[novel] digimon adventure: chapter 9

小説 デジモンアドベンチャー〈3〉
冒険はまだ終わらない

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Chapter 9; The Last Enemy

① The Wall of Fire

Mechanorimon’s hatch popped open and Gennai peered out from inside. His face shone a brilliant red against the incandescent flames that shot out from the ‘Wall of Fire.’
“So this is the ‘Wall of Fire’…” Centaurmon said next to him.
The thick open book in Centaurmon’s hands was a transcription of the “Digimon Book of Revelations” that was carved as an epitaph in the ancient Dino ruins’ walls. “I never expected to see the ‘Wall of Fire’ with my own eyes. To speak with you frankly… I had thought that it was more of a symbol and that it didn’t really exist.”
“That’s because Spiral Mountain has been formed,” Gennai responded with a bitter look, very unlike his usual easygoing expression. “It was originally hidden deep beneath the Digital World thanks to the four Holy Beasts, but it’s been laid bare now with the heavens and earth absorbed into Spiral Mountain. Still, this is bad news. The flames look like they are weakening. At this rate, the wall will be wide open.”
“What happens when it opens?”
“Don’t ask me that. I don’t even want to think about it.”
Gennai shook his head, looking as though he had sucked on a particularly sour lemon.

They were in a corner of empty sky far away from Spiral Mountain. Where emptiness surrounded them was a round circle, with bright crimson flames gushing out along its edges. Like a lid, the flames covered the hole that linked the Digital World to another world on the outside.
“But according to what you said… It seems that at least one of the beasties has escaped through this hole.”
“I wouldn’t call it a beastie. At the very least, according to the old scriptures, it’s known as an Idea without a material body.”
“Well, that’s what the myth says, but… Either way, it is an evil being?”
“For this world it is. The Digital World as we know it wouldn’t have existed in the first place if it hadn’t rejected that Idea.”

② Collapse of the Cities

Taichi, Sora, Koushiro, Takeru, Hikari, and their Digimon partners ran from the world of forests into the world of cities. The ruler of the world of cities was Mugendramon.
Unluckily for them, they were spotted by a platoon of Tankmon on patrol shortly after they arrived into this world.
Although they ended up having to battle, Taichi forbade all of them from evolving. The only one he allowed was for Piyomon to evolve to Garudamon. The other Digimon were strictly ordered not to evolve.
This was to make sure that they were fresh for any future potential unexpected situations, but Koushiro, who didn’t know that, was enraged.
“Why won’t you allow Tentomon to evolve?! Tell me why!”
Koushiro understood after Taichi explained himself, but he turned pale upon realizing that he had spoken to his senior Taichi with such an insolent tone. Even he himself seemed surprised at what he’d done.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”
But Taichi said, “Don’t worry about it. In fact, it made me happy to hear you speak so casually to me. I felt like you’d finally opened up your heart to me.”
Hearing this embarrassed Koushiro. But if reconciling with his parents had helped him to close his distance with other people, then it made Koushiro happy about himself as well. Taichi’s big-hearted way of accepting his brazenness with a smile only deepened Koushiro’s admiration for Taichi more than ever.
While Garudamon was taking out the Tankmon platoon alone, the news that the Chosen Children had been found reached Mugendramon.
Because Mugendramon was a machine, he felt neither the ruthless joy of hunting prey like MetalSeadramon nor innocent malice like Pinocchimon. He moved quickly, without waste, into carrying out his plan to eliminate the Chosen Children.
In other words, his plan involved using his Mugen Cannon to desecrate his own cities and subordinates, if it all meant killing the children.
The truth about the world of cities was that the machines on its surface were only a cover; the power generated underground was what were more important.
Mugendramon implemented his plan immediately. Quickly, without waste.
Mugen Cannon was fired.
A giant mushroom cloud rose, and the city beneath it was instantly wiped out.
But Taichi and the others avoided damage.
While Garudamon was fighting, Taichi found a manhole to use for retreat and ordered everyone to escape underground.
There, they reunited with Andromon and his resistance team.

○

Koushiro connected his laptop to the access point that Andromon told him about.
After hearing the click and whirring of the modem, his laptop was connected to the Digital World’s network.
“What is this?”
The network that he had hacked into once while on Server Continent was now in shreds, and the shadow of a mysterious polygon shape was calmly moving through it.
“Is it a virus?” Koushiro said aloud, to which Andromon replied,
“It’s not a virus. It’s neither data nor a program either. But if you asked me what it was, I wouldn’t know what to tell you. It seems to have formed after Nanomon made the black hole. It could have been the cause of the black hole, or perhaps it is a barrier… The venerable Gennai has called it the digital form of an Idea.”
“What does that mean?” Sora, who was ignorant about computers, asked, but Koushiro also shook his head in puzzlement.
Andromon continued his explanation. “This is outside my field of expertise, but there is an old legend. It says that when the Digital World was first created, two Ideas fought over what sort of world should be made. One of those Ideas won and the rules of the Digital World were established. The other Idea was cast out into the ‘Wall of Fire’…”
“Is that what this is?” What Andromon was saying had flown over Taichi’s head, but he questioned him anyway.
“Well, the venerable Gennai says it is possible. I… am not so sure.”
“Is it an ally of the Dark Masters?” Takeru asked this time.
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t appear to be our friend.”
It was then that the violent vibrations came.
“Wh–What was that?”
“It’s Mugendramon,” Andromon replied. “He must have realized that you have survived.”
“What do we do?”
It wasn’t Andromon who answered Sora’s question, but Taichi.
“Takeru and Patamon. Also, Hikari and Tailmon. You’ve got a tough opponent on your hands, but can you handle it?”
“Leave it to me!”
“I’m ready.”
The Digimon replied before their kids even opened their mouths.
“But don’t push yourselves. If you ever think that it’s dangerous, fall back.”

○

The underground was tightly packed with pipes and cables, so in order to move further into it or deeper underground, they had to cut through pipes and cables that blocked their path. It felt like parting through a sea filled with algae.
But once they made it through, they reached a wide cavity underground.
It didn’t change that it was still a difficult place for Mugendramon to fight in.
He couldn’t use his Mugen Cannon. Although cramped, the source of the city’s power was underground. If he used his cannons carelessly, there was the apprehension that the world of cities itself would be destroyed.
But not even that was a major problem — That was what Mugendramon’s mechanical brain cells calculated. Even in hand-to-hand combat, his power had the precondition of eclipsing the powers of all the Chosen Children’s Digimon partners.
“Heaven’s Knuckle!”
“Holy Arrow!”
The two angel Digimon attacked him boldly, but they couldn’t make a single scratch on Mugendramon’s steel body.
On the other hand, Mugendramon’s punches knocked them down and they received severe damage.
“Well? Is there a good plan?” Taichi asked his adviser Koushiro as he watched the battle.
“The two cannons on his back! How about we aim our attacks into them?”
They acted on that plan right away, but it had no effect.
“Then how about cutting those red and blue cables?”
They tried that as well, but the cables on Mugendramon that connected from his abdomen to the cannons on his back were more solid than they had expected, so it was a meaningless attack.
“Nothing we’re doing works… What do we do?” Koushiro fretted.
Next to him, Taichi asked Koromon, “Can you do it?”
Koromon tightened his lips. “Of course!”
“Okay then, evolve!”
“Koromon, evolve! Agumon!”
But although the gauge of Taichi’s digivice rose vigorously at first, it lost speed before it could peak and evolution did not happen.
“I’m sorry…”
Pyocomon, who had evolved to Garudamon only moments before, had no energy left to evolve either.
“I’ll do it!” Tentomon said, but Taichi shook his head.
“Retreat! We’ll retreat for now and look for another chance to attack!”
Andromon ran forward to inform Angemon and Angewomon, who were still fighting, of the orders. But Mugendramon would not allow it.
“Booster Claw!”
The attack headed towards Angemon, Angewomon, and Andromon.
“Look out!” Taichi cried, when suddenly, Mugendramon stopped in mid-air.
“W–What happened?”
Looking closer, they saw that something sticky clung to Mugendramon’s body. It was Adult level Numemon who looked like slugs.
The Numemon dropped down onto Mugendramon from the cables hanging off the ceiling. Their numbers, when including those who stuck to the ceiling waiting for their turn to drop down, exceeded several thousands.
“N–Numemon… There’s so many of them… Where are they coming from?”
Andromon responded, “Mugendramon was exploiting them like slaves here underground.”
Each of the Numemon were powerless on their own, but in these numbers, even they were a menace to Mugendramon.
But although Mugendramon was buried beneath the mountain of Numemon, he wasn’t getting his ass kicked. With his hands, he tore the Numemon off of him, tossing them away and stepping on them.
Even so, the Numemon kept coming to Mugendramon.
“Why…? They know they can’t win… They know they’ll die, so why?!” Sora whispered, aghast. Next to her, Hikari heard the Numemon’s voices from their hearts.
The Chosen Children are our hope!
We can’t let them die!
Before coming to the Digital World, Hikari had seen the Numemon in the real world and had honestly thought them to be disgusting.
But not now. Right now, they were magnificent warriors who did not fear death.
The multitude of Numemon that had been there was reduced to just a few.
And even those few left were crushed beneath Mugendramon’s feet, completely wiping them out.
The Numemon’s last message reached Hikari.
We’re counting on you, children… Please, don’t let our deaths be in vain…
“I know that!”
Hikari held back her horror and sadness, and folded her hands together.
Please. If God exists, then please give us strength.
Hikari’s body suddenly glowed. It was the light of prayer.
“Huh? What…?”
Bathed in that light, Koromon looked up in surprise. He felt the power of evolution that had been depleted, returning.
“Taichi, evolve me!” He urged his partner.
Taichi nodded. “Can you do it? Then go for it!”
“Koromon, evolve! Agumon! Agumon, warp-evolve! WarGreymon!”
The evolution that he had given up on had been granted.
WarGreymon held out the Dramon Killer on his right hand like a medieval knight holding out his lance, and charged at Mugendramon.
“Uwoohhhhhhhhhh!”
WarGreymon cut Mugendramon’s body in two with a single stroke.

