Tactimon had happened to run into by chance while headhunting. Learning of this group of lunatics' aim to predict and witness the end of the world had piqued his interest, for they shared the same objective of sorts. After a long series of interviews/interrogations to appraise their characters, Tactimon was satisfied enough and had made the decision to reveal Khaos Brigade and its goal to the cultists, asking them to join the D5 Division. Explaining to them how his master, the mythical Dragon God of Infinity herself, was after Great Red's death, and killing it, or at least getting it to reciprocate the attempt, would more than ensure destruction of unimaginable scale in all of creation, the Grim Reapers had gladly accepted his offer. Thus, D5 Division's strength was increased by four more members.

What Tactimon hadn't mentioned was that while trying to kill Great Red was indeed what Ophis desired, it wasn't on top of his priority list of ways to free her home dimension. He still didn't know what would happen should the embodiment of Dreams disappear from the world, and was actually looking for alternative solutions.

But the cultist didn't need to know any of that. And when it came to his master, Tactimon would inquire Ophis about his worries at a later date, when he felt the time was right.

''That is good to hear. Is any faction currently meeting Ouroboros Dragon in the palace?''

''Nope, she has the place all for herself at the moment! But those screams… haah, just music to my ears! I hope there will be more performances like that in the future.'' Speros shuddered, and not from the colt, as she hugged herself.

'Performances indeed.'' Tactimon drily thought, knowing exactly what the Grim Reaper was referring to. ''Don't count on it.''

The True Satan Faction, along with mentioning it in their report, had also sent a general message to all factions in the Khaos Brigade, boasting how they had managed to locate a few of the other traitor cells, — the ones who had recently abandoned their cause and went to ground after refusing to attend Ophis' convocation — and what they had done to them.

Looking down towards the low grounds, about a hundred meters before the palace's gates, Tactimon could see vague outlines poking out amid the snowstorm.

''You think so, boss? That sucks… Well, at least I recorded it all up! You want to see?'' Speros continued with her all too eager voice, beginning to fish her phone from inside her thick winter jacket.

Tactimon pretended he hadn't heard her. ''Focus on your assignment, Speros. I will watch over the palace's as I have matters needed to discuss with our master.'' Holding Speros in a steely stare, he pointed at her. ''This does not mean you are allowed to be distracted.''

Speros, taken aback by his more than usual seriousness, blinked a few times behind her skull mask as her brain finally registered her superior's grim mood and straightened her posture.

But like a switch, her demeanor returned to its jovial state, if slightly subdued.

''Ay ay, chief!'' Making an exaggerated salute — one used in many action movies, Tactimon had learned — she fell back straight to the snow and rolled on her stomach. Lying still as a brick, she was back to watching the palace's entrance.

Tactimon wanted to sigh, his patience thin at the moment. 'You take what allies you can get.'

She and the other cult members weren't the brightest of the bunch, with a questionable state of mind as well, but they had fallen in line easily enough and took his brief lessons about military protocols well in heart, Speros a bit too well.

Unfortunately, he couldn't be too picky with his subordinates now. As long as Speros and the others continued to display the same level of loyalty and eagerness to follow his command, he would just have to bear with this. But somewhere in the future, he would make room in his busy schedule to hammer her and the rest proper code of conduct and military discipline. This, he vowed.

Grouching down, Tactimon tensed his legs and jumped, creating a miniature crater in his wake as he went airborne. Being so close to the palace, he didn't need his tanegashima to reach his destination.

The gusts of wind got particularly strong in the low ground situated between the mountains, but like waves bashing against rocks, the wind did little to hinder his advance.

Sailing through the air, gravity finally took over, starting to pull Tactimon down. Nearing the palace gates, he could finally see the work of the Devils. As he landed, a gruesome sight greeted him.

Tall stakes, over six meters in height, were planted on the ground by the dozens in neat rows. On top of these stakes hang mutilated figures, some humans, some supernatural, all crucified upside down, their frozen expressions showing nothing but agony. While life had left their bodies long ago, the howling wind continued to carry their wails.

He could tell these hadn't been quick deaths.

Before the frozen carcasses stood a sign. A simple word in the Devil's language was written in capital letters.

TRAITORS

Tactimon felt disgusted. The gore didn't bother him, for he had made more than a few of his troops in the Bagra Army an example for others to see, from disobeing his direct orders to an outright defection. No, what left a sour taste in his mouth was the clear sadistic pleasure inflicted here.

While the fate for those who would continue to stand in the way of his master's goal was death, the judgment was to be delivered swiftly, for they defended their beliefs just the same as him. Even traitors, the scum of the earth with no principles, deserved that much.

Even the Digimon who had been born with only evil in their hearts, and whose only purpose was to destroy, could bestow this one small blessing, so had Bagramon enlightened him, Lilithmon, and Blastmon as one of his first commandments when he had begun the Xros Wars. And while his two comrades might not have followed His Highness' teachings as closely, he would always keep his late master's lessons close to his heart.

