The temple doors groaned shut behind us as we emerged into late afternoon sunlight. I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake off the lingering psychological weight of the trials. My Knowledge crest felt warm against my chest, pulsing in sync with my heartbeat.
"Anyone else feel like we just ran a mental marathon?" Wally asked, Gabumon and Biyomon flanking him on either side.
"That's an accurate assessment," Kaldur said, his hand resting on Agumon's head. "We should establish camp before nightfall. Rest before beginning our journey to Server Continent."
Conner nodded, Patamon and Gatomon perched on his shoulders. "Agreed. I don't think any of us are in shape for—"
The attack came without warning.
A massive Tuskmon burst from the treeline to our left, tusks gleaming with corrupted black energy. Behind it, eleven more Champion-level Digimon emerged—Meramon, Seadramon, three Greymon corrupted beyond recognition, a Garurumon with bleeding red eyes, two Kuwagamon, a Leomon twisted by darkness, and a Kabuterimon crackling with wrong-colored lightning.
"Scatter!" I shouted, but the corrupted Digimon had already surrounded us.
Agumon's body erupted with orange light. "Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!" The massive dinosaur materialized, his Nova Blast incinerating two corrupted Kuwagamon that had been diving toward Kaldur.
"Patamon digivolve to... Angemon!" White wings unfurled as the angel Digimon took flight, his staff blazing with holy light. Five corrupted Champions immediately converged on him—the three corrupted Greymon, the twisted Leomon, and the dark Garurumon.
"They're targeting the strongest!" Kaldur shouted, his water-bearers manifesting in his hands. "Protect Angemon!"
But we had our own problems. The corrupted Tuskmon charged straight at me, and a swarm of Rookie-level Digimon poured from the forest behind the Champions—Goblimon, Kunemon, Vegiemon, dozens of them.
"Tentomon, we need you bigger!" I threw a batarang at the Tuskmon's eye, buying seconds.
"I'm trying, Dick!" Tentomon buzzed frantically around my head. "The bond isn't strong enough yet!"
I ducked under corrupted tusks, rolled between massive legs, came up throwing. Three batarangs found homes in Rookie Digimon, dissolving them into data fragments. But for every one I took down, two more appeared.
Conner was a whirlwind of fists and tactical precision, Gatomon fighting beside him with lightning-fast claws. But even with his Kryptonian strength, the sheer numbers were overwhelming. Patamon's crest glowed on his chest, Hope radiating outward, but it wasn't enough.
Above us, Angemon was fighting for his life. His Hand of Fate struck one corrupted Greymon, purifying it instantly, but the other two coordinated with the Leomon and Garurumon. Four against one, and even an angel couldn't hold those odds forever.
"We have to help him!" Wally shouted, but Gabumon shook his head.
"We're not strong enough! Champion level is too far above us!"
Kaldur ducked under a Meramon's fire blast, his water dousing the flames. Greymon was holding the line against the corrupted Seadramon and Kabuterimon, but even he was struggling. We needed more Champions. Now.
"Gabumon!" Wally's voice cracked with desperation as a corrupted Vegiemon nearly took his head off. "I know you're scared, but I believe in you! We're friends, remember? Friends protect each other!"
The Friendship crest on Wally's chest exploded with golden light.
"Gabumon digivolve to... Garurumon!" The massive blue wolf materialized, his Howling Blaster freezing three Rookie Digimon solid before shattering them.
Tentomon saw it happen, saw his partner fighting alone against impossible odds. My Knowledge crest pulsed against my chest as I analyzed patterns, counted enemies, calculated survival odds. Three percent. That's what we had. Three percent chance of winning this fight.
But knowledge wasn't just about cold calculation. It was about understanding. And I understood that Tentomon was terrified of failing me.
"I don't need you to be perfect!" I shouted, blocking a Goblimon's club with my forearm. Pain lanced through my arm but I kept talking. "I need you to trust that we'll figure this out together! That's what knowledge is—learning, growing, trying!"
