Knights of the Digital World

"Should I call you honest or just plain stupid..." Emu sighed, "It's just one day of rest, it's not like you're dragging your feet. Besides, don't you guys need to sleep? Traveling all night is worse than sleeping early and getting up early tomorrow. Pokomon, could you prepare some food for us and arrange a few more rooms?"

“No problem! Leave this little thing to me! I’m a well-known figure at Flame Terminal!” Bogomon patted his chest loudly.

"Really? I've never heard of that." Questionmon looked puzzled as he listened to Pokomon's boast.

"Of course I am! Damn it, I'll flick you!" Bokomon went berserk, waving its arms and legs as if to flick Questionmon. The children cooperated by swarming forward, grabbing Bokomon, and shouting, "That's enough, that's enough."

"Ha... I know they will save the world in the future, but when you actually get to know them, they're so unreliable..." Emu sighed helplessly.

Silent all night.

The next morning, urged on by Emu, the children got up one by one, yawning. Guided by Bogomon and Questionmon, they found the railway tracks leading to the end of the forest and began their journey.

"I'm so sleepy... Emu, can't we sleep a little longer?" Takuya said, yawning.

"No! You said yesterday that dragging things out is bad. Besides, look, Yuuki hasn't said anything, so don't complain." Emu glanced at Takuya and unleashed his brother-complex treasure—his little brother (Yuuki version).

Takuya glanced at Yuuki, who was tugging at his clothes with one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other, walking unsteadily. He immediately quieted down and slowed his pace to make it easier for Yuuki to keep up.

After overcoming their initial drowsiness, the children gradually perked up and started treating it like a picnic. They chatted happily with each other, getting to know each other better.

Just then, a thick black fog suddenly rolled in ahead. The children stopped in their tracks and looked warily at the fog. They weren't stupid; this strange scene seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

"I... can sense the aura of a powerful being!" A whisper echoed from within the black mist. Accompanied by rhythmic footsteps, the black mist gradually dissipated, revealing a humanoid Digimon entirely in black standing before the children.

He had blond hair and wore a mask that covered the upper half of his face. He had an eyeball on his chest, shoulders, knees, and feet, making him look disgusting and terrifying.

"That's Darkmon?!" Emu exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the Digimon's appearance. "Why is it here?! It's understandable that Cherubimon found someone to replace Kouichi as its Digimon, but why is Darkmon appearing so early?"

No wonder Emu was terrified; Dark Beast's achievements in the original work can only be described as terrifying. In his humanoid fighter form, he held his own against five opponents, even shattering Takuya's form and forcing Takuya back to the real world in a daze. Later, he even directly demoted War Wolf Beast. Considering only the evolution of the Ten Warriors, he has also crossed two levels: Beast-type Fighter and Dual Soul Fighter.

Even if Kouji lost his will to fight and was unwilling to engage Darkmon, Darkmon later evolved into Blackhawkmon, which still overwhelmed Firedramon. It was only through the "righteous gang fight" of Warwomon and Firedramon that he was defeated.

You mean such a fierce boss, why don't you wait for the heroes to gather their equipment and take you down? Why do you have to come to the newbie village and block people?

Takuya and his friends didn't have Emu's prophetic abilities, so they didn't recognize this Digimon. Takuya was the first to ask, "Who are you? Why are you blocking our way?"

"I am... Dark Beast! No... I shouldn't be Dark Beast... No! I am Dark Beast!" Takuya's question made Dark Beast momentarily dazed. This strange behavior made Emu raise an eyebrow. It seemed that this Dark Beast was also quite problematic.

"Hmph... It doesn't matter what... Don't worry about who I am, I only have one goal! To challenge the strong! That's why I wander the Digital World. I can sense that there is a strong one among you! Let him come out! I want to fight him!" Darkmon shouted.

"How strange... I feel a sense of closeness to him... but also a bit of disgust..." Huiyi muttered to himself as he looked at the Dark Beast.

"Brothers, you guys step back. He doesn't seem to be here with good intentions." Kouji took out his Digivice, stepped forward a few steps, and said with a determined look, "The 'strong' he's talking about is none other than me, Takuya, and Emu. Since he wants to fight, let him try!"

"Takuya-nii, Emu-nii, Kouji-nii, go for it!" Yuuki shouted. Koizumi and Junpei pulled Yuuki along, and together with Pokomon and Questionmon, they retreated to a distance and joined in the cheering.

"Let's go!" The remaining three exchanged glances, nodded, and began their evolution and transformation. Even Yongmeng, knowing the power of the Dark Beast, knew he had to fight it first!

"Soul - Evolution! Vulcanmon!"

"Soul - Evolution! Wild Wolf Beast!"

"Henshin! Kamen Rider Ex-Aid!"

The three data streams dissipated, revealing the transformed forms of the three individuals.

