"See? Now he's even angrier," Veemon said with a miserable face.
Tortomon roared and swung a massive forepaw down at Davis and Veemon. Both of them scrambled out of the way. Veemon bravely charged in—only for Tortomon to casually sweep his tail and fling Veemon away, smashing him hard into the rocks.
Tortomon's gaze locked onto Davis. Up close, that enormous mouth looked like it could swallow him whole in one bite.
Davis gulped and yanked out his D-3 Digivice. "Veemon, hurry up and Digivolve!"
The D-3 flashed with a white light. It wasn't like their earlier Armor Digivolution—this time, the white glow wrapped around Veemon completely. Veemon felt a surge of power rise up inside him.
"Veemon Digivolve to ExVeemon!"
ExVeemon was a Champion-level Mythical Dragon Digimon, Vaccine type—Veemon awakening his original power and Digivolving into this form. ExVeemon was a purebreed of Veedramon, and it was said that one of the branches derived from ExVeemon was Veedramon. With its highly developed arm and leg strength, its destructive power was terrifying—so strong it could even pulverize a mountain of rock. But despite that strength, ExVeemon had a strong sense of justice and wouldn't use its power recklessly.
Its signature move was Strong Crunch, a fierce biting technique. Its special move was Vee Laser (X-Laser)—an energy wave fired from the X-shaped mark on its chest. Another technique, Hearty Shatter, was a leaping attack that blasted a huge fireball from its mouth.
"Veemon finally Digivolved to Champion!" Davis was so excited he practically bounced.
ExVeemon leapt high and landed on Tortomon's back—only for Tortomon to fling him off with ease, then stomp down with a huge foot. Before Tortomon could stomp a second time, ExVeemon grabbed Tortomon's foot with both hands and heaved, flipping the turtle Digimon onto the ground.
Then ExVeemon grabbed Tortomon by the tail and started swinging him around—one, two, three spins—before hurling Tortomon away. Tortomon crashed heavily onto the ground.
Tortomon got back up and unleashed his finisher. "Shell Phalanx!"
Several razor-like projectiles shot out from Tortomon's back, flying straight at ExVeemon.
ExVeemon didn't flinch. He drove out punch after punch, smashing every incoming projectile into fragments. When Tortomon saw it wasn't working, he lunged in directly.
ExVeemon sprang up, vaulted cleanly over Tortomon's back, and fired his own special move:
"Vee Laser!"
An X-shaped beam burst from the X-mark on ExVeemon's chest and struck Tortomon—who had pulled his limbs in like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.
The energy wave shoved Tortomon backward, sending him tumbling off the cliff and down onto the shore below.
"We won! ExVeemon, that was awesome!" Davis cheered loudly.
Just then, Tortomon stood up down below. Davis and ExVeemon stared, curious about what he was about to do.
And then Tortomon… started peeing again.
Davis and ExVeemon went pale and immediately covered their eyes.
When Tortomon finished, he actually washed his hands in the water, waved up at Davis and ExVeemon, and left.
Davis rode on ExVeemon's shoulder back to the others, proudly showing off. "Check it out—Veemon Digivolved into the Champion-level ExVeemon!"
"If that's the case, then the job of destroying the Dark Towers is all yours," Kari said with a smile.
"What?!" Davis froze, staring at the countless Dark Towers. There was no trace of his earlier smugness anymore.
"Hahaha!" The kids burst out laughing at the look on Davis's face.
By the time the sky turned orange at dusk, the kids wrapped up the day's fighting and headed home. They left the Digital World behind, and the ground was littered with fallen Dark Towers—today's results. Dozens of Dark Towers had been destroyed.
At the Ichijoji house, the atmosphere was peaceful. Ken no longer had his mom leave meals at his door—he sat at the table with his parents and ate with them.
Ken didn't reject their kindness. He even ate until he was stuffed before returning to his room—just to make them happier.
After he fell asleep, Ken suddenly jolted awake from a dream and sat upright. His computer in the room had turned on by itself. A woman—the same one he'd seen in the Digital World—was looking out from the screen.
"Who are you?! Who are you?!" Ken shouted without thinking, waking Wormmon. Wormmon jolted, instantly on guard as he stared at the woman who had appeared in the room.
"You have no more value to me," the woman said. "Because you're useless now."
"Who are you?!" Ken demanded again.
"Poor child," the woman said—those familiar words.
Ken's heart lurched. When he looked again, she was gone.
Ken had a sinking feeling he was caught in some massive conspiracy—and worse, he had no way to escape it. He shook his head and forced the thoughts away. Right now, he only wanted to destroy every Dark Tower in the Digital World and make up for what he'd done.
