Having absorbed all the Black Gears controlling Devimon's army, the super-giant demon's power once again returned to its peak. Its form had become the most visceral manifestation of "despair."
Devimon's Death Claw loomed above like a black cloud, fully enveloping the trio below, seeming determined to snuff out even the tiniest glimmer of light—and crush all hope along with it!
But in that instant, a speck of light suddenly shot forward, smashing directly against Devimon's claws.
...Even though this attack was practically useless, it still managed to distract the super-giant demon slightly.
"Hmm?"
Devimon seemed unable to believe that at such a moment, there could still be a Digimon on File Island bold enough to actively attack it.
Turning its gaze, what it saw nearly made it curse aloud.
A figure stood there, arm bandaged, looking incredibly battered—Zero immediately recognized it: Ogremon, the same guy they'd kicked out of Toy Town earlier.
Ogremon had said he wanted to face Devimon—the root of all this mess. Although he was unquestionably a villain-type himself, he still had at least a little backbone. Naturally, he remembered clearly the humiliation of being controlled by Devimon.
But no one could have imagined that he'd actually take action now, directly confronting the super-giant demon.
His Pummel Whack had been thrown with his full strength, yet when it hit the massive demon's body, it hadn't even left a white mark.
Besides calling this act "overestimating oneself," it was impossible to see any meaning in it at all.
"...What kind of third-rate joke is this?"
To Devimon, Ogremon's actions weren't just incomprehensible—they were infuriating.
It had already lost the carefully managed army of minions, its plans were completely ruined, and all it wanted now was to kill something to vent its anger…
…Yet, at a time like this, this worthless piece of trash dared interrupt its revenge!
Ogremon's body went stiff as he stared at the towering demon. That was the absolute warning coming from his DigiCore.
...He would die!
Without question, if he fought this monster head-on, he had zero chance of survival.
But he had still attacked.
Not for some stupid reason like repaying Rina's group for saving him earlier. No, he had only one reason to make his stand.
Devimon had controlled him, made him lose face. And so, he wanted payback—even if his enemy was vastly stronger.
In a sense, this guy was truly pure to an extreme.
"Fine then... I'll send you to hell first."
Anyway, as far as Devimon was concerned, Zero and Hajime couldn't possibly escape its grasp; whom it killed first was merely a matter of "order."
Devimon tilted its body, not even bothering to spare Ogremon another glance. Roughly locking onto his position, it slowly raised its hand.
It was absolutely certain that a single strike would annihilate Ogremon without leaving him even half a chance to resist.
However, just as it was about to launch the attack, a dense buzzing of wings suddenly rang out…
"?!"
A volley of dark-red poisonous stingers suddenly shot toward Devimon—it was a swarm of Flymon!
And right behind them, silhouettes converged from all directions, most of them Champion-level Digimon, mixed even with some Rookies.
When Devimon absorbed the Black Gears controlling its army, it simultaneously freed all those enslaved Digimon.
Thus, the Devil Army that had spread across the entirety of File Island crumbled instantly, and now the Digimon who had joined the anti-Devimon alliance were flooding toward the central battlefield.
Naturally, the first wave to arrive were the flying Digimon, whose wings allowed them to ignore terrain.
Along his journey, Zero had made agreements with these Digimon to defeat Devimon together. And now, at this moment, they were truly fulfilling their promise!
But for Devimon, it brought forth an endless confusion…
…Impossible!
These pieces of trash who always fled in panic at the sight of me—why were they actively coming to face me now?!
Were they not afraid to die?
Did they not know they stood absolutely no chance against me?
How could something this absurd be happening?!
Yet Zero knew clearly: his previous intention had succeeded.
Devimon's true horror wasn't in its raw strength, but in the image of an invincible Demon Lord that it had built up in the hearts of File Island's Digimon through its cruel and brutal methods.
This made most Digimon instinctively shrink back at the mere sight of it.
The first step in deciding victory or defeat was having the courage to fight. If they lacked the courage to fight the devil, even a 1% chance at victory could never become a miracle.
And Zero's battle with Devimon was exactly to send this message…
…This demon was not invincible. If they united enough strength, it could still be defeated.
It was a simple truth, one that seemed obvious. But oftentimes, all ordinary beings needed was precisely this tiny spark to ignite their fighting spirit.
A single spark could start a prairie fire—and right now…that small, initially scattered flame had truly ignited into a blazing wildfire!
Seeing this, Zero felt renewed strength surge through his nearly exhausted body.
He didn't hesitate for even a moment, immediately shouting out at the top of his lungs:
"Everyone! Let's destroy this demon together—and reclaim our File Island with our own hands!"
Though he received no verbal reply, more and more Digimon poured into the battlefield. Their actions themselves were the answer to Zero's call.
The super-giant demon swept its gaze around, seeing Digimon closing in from every direction. Then, lowering its head, it couldn't help but let out a cold chuckle.
"Heh... Hahaha!!!"
Its mocking laugh quickly turned into a thunderous, unrestrained roar, echoing amidst storm clouds cracking with lightning. "Trash will still be trash no matter how many gather! Do you really think sheer numbers can bring you victory?!"
The second half of its words sounded less like a retort to Zero and more like it was desperately trying to convince itself. Accompanied by that furious shout, it swung its claws left and right, powerful gusts of wind becoming a violent storm that deflected most incoming attacks.
Yet a few still slipped through, successfully hitting Devimon's body.
Although attacks of this level required no defense and couldn't even scratch it.
"Hajime, let's go…"
Zero stretched out his body a little, calmly speaking. Hajime answered softly, stepping forward to stand side by side with him.
"...This time, victory is ours for sure!"
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