○

From within Angemon’s arms, Takeru said, “We did it.”
“Yeah.”
Taichi, who was being held in one of Angewomon’s arms as she held Hikari in the other, stared down at the world of cities as it scattered into data dust.
“The world of cities is vanishing…”
The dead Numemon’s data rose up above their heads like the bubbles in carbonated water. Taichi and the others prayed that their souls rested in peace.
Then Andromon spoke up. “Look.”
The children saw that the scraps of Mugendramon’s black data dust were sinking lower and lower to the bottom, in the opposite direction of the Numemon.
“Does it mean that the data of an Ultimate level has more mass?” Koushiro asked Andromon. “Or did he get absorbed by that thing we saw in the net…?”
Not even Andromon knew.
In any case — Sora thought — Compared to the Numemon, who had banded together for a common cause, what were they doing?
They were scattered.
Had Yamato figured himself out by now? Was Jou still working on persuading Mimi?
Their only enemy left was Piemon.
Would someone else end up being another sacrifice? Or maybe, this time, it would be their turn…
Taichi fixing his former recklessness and forming careful plans now was a good thing. But if they wanted to make the best use of it, they needed more fighting power.
There would be nothing better than if Yamato and Mimi came up with their answers on their own and returned, but if they were already on their way, then maybe she should go and get them.
Just as she was about to suggest that,
“Taichi-san. I want to go get my brother.” Takeru was the first to say it.
“Yeah,” Taichi said, nodding. Not only did Taichi nod, but Koushiro and Hikari did as well.
All of us were thinking the same thing, Sora thought. It made her a little happy.
“Let’s look for them together,” Hikari said, but Taichi turned that idea down.
“No. It will be faster if we broke into groups and looked for them. Let’s see…”
Taichi looked around at their faces and then said, “Sora and Andromon, could you go with Takeru? Koushiro, Hikari, and I will go look for Mimi-chan and Jou.”
“Okay,” Sora nodded. Even she agreed with this choice.
When considering who would be the most suitable at persuading Yamato to return, both Taichi and Koushiro were out since they had been Yamato’s reason for leaving. Hikari wouldn’t work either. The only suitable choices would be Yamato’s own brother, Takeru, and Sora, who had an experience similar to Yamato’s at Temp Lake and understood how he felt. The reason he told Andromon to accompany them must be to even up the power gap.
“Guys, let’s stay alive and meet up again! It’s a promise!”
They all formed a circle and Taichi stuck his fist out in the middle. Everyone laid their hands over it.
“Yeah!”

Before they parted ways, Koushiro quietly went up to Sora. She wondered what he was up to, when he spoke softly into her ear, “When you see Yamato-san… Well… Please tell him that I spoke too far and that I’m sorry. I’m counting on you.”

③ Mimi’s Battle

When they had previously visited the Village of Beginnings, it had vividly-colored saplings, an elastic ground that was as soft as a cushion, and the cries of newborn baby Digimon everywhere — It had been so full of life, but now that it was built into the world of darkness, it looked as ravaged as lost historic ruins.
“See? What did I tell you,” Ogremon said sadly as they stood at the village entrance. He was the one who had led them there.
Having lost his purpose in life with Leomon’s death, Ogremon felt that the devastation of the village was like a physical manifestation of what he was feeling.
In between leaving the world of forests and arriving in the world of darkness, the group that had started out as just Mimi, Jou, Palmon, Gomamon, and Ogremon, had grown into a larger family. While they were on their way here, their numbers had increased.
First came the Geckomon and Otamamon who had obeyed Mimi’s every whim at Temp Lake. Then Meramon and Yukidarumon, who had attacked them under the control of black gears on File Island. And so on and so forth; there was Digimon who they had met before and Digimon who they were meeting for the first time.
Since there was no telling when Piemon’s subordinates would attack them if they were separated, they all joined together as a group with Mimi at its center.

Upon entering the village, they could see there were several digieggs left there. But all of them were petrified, with no chances of hatching.
“This is terrible… How could this happen…?”
Mimi had been prepared for this after hearing Ogremon’s story, but looking at it with her own eyes filled her heart with deep sorrow all the same.
Now that the Village of Beginnings was dead, no Digimon could be reborn. In other words, the Digital World had its future stolen from it.
“Is this what the Dark Masters want? I thought they just wanted to rule the Digital World. But they want to change the Digital World into a world with no future, with only destruction and death to look forward to? What’s so fun about ruling a world like that?!”
Jou felt like saying something to Mimi, but he hesitated.
What he wanted to tell her was this: that he didn’t see any likelihood of co-existing with the Dark Masters, and that they had no other choice but to fight them.
Even a neutral country like Switzerland had a military. They would be invaded by enemy countries without one. It would be nice and ideal if they used the nonviolent resistance approach as Ghandi did. But that didn’t mean it was okay to just be killed without lifting a finger…
But not even he could find a good answer.

QUESTION: Under what circumstances is it okay to battle?

That sort of question would never appear on a school test, and he’d never once thought about it before…
Jou heaved a long sigh.
Someone approached them.
It was Elecmon, the guardian of the Village of Beginnings. Jou didn’t know if Digimon aged, but he appeared much older than the last time he’d seen him. Not in the way he looked, but in the way he walked.
“You’ve come back, Chosen Children,” Elecmon said feebly, but he smiled at them. “I thought maybe that was the case. Three of the Dark Masters got taken down so fast, I knew it had to be you.”
“It’s Taichi and the others, to be more precise,” Jou answered. “We separated from the group for reasons. We don’t know how the others got taken down besides MetalSeadramon.”
“Separated from the group…” Come to think of it, Elecmon realized, he didn’t see Takeru and Patamon among them. “What on earth are you trying to achieve by working separately? I mean, what sort of job are you—?”
“Umm…” Jou said, struggling for an answer, but Mimi said quite nonchalantly,
“Nothing. I was just running away.”
“Running away? From what?”
“From fighting. I thought that there could be a way to save the Digital World without having to fight.”
“…Is there?” Elecmon asked out of curiosity.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Mimi chuckled a little, shaking her head.
Oh? Seeing that, Jou cocked his head.
“Yeah, I guess there isn’t,” Elecmon agreed. “So, what are you going to do now? Are you still going to keep running?”
“I quit running. Come, let’s go back to the others, Jou-senpai.”
“O–Okay…” Jou answered, but after seeing all of the Digimon gathered around them, he began to reconsider that maybe they didn’t have to return so soon.
“Hey, why don’t we continue this journey and gather friends?” Jou suggested.
“Gather friends?” Gomamon asked.
“Yeah. I think that we have our own fight, in the same way that Taichi and the others have theirs. I mean, we should form a group not to recruit troops but to protect ourselves from the enemy. Let’s continue this journey. Otherwise, we would have just been wasting time separating from the others.”
Jou thought it to be a good idea, if he did say so himself.
That’s right. There isn’t just one path that you’re meant to take. You’re free to choose the path for yourself… Isn’t that right, Shin-niisan?
“I agree!” Mimi said cheerfully. She was back to her old self. “I expected nothing less from you, Jou-senpai! I’m so glad it was you who came with me. Well, everyone, let’s go!”

