Knights of the Digital World

So instead of being afraid, he burst into excited laughter. His violent energy bombarded the surrounding space, and he chanted praises for Apocalymon, urging it to descend upon the Digital World.

The energy unleashed by Piedmon was so frenzied and immense that even the lightning unleashed by Azuryomon, whose Digicore had burned, was blocked by its energy and could not stop its actions.

This is Piedmon's final madness, the last burst of power unleashed with his life.

Phoenix frowned, attempting to launch "Starburst" several times, but all attempts failed. Although her divine aura had some effect on Piedmon, this effect was irrelevant given Piedmon's desperate unleashing of its power.

While Phoenixmon was still pondering how to stop Piedmon, she saw WarGreymon crouch down, poised to charge, and was immediately startled, asking:

"WarGreymon, what do you want to do?"

"I'm going to rescue MetalGarurumon. He was turned into a keychain by Piedmon and is still in Piedmon's hands."

Xuanwumon and the others said that there is another powerful being behind the Elite Four, providing them with energy. I think Piedmon is trying to summon that being. It's too dangerous for MetalGarurumon to stay there any longer.

"Besides, I also want to try to stop Piedmon's actions. Phoenixmon and the Four Heavenly Kings are already difficult enough to deal with. We've finally managed to completely eliminate them, and I don't want another one that's even more difficult to deal with."

WarGreymon stared intently at the laughing Piedmon, responding to Phoenixmon's question.

"What are you going to do? Neither my attacks nor Qinglongmon's attacks can break through Piedmon's energy defense, so what are you planning to do?"

“I’ve never understood that much. But you all use energy attacks, right? I’d like to try using my body to break through; maybe that will be more effective.”

"Are you crazy?! How can you withstand that kind of violent power?! Don't get yourself killed before you even save MetalGarurumon!"

"We have to try. Phoenixmon, can you just watch MetalGarurumon die?"

"You rascal, when did you become so talkative? Well then, let's go! I'll cover you with a layer of divine particles; hopefully, it will help you."

"Thanks, Phoenix Beast."

After a brief exchange, WarGreymon and Phoenixmon quickly reached an agreement. They and MetalGarurumon were childhood friends and comrades-in-arms, sharing a deep bond. Neither of them could stand by and watch MetalGarurumon die.

Even if the process is arduous and difficult, they will not be afraid.

Phoenix Beast let out a howl, converting all its remaining energy into golden holy particles, which wrapped around WarGreymon, making it look like a giant rice dumpling.

WarGreymon looked down at the holy particles on its body with a slightly speechless expression, then looked at Biyomon, who had already degenerated and was barely flapping in mid-air due to excessive energy consumption, and then locked its gaze back on Piedmon.

"Go for it, WarGreymon! I'm going to Seraphimon now!"

Biyomon shouted and flew towards Seraphimon's location without lingering.

With her current power, a mere aftershock would be enough to send her to her death.

WarGreymon nodded slightly, and without waiting for Biyomon to see it, charged towards Piedmon.

Thanks to Piedmon's relentless efforts, the spatial barrier of the Digital World has been shattered by his attacks. Apocalymon, having heeded Piedmon's call, joined in the assault on the barrier, and seven or eight pentagonal pyramids connected by DNA-like tentacles pierced into the Digital World, swaggering around Piedmon.

However, this also depleted most of the energy in Piedmon's body. Now, what's blocking Azuremon's lightning is no longer himself, but his two tentacles.

The two tentacles transformed into two endless cannons, relentlessly firing at the Azure Dragon Beast. The ferocious firepower even overwhelmed the Azure Dragon Beast's lightning.

Even though the Azure Dragon Beast saw that things were not going well and burned two more Digicores, it could only barely maintain a draw.

The Four Holy Beasts possess a large number of Digicores, but this also means that each Digicore stores relatively less data compared to other Digimon of the same level. Furthermore, the effect of burning their Digicores is less than that of other Digimon of the same level.

Just like Piedmon's power increase after burning its Digicore, the Four Holy Beasts would have to burn at least half of their Digicores to achieve the same level.

Otherwise, the Four Holy Beasts would be too overpowered, with multiple cores and strong effects. Who could possibly defeat them?

