Submarimon is an Armor Aquatic Digimon that Armor Digivolved through the power of the Digi-Egg of Sincerity. The Digi-Egg of Sincerity has the attribute of Water, and using it allows its true power to be brought out underwater. It can swim freely through the ocean, and the techniques it continuously unleashes in underwater combat are unmatched by ordinary Aquatic Digimon. Its special moves are High-Pressure Oxygen (Oxygen Homing), which fires ultra-high-pressure oxygen, and Submarine Attack, where it creates distance underwater, spins the drill on its snout, accelerates in a burst, and rams the enemy with its body.
Submarimon opened the hatch on its front like a submarine, letting Cody climb in like a pilot.
"Cody, let's fight together," Submarimon said.
Diving underwater, Submarimon quickly spotted Ikkakumon tangled up with two Ebidramon. But since Gomamon had been injured earlier, he was clearly no match for them, and Flamedramon and Halsemon were struggling too—already on the verge of passing out.
"Submarimon, get Flamedramon and Halsemon out first," Cody said. "Sorry, Ikkakumon—hang on. We'll come back for you!"
Seeing Submarimon arrive, Ikkakumon stopped trying to flee and instead threw himself into a chaotic brawl with the two Ebidramon, holding them back so Submarimon could rescue Flamedramon and Halsemon.
With a loud splash, Submarimon surfaced carrying Veemon and Hawkmon, both already devolved. After handing the unconscious Veemon and Hawkmon back to their partners, Cody mounted Submarimon again and returned underwater. By then, Ikkakumon had been completely suppressed by the two Ebidramon—unable to mount any real counterattack, only struggling helplessly.
"Ikkakumon!" Cody shouted.
"High-Pressure Oxygen!" Submarimon blasted two jets of ultra-high-pressure oxygen, knocking one Ebidramon flying. Then the drill on its snout began spinning at high speed as it accelerated and slammed its body into the other Ebidramon, knocking it away.
Ikkakumon scrambled up, aimed at the Ebidramon still down, and fired his finishing move—Harpoon Torpedo. The explosion shattered the Dark Ring on Ebidramon's body. Freed from the Digimon Emperor's control, the confused Ebidramon drifted in place, no longer sure what to do.
Ikkakumon and Submarimon rose back to the surface. Seeing them return, the kids on the shore—worried sick—finally let out a breath. The Digimon Emperor had disappeared at some point, and this area finally returned to normal order, no longer under his control.
"An area I just took gets wrecked again by those filthy brats… Fine. Just wait—next time I won't let you go!" the Digimon Emperor roared in his base, staring at the screen, practically exploding with rage.
The plane landed smoothly at the airport. A pink-haired girl with golden star decorations, pushing a mountain of luggage, came through security. It was Mimi, back from the United States. Looking at the familiar scenery, she couldn't help but sigh, "It's been so long since I've been back."
Meanwhile, the kids were still going about their usual routines. Davis was sprawled out on his bed, snoring like a dying engine, completely without dignity. His room was the definition of a filthy disaster zone. Chibomon—Veemon's devolved Baby form—wandered through the piles of unknown junk, constantly calling for Davis in an attempt to wake him up. But the uninterrupted snoring made it obvious: Chibomon was accomplishing absolutely nothing. After all, with a rare weekend in hand, Davis only had three plans—sleep, sleep, and sleep in.
Refusing to give up, Chibomon kept shouting, "Davis! Davis! Davis!"
Finally, under Chibomon's heartfelt calls, Davis cracked one eye open and saw Chibomon bouncing on his stomach. "Morning, Davis!"
"Morning, Chibomon."
Cody, who insisted on waking early to train, was already up searching for the missing Bearmon—only to freeze when he found… something with a basket on its head, sneaking food off the table.
"…Sigh."
Nearby, Gatomon stared wide-eyed at Kari, who was helplessly stuffing things into her backpack. "Wait… I have to go in there too?"
"Yup, Gatomon," Kari said with a sweet smile, lifting the resigned-looking Gatomon up and preparing to stuff her into the bag.
Gatomon drooped her ears and put on a pitiful expression that Tai just couldn't stand. He spun his chair around and looked at Kari, who had already shoved Gatomon into the backpack. "Kari, why are you stuffing Gatomon in there?"
"But if I just carry Gatomon openly, wouldn't that look really weird?"
"Then why not just use the computer at home to go to the Digital World?"
"Huh?" Gatomon poked her head out of the backpack, and she and Kari both stared in shock. "A computer at home can open the gate to the Digital World?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Tai said, like this was the most normal thing in the world.
"B-but… why didn't you ever tell me?" Kari tilted her head.
"You never asked."
"Seriously, Tai…" Kari said as she opened her D-3 Digivice. "I'll tell everyone—then they won't have to wait for me."
"Oh, right," Kari asked. "If we go from home, how do we meet up with everyone?"
"Then we just leave together. As long as we know where everyone's going."
"Okay! Today we're going to the Digital World for a weekend picnic. I've never done that before!" Kari got excited just saying it.
"Alright, then I won't go," Tai said, patting her head. "Have fun."
"Wait, Kari." Tai pulled something from his pocket: a green Digi-Egg set with the crest symbol, resting on a four-pointed shuriken-like base.
"This is…" Kari held the Digi-Egg of Purity in both hands, completely at a loss, her face full of confusion—and it was honestly adorable.
"This is the Digi-Egg of Purity. Take it and give it to Yolei."
Kari still had a thousand questions, but she didn't press. She quietly packed it away, shouldered her bag, and gave Tai a sweet smile. "I'm leaving, Tai."
"Yeah. Have fun."
High above, the Digimon Emperor floated along in his fortress—an abomination that looked suspiciously like a giant flying toilet. Honestly, his taste was beyond saving.
Inside the pitch-black control room, the Digimon Emperor hammered away at the keyboard. The screen showed an enormous city wrapped in a massive energy dome—like a half-egg shell from a distance.
"The next target is to conquer this place," he said, pointing at another screen showing the Digital World map. Most of it was covered in black squares, but in the center was a single white point. He had sent forces to attack it several times, and every time they failed. The Digimon Emperor would not tolerate any territory that refused to bow to his will, so this time he was coming personally—fortress and all—to crush that defiant city.
"Ken, we've reached the area near that city. If we get any closer, it'll be dangerous," Wormmon reported, crawling up in front of him and lifting his head.
"Hmph. This time I'll conquer it for sure. Deploy all forces—flatten it!" the Digimon Emperor shouted, brimming with confidence and arrogance.
At his command, the toilet-fortress descended and released a huge swarm of Digimon—Triceramon, Airdramon, Frigimon, Mojyamon—each fitted with Dark Rings. Roaring, they charged toward the distant steel fortress.
