"Vampire urban legends?"
Zero and the Yagami siblings looked bewildered, while Rina enthusiastically scrolled through the paranormal forums.
Recently, trending topics on that site had shifted several times.
Previously, it was the guy who snapped that blurry Kuwagamon photo hidden in the clouds, sparking heated discussions. But that story soon cooled off—no matter how vehemently he swore it was real, he couldn't provide a shred of additional proof beyond that single snapshot.
Proving the existence of an unknown creature from a single photo nowadays... seriously? It wasn't like the good old days when a blurry image could sustain a Nessie legend for decades.
Besides, these forums were packed with veteran paranormal enthusiasts; blurry, questionable photos paired with three-thousand-word essays popped up almost daily.
One lonely, unverifiable photo without other witnesses faded fast.
For Zero, that was ideal. No matter how he looked at it, now wasn't the time to reveal Digimon to the public. Doing so would inevitably spark widespread panic.
In the original series, Digimon crises became public only after full-scale invasions made hiding impossible. Normally, government agencies and protagonist teams alike tried their hardest to conceal Digimon from public knowledge.
Other than the Kuwagamon sighting, the forums had two more hot topics lately: the mysterious hacker organization "DM Group" and the vampire urban legend.
DM Group's existence had already been verified, but their identity remained unclear. Several hacker groups jumped out claiming to be DM, only to be mercilessly debunked by tech experts in mere hours.
Those were just attention-seeking posers. The real DM Group remained utterly elusive.
"A hacker group…? Why are paranormal enthusiasts interested in that?" Taichi asked, genuinely confused.
Rina laughed and quickly explained, "Paranormal enthusiasts have a really wide range! Not just ghosts or monsters, but anything 'unknown' or 'strange'—including aliens, UFOs, and mysterious occurrences—falls within their interests~!"
This time, DM Group gained attention because they'd earned the nickname "Cyber Ghosts"…
…Some people even believed DM wasn't human hackers at all, but rather entities beyond human understanding causing trouble.
Paranormal fans evolved with the times—just because something involved technology or the internet didn't mean paranormalists lost interest.
Thus, the idea of a "Cyber Ghost" naturally emerged…
"Cyber Ghosts, huh…? Hahaha. Well, in this case, they're actually right by accident…" Taichi laughed awkwardly. Though their speculation was wildly imaginative, DM Group really wasn't human—it was Digimon, beings beyond ordinary human comprehension.
"Anyway, although this DM Group topic is popular right now, even top hacker groups can't catch them. Normal people have even less chance, so leaving it alone should be fine…"
After all, if even tech-savvy hackers couldn't track down DM, how could ordinary folks with zero technical skills?
At most, ordinary people just watched from the sidelines, unlikely to discover the deeper truth or accidentally expose Digimon.
Even if one or two lucky souls did stumble upon something strange, burying those rare "truths" discovered privately was easy enough.
Just like that poor Kuwagamon guy—he'd found the truth, but who'd link his discovery of some weird creature to DM Group now? Everyone dismissed his "truth" as nonsense.
"The 'truth' was right there, pinned on the forums all this time, yet nobody took it seriously. Of course, you can't really blame them…"
Without insider knowledge, who'd ever connect those dots?
The Kuwagamon incident had settled, DM Group wasn't a concern, but the real problem lay in the third hot topic currently burning up the forums:
…The vampire urban legend.
At least seven confirmed victims so far. "At least," because no one knew if others had gone unnoticed.
Victims were all hospitalized due to acute anemia, losing far more blood than medically possible—two were even in critical condition.
All seven were males between twenty and forty, with no clear connections or shared backgrounds.
They couldn't recall exactly what had happened, only mentioning encountering a mysterious white-haired woman at night.
White hair, red eyes, a beautiful girl roaming the night… and a vampire on top of it all…
"...She really checks all the boxes, huh?" Zero couldn't help blurting out. Taichi and Hikari tilted their heads in confusion.
"Boxes? What boxes?"