The Dark Beast silently watched the three transform, then suddenly burst into laughter: "That's it! That's it! This is exactly what I wanted to see! A strongman! A strongman indeed! Then come on, let's have a battle!!"

The Dark Beast flicked its right hand, and a dark red lightsaber extended from the back of its hand, slashing down at the three from afar. A sword aura, almost tangible, shot straight towards them.

"Get out of the way! Don't take it head-on!" Emu shouted, rolling to the side to dodge while simultaneously activating his Game Domain.

The Fire Beast and the Wolf Beast easily dodged the sword energy. The sword energy that missed the three of them landed directly on the ground, carving a chasm tens of meters long, demonstrating the Dark Beast's immense power.

"Take this! Fire Dragon Blazing Fist!" The Fire God Beast is designed to be an excellent martial artist, capable of wielding Eastern martial arts in combat. Although Takuya couldn't fully utilize the Fire God Beast's techniques, his movements were extremely agile. After dodging the sword energy, he immediately unleashed his ultimate attack.

"Not enough, too weak!" Dark Beast extended its left hand, completely ignoring the fire dragon surrounding Fire God Beast's fist, and caught Fire God Beast's fist, squeezing it tightly in its palm. The dark energy released from its palm extinguished Fire God Beast's fire dragon.

"Victor of Light!" At this moment, the Wild Wolf Beast also dodged the sword energy and approached the Dark Beast. He lowered his body and appeared to the left of the Dark Beast, his lightsaber flashing upwards, ready to seize the Dark Beast's current opening and defeat it.

"Not enough! Too slow!" Dark Beast remained calm, using its left hand to slam Fire Beast directly onto the back of Wolf Beast. Both cried out in pain. Wolf Beast's stance was shattered, and it collapsed to the ground. Fire Beast rolled to Wolf Beast's side and lay down beside it.

"Not enough! Not enough!! Not enough!!!" the dark beast roared in dissatisfaction. "You have powerful energy within you. But you are too weak! Too slow! Too terrible! You can't even unleash one percent of that energy!"

"If this is all you've got, then die!" Dark Beast roared, gathering dark energy in his feet as he prepared to end the lives of Fire Beast and Wolf Beast.

Chapter 15, LV3! Fighting Action Player!

"Kicky critical strike!"

A sound effect suddenly rang out in front of the Dark Beast, and Emu's figure appeared. He delivered a long-prepared finishing move and kicked the Dark Beast in the left cheek.

Emu hadn't been slacking off before. He quickly buffed himself with four more buffs: Speed ​​Up, Steel Transformation, Muscle Transformation, and Invisibility. Knowing the Dark Beast's strength, he didn't intend to defeat it with basic attacks. Instead, he charged up and unleashed his ultimate attack, aiming to deal sufficient damage rather than kill it in one hit.

Darkmon's attention had been focused on Vulcanmon and Wolfmon. These two warriors indeed possessed immense power, which made Darkmon feel it hadn't chosen the wrong targets. However, the two children couldn't unleash this power at all, which made Darkmon furious. In its emotional turmoil, Darkmon naturally didn't notice the now-invisible Emu and took the full force of the kick.

Under Emu's full-force finishing move, Darkmon was forced back several steps to the right. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Emu grabbed Firegomon and Wolfmon, and with a few leaps, quickly created distance between himself and Darkmon, thinking to himself, "My kick just now definitely landed. I wonder how effective it was?"

"Hahaha, hahahaha! Good, that's it! This is exactly what I wanted! A powerful being!" The dark beast twisted its neck and laughed wildly. It appeared to show no signs of injury whatsoever!

"What! My all-out attack didn't even cause a wound?" Yongmeng couldn't believe it. He recalled his battle record in the Dark Beast TV series, and looking at the Dark Beast in front of him who seemed unharmed, he felt as if he were facing an abyss with only endless darkness in front of him. His courage began to wane.

"Emu! Don't be afraid! If once isn't enough, we'll try again. If one person can't do it, then the three of us will! We can definitely defeat him!" The Fire God Beast, having just gotten up, patted Emu on the shoulder. Even though Dark Beast had just demonstrated its power, Takuya still couldn't clearly gauge the difference in their strength.

The more you know, the more easily you become afraid. In the TV series, Takuya knew how terrifying beast-type fighters were, which made him more aware of the power of Dark Beast, explaining his confusion and subsequent return to the human world after being defeated. However, the current Takuya has only recently transformed into Godmon; he hasn't even fully grasped his own power, let alone judged the strength and terror of his opponent. This, ironically, allows him to maintain his courage and fighting spirit.

"..." The Wild Wolf Beast remained silent. Kouji was calmer than Takuya and could see the Dark Beast's power more clearly. He might not know the Dark Beast's exact level, but he knew that there was an almost insurmountable gap between them.

