Shurimon kept its eyes closed, listening to the constant sounds of Chameleonmon slipping through the forest around it.
"Momiji Oroshi!"
Shurimon's arms suddenly extended, shooting deep into the trees. To the kids' shock, when its hands snapped back, it was dragging two Chameleonmon with it.
The two Chameleonmon opened their mouths and lashed out with long tongues toward Shurimon. Shurimon's legs kicked off hard, its body shooting upward in an instant and cleanly dodging the tongue strikes.
The Chameleonmon immediately began to fade again—but Shurimon yanked the massive shuriken from its back and hurled it down from above into an empty patch of ground.
"ROAR!"
A Chameleonmon was pinned beneath the huge Kusanagi, and the Dark Ring around its neck was smashed apart by the weapon's razor edge.
"Momiji Oroshi!"
Shurimon's shuriken-hands stretched out again and struck another spot. The second Chameleonmon was snatched by the throat—and the Dark Ring around its neck shattered as well.
"So amazing…" Yolei clapped, eyes sparkling.
"Shh—shh!" Four lasers fired from deep in the jungle. Shurimon spun the shuriken on its hands, blocking all four beams completely. Then the giant shuriken launched again—two huge Kusanagi flew into the trees. After two painful roars, the forest fell silent once more.
Shurimon leapt back in front of the kids. "The enemies are dealt with. All the Dark Rings on them have been smashed."
"Yes!" The kids high-fived and cheered.
"Then all that's left is that Control Spire." Everyone looked toward the battered, damaged tower nearby.
"Gold Drill Impact!"
Digmon charged the Control Spire with all the drills on its body. With a thunderous rumble, the Control Spire collapsed and broke into several chunks.
"Mimi! Mimi!" A big crowd of Gekomon and Otamamon—freed from their Dark Rings—came running over, waving excitedly.
"Gekomon… Otamamon…" Mimi beamed, relieved to see her friends back to normal.
After everything they'd been through, time slipped by without anyone noticing, and before long it was already afternoon. The kids returned to the computer lab—meaning it was time to split up. They would head home in different directions, while Mimi needed to go to her cousin's place for the wedding.
"Mimi!" Yolei suddenly turned back, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted loudly, "Being able to see you today made me really happy!"
"Yeah." Mimi nodded hard. "I was happy to see everyone too."
Not long after the kids left, Tai and Agumon appeared at the edge of the dark forest.
"Tai, what's going on with that forest?" Agumon stared curiously. Where they stood, the sky was clear—but just three steps away, the forest was already swallowed in darkness, impossible to see into.
"Darkness has started to erode the Digital World," Tai said grimly. "That forest has been pulled toward the Dark Area. If this keeps going… the entire Digital World could be swallowed up by the Dark Area."
"Then what do we do?!" Agumon panicked.
Tai took out the Holy Ring and raised it high. Seven-colored light began to flicker and surge. As the radiance spread, the dark forest slowly faded, little by little, until it vanished—replaced by a lush, thriving woodland.
"I've isolated this forest," Tai let out a breath. "Now Digimon won't accidentally wander in." Even so, his expression still looked heavy.
Chameleonmon's appearance had genuinely shaken him. Armor Digimon were a power meant for ancient types of Digimon. Even with the Steel Empire's leftover data in his hands, it had taken him a long time just to understand the basics—and even then, he still needed to select compatible Digi-Eggs, craft Digi-Armor, and match them to the right Digimon.
Put simply, it was like building a computer: you need compatible hardware, and you also need software that can actually run on that hardware. If the software is lacking, the computer can't reach full performance; if the hardware is lacking, it can't run high-performance software at all.
But Chameleonmon's appearance was outside Tai's expectations, because the Kindness Armor it used hadn't come from him—and there were multiple copies of it. Even without seeing the Digi-Armor personally, Tai could guess that mass-producing Digi-Armor wasn't impossible… but high-performance materials weren't unlimited. If it was made quickly in large numbers, the materials were likely inferior—like running a computer under heavy overload until it finally breaks.
If Tai hadn't made those Digi-Armor, then there was only one possibility left: the Dark Area.
The small comfort was that they could only make low-performance Digi-Armor for now. Digi-Armor of Miracles and Destiny still weren't something they could produce yet. It was bad news… but at least it was the best kind of bad news.
