"Awesome." Izzy breathed, voicing what all the kids felt. The sword in Tai's hand—the Ultimate Warblade Fanglong Sword—was forged from Fanglongmon's data. It was said to be the strongest weapon in the Digital World, and the only one of its kind. As Tai poured energy into it, the digital magic circle and the mystic gem set in the blade flared to life, streams of golden light converging from every direction until the place where he stood was awash in gold.
"All right, everyone—back up Tai!" Matt shouted the moment he realized Tai was charging his finisher.
"Right!"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh! The Digimon, carrying their partners, surged toward the Archdemon King once more.
Unwilling to perish, the Archdemon King lashed out to stop them. "Devolution Claw! Blockade Bomb!" Beyond the endless rain of Blockade Bombs came stretching tendrils—touches that could force Digimon to devolve.
"Omega Storm!" Omnimon opened the weapon ports on his body and fired a storm of Omega Missiles that intercepted the Blockade Bombs mid-air. Omega Missiles and Blockade Bombs collided with thunderous explosions.
While Omnimon screened the barrage, the other Digimon aimed past it and struck the incoming tendrils.
"Horn Buster!"
"Shadow Wing!"
"Hammer Spark!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Gate of Destiny!"
Boom—boom—boom—! The attacks smashed into the sweeping tendrils and obliterated them on the spot.
"Damn it…" The Archdemon King seethed as his countermeasures failed.
At last, the entire blade of the Ultimate Warblade Fanglong Sword blazed with brilliant gold. Tai looked up at the distant, now-frightened Archdemon King, cape snapping as he leapt. Clutching the golden sword, he streaked straight for the enemy.
"Don't think you can defeat me!" The Archdemon King thrust out both hands, scarlet light igniting in his eyes as he began to chant: "Runa nita de hachi da wi mao—" He never finished. Tai's left hand snapped forward and loosed a hyper-destructive beam that blasted the demon's hands to pieces.
The Archdemon King's head jerked up—Tai was already there. Tai soared high, gripped the hilt in both hands, and hewed down. "Dimensional Flash Slash!"
A vast golden arc ripped from the Fanglong Sword, shearing through the Archdemon King's body and cleaving him cleanly from crown to heel.
Where the golden arc passed, the demon's bisected form was rimmed in a fine, gleaming outline—and even the surrounding space showed hairline fractures.
Staring at his sundered body, the Archdemon King could only gasp in disbelief. "How… could I lose? Impossible!"
"Did we… do it?" Sora asked. After last time's resurrection, she didn't dare declare victory too soon.
"He won't be coming back," Tai said between breaths. Pouring out so much power had taken its toll. "The Ultimate Warblade Fanglong Sword purifies even the faintest trace of malice. Archdemon King, be ready—fall back into the abyss and repent in the dark."
The demon's body contracted into a sphere of darkness, flecked with gold light gnawing at it, shrinking it smaller and smaller. Yet his voice remained full of spite. "You think this is enough to defeat me?"
"Bluffing won't help you," Matt said, voice low.
Suddenly the black sphere wrapped in gold burst free of the glow's confinement and spewed black smoke. The Archdemon King's voice echoed out: "Is that so? Then die with me! Not even the Digital World can escape annihilation!"
"What?!" The kids flinched at his words.
"You'd better be careful! Here's my final move—Self-Detonation." The black sphere shrank to nothing, vanished into the darkness—and then a blinding light erupted from the Dark Area. A titanic blast swelled and rushed toward the children.
"He blew himself up," said Matt.
"Are we… going to die like this?" Joe murmured.
"I don't want to die," Mimi whispered.
"It's not over," T.K. said.
"There's no way it ends like this," Izzy said.
"I won't let it end," Matt vowed.
"Of course this won't be the end," Tai said.
"Absolutely not," Joe echoed.
"Because—" Sora began.
"We still have—" Kari added.
"We still have tomorrow!" everyone shouted together.
The Digivice erupted with light, shaping first into two squares. The two joined and locked into a golden cube that enclosed the Archdemon King's self-detonation light sphere, then sank into the depths of the darkness. A single white beam lanced across the abyss like a stroke across the sky.
"What was that just now—?"
"What happened after the explosion?" T.K. asked.
"The Digivice released its power and sealed the blast away," Tai explained.
"So… we won?" Joe asked.
"Looks like it," Matt answered.
"Then our world's spared from destruction too," Izzy said.
"Our victory saved the world!" Sora cheered.
"Mm!" Kari nodded, smiling.
"Kids, are you all right?" Leomon came running from afar.
At that very moment, in the skies of the human world, the reflection of the Digital World faded. The sun broke through again, and light poured over the earth.
A Guardromon rumbled up and popped open a hatch—out came Gennai. "Your world has been spared from doom as well."
"Yeah!" the children answered in unison.
"So what does the Digital World look like now?" T.K. asked.
"Open your eyes and check beneath your feet," said the newly arrived Centarumon.
The kids looked down. The darkness thinned and peeled away, revealing a familiar island—File Island. Centarumon added, "According to the prophecy recorded in the ruins, the island is the first to revive and be reborn."
They stood within a forest, taking in the surroundings with full hearts. This was where their adventure had first begun—and now they were back.
Tai stood in a clearing. Agumon, by his side, kept glancing up at his partner, not sure why Tai had slipped away from the others to come here.
Tai smiled and flicked his wrist. Nine Digi-Cards fanned out, widened, and began to spin clockwise overhead, shedding a dazzling golden light. Within that glow, structures sprang up across the clearing—giant trees festooned with toys, soft spongey pillars painted with cheerful patterns. At last the shine faded from the cards, which descended, spinning faster and faster, and fused into a ring-wall that enclosed the site. This was a new Primary Village.
"Tai!" the kids' voices carried from a distance.
"Over here!" Tai turned and waved to the running group.
"Tai, is this—" Sora started—and then the sight stole her words.
Countless Digi-Eggs were beginning to fall like gentle rain, while in a Steel City far away, the number of Digi-Eggs there dwindled rapidly.
"So many Digi-Eggs!" T.K. exclaimed, dashing in with Patamon.
"Rub—rub—" He was the first to scoop one up, stroking it again and again.
Kari stepped in too, and an egg came to rest right before her. "Do all of these have to hatch?" she asked Gatomon at her side.
"That's right. These Digi-Eggs will bring forth so, so many Digimon. The future of the Digital World starts here."
Outside the new village, the others watched and chatted.
"How about a group photo to commemorate this?" Andromon suggested.
"Photos, yes!" Izzy said, excited. "I'll go call Kari and the others over."
"A photo, huh…" Gennai touched his hair—well, the one little tuft of it.
Everyone lined up by height and got ready.
"Say cheese!"
Click. The camera faithfully captured the smiles of the children and their Digimon. The photograph recorded their friendship and the memories of their adventures together. This journey would remain engraved in the minds of the kids and their Digimon forever—proof of their bond.
This leg of their adventure was over—but their lives had only just begun.
The Digital World—so long as you believe in it, it most certainly exists!
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