"I'm not dead… why?"
Impmon looked at Justimon with confusion.
Let's be real — Impmon is Beelzemon, and Beelzemon is Impmon.
If the price to pay was a life, why had his been spared?
Justimon didn't explain in detail, only saying, "You still have attachments."
Had Beelzemon tried to resist or run, it would've proved he wasn't truly repentant. In that case, Leomon, Makuramon, and Cerberumon might have been resurrected, but Impmon would have truly died.
But he hadn't resisted — he had accepted death calmly. Justimon saw that he truly regretted his actions, and so spared his life.
That "attachment" was really just an excuse.
"..." Impmon couldn't refute it. He did still have attachments. And yes, he still wanted to live.
Renamon approached him and said, "I'm so glad you're okay, Impmon."
Renamon, with her elegant humanoid fox appearance, is popular among fans, yet she's only a Champion-level Digimon.
Of everyone present, Renamon was the closest to Impmon — more like a sibling bond — and she had been the one hoping most for his redemption.
If…
If Gallantmon had really struck Beelzemon down…
Logically, Renamon understood Beelzemon's sins were unforgivable, but emotionally? Emotions don't work on logic. Logic only kicks in during reflection, after emotions have run their course.
Renamon wouldn't have blamed Gallantmon, but some resentment would've remained.
Thankfully, Kari stopped Gallantmon, and Impmon was given a chance to make amends. A happy ending.
Renamon urged, "Impmon, go apologize to Leomon."
In the past, Impmon would've scoffed at such advice.
But not this time.
He nodded, walked up to Leomon, and bowed. "I'm sorry. I'll do anything, as long as you forgive me."
Leomon replied, "It's fine. I forgive you."
Impmon blinked in surprise and looked up at Leomon's calm, sincere expression. "Just like that? Why?"
Leomon smiled. "Because you've recognized your mistake and acted to make amends. That's enough. Just don't stray again."
Seeing Leomon's smile, Impmon felt as if a ray of sunlight had broken through his darkness. He dropped to his knees and wept.
Justimon observed this, then dissolved his fusion, splitting back into the Ten Legendary Warriors. Among them, Agunimon and the others transformed back into Takuya Kanbara and his team.
Takato Matsuda suddenly shouted, "Ah! We still need to save Lopmon!"
The Season 3 team hadn't entered the Digital World for adventure — their mission was to rescue Lopmon, who had been captured by the Twelve Devas.
"We'll help!" said Tai Kamiya (Takuya) and his group after hearing the situation.
"Another Digital World, huh? Sounds fun," said Kazemon and the other four Legendary Warriors, also eager to tag along.
Moss held up her hand to stop them. "Wait a sec — if you all join in, it might ruin their thrilling adventure."
She was referring to the Season 3 team.
"Actually, less thrilling might be better," Takato said sheepishly.
Things had already been too thrilling — they'd nearly lost Leomon!
Their top priority was rescuing Lopmon. The adventure was just a side quest.
Moss understood his point. She turned to Rika Nonaka and Henry Wong and said, "In that case, it's time for you two to fuse with your partners."
"Wait, us?" Rika and Henry blinked.
That came out of nowhere!
"Yep," Moss said. "Like Takato and Guilmon. After seeing their fusion, you two should be able to do it easily."
The two nodded, held up their D-Arcs, and began the process.
Kari raised her hand, like she was in class.
"Yes?" Moss asked.
She asked excitedly, "Can Leomon and I fuse too?"
Moss chuckled. "Of course. As long as your hearts are in sync."
Kari beamed, clinging to Leomon's arm.
Leomon gave her a soft, fatherly smile.
Moss sighed internally.
"What's wrong?" asked Angewomon (Lucy).
Moss replied mentally, "Kari sees Leomon as a father figure. Until that's resolved, achieving heart-synch will be tough."
As someone once said — "Admiration is the furthest emotion from understanding."
And without understanding, you can't achieve heart-synch. No fusion.
Elsewhere, Hirokazu patted his partner Guardromon. "Let's try fusing someday too! Maybe we can become Omnimon!"
Guardromon's eyes lit up.
Kenta nearby quipped, "Guardromon? Into Omnimon?"
Hirokazu beamed, "Why not! Let's work hard!"
Guardromon nodded.
…Dreams are good.
This is Digimon, after all. Anything is possible if the conditions are right.
Meanwhile, Rika and Henry, with their sharp instincts, quickly achieved synchronicity with their partners.
"Renamon Digivolve to… Sakuyamon!"
Not much to say here, other than — wow, she's stunning.
"Terriermon Digivolve to… MegaGargomon!"
A bulky walking arsenal. Thankfully, Henry's martial arts skills balanced out MegaGargomon's lack of melee prowess.
"So that's how humans fuse with Digimon!" Takuya and his team weren't too surprised — they already fused using the spirits of the Legendary Warriors.
But Tai Kamiya (the V-Tamer version) and Veemon (Zero) watched with awe. "This might work for us too…"
They didn't have spirit evolution — becoming Digimon themselves wasn't an option — but this fusion method looked promising.
Seraphimon observed the process. "The principle is the same as our Digital World's fusion methods, but I suspect it only works within the Digital World."
"Why?" asked Takato.
"Because in the Digital World, your bodies are data. In the human world, they aren't."
Takato's face fell a little.
Guilmon nudged him affectionately.
Moss added, "If you digitize your body in the real world, fusion will be possible."
"Ohh!" Takato's face lit up.
Seeing Henry and Rika complete their fusions, Moss had them revert and declared, "Everything's ready. Let's go!"
"Yeah!" the group cheered, fired up.
Moss opened a new interdimensional gate with Chaos Descent, leading to the Season 3 Digital World.
"Move out!"
Just then, two figures blocked the way.
Makuramon and Cerberumon.
Tai Kamiya (V-Tamer) frowned. "We just saved you two, and now you're blocking us?"
"We owe you," Makuramon said. "But we are the Twelve Devas, servants of Zhuqiaomon. Stopping you is our duty."
"Step aside," Moss said, waving her hand.
A green gale howled through, hurling both Digimon into the sky.
This was the first stage of Demon Seal Wave.
"…Whoa," everyone gulped.
That was anger. She didn't even give them a chance to speak.
"Let's move," Moss said.
No one dared defy her and followed into the gate — back to the southern gate of the Digital World ruled by Zhuqiaomon.
"Good luck, everyone," Seraphimon said, staying behind to guard their home world.
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Each 25 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)
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