④ The Darkness Within the Heart

“Black gas?”
Sora cocked her head in puzzlement at Andromon’s words.
“Yes. I haven’t seen it for myself, but Leomon has told me about it. This must be that black gas. It is where Yamato is kept prisoner.”
Sora, Takeru, and Andromon had arrived in this spot using the locator on Sora’s digivice. But black gas hung over where the blinking point was, and when Sora and Takeru tried to step into it, Andromon hurriedly stopped them.
“What happens when you go inside it?” Takeru asked, looking worried.
“According to Leomon, once that gas surrounded the Digimon, they began to kill one another. Perhaps it has the ability to control those with darkness in their hearts and drive them mad to their deaths.”
“Then… Did that happen to my brother too?”
“I do not know. Fortunately, since I’m a machine, the black gas will not be able to take control of my heart. I will go check it out, so the rest of you, stay here.”
“No, I wanna go too!” Takeru cried out, but Sora stopped him.
“Let’s leave this to Andromon.”
Sora really wanted to go save Yamato as well. But she knew that no matter how emotionally stable a person was, there was still a danger that they would be seized by darkness. All humans were like that.
But would Andromon’s words be enough to break Yamato’s heart free from the darkness—? Not even Sora was sure about that.
Piyomon piped up. “It’ll be okay, Takeru. Yamato will have figured things out on his own, and he’ll be back,” she said, consoling Takeru. “After all, he has Gabumon with him.”
Hearing that, Sora nodded vigorously.
That’s right. When she had been stealthily avoiding everyone at Temp Lake, it had been Piyomon who had stirred Sora’s heart.
That’s what partners are for.
Sora’s certainty was reinvigorated.
Yamato will come back. He had Gabumon with him. So, she would have faith in him and wait. After all, that’s what friends did…
Sora looked up at the sky above her. She could see the land and seas of the real world.
You feel the same way too, Mom, right? I’m far from your reach right now, but you’re waiting there having faith in me too, right…?

○

Right, left, up, and down; their entire surroundings were a jet-black darkness.
How long had Yamato and Gabumon spent surrounded by this darkness?
One hour… Two hours… No, one day? One week?
Humans go mad when they are trapped in darkness for a long period of time — He had read that in a book somewhere.
Fortunately for Yamato and Gabumon, a light that was as faint as a single candle was with them wherever they walked. The source of the light was Yamato’s digivice, and that meager light protected them, managing to shield them from the darkness trying to enter into them. And, like a pair who was trapped in a mountain hut during a blizzard and was gathering before the light of a weak stove for warmth, the two huddled close together.
But even though Gabumon was in such close contact with Yamato, he felt that Yamato’s heart was somewhere far, far away.
That was because Yamato had a faint idea that his own hatred, his heart of darkness, was what had drawn this darkness to them, and his guilty conscience had obstinately closed off his heart.
Yamato’s biggest miscalculation had been that he thought he could control the power of his hatred.
But in the same way that temptation is easy to give in to, yielding to evil deeds make a person lose their self-control or even, by letting their emotions get the better of them, make them do horrible things without thinking. Controlling temptation (the power of darkness) was not easy (even if one could).
But that small power of darkness was not like a virulent virus that hung in the air. It lay within humans; in the hearts of all humans.
It didn’t mean that Yamato was a wicked person. Most likely, it was because he had rushed too quickly.
He felt so compelled to hasten the defeat of the Dark Masters that he had allowed his choices to be made out of hatred. His justification of using hatred “to save the world” had robbed him of the time and effort that he could have used to divert that energy towards a goal of more acceptable social and moral nature.
He should have realized that a fight based on hatred only brought forth more hatred.

“What Koushiro said was right,” Yamato began to mutter. “Someone who lets his emotions get the better of him isn’t fit to be a leader. That’s right. I thought that Taichi had no tact and only thought superficially about everything. But I was wrong. He’s decisive and he has leadership… Unlike me… I’m just a useless person…”
“You’re wrong. You’re not a useless person, Yamato!”
Hearing Gabumon’s voice brought Yamato out of his trance. He thought he had been speaking only to himself. He had completely forgotten that Gabumon was beside him.
“I’m no good… As proof, even my own brother Takeru likes Taichi better. But of course he does. Taichi is more like an older brother.”
“That’s not true!”
“I don’t have the right to act like Takeru’s brother… I just wanted to feel comfortable in my position as his brother. I wanted to convince myself into believing that the only person Takeru had was me…”
“Stop that!”
“That’s why I was so pissed at Taichi… But I finally realize that. No one needs me… It makes no difference if I’m there or not…”
“No! There are plenty of good things about you that only you have!”
“Enough… Just leave me alone.”
“Yamato…”
Gabumon knew that whatever he said wouldn’t cut through. Yamato’s eyes had a faraway look in them.
If talking didn’t work—
Chomp!
Gabumon bit Yamato’s leg.
“Kuh!”
Yamato grimaced. “What are you doing?!”
Yamato turned to Gabumon and sucked in his breath. Gabumon was crying. Why…? For who…?
“There’s only one of you in this world, Yamato. Isn’t that right?” Gabumon appealed to him fervently, holding back his own sobbing.
Yamato was so overwhelmed by his pressure that he reluctantly nodded.
“Then why do you compare yourself with Taichi? Of course you and Taichi are different! You’re Takeru’s brother, Yamato! Saying that Taichi is more like his brother makes no sense!”
“Gabumon…”
“Besides… besides… if you weren’t here, then what would I do? I waited in this world all my life just to meet you and you alone!”
Yamato couldn’t say anything.
“Do you really not want me around? Do you really want to be alone, Yamato? Then I’ll leave here and disappear for good. But only if you really want that!”
“N–No…” Yamato hurriedly shook his head, as if he’d thought that Gabumon would immediately leave. “I was lying when I said that I wanted to be alone. I was just putting on airs. In reality, I want to be with someone. All I do is keep putting up airs and not letting people get close to me, but the truth is—”
In Yamato’s mind, the sight of his mother that day pulling Takeru by the hand as they left them came to him vividly.
That’s right. Why hadn’t he said it back then? Don’t go, Mom, don’t go…
“The truth is, I was lonely… But back then, I thought that I absolutely must not cry. Because I was alone, I wanted to think of myself as this worthy person who could do anything alone. But… the truth is… I wanted to cry.”
Don’t go… Please come back, Mom!
“I hate… being alone.” Yamato spoke as if he had changed back into a small child.
“Then…” Gabumon said fiercely, “Lean on me! Need me the same way that I need you! Then… I’m sure that… I’ll be able to work even harder!”
The tears fell freely on Yamato’s face as he smiled.
“That’s right. You’re with me, Gabumon. I’m… not alone.”
“You understand me, Yamato.”
“Yeah. I have my friends… I have Takeru, my dad… And my mom.”
And the darkness that surrounded Yamato began to fade. Now that the darkness in Yamato’s heart was gone, the black gas seemed to have lost interest in him and had gone to find other prey.
“Hey, Yamato! Look!” Gabumon pointed at a shadow approaching them from across the fading black gas.
It was Andromon.
“Everyone is waiting. Let us go.”
That was all Andromon said before he promptly made an about-face and walked back to where he came from.
Andromon’s mechanical heart didn’t know how to express tenderness, but Yamato was exceedingly grateful for it.
Behind Andromon, Yamato walked side by side with Gabumon.
As the gas thinned out around them, Yamato saw the shadows of other people ahead.
It was Takeru and Sora, but to Yamato, Sora looked like someone else.
Mom…

