It took Forte quite a while to realise that he had been hunched over, gasping for breath as he clutched his own chest, feeling as if something had been forcefully ripped from his very own being despite the lack of visible wounds that had left him strained to the point of exhaustion, and the Black Shadow frantically attempted to make sense of what had just transpired.

"...In the end, it had to come down to this, huh…"

The dark Navi's attention immediately snapped towards the voice, and Forte grunted as he struggled to stand, forcing his legs to support him even when he was at the verge of collapsing.

"Such a barbaric and unhinged tactic…" The Dark Soul sighed, bringing a hand to its forehead, mimicking the behaviour of a troubled person. "I would've preferred not to have done something as cruel as this, but…" A grin began to creep slowly along the Dark Soul's face. "...It was the only way I could have gotten the final piece of power that I needed from you, wasn't it?"

"Bastard…!" Summoning any remaining ounces of his strength, Forte raised a hand, and a ball of energy crackled to life. "I'll end you-"

ZZHIUNKK!

Abruptly, the ability to move was robbed from him as a sharp pain shot through his entire body, and Forte reeled as the air was knocked completely out from his lungs. Looking down to where the pain had originated from, Forte saw that half his shoulder and a good portion of his chest was damaged, the exposed data scattering into the air in pieces. The Dark Soul's attack had been so swift that Forte did not register it moving to strike him, and Forte's eyes further widened when he noted just how the Dark Soul had damaged him.

'With… Just a finger…?!'

"Now, then…" Forte staggered backwards as sparks of electricity began dancing around the Dark Soul's finger, still aimed at him. "...I suppose it's time for your long overdue reunion with the Blue Myth…"

Forte grit his teeth. With how much data he had lost, Forte did not have enough energy left to activate his Dream Aura- which he doubted would do him much good anyways with a point-blank attack from the Dark Soul- nor was he able to muster up enough strength to get out of the way, and the Black Shadow could only watch as the energy in the Dark Soul's hand seemed to reach its peak.

No…! To have it end like this…!

Blam!

With a gasp, Forte fell backwards, still clutching his chest with his undamaged hand, whirling his cloak around himself almost protectively in order to hide his injuries. When he felt that he wouldn't stumble over from shock or dizziness, Forte gradually turned his head to see what could have stopped the Dark Soul's attack from manifesting and saved him from imminent deletion.

"...To land a shot from such a far distance…" The Dark Soul had a raised eyebrow as he inspected his own pointer finger, the digit completely blown off, before the data rapidly began to mend itself, reforming into its previous shape. It took a glance sideways. "...Now, who could that have been…?"

"We have you surrounded now, Dark Soul!"

Forte stared, eyes wide. He recognized that voice! As he followed the Dark Soul's gaze, Forte took notice of a familiar green NetNavi, holding a large scope in one hand.

"...Oh?" The Dark Soul looked perplexed for a moment, before he, too, seemed to recognize the newcomer. "Heh! So, it's you! Come back for more, have you?"

Searchman narrowed his eyes. "We've found one of your Dark Portals in the common net area of the Sharo region and tracked you here. There's nowhere for you to run now, Dark Soul!"

"Run?" The doppelganger of Forte showed off his sharp canines as he grinned wide. "Me?"

"Thirteenth Squadron!" Searchman yelled over his shoulder as he fired his first shot. "Attack!"

Following Searchman's attack, a small group of other Net Navies also appeared over the horizon, similarly carrying scopes of their own as they took aim and fired. The shots flew through the air and struck the Dark Soul with terrifying accuracy, but it did little to faze the Dark Soul. "...Heh, is that all…? I barely felt anything!"

"That's what you think. " Searchman remained unmoved. Then, he barked out another command to his squadron. "Now!"

CRACK!

Forte took a quick step backwards as the bullets that were lodged inside his silver-finned copy exploded all at once, blowing large, gaping holes all over the Dark Soul's body. It appeared to choke and heave in response, before he collapsed, falling to one knee. Having been on the receiving end of such an attack before, Forte found the sight to be satisfyingly cathartic, but he still couldn't quite suppress a sinking suspicion that something was not quite right. The whole scene was… odd. Something was weird. It felt… off.

'Something's not right… They way they're managing to damage the Dark Soul… It almost seems too easy…'

"Wh-what…?!" The Dark Soul managed to wheeze out.

"How do you like that?" There was a small smirk on Searchman's face, even as he readjusted his scope in preparation for a second barrage of attack. "We've developed this special anti-Dark Soul bullet just to take you down!"

"Anti… Dark Soul…?" Forte's doppelganger snarled, clutching at one of his wounds along his arm. "Tch! To think that a small group of insignificant insects such as yourselves could come up with something like this…!"

"It's over for you, Dark Soul! I will avenge my fallen comrades!" Searchman took aim once more. "Fire!"

The small squadron unleashed a second flurry of bullets on Searchman's command, all of them hitting their marks flawlessly, and the Dark Soul staggered backwards.

"N-no…! I can't believe it…!" The Dark Soul screeched, an arm raised in a futile attack to shield itself from the bullets. "To lose to… The likes of you…! AURGHH!"

There was a flash out light alongside a sudden explosion, and Forte had just abound regained enough of his strength to activate his Dream Aura to avoid being caught in its blast radius. When the smoke cleared, there was only a small crater in the place where the Dark Soul had been just moments prior.

"Mission…" Searchman raised his weapon with a sense of finality. "...Accomplished."

"Is~ that~ so~"

"Wh-what?!" The voice had come from behind him, and Searchman whirled around, only to find the Dark Soul courching right in the centre of his squadron. "How?!"

"He just appeared out of nowhere!" One of the Navies yelled out in alarm. "Where did he come from?!"

"Wasn't he just deleted?!" Another Navi said. "How could he just revive himself?!"

"Hee hee hee…" The Navies were all stunned silent as the Dark Soul chuckled. "...I'll admit, if it were the 'me' from a few moments ago… Then, perhaps, you might have actually stood a chance at defeating me…"

"...!" At this, Searchman noticed the Dark Soul carefully placing one hand on the ground, and the green Navi suspected it was planning something. He called out to the rest of his squadron. "Everyone! Fall back!"

"It's too late!" With a twisted look of deranged glee, the Dark Soul unleashed his own attack. "Now PERISH!"

The ground beneath them evaporated in an instant, and even though Forte was standing at a distance with his Dream Aura activated, he was sent flying backwards by the aftershocks of the Dark Soul's attack. As he shielded his eyes from the light, all Forte could hear were the screams of NetNavies as they were swiftly deleted. Then, as he collided against the ground, Forte's Dream aura disappeared, his final remaining energy spent, and the Messenger of Darkness fell unconscious.

Meanwhile, the Dark Soul was floating above the area, looking down at his own handiwork. The once barren landscape was reduced to a pile of smouldering rubble from the Dark Soul's blast. It continued to observe the destruction it caused for a while longer, before the loud flapping of wings approaching him caught his attention. It was Shademan.

"Master…" Although the bat Navi looked much worse for wear, he still seemed to radiate a sense of hopeful anticipation. "...Are you satisfied with this power…?"

"Shademan." The Dark Soul turned to look at him, and the bat Navi's ears almost appeared to perk up in eagerness. "...Come, it's time."

There was a brief flash of disbelief, before it was quickly replaced with wicked joy. "Master…!"

"It is time… To plunge all of Cyberworld into an era of darkness!" The Dark Soul declared. "It is time… To open the gates of the Dark Net!"

With that final declaration, both the Dark Soul and darkloid vanished, leaving only destruction behind.