Tactimon gave one last look at the hanging bodies before turning around. There was nothing he could do for these souls anymore.

Past a palisade and through the vast courtyard, the samurai finally entered the palace, once again feeling the familiar tingle inside his armor as the magic played tricks on his mind, making him feel like he was being watched, despite knowing better.

The countless runes carved on the palace's obsidian walls made the stronghold a Faraday cage: no long-distance communication methods worked here, electronic or magical. Anyone who entered the great building would be completely cut off from the outside world, which posed a great risk when you didn't trust any of your allies. To address this issue, Tactimon had done a little bit of experimentation and had found a way around the issue.

''Ni no tachi.'' Tactimon softly tapped his sheathed sword twice against the stone floor, releasing a crackle of angry purple energy.

The thousands of years of grudges used in creating Jatetsufūjin-maru materialized. From the floor, ten shadows rose and took shape. Thin and skeletal, the ghost-like warriors wore kasa on their heads and held simple swords and spears, made from the same dark substance the undead themself were made of.

''Guard entrances in pairs and keep yourself out of sight. If someone comes, return to your sword.''

Being part of his weapon, the undead shared an innate connection with it, and in extension, with him; the spirits would have little trouble finding back to Jatetsufūjin-maru through the shared bond, and if they were destroyed, he would know.

'You can never be too careful after all.' Tactimon noted, the sentence being in daily usage by him now.

The undead let out a soft groan as an acknowledgment before blending into the shadows. While the spirits lacked the intelligence to perform advanced tactics, they could manage simple tasks like these on their own.

As the soldiers spread out, each heading for a different entrance, Tactimon made his way deeper inside the palace complex, his walk brisk.

Navigating through the many corridors and labyrinthian hallways now by memory, taking turns when needed, Tactimon finally arrived at the huge metal doors left open, leading to the steep staircase, at which end the throne room waited. After the quick climb and passing through another pair of doors, he finally stood before his master.

Ophis was sitting on her throne, her position the exact same as when he had left. As Tactimon started to kneel, she spoke, ''You've returned.''

Tactimon fluidly performed his honors before replying. ''Forgive me for returning sooner than agreed, Ophis-sama, but grave and unexpected news has forced me to seek your audience,'' Rising back to his feet, Tactimon proffered the Hero Faction's report full of incriminating evidence. While tall, he had to hold the paper over his head with both of his hands so Ophis could reach it from her high seat, ''I fear we have traitors in our midst. Today, I received this document, full of detailed evidence of how the majority of the Khaos Brigade's factions have been using your goodwill only to further their own disgusting goals.''

''I see.'' Ophis said in a monotone as she took the document and started to flip the pages over at a calm pace.

Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip.

Tactimon stood in silence at attention, patiently waiting, ready to hear and carry out his master's orders with all the fury that currently blazed inside him.

''I have read it.'' She finally said, and stared back at Tactimon with her familiar deadpan stare.

…

As seconds ticked by, Tactimon realized Ophis wasn't going to speak further and was actually waiting for him to speak. Tactimon was at a loss for words.

Silence continued as the dragon and her servant stared at each other.

''Ophis-sama, I'm ready to hear your orders on how to handle this matter. Your will is my command.''

''There is no need to act.''

Upon hearing Ophis' answer, the first explanation that came to Tactimon's mind was that this was a test of sorts. His Highness, Bagramon, had a tendency to pose difficult questions and dilemmas to his three Head Officers to solve, many times without any of them even being aware of this, and only learning afterward. Failed or passed, Bagramon always had some wise lessons to share and reflect afterwards, to which Tactimon was ever grateful for being privileged to partake.

Yet, when he looked at the Dragon God, whose expression hadn't wavered, he didn't feel confident saying this was the case.

From the moment Tactimon had understood the real purpose of the Khaos Brigade, a nagging doubt about his master's adequacy at being a leader had wormed inside him. Her means were so… unorthodox, unlike anything he was used to. Why did she do nothing and allow things to become more unfavorable for her goals?

He had squashed these thoughts down then, but now, it was no longer possible.

On his right shoulder rested the loyal soldier, telling Tactimon to have trust in his master. On his left shoulder hung the disgusting doubt that whispered in his ear foul ideas, questioning if Ophis even understood the severity of the matter. These two sides weighed heavily on him, threatening to tear the perfect soldier in two.

Tactimon swallowed. He had to be sure. For his master's sake.

''Ophis-sama… I mean no disrespect and feel foolish for even asking this, but aren't you concerned that over half of the cells are deceiving and lying to you, using your gifts for their own benefit?''

''No.''

Her answer came in an instant, without hesitation. Tactimon clenched his fists and forced himself to continue.