⑤ The True Enemy

“Damn it! They’re over here, too!”
While Taichi and his group were wandering in search of Mimi and the others, they were attacked by Piemon’s troops.
Taichi’s decision was to run for the time being.
It was not the wrong decision. After all, this was not a war about honor, but about survival.
But Piemon wouldn’t let that happen. He had already sent his subordinates LadyDevimon, MarineDevimon, and SkullSatamon to surround the children’s location well in advance.
It was LadyDevimon who now blocked their path of retreat.
“We’ll have to fight,” their adviser Koushiro said. The thought was already on Taichi’s mind. There was no other way.
“Tailmon, I’m counting on you!”
Tailmon super-evolved to Angewomon and challenged LadyDevimon.
Both of them were Perfect levels, so their power should have been equal.
But this was the world of darkness. The power of darkness made LadyDevimon’s attacks more effective.
“Tentomon, help her!”
Tentomon super-evolved to AtlurKabuterimon.
But Angewomon apparently had her heart set on finishing this match on her own. After a round of fierce hair-pulling, she managed to defeat the enemy.
“Magnificent work, just magnificent.”
Piemon had, at some point, appeared standing behind them unawares. He was pretending to applaud them.
With a polite bow of greeting at Angewomon, he then said, “Would you like to have a round with me, if you wish, mademoiselle?”
But knowing that Piemon was an Ultimate level,
“You’re fighting against WarGreymon!”
Agumon warp-evolved to WarGreymon.
Piemon didn’t look disappointed. “Very well. I would be dealing with you sooner or later anyway.”
“You’re not gonna win!”
WarGreymon unleashed his Gaia Force. It exploded violently towards Piemon, but Piemon said quite unconcernedly,
“Hehehe. It’s quite rude to be using your special attack right off the bat. I will respond in turn then… Trump Sword!”
The four swords on Piemon’s back vanished, reappearing the next instant in a rectangular formation before WarGreymon, ready to skewer him.
“Look out!”
WarGreymon hurriedly took off the Brave Shield on his back to guard himself. It managed to shield his upper body, but his unprotected legs were each pierced through with a sword.
“Wah!”
WarGreymon fell to the ground, unable to walk. Piemon ambled up to him with a calm expression on his face.
“Is that painful? Then I will remove the pain for you.”
He snapped his fingers together and a chainsaw appeared out of thin air.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen! What you are able to see next is a magic trick where I will cut this mon’s body in half! I will be cutting through his belly in order to sever off his legs! Behold, ladies and gentlemen!”
As he spoke, he turned on the chainsaw’s switch and brought it down to cut off WarGreymon’s legs.
Is this the end? — was what everyone thought.
At that moment, Sora, Takeru, and Andromon brought back Yamato with them.
“Sorry we’re late, guys!”
“Yamato, I need you right now!”
Taichi pointed at WarGreymon and Yamato nodded willingly.
“Gabumon, warp-evolve! MetalGarurumon!”
He lunged at Piemon, breathing his Cocytus Breath.
Piemon smoothly dodged the blow, but as he was doing so, WarGreymon got to his feet and pulled out the two Piemon swords that were embedded in his legs.
Garudamon, Angemon, and Andromon headed for MarineDevimon and SkullSatamon.
What was more…
“Guys!”
It was Mimi and Jou’s voices.
Looking up, they saw that the horizon was filling in with an immense number of Digimon. Mimi and Jou had returned with allies.
“D–Damn you!”
Not even Piemon, who had been fighting composedly until then, could hide his panic.
He summoned a herd of Evilmon, and the all-out war between Chosen Children and Piemon’s army finally began.

○

“Hurry, pi! The battle has already begun, pi!”
Piccolomon, who had come for Gennai and Centaurmon at the “Wall of Fire,” was now leading them to the battleground.
“The real disaster is lying in wait. We must inform the children. Will we make it in time?”

○

“Holy Arrow!”
“Shadow Wing!”
“Horn Buster!”
“Heaven’s Knuckle!”
“Spiral Sword!”
“Flower Cannon!”
“Hammer Spark!”
“Fist of Domination!”
MarineDevimon and SkullSatamon were both extinguished. The swarm of Evilmon was dispersed.
Only Piemon was left.
Once they beat Piemon, this battle would be over. They could stop the danger that was falling over the Digital World and human world.
“H–How dare you…!”
Because Piemon’s face was hidden behind his mask, it was hard to tell what his expression was, but his voice was clearly quite shrill.
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon slowly approached him and he took a step back.
“Prepare yourself!”
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon dashed towards him.
“Gaia Force!”
“Cocytus Breath!”
The special attacks of the two Ultimate levels hit Piemon.
“Gyaaaaaah!” Piemon’s screams echoed.
“We did it!”
Piemon’s body turned to data and scattered. At the same time, the world of darkness faded.
“Did we win?” Taichi asked, looking around wildly.
“I think so, but…”
“We did it! We finally did it!”
“But what happens now?”
With the collapse of the world of darkness, Spiral Mountain disappeared.
But that did not change the Digital World back to the way it was before. All that remained was empty sky. The children and their Digimon floated in it, weightless.
“Hey, what’s that?” Mimi pointed at where the world of darkness had existed only moments ago.
What stood in its place was a mysterious, giant polyhedron shape, with protuberances all over it. Chains stretched out from the protuberances. The chains were shaped like the double helix of DNA and they whipped around like tentacles.
“That… was inside the internet…” Koushiro said, looking at Andromon.
“Yes,” Andromon nodded.
The remains of Piemon’s data flowed towards the object as if it were being pulled by a string.
“What’s… happening…?”
“It’s being absorbed.”
“What happens after it’s absorbed?”
“I don’t know either!”
After it had eaten all of Piemon’s data, its body changed shape. A human form came rising up from one of the protrusions.

⑤ Those Who Defy Evolution

It appears from beyond the wall of fire,
bearing the name Apocalymon.
The bringer of many calamities, the enemy of all evolution.

— “Digimon Book of Revelations,” Chapter 23, Verse 8

Even with the Digimon Analyzer, they couldn’t tell what it was.

NAME: ????
TYPE: ????
ATTRIBUTE: ????
ATTACKS: ????

Like a tetrapod, it had polyhedron-shaped protruberances with double-helix chains dangling out of them, ending in curved cranes.
On top of one of the protuberances stood a human-like creature.
“Who are you?!” Taichi cried.
But the human shape kept silent.
“Answer me! Who are you?!” He asked again.
The human shape opened its mouth.
“Goooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!”
A massive low-frequency sound pressure rippled through the air, turning into an impact that assaulted the children and their Digimon.
“…This feels gross!” Mimi said, grimacing.
It was as if a rotten-smelling mucus had been coated onto their skin.
“What do we do?” Yamato asked.
“You’re asking me?” Not even Taichi knew if what stood in front of them was a friend or a foe.
That was where Piccolomon, Centaurmon, and Gennai riding inside a Mechanorimon, arrived.
“Thank goodness! We made it!”
Mechanorimon’s hatch opened and Gennai’s face popped out.
“Gennai-san, what is that? Is it a Digimon?” Koushiro asked.
“I don’t know if it’s a Digimon or not. But I’ve heard that its name is Apocalymon,” Gennai answered.
“Apocalymon…” The children repeated.
“At least, that’s what was written in the Book of Revelations.”
“Is it an enemy or an ally?” Takeru asked.
“An enemy. Our real enemy.”
“Our real enemy? Our enemy wasn’t the Dark Masters?” Jou squeaked loudly.
“Could it be the mastermind that controlled the Dark Masters?” Yamato asked.
“You could say that, but then again, maybe not. To be quite frank, I don’t know. But what’s certain is that it is our enemy.”
“Then we just have to beat it.”
Taichi exchanged looks with the others. Everyone nodded back at him, grimly.
“Let’s go!”
Just when Taichi gave the order, Apocalymon gave another cry.
“Kyeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”
This time, it wasn’t the low voice it had before, but a shrill cry, like sharp nails running down glass. The children automatically covered their ears.
Then,
Smash!
Smash!
The Crests in their hands broke to pieces.
“Wh–What happened?”
“Our Crests!”
WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, AtlurKabuterimon, Lilimon, Zudomon, and Angewomon reverted to their Child levels. Angemon, who was not relying on a Crest for power, remained in his Adult form.
“N–No way!”
“Why did you change back?!”
“Are we not able to evolve anymore?”
“How do we fight now?!”
Koushiro looked at Gennai, hoping he would save them. But not even Gennai knew what to do.
It was Gennai and the other agents working for Homeostasis who had made the Crests. With each step in making the Crests, they had put into them their hopes that the Crests would one day save the Digital World.
And now, those Crests, their hope, had been destroyed.
Gennai was aghast. At the same time, an old injury on his back suddenly spiked with pain. It was coming from the seed of darkness that Piemon had once buried inside him.
“Urghh, owwwww.”
Taichi, who was unaware of Gennai’s pain, said to him snidely, “This is no time to be acting senile! Do something!”
“I’m not acting senile…”
Gennai was fighting with himself right now. In order to prevent the dark seed from activating, he needed to suppress any negative emotions he felt. He tried to recall the self-control training that he had been working on while he’d resided within the barrier beneath Temp Lake. He needed to maintain his sense of calm.
Piccolomon, who was watching Gennai with a sidelong glance, felt compelled to act. He wanted to teach the children to never give up on their dreams. What he was going to undertake might appear to them like a foolish, reckless act. But his message ought to reach them. No, he had to believe that it would.
“Children, watch me pi!”
Like a vanguard, he raised his beloved spear Fairytale high above his head and flew at Apocalymon.
“Don’t do it, Piccolomon!”
Gennai tried to stop him, but he wasn’t listening.
“Bit Bomb!”
Bombs filled with computer viruses fell upon Apocalymon like rain. Explosions fell around it, but Apocalymon didn’t appear the least bit fazed.
Instead, Apocalymon’s double helix chains stretched out, twining themselves around Piccolomon.
“Uwah!”
It was then that Apocalymon’s human shape spoke.