WOOOO—WOOOO—WOOOO! Alarms blared throughout the steel city. On streets that had been empty moments ago, one exit after another opened. Countless Guardromon marched out, heading in a single direction, continuing to pour out in an endless stream.
A battle between defenders and invaders erupted. The Digimon Emperor's forces caught Tai City off guard. The city had been sealed off for some time; though the defense program activated immediately, reinforcements still needed time to arrive. For now, the units near the gates had to hold.
In sheer numbers, the Digimon Emperor's side had the advantage at first—but not in combat strength.
"Why is it like this?!" the Digimon Emperor slammed the keyboard in fury. On the screen, the siege played out: organized Guardromon units lined the walls, pouring out firepower and mowing down the Digimon charging toward the city.
Wave after wave of Digimon poured out from preset ground bases and aerial bases, sprinting toward Tai City. Stray rounds streaked overhead, and more detonated right inside their formations, blasting Digimon into data and making them vanish—but the attackers kept firing back, knocking Guardromon off the walls, leaving some sparking and immobilized, others dissolving into data.
The once-sleek, shining walls were now riddled with holes, and the desert sand outside the city became cratered and pitted as bombs slammed down, throwing dirt skyward. Smoke and dust swallowed the battlefield, yet beneath that sky the brutal fighting continued without pause.
The Digimon Emperor's situation grew steadily worse. As time passed, more and more Guardromon arrived while his Digimon were worn down to almost nothing. The tide had fully shifted.
"Looks like I can't break through head-on. But my plan was never that simple. The real force is already inside. Soon, this city will belong to me! Hahahaha!" The Digimon Emperor cackled, lost in delusion again. (Please recommend!)
Patamon still shoved himself into a backpack and got dragged outside by T.K. Patamon protested the whole way, but it didn't matter.
They say if you live by the mountain, you eat from the mountain—if you live by the water, you eat from the water. Well, Yolei lived next to a supermarket, so she ate from the supermarket. Thanks to that advantage, she easily solved everyone's Digimon food problem and stocked supplies. Right now she was stuffing all kinds of snacks off the shelves into shopping bags for their Digital World picnic. But she'd packed so much that Poromon was practically being flattened by the mountain of food.
The kids finally gathered in the computer lab, but…
"Where's Kari?" Davis was the first to notice.
"…"
"Kari sent a message—ah!" Yolei glanced at her D-3 Digivice and suddenly yelped, drawing everyone's attention. "I'll go to the Digital World from home. Tell me the meetup point."
"…" Everyone just stared at each other.
"Wait…" Cody spoke first. "So it's not only this computer that can open the gate to the Digital World?"
"Yeah," T.K. said, habitually holding his chin. "Last time Tai did it too, and he didn't even leave from the computer lab."
"Maybe Tai has his own way to open the gate," Davis grumbled. "Man, Kari's got it good—she doesn't even have to come here and she can still go."
"Hey, T.K., you didn't know about this?" Yolei asked curiously.
"No," T.K. shook his head. "When we were chosen last time, Tai was already unbelievably strong. The only one who really understands him is Kari… maybe Sora does too."
"Whatever, let's go first—Tai, open the gate, the Chosen Children—" Yolei didn't finish before the computer lab door slammed open with a bang, startling everyone. A pink-haired girl with a gold star accessory peeked in, staring at the group curiously.
They stared back.
"Mimi!" T.K. cried in surprise.
"What are you all doing here?" Mimi asked, especially shocked by the Digimon.
After they explained that Mimi had come back for her cousin's wedding and wandered into the school out of boredom, she ended up stumbling onto them. When she heard they were heading to the Digital World for a picnic, she immediately insisted on coming too—she hadn't been there in a long time.
Back in the Digital World, Mimi was clearly thrilled. The kids had arrived in a jungle region. For children used to steel-and-concrete "jungles," this was pure joy—breathing air rich with leafy fragrance, staring at endless green, they felt refreshed and excited.
Still, they checked safety first. This was the Digital World—where "monsters" were everywhere. After searching around for a long time, they didn't find any sign of the Digimon Emperor's territory: no Control Spires. They were delighted—coming with a "travel mood" only to get dragged into battles would ruin everything.
"This really is the Digital World… I wonder where Palmon is," Mimi said.
"Hey everyone, sorry I'm late." At that moment, the TV behind them glowed again, and Kari appeared with Gatomon.
"Kari!"
"Mimi!"
On the way to find a picnic spot, the kids told Mimi about their new enemy, the Digimon Emperor, and everything he'd been doing.
They spread a picnic cloth in a clearing, laid out all the food they brought, and shared it together. Both the kids and their Digimon enjoyed the hard-won calm.
But when Armadillomon tossed food to Hawkmon, he put too much force into it and accidentally launched a gourd-shaped sushi roll far away. Yolei and Hawkmon rushed after it… and didn't come back for a long time.
When everyone split up to search, Mimi accidentally stepped on a trap and fell into the underground kingdom beneath the forest.
Above ground it was daytime, but down here a crescent moon hung like a blade, and a black starry sky pressed down over a pitch-dark forest that felt eerie beyond words. This was the Digital World's "fault layer"—a spatial rift caused by the Control Spire-covered region. It was the same space, yet divided—one above, one below. And because of that, sunlight could never reach here.
"Mimi… Mimi…" Half-conscious, Mimi heard someone calling. She forced her eyes open and saw the missing Yolei and Hawkmon.
"Ah, you're awake!" Yolei said happily.
"Yolei… Hawkmon…" Mimi sat up and looked around at the darkness. "Where are we?"
Yolei didn't answer—she just pointed. "Look over there."
Through thick black smoke like fog, a Control Spire stood out under scattered lights. Yolei explained, "That's a Control Spire."
"So this is the Digimon Emperor's territory," Hawkmon added.
Just then, deep in the dark forest, pairs of glowing red eyes lit up—more and more of them. Mimi and Yolei trembled, terrified.
Up close, it turned out to be a swarm of Gekomon and Otamamon—but they wore Dark Rings. Two girls and one Digimon fled through the forest, chased nonstop.
Running down a slope, Mimi tripped and fell. Yolei spun back to pull her up, but Mimi braced herself on her right arm and yelled, "Yolei—run!"
At that moment, a Digimon with a flower on its head rose from the brush, whipped out six vines, and yanked the hesitating Yolei and Hawkmon into the grass—then dragged Mimi in too.
"Palmon?!" Mimi gasped.
The swarm of Gekomon and Otamamon rushed past the hiding place, kicking up dust.
"Palmon…" Tears filled Mimi's eyes as she stared at her partner.
"Mimi!" Palmon cried too, and they clung to each other, sobbing.
They poured out everything they'd missed—until Mimi accidentally admitted she came to the Digital World for a picnic, not to "rescue" Palmon like Palmon had imagined. Palmon cried for real after that.