However, the wolf beast still assumed a fighting stance, its two lightsabers crossed in front of it, unwavering. This is Kouji, a strong yet gentle person.

"Ah...yes! Thank you, Vulcanmon." Encouraged by Vulcanmon, Emu also came to his senses. He realized something was wrong; he shouldn't be someone who gives up so easily. Even if a full-power Rider Kick couldn't cause damage, it shouldn't have put so much pressure on him, to the point that he thought of giving up. This was clearly one of Darkmon's abilities, capable of amplifying the opponent's fear invisibly.

If the Fire God Beast hadn't woken him up in time, he might have truly succumbed to the fear of darkness.

"Hmph... Did you notice? You barely passed the first hurdle. But that's not enough! Unleash your power! What I need are strong warriors!" The dark beast laughed, swinging its sword with all its might, "Blood Assault!"

The whistling sword energy surged forth, and the three of them separated again to dodge the attack.

"If level 2 isn't enough, then how about level 3! A massive transformation!" Emu dodged Dark Beast's signature move, reached out and pressed a button on the Infinity Gacha, projecting a new cartridge into his hand. This cartridge featured an image of Salamander, the very same Salamander Gacha Emu had previously acquired!

"gachan! Level u! Eighty kick! Eighty action x! (a gacha!) Tear! Burn! Fierce dog! Cerberun!"

As the sound effects played, Emu's form changed. Two dog heads, resembling those of Salubimon, appeared on his shoulders, and Salubimon's Digizoid claws appeared on his hands and feet. Salubimon's main head hung in the center of his chest. Black protective layers also appeared around his joints. This was—

Fighting Action Player Level 3!

"Hellfire!" Emu unleashed Salubimon's ultimate attack at Darkmon. His three dog heads on his chest and shoulders strained together, unleashing a burst of emerald green hellfire towards Darkmon, creating a scorching heatwave!

"A perfect opportunity! Fire Dragon Blazing Fist!!" The Fire God Beast mustered all its strength and unleashed the Fire Dragon Blazing Fist, its power at its peak. Several fire dragons merged into the hellfire, making the flames even more ferocious and unstoppable.

"..." The wolf beast remained silent, gathering its strength to deliver the most fatal blow when the enemy was engulfed in flames!

"Good! Good, good, good! This is what I wanted! Strong one—!" The dark beast laughed loudly, opening its arms wide without any defense, to meet this terrifying attack.

"What?! How arrogant! Wild Wolf Beast! Give him a piece of your mind!" The somewhat exhausted Fire God Beast knelt on the ground, seeing Dark Beast's disdainful attitude, and couldn't help but feel angry. Unfortunately, he was now almost powerless, and could only loudly encourage Wild Wolf Beast.

The wolf beast nodded silently, then, without further hesitation, charged forward with its accumulated power, unleashing the combined attack of the three of them: "Burning Light Slash!!"

A powerful beam of holy light emanated from the wolf-beast's sword, slashing diagonally along with its movements. The wolf-beast, having unleashed this strike, buckled in the knees, its lightsabers planted firmly in the ground for support. This was all the power it had used.

"Hahaha, not bad, you guys didn't disappoint me!"

A maniacal, unrestrained laugh suddenly erupted from within the flames. A gust of wind swept up, dispersing the raging fire and revealing the dark beast within.

The dark beast was emitting wisps of blue smoke, but there were few signs of burning. A knife wound ran diagonally from its shoulder across its chest, passing over its large eye. The wound shimmered with light, but quickly the light faded, black energy surged, and the wound vanished in a moment. The eye on the dark beast's chest blinked, clearly unharmed.

"How could this be?!" At this moment, all three of them felt a sense of powerlessness.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph, you managed to leave me a scar, that's commendable!" The dark beast still laughed maniacally. Suddenly, he vanished from his spot, reappearing behind the wolf beast.

He swung his sword down at the bewildered wolf-beast, which roared in pain and collapsed forward. Its entire body was enveloped in a stream of data, which then dissipated, revealing a human child sprawled on the ground inside.

Darkness surged, and the Dark Beast vanished again, reappearing behind the Fire God Beast. With a ferocious kick, it sent the Fire God Beast flying. Even while still in mid-air, data streams surged from the Fire God Beast's body, quickly dissipating to reveal the human child who had been thrown about. Fortunately, the Fire God Beast hadn't been kicked very high and was unharmed upon impact.

"Kouji! Takuya! Damn it!" Emu gritted his teeth. Seeing the Darkmon disappear once again, he turned around without thinking and fiercely grabbed downwards with his hands, which were covered in Digizoid claws.

"You're not bad. Your strength is about the same as theirs, but you can use it more effectively. You can barely be considered a strong person." As expected, the Dark Beast appeared behind Yongmeng, easily blocking Yongmeng's attack with its sword, and commented from above.

