"Bring it on!!!"
The massive demon's power had reached godlike proportions—now, a mere wave of its hand could reshape the landscape itself.
But precisely because of its enormous size, its maneuverability had greatly diminished. Thus, Zero naturally wasn't insane enough to attack head-on; he chose guerilla tactics instead.
With the demon's gigantic body, trying to pinpoint and catch even one of Zero's group was like using a cannon to swat mosquitoes.
However, this titanic demon clearly had no patience to handle each of them individually; it intended to crush all four at once with overwhelming, sweeping attacks.
With a single flap of its wings, it summoned a terrifying gust that nearly blew everyone off their feet. Using this chance, it raised its right claw, condensing an abyssal sphere of darkness, and slammed it directly toward the mountaintop.
The fierce storm whipped up rocks and debris, but Zero—with his three-story-tall frame—at least had the weight to stay steady. Hajime, equipped with Jet Wings, obviously wasn't troubled by a bit of wind.
Only Leomon and Rina were somewhat affected—but even then, just slightly.
"Don't worry about us! Attack freely!" Rina shouted, immediately sensing Zero and Hajime's hesitation. Leomon, meanwhile, cleaved through the airborne rocks with his blade, punched away a flying tree trunk, and roared back with equal determination.
"I'll handle things here! You don't need to worry!"
Zero and Hajime nodded. Leomon clearly understood that against this massive demon, his strength was severely limited. All he could do now was safeguard Rina, ensuring Zero and Hajime had space to fully unleash their attacks.
Zero and Hajime both charged against the roaring wind. When the giant demon's claw came slamming down, Zero raised his cannon, silently counting down in his mind—
One… two… FIRE!!!
Inside the barrel, two golden-red flames quickly gathered, erupting as twin bursts of energy.
The Trident Revolver's absolute limit was three consecutive shots—anything beyond that would cause irreversible damage to the weapon.
Now was a critical situation, allowing no restraint. However, the triple shot was Zero's final trump card. Using it prematurely, without a decisive opportunity, meant losing their only real chance to threaten the colossal demon.
Meanwhile, Hajime's full-volley cooldown had ended. Without hesitation, she used her high-speed maneuvering to close in, instantly launching every accumulated grenade at once.
Two blazing golden-red bursts, accompanied by a swarm of grenades like dense locusts, collided simultaneously with the enormous claw swinging down.
After a one-second pause, two deafening explosions echoed, scattering scorching-hot winds and utterly blasting apart half of the demon's massive palm.
But that was it…
The mountaintop beneath them had already cracked wide open from the Black Gears, partially flattened by the demon's earlier strike, and now had just suffered two point-blank Trident Revolver blasts.
This relentless series of powerful impacts completely destroyed the mountain's internal structure. A deep rumbling reverberated from within, and soon the entire mountainside collapsed, sending mudslides and huge boulders tumbling wildly from peak to base.
With one massive boom after another, more than half the mountain crumbled entirely, creating a scene of growing devastation.
The resulting noise echoed across File Island. Anyone could clearly sense that right now, a decisive battle for the island's future was unfolding with unmatched intensity.
"Is that all you've got!?"
Having lost half of its palm, the colossal demon's thunderous roar shook the heavens. Its voice alone caused seventeen or eighteen bolts of lightning to simultaneously explode within the swirling clouds above.
Coupled with the landslide and mountain's collapse, this battle truly had reached world-shaking proportions.
Standing amid scattered ruins, Rina waved away clouds of dust, coughing lightly.
Luckily, her skills were more than enough, and with Leomon protecting her closely, even facing such apocalyptic chaos, she'd managed to remain unscathed.
But nearby, Zero and Hajime, who'd aggressively pursued the colossal demon, had been mercilessly swatted down into the rubble by the beast's half-remaining palm.
The enormous demon sneered as it raised its wounded hand. Dark mist surged, quickly regenerating the damaged palm until it looked brand new again.
Given the sheer amount of data currently contained within its body, ordinary wounds healed with trivial ease. In its present colossal form, the demon was effectively close to invincible.
The only ways to defeat it now would be a precise, killing strike that directly shattered its DigiCore, or an overwhelming, relentless barrage exceeding its regeneration speed, killing it outright.
Unfortunately, neither option seemed viable at the moment. Zero and Hajime pulled themselves free from the rubble, only to look up and see the giant palm descending once again.
"…!"
Fortunately, their reactions were lightning-fast; narrowly dodging the strike, Zero immediately fired another two bursts from his Trident Revolver, bypassing the demon's arm to aim directly at its head.
The explosions staggered the colossal demon, causing it to lean back as though about to topple.
Yet, after merely tilting backward, it steadied itself, and in retaliation, slammed its hand straight through the remaining half of the mountaintop.
This blow triggered another large-scale landslide on the already precarious peak. Clearly, the giant demon realized how difficult it was to catch smaller targets normally, resorting instead to "breaking the ground beneath their feet!"
The collapsing mountain further limited Zero and Hajime's room to maneuver. Zero glanced worriedly at the Trident Revolver—the barrel had begun glowing red-hot after the earlier consecutive shots.
…Damn, this isn't good. At this rate, who knew whether they'd find a decisive opening before the weapon's durability hit zero.
He had only one chance: find where the demon's DigiCore was located and finish it instantly with the triple shot!
The strategy was ready, but the opportunity was nearly impossible to grasp. The colossal demon loomed like a descending god, its hands once again swung wide, forming a crimson-red cross as it aimed directly at the mountain's final base.
The scarlet cross slammed down, creating a shockwave far stronger than before. With a terrifying force that seemed to shake all of File Island, the mountain's last base shattered, completely erasing the peak from the island's map…
…And at the very moment the scarlet cross descended, Zero helplessly watched as a familiar figure was swept into the chaotic torrent of collapsing rocks.
"…RINA!!!"
---
T/N: just found out rinas only 14 :sob:
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