Back on the surface, Davis and the others were still searching for Yolei, Mimi, and Hawkmon. They practically turned the entire jungle upside down but still couldn't find them.
"Where did Yolei and Mimi go?" T.K. wiped sweat from his forehead.
"No idea! We've searched everywhere!" Patamon flapped around, scanning left and right.
"Seriously… where did they run off to?!" Davis kicked a pebble away in frustration.
Meanwhile, Mimi and Yolei were searching for "signal." Yes—signal. The D-3 Digivice worked pretty well in the Digital World, but they were now half-outside of it, so the signal was terrible. To help their friends locate them, they had to wander until they found a spot with better reception.
At last, they found a place where the signal was barely usable—still flickering and cutting out, but better than anything they'd found so far.
"Come on… please see it…" Yolei stared anxiously at the faint signal on her D-3.
Their effort paid off. Kari and the others spotted Yolei's distress signal. It was still flickering, but at least they now knew the general area.
"That's Yolei's SOS signal, right?" Davis said uncertainly.
"But it's so weak…" T.K. looked worried.
"We should hurry," Kari urged. "We don't know what danger they're in."
"Yeah."
At the same time, the Digimon Emperor's attention was still focused on Tai City. After the city's administrator, Andromon, joined the fight, the war became completely one-sided.
Andromon—an Ultimate-level, peak-class modified Digimon—was overwhelmingly powerful. Especially his Spiral Sword and Super Missiles—one strike and no Digimon survived. Every time Andromon attacked, a large group of Digimon vanished. The front line was pushed from beneath the walls into the desert. Digimon flooded in, only to be split apart by Andromon's rampage. Any Digimon that dared charge him was killed without mercy.
"Success!" the Digimon Emperor cried in delight. From the very beginning, he had sent a team carrying Control Spire components to sneak into Tai City while Andromon was deployed—assembling a Control Spire inside.
Andromon, who had been cutting through enemies, suddenly stopped. His electronic eyes turned toward Tai City. "Intruders detected. All units—attack and eliminate intruders immediately."
With Andromon's order, every Guardromon stopped pursuit and flew back toward the intrusion site.
"Hahaha—too late!" the Digimon Emperor laughed. The Control Spire was already fully assembled. With a single command, the spire launched countless Dark Rings. The Guardromon that had just arrived—and even Andromon himself—were immediately ringed. Their internal programs ran for a moment… then went silent, switching to the Digimon Emperor's orders. (First update—another chapter after class this afternoon, and one more tonight. Please recommend and favorite!)
Guardromon began executing their new orders—repairing the city's damaged walls and gates, clearing broken Guardromon wreckage, and filling in the ground. Watching the remaining Digimon on his display, the Digimon Emperor ached with regret. To take this city, he had basically thrown away everything he had. Worst of all, he couldn't even deploy Guardromon out of Tai City. Even though the Dark Rings controlled them, their core operating program forbade them from leaving. Even when he tried to force orders through the rings, the Guardromon ignored him and simply patrolled the streets according to their programming.
"Damn it! Damn it! How dare you disobey me—damn it!" the Digimon Emperor slammed the console so hard veins bulged on his forehead.
"Ken, don't be mad… at least we captured the city," Wormmon tried to comfort him.
"Shut up!" The Digimon Emperor whipped around and kicked Wormmon away. "Useless little—damn it!"
Furious but helpless, he could only pilot his base away, leaving behind the map's only white dot—now turned black.
Meanwhile, Mimi and Yolei—still waiting for rescue—heard rustling sounds coming from the dark forest behind them.
"What was that…?" Yolei unconsciously leaned toward Mimi, and Mimi did the same. The two girls pressed together, trembling.
Hawkmon and Palmon stood in front of them protectively, eyes fixed on the dark forest, ready to strike at any moment.
"Ladies, why so gloomy?" Two pitch-black shapes rose up out of the ground.
"AAAAAHHHH!" A scream tore into the sky.
"Hehehe… wanna go on a date with us?" When they looked closer, the two black shapes were actually two Roachmon.
Roachmon had the same glossy black body as the roaches everyone hated. It had the ability to avoid being noticed, moving silently, scurrying around quickly—and its escape speed was second to none. You couldn't expect much from its offense or defense, but its immeasurable vitality made it terrifying in a war of attrition. Its special move was Dreaming Remains, scattering trash everywhere. The power wasn't great, but very few Digimon were willing to take it head-on.
"No! Cockroaches!!" Mimi and Yolei screamed, clinging to each other.
"We won't let you do whatever you want!" Hawkmon and Palmon shouted together, blocking them.
"So hurtful, Roach Brother. Let's take her out."
"Great idea, Roach Little Brother."
"You're brothers?" Yolei asked, weirdly curious.
"We're the Roachmon Brothers. Got a problem?" they answered in unison.
"N-no…" Yolei immediately buried her face back into Mimi's arms.
"Then you attack first, Roach Brother."
"No, no—Roach Little Brother, you attack first."
"You two are really close," Mimi couldn't help saying.
"We're close—got a problem?!" Roach Brother snapped again.
"No…" Mimi replied helplessly.
"Then let's attack together, Roach Brother!"
"Great idea, Roach Little Brother!"
They flew up together. "Dreaming Remains!" Mimi and Yolei stared up in horror as countless pieces of trash rained down—milk bottles, ragged stuffed toys, gnawed fruit cores, all kinds of garbage—burying Mimi, Yolei, Hawkmon, and Palmon under a mountain of filth.
Mimi popped out with a lunch box on her head and a little leaf stuck to her, fists clenched as she yelled at the Roachmon Brothers, "So what?! It's just trash!"
The two Roachmon who were snickering suddenly had their eyes turn red.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Yolei asked, confused—then followed Mimi's gaze and saw a black dot in the sky growing larger…
A piano dropped out of nowhere.
Mimi and Yolei locked eyes—pure terror.
"It's not just trash…" Mimi desperately wanted to take back what she'd said.
Another glance upward—an entire refrigerator came crashing down.
"AAAAH! AAAAAH! AAAAAH!" Mimi and Yolei screamed, grabbing their Digimon and sprinting.
Behind them, chairs, tables, beds, TVs—big "trash" kept dropping nonstop. The two girls didn't dare slow down for even a second, terrified they'd be flattened.
"AAAAH! I'm done with this—Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve!"
"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve—Shining in Love, Halsemon!"
Halsemon spread his wings, skimmed the ground to scoop up Yolei mid-jump, and shot into the sky toward the Roachmon Brothers.
"Crimson Sun!" Two spell-like beams fired from Halsemon's eyes and struck both Roachmon.
They panicked, but when the flames cleared, they were only left with damaged wings.
Enraged, the Roachmon Brothers launched their "ultimate move": Roach Brothers Kick—kicking back and forth in midair. Halsemon easily dodged, making the attack completely useless.
