"Scan!"
Dazzling white light burst forth from the Digivice, surging straight toward Andromon.
Struck head-on by the glaring beam, Andromon momentarily froze.
Bright sparks erupted violently from every mechanical joint of his body. The crimson glow in his eyes flickered unsteadily, and his movements turned stiff, like a malfunctioning program. He gripped his head with both hands, face twisting in pain.
Seeing her desperate idea had somehow worked, Rina felt her tense expression relax a little—but she soon learned the meaning of rejoicing too soon.
With a roar, Andromon's expression twisted even further, the flickering red glow in his eyes flaring again and completely filling his gaze.
Clearly, the Digivice's scan had stimulated the Black Gear inside him—but ultimately failed to remove it. Instead, it destabilized Andromon's emotions even further.
Andromon himself was likely fighting to reject the Black Gear, but unfortunately, as a mechanical-type Digimon, he had almost zero resistance to this kind of control. Like they always say—type advantage is supreme; super-effectiveness beats the gods!
Perhaps due to Rina's unexpected interference, the Black Gear seized the chance presented by Andromon's instability, sinking even deeper into his body.
In a sense, this had actually backfired terribly.
However, precisely because of this, Andromon lost all his previous composure, descending into absolute madness.
He charged forward at such speed that it seemed more like teleportation, instantly appearing before Rina. His speed far exceeded human reflexes; before Rina could react, Andromon had already arrived right in front of her.
There was no time left to dodge; at the very last second, Rina barely managed to raise both arms protectively in front of herself. The next instant, the entire world flipped upside down before her eyes.
Again—this emotionless battle-machine cared nothing for delicacy or mercy. Had Andromon's combat intelligence not been drastically lowered by his current frenzy, that strike would have surely been a close-range Lightning Blade—likely slicing her in half.
Precisely because he'd lost all tactical thinking, Andromon's blow became an unfocused sweeping strike with his arm, sending Rina flying violently.
Although not fatal, this heavy strike was still enough to deal significant damage to an ordinary person (?). Admittedly, she wasn't exactly like that kid from next-door, face-tanking 100,000 volts—but luckily, Rina had her own protagonist's halo protecting her. Those goggles weren't just for show.
Still, the blow was enough to leave her incapacitated, coughing helplessly as she collapsed to the ground.
"Rina!"
Seeing this sent blood surging to Zero's head, and he desperately tried to rise and stop Andromon. But having already endured multiple attacks, Zero stumbled to his feet only to nearly collapse again.
Hajime and Rina had both fallen; no one else remained to block Andromon's advance.
The rampaging cyborg seemed to have forgotten his special moves entirely. Instead, he raised his arm in blind fury, the shining metallic limb aimed directly at Hajime's skull, ready to deliver a crushing blow.
Given their strength difference, if that strike landed squarely, Hajime's head would surely be shattered like a watermelon.
Just as Andromon's attack was about to land, a barrage of colorful bubbles flew through the air—
…It was the group of Baby-level Digimon that Hajime had protected. Seeing their guardians incapacitated, they unexpectedly stepped forward, attacking Andromon without hesitation.
Baby-level Digimon had practically nonexistent combat power; acidic bubbles and tiny impacts were useless against an Ultimate-level foe. Facing a three-tier gap, unless it was some absurdly twisted Digimon like Arcadiamon, there was absolutely no way a group of Babies could harm Andromon.
They themselves surely knew this better than anyone, and fully understood their actions might drag them into mortal danger.
Yet still, they moved forward. Perhaps the reason was simple—just pure gratitude toward Hajime, Zero, and Rina, who'd protected them all this way. Seeing their saviors in peril, how could they just stand by and watch?
Even if such goodwill meant nothing before overwhelming power.
In this world, charging ahead when you know you'll win is a matter of attitude—but rushing in when you know you'll lose? That's a matter of intelligence…
If you wanted to live long, you could get away with bad manners—but you absolutely couldn't get away with having no brains!
…That's how it should be, right?
Yet, there are some things in this world that can't be measured by logical calculations of gains and losses.
This complicated, unreasonable way of thinking, transcending logic and reason, has given birth to countless shining miracles of humanity.
They call it "spirit"…
…Though, to most people, it simply looks like "insanity."
Throughout their journey, Hajime had absorbed plenty of Champion-level Digimon's data with Zero's help. By all rights, she already had the foundation for digivolution.
Yet until now, she hadn't felt even the slightest sign of digivolving.
That missing "key," as Zero saw it, was simply a powerful, definitive emotional trigger.
Why do you want to become stronger?
Zero had bravely challenged enemies far stronger than himself, fearlessly facing Champion-level foes while still at the Rookie stage—his courage defined by that determination to confront overwhelming opponents…
…But Hajime's reason for growing stronger was simpler still: she wished to avenge her friend, who'd died at Devimon's hands. For that wish, she desperately needed greater strength.
That wish was the foundation of everything…
Rina had fallen; even those Baby-level Digimon Hajime had promised to protect were now recklessly throwing themselves into danger for her sake.
No…! Get away from here quickly…!
Otherwise…you'll really die!
It'll be just like back then…!
The images from her memory overlapped with the reality before her eyes, finally resonating with the data buried deep inside her DigiCore.
At that instant, Rina's Digivice erupted with radiant brilliance.
If courage was the spirit to challenge powerful foes…then what was the will to fight to protect your friends…?
Data surged forth, transforming into fiercely burning DigiSoul, engulfing Hajime's DigiCore in dazzling light.
The beast-pelt covering her body rapidly expanded, enveloping her form completely. She became a shining beacon, releasing vast quantities of data previously sleeping deep inside.
Her body swelled, releasing torrents of data until, in the air above her, a silver wolf's silhouette raised its head in a triumphant howl. The wolf's figure flashed briefly before spiraling downward as a stream of pure data, surging straight into Hajime's body.
All conditions had been met. Thus, at this very moment—
Gabumon…
—DIGIVOLUTION!!!