Chapter 42: Fading Flames, Descending Shadows
The sudden commotion outside shattered the fragile silence, jolting the children awake from their uneasy slumber.
"What happened?!"
"I'll go out and check!" Sora declared, already on her feet.
"Sora, wait for me!" Biyomon chirped, hurrying after her partner.
Before Takeru could even rub the sleep from his eyes, Sora had pushed through the doorway. Joe scrambled upright, adjusting his glasses hastily.
"Gomamon, let's go out too! We can't leave the girls alone."
"Well, yes, but—Joe, my short legs can't run that fast! Wait for me!"
After a brief, clumsy scramble, Joe and Gomamon tumbled out of the house. They found Sora and Biyomon frozen on the threshold. Joe opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but the words died in his throat as his gaze followed hers.
"What... what exactly happened here?!" Joe breathed out, his voice trembling.
The once-peaceful landscape had been reduced to a jagged stretch of smoking ruins. In the distance, the night sky burned with an unnatural, violent orange glow, as if the very clouds had been set ablaze.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sora didn't hesitate. She broke into a sprint toward the inferno, Biyomon gliding right beside her.
"Sora, where are you two going?!" Joe called out.
"Joe, Taichi and Izzy are missing!" Sora shouted back over her shoulder. "I'm worried they engaged the enemy. I need to go back them up!"
"Then I'll come too—"
"No! You need to check on the injured Digimon first!" Sora ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Joe swallowed hard, his fists clenching at his sides. "I... alright. Be careful!"
Watching Sora's silhouette disappear into the smoke, Joe pivoted and ran toward the devastated remnants of the village.
"Gomamon, let's go!"
"I told you, my flippers aren't made for sprinting!"
"Huh? What's going on?" Mimi stepped out of the house, rubbing her arms against the chill. Matt followed closely behind, having stayed back to ensure Takeru was safe.
Seeing Joe sprinting away, Mimi raised her voice. "Senior Joe! Where are you going?"
Joe didn't turn around. He simply threw an arm up, waving frantically at the group behind him.
"There might have been an enemy attack!" Joe yelled back. "Taichi and Izzy engaged them first! Sora went to support them! I need to check on the injured Digimon. You guys stay here and don't wander off!"
"What?!" Mimi crossed her arms, her lips pushing into a defiant pout. "We have fighting capabilities too, you know!" She hated being lectured like a helpless child. She glanced down at the plant Digimon beside her. "Right, Palmon?"
"Mm-hmm! I will definitely protect Mimi!" Palmon nodded enthusiastically, her flower petals bobbing.
The two exchanged a determined look before breaking into a jog, following Joe's path.
Seeing the older kids mobilize, Takeru clutched Patamon to his chest and took a step forward. A hand clamped firmly onto his shoulder.
"Takeru, no. Those places are too dangerous," Matt said, stepping in front of him. "You stay here."
"But, Matt—"
"There are no buts!" Matt's voice cracked like a whip, sharp and unyielding.
Gabumon shifted uncomfortably, wanting to intervene, but the fierce protectiveness in his partner's eyes silenced him.
Takeru shrank back slightly, his arms tightening around Patamon. Normally, the sheer intensity of his older brother's anger would be enough to make him submit instantly. He hated fighting. He hated making Matt mad.
But as Takeru looked past his brother—at the smoldering ruins of the Village of Beginnings, remembering the gentle, innocent Digimon who had welcomed them—a strange, unfamiliar heat blossomed in his chest. It was a quiet, stubborn courage.
For the first time in his life, Takeru pushed back.
"Matt, the Digimon here have always looked after us," Takeru said, his voice trembling but refusing to break. "We can't just abandon them!"
Matt's eyes widened. "Takeru—"
"Even if you don't allow it, I have to go help!"
With a sudden jerk, Takeru wrenched his shoulder free from Matt's grip. Clutching Patamon, the young boy bolted toward the triage area, his small legs carrying him as fast as they could.