"Roach Brothers Charge!" Halsemon just tilted aside. The two idiots slammed into the forest, kicking up smoke and dust. Dizzy, they tried again—Roach Brothers Fly, charging like bombers.
With Mimi's hint, Yolei had Halsemon lure them beside the Control Spire, then used the searchlight to dazzle their eyes. Unable to control their momentum, they crashed straight into the spire, smashing a huge hole in it.
"Now! Palmon!" Mimi shouted happily.
"Yeah! Palmon, Digivolve—to Togemon!"
The two Roachmon Brothers, woozy, stuck their heads out of the hole in the spire. Realizing they'd been played, they got furious again.
"Needle Spray!" Togemon fired a storm of spikes, making them scream.
"Crimson Sun!" Halsemon fired again, cutting the Control Spire in half.
Elsewhere, the Digimon Emperor—returning to his lair—noticed another black square on the map turn white. "What a miserable weekend." And he was right: he'd finally taken Tai City at huge cost, only to have another Control Spire destroyed.
"Yolei! Mimi!" A familiar voice called from afar.
Yolei and Mimi turned and saw Davis and the others running toward them, waving.
"We finally found you!" Davis panted.
"Why is it like this here?" Kari asked, staring at the darkness around them.
"Huh?" Everyone finally noticed the difference. It had been daytime a moment ago, but somewhere along the run, it had turned pitch-dark.
"It feels really creepy," T.K. frowned.
"Yeah," everyone agreed.
"Let's get out of here," Kari said—she'd felt uncomfortable the moment they entered.
"Yeah!" The kids immediately turned to leave.
Two green beams suddenly struck Halsemon in the belly.
"AAH!" Halsemon cried out and fell uncontrollably. Yolei screamed in terror as she fell with him.
"Gatomon!" Kari shouted.
"Yeah." Gatomon nodded. "Gatomon, Armor Digivolve—Light of Hope, Darcmon!"
A holy angel caught the falling Yolei. The light from her body illuminated a radius of dozens of meters—beyond that, nothing could be seen. The black fog here swallowed even light.
"Are you okay, Halsemon?" Yolei asked the moment she landed.
"I'm fine, Yolei… Sorry," Halsemon said guiltily—he'd let her fall again.
"It's okay."
"But where did that attack come from?" T.K. scanned the dark forest. It was calm again, giving no hint of danger.
"I don't know. I can't detect any enemy nearby at all," Darcmon said, hovering and watching—yet the attacker was perfectly hidden.
"SHHH—SHHH—SHHH!" Six red beams appeared out of nowhere and shot at Darcmon.
"Baptism of Love!" Darcmon swung her slender sword, cutting each incoming beam cleanly in half with elegant swordplay.
"Where are you?!" Darcmon looked around. After attacking, the enemy vanished again—no trace of presence.
"This is terrifying…" Mimi hugged her arms, shaking.
"SHHK—!" A sudden slicing sound rang out. Togemon, who had been standing there, slammed to the ground with a thud.
"What?!" The kids stared. Darcmon couldn't believe it—she'd been watching the whole time, and yet she hadn't seen a thing. Togemon had simply fallen after that single cutting sound.
Black fog surrounded them. A pitch-black forest hid an unknown number of attackers. The oppressive horror pressed down on everyone's chest.
"What is going on?!" Cody clutched Davis's clothes, trembling with fear.
"You cowards! Stop hiding! If you've got guts, come out and fight me! Come out! You pathetic coward—come out!" Davis screamed into the dark forest.
The black fog thickened. Where Darcmon's glow had once lit dozens of meters, now only twenty-something meters remained visible. Beyond that was nothing but boiling black mist.
"We need to fall back to the searchlight," Darcmon warned, noticing first.
The kids sprinted for the searchlight. Darcmon used her light to illuminate the path and guard against unseen ambushes.
It was less than a hundred meters—normally a two-minute walk—yet they made it in thirty seconds of sheer panic. That short stretch felt like a nightmare: hearts pounding, fear of attack at every step, the entire group suffocating under pressure. If the enemy were visible, no matter how strong, it wouldn't be this terrifying. But the unknown and unseen—like ghosts—was what truly scared them.
Reaching the searchlight, they didn't even catch their breath before sweeping it around, desperate to reveal the attackers.
Davis and Veemon cranked the searchlight hard. Suddenly, a shadow flickered through the beam.
"I caught it!" Davis shouted joyfully.
"I got one too!" Cody yelled.
"Me too!" Mimi and Yolei shouted as well.
A chill ran up everyone's spine. They'd already spotted four—so how many more were still hidden in the dark?
"I want to go home…" Yolei crouched down, crying.
"It's okay, Yolei," Mimi crouched too, comforting her. "I'm right here. Don't be scared… It's not that scary, okay?"
"Everyone, let's Armor Digivolve and flush them out," T.K. said solemnly.
"Yeah!"
"Patamon, Armor Digivolve—Soaring Hope, Pegasusmon!"
"Veemon, Armor Digivolve—Courage's Flame, Flamedramon!"
"Armadillomon, Armor Digivolve—Steel Wisdom, Digmon!"
Three Digimon took to the air, and the remaining Digimon stood on the ground, protecting the kids from every angle while the kids kept sweeping the searchlights, trying to find the enemy.
Suddenly, Kari's beam rippled—just for an instant, but Darcmon caught it. With a sharp "whoosh," Darcmon flung her sword downward.
"GRAH!" A pained cry rang out. A long-tailed Digimon slowly appeared, as if a blank sheet of paper suddenly gained a drawing.
Its tail was pinned to the ground by Darcmon's sword. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't pull free. Then it stopped struggling and let out a rhythmic sound—after which the air around it rippled in several places. Three more identical Digimon appeared.
"It's like a chameleon…" Kari muttered, stunned.
Chameleonmon is an Armor Reptile Digimon that Armor Digivolved through the power of the Digi-Egg of Kindness. Its skin has a special structure that lets its pattern assimilate with the surrounding environment. It's suited for covert operations, slipping into even highly secure databases that Digimon struggle to breach. Because of that, it can be used to infiltrate corporate rivals' databases and steal intel. Its eyes contain scanning devices that can cleverly survey 360 degrees, and it can fire red lasers to damage opponents. Its special move is Tongue Whip, a powerful extendable tongue strike like a whip. Its flexible tail can strike even farther and harder than the tongue.
The four Chameleonmon glared at the kids and Digimon, furious. Three of them whipped their tails and slapped Darcmon's sword away.
Right before everyone's eyes, they vanished again. Darcmon extended her right hand, and the sword flew back into her grasp.
Eight red lasers suddenly shot from deep in the dark forest at Pegasusmon. Pegasusmon was caught off guard—he barely dodged four, but the rest hit. With a cry, Pegasusmon fell, devolving into Patamon midair.
