Jayr POV - Nasuverse, Moon, Far Side, Sakura Labyrinth - 2030 AD
For a brief moment, the battlefield grows still as the aura released by my Spiral Cosmo, now further enhanced and refined by the Crateris Cloth, clashes with the aura of the Darkness hidden within Ledram's body.
At the same time, I can't stop a small smile from forming on my face, feeling the familiar presence of my oldest partner in addition to the sense of protection and completeness while thinking, 'Here it is... No matter how powerful I become, I always have to restrain myself a bit to avoid my immense power from harming my body and everything else around me. Only by donning Crateris can I actually fight at my full power without worrying about those minor details.'
As I bask in the usual feeling of power, protection and control, Nero's lips curve upward as she comments, "Umu. This is the first time I have seen my Praetor wearing his fabled armour. I have to admit it is as impressive as you've told me."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Oda Nobunaga lowers her matchlock slightly, eyes narrowing with interest while Ledram exhales through his nose, a faint grin touching his lips, "So this is how a Saint from the Saint Seiya Universe looks like... Well, that's cool."
Behind him, the women of his Peerage react in different ways. Mirko cracks her knuckles with barely contained excitement. Chun-Li shifts her stance, becoming more guarded. The Sailor Guardians tense instinctively as the air pressure subtly changes.
Only one among them does not react outwardly, the unknown young woman with long black hair and brown eyes, who is armed with a bow and arrows, whose presence slightly reminds me of my brother-in-law Apollo.
That woman simply observes my every movement with an evaluating gaze; she is neither alarmed nor impressed.
I focus back on the current situation and immediately feel the weight of the seventeen presences pressing against the field and quickly calculate the situation, 'Even if I'm wearing Crateris, the situation still isn't ideal. There are just way too many opponents at the moment. Seven of them are enough to deal with Nero and overwhelm her, while the others with Ledream can intercept and block anything I may do to help her. In that scenario, the only result possible is Nero being forced to reveal "that" form... and even in that case, I'm not sure if she can survive long enough to allow me to take out either Nobunaga or Ledram.'
At this point, my mind moves even faster as I keep analysing Ledram's formation, 'Mirko, Shirna Tsubaki, Kitani Reika, Kiryuu Aika, Chun-Li and Sara Pezzini, while troublesome shouldn't be that much of a danger individually. However, the Sailor Guardians alone are dangerous. They all look around their twenties, which means that they are likely at the very peak of their power. This is very bad news because every single one of them at their peak is comparable to a Gold Saint with their 8th Sense Awakened and donning their God Cloth. Basically, a multiverse-level threat! On top of that, there is also Elsa with her absurd powers, who can control wide-area terrain and that unknown divine archer who, for some reason, feels the most dangerous among them.'
Reaching that conclusion, I do not hesitate and open a portal to my Soulbound Territory before calling out the reinforcement waiting on the other side.
Before long, three small figures leap out from the portal and land right beside Nero and me.
"We are here, Jayr!"
"Finally, some action! I was feeling quite restless!"
"Ohh! How many nice ladies are gathered here..."
Naturally, they are my Digimon Partners, Wormmon, V-mon and Patamon.
For a split second, several of Ledram's women blink at the sight of the small, colourful creatures until Aika mutters out loud, "…They're so cute."
At the same time, Ledram's expression sharpens immediately before he calmly says, "Be careful. They are Digimon. Don't let their cute appearance fool you; don't underestimate them. They are very powerful."
With that warning, the mood shifts again while I smile and bring out my D-Ark, then I start to manipulate my Spiral Cosmo, inputting it into the device as I yell, "Patamon! Wormmon! V-mon! We don't have time to waste! Let's go all out! Warp Evolution!!"
I feel the D-Ark absorb my Spiral Cosmo and Emotions and transform it into Data, sending it to my Digimon Partners through our bond.
In response, their bodies start to shine so much that they generate a pillar of colored light, swallowing their small bodies entirely, masking their evolving bodies as they call out.
"Patamon, Warp Evolve...!"
"Wormmon, Warp Evolve...!"
"V-mon, Warp Evolve...!"
The entire reinforced battlefield trembles as the energy surges violently skyward.
Within the pillars of light, my Digimon Partners quickly shift through their evolution stages, from Child to Adult, from Adult to Perfect, and in the end, from Perfect to Ultimate.