       You
         will
           know
       our
    regrets

It wasn’t just one voice. It was the voices of countless many, with an echo to it.
“Gyaaah!”
The double-helix chains burned red hot from their roots to their pointed ends. When the red hot parts of it touched Piccolomon, his body began to burn with black smoke.

       Our
         regrets
           as
        we
      disappeared
         in
          the
        evolution
      process

Piccolomon’s pink body dissolved like melting candy.

      Our
        regrets
           as
       we
     were
      denied
        life

“Gyaaaaaah!”
Piccolomon’s body evaporated.
“Piccolomoooooon!”
The children sobbed.
Among them, Andromon asked Apocalymon mechanically, “Since you refer to yourself as ‘we,’ does that mean that there is more than one of you?”

     We
       are
         the
      accumulation
    of
  regrets
    from
     Digimon
       who
     had
   died
     through
       the
    evolution
  process

Koushiro was the first among the children to understand their meaning.
“But that’s inevitable. It’s to be expected that some lives will disappear during the evolution process. Some may not have been able to adapt to their environm—”
Apocalymon interrupted him.

     Inevitable
        ?
          Do
      you
    think
      that
        single
     word
   satisfies
      us
        ?
      Are
    you
     telling
       us
    that
      we
       are
        unworthy
     of
   life
     ?

Mimi began to feel that Apocalymon deserved to be pitied.
While they had been spending their time laughing joyously within the light, the multiple lives that made up Apocalymon had been denied to exist. If their lives had been placed in darkness and left to die out, then that was too sad.
That was why she said, “Can’t we talk this out? If you guys wish to co-exist with us in the Digital World, then maybe we can help.”
Apocalymon closed their mouth for a moment. They seemed to be studying Mimi’s suggestion.
Then, after a time, they said:

    You
      will
        help
     us
    ?

“Yes, you can tell me anything.”
Mimi felt relief that her feelings had reached them. If they had only talked it out to begin with, she also thought, Piccolomon wouldn’t have had to die.
However…

     Then
       come
          to
      us
    !
      There
         we
      shall
    live
     together
        !
     Within
    us
      !

“I–I can’t do that,” Mimi said hurriedly, shaking her head. “If you want us to fuse with you guys, then I don’t mean that! There must be some other—”
But even before Mimi could finish, Apocalymon’s double-helix chains sped towards her.
“Look out!”
Palmon tackled Mimi, barely escaping the danger.
“Hey! Listen when someone’s talking to you!” Gomamon yelled angrily.
Just then—
“It is useless to speak to it.” Hikari said in a cold voice.
“Huh?” Tailmon looked up at Hikari in surprise.
Hikari wasn’t looking the way she usually did. Something had taken possession of her. Her small body glowed with divine light.
“Apocalymon is merely buying time. It is letting the Digimon that it has absorbed to speak their grudges in order to prevent anyone from disturbing its preparations to reset the Digital World. You must not waste time listening to their nonsense.”
“What’s wrong, Hikari?!” Taichi cried, shaking Hikari by the shoulders. Gennai stopped him.
“Don’t do that. Homeostasis is borrowing her body to speak to us. Pipe down and listen.”
“Homeostasis? What’s that?”
“I am one who wishes for balance…” Homeostasis said with Hikari’s voice.
“Are you God?” Sora asked.
“I am not. Please think of me as the Digital World’s security system.”
“Anyway, about what you just said… What did you mean?” Mimi asked.
“I mean that Apocalymon’s real body is elsewhere.”
“What in the world is Apocalymon?” Koushiro asked.
“Apocalymon is merely an Idea. An idea that rejects “evolution.” In other words, it is the very essence of the idea to “not evolve.” While it is true that there are those in the Digital World who have disappeared through the evolution process, they get reconstructed as different species at the Village of Beginnings. However, what remains is their feelings of regret. This guy absorbed those lingering emotions as its nourishment in order to form its physical body.”
“Is that so…”
“You must hurry. Apocalymon is storing energy to create a big bang in the Digital World. The big bang will effect both the Digital World and the human world overlapping it. You must seal away Apocalymon this instant.”
“How?!”
“Our Digimon can’t evolve anymore!”
Homeostasis responded to the children’s questions with its own question. “Why are you unable to evolve?”
“Because our Crests are gone, of course!”
“It is true that your Crests have been destroyed. But are you really unable to evolve without your Crests? Have you tried?”
“Tried…? Is it possible?” Takeru asked.
Takeru didn’t have a Crest to begin with. That was why he wasn’t flustered like the other children. He had a feeling that he could evolve without a Crest.
But…
“Don’t try to console us,” Jou said. “If it was possible, then we should have been able to do it without even getting the Crests in the first place. Since that wasn’t done—”
“You’re wrong. The Crest is merely an amplifier for the spiritual trait that you each possess. Your real Crests already exist within your hearts.”
“I’ll try it!” Takeru said, his eyes shining with hope. “I feel like I can do it! Besides, I won’t let it end like this. There are important things that we need to protect!”

○

Back in the human world, the people down in Odaiba had been watching the spiral mountain that, moments ago, had been floating up in the night sky disappear.
Natsuko Takaishi was gazing up at the sky worriedly when she saw a flash of bright light. “Ah!”
She turned to Hiroaki Ishida who was standing beside her and asked him, “What is that?”
Her ex-husband answered, “I don’t know. But… to me… It looks like the light of hope…”

○

“Angemon, super-evolve! HolyAngemon!”
Angemon finally achieved super-evolving to Perfect level. Without a Crest.

“H–How?” Koushiro asked Hikari, but Homeostasis had left her at some point and Hikari couldn’t provide an answer.
But she had seen and heard everything while Homeostasis had taken possession of her and said, “I’ll try it too.”
Copying Takeru, she folded her hands in front of her heart. Light formed in front of her, taking on the same shape as her Crest of light.
“Tailmon, super-evolve! Angewomon!”
“It’s like…” Watching her, Jou could feel his heart singing, “I can see the light of hope!”
This time Jou folded his hands together. The image of his Crest of sincerity appeared.
“Gomamon, evolve! Ikkakumon! Ikkakumon, super-evolve! Zudomon!”
Hope didn’t belong to Takeru alone, nor did light belong to Hikari alone. Hope and light also existed in Jou’s heart. Like a catalyst, it boosted Takeru’s hope and Hikari’s light, and Jou accepted with sincerity that hope and light would bring about miracles. That was why his super-evolution was achieved.
Yamato gazed at the front of his heart.
I feel it… I feel the power of friendship…
It was visible to the naked eye. Delicate beads of light came out from within Yamato, gathering into the shape of his Crest of friendship. When he traced the lines of the beads of light on the outside, he could see that it was also overflowing from the other children.
Everyone’s friendship… I can feel it gathering inside of me…
“Gabumon, warp-evolve! MetalGarurumon!”
The Crest of one person’s heart was not only stimulating everyone else’s hearts. The Crests of everyone’s hearts were stimulating one person’s heart at the same time. The individual spiritual traits that they possessed were mutually influencing each other.
That was what “friends” did. It was impossible for humans to live their lives alone.
“Piyomon, evolve! Birdramon! Birdramon, super-evolve! Garudamon!”
“Tentomon, evolve! Kabuterimon! Kabuterimon, super-evolve! AtlurKabuterimon!”
“Palmon, evolve! Togemon! Togemon, super-evolve! Lilimon!”
One after another, without a Crest, their Digimon achieved super-evolution. Then, at last,
“Taichi! Give us your courage!”
“We’ll give you ours!”
Taichi nodded silently.
Everyone’s courage was gathering within Taichi’s heart. Taichi’s courage, as well, bubbled up from within him.
“Agumon, warp-evolve! WarGreymon!”