"Patamon!" T.K. rushed to catch him.
"Come out!" Halsemon kept firing Crimson Sun into the forest, unconsciously drawing closer.
"Danger!" Darcmon shouted, flapping hard toward Halsemon.
Too late—several "whoosh" sounds, and invisible attacks struck Halsemon. He tumbled in the air, devolved into Hawkmon, and crashed down, rolling to a stop, unconscious.
"Damn it…" Flamedramon, Togemon, and Digmon hadn't even seen what happened, and Pegasusmon and Halsemon were already down.
Darcmon, mid-flight, suddenly stopped and twisted hard—six red lasers grazed her wings and struck the air behind her. Even so, her wings were wounded, and her agility dropped sharply.
"Darcmon, are you okay?!" Kari cried.
"I'm fine, Kari," Darcmon said through the pain, trying to calm her.
"Damn it!" Davis slammed his fist into the ground.
With a sharp "whoosh," one of Digmon's forelimbs suddenly shot toward the forest—while his other drills anchored into the ground, locking his body in place.
"Got you!" Flamedramon snarled. The moment Digmon reacted, Flamedramon rushed in and grabbed the invisible tail, hauling together with Digmon until they yanked a Chameleonmon out of the forest. The kids quickly swung the searchlights there, and a stretched-out shadow appeared on the ground.
"Flame Fist!" Flames scorched the transparent tail. Chameleonmon howled and couldn't maintain invisibility anymore—his body snapped into full view.
"AAH!" A cry came from above. Everyone looked up—Darcmon dropped from the sky and smashed to the ground.
While Flamedramon restrained one Chameleonmon, the others ambushed Darcmon in midair. She dodged the lasers again, but couldn't avoid the follow-up Tongue Whip, taking a heavy hit.
"Darcmon!" Kari shouted, hugging her partner. In the black fog, Darcmon shrank and devolved into Gatomon.
Air superiority was gone. Under the cover of this black forest, Chameleonmon moved like fish in water—attack, vanish, attack again—impossible to track. It was as if the forest had become a no-fly zone.
"Tai…" Kari murmured, clutching Gatomon. "Right—!" She suddenly remembered the Digi-Egg Tai had given her and started digging through her backpack.
The Chameleonmon pinned by Flamedramon and Digmon suddenly snapped out its tongue, striking Flamedramon's wrist. Flamedramon flinched from the pain and loosened his grip. Chameleonmon instantly pulled back the tail that had wrapped Digmon's forelimb—and disappeared into the forest again.
"Kari, what are you doing?" Yolei asked, confused.
"Found it!" Kari cried happily, pulling out the Digi-Egg Tai had given her. "Tai told me to give this to you before he left." She handed it to Yolei.
"This…" Yolei stared at the green Digi-Egg with the crest symbol. "Let's try it—Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve!"
"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve—Pure as a Spring, Shurimon!"
Shurimon is an Armor Mutant Digimon that Armor Digivolved through the power of the Digi-Egg of Purity. The Digi-Egg has the attribute of Plants, and those who use it gain the ability to assimilate with nature—like leaves dancing in the wind—striking accurately from the enemy's blind spots. Its form can only be described as a ninja. Its signature technique is Momiji Oroshi, extending its arms and legs and spinning the shuriken at the ends to attack. Its special move is Kusanagi, throwing the giant shuriken on its back down from high altitude.
Shurimon looked incredibly cool: his face was covered by a white mask, his limbs ended in shuriken-like shapes, and a massive shuriken was strapped to his back.
The moment Shurimon appeared, he kicked off and shot into the dark forest, landing on a thick tree branch. He stood perfectly still, eyes closed. The kids exchanged baffled looks—they had never seen anyone fight like this.
"Whoosh!" Shurimon merely leaned aside, and a Chameleonmon attack missed.
"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!" Three more. Shurimon, still with eyes closed, flipped through the air and dodged again.
"So strong…" Everyone shared the same thought. (Please recommend, please favorite.)
Shurimon kept his eyes closed, listening to the sounds of Chameleonmon moving through the forest around him.
"Momiji Oroshi!" Shurimon's arms suddenly extended deep into the forest. To the kids' shock, when they snapped back, he was dragging two Chameleonmon with him.
The two Chameleonmon opened their mouths and whipped out long tongues at Shurimon. Shurimon sprang upward, instantly gaining height and dodging the tongue strikes.
Chameleonmon's bodies faded again—but Shurimon yanked the giant shuriken from his back and hurled it down at an open patch of ground.
"GRAH!" A Chameleonmon was pinned beneath the massive Kusanagi, and the Dark Ring around its neck was shattered by the shuriken's sharp edge.
"Momiji Oroshi!" Shurimon's arm-shuriken extended again and struck elsewhere. Another Chameleonmon was seized by the throat, its Dark Ring smashed.
"So awesome!" Yolei clapped, eyes sparkling.
"Whoosh—whoosh!" Four lasers fired from the forest. Shurimon spun the shuriken in his hands, blocking all four cleanly. Then the giant shuriken flew again—two huge Kusanagi shot into the forest. After two screams, the forest fell silent.
Shurimon leapt back in front of the kids. "The enemies are dealt with. The Dark Rings on them have all been destroyed."
"Yes!" The kids high-fived in celebration.
"Then the only thing left is that Control Spire," someone said, and everyone looked toward the damaged spire.
"Gold Drill Crush!" Digmon rammed the Control Spire with his drills. With a thunderous collapse, it toppled and shattered into several pieces.
"Mimi! Mimi!" A large crowd of Gekomon and Otamamon—freed from their Dark Rings—came running up excitedly, waving.
"Gekomon! Otamamon!" Mimi beamed, happy to see her friends back to normal.
After everything that happened, time slipped by—it was already afternoon. The kids returned to the computer lab. It was time to part ways. Everyone headed home, while Mimi went to her cousin's place for the wedding.
"Mimi!" Yolei suddenly turned back, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "Today—getting to see you—made me really happy!"
Mimi nodded hard. "Me too. I'm really happy I got to see all of you."
Not long after the kids left, Tai and Agumon appeared at the edge of that dark forest.
"Tai, what's going on with that forest?" Agumon asked, staring at it. Their side was still bright daylight, but just three steps into the forest, you couldn't see anything.
"Dark power has started to erode the Digital World. That forest has already been pulled toward the dark region. If this keeps going, the entire Digital World might get swallowed by the dark region," Tai said grimly.
"Then what do we do?!" Agumon panicked.
Tai took out the Holy Ring and held it high. Rainbow light flashed and spread outward. As the glow extended, the dark forest began to fade, gradually disappearing—replaced by a lush, green forest.
"I've isolated that forest," Tai exhaled. "Now Digimon won't accidentally wander in. But…" His expression still didn't look good.