Soon after that, the pillar of lights fades away as my Digimon Partners fully evolve to their Ultimate Level and call out the name of their current form.
"... Goddramon!"
"... Bancho Stingmon!"
"... Exceed V-mon!"
Goddramon has the appearance of a massive oriental dragon with a human torso.
He has golden fur on his back and silver on his belly, black and red markings on his chest, a reptilian face with a grey beard and mane, and six white and gold wings.
He has one red and one blue bracelet, a Sacred Ring on his left arm, and his face covered by a mask with two horns, grey and red.
Bancho Stingmon is an insectoid with a humanoid body structure and green eyes.
His body is covered in a red exoskeleton and has long purple hair at the back of the head. He has talons on his feet, two drill-based "Spikes" under each of his wrists in golden gauntlets with longer ones over his fists, and has red claw-like fingers on his hands.
He also has a pair of insect-like wings on his back and two long, red and dark red-striped antennae on his head.
He wears a dark purple symbolic Gakuran with short cupped sleeves and black baggy pants.
Exceed V-mon has the appearance of a massive, winged, quadrupedal, western dragon with a white mane, five sharp blade-like horns, one on its nose, two in front of two ear-like appendages on his head, and two at the sides of his jaw.
He has blue skin with a white underbelly and jaw, a pair of crossed golden rings around his upper body, and two more of the same crossed golden rings around the long tail.
The yellow V mark on his head became more refined, while two more sharp blade-like horns appeared on his shoulders and on his knuckles.
The first pair of wings is located at the shoulder and is massive and of a dark grey colour, while a smaller pair are located closer to the tail, is smaller, and of a much lighter tone.
With the three Ultimate Level Digimon by our side, Nero and I prepare to once again fight against Oda Nobunaga, Ledram, and his Peerage.
Rani POV - Nasuverse, Moon, Far Side, Sakura Labyrinth - 2030 AD
Even from the protected spectator space, I feel the distortion. The power unleashed is so intense that my vision glitches for half a second.
This brief pause makes me think back once again about what happened a few minutes ago.
I was by Jayr's side as he discussed with his current opponent about some kind of Champions Challenge when suddenly my perspective shifted.
I was no longer standing among the combatants and found myself alone within some kind of protected observation zone, separated from the battlefield by what seemed to be a conceptual barrier.
At first, I tried to overcome the barrier, but failed to even observe even the more basic parameter, making me realise that even the computational power of Hermes that can safely analyse the structure of the Moon Cell is useless against such an impossible phenomenon.
The glitching sight fades away, making me exhale and refocus on the battlefield just as the pillars of light explode outward, and I hear their voices as they exclaim.
"... Goddramon!"
"... Bancho Stingmon!"
"... Exceed V-mon!"
The three small creatures summoned by Jayr, those Digimon as Ledram called them, are gone.
In their place, there are now Goddramon, Exceed V-mon, and Bancho Stingmon.
Two of them are utterly massive dragon-like creatures, and their immense wings seem to cover most of the bleak sky of the battleground.
One looks like an island-sized, gold, half-humanoid, half-easter dragon. The upper half is humanoid, and the lower half is dragonic.
The other is an equally immense, blue western dragon with grey wings, whose sheer body dwarfs sections of the arena when it lowers its head.
The last one is a red humanoid insect, almost unnoticeable compared to the two dragon Digimon, as he stands between them at the "mere" height of nearly four meters tall, armoured and imposing, drill-like blades coming out of his gauntlet, gleaming in the dim light.
Hermes attempts to quantify the energy output, but all I receive are error messages, which means that it is unmeasurable.
With that revelation, my eyes widen slightly but I quickly regain composture and continue to observe this battle between these Irregular Masters while thinking, 'Now, I understand why the Moon Cell categorised these as Irregular Masters. They both are completely outside all the expected parameters... Not even the strongest Servants ever recorded are this unreasonable.'
While I'm thinking that, on the opposite side of the battlefield, I watch Jayr's opponent, Ledram, as he reacts instantly and starts to give command to the women around him, "Mirko, Tsubaki, Reika, Aika, Chun-Li and Sara Pezzini... You guys assist Nobunaga. Keep Nero occupied long enough for Nero to land a decisive strike. And if the chance to take her out presents itself, do not hesitate!"