"Tai!" While walking to school, Tai suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. He stopped and turned around. Not far away, Sora was waving.
"Tai!" Sora jogged up beside him and caught her breath.
"What's wrong? Why are you rushing like that?" Tai smiled and wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"It's nothing." Sora looked up at him, hopeful. "After school, can we go to the Digital World? I want to see Biyomon."
"No problem."
"Then come on—we're going to be late for class."
After school, the kids gathered once again in the elementary school's computer lab.
"Tai, last time Kari went to the Digital World from her computer at home, right?" Izzy asked curiously.
"Yeah. The gate to the Digital World doesn't only open from this computer," Tai explained. "You can use a D-4 Digivice to open it from other computers too. If everyone wants to arrive at the same place, all you have to do is agree on a time and enter together."
"But earlier I checked the other computers in the lab, and they couldn't open the gate at all," Izzy pressed.
Tai gave him a strange look. "Did you try with your D-3 Digivice?"
"Ah!" Izzy blurted out, suddenly realizing.
"That means we won't have to sneak into the computer lab anymore," Yolei said happily. "We can go to the Digital World from home."
"But if we suddenly disappear at home, won't our parents freak out?" Cody voiced his concern.
"…"
"In that case, everyone can come to my house or Tai's house," Izzy suggested. "Our parents know about the Digimon stuff, so they won't worry."
"Then we'll be in your care."
"Alright—Digital World gate, open! DigiDestined, move out!"
The kids split up and headed in different directions to smash Control Spires. Roaring sounds echoed across the Digital World as Control Spires collapsed one after another under their Digimon's attacks. On the Digital World map, the black regions shrank rapidly, while the white regions expanded.
After a full day of work, the Digimon Emperor's territory had been reduced by a huge amount. Everyone was exhausted. The kids returned to the computer lab to rest, planning to continue destroying Control Spires again tomorrow.
"Something came up tomorrow, so I probably can't come," Izzy said apologetically.
"I've got band practice tomorrow too, so I probably can't come either," Matt added.
"It's fine. As long as Kari and the others are here, it'll work," Tai reassured them.
"That's true."
"Don't worry—leave it to us!" Davis patted his chest, acting like it was nothing.
The next day, Tai and Sora headed out together in one direction, taking responsibility for destroying the Control Spires along their route. Kari, Davis, T.K., Cody, and Yolei handled the other side.
Davis's group discovered a city surrounded by desert. A semi-transparent barrier covered the sky above it like a dome. They slipped through a gap and entered—only to find countless Guardromon inside, all controlled by Dark Rings.
"Knuckle Fire!"
"Gold Drill Impact!"
"Meteor Beam!"
"Holy Beam!"
"Mach Shockwave!"
Each time the Digimon attacked, multiple Dark Rings shattered at once. The freed Guardromon would freeze in place, no longer moving. But more Guardromon marched up in neat formation, repeating the same words over and over like a broken recording:
"Illegal intrusion. Illegal intrusion."
That looping voice had been drilling into the kids' ears since the fight began.
"Do they seriously only know how to say that one line?" Davis covered his ears, looking like he was about to lose it.
"What is this? We clear one wave and another wave shows up—endless!" Yolei complained.
"This can't go on," T.K. said anxiously. "Our Digimon have limited stamina. We can't outlast mechanical Digimon."
"This place feels familiar…" Kari stared at the surrounding buildings, puzzled. "I think I've been here before."
"Let's pull back and figure out a tactic first," Cody suggested.
Ahead of them, the street was dotted with Guardromon that had stopped moving after losing their Dark Rings. But more Guardromon with glowing red eyes kept advancing in perfect formation, pressing in on the kids and putting a heavy weight on everyone's nerves.
"The Control Spire is right in front of us—how can we run away now?!" Davis refused to back down.
"Knuckle Fire!" Flamedramon tried to launch its special move, but there was no flame on its fist. Then it de-Armor Digivolved into Veemon. "I can't do it, Davis… I'm completely wiped out."
"Me too." Digmon de-Armor Digivolved into Drimogemon. "I'm hungry."
The stream of Guardromon kept closing in, their footsteps synchronized and perfectly in step.
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