"…Ahem! Nothing, nothing!"
Damn, I forgot these two are still elementary students—and we're in Japan, where age ratings on entertainment are strictly enforced. It's not like back in China, where plenty of elementary kids casually browsed R18 stuff…
Zero quickly hit the brakes. He absolutely couldn't corrupt these pure-hearted elementary students.
On the other hand, Rina was smiling mischievously. "Zero-kun~ About those 'boxes' you mentioned~ Maybe later you could come to my room, and we'll discuss those details very 'carefully,' hmm~?"
"...I deeply apologize! Please spare me!"
Zero instantly reverted to his Agumon form, dropping into a perfect dogeza…
Gatomon giggled beside him, suddenly realizing something, and glanced mischievously at Hikari.
"Hikari, help me Digivolve~"
"Eh?"
Though puzzled, Hikari complied. Amid the glowing light… Angewomon appeared, striking an elegant pose.
"Based on these descriptions, I'm reminded of someone…"
The sacred angel placed one hand on her hip and stroked her chin thoughtfully. Zero grimaced, painfully turning away…
…I know your true nature is a rebellious wildcat, but could you please at least respect your angelic appearance? Your wings and holy aura are literally weeping right now!
"It was probably something like this~"
Angewomon suddenly stepped forward, scooped Hikari into her arms with a smooth motion, and pressed the startled girl's face directly into her soft, white curves.
"…" Zero watched in speechless disbelief. "Couldn't you have just explained it verbally? Was demonstrating really necessary?"
"Hehe, just lightening the mood~"
Angewomon reverted back into Gatomon amid bright laughter. Snapping out of her daze, Hikari puffed her cheeks indignantly, pinching Gatomon's face in playful punishment.
Well, their relationship certainly improved—but Taichi, standing awkwardly to the side, looked painfully lonely.
Zero stepped forward, patting Taichi's shoulder sympathetically. "Can't be helped. Little sisters always grow up eventually~"
"Eh? Wait, no, that's not—"
Taichi fumbled to respond, making Zero chuckle slightly. Though come to think of it…
…Little sister?
That brief flicker of emotion passed quickly. After all, he still remembered next to nothing about his previous human life, especially anything involving "family."
Shaking off those thoughts, he glanced at Hajime, who was still cluelessly tilting her head…
…Zero had given up trying to explain those mature references to Hajime. He felt guilty corrupting someone so innocent. Yet, knowing he'd probably have to trick her into fusing later only intensified his guilt.
"Anyway, this vampire legend is likely Digimon-related. Probably someone the Dark Army sent to the Real World, planning to stir trouble directly."
But catching her would be tricky. A single Digimon acting alone could easily conceal herself.
"So, from now on, we'll have to handle the Dark Army's attacks while simultaneously tracking down this Digimon hiding in the Real World, before she causes even bigger trouble, right?"
For now, LadyDevimon had merely created an urban legend—but there were actual victims, and that couldn't be ignored. Left unchecked, who knows how much worse she'd get?
By draining human blood and spreading her vampire legend, LadyDevimon was genuinely collecting human negative emotions.
...
Beneath the night sky, the white-haired, red-eyed beauty smiled seductively, luring several pierced, yellow-haired delinquents deeper into an alley.
Amid darkness, the woman's soft laughter mingled with the men's suggestive jokes—until suddenly, laughter turned into terrified screams.
One thug stumbled frantically from the alley, his arrogant grin replaced with sheer panic.
"Monster! Monster!!"
In his blind panic, he spotted a figure at the end of the street—a boy, clearly still a child.
"An elementary-schooler?"
Why was a kid out here?
The boy calmly approached, tapping rapidly on his laptop keyboard, and muttered quietly to himself:
"…Target confirmed. Let's begin, Wizardmon."
With those words, the boy stopped and smoothly snapped his laptop shut.
---
T/N: OUGHHHH SHOULDV E DRAINED MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TAKE ALL OF MY FLUIDS!!! (blood)
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