He shifts his gaze and adds, "Elsa, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Pluto, and Sara Connor. Intercept the Digimon. Do not allow them to support Nero or Jayr."
After giving those instructions, he continues, "I'll take Jayr on alone. He is just too strong for anyone else... If I don't keep him occupied, he will likely take you all out in a matter of minutes."
There is no hesitation nor confusion in his tone, he is absolutely sure of what he just said, which is likely true considering that he and Jayr already exchanged quite a few blows and thus he has clearest idea of what to expect.
The next moment, they all move.
Nobunaga kicks off, riding one matchlock as if surfing the air while raising another to fire at Nero.
I can clearly recognise that her first volley is not meant to kill, it is meant to measure.
Bullets streak downward in curved trajectories, spiralling through the air with unnatural precision, but they don't just aim for Nero's body; they aim for her footwork, for the angles of retreat, for the rhythm of her breathing, anything that will disturb her focus in this battle.
Nero pivots as Aestus Estus flashes in arcs of crimson light as she cuts the first wave from the sky. Each bullet detonates on contact, controlled bursts of compressed flame spreading outward in tight spheres. The explosions hammer against her armour, forcing her back half a step each time.
Before she regains full balance, Mirko is already there.
The therianthrope with rabbit features tears forward like a cannon shot, her heel crashing down with enough force to flatten a mountain. Nero crosses her blade and armoured forearm at the last instant.
The impact is clean.
The reinforced ground does not shatter, but a deep circular depression forms beneath them as glowing lines rippling outward, as some unknown power that, from what I've gathered from Jayr and Ledram's discussion, I can only refer to as the Authority of the Concepts stabilises the impact. The air buckles, pressure compressing in a visible ring that expands and then dissolves.
Nero slides back three meters, making Mirko grin while Chun-Li enters without a wasted motion.
Different from Mirko, she does not attack wildly; she cuts off escape routes with a rapid sequence of kicks that snap toward Nero's ribs, shoulders, and knee joints, each strike aimed at exploiting openings created by Mirko's brute force.
Nero deflects two, parries some others, and tries to counter as steel rings against reinforced bracers, but a few of them connect.
Her armour cracks at the side, a fracture spreading across crimson plating as blood seeps beneath it.
However, Nero laughs, even as she steps back, "Umu! Is this the tempo you wish to dance at?"
Sara Pezzini answers her by stepping into the opening. I know of her as Jayr told me about her when we were helping Aletha for her Elimination Battle against Ledram.
The Witchblade flares, living metal crawling over Sara's arm as she meets Aestus Estus directly. The clash is not elegant like the previous exchange; it is more violent and brutal. Sparks spray in controlled spirals, caught midair by the stabilising field before fading into nothing.
Nero pushes, but Sara holds while Mirko returns from the flank and Chun-Li strikes low.
Above them, Nobunaga fires again.
This time, the bullets are staggered. Timed to arrive the instant Nero commits to a counter to stop her.
Behind them, dark magical circles ignite to life as Tsubaki, Reika, and Aika chant in unison. Their chants overlap in layered harmonics, curses weaving forward in threads of violet, red and black.
The volley of curses lands only to shatter against her Magic Resistance, especially the one launched by Aiko, who has no effect whatsoever.
However, Tsubaki and Reika's curse does have a minimal effect that makes Nero's movement stutter for less than half a second, but it is enough.
Mirko's knee drives into her midsection and sends her skidding across the arena floor.
The reinforced surface absorbs the kinetic transfer, glowing briefly under her back as she carves a shallow trail before stopping.
She rises immediately, but her breath is heavier now.
Chun-Li watches her eyes as Nero lunges forward in a burst of crimson light, closing the distance with Nobunaga in a straight-line charge that ignores the others entirely.
It almost works, but Mirko intercepts mid-leap, their collision sending another compressed shockwave outward, and as she lands, Sara binds Nero's blade again, the Witchblade adapting its edge shape to prevent disengagement.
At the same time, Chun-Li strikes from the blind spot.
The three simultaneous pressures make Nero's armour fracture again at the shoulder, where blood runs freely now.
Still, she smiles as she shouts, voice bright despite the strain, "Good! Good! This is how it should be! Is this all you can do?! If so, I won't fall!!
