"Parrotmon… is still alive?"
Chen Ze, completely oblivious that his stunned reaction had already been spotted by observers, was genuinely astonished by Parrotmon's sheer tenacity.
Though he had no idea why Parrotmon fought so desperately, Chen Ze asked himself honestly—if he had suffered similar injuries, he'd never be able to stand back up and fight again.
At heart, once stripped of the primal fighting instinct inherited from Agumon's data, Chen Ze was merely an ordinary hacker.
In both his past life and this one, Chen Ze had always embodied the model student image, rarely even engaging in physical conflicts with others.
In Chen Ze's view, violence was always a last resort, and wisdom alone was the true shortcut to survival and growth.
For someone like him, simply suppressing his innate fear and choosing to enter a battle was already an incredible act of courage.
As for battle skills, experience, or adaptability in combat, right now he was even inferior to Greymon, who acted purely on primal instincts.
Right now, Renamon had already swiftly entered combat stance the moment Parrotmon rose again.
Chen Ze, however, stood motionless, completely unaware of the potential counterattack, frozen in place with bewilderment.
"Huff…"
Fortunately, Parrotmon, clearly sensing its impending doom, didn't focus on Chen Ze. Instead, it decided that before completely disappearing, it would drag Greymon back to the Digital World with it.
Because just moments ago, Parrotmon had somehow confirmed that Greymon was the Digimon hatched from the Digi-Egg accidentally lost in the human world.
As for Renamon and Chen Ze?
Although they too were Digimon, they were never the primary targets of this mission.
Regarding these two unexpected intruders, the god whom Parrotmon served—the being who embodied the evolution and dynamic equilibrium of the Digital World—would surely have its own methods of handling them.
"Koromon, get up!"
Even the children watching from afar had noticed Parrotmon rising again, so Tai and Kari, standing right next to Greymon, naturally didn't miss this fact.
"Koromon! Hurry and stand up!"
Tai, being older, looked especially anxious now.
At this very moment, Tai worried not only about his and Kari's own safety, but also for this Digimon that had already become his friend—this "Koromon."
"Fweee!"
At this critical instant, Kari, face streaked with tears, desperately blew her whistle again.
With that whistle's sharp sound, the gentle light visible only to Digimon appeared once more, softly caressing Greymon's wounds like a warm, comforting hand.
"Cough… cough…"
Unfortunately, Kari was completely exhausted from the night's events.
That faint, intermittent glow struggled to soothe Greymon's injuries, but it was simply too weak to get him back on his feet.
"Kari…"
Hearing the sudden coughing sound from his sister, Tai first paused briefly, then gently stroked Kari's head.
"Koromon will be fine. I promise."
Taking the whistle, now slick with saliva, from Kari's hand, Tai's eyes filled with firm determination and unwavering courage.
Inhale.
Under Renamon's astonished gaze, Tai drew a deep breath—and a radiant light, brighter than the sun itself, erupted from deep within his soul.
—The Crest of Courage had awakened!
"FWEEE!!!"
Instantly, a piercing whistle echoed throughout Hikarigaoka, loud as an air-raid siren.
...
"The Crest of Courage?!"
Chen Ze's eyes widened in shock, momentarily seeing the unmistakable emblem of a sun blazing brightly upon Tai.
That was the symbol representing "Courage," the mark of a true "Hero," the very embodiment of Tai's resolve at this moment…
"ROAAAR!"
As if responding directly to Tai's whistle, Greymon, who had been unconscious, let out a low, powerful roar.
In the next second, Greymon's eyes snapped open, his terrifying jaws yawning wide.
WHOOSH!
An intense heat visibly gathered within Greymon's mouth, the dazzling white glow clearly indicating temperatures well exceeding 1500 degrees Celsius.
"Counterattack!"
No words were needed. Tai felt as if he and Greymon had merged into a single entity, partners who understood each other perfectly without needing speech.
—Nova Blast!
BOOM!!!
Already at the brink of collapse, Parrotmon had no chance to dodge this powerful fireball. It could only watch helplessly as the blistering flames ignited its feathers and tore through its body.
"FWOOOO!!!"
Parrotmon opened its pierced beak, howling furiously as air rushed through the wound, the electric arcs around its body forming one last, desperate electromagnetic barrier.
But this attempt proved utterly futile. At 1500 degrees Celsius, Greymon's flame could incinerate nearly anything—even an Ultimate-level Digimon evolved to the biological pinnacle was no exception.
"Scr…ee…"
At the very end, Parrotmon could only vanish silently within the blazing white inferno, taking its resentment and unfulfilled mission along with it.
"We…we won."
With an expression difficult to read—perhaps excitement, perhaps relief—Tai stared silently at the spot where Parrotmon's body dissolved entirely into data fragments. He tightly hugged his little sister.
"Kari, Tai…"
With Parrotmon's threat finally removed, Greymon, who'd spent the night consumed by mindless rage, finally regained a measure of rationality in his last moments. His huge, weary eyes gazed gently and reluctantly at the two siblings beneath him.
"Koromon…?"
Looking up and meeting those massive, gentle eyes, Tai suddenly understood something clearly. He asked quietly, his voice restrained yet heavy with emotion:
"Are you leaving? Are you going back to your own world now?"
Greymon's frightening face softened into an expression filled with sadness. Saying nothing, he slowly lowered his head, as though savoring this final moment of warmth.
"Will we…meet again?"
Kari, too, seemed aware of this inevitable goodbye. She whispered tearfully, her words unclear, almost as if she were asking, or perhaps simply talking to herself.
"We will meet again. I promise—we will surely meet again someday."
After a long silence, Greymon's body began gradually fragmenting, his form fading into data as he softly answered Kari's quiet question.
"Kari, Tai… someday, we'll reunite in the Digital World."
Before his words had completely faded, a gentle breeze swept away the final traces of Greymon's data, carrying it along with the defeated Parrotmon, away from this world where neither belonged.
---
T/N: AWWW THANK U AUTHOR!!! FOR NOT CHANGING THE MAIN HERO!!! i forgot to add this to the chapter before the previous one! here's what the author said!
"Originally, I'd planned to let the protagonists fight Parrotmon together, but later decided against it. Greymon is this arc's protagonist, so I won't steal its spotlight."
I think it was a good idea not stealing the spotlight!
...
everyone is on vacation so no character notes this week
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