Matt stood frozen, his hand still suspended in the air. He had never expected his docile, naive little brother to outright defy him. The shock rooted him to the spot for a crucial second.
Snapping out of his daze, panic flared in Matt's chest. "Takeru! Get back here!"
He cursed under his breath, breaking into a sprint. "Damn it... Gabumon! Evolve!"
"Right!"
Gabumon leaped into the air, his body instantly engulfed in a blinding, data-rich light.
[Gabumon evolves to... Garurumon!]
A piercing, majestic wolf howl echoed beneath the moonlight. The massive, blue-striped beast landed gracefully on the scorched earth. Matt vaulted onto Garurumon's back, and with a powerful thrust of his hind legs, the great wolf tore across the ruins, chasing after the young boy.
—
Catching up to Takeru, Matt looked down at his brother's fiercely determined face. The scolding died on his tongue. Realizing that forcing Takeru back would only waste time, Matt hoisted the boy onto Garurumon's back. Together, they sped toward the makeshift medical zone.
By the time Garurumon skidded to a halt, Joe and Mimi were already on the scene.
The sight before them was devastating. Dozens of Digimon lay scattered across the rubble, their bodies bruised, scorched, and groaning in pain. In the center of the carnage, a petite figure darted frantically from one injured creature to the next.
Mimi covered her mouth, taking a horrified step backward. "What exactly happened here? Why is everyone..."
"It's... it was Devimon."
A weak, raspy voice drifted from the shadows. The group turned to see a small, fluffy Digimon leaning heavily against a broken pillar, struggling just to keep his eyes open. It was Elecmon, the caretaker of the village, who had bravely stepped forward to fight alongside the others in a desperate bid to protect Kari.
"Devimon attacked us without warning..." Elecmon coughed, wincing as the movement pulled at his injuries. "Fortunately, thanks to Lady Kari's light, we managed to escape with our lives."
"Elecmon, please stop talking. You need to save your strength."
Kari, having just finished bandaging another Digimon, hurried over to his side.
Her face was dreadfully pale, her breathing shallow and ragged. As she knelt, her knees buckled, her body swaying dangerously. Joe and Mimi rushed forward, catching her by the arms before she could collapse.
"You look terrible, Kari," Joe said, his brow furrowed in deep concern.
Mimi gently brushed the dirt from the young girl's cheek. "You can't keep pushing yourself like this. You're completely exhausted. You need to rest!"
"But..." Kari's voice was barely a whisper, her heavy eyes drifting toward the distant flames. "My brother... Taichi and the others are still out there fighting Devimon... And everyone here... everyone still needs care..."
As if hearing her plea, the injured Digimon around the clearing began to stir, weakly lifting their heads.
"Lady Kari, we are fine now," a battered Koromon squeaked.
"You've done more than enough for us," another added softly. "Your friends are right. What you need now is rest."
"Please, Lady Kari, rest!"
A chorus of gentle, urging voices filled the ruined square, the Digimon focusing on her well-being over their own pain.
Joe adjusted his glasses, a rare look of absolute confidence settling over his features. "Leave the triage and first aid to me. After all, I'm studying to be a doctor! I know exactly what to do."
Right on cue, a white, sheet-like figure with hollow dark eyes floated out from behind a collapsed wall. It was one of the Bakemon who had helped Kari escape earlier.
"Me too, me too~!" the ghost Digimon cheered, waving its spectral arms. "I can help as well!"
Joe took one look at the floating apparition, his face draining of all color. He let out a piercing, miserable shriek, scrambling backward until he hit the dirt. "A GHOST!!!!"
Gomamon slapped a white flipper over his face, shaking his head in sheer secondhand embarrassment. "Joe, getting terrified right after trying to look cool is incredibly lame."
Ignoring the comedic display, Takeru scanned the perimeter. Ever since arriving at the triage center, he had been searching for two specific, imposing figures.
"Speaking of which... where are Leomon and Ogremon?" Takeru asked, his voice laced with growing anxiety. "Could it be that they've already..."