⑥ The Last Battle

“Hammer Spark!”
“Flower Cannon!”
It was Jou with Zudomon, and Mimi with Lilimon, who were in charge of destroying the double-helix chains that were rushing towards Taichi and Yamato. However, there were so many chains that they also rushed upon Jou and Mimi.
Hikari with Angewomon, and Takeru with HolyAngemon, covered for them, cutting off the chains’ with their arrows of light or their holy sword.
Andromon, Centaurmon, Ogremon and the other Digimon, even Gennai piloting Mechanorimon, went to support them.
The remaining four children aimed for the human-shaped part of Apocalymon’s body.
Apocalymon used the data of the Dark Masters that it had absorbed to recreate their finishing moves and attack them. Right now, Mugendramon’s cannon appeared bubbling up like mucus from the surface of its protuberances, ready to fire the Mugen Cannon.
But before it could,
“Horn Buster!”
“Shadow Wing!”
Koushiro with AtlurKabuterimon and Sora with Garudamon pulverized the cannons.
“Let’s go, Taichi!”
“You got it, Yamato!”
Taichi rode on WarGreymon’s shoulder, as Yamato rode on MetalGarurumon’s back. They hurled their finishing attacks on Apocalymon’s human shape.
“Gaia Force!”
“Cocytus Breath!”
The human shape shattered into pieces.
“Yes!”
All of Apocalymon’s chains were also cut down. The children were certain about their victory.
But Apocalymon, whose existence was originally an Idea, only needed a physical body to reset the Digital World. It was not affected by the loss of its physical form in the least. It had steadily been preparing for the big bang within its body all along.
After the big bang, Apocalymon planned to rule the new world that was created out of it by becoming its god. It wanted to become the god of a dead world— a world that fully denied evolution, growth, movement— all sorts of transient processes in exchange for silence and stagnation.

     My
       time
          will
      now
     begin
       !

At some point, it had changed its pronoun from “we” to “I.”

    Grand
      Death
         Big
     Bang
    !

Apocalymon’s body burst. In the place where Apocalymon had been was dark space filled with a subzero frigidity that was felt by all five senses.
That dark space shrunk momentarily, and then came the big bang.
An unimaginable shock wave headed towards the children.
“It exploded!”
“Is this the end for us?”
“I don’t want that!”
“It isn’t the end!”
“Yes, I refuse this to be the end!”
“We won’t let it end!”
“No matter what!”
“After all—”
“We have a future!”
The children’s digivices glittered brightly. All eight of them connected line by line.
The big bang just happened to be in the center where the eight children surrounded it. The lines of light formed a perfect cube that enclosed the big bang, shrunk it, and vanished.
“What… was that?”
The children were taken aback in shock. Gennai flew towards them, piloting his Mechanorimon.
“The power of your digivices have contained it!”
“Then… Did we win?” Taichi asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Yamato clapped him on the shoulder. “Looks that way.”
“Did we just save the worlds from doom and destruction?” Jou asked in a cracked voice.
“Yeah,” Sora answered. It still hadn’t struck her that it was all over, but the anxiety that had been tightly built up within her had loosened and tears were streaming down her face. Sora didn’t notice.
“Man, you guys sure are somethin’,” Ogremon said to Mimi happily.
“Oh, you think so?” Mimi said, posing as if it had all been no sweat.
“Thank you so much.”
Andromon bowed his head, to which Koushiro said “Not at all” with an embarrassed blush.

○

Even on the human world, the people there could tell that the menace to the Digital World had vanished. The empty space of the Digital World that had covered the skies was gradually fading away to a light, night sky.
From the east, the morning sun was starting to rise.
Because they had been prepared with the possibility that they may never see the sun again, the morning sun then looked particularly beautiful. Its light seemed to rejoice in the wonderfulness of life. All of the people who saw it were moved to tears.

In Odaiba, the families of the Chosen Children shook with emotion as they watched the sun rise. Some hugged each other, some whooped with cheers, some raised their clasped hands up to the rising sun in prayer.
Just before the Digital World disappeared from the skies, Shin Kido shouted his thanks to his brother and his friends who had worked desperately to save them.
“Great job, everyone.”

⑦A New World

The first to revive was the island of beginnings.
The island modeled all sorts of geographic features
that were copied to make new sky, sea, and land.

— “Digimon Book of Revelations,” Chapter 28, Verse 12

In that empty sky, the first place in the Digital world where the children had landed on, File Island, was reconstructing before their very eyes.
Centaurmon spoke. “File Island is small but it contains various terrains and climates because it was originally known as the “Island of Beginnings.” That name originated from records of when the Digital world was first created. It’s like a miniature copy of the entire Digital world, so to speak. I learned of this by deciphering the inscriptions of a different part of the Ancient Dino region. The Digital world is being recreated now, once more, using the data of File Island as its base to create a new world.”
They could see particles of light gathering in one spot on File Island.
“The Village of Beginnings, right?” Mimi asked, to which Gennai gave a resounding nod.
“Yes.”
“New Digimon will be born!”
“Hey, let’s all go check it out!”

○

The Village of Beginnings was recovering its youthful vibrancy. Multiple Digieggs appeared on its cushioned ground, waiting for their rebirth.

At the beginning of the world, when the Digital world was still in chaos, the Digital world chose the idea of “evolution.”
By deciding that this process would involve the Digital world itself “evolving,” it created Homeostasis for that necessity. Homeostasis mainly worked on minute security detail within the Digital world. Because Homeostasis was a system and did not have physical form, it created Gennai and others as autonomous agents (called “Agents”) to act as its arms and legs.
Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. It is when light and darkness are at equilibrium, that the world is stable and balanced. Homeostasis functioned to keep that balance equal, so whenever the powers of darkness increased dramatically, it needed to stop them in order to keep the balance of the Digital world from collapsing.

And in the human world, four years ago, a single Digiegg flew through the gate into Hikarigaoka. It was an unexpected— Or, perhaps, fateful accident.
That Digiegg hatched into a Digimon who “evolved” to Koromon, then Agumon, then Greymon. Such rapid evolution was unthinkable in the Digital world.
It was a young human girl named Hikari Yagami who had caused the evolution. They didn’t know what it was about Hikari that accelerated “evolution.”
Homeostasis sent Parrotmon to Hikarigaoka to retrieve Greymon. At that time, they scanned the data of that curious young girl and, for comparison purposes, also scanned the data of her brother Taichi beside her along with the data of all humans who had witnessed the battle between Greymon and Parrotmon.
Homeostasis used a group of its Agents to analyze the data set they had obtained. The result was their discovery that in each child existed unique spiritual traits such as courage, friendship, love, knowledge, purity, sincerity, and kindness, etc. These qualities were not about whether they already possessed them or not, but that they had the hidden potential for it.
Hikari’s trait, however, was different from them all. It was like the presence of the power of “life” itself. It had the same meaning as “evolution” for the Digital world, or maybe even the same meaning as “truth” and “beauty.” As an umbrella term for the source of life, they called this trait “light.”

Four years in the human world meant several thousand years in the Digital world. The Digimon’s basic traits continued to evolve within that time, and sometimes there would appear Digimon who had special connections with children from the real world. Those Digimon achieved rapid evolution through the special qualities of that human child’s heart, and they could exterminate the powers of darkness in the Digital world that grew in excess.
The Digimon and the children that they had a special bond with became known as “partners.”
In order to provide a device that would easily convey a human’s heart to their Digimon, Homeostasis made the digivices.
They also made the Crests. The design of each child’s Crest were the exact replica of the design that took form in their hearts when overlayed with a special oscillograph.
If the digivices were a transmission device, then the Crests were amplifiers. But they weren’t made to unconditionally amplify their powers. If the child acted on wicked feelings that went against their special trait, their Crest acted as a limiter instead.
That was how dangers in the Digital world were overcome countless times. The containment of the first Apocalymon was one of them, but at that time there weren’t enough children and Digimon partners to seal it away perfectly. Four of those Digimon evolved into the Four Holy Beasts, bestowed with the role of protecting the Digital world. The Digimon who lived at that time recorded all that had happened in the “Digimon Book of Revelations” as posterity for future generations.

The four Dark Masters had been scheming to take over the Digital world for some time now, and their attention fell on the Book of Revelations.
With with Book of Revelations, they designed their evil plot and used Nanomon to have him make a program that would build Spiral Mountain. In the meantime, all four of them made an all-out attack on the Four Holy Beasts to get them out of the picture.
Apocalymon must have sent its thoughts through the “Wall of Fire” into the Digital world. It planted the idea into the Dark Masters’ minds to unconsciously reject “evolution.” The Dark Masters’ plan would permanently destroy the function of the Village of Beginnings. It was possible that, to the very end, they had been unaware of it.
In other words, the construction of Spiral Mountain took “evolution” away from the Digital World.