''I know it's out of place for a simple soldier to question their lord... but having enemies freely walk inside my master's house, it makes me feel nothing but dread. I implore you, Ophis-sama, to share your reasons, for I can't fathom why.''

It was a great struggle for him to find the proper yet direct enough words to have his master share her reasons while not overstepping his place.

Thankfully, Ophis didn't seem to take offence at his inquiry.

''None of you poses danger to me; I could destroy you whenever I'd choose to. I've waited for eons to have my silence back; I can wait for another if needed to. Any progress, however insignificant or small, is a step in the right direction.''

In a certain way, Tactimon understood where his master was speaking from. Why should she worry about her well-being when she had never faced anyone in her long life capable of hurting her? Ophis was arguably one of the oldest and strongest beings in the universe. Even to an old Digimon like him, ten thousand years would be a long time, but to the Ouroboros Dragon, only a blink of an eye. She was Infinity itself, after all.

But to Tactimon and everything he stood by, leaving the matter be would be pure poison.

''Is nothing to be done then?'' He asked with a carefully enunciated neutral tone, careful to hide the disappointment he felt towards her.

Yet, it seems he hadn't been careful enough, as something in the way he spoke caught Ophis' attention, making his Digicore's pulse quicken. He hadn't meant to offend her!

His master leaned forward from the big throne, her black eyes having that same gleam Tactimon had seen a brief glimpse before, now more apparent.

''The words you said. You are implying a different approach? Explain.''

His fear was quickly forgotten as confusion filled him, replaced by realization as things finally started to dawn on him.

'Ah, I think I understand now.' Tactimon thought. 'Her Highness is not uncaring or indifferent, just lacking the experience and knowledge. Or so I pray.'

For him not to consider the possibility, to acknowledge his master to not be a genius intellectual similar to Bagramon made him — along with the shame of how he had once again held her to the same standards as his late master, which he had already vowed not to do — feel strange, very strange indeed. To have a master who didn't know how things would play out, who didn't have everyone run in circles around their schemes, who knew exactly what needed to be done to achieve the wanted cause and effect… Never had he entertained the possibility.

Tactimon's mind was a swirlwind of emotions, neither good nor bad.

If it was as he now suspected, and his master simply had some challenge to see things from lesser beings' perspectives, the samurai was confident he could make things work out.

Focusing back on the waiting eyes of his master, Tactimon nodded, filled with newfound determination.

''Of course, Ophis-sama. As with the founding of your new division to sublime and simplify Khaos Briade's operations, I believe that a carefully planned decapitation strike on the traitor factions' leadership will discourage those who,'' Tactimon spat the next words, ''potentially carry similar sentiments that could hinder our efforts to carry out your will.''

Finishing his explanation, Tactimon gauged Ophis' reaction, however hard it was.

''A different approach.'' She hummed and tilted her head, a sign Tactimon had identified by now to mean she was in deep thought. ''I approve.''

Hearing this, Tactimon's mind immediately began to conceive a strategy that they could use to root out the rot. The easiest and best way would be for his master to summon the guilty parties directly to the palace so they could be taken care of. It would also sidestep any potential issues of retaliatory strikes or other problems if it were Khaos Brigade's leader who delivered the punishment and not him.

''Go and eliminate these cells.''

With Ophis' words, all his plans came crashing down, with all the responsibilities shouldered on him.

For her to have so much faith in him, it was both flattering and concerning.

While having mostly free rein was something Tactimon had been used to with Bagramon, His Highness had still been aware of what happened around him, and it was because Bagramon knew he could trust his Head Officers that he allowed such freedom. Tactimon, especially, as he was brought to life by Bagramon, who knew the samurai inside and out.

But Ophis?

Even if she'd been inside his mind, seen flashes of his past, how could she have been so sure of his trustworthiness? What she'd said of his loyalty when they had first met had been true, but had she come to the right conclusion by the wrong reasons, or lack of rather?

It wasn't because she was good at reading others, of that, he was sure now, and it made him very, very worried for his master.

'If Her Majesty automatically assumed I was someone to be trusted, does that mean she thinks the same of everyone else?' The possibility made Tactimon feel dread.

While it was his duty to help and advise his lord to the best of his ability, if Ophis continued to push all the decision-making to him, the dynamic he had used to and lived by all his life was threatening to crumble. Should Tactimon be calling all the shots, he would effectively be the ruler. It was a ridiculous and alien concept, something he just wasn't capable of or willing to comprehend. Ophis was his master, and he was the tool, an extension of his Lord's will, nothing more, nothing less. That's how it had always been to the samurai.

But with the decision now done, all he could do was to follow through. Tactimon nodded, full of determination to execute Ophis' order.

