"T.K.!"
T.K. scooped Patamon up in his arms and stared intently at the cave ahead.
Something inside him whispered that what he needed was in there.
"Mm."
Holding Patamon tight, T.K. broke into a run straight toward the cave.
"Oh?"
Seeing T.K. dash away from the battlefield, the Digimon Emperor's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Ha ha ha, trying to run? Keep dreaming. Go, Waspmon!"
The buzzing of wings filled the air as three Waspmon shot out of the forest, three huge laser blasts streaking straight for the running boy.
T.K. glanced back and went pale.
The others wanted to help, but there was no time.
He threw himself into a roll on the ground and, at the very last moment before the blasts hit, tumbled through the cave entrance. The laser fire slammed into the mouth of the cave behind him, shattering rock; broken stones crashed down and sealed the opening.
T.K. turned around, saw that the entrance was completely blocked, then faced forward again and continued deeper into the cave.
Inside, it was utterly silent.
Patamon lay on top of T.K.'s head, peering curiously around at the rock walls as they walked.
Suddenly, light flared somewhere deep in the cavern.
At the same time, as if answering it, T.K.'s pocket began to glow as well. He pulled the object out—it was his Digivice.
T.K. gripped the Digivice tight and quickened his pace.
At the very back of the cave was a sheer cliff face, with a stone pedestal set before it. On the left side of the pedestal rested a golden Armor Digi-Egg.
The Digi-Egg's light pulsed in response to the glow of the Digivice. In T.K.'s wide, delighted eyes, the Digivice shone brighter, reshaping itself—until it became a D-3 Digivice just like Davis's.
"Yeah…"
T.K. reached out with both hands and gently lifted the Armor Digi-Egg.
"Awesome, T.K.!" Patamon cheered, flapping his little bat-like wings excitedly.
"Patamon, Armor Digivolve! Pegasusmon, the Flying Hope!"
Pegasusmon was Patamon's Armor form, a Holy Beast-type Digimon that Digivolved using the power of the Digi-Egg of Hope. The Digi-Egg of Hope had a holy attribute; whoever donned this Digi-Egg gained sacred power, and that power showed absolute strength against the forces of evil. Its signature technique was Rodeo Gallop, a powerful strike launched with its hind legs. Its finishing move Silver Blaze fired a holy ray of light from the symbol on its forehead, while Shooting Star turned the space inside its wings into a pocket of outer space and rained down a shower of meteors.
Meanwhile, Davis and the others were in dire straits.
In the skies above, the battle was still horribly one-sided. Halsemon didn't dare slow down for even an instant, forced to rely purely on speed and nimble maneuvering to flee. Behind it, a flock of Snimon and Waspmon chased relentlessly, unleashing their signature attacks again and again. Halsemon didn't even have the luxury of pausing.
Up on its back, Yolei already regretted everything. Halsemon had been flying for so long its stamina was nearly gone.
The situation on the ground wasn't any better.
Five Tyrannomon had Flamedramon, Digmon, Greymon, and Gatomon completely surrounded.
One Tyrannomon charged at Gatomon with unstoppable force—but Gatomon spun lightly in midair to avoid it. Failing to stop, Tyrannomon plowed straight into the jungle, snapping a swath of trees before crashing to the ground.
"Cat's Eye Punch!"
Gatomon aimed her attack right at the Dark Ring on Tyrannomon's neck. But just as she was airborne, Tyrannomon's tail suddenly whipped up, slicing through the air so fast it seemed to tear it open.
"Gatomon!" Kari cried, terrified.
Bang!
The massive tail smashed into Gatomon and sent her flying. She slammed into a tree and slid down, limp.
"Gatomon!"
Kari ran over, her heart twisting in pain as she gathered the exhausted Gatomon into her arms, murmuring comfort to her weakened partner.
"Damn it…"
Seeing Gatomon hurt, Flamedramon clenched his fists.
"Take this! Flame Fist!"
But a casual flick of Tyrannomon's tail snuffed the flames out like they were nothing. Then one giant claw hammered into Flamedramon's body, swatting him away.
Greymon's situation wasn't great either.
His strongest move, Mega Flame (Nova Blast), was off the table. It was too hard to control the power; if he used it, Tyrannomon might be blown to pieces in an instant.
So Greymon locked Tyrannomon in a pushing match instead. At the exact moment Tyrannomon threw its full weight forward, Greymon abruptly slipped aside, letting it lunge past. Seizing the opening, Greymon slammed a claw down on Tyrannomon's neck, smashing the Dark Ring to pieces.
"Big Crack!"
Digmon's drills began to spin, battering the ground so hard it buckled. A massive pit opened beneath two of the Tyrannomon, dragging them down.
"Gold Rush!"
Taking advantage of the opening, Digmon shot forward with his drills, slamming them straight into the Dark Rings on the Tyrannomon's necks and shattering them.
Flamedramon slid underneath another Tyrannomon's body, planted his hands on the ground, and kicked himself up in a burst of speed. Before the dinosaur could even turn around, he launched his attack.
"Flame Fist!"
His blazing fist smashed the Dark Ring on Tyrannomon's neck, breaking it apart.