But her stance lowers a fraction; her steps are no longer perfectly measured.
She is losing ground, and she knows it.
On the other side of the battlefield, chaos erupts under the weight of the massive dragons and the imposing humanoid insect.
Elsa, another woman whose information was already shared by Jayr and Aletha, raises both hands, and a blizzard howls into existence, freezing the ground and whipping snow into the air.
But Goddramon's wings unfurl fully, blasting away Elsa's attempt at battelfied control while making the sky above flicker with geometric patterns that absorb the pressure of displaced air while light bends around his form rather than tearing space apart.
Then the Sailor Guardians move first, with the one I conclude is Sailor Venus calling out the name of her attack, "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
Golden light spirals upward, joined instantly by Sailor Jupiter's thunder and Sailor Mars' blazing talismans while Sailor Mercury's water-based projection curves beneath them, reinforcing the trajectory.
At the same time, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune layer cutting wind and oceanic force over the combined strike.
This is not chaotic amalgamation of techniques; it is refined and practised. Clear proof that those women fought many battles together.
The multicoloured combined beam slams into Goddramon's chest, and for a moment, the holy-looking dragon does not move, but then he raises one hand.
Sacred energy blossoms outward as a sun caught in his palm, making the planetary-themed attack split across his aura, redirected upward into the barrier above. The reinforcement grid flashes brilliantly as it absorbs the deflected force.
Shortly after that, Goddramon exhales and fires a narrow beam of golden flame in response to their attack.
It isn't a wild blast, but a controlled lance meant to obliterate just the target.
However, Sailor Pluto steps forward.
Time distorts around the beam's path, not stopping it, but delaying its arrival by fractions of a second. That delay is all Sailor Neptune needs to redirect part of its edge. The flame shears past them instead of striking directly.
It carves a glowing line across the arena floor.
The line fades seconds later as the authority of the Concepts restores structural integrity.
Elsewhere, Exceed V-mon takes advantage of this opening and dives.
His descent is not subtle, as his immense size makes it impossible, and the force of his wings compresses the air beneath him into visible layers. He lands among Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter, his claws tearing forward.
But right at this moment, Elsa raises both hands.
Ice erupts in geometric formations rather than wild chaos, forming thick pillars that rise precisely where his claws would strike, redirecting momentum upward. The pillars shatter instantly under his immense strength, but they alter his angle enough for Sailor Uranus to counter with a slicing arc of wind that forces him back.
Bancho Stingmon does not waste time with spectacle.
He vanishes from sight in a blur of red and purple and reappears directly before Mars. His drill-like spikes thrust forward.
Mars crosses her arms, talismans igniting. The impact drives her backwards, boots carving lines in the ground, but she holds.
Mercury's analysis overlays shimmer in the air, tracking Bancho Stingmon's movement speed. Venus adjusts her next attack accordingly.
It doesn't take me long to realise that individually, the Digimon are superior; I can see it clearly, but then the balance begins to shift.
The Sailor Guardians reposition with flawless coordination while Elsa reshapes the terrain, forcing the massive forms of the Digimon into less advantageous angles.
They are not overwhelmed by their immense force; instead, they are adapting.
Goddramon begins to press forward in earnest now.
Each movement carries enough force to warp light around him. When he strikes, he does not miss, but Sailor Jupiter blocks with crossed forearms reinforced by lightning, sliding back but remaining upright.
Then the archer finally makes her move.
The archer woman, who by exclusion is the one named Sara Connor, releases a volley of glowing arrows that target precise joints and vulnerable gaps in armour.
She does not shout an attack name like the Sailor Guardians; she simply draws and shoots.
The arrow threads between combatants with impossible precision and strikes Goddramon at the joint between torso and dragon body.
The impact does cause an explosion, but some kind of resonance.
A ripple spreads through his aura, destabilising the flow of holy energy for less than a second.
But that second is enough for Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus to combine their strikes into the weakened point, forcing Goddramon to take a step back.
Not from damage alone, but also from recalculation.
Exceed V-mon roars and fires a concentrated energy blast at the archer's position.
In response, she does not dodge wildly as there is no panic or haste in her movements.
She simply shifts one foot and fires again.
Her second arrow intersects the beam at an exact angle, making the beam split cleanly in two, diverted around her like water around stone.