Tentomon's entire body blazed with blue light. "Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!" The massive beetle Digimon's Electro Shocker carved through a cluster of Rookie Digimon, giving me breathing room.
Four Champions now. Better odds. Still not good enough.
The corrupted Tuskmon that had been targeting me switched focus to Kaldur, who was directing the battle from the center of our formation. It charged with terrifying speed, and I saw what would happen—Kaldur would dodge, but the Tuskmon wasn't aiming to hit him. It was aiming to hit his crest.
"Robin, behind you!" Kaldur's warning came too late. I spun to find myself surrounded—six Rookie Digimon had flanked me while I was distracted. Their eyes gleamed with corrupted intelligence, coordinating their strikes.
I threw smoke pellets, tried to vanish, but there were too many. Claws reached for my chest, for the Knowledge crest hanging there. If they got it, everything we'd earned in the temple would be lost.
A yellow blur tackled me sideways. Wally and Garurumon hit the Digimon cluster like a freight train, scattering them. Wally pulled me to my feet, his eyes wide with the same realization I'd had.
"We have to leave," Kaldur said, his voice strained as he deflected another Meramon blast. "There are too many of them. We aren't strong enough yet."
"If you have any ideas on how to do so, I'm open to them," I said, but the words died in my throat.
Wally's scream cut through the battlefield chaos.
I turned to see him pinned beneath the corrupted Leomon, the massive cat having disengaged from Angemon to target the speedster. Garurumon was too far away, engaged with the dark Kabuterimon. Wally's arms shook as he barely held back jaws that could crush his skull.
Biyomon was just a Rookie. She couldn't possibly—
"Wally!" The little bird Digimon's voice was tiny but fierce. The Digivice on Wally's belt detonated with pink light so bright I had to shield my eyes.
"Biyomon digivolve to... Birdramon!" The massive phoenix materialized directly above Wally, her Meteor Wing attack blasting every corrupted Digimon within thirty feet backward. The Leomon went flying, and Wally scrambled free.
"Hey guys!" Wally's voice was shaky but triumphant as he climbed onto Birdramon's back. "I think we found our way out of here! Get on, now!"
I didn't need to be told twice. Kabuterimon swooped low, and Conner threw me onto his back before leaping up himself with Gatomon. Kaldur recalled Greymon to Agumon, and the small dinosaur scrambled onto Birdramon with Gomamon, Palmon, and Gabumon. Angemon flew alongside us as we ascended, finally free of his five-Champion dogpile.
The corrupted Digimon gave chase, but we were faster and their only flyer was visibly not willing to fight us by himself in the sky. Birdramon's wings beat with powerful strokes, carrying us north and east, away from the temple, away from the ambush. We flew for what felt like hours, watching the sun set and stars emerge in the digital sky.
When we finally landed on a beach, every one of us collapsed.
---
I watched from my throne as the eight heroes sprawled across digital sand, their Champion partners reverting to Rookie forms from exhaustion. That had been too close. Far too close.
"System, analysis."
Translucent blue text materialized: AMBUSH EFFECTIVENESS: EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT. CREST ACQUISITION PROBABILITY FOR CORRUPTED FORCES: FORTY-THREE PERCENT BEFORE BIYOMON EVOLUTION. CURRENT TEAM CAPABILITY: INSUFFICIENT FOR DEVIMON ENCOUNTER.
"I can see that," I muttered. "They need more training time, but the Mega-level threats are already stirring. If I give them too much time, they'll face something even worse."
ADVISORY: INDIRECT ASSISTANCE PERMITTED WITHIN ESTABLISHED PARAMETERS. IKARIS PROHIBITED FROM COMBAT BUT NOT FROM LOGISTICAL SUPPORT.
"Whalemon," I said, pulling up the dungeon creation interface. "I can have Ikaris send Whalemon to help them cross the ocean. Not fighting—just transportation. That doesn't violate the rules."
I programmed the encounter quickly, sending the message to my servant and from him to the friendly Digimon's resting point a dozen miles just offshore from their current location.