In the human world, the families of the other “Chosen Children” moved to Odaiba at roughly around the same time as the Yagami family. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that the hearts of those other children had their own separate traits. Some sort of power operated in the human world, something that took away the memories of the Hikarigaoka incident from the children. If it had a large design that stretched between both the human world and the Digital world, then it was an event of such a high-level that not even Homeostasis could sense it.

And what happened next may not have been a coincidence either.
Homeostasis had its Agents choose and safeguard Digieggs from the Village of Beginnings that held the possibility of becoming those children’s Digimon partners. However, one of the Dark Masters, Piemon, sniffed out what they were up to and attacked the Agents. All but one of them were wiped out.
The lone Agent that survived— In other words, Gennai— seized an enemy Mechanorimon and made off with the eight Digieggs with their digivices attached to them. The Crests alone he could not recover. The Digieggs were what reacted with the children in Odaiba.
It was at that time that Piemon buried a black ball, a clump of pure darkness, in Gennai’s back. It was to assure that even if Gennai made it out of there alive, he would be prevented from moving around freely. This black ball was the prototype for what would later be reformed into the Dark Seed, a vital weapon for the Digimon of darkness.
While he was escaping, one of the Digieggs fell from Gennai’s grasp as he was flying above Temp Lake on Server continent. Tailmon was born out of that Digiegg, and during her long days of wandering, forgot about her own mission and was picked up by Vamdemon to become his servant.
Gennai shook off his pursuers, crossed the ocean, and hid the Digieggs on File Island, which was a remote area in the world at the time that was still covered by a thick glacier. Then, he immediately flew off again, burrowing at the bottom of Temp Lake. He needed to create a barrier that would prevent the black ball from activating.
While inside that barrier, Gennai had to think about what he could do to suppress the black ball’s power. The conclusion that he came up with was to “grow old.” By disabling his regenerative function, he could prevent the black ball from enlarging.

On File Island, the Digimon hatched and waited for their human partners to arrive. The glacier covering the island gradually melted away and greenery sprouted.
And then, when it looked like their prospects of defeating the Four Holy Beasts looked brighter, the Dark Masters dispatched one of their subordinates, Devimon, to the remote File Island in order to commence the spread of the powers of darkness throughout the Digital world.
The time had come.
Equilibrium in the Digital world fell out of balance as the powers of darkness increased, and the digivices flew towards the human world to bring back the Chosen Children…

○

The first Digimon that was born at the Village of Beginnings, after the great disaster, hatched just as Taichi and everyone were getting ready to take a commemorative photo.
They were all gathered in front of Andromon’s eye camera, making poses. Just as the shutter went off, the Digiegg that Hikari was holding in her arms popped open with a puff of white smoke, changing into a Botamon tucked in a cute cradle.
“It hatched!”
“Who could it be?”
“Maybe it’s Leomon or Whamon!”
They all watched lovingly over the energetically wailing baby Digimon.
“Now then…” Ogremon finished preparations for his travels and stood up. “It’s about time for me to split.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Mimi asked.
“I’ve got no business here no more. I’m off on a journey.”
“What’s with that attitude? We should all live together here, as friends!”
“Keh, no thanks. See ya!”
“Wait!”
Mimi tried to go after Ogremon as he barreled away, but Jou stopped her. “Let him go. We need to accept that everyone has their own way of life. That sort of life suits Ogremon the best, I’m sure.”

○

Until now, time in the Digital World passed quicker than time in the real world.
In terms of real-world time, the Digital world had only been born recently. Perhaps its rapid flow of time was what caused the real world to try and catch up to its “history” from the big bang to the present time. Because of it, the Digital world as a world before now lacked stability. This was the reason why other worlds invaded it so easily, as well as why it influenced the real world.
The Dark Masters’ “restructuring” of the Digital world actually helped it to increase in stability. What’s more, the scale of the computer network in the real world had rapidly expanded the past few years, and there were more personal computers in use as terminals. Both sides must have satisfied enough elements of some sort, because time in the new Digital world was now synced with the real world.
It was an indication that the Digital World had proceeded into its next steps, as both signs of its own evolution and a new era for the humans living in the real world.

Of course, no one was told the meaning behind this. This was “God’s” territory. The knowledge of this was not conveyed to Homeostasis, which was simply a security system, much less to a mere Agent like Gennai…

But even Gennai was able to sense that the flow of time had changed.
Taichi and the others still thought that time passed differently, so they were thinking about continuing their adventures in the Digital World until summer vacation was over in the real world. That wasn’t going to happen.
A solar eclipse was taking place above File Island right now. It was actually the gate to the real world, and it was going to close in two hours.
There was no telling when it would open again next. That could take several years or even hundreds of years.
Gennai and the Digimon had to return the Chosen Children, the heroes who had saved their world, to the real world before that gate closed.
Although he was heartbroken, Gennai mustered up his courage and broke the news to the children who had no idea about this and were excitedly planning their next adventure…

⑧ And So, the End of Summer

“…When you’re back in your world, say hi to your Mom for me,” Piyomon said cheerfully to Sora as they sat on the branch of a large tree in the forest of Dragon’s Eye Lake.
“Okay…” Sora nodded earnestly. “I need to thank you for that, Piyomon. I’d misunderstood my mother for a really long time. But thanks to you, I understand her better. I think I’ll be on much better terms with my mom from now on.”
“Really?”
Sora gazed at Piyomon with a gentle smile and said quietly, “Really.”
“If that’s really true, then I’m so happy!” Piyomon flapped her pink wings widely to try and convey how happy she felt. “I thought that I was only a bother to you because I kept depending on you.”
Sora suddenly pulled Piyomon into a tight embrace.
“That’s not true. That was never true…”
She must have thought that Piyomon would be sad if she showed any tears. But Piyomon heard and felt the shaking that came through in her voice and body, so Piyomon hugged Sora back just as tightly. This way, she would always remember how she felt and how she smelled…

○

Jou and Gomamon avoided looking at each other directly. Instead, they looked at each other’s reflections on the quiet lake surface in front of them.
“I might not have been a good match with you, Gomamon, but I had a lot of fun,” Jou said.
“Me too. Anyway, good luck on your studies when you’re back in that world.” He clapped Jou on the shoulder.
“Yeah!” Jou nodded without hesitation, and then held out his hand to Gomamon.
“Hm? What?”
“Let’s shake hands.”
“Huh? Okay.”
Gomamon wiped his hand on his furry side like a towel to rub off dirt before holding it out, to which Jou said,
“Ahh…”
Gomamon looked at him blankly. “What?”
“So that really was a hand.”
Gomamon looked annoyed for a brief moment, but his frown changed immediately into a smile.
When he had first met Jou, Jou had been a really straight-laced guy who couldn’t even make a single joke. But now…
“Hahahahaha!”
Gomamon laughed. Jou laughed. They both looked at each other and laughed even more.
They could see the tears falling from the other’s eyes, but neither of them brought it up.

○

Koushiro discussed with Gennai and Andromon that they would need a vehicle of some sort to return to the real world, and they decided on using the scraps of a single train car that was on the narrow sandbank dividing the lake.
While Gennai and Andromon were attaching propellers on the outside, Koushiro was sitting in the conductor’s seat of the train car, inputting Odaiba’s location into its destination.
Next to him, Tentomon watched happily at Koushiro’s hands as they skidded skillfully across the pad.
Suddenly, Koushiro’s hands stopped.
With a meek look on his face, Koushiro said to his partner in a choked voice, “Te–Tentomon…”
Tentomon knew that Koushiro was about to say his goodbyes to him and replied back a bit tearfully, “Koushiro-han…”
But Koushiro’s parting words were:
“Truly… I… I have been very much in your care,” with his usual courteous manner.
“Ahh~ To the very end, you speak to me as if we’re strangers!” Tentomon retorted.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. But what are the right words for me to say at a time like this…?”
Koushiro had also thought that there was a different way, but when it came time to say it, he ended up speaking in his usual tone of voice.
“Hmm, that’s a difficult question. But I don’t think you need to push yourself to search for the right words. It’s fine to speak formally. I’m sure that one day, there will come a time when you can say those words naturally.”
Tentomon said this and gripped Koushiro’s hand.
Koushiro returned his grip and said, “Do you think so? I hope so too…”
Tentomon nodded silently. And, within his heart, he said:
Do your best, Koushiro-han.
You couldn’t have it with me because we lacked the time, but I hope instead that, one day, you will have a natural conversation with your father and mother in the real world. One that’s just like a conversation between a real child and their parent…

○

In the center of the prairie, Takeru and Patamon clung to each other, sobbing.
“Waaaaah! Waaaaah!”
“Takeru, don’t cry!” Patamon said, who was also crying.
“But… But we won’t see each other anymore!”
“That’s not true! Your world and my world have the same time now, so there will be a day one day when we see each other again.”
At his words, Takeru blinked. “Really?”
“Really!” Patamon nodded. “We met again after Devimon.”
“Yeah. That was because I believed we would see each other again.”
“You have to believe in that again!”
“Okay.” Takeru’s tears changed into a smile and he held out his pinky finger. “Then, let’s meet again. It’s a promise.”
“Okay!”
Patamon grabbed Takeru’s pinky with both hands and they made a pinky swear.