Chameleonmon's appearance shocked and unsettled Tai. Armor Digimon were a power that only ancient species could originally use. Even with the Steel Empire's leftover data, Tai had needed a long time to analyze it—choosing compatible Digi-Eggs, crafting Armor, and matching them to suitable Digimon. Put simply, it was like building a computer: compatible hardware plus software that could actually run on it. Bad software meant the computer couldn't perform; bad hardware meant it couldn't run high-performance software at all.
But Chameleonmon's appearance was beyond Tai's expectations. The Digi-Egg they used hadn't come from him, and the Armor had been produced in multiples. Even without seeing it, Tai could guess: mass-producing Armor wasn't impossible, but high-performance materials weren't unlimited—and producing them in such a short time meant the materials were likely inferior. Like overclocking a computer nonstop—eventually, it would break.
If Tai didn't make that Armor, then there was only one possible source: the dark region. The small mercy was that they could only make low-performance Armor for now. Armor like Miracle and Destiny still couldn't be produced. A bad situation—but at least that much was a relief.
"Tai!" Walking to school, Tai suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned and saw Sora waving and jogging up.
"Tai…" Sora reached him and caught her breath.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?" Tai smiled as he wiped sweat from her forehead.
"It's nothing," Sora said. "Oh—after school, let's go to the Digital World. I want to see Biyomon."
"No problem."
"Then let's go—class is starting."
After school, the kids gathered in the elementary school computer lab again.
"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 isn't only on this computer. Any computer can open it with a D-4 Digivice. If you want to appear in the same place, you just agree on a time and enter together," Tai explained.
"But I checked the other computers in the lab—they couldn't open it," Izzy said.
Tai looked at him like he was crazy. "Did you try it with your D-3 Digivice?"
"…Ah!" Izzy blurted, suddenly realizing.
"So from now on we don't have to sneak into the computer lab," Yolei said happily. "We can go from home!"
"But if we just disappear at home, won't our parents worry?" Cody asked.
"…"
"Then in the future, we can go from my house or Tai's," Izzy offered. "Our parents know about Digimon, so they won't worry."
"Then we'll be in your care."
"Alright! Digital World gate—open! Chosen Children, move out!"
The kids split up and headed to different Control Spires. The Digital World echoed with explosions as spires collapsed under their Digimon's attacks. On the map, black territory shrank rapidly and white territory expanded.
After a full day, the Digimon Emperor's controlled area was reduced by a huge amount. Everyone was exhausted. The kids returned to the computer lab to rest, planning to continue destroying Control Spires tomorrow.
"Sorry… I have something tomorrow, so I probably can't come," Izzy said apologetically.
"I have band practice tomorrow too," Matt added. "I probably can't come either."
"It's fine," Tai reassured them. "As long as Kari and the others are there, it'll work."
"True."
"Leave it to us!" Davis pounded his chest confidently.
The next day, Tai and Sora headed out together to destroy Control Spires along their route. Kari, Davis, T.K., Cody, and Yolei handled another direction.
On their side, Davis's group found a city surrounded by desert, covered by a translucent dome. They entered through a gap and discovered many Guardromon inside—controlled by Dark Rings.
"Flame Fist!"
"Gold Drill Crush!"
"Meteor Beam!"
"Holy Beam!"
"Mach Impulse!"
Each attack shattered multiple Dark Rings. Freed Guardromon stopped moving, frozen in place. But more Guardromon marched forward in neat formation, repeating in mechanical voices, "Illegal intrusion. Illegal intrusion." The looping chant had been ringing in their ears since the fight began.
"Do they only know that one line?" Davis covered his ears, about to lose it.
"What is this? We beat one wave and another wave comes—endless!" Yolei complained.
"If we keep burning stamina like this, it's bad," T.K. said anxiously. "Our Digimon have limits. We can't outlast mechanical Digimon."
"This place feels familiar… I think I've been here before," Kari said, confused, studying the buildings.
"Let's pull back and plan first," Cody suggested.
Ahead of them, the street was filled with Guardromon—some immobilized after losing their Dark Rings, and more with glowing red eyes marching forward in perfect step, pressing closer and closer, crushing the kids' nerves.
"The Control Spire is right there! How can we run now?!" Davis clenched his fists, unwilling.
"Flame Fist—" Flamedramon tried to launch his finisher, but no flames came. He immediately devolved into Veemon. "I can't, Davis… I'm too tired."
"Me too," Digmon devolved back into Armadillomon. "I'm hungry."
The Guardromon kept advancing, their footsteps synchronized and relentless. (Thanks to reader 逆境無賴八雲開司 for the tip.)
T.K. ran back and said to Davis, "Davis, let's go back and discuss a plan with Izzy and the others first, then come again."
"Yeah—maybe Tentomon found new information," Kari added.
They broke away from the fight. Darcmon, Pegasusmon, and Halsemon covered the retreat, while Veemon and Armadillomon ran toward the TV.
In a narrow alley made of steel walls, a TV sat quietly. While running, Yolei pulled out her D-3 Digivice. "Digital World gate—open!"
The TV flashed with light, swallowed Yolei, and she vanished. Cody, Davis, and T.K. followed right after.
Seeing everyone else escape, Darcmon—carrying Kari—finally exhaled, cut apart a Destruction Grenade with her sword, and prepared to go in too.
Suddenly, a Guardromon appeared on a steel wall and fired a Destruction Grenade—blowing the TV into pieces.
Back in the human world, a computer released blue light as the kids and Digimon spilled into the computer lab in a cramped pile.
"Did something just explode?" Yolei asked.
"I saw it," Patamon said from T.K.'s back, raising a tiny paw. "Guardromon used its special move on us."
"Where's Kari?" Davis looked around, alarmed. "Why isn't she here?"
"No way… is she still in the Digital World?" Cody said in shock.
Kari was hiding in a corner, with Gatomon keeping watch. She was using her D-3 Digivice to message the others, reporting her situation. Alarms echoed throughout the city, and countless Guardromon patrolled the streets.
"Okay… write it like this… and send."
"Kari—if anything happens, tell me to Armor Digivolve. Don't worry. I can still fight," Gatomon said grimly, standing in front of her.
"Yeah… Thank you, Gatomon."
Yolei tried to open the gate again. "It won't work… the gate won't open anymore."
"Looks like Guardromon's attack destroyed the TV," T.K. said, chin in hand. "That's why Kari didn't come back."
"Who cares?!" Davis snapped, grabbing T.K. by the collar. "T.K., Kari was right behind you! Why didn't you bring her back?!"
"Davis, let go! This isn't T.K.'s fault—don't blame him," Cody pleaded.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Davis shouted, blinded by anger.
"Could you… speak more politely?" Cody asked, hurt.
"S-sorry…" Davis released T.K., realizing he'd gone too far.