Furthermore, Azuredramon had already burned one of its Digicores, so it wasn't at its peak. Under these circumstances, burning Digicores again didn't significantly increase its strength, so it's understandable that it was suppressed by Apocalymon.

As for the other tentacles, they were busy bombarding the spatial barrier, and one tentacle was tightly gripping the clown's head, seemingly trying to extract something from it.

Beneath Piedmon's shattered mask lay a pale, cracked face. His mouth was still gaping, a maniacal laugh etched on his lips. His face was contorted with pain. His eyes were still bloodshot, but devoid of any spirit—this was WarGreymon's chance!

"Dragon Beast Equipment"

WarGreymon didn't shout; it simply charged forward in silence. As soon as it approached Piedmon, it immediately felt an obstruction, as if entering water, with every inch of air seemingly repelling it.

WarGreymon's speed inevitably slowed down, and the holy particles covering it peeled away layer by layer, shattering. But it still charged towards Piedmon with unwavering determination.

The unusual energy in the surroundings startled Piedmon awake. He stiffly turned his head, opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the tentacle that had been gripping his head suddenly released him, and the five-pointed pyramid at its end transformed into MetalSeadramon's head, firing a shot at WarGreymon.

"Ultimate Wave Cannon!"

"Courage Tornado!"

WarGreymon spun around, passing right through the oncoming energy blast. All the holy particles on its body shattered to protect it. But WarGreymon used the momentum to reach Piedmon.

WarGreymon held its DragonBane weapon high and swung it down at Piedmon. In an instant, the tentacle transformed into a giant revolver-shaped hammer, which smashed down on WarGreymon's head.

WarGreymon saw stars, and cracks appeared on the Chrono Digizoid armor on its head. However, its attack remained unshaken, tearing off another half of Piedmon's already mangled body, shattering it into data. At the same time, it also retrieved the MetalGarurumon keychain that Piedmon was wearing.

The clown beast finally snapped out of its daze after the attack. Its smile vanished, leaving only the piercing pain that made it howl in agony.

But after howling a few times, the clown beast suppressed its pain and trembled as it cried out:

"Can you feel my pain, my resentment, my despair, Lord Apocalymon? Bring the same pain, resentment, and despair to the Digital World!"

After saying that, the remaining part of the clown's body was completely burned up in a burst of fire, and all its power slammed into the spatial barrier, opening up a huge, dark hole.

"I think I angered them. MetalGarurumon has been rescued. I failed to stop Piedmon's summoning, but I can't worry about that now. Let's retreat!"

After retrieving MetalGarurumon's keychain, WarGreymon began to retreat. His actions attracted the tentacles. Except for two that were still fighting against Azuremon, the remaining tentacles transformed into various weapons and fired wildly at him.

As WarGreymon dodged and retreated, he identified the attacks. He had already seen Mugendramon's Infinite Cannon, MetalSeadramon's Ultimate Wave Cannon, Puppetmon's Bullet Hammer, and even Myotismon's Demonic Whip, Molemon's Insertion Bomb, and Devimon's Death Claw.

"These moves are all the signature moves of the Digimon we've defeated. What on earth is this thing?"

WarGreymon kept muttering to itself as it continued to dodge the attacks.

After chasing it for a certain distance, the tentacles reluctantly stopped and went back to pry open the dark hole, trying to prevent it from disappearing.

Three or four more tentacles extended from the other side, stretching the large hole. Faintly, one could hear countless wails and cries coming from the other side, creating a sense of inexplicable sorrow.

"WarGreymon, how are you?"

WarGreymon landed in front of Seraphimon, and Seraphimon and Biyomon greeted him and asked.

"Thankfully, nothing serious happened. Slayermon, can you restore MetalGarurumon to its original form?"

WarGreymon handed MetalGarurumon's keychain to Seraphimon.

Slayermon caught the keychain with its blade, saying uncertainly:

"I'll give it a try."

As he spoke, he stepped aside and tried to put the keychain back in place.

Biyomon landed on WarGreymon's shoulder and said worriedly:

"Perhaps we shouldn't hesitate. Piedmon has really summoned that terrifying being. Even from this distance, I can feel a sense of oppression, along with a strange sadness, resentment, and despair. Is this the power of the being that Piedmon calls Apocalymon?"