"No, they didn't fight Devimon," the Bakemon replied, tilting its ghostly head as a hint of confusion flashed in its hollow eyes. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen them at all tonight~ Do you think they got hungry and went to find a snack?"
"You idiot!" Two more Bakemon, sporting makeshift bandages, floated over, glaring at their sibling. "Did you forget they were supposed to be guarding the outer perimeter?!"
"Oh, is that so?" The youngest of the three Bakemon brothers rubbed the back of his head, letting out a goofy, embarrassed chuckle. "Hehehe, oops. I completely forgot."
Joe shakily pulled himself up, leaning heavily against a stone pillar before taking a deep breath and turning his attention to the wounded.
Seeing the medical situation under control, Matt patted the thick fur of Garurumon's neck. "Let's move. We need to check the source of that fire."
"Understood, Matt," the great wolf rumbled.
"Matt, wait—" Takeru started.
Matt looked down at him, his expression softening just a fraction. "Takeru, look around. There are too many injured here. Joe can't handle all of this alone. He needs your help."
Takeru bit his lip. He suspected his brother was just using this as an excuse to keep him away from the frontline, but as he looked at the groaning Digimon, his innate kindness won out.
"Okay," Takeru nodded firmly. He turned to the older boy. "Joe, could you please teach Patamon and me how to help?"
"N-No problem," Joe stammered, still keeping a wary eye on the floating Bakemon.
Watching Takeru and Patamon immediately dive into the relief effort, Mimi hesitated. She had originally planned to stay and help nurse the Digimon, but a nagging feeling in her chest pulled her gaze toward the burning horizon.
She made her decision.
"Matt," Mimi called out, jogging over. "Could I trouble you and Garurumon to take Palmon and me with you?"
Matt blinked, clearly caught off guard. "...What?"
"There are enough hands here for the injured," Mimi explained, her usual flightiness replaced by a rare, grounded seriousness. "I want to see what's happening out there. We might be needed."
Matt stared at her in silence. He wasn't thrilled about bringing another person into a combat zone, but logic dictated that an extra Digimon partner meant extra firepower. And right now, they needed all the firepower they could get.
"...Get on," Matt finally muttered, shifting forward to make room.
"Thank you!" Mimi beamed, scrambling onto the wolf's broad back.
"Mimi, pull me up!" Palmon reached up with her vine-like arms, struggling to scale Garurumon's flank.
"Hehe, Palmon, your legs are way too short!" Mimi giggled, grabbing her partner's hands and hoisting her up.
"Hmph! Don't make fun of me, Mimi, or I'll get mad!" Palmon pouted, settling behind her.
Matt let out a long, heavy sigh, massaging his temples. The tension of the impending battle was somewhat undercut by the chaotic duo behind him.
—
With a powerful leap, Garurumon surged forward. The distant, roaring flames acted as a grim beacon, guiding them through the darkened terrain.
The wind whipped past them, carrying the acrid scent of ozone and burning data. But before Garurumon could close the distance to the battlefield, a massive shadow blotted out the stars above them.
Matt looked up. The shadow was plummeting at a terrifying speed, growing larger by the second.
"Look out!"
Garurumon violently slammed on his brakes, skidding across the dirt just as the massive object crashed into the earth directly in front of them. The impact sent a shockwave of dust and debris washing over them.
"What is that?!" Mimi shrieked, shielding her face.
As the dust cleared, the battered, sparking form of Kabuterimon lay half-buried in the crater. His usually impenetrable exoskeleton was cracked and scorched.
Garurumon rushed forward, his voice tight with alarm. "Kabuterimon?! And Izzy!"
Matt slid off Garurumon's back, sprinting to the crater's edge. "What happened to you two?!"
Kabuterimon didn't respond. His massive eyes were dim, his body completely unresponsive as the data around him flickered, forcibly de-evolving him back into Tentomon.