''As you wish, Ophis-sama. I shall make sure justice is dealt. Before I leave, is there anything you wish to discuss?'' He asked as he rose, smoothly adding, ''Along with continuing the search of how to deal with Great Red, of course?''

He had a feeling his master would have repeated her demand to bring her nemesis's head to her, had he not addressed the issue.

Ophis' eyes darted to his left, where Jatetsufūjin-maru was held. ''Your sword is noisy.''

Tactimon winced. Just like that, his freshly gathered confidence was shattered into millions of pieces as his master's words, akin to a sledgehammer, dealt damage more devastating than any real weapon could ever manage.

''My thousands of apologies, Ophis-sama! I hadn't considered how my sword would affect your senses! I shall make it my top priority to make it cease inconveniencing you!''
Through the shared bond with his dear weapon, he was aware how his other half had immediately become aggravated for dared to be called 'noisy', but he ignored his sword's grumblings — a task easier now that he had a magical chain binding it. He was far more concerned about how he had done yet another slight against his master.

Dismissing Jatetsufūjin-maru, Tactimon felt how the undead soldiers' essence also returned to the blade, no longer guarding the palace entrances. It was very unfortunate, but his master's immediate well-being was more important. With this, his sword hopefully emitted a little less aura, or whatever it was that disturbed Ophis' delicate senses.

'Curse me and my inability to understand my master's needs, I'm a disgrace of a warrior!' Tactimon disparaged himself over and over again. He had tried hard to find any information about Ophis to understand her better with the time he could spare from his duties, but just like with Great Red, there had been nothing helpful or concrete.

And now, he had paid the price for his ignorance. He had hurt his master.

Ophis blinked, her head inclining as she looked at Tactimon, who was now groweling before her, having practically thrown himself on the cold stone floor. ''Why are you apologizing?''

''Why, you ask?'' It was now his turn to blink as he carefully peered up at Ophis through his mask's lenses. ''It's only natural for a servant to apologize for the grievous error they made, Ophis-sama. To do otherwise would be most disgraceful. I shall endure whatever punishment you deem fitting to atone for my failure to serve you!''

''I see. I accept your apology, Tactimon. You may leave and start your mission now. I'll be waiting for your results.''

'That's it? Her Highness forgives just like that? Or does she mean my atonement will be through cleansing the traitor sects? Am I reading too much into this?' Tactimon wondered.

With every new statement from her, he was caught flat-footed. Even Bagramon had never made him this confused with his intricate hundreds-of-years-long master plan.

Fearing for his constantly barraged mental fortitude, Tactimon accepted Ophis' words without further question. No matter what, he would still do his utmost best, for his master deserved nothing more than perfection.

''I thank you for your forgiveness, Ophis-sama. I will not disappoint you.''

Slowly, Tactimon got up, executed a deep bow, and then took his leave, all this carried out with an unbelievable finesse and grace from someone who had just experienced an emotional rollercoaster.

The samurai now had two priority missions from Ophis — making his sword less disruptive for her senses and wiping out the treasonous cells — and one equally, if not more important, task from himself.

This meeting had cemented that things as they were could not continue sustainably with his master, something needed to be done about the Ouroboros Dragon's lack of understanding of how to govern her subjects.

Luckily, he had just the thing in mind for his next meeting with her.

But first, he had some pest control about to be done.

---

​

Unknown to Tactimon, Ophis' gaze was fixed on her retreating servant. Even after disappearing from sight, she continued to watch him with her other senses till the Digimon finally teleported away from the world.

These interactions with her newest servant continued to make her very, very confused. First, he would ask her to say something and then apologize for it? It didn't make any sense to her. She had just told him the truth: his sword was noisy. But so were many other things, and those she could easily ignore — unlike that big dumb lizard currently occupying her only place of tranquility.

Neither did she understand how his emotions changed in color (for she felt them easiest to conceptualize as such), almost as rapidly as Dimensional Gap's reality did. Did all Digimon have such colourful minds?

Puzzling for sure, but it was alright for Ophis. She might have trouble understanding mortals and lesser beings, but Tactimon didn't. The Digimon had promised to take care of things, and she trusted her servant to do what was right.

And while she didn't understand his eccentricities, she didn't feel bothered by them, quite the opposite. It had felt… nice to be asked her opinion.

For the first time in millennia, Ophis eagerly waited to speak again with certain someone.

---

Spoiler: A.N.

1. ​A river from Chinese mythology.

Finally got this one done.

Alright, confession time. I wasn't able to keep my hands away from the old chapters and I did some minor edits to them, once again mostly grammar. The only thing that's actually important to the plot is in chapter 4 where Sirzech mentioned to Ajuka that he met Rias during her Winter break, which is now changed to Spring break.

This means that DxD's canon timeline is starting very soon, and while this speeds things up as well as crams up coming events I had planned, I feel it's better this way.

And huzzah, it didn't take me half a year to update again (only five months)!