○

Yamato and Gabumon sat next to each other at the bank of the river.
“…”
“…”
Neither of them spoke. Were they going to go their separate ways without ending up saying anything to each other? Because he didn’t want that, Gabumon mustered up his courage and spoke first.
“…Hey, Yamato?”
“…Yeah?” Yamato looked at Gabumon’s face.
“Could I listen to it again? Your harmonica.”
Yamato said readily, “…Okay,” and nodded.
Yamato’s harmonica played a sad melody filled with grief.
Gabumon let it sweep over him and thought, There’s no need for words.
In Gabumon’s heart, he felt Yamato’s feelings, that were more than words could ever convey…

○

The wind carried Yamato’s music to where Taichi and Agumon were.
Taichi grumbled low under his breath, “Damn it, Yamato!” and kicked the ground sullenly, turning his back on Agumon.
“What’s wrong?” Agumon asked worriedly at Taichi’s sudden mood.
Taichi secretly wiped away the tear that had unexpectedly rolled down his cheek and turned back around, forcing a cheerful smile. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh.”
The place they were in was memorable to the both of them, and Agumon pointed at a spot on the dirt. “This is the place, right? Taichi. This is where I used my Baby Flame to light the firewood.”
“Yeah, that’s right. That firewood burned Seadramon’s tail and that’s what made Seadramon mad.”
“Huh? That was my fault?”
“No, it’s because I poked the fire. Ahahaha!”
“Taichiii,” Agumon grumbled, glaring at Taichi, but his eyes were fond.

○

“Here,” Hikari said, holding out the whistle that she wore around her neck.
Tailmon blinked up at her in surprise. “Are you sure?”
Hikari crinkled her adorable eyes and said, “Yeah.”
And she placed the whistle herself around Tailmon’s neck.
“Thanks.”
She knew that Tailmon was concerned about how childish she might look to others with a whistle around her neck, so Hikari complimented her. “It looks really good on you.”
“You think so?” said Tailmon, looking pleased. “Well… Take care… Hikari.”
Tailmon tasted each word of goodbye carefully in her mouth as she said them.
She thought Hikari might burst into tears, but instead, Hikari smiled and nodded. “Yep. Until next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yep, next time.”
The confident way that Hikari said it bewildered Tailmon, but Tailmon felt fortunate that Hikari hadn’t cried.
If Hikari had cried, then Tailmon would have definitely cried as well…. Which would have been fine, but Tailmon felt that wasn’t in her own nature.

○

Within a forest that was lined with nonsensical traffic signs,
“Palmooooon! Palmooooon!”
Mimi shouted out her partner’s name as she walked.
When she came upon the Geckomon, she asked them, “Did you see Palmon?”
When one of the Geckomon answered, “No, we haven’t ribbit,”
“Oh…”
She looked sad. When the Geckomon asked her what was wrong, she said,
“I can’t find Palmon anywhere. Oh, where did she go? There’s not much time left… Palmoooon! Palmoooon!”
And she walked off again, searching a different place.

○

The solar eclipse was going to end soon.
While Gennai and Andromon were preparing the train that would take the children to the real world, the children came grouping together after they had finished saying their goodbyes to their Digimon partners.
Each of the children came with their Digimon except for Mimi. Mimi was by herself, crying softly. Sora was comforting her.
“Have you all finished saying your goodbyes?” Gennai called out to them. “We’re pretty much finished here too. Go on, everyone on board.”
“Well…” Sora glanced at the crying Mimi and said hesitantly, “We want a little more time. Just a little!”
“That’s impossible. The gate won’t wait.”
“I thought so…”
“What’s wrong?
Agumon answered Gennai. “Palmon disappeared. Where did she go off to?”

○

Inside the woods, Palmon looked up sorrowfully at the solar eclipse.
“Mimi…”
There, the Geckomon arrived. She hurriedly tried to hide in the bushes but the Geckomon had already spotted her. They called out,
“Ah, there you are ribbit.”
“Mimi was looking for you ribbit.”
Palmon gave up on running away.
“I know… But I don’t want to see her,” she said in a small voice.
Not knowing why, the Geckomon asked her, “Why not ribbit?”
Palmon shouted wildly in distress, “Because! It’s painful saying goodbye if we see each other! So… It’s better if I don’t…” and she trailed off into sobs again.
The Geckomon waited for her to calm down, and then asked, “…Is that for the best ribbit?”
But when Palmon didn’t answer, they pressed her again.
“Is that really what you want ribbit?”
“Are you sure you won’t regret it later ribbit?”
“…”
Palmon hung her head and began to argue with herself inside her heart.

○

“Well, guys. Take care,” Taichi said for all of the Chosen Children.
Outside of the train car to see them off were Agumon, Gabumon, Piyomon, Tentomon, Gomamon, Patamon, Tentomon, Gennai, Andromon, Centaurmon, Elecmon carrying the newly born Botamon, along with Meramon, Yukidarimon, and the crowds of Digimon who Mimi and Jou had brought with them.
Speaking for all of the Digimon, Agumon said back with a smile, “You guys, too!”

As if to brush away the trailing, lingering aftertaste of their goodbyes, Tailmon blew the whistle that Hikari had given her.
Triiiill!
The steel tower standing on the sandbank sent electricity through its power lines to the pantograph on top of the train car.
The train began to move slowly towards the gate that looked like a solar eclipse. Towards the real world.
“Goodbye!”
“Goodbye!”
The children and Digimon waved each other goodbye…

While everyone was looking down from the windows and waving reluctantly goodbye to the Digimon, Mimi sat apart from them alone, sobbing into her hands.
Sora glanced over at Mimi and wondered if she should speak to her. But she didn’t know what to say to comfort her.
Just then, Mimi abruptly stood up from her seat and threw open the window closest to her, sticking her head out and shouted.
“Palmooooon!”
At the lake shore that they could see below, Palmon was running while wildly waving her arms.
“Mimiiiii!　Mimiiiiiii!”
Agumon and the other Digimon were also behind Palmon.
“Mimi! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She frantically apologized to Mimi with a voice hoarse from crying. But of course Mimi knew how Palmon felt.
“It’s okay! It’s okay, Palmon! Goodbye! And thank you!”
As Mimi waved wildly back, her arm jostled her pink ten-gallon hat. It fell off her head and disappeared, carried off by a clear breeze…

○

Near the Village of Beginnings, in an empty prairie, the alarm on the railway crossing rang loudly.
Ogremon, who just happened to be there, looked up and stopped walking.
Mimi’s ten-gallon hat came floating down from the air like a leaf. Ogremon tried to catch it, but a sudden gust of wind picked it up again and stole the hat away.
Somewhere in the skies up there, Ogremon understood, the Chosen Children are heading back to the real world at that very moment.
And, turning his eyes up to the sky, he mumbled something under his breath before continuing to walk again.
The skies of the Digital world, in its blinding brightness, were as vivid as the August sky in the real world…

Epilogue

And so, the first adventure of the eight children came to an end.

The rest of their summer vacation ended quickly.
Sora quit the soccer club and began to learn the basics of flower-arranging under her mother’s tutelage.
Yamato grew more involved with other people, searching for the best way to express himself in his relationships.
Koushiro began doing more active work. First, he created a computer club for the elementary school.
Jou decided that he did want to become a doctor after all. He couldn’t forget about the Digimon who had died before his own eyes.
Mimi had her parents buy her a new hat, one with the same design as before.
Takeru stopped crying easily.
By the time Taichi and Hikari heard the whistle— The very whistle that Hikari had given to Tailmon— they were at the end of autumn, and winter was near.

Read the author’s afterword.