Beside him, Izzy lay sprawled in the dirt. The boy gasped for air, his clothes torn and covered in soot. With a trembling effort, he raised a weak hand toward the burning horizon.
"Hurry..." Izzy wheezed, coughing violently. "Hurry and help... Taichi and Sora..."
Matt knelt beside him, his jaw locked tight.
"Devimon... he's... be careful..." Izzy's eyes rolled back, his hand dropping limply to the ground as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
Garurumon carefully sniffed the boy. "Kabuterimon shielded him from the worst of the impact. It seems he's just suffering from extreme physical and mental exhaustion."
The giant wolf turned his piercing gaze back to his partner. "Matt, what's our move?"
Matt stared at the unconscious Izzy, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white.
Before Matt could issue a command, Mimi slid off Garurumon's back. Without a word of complaint, she and Palmon hurried into the crater, kneeling beside the fallen duo.
"Matt, leave them to me," Mimi said, her voice steady and resolute. "I'll make sure they're safe."
Matt met her eyes, seeing a newfound maturity in the usually pampered girl. "...Okay. Count on you."
With Izzy and Tentomon in safe hands, Matt no longer hesitated. He vaulted back onto his partner.
"Let's go, Garurumon! Full speed!"
With a thunderous roar, the great wolf launched himself out of the crater, tearing a path straight toward the heart of the inferno.
—
The battlefield was a vision of hell. Pillars of fire raged against the night, burning with an unyielding, desperate will. Yet, despite the ferocity of the flames, the momentum of the battle had decisively shifted.
Taichi and Greymon stood at the center of the devastation.
They were completely drained of their previous explosive vigor. Greymon's massive orange hide was littered with deep, oozing lacerations, his breaths coming in ragged, heavy snorts. Taichi stood beside his partner's massive leg, his clothes singed, his face smeared with ash and blood, looking utterly battered.
The moment Devimon had seized the opening to strike down Izzy and Kabuterimon, their crucial aerial superiority had vanished. Although Sora had arrived shortly after, allowing Biyomon to evolve into Birdramon and take to the skies, it was too late. Having lost the initiative, the giant flaming bird was struggling merely to survive Devimon's relentless aerial assault, completely unable to replicate Kabuterimon's tactical suppression.
Taichi cast a desperate glance upward at Birdramon, who was currently dodging a barrage of dark energy blasts. But he couldn't afford to focus on the sky. His furious gaze snapped back to the three figures clashing violently on the ground just ahead of him.
"Damn it... why did it have to turn out like this?!" Aegiochusmon roared, his voice thick with bitter unwillingness. The humanoid goat warrior parried a vicious sword strike, immediately spinning to block a crushing club swing from his blind spot.
"Leomon! Ogremon!" Aegiochusmon pleaded, his hooves digging into the scorched earth as he was pushed back. "What in the world is wrong with you two?! Snap out of it!"
Silence.
Neither the noble lion warrior nor the savage green ogre offered a single word in response. Their eyes were completely vacant, glowing with a dull, unnatural red light. They were trapped in a waking nightmare, deaf to their comrade's desperate cries.
It had been their sudden, brutal ambush that had shattered Izzy's flawless strategy. Their unexpected interference had created the exact opening Devimon needed to swat Kabuterimon from the sky. And now, stripped of their free will, they were relentlessly hunting down their former ally, moving with the terrifying, synchronized precision of meat puppets.
[Fist of the Beast King!]
[Pummel Whack!]
A blazing aura of a lion's head and a massive shockwave of dark energy erupted simultaneously from the two brainwashed warriors.
Aegiochusmon froze. His hesitation was fatal—he simply couldn't bring himself to unleash a lethal counterattack against his friends. He lowered his guard, bracing for the inevitable, crushing impact.
Just as the twin finishing moves were about to obliterate him, an azure streak tore across the battlefield like a bolt of lightning.
Fangs clamped onto Aegiochusmon's armor, violently yanking him out of the blast radius just as the earth where he stood erupted in a deafening explosion.
