Chapter 87: Transformations

"Who is this child?" The tall man known as Satsuma scrutinized Qin Fei, who had returned with Marcus Daimon and Thomas. His stern face betrayed no emotion, yet the slight lift of his brow revealed the undercurrent of unease within him.

His gaze lingered especially on the three unfamiliar Digimon standing close to Qin Fei, never relaxing for an instant.

"Ah, this child is someone we met in the Digital World—he seems to be a member of DATS," Marcus quickly explained to Commander Satsuma. "And his partner is very powerful."

"A member of DATS? Our branch has no record of this child, and he’s far too young. Children of his age aren’t allowed into the Digital World," Satsuma replied, his confusion deepening as he regarded the boy who appeared no more than ten.

"Well... we’re not entirely sure. He just said his transport coordinates malfunctioned so he couldn’t return to the real world. That’s why we lent him a hand," Thomas added.

Hearing this, both Thomas and Marcus began to suspect there was more to Qin Fei than met the eye.

"Sorry, I lied earlier," Qin Fei said at last, meeting their scrutinizing gazes with a helpless smile as he stepped forward. "The truth is... I’m not a member of DATS. I entered the Digital World by accident, and so I borrowed the identity."

"How do you know about DATS?" Thomas asked, puzzled.

"Didn’t you tell me yourselves?"

Marcus fell silent.

Satsuma’s expression finally softened. After all, there had been numerous cases of people accidentally entering the Digital World and going missing; perhaps this child was one of them.

"And these Digimon with you?" Satsuma pressed on, still wary despite their small and seemingly harmless appearances. Even if they were in the In-Training or Rookie stages and less dangerous, the difference in strength between them and an ordinary human remained considerable.

In short, every Digimon was potentially dangerous.

"We are envoys from the Digital World," Lorita stepped forward suddenly, delivering the line Qin Fei had prepared in advance.

"What?!" Satsuma’s "scarf" shifted, and a fox-like Digimon perched on his shoulder lifted its head, fixing its gaze on the humanlike Lorita.

Even Satsuma’s face took on a remarkable look, clearly aware of the "scarf’s" true identity.

"Kanko... no, my apologies, the esteemed Royal Knight, Lord Sleipmon. In your absence, you may not know what’s been happening in the Digital World."

All present were stunned and turned their eyes toward Satsuma’s shoulder. Though they didn’t fully comprehend the humanoid Digimon’s words, it was clear enough that the Digimon on Satsuma’s shoulder was Kanko. Whether she spoke the truth, however, was another matter.

"Come with me..." After a long silence, Commander Satsuma finally spoke, appearing to wish for a private conversation with Lorita.

Qin Fei and Lorita exchanged a glance, each seeing the satisfaction of a successful plan in the other’s eyes.

They gathered outside an empty conference room. Satsuma set Kanko down, then eyed Qin Fei and the others as if unwilling to open the door just yet.

Lorita quickly caught on. "No need to worry. This child is my partner—there’s no need for secrecy. He knows a fair amount about the ties between humans and Digimon."

Satsuma hesitated, then regarded the boy, just about ten years old. It was hard to imagine someone of his age earning a Digimon’s recognition, let alone being acknowledged by both Thomas and Marcus for his strength. Not even Thomas, hailed as a prodigy, had reached such a level at this age.

Qin Fei noticed Satsuma’s assessing gaze through his sunglasses and returned a sincere smile.

"Very well, come in," Satsuma finally said, pushing open the door and inviting them inside.

Kanko leaped onto the conference table, eyes fixed on Qin Fei and Lorita, as if intent on monitoring their every move.

Satsuma gestured for Qin Fei and Lorita to sit as they wished, then closed the door behind them.

"Now, tell us—what has happened in the Digital World? And how did you learn I was here?"

This time, it was Kanko who spoke first. As a Digimon envoy tasked with monitoring the human world, it was her duty to learn what had transpired in her absence.

Satsuma sat to the side, listening intently.

"Humans invaded the Digital World, broke the treaty, and began slaughtering Digimon," Lorita said.

"Impossible..." Kanko’s expression grew grave in disbelief.

Seeing that Kanko didn’t grasp the severity of the situation, Gatomon, unable to contain herself, bared her teeth and exclaimed, "Those Digimon weren’t just killed—their eggs didn’t even remain. They vanished completely!"

"What?!"

Kanko and Satsuma turned pale with shock, half-believing Lorita must be making things up. When a Digimon dies, don’t they just turn back into Digi-Eggs? To disappear entirely defies the very laws of the Digital World.

"Heh, we have no reason to deceive you. If you return to the Digital World and ask around, you’ll see for yourself. For example, Lord Sleipmon, why not return personally? Witness for yourself the depth of Digimon’s hatred for humans!"

Lorita’s words were sharp, quickly seizing the initiative.

"Humans have developed a ‘weapon’ that destroys the data within a Digimon. Under its power, many Digimon’s data collapses completely, leaving them no chance to begin anew. That is why we’ve come."

Satsuma fell silent at Lorita’s explanation. After a moment, he composed himself and addressed Lorita solemnly, "We will investigate thoroughly. But I hope you won’t direct your wrath at innocent people..."

"Rest assured, we are not as base as you humans. We have no intention of harming the innocent," Lorita replied.

Satsuma breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but before he could relax, Lorita continued, "However, aside from us who still hold hope for humanity, there are Digimon who harbor hatred. All I can do is urge you to be careful."

The meeting ended under a heavy pall.

Qin Fei had achieved his initial objective.

"However, the appearance of Digimon in the real world easily causes panic among ordinary people. While I’ve agreed to let this child join DATS, partners are usually limited to one Digimon per person. You..." Satsuma’s gaze lingered uncertainly on the three Digimon beside Qin Fei.

"That’s easy enough. As long as we don’t alarm any humans," Lorita replied with a mysterious smile. To everyone’s astonishment, her nonhuman features began to recede in an uncanny transformation.

"What... what is this?!" Not only Satsuma, but even Qin Fei, BlackDorulumon, and Gatomon stared in disbelief.

The silver hair, which seemed to flutter without wind, darkened to an inky black that fell quietly over Lorita’s slender shoulders. Her pointed ears and fangs softened and rounded, making her indistinguishable from an ordinary girl. The black bandage concealing her eyes vanished, revealing a pair of delicate, trembling eyes.

Were it not for her finely tailored black-and-white dress, Lorita would appear entirely as a beautiful human girl.

"The ability to assume a human form?!" Qin Fei suddenly recalled the memory of designing this Digimon himself.