---
The ocean stretched before us, dark and vast. I'd calculated seventeen possible routes to Server Continent, but they all shared one problem: we couldn't walk on water. Well, Kaldur probably could with his Atlantean abilities, but the rest of us were landlocked.
"We could build a raft," Conner suggested, gathering driftwood.
"That would take days," Kaldur countered. "Days we may not have."
"So we're stuck," Wally said, kicking sand.
A massive shape breached the surface fifty yards offshore. I had three batarangs ready before my brain registered what I was seeing—a Whalemon, easily fifty feet long, with kind eyes and a gentle smile.
"Greetings, young heroes," the Whalemon said, his voice like rolling thunder. "You seem to need assistance crossing to Server Continent."
Every instinct I'd honed under Batman's training screamed trap. Convenient help appearing exactly when needed? Impossible coincidence.
But the Whalemon showed no signs of corruption. No bleeding eyes, no dark energy, no hostile intent.
"Did Ikaris send you to help us?" I asked carefully, watching for tells.
"No," Whalemon said, and I caught the slight emphasis on the word. "I have no idea what you're talking about, because if the great Ikaris did do that, he would be violating the rules. But if he were to simply be talking to himself and I overhead about the problem you're having well it's not his fault I'm here."
There. The confirmation barely if not at all hidden in denial. Ikaris couldn't help us directly, but he could arrange for someone else to offer assistance. Plausible deniability.
"That's... very kind of you," Kaldur said diplomatically. "We would appreciate the ride."
Whalemon lowered himself, and we climbed onto his broad back. Our eight Digimon partners settled around us as the massive creature began swimming north. The ocean journey had begun.
We traveled through the night and into the next day. The Digimon told us stories about Server Continent—the mountains, the forests, the ancient ruins. I catalogued every detail, building mental maps, preparing strategies.
We were halfway to our destination when the water erupted.
Three Ultimate-level Digimon burst from the depths—MetalSeadramon, their body's covered in Chrome Digizoid armor like a physical burden.
"Champions, now!" Kaldur shouted.
Agumon, Gabumon, Tentomon, Biyomon, Patamon, and Gomamon all evolved simultaneously. Six Champion-level Digimon against three Ultimates.
The gulf in power was immediately, horrifyingly apparent.
MetalSeadramon's River of Power carved through the ocean, nearly capsizing Whalemon. Greymon's Nova Blast bounced off the Ultimate's armor like a child's toy. MetalSeadramon two moved with speed that made Wally look slow, his head blade shredding through Angemon's defenses. The third corrupted MetalSeadramon's water shield easily Kabuterimon's electricity before it could even reach them.
"We can't win this!" I shouted, but Kaldur was already coordinating.
"Angemon, Birdramon—create a smoke screen! Kabuterimon, Garurumon—hit MetalSeadramon's eyes, blind him! Greymon, Zudomon—cover Whalemon's dive!"
We weren't trying to win. Just survive.
Birdramon's flames mixed with Angemon's Heaven's Gate energy, creating a blinding fog. Kabuterimon and Garurumon's combined attacks hit MetalSeadramon's optical sensors, and the massive serpent thrashed in pain. Greymon and Ikkakumon—Gomamon had evolved too during the fighting—took hits meant for Whalemon as he dove deep, carrying us beneath the worst of the assault.
We surfaced a mile away, our Champions barely clinging to consciousness. The three Ultimates circled in the distance but didn't pursue. They'd made their point.
We couldn't fight them. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
"That's what we're supposed to beat," Wally said quietly. "Ultimates. And beyond them, Megas."
Nobody answered. What could we say? We'd seen the truth now. Without reaching Ultimate level ourselves, we had no chance against Devimon. And even if we did reach Ultimate, Mega-level threats were already awakening.
Server Continent appeared on the horizon an hour later, its peaks rising like broken teeth against the sky.
Whalemon deposited us on a northern beach. "Train well, young heroes. You'll need every advantage you can get."
He vanished beneath the waves, and we were alone on an unfamiliar continent, carrying crests we barely understood, facing enemies we couldn't defeat.
The real journey was just beginning.