Meanwhile, Tai City's Central Control Room was active once more. The massive central computer flashed with countless indicator lights. A group of Digimon bustled around, processing complicated signals. Endless streams of information flowed in—and then flowed back out.
Tai stood behind Datamon, watching him analyze the incoming data one message at a time.
"How is it?" Tai asked. "Any movement from Kimeramon's data in the Dark Area?"
"Reporting, my king," Datamon replied, turning back. "Kimeramon's data is still drifting aimlessly within the Dark Area. No one has recovered it."
"If anything changes, track it immediately."
"Understood, King Tai."
"And there's no need to keep hiding anymore," Tai continued. "Send out the Mechanical Corps and wipe out the Dark Towers in the Digital World. Start repairing the barrier around the Digital World, and prepare for a full-scale war with the Dark Area. This time, it's a real war."
Tai City's tightly sealed gates opened. Countless mechanical soldiers marched out in perfect formation toward the Dark Towers beyond the city, uprooting them one by one. With Tai City as the center, they cleared the surrounding Dark Towers in expanding waves. The white region kept spreading outward from Tai City, while the black region slowly shrank.
Over on the kids' side, they agreed to return to the Digital World to finish the Dark Tower demolition they hadn't completed.
While walking, Kari suddenly stopped, staring blankly toward the right side of the road.
"What is it, Kari?" Gatomon asked, curious.
"Look over there," Kari said, pointing toward the village beside the road, surprise in her voice.
"Hm?" The kids followed her gaze. The village was still mostly ruins—but now it was crowded with Digimon.
Gottsumon were gathering stone and wood, stockpiling materials. Gekomon were plowing and planting crops. Otamamon fished shrimp and fish out of the river to supply RedVegiemon and Digitamamon—who had taken up cooking, providing meals for everyone. Bakemon used the lumber Gottsumon collected to repair bridges. Gazimon cleared rubble from the town. Gizamon hauled seafood from the sea, while Woodmon on the shore pulled it up. The whole town looked vibrant and full of life, even though everything around them was still broken.
"This is the town the Digimon Emperor destroyed!" Yolei said, remembering it.
"They're rebuilding their home," T.K. said quietly, moved.
"I think we should help them," Davis said, watching the busy Digimon with a serious expression. "The Digital World ended up like this—at least part of it is on us."
"I agree!" Cody spoke first. "We should help them rebuild."
"I agree too," Kari said. "Destroying the Dark Towers doesn't have to happen right this second. Let's help them get their homes back first, then we'll go destroy more."
With the vote unanimous, the kids entered the town and joined the rebuilding effort.
ExVeemon and Davis carried heavy logs. T.K. and Patamon helped plant crops. Yolei and Hawkmon went down to the coast to help pull up seafood. Cody and Armadillomon assisted Digitamamon and the others as kitchen helpers. Kari and Gatomon handled carrying water to irrigate the fields and the newly planted trees.
With the kids and their Digimon pitching in, progress sped up dramatically. By afternoon, a residential area had already been built so the Digimon had somewhere to live.
The kids were so absorbed in rebuilding that none of them noticed a Dark Tower behind the town silently vanish.
At the same time, Cody arrived at the sewer system with Digmon. Many sections had collapsed, and their task was to clear and restore it—because a functioning sewer was an essential part of any town.
"This place is basically destroyed," Digmon said angrily, staring at the workload. "That Digimon Emperor really did a number on everything."
Cody didn't answer. Sitting on Digmon's back, he stared off into space until Digmon called him, snapping him back to reality.
"Let's get started, Digmon," Cody said.
Digmon raised his drills to begin work—when a Digimon with a lightning-bolt mark on its head silently crept up behind them and launched a sudden ambush.
Thundermon was a Mutant Digimon nicknamed the "Digimon Dynamo." It was believed to be related to Mamemon Digimon, and was said to be a member of that line. Its entire body was like a permanent magnet, constantly discharging electricity. When ignored, it became extremely furious, unleashing electric currents as high as ten million volts.
Its finisher was Rapid Lightning, releasing electricity from its hands to strike enemies. Its signature move was Thunder Ball, compressing ten million volts into a sphere and hurling it at opponents.
Thundermon began moving at extreme speed. Digmon couldn't track him at all—only a faint afterimage flickering around his body. With no choice, Digmon swung his drills wildly, hoping to land a hit.
"Why is he attacking us?" Cody asked, confused, staring at the blur of Thundermon's movement.
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