Both armies on the field halted as one, withdrawing in neat order to open a buffer between the lines. Every gaze tilted skyward to the warship hanging overhead—its hulking hull flashing with metallic glare in the sun, a forest of weapon ports yawning black like man-eating maws. At the bow, a single, titanic barrel stood tall, the very picture of brutal strength.
Whoosh—the deck doors on the warship slid open. Tai stepped out first, bathed in sunlight; WarGreymon and Datamon followed close behind.
Expressionless, Tai strode along the deck. Mechanical soldiers parted before the black-cloaked figure. He reached the rail, laid a hand on the cold steel, and looked down upon the battlefield.
Clouds drifted past. From this height, the massed troops were no more than ant-sized black dots. The vantage made Tai feel as if he were looking down on all living things.
He stepped forward into empty air.
Wind roared in his ears. He plunged in free fall; the ground rushed up—then, a hand's breadth above the surface, he stopped, breaking physics as simply as exhaling. Arms folded across his chest, he faced Makuramon, Sinduramon, and Caturamon, a faint smile at his lips as he regarded them in silence.
Tai hadn't moved, yet dread slowly pooled around the three Devas like mist.
They traded a glance—and struck at once:
"Terror!"
"Ryunō!"
"Judgment Mallet!"
Makuramon crossed his hands and loosed a fierce plasma beam; from the vajra staff on Sinduramon's back, a savage bolt of lightning cracked forth; Caturamon spun—and became a colossal hammer that slammed down toward Tai.
Plasma, lightning, and hammerhead rushed in—and stopped dead half a meter from Tai, flattened against a translucent film that shimmered into being before him.
The three attacks ground and hissed on the veil until their energy guttered out. Caturamon reformed, swaying with weakness.
Tai flicked his right hand. A single, massive ray flashed—and smashed into all three Devas before they could move.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Makuramon, Sinduramon, and Caturamon crashed into the earth far away, each carving a deep crater.
WarGreymon and Datamon dropped in beside Tai, eyes forward as Baihumon's vanguard came on.
Mere numbers should have made it simple: even a momentary volley from that many Adult-level Digimon could drown them, if not kill, then wound. But Tai's trio didn't budge. They stood and watched the line close—and when the enemy had almost reached them, Tai smiled. It was a dangerous smile that raised gooseflesh.
High above, alarms wailed in Thunder's command center. Hagurumon swarmed consoles, keys clattering. All along the hull, blast shutters slid aside. Gun barrels extended and slewed. A thousand muzzles lit with gathering power.
At the very front of Baihumon's legion, one Digimon lifted its left foot—then thunder rolled from the sky. It looked up and saw a rain of red lances falling.
Tai tipped his chin. Thunder's energy batteries descended like a crimson monsoon, swallowing Baihumon's ranks. Explosions roared until all other sound was gone; smoke boiled outward in walls.
Thunder shifted its attitude, bringing the main gun to bear.
Boom. The ship shivered. A single, colossal beam drilled into the field.
A mushroom cloud unfurled over the impact. The shockwave erased everything caught beneath it. When the dust at last thinned, a vast, bottomless crater gaped where the blast had struck.
Tai didn't spare it a glance. He looked up at Thunder instead. "Come on out. I've finished the appetizers. Time for the main course."
A dragon's roar pealed from the east as a long, azure form rose into the sky—Azulongmon. From the west, a white blur streaked upward to a tiger's bellow—Baihumon. From the south, a piercing cry—and a scarlet presence ignited the heavens into a sea of flame—Zhuqiaomon. From the north came ponderous steps, and a two-headed giant with a vast tree on its back trudged into view—Ebonwumon. Twelve great Digi-Cores orbited them, feeding bottomless strength.
Tai chuckled and shook his head. "Didn't think I rated a full house. All Four Sovereigns—just for me."
"You've strayed from the proper path," Azulongmon rumbled. "With every step you draw nearer to darkness. There is still time to turn ba—"
"Turn back—and hand the Steel Empire to you along the way? Don't make me laugh." Tai cut him off. "Enough talk. Prove it with your hands."
He whipped his right hand to the side, then snapped it back. Light coalesced into a blade in his grip—the Sacred Sword: Genesis Edge.
"Go."
At his word, a red silhouette vaulted from Thunder—Chaos Megidramon.
Datamon angled up toward Thunder. On the ground, both Baihumon's remnants and the Steel Empire's mechanicals fell back, clearing space for the giants to clash.
Tai streaked for Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon. Chaos Megidramon met Baihumon head-on. WarGreymon arrowed toward Ebonwumon.
Baihumon bore the Steel attribute; even stripped of its iron law, its raw might was the greatest of the four. Chaos Megidramon's frame was forged from red Chrome Digizoid—no less hard than Baihumon's own.
"High-Energy Infinity Cannons!" Twin guns on Chaos Megidramon's back spat ultra-dense waves of force straight at Baihumon.
"Kongou!" Baihumon answered with a flood of wave-metal from its jaws, rusting force that slammed the beams head-on. The two attacks chewed each other apart, bursting in white light and thunder.
Clang! Baihumon rose on its forequarters and slashed with steel talons. Chaos Megidramon met the stroke with Chaos Shredder Claws of red Chrome Digizoid—then ducked, bringing the spinal cannons to bear. "High-Energy Infinity Cannons!"
Caught mid-motion, Baihumon couldn't counter—the blast hammered it and hurled the tiger far away. Chaos Megidramon lunged to press the advantage—only for Baihumon's thick tail to whip around. "Spiked Tail Ring!" The blow smashed Chaos Megidramon aside. The white tiger rose, blood-spattered and glaring.
It didn't see the red lance screaming in from behind—Thunder's shot, fired by Datamon. Baihumon sensed wrongness, turned—and the world filled with scarlet.
Kra-BOOM! The blast flung the tiger in a bright arc.
"Infinite Annihilation Bombardment! Chaos Shredder! Chaos Obliterator!" Panels blew open all across Chaos Megidramon's frame. The back cannons and maw-gun hurled ultra-dense beams; the chest spewed a storm of missiles, lasers, and IR-guided payloads; virus bombs rained in salvoes—all saturating the place Baihumon fell, plowing it under fire.
Wind peeled the smoke away—revealing Baihumon, pelt burnt black in patches and bleeding in others, battered and ragged.
It bared its fangs and panted, rage boiling. Losing face in a fair clash was one thing—being blindsided was unforgivable. A wounded beast is the most dangerous.
Baihumon roared. "Bronze Cannon!" A white-hot energy wave blasted from its maw.
Chaos Megidramon's optics flickered; its jaws yawned and hurled an ultra-dense pillar of force to meet it.
Beam met beam. Light bloomed; smoke rose thick and hid both titans from view. Neither moved. When the curtain lifted, the real fight would begin.
Tension fell over the field like a weighted shroud.
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