The arena glows brighter as the reinforcement absorbs the redirected energy.
Bancho Stingmon attempts to close the distance with her, but Sailor Pluto intervenes, slowing his forward motion by fractions of time.
Not enough to stop him, just enough for Sailor Jupiter to strike his flank with a thunderous blow that sends him sliding across the surface, forcing him to dig his claws in to stop himself.
Seeing this opportunity, Sara steps forward, draws her bow while gathering and condensing pure light into the arrow, making it shine brightly.
Light condenses into her arrow in perfect, unwavering density; it does not flare nor does it spike, but it remains steady.
She releases it, unleashing a thin beam of light that quickly advances toward the still Bancho Stingmon.
Seeing that, Goddramon cups his hands and draws them to his side as he concentrates what I can only refer to as holy energy into a single point between his cupped hands.
Then, once all the energy between his hands is so concentrated to the point that a small sun seems to have appeared between them, he thrusts his hands forward and yells, "God Flame!!!"
Shooting a colossal golden beam of flames toward an arrow of light.
When Goddramon's beam collides with her arrow, there is no chaotic explosion as the beam splits evenly just like Exceed V-mon's; however, the arrow is also redirected away from its intended target, making it miss Bancho Stingmon.
Seeing that scene, my eyes narrow while thinking, 'Her energy signature does not fluctuate like the others. It remains steady. Consistent...'
Hermes attempts classification, but like many of the participants in this battle, all I get are anomalous results, making me experience for the first time what I think is called frustration.
At the same time, I continue to observe the battle while thinking, 'All three Digimon remain clearly superior in raw force. But they are no longer dictating the entire flow. The Sailor Guardians are forcing exchanges. And the archer remains a constant, unwavering threat.'
Meanwhile, at the centre of the battlefield, Jayr and Ledram clash again as the Keyblade meets the tear-like shield on the armoured forearm.
Ledram does not rush blindly. His shadow spreads outward in a controlled wave, tendrils forming blades that strike from multiple angles at once.
Jayr cuts through them in precise arcs of golden light, making each tendril disintegrate on contact, but more replace them instantly.
Then Ledram decides to change strategy and steps through his own shadow and reappears behind Jayr, blade descending, slashing downward, but Jayr reacts before Ledram even reappears and twists, using the shield attached to his armoured forearm to once again deflect the strike.
The collision compresses the air between them into a silent vacuum for half a heartbeat before sound rushes back in.
At the same gravity magic he used before pulses outward in a controlled burst and forces distance.
Ledram slides back but remains standing.
Darkness gathers around his arm, forming a denser construct as he lunges again, feinting high before sweeping low.
Jayr blocks high, but the real strike comes from below.
The edge grazes his side, carving a shallow line through armour that quickly disappears as if nothing happened.
Golden energy flares in response, forcing distance again.
Neither of them wastes breath speaking.
They are still measuring each other and holding back a bigger attack.
Across the battlefield, Nero stumbles to one knee under Mirko's latest strike.
Goddramon retreats half a step from another perfectly placed arrow.
But I can see that Jayr is aware of it, of Nero's strain and the Digimon's resistance being met head-on.
Something is stabilising that side, but he is forced to focus on his opponent's relentless assault and cannot yet isolate what it is.
At the same time, across the field, Nero is finally driven to one knee under the combined assault.
Mirko's kick slams her into the reinforced ground. Nobunaga's bullets explode around her. Sara Pezzini locks her blade again. Dark magic flares.
Nero exhales sharply, blood at the corner of her mouth, and then she laughs, "Is this... the best you can do?"
Above them, Goddramon unleashes another overwhelming surge of holy energy, but Sara Connor releases another arrow.
This time, the impact does not merely split, but it forces the colossal dragon backwards.
For the first time, Goddramon retreats a step, making me whisper softly, almost to myself, "... This is alarming."
The battlefield does not slow; it only grows louder.
And at its centre, Jayr finally turns his gaze fully toward the woman with the bow; his gaze tells me that he is trying to grasp something that he doesn't fully understand yet.
It seems that my preliminary analysis was right; something about that archer woman is obviously wrong. She may be the most dangerous threat.
The battle between the two Irregular Masters who call themselves Champion has entered a new phase, and it is far from over.