Aegiochusmon blinked through the smoke, looking up at the massive wolf that had just dropped him. Then, he saw the blonde boy riding atop it.
"It's you?!" Aegiochusmon gasped in shock. "One of the DigiDestined!"
"What happened to Leomon and Ogremon?" Matt demanded, sliding off Garurumon's back.
He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the two imposing Digimon emerging from the smoke. When he noticed the dead, hollow emptiness in their eyes, a deep frown etched itself onto his face.
"Are they being mind-controlled?"
"That's right!" Aegiochusmon grunted, rubbing his bruised arm. He opened his mouth to explain the situation, but before the words could leave his throat, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.
"Watch out!" Taichi roared from behind them.
Matt whipped his head around. "?!"
Before Matt or Garurumon could even flinch, a massive, flaming projectile plummeted from the sky, violently slamming into the earth mere feet from them. The resulting shockwave sent Matt, Garurumon, and Aegiochusmon tumbling backward into the dirt.
Matt coughed, waving the dust away, only to freeze in horror.
It was Birdramon. The giant bird's flames sputtered and died as she forcibly de-evolved back into Biyomon, her tiny pink body bruised and unconscious. Sora lay slumped beside her, completely unresponsive.
Despite their valiant effort, they had ultimately succumbed to Devimon's overwhelming strength and cunning, sharing the exact same fate as Izzy.
While Garurumon and Aegiochusmon struggled to recover from the collateral impact, the brainwashed Leomon and Ogremon did not hesitate. Their programming recognized the vulnerability, and they lunged forward to execute the downed Digimon.
Seeing Matt and the others about to be slaughtered, Taichi's eyes blazed.
"Greymon!"
"Taichi!"
Gritting their teeth against the agonizing pain, the boy and the dinosaur forced themselves upright. The sheer, unyielding strength of their bond pumped a fresh surge of adrenaline into their veins. Dragging his heavily wounded body, Greymon charged forward to intercept the executioners.
"Just wait... I'm coming right now!" Taichi yelled, sprinting after his partner.
"Are you truly in a position to be worrying about others?"
A voice—smooth, chilling, and dripping with dark amusement—whispered directly into Taichi's ear.
Taichi's blood ran cold. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Almost instinctively, he spun on his heel, violently throwing a desperate punch toward the source of the voice!
But he was swinging at a phantom.
"Too weak..." Devimon sneered, materializing from the shadows with terrifying speed. "Compared to him, your strength is truly pathetic."
With a casual, almost lazy flick of his wrist, Devimon unleashed a shockwave that swatted the charging Greymon away like a bothersome insect. In the exact same fluid motion, the fallen angel's massive, leather-clad claw clamped around Taichi's torso, lifting the struggling boy effortlessly into the air.
"Damn it..." Taichi choked out, kicking his legs as the grip tightened around his ribs, threatening to crush him. "Why... we're all Champion Level... how are you this strong?!"
"Champion Level?"
Devimon paused, his crimson eyes locking onto the boy. A low, vibrating chuckle rumbled in his chest, echoing with absolute malice.
Slowly, Devimon raised his free hand and clamped it over his own face. His fingers dug into his flesh, and with a sickening, tearing sound, he yanked hard!
In the blink of an eye, a grotesque, metallic mask grafted itself onto Devimon's visage. Six mechanical, crimson eyes snapped open across the metal plating, rotating and twitching with an eerie, erratic sentience.
The very air around them shattered.
A suffocating aura of pure, concentrated darkness erupted from his body, expanding outward like a shockwave. It was a pressure so deep and deep it felt like standing at the edge of a bottomless abyss, threatening to swallow the world whole.
Taichi couldn't breathe. The sheer terror of the energy signature paralyzed his lungs.
"Tell me, little boy," the dark angel whispered, his voice now distorted and layered with a metallic, demonic echo, dripping with absolute contempt for their overestimation. "What exactly made you think I was merely a Champion?"
[Devimon has evolved — NeoDevimon!]
[Level: Ultimate!]
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