"No… Davis is right," T.K. said quietly, lowering his head. "This is my fault. If I'd been more careful—if I hadn't let Patamon devolve so fast—this wouldn't have happened."
"No, if you say that, then I…" Davis looked even more embarrassed.
Yolei sighed helplessly. "Back there, everyone was just trying to survive. Nobody had time to think."
"Same," Davis admitted.
They started blaming themselves back and forth—
Beep-beep! The computer chimed.
Yolei hurried to the screen. "Kari sent a message!"
T.K. and Davis rushed over. The message read: "I'm safe. Please don't worry."
T.K. gently pushed Yolei aside. "Yolei, let me see." He pulled up the Digital World map and started searching. "We can't go straight back to that area… but we can approach from a neighboring zone." He found a TV icon in the adjacent region. "I'm going to find Kari." He raised his D-3 Digivice.
"Wait for me, T.K.!" Patamon hurried into the light.
"No way I'm letting that guy go alone," Davis muttered. "Chibomon, let's go." Ignoring Yolei's attempt to stop him, he opened the gate.
"Poromon, we should go too—" Yolei started, but Cody stopped her. "Wait. It's almost dinner time. If Kari and the others can't get back, someone needs to inform her family. We should notify Tai and ask what to do."
"Right… I'm the big sister. I have to pull it together."
They rushed out of the computer lab. Yolei went to contact Tai, and Cody went to inform Kari's family.
Meanwhile, T.K. and Davis appeared in the desert outside the city, hiking as they talked.
"The sun's about to set," T.K. urged. "You should go home soon. I'm fine—my mom will come back late today. So Davis, you should head back."
"I'm fine!" Davis said. "Let's flip a coin to decide who rescues Kari!" He pulled out a coin, ready to decide who got to perform the glorious act of "saving the princess."
"If it's heads, you go home. If it's tails, I go home," Davis said, then lifted his hand away. "See? Heads—so I'm the one who goes to save Kari!" He grinned smugly.
T.K. snatched the coin at lightning speed. "This is one of those coins with heads on both sides. They sell them."
Davis went stiff with embarrassment. "You knew?!"
"Let's go together." They looked at each other, and a wave of… bromance—no, friendship—rose between them.
They could already see the edge of the egg-shaped city in the distance. The two hid behind a sand dune, watching the guard at the gate.
Back home, Tai received a call from Cody, who explained what happened. "What? …Okay, I understand. No, Cody—you don't need to apologize. Got it. Bye."
Tai turned back with a smile and said to his mom, "Kari's still at a friend's house. I'm going to pick her up." Before she could answer, he bolted.
Tai met up with Matt at their agreed spot.
"I heard everything from Cody," Matt said. "I'll tell Davis's family."
"Thanks. I'm heading to the Digital World," Tai nodded, and they split up.
T.K. and Davis were still figuring out how to slip in without alerting the Guardromon.
"Come on, Davis—let me Armor Digivolve," Veemon said, deciding on the simplest, most violent plan: smash straight through.
"Wait," T.K. suddenly realized something. "There's no Control Spire here outside the city… right, Patamon?"
"Right! Only inside the city!" Patamon's eyes lit up.
"Which means…" T.K. and Patamon said together.
"We can digivolve."
"Huh? Digivolve into what?" Davis and Veemon stared blankly.
"Let's try." T.K. raised his D-3.
"Patamon, Digivolve—to Angemon!"
"Success… normal Digivolution works!"
A long-unseen form appeared. T.K. was thrilled, while Davis and Veemon's jaws practically hit the sand. "A-Angemon?!"
Angemon smiled, flapped his wings, and flew low, rapidly approaching the Guardromon at the gate.
"Suspicious intruder detected—" Before it could finish, Angemon swung his staff and smashed the Guardromon's Dark Ring, then caught the falling staff. "Alright. Go in."
Angemon broke the gate lock and flew inside—but the instant he crossed the threshold, golden light flashed and he devolved back into Patamon.
"T.K., it still didn't work… I changed back," Patamon said miserably.
"No helping it."
"Wait… that was Angemon," Davis said, stunned. "So Patamon can digivolve like Agumon and the others too?"
"Of course," T.K. said like it was obvious. "As long as there's no Control Spire, we can digivolve."
"…Then that means Kari's Gatomon can…" Davis got a very bad feeling.
"She can digivolve into Angewomon," Patamon said innocently.
"Angemon and Angewomon…" Davis looked like his entire world was collapsing.
Patamon added with bright sincerity, "T.K., don't you think we're a perfect match?"
Davis's forehead veins bulged. He redirected his rage. "Veemon!"
"Uh…" Veemon had a terrible feeling.
Davis grabbed Veemon and shook him violently. "You're going to digivolve into MagnaAngemon, got it?! Digivolve! Digivolve, I said! Use your willpower!"
"D-don't do this!" Veemon stammered.
"Alright, Patamon—stop teasing Davis," T.K. sighed.
"Hehe!"
Meanwhile, Matt went to Davis's house and knocked. The door opened… and it was Matt's fangirl. The moment Matt claimed Davis was "playing at his house," she instantly called him out—but her eyes were completely locked onto Matt. Her fiery gaze and blunt words made Matt unbearably awkward.
"But you have to go on a date with me sometime."
"Uh…"
"It's a deal!"
She slammed the door before he could respond, leaving Matt frozen in an awkward pose. "A date…?"
Back in Tai City, inside a dark sealed room, a ray of light suddenly activated. A mechanical voice echoed: "Invasion detected. Guard unit failure. Activating Level 2 alert. Repeating—activating Level 2 alert."
Ear-splitting sirens blared across the city. The mechanisms atop the two tallest towers opened. From one rooftop, a Megadramon rose into the sky. From the other, a Gigadramon launched upward. Their massive bodies blotted out the streets below. (Thanks to reader GREAT0 for the tip—your support is my motivation.)
"What is that…? That body is huge," Davis muttered, staring blankly at the gigantic Digimon flying over the street, their shadow covering the entire road.
After breaking through the gate and successfully Armor Digivolving Patamon and Veemon, they had been confident they could rescue Kari—only to be stunned by these two enormous silhouettes.
"No way… those are Ultimate-level Digimon," T.K. said, shocked.
"Ultimate-level?" Davis scratched his head. "What's that?"
"It's the evolution above Champion," Pegasusmon explained. "If Kari's Gatomon can digivolve, she becomes Angewomon—an Ultimate-level Digimon."
"Then can Flamedramon and Pegasusmon beat them?" Davis asked, clinging to a tiny shred of hope.
T.K. shook his head, crushing it mercilessly.
"We sneak over, find Kari, and get out—fast," T.K. suggested.
The two kids and their two Digimon moved carefully, slipping past Guardromon patrols, following the position shown on the D-3 to Kari's location.
Just as Davis and T.K. reached the city's edge, Kari was still inside, creeping toward the outside.
