Midnight, above Tokyo.
A massive golden beetle soared across the dome of the night sky. Koshiro looked down at the hellish scene below, his heart aching.
"HerculesKabuterimon, it seems only we can save this now."
"Mm." The golden beetle nodded, its wings vibrating in agreement.
Of the Chosen Children from back then, Taichi was missing. Yamato and Sora were at the hospital, so they're in no state to fight.
Mimi was far away in the United States across the ocean.
Moreover, Koshiro, who held a secret crush on her, didn't want Mimi involved in something so dangerous.
The only ones who could save the world now...
Were him and Joe.
Koshiro's eyes were determined. He pulled out his laptop from his shell and first targeted the most dangerous location.
"The magma layer of Mount Fuji was destroyed by a massive energy wave of unknown origin. The mountain region is extremely fragile now. It will erupt completely in at most an hour and a half." Koshiro closed his laptop, his voice filled with anxiety.
A volcanic eruption and a full-scale volcanic eruption were two completely different things.
A normal volcanic eruption simply expels excess material from the magma layer and ends after a while.
Small range, short duration, low intensity.
It might affect the surrounding area at most, not causing a large-scale disaster.
But a full-scale eruption meant a cataclysmic-level disaster.
Terrifying magma would instantly swallow most of the Japanese islands. Thick volcanic ash spewing from the volcano's base would shroud the sky in haze, causing a prolonged period of extreme cold weather.
"There are only two ways to stop the eruption." Koshiro's fingers flew across the keyboard, quickly calculating a model.
"The first method: transport massive amounts of rock and soil to fill the destroyed lithosphere layer, allowing the magma pouring out from below to level out. The workload is roughly 15 million tons."
"The second method: use a massive energy wave to forcibly blast the about-to-erupt magma back down. This can temporarily delay the disaster, but the first method of filling will still be needed later."
Koshiro frowned slightly, lost in thought.
'15 million tons of rock.'
'If all human resources were mobilized, it could be completed within a week at most.'
'But the problem now was...'
'The volcano would erupt in just an hour and a half.'
'There was no room to consider the first method. We had to act.'
"HerculesKabuterimon! It's just us now! Use your strongest attack! Blast that magma back down!"
"Okay!" The golden beetle's wings vibrated, and in an instant, it crossed several cities, arriving at the mouth of Mount Fuji.
Rumble... rumble...
Scalding red magma slowly oozed outward, bubbling like a scene from hell.
"HerculesKabuterimon! Million Blaster! Go!" At Koshiro's command,
The majestic HerculesKabuterimon, covered in golden armor, gathered a brilliant energy sphere at the tip of its massive horn.
Aiming at the point of eruption at the volcano's mouth, it kept gathering energy.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds...
After charging for a full minute, the brilliant energy turned completely golden, with a radius of hundreds of meters.
From a distance, it looked like a miniature sun had formed above HerculesKabuterimon's head.
"That should be enough for a first strike! Whoosh!
HerculesKabuterimon thrust its horn forward. The enormous golden energy sphere shot straight towards the volcano's mouth.
Boom!
The violent explosion stirred up a terrifying air wave, no less powerful than a typhoon, uprooting all trees and plants in the area, leaving nothing behind.
The golden beetle gently moved its wings, shifting a piece of its armor to quickly cover Koshiro, preventing him from being blown away by the massive air wave.
"Did it work?" Koshiro looked towards the volcano's mouth, full of hope.
As the smoke cleared and the commotion faded, his hopeful expression instantly froze.
"How...?"
The gushing magma flowing outward was completely unaffected.
The lithosphere was far more sturdy than the values calculated on Koshiro's computer.
Unlike ordinary active volcanoes,
Beneath Mount Fuji lay an extremely deep diamond mine. Diamond, the hardest natural rock, was extremely difficult to damage.
The Million Blaster could, at most, break through the outer layer of the lithosphere, about ten meters deep.
It couldn't affect the core tunnels through which the magma flowed, creating a counter-current.
"Damn it! HerculesKabuterimon, once more! Charge for ten minutes! Use all your power! Fire one Giga Blaster!" Koshiro clenched his fists, deciding to fight with his back against the wall.
The Giga Blaster required all of HerculesKabuterimon's energy.
Once fired, HerculesKabuterimon would lose most of its combat ability for at least a day.
However, the power of the Giga Blaster was also dozens of times greater than the Million Blaster.
"Understood, Koshiro. Don't worry, it will work." The golden beetle vibrated its wings, comforting its partner.
Then, before its massive horns, it began gathering another golden energy sphere.
This strike was its final effort.
Fzzzt…
A miniature sun, dozens of times brighter than the Million Blaster, instantly lit up the night sky.
On the streets of Tokyo, countless people stepped out of their homes, curiously gazing towards Mount Fuji.
"Has God arrived?"
"That light must be the light of salvation given to us by God."
"Pray to the heavens that humanity can safely pass through this crisis."
Countless people knelt on the streets, devoutly drawing crosses over their chests. This miniature sun was the final hope given to them by a savior.
"Succeed! Aaaaaah!" Koshiro roared, his face showing an uncharacteristic agitation that didn't match his usual tech-geek demeanor.
He would bet everything to protect this land.
Whoosh—
Energy erupted. Golden light swept across the entire land. Even the gloomy, overcast sky brightened momentarily because of the dazzling light.
'Did it really work?'
Helicopters, satellites, remote sensing, drones...
The focus of all Japan was concentrated on Mount Fuji.
HerculesKabuterimon, having expended too much energy, could only flutter its wings weakly as it landed on the ground.
Koshiro immediately pulled out his notebook and quickly analyzed.
[Magma channel destruction: 10.23%. Magma counter-flow: 5.12%. Time until next magma surge: 6 hours, 4 minutes.]
"How..." Koshiro's laptop fell from his hands, powerless.
His all-out attack, his desperate gamble, only bought a few extra hours.
It was utterly meaningless.
In such a short time, it was absolutely impossible for humans to transport 15 million tons of rock to fill such a narrow volcano mouth.
"In the end... do we have to rely on that person after all?" Koshiro clenched his fists, a look of utter defeat on his face.
If possible, he never wanted to interact with that person again in his life… the man who betrayed their friendship and took Sora.
But...
Only MetalGarurumon's Cocytus Breath was the most suitable move to freeze the volcano and buy time for humanity.
No other Digimon would suffice.