When Flamedramon turned his head, he saw Greymon already holding down the last Tyrannomon, while Digmon finished off its Dark Ring with a final blow.
The battle on the ground was finally over.
Everyone's eyes turned toward the sky.
Halsemon was still desperately dodging attacks, but its movements had become noticeably slower—its stamina was nearly gone.
Everyone on the ground wanted to help, but the enemy Digimon were flying too fast, and flying too high. None of the Digimon on the ground could even reach them.
"Damn it!"
Flamedramon punched the ground in frustration. All he could do was watch helplessly while a comrade fought alone; it drove him mad.
"Shooting Star!"
A flurry of silver, needle-like beams shot past in front of Halsemon, streaking toward the Snimon and Waspmon behind it.
Following the path of the attack with their eyes, they saw a Digimon hovering in the air—a winged creature wearing armor, its four limbs wrapped in Digi-armor emblazoned with the Crest of Hope.
"Hey!"
T.K. leaned around from Pegasusmon's back and waved down at them.
"T.K.!"
"It's that kid!"
"Hmph. You really think that's enough to win?" the Digimon Emperor scoffed.
Four Snimon and three Waspmon closed in, surrounding Halsemon and Pegasusmon on all sides. The two Armor Digimon immediately moved again, dodging frantically in an attempt to use speed and motion to offset the enemy's numeric advantage.
Down on the ground, everyone could only stare up at Pegasusmon and Halsemon fighting for their lives, completely helpless.
Kari, still cradling Gatomon, walked over with her head bowed and stopped next to Tai.
"Big brother…"
"What is it, Kari?" Tai asked, puzzled. The others, drawn by her voice, turned to look at the siblings.
"Big brother, give that to me."
"Kari…"
"Big brother," Kari said, lifting her head to look straight at Tai, eyes full of determination. "I want to do something for you. I…"
"Kari, back then you already took on a burden you never should have had to bear," Tai said quietly, gazing up at Pegasusmon and Halsemon as they dodged attack after attack. "I'm not about to let you shoulder responsibilities you don't need anymore."
"Ugh, what are you even talking about? Why does none of this make any sense to me?" Davis yelled from the side, frantic and confused.
Kari didn't answer him. She simply took out her own Digivice—
The Digivice that had already transformed into a D-3.
"When did that happen?" Tai asked, staring at the device in surprise.
"Last night," Kari murmured, lowering her head again as she stroked Gatomon's fur. "It started glowing, and then it just turned into this on its own."
Tai let out a small, helpless breath. He hadn't expected destiny to stubbornly follow its own path anyway. Human effort really could only change so much.
"K-Kari has one too…" Davis pointed at Kari's D-3, completely floored.
"Kari, are you really sure about this? I don't want you to have to fight anymore," Tai said, gripping her shoulders, face serious.
"Yes."
Kari nodded hard. "I want to do something for you and for the Digital World too. My light is meant to shine for everyone… isn't it?"
As she spoke, she showed that warm, gentle smile of hers—the one that made anyone who saw it feel at peace.
"Yeah," Tai said softly. "That's just who you are—always thinking about others, lighting up people's hearts like a ray of sunshine. That's why your light is the one the whole Digital World yearns for."
He took a deep breath.
"This is your Armor Digi-Egg of Light."
Tai pulled the Armor Digi-Egg of Light from his pocket. After looking at it carefully for a moment, he placed it solemnly into Kari's hands. Davis and Cody leaned in, staring, fascinated by this Digi-Egg that was totally different from their own.
Their Digi-Eggs all had strange, unique shapes, but Kari's had the Crest of Light inlaid on its surface. Unlike the others, the Crest itself constantly shone with a shifting, seven-colored radiance, slowly rotating as it sent waves of light outward.
"It's beautiful…" Kari couldn't help but whisper.
"Ah! Ah! Ahhh!"
Yolei's screams echoed down from above. Everyone looked up and saw that the battle had swung sharply against them.
Halsemon, exhausted, had taken a Shadow Sickle straight on from one of the Snimon and was tumbling out of the sky with a painful cry. Pegasusmon was also at his limit and looked about to fall.
"Gatomon's going to fight now," Kari said, clutching the Armor Digi-Egg of Light with both hands.
"Okay, Kari."
"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve! Darcmon, the Smiling Light!"
Darcmon was a female Angel-type Vaccine Digimon in Armor form, bearing four shining wings. She was the vanguard of the Angel Digimon—a spearhead who always charged into the front lines. Because of that, her figure in battle was known as the "Goddess of the Battlefield." Her wings constantly radiated golden light, and her entire body was wrapped in golden Digi-alloy armor with extremely high defensive power. This special Digi-alloy was said to possess the defensive strength of a legendary "Yellowstone Ore," though no one knew the truth for sure. On both hands she wore holy rings engraved with the Crest of Light, and the ring on her left hand could transform into a holy staff bearing the same crest. Her finishing move was Baptême d'Amour, a magnificent sword technique unleashed with her slender blade "La Pucelle," and she also wielded La Pucelle as an elegant dueling skill in its own right.
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