"Over here, Kari!" Gatomon sprang to the entrance of an alley, checked around, and waved her over.
"Okay!" Kari carefully dashed across the street to Gatomon.
"Hurry, hurry!" Gatomon frantically beckoned, praying the patrolling Guardromon wouldn't come this way.
CLANK… CLANK… From one side of the street came the sound of steel footsteps—Guardromon. Kari and Gatomon instantly recognized it; they had been hiding from that sound for two hours.
Two Guardromon marched past and continued on their patrol routes.
As the footsteps faded, Kari and Gatomon finally breathed out. Hearing each other's relieved sigh, they exchanged a small smile.
"Destruction Grenade!" A familiar attack call rang out from above.
They looked up—an explosive shell streaked toward them, trailing flames. A Guardromon stood on the wall with both arms raised.
"Danger!" Gatomon shouted.
"Armor Digivolve!" Kari cried.
"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve—Light of Hope, Darcmon!"
Darcmon spread her wings, slashed the grenade away, shattered the Guardromon's Dark Ring, then scooped Kari up and flew hard toward the city's edge. The skirmish was brief, but it drew attention. The familiar clanking footsteps multiplied—more Guardromon were converging.
"Intruder detected. Intruder detected." Mechanical voices spread like a wave. Countless Guardromon raised their arms and launched Destruction Grenades from their shoulders—shell after shell streaking up toward Darcmon.
Holding Kari, Darcmon couldn't free her hands to cut them all down. She could only roll and weave through the air, dodging nonstop. Fire and explosions blossomed behind her; the noise was deafening. Kari's face went pale as she watched the continuous detonations, her heart nearly bursting.
Then the citywide alarm screamed again, and Kari and Darcmon saw it—two massive mechanical Digimon launching from the rooftops, turning four enormous cannons toward them.
"Danger!" Davis and T.K., hiding below, cried out as they saw Kari and Darcmon trapped.
"Genocide Attack!" White smoke poured from the open cannons on Megadramon and Gigadramon as countless homing missiles streaked toward Darcmon.
Darcmon dove downward. Missiles smashed buildings into rubble, fragments scraping past Darcmon's body before crashing onto the street, pocking the once-bright roads with deep pits.
Guardromon on walls and rooftops didn't even flinch from the falling debris. They just kept launching Destruction Grenades upward. Darcmon had to dodge missiles from behind, falling rubble above, and grenades from below—while protecting Kari in her arms. Her full strength couldn't be used at all.
"Flame Fist!"
"Silver Blaze!" Pegasusmon and Flamedramon arrived, blasting the pursuing missiles and detonating them early, protecting Darcmon and Kari.
"This way! Over here!" Davis and T.K. shouted, waving.
"They're here!" Kari cried in relief. In that kind of danger, seeing your friends was almost enough to make you cry.
Darcmon flew to the platform where Davis and T.K. were hiding, set Kari down, then shot back into the air to fight beside Pegasusmon and Flamedramon. It was clear now—unless they defeated these flying Ultimate-level Digimon, they weren't leaving this city.
"Spiral Sword!" A crescent-shaped energy blade shot toward Darcmon.
Darcmon crossed her blades and blocked it, but the impact hurled her backward. She flew a long distance before she could slash the energy apart.
"That's… Andromon?" Kari looked toward the attacker and froze. A Digimon clad in silver metal stood there—Andromon. "How…?"
Andromon is an Ultimate-level cyborg Digimon with a fully mechanized body, considered among the stronger Ultimate Digimon. Developed as a prototype modified Digimon, Andromon (machine-based) was created around the same time as the body-based modified Digimon Boltmon. This technology was later adapted into MetalGreymon and Megadramon. As a prototype, it lacks will and emotion, acting with absolute fidelity to its programming. Compared to the Andromon back in File Island days, it has been fully upgraded with evolution-completion data, making it far stronger. Its entire body is wrapped in bright Digi-Alloy, and even its legs are protected—its weaknesses have been eliminated. Its special moves are the energy-blade Spiral Sword launched from its arms, and Super Missiles fired from its chest.
"Look—he has a Dark Ring on his neck!" T.K. said, horrified.
"Andromon! It's me—don't you recognize me?! I'm Kari!" Kari cried, unable to believe it.
"Kari, calm down," T.K. stopped her. "He's controlled by the Digimon Emperor. He doesn't recognize us."
"Damn it! Flamedramon, break through—take him down!" Davis shouted, seeing Kari lose control and losing his own temper too.
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon jumped high, his whole body blazing, then turned into a sharp burning rocket and charged Andromon.
Andromon didn't move—he simply raised an arm. "Spiral Sword!" The energy blade cleaved through Flamedramon's flames, scattering them. The shockwave struck Flamedramon too. With a scream, he fell, devolving into Veemon before hitting the ground hard.
"Veemon!!" Davis screamed.
"Silver Blaze!" Pegasusmon fired at the incoming Gigadramon. The silver beam struck Gigadramon's head plating, sparked once… and went out.
"What?!" Pegasusmon stared, stunned that his finisher did nothing.
Gigadramon's massive body lunged forward. Pegasusmon was like a sparrow facing an eagle—he was slammed straight down, flying in an arc and devolving into Patamon midair.
"Patamon!!"
In the blink of an eye, two partners were defeated. Only Darcmon remained, alone against Megadramon and Gigadramon—while Andromon advanced toward the platform where Kari stood.
Surrounded by two Ultimate-level Digimon, Darcmon looked at the giants in front of her. Compared to them, she wasn't even as big as one of their hands.
Darcmon raised both blades and charged Megadramon first, slashing at its massive foreclaw.
"What?!" Darcmon's eyes widened. Her blade only threw off a few sparks—she didn't even leave a scratch.
A huge shadow swept down. Megadramon's other claw slammed her out of the air. The heavy blow knocked Darcmon unconscious. She crashed into the street below, bounced twice, and lay there, motionless.
"Darcmon—please, get up…" Kari leaned over the railing, tears falling.
"Spiral Sword!" Andromon had reached the platform below Kari. He raised his arm and fired an energy blade straight at her.
Kari froze—
BOOM!
Kari stared in shock at Darcmon, who had thrown herself in front of her. Darcmon had just regained consciousness, saw Kari in danger, and instantly flew up to shield her.
The impact hurled Darcmon into the wall. Cracks spiderwebbed across the steel.
WHOOOSH—wind roared overhead. Megadramon's metal wings fully unfolded, their edges gleaming like knives—Ultimate Slicer, sharp enough to cut even hardened Digi-Alloy.
"Ah…" Staring at the wing-blades right in front of her, Kari's mind went blank. Only one thought remained.
"Tai…"
"Gaia Force!" An orange-red energy blast slammed into Megadramon and knocked it flying.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810