"Not only those tentacles, but they should also be part of Him. They can transform into attacks from the Digimon we defeat, and they're quite powerful. To be honest, I'm almost out of energy right now. I don't know what to do next, let's see what Azuredramon does."

WarGreymon shook its head, and both of them fell silent.

On the other side, the Azure Dragon Beast continued its indomitable struggle. It burned six of its remaining seven Digicores, no longer caring about its future. It simply roared and howled, unleashing its fury with the lightning gathered from the dark clouds.

Blinding lightning engulfed the pitch-black hole, and Azuriamon's almost suicidal actions left WarGreymon and Biyomon completely stunned. They felt Azuriamon's love and responsibility for the Digital World.

Just then, they heard a familiar ship's horn. WarGreymon and Biyomon turned their heads and saw the Dark Ship speeding towards them. They were both startled and went to meet it.

The Dark Ship stopped, and Yamato jumped off, not even glancing at WarGreymon and the others, and ran towards Seraphimon.

Taiichi pulled Emu down, paused for a moment looking at WarGreymon, and said:

"If you have any questions, you can ask Suna. We need to go check on Hikari and Mimi's injuries now."

After saying that, he grabbed Yongmeng and ran all the way.

"Suna, what happened? Why are you all here?"

Biyomon landed on WarGreymon's shoulder, looking at Sora with a worried expression.

Sora patted Biyomon's head and comforted him:

"It's nothing. We just couldn't sit still after seeing you fight Piedmon, so we came over. After all, we're partners, so we should be together, right? Just like in every battle before."

Biyomon's expression relaxed slightly, but he still looked very serious, and said in a low voice:

"You shouldn't have come. It's too dangerous here. Piedmon summoned Apocalymon, a being far more powerful than the Elite Four. We have absolutely no chance of winning. Right now, we're only holding it off thanks to Azurumon. I'm afraid he..."

The beast monk didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the meaning behind it.

Everyone fell silent. A powerful enemy always brings extra pressure, and when there's no solution, silence is all that's left.

After an unknown period of silence, Koushiro, who was engrossed in his computer, exclaimed in surprise:

"The Azure Dragon Beast's energy is rapidly decreasing, while the other individual's energy is rapidly increasing! The Azure Dragon Beast can't stop it!"

Almost simultaneously, the Azure Dragon Beast let out a weak and unwilling roar and fell from the clouds.

Meanwhile, a being with a dodecahedron-like lower body and a human-like upper body, whose very nature was uncertain and who could not even be defined as a Digimon, passed through the black hole and appeared in the Digital World.

The apocalyptic beast has descended!

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Dark Zone

"Gabumon, how are you feeling?"

Just as Yamato ran to Seraphimon's side, Seraphimon used its own holy power to turn MetalGarurumon back from the keychain.

MetalGarurumon, having suffered so much, was exhausted and reverted to its Gabumon form, sitting down heavily on the ground, where it was caught by Yamato.

"Ah and I are okay, just a little tired."

Gabumon answered with a yawn, leaning against Yamato and dozing off.

Yamato breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at Seraphimon and asked:

"Awu, how are you? I saw Piedmon use the Clown Trick on you earlier, I thought you..."

"Brother, I'm fine. Azuredramon and WarGreymon saved me. I'm just a little exhausted and feel very tired."

"Slayermon replied."

"No, you should go and see Emu. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease."

Yamato thought for a moment, then shook his head and said to Seraphimon. He picked up Gabumon and turned to walk towards Emu's location, with Seraphimon obediently following behind without any objection.

Emu had already transformed using the "Momomon Gadget" and was squatting in front of Mimi, Palmon, and Puppymon, with his arms outstretched, releasing a glowing green light.

Taiichi and Hikari stood by, watching Emu receive treatment. Taiichi held Hikari tightly, still feeling a lingering fear. Thankfully, Hikari was alright; otherwise, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

Emu just checked on Hikari, and she's fine. Most of the damage Piedmon inflicted on Angewomon was absorbed by Gatomon, causing Gatomon to revert back to Puppymon and remain unconscious.