"Who would want... someone like you?!" Emu could feel the fear welling up inside him. But the anger at his injured friend stopped the fear from spreading.

With a thought, Yongmeng's three dog heads on his shoulders and chest began to move on their own, fiercely biting at the Dark Beast. He also exerted force with his hands, trying to restrain the Dark Beast's hands.

"How naive! My eyeballs are alive too!" the dark beast scoffed. "Eye of Death!"

The seven eyes on the Dark Beast Armor blinked simultaneously, releasing beams of cursed light. Three dog heads were struck by the three opposing beams, letting out painful whimpers. The remaining beams struck Emu. A sharp pain shot through her body, causing Emu to scream, and the strength in her hands involuntarily loosened.

"You're so naive, I have to take back my previous assessment." Dark Beast sneered, showing no mercy as it parried Emu's hands and slashed at Emu's chest with its demon sword, Blood Evolution, sending him rolling several times on the ground. Emu opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and deactivated his transformation. The game field that Emu had created shattered as well.

"How could this be... Takuya and the others..." The children watching from the sidelines stared in disbelief as their team's three strongest fighters lay scattered on the ground. Koizumi covered his mouth with his hand, and Junpei clenched his fists, unable to believe their eyes.

"Damn it! Stop! Don't hurt Takuya and the others!" The youngest member, Yuki, mustered up some courage from somewhere and ran up to the Dark Beast, spreading his arms to block it from advancing.

"You're not allowed to hurt my brother!" Huiyi rushed over before Yuki could reach him.

"Yuki! Don't do anything stupid! Run!" Takuya shouted as he struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with worry.

"Brother! No!" Kouji cried out worriedly as he looked at his brother.

"Yuki! Koichi! Come back quickly!" Koizumi and Junpei hadn't expected the two to be so reckless, and they called out repeatedly. But seeing Yuki and Koichi standing there resolutely with their arms outstretched, the two hesitated for a moment, then ran over and opened their arms as well.

"Ugh, damn it! Questionmon, let's go too!" Pokomon yelled angrily and charged forward. Pokomon, unusually, didn't say anything to annoy Pokomon, but simply followed silently. The four of them, along with the two Pokomon, stood with their arms outstretched, blocking Darkmon's path.

Chapter Sixteen, Farewell! The Correct Method for Training the Warrior's Spirit!

"Damn it, damn it!" Emu cried out, hating his own powerlessness, as he struggled to get up from the ground. He was prepared. If Darkmon dared to attack the children, he would risk his life to use the Ten Warriors Gasket. Although the Ten Warriors Gasket only contained partial data on Wolfmon, combined with the Salubimon Gasket and the Extraordinary Action X Gasket, it was already Emu's strongest power.

Fortunately, looking at the children before him, the Dark Beast sheathed its demonic sword "Blood Evolution" and said casually, "I'll commend you for your courage to stand before me. However, you are too weak, leaving me no chance to even draw my sword. Get out of my way, and stand before me again when you have enough strength."

As it spoke, the dark beast unleashed a surge of energy, and the children, powerless against it, were thrown backward by the energy, landing hard on their bottoms.

For some reason, the dark beast didn't seem inclined to harm the children. The energy merely pushed them away without causing them any real injury.

The Dark Beast slowly walked up to Takuya and commented, "Your evolved form should be the Flame God Beast from the Ten Warriors. You clearly possess immense power, but you can't unleash much of it. Your strongest attack before was probably only seven or eight percent of the Flame God Beast's full power? Hmph, you're truly a disgrace to the Ten Warriors."

Then he came to Kouji and commented, "Your evolved form should be the Light Wolfmon from the Ten Warriors. You're a bit better than the previous guy; at least your technique and timing are good. You can probably unleash about one-tenth of the Wolfmon's power, right? Looks good, but it's also embarrassing to admit."

"Damn it! Who do you think you are! You think you can just dictate how much you want?!" Tuo shouted indignantly.

"Hmph, didn't I introduce myself? I am Dark Beast... or rather, Dark Beast of Darkness! I am also one of the Ten Warriors." Dark Beast chuckled.

"What?! You're also one of the Ten Warriors?! Then shouldn't you be fighting alongside us to defeat Cherubimon?!" Taku exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Cherubimon... Don't you know? My Fighter's Soul was bestowed upon me by Cherubimon. Besides me, Water, Steel, Wood, and Earth are also Cherubimon's subordinates," Darkmon said mockingly. For some reason, Emu sensed a strange resentment and lack of respect in Darkmon's words towards Cherubimon.

"How could this be... The Ten Warriors, shouldn't they be saving the Digital World?!" Pokomon couldn't accept the news and shouted loudly.

"Ordinary Digimon can be infected by Cherubimon, so why do you think the Warrior's Spirit of the Ten Warriors can't?" Darkmon retorted, ignoring the children's questions, and walked up to Emu.