Chapter 11: Yukikaze 雪風

The winter break came and went too fast for Mamoru's liking. Thankfully, their shrine visit on New Year's Day had happened without incident. It was the happiest he had seen most of the group in a while. Their gathering was everything Arashiyama should have been, at least according to Reina. No Digimon battles, no quarrelling, just a pleasant evening with only light snowfall. It was fortunate that they had scrounged the time to visit on New Year's Day itself. By the third day of the year, Kyoto was encased in deep snow. Heavy snowfall was already rare, but a constant near-blizzard lasting days on end was a once in a century phenomenon. The inclement weather had made walking outside even worse than during typhoon season.

The constant snowy wind buffed Kyoto, unceasing during the day or at night. Mamoru was forced to continually trudge through sleet and snow each day just to get to class. Though it must have been worse for Reina, who had to commute to school. The heavy snowfall had yet to paralyse Kyoto, but it had caused some significant delays. It must have been miserable to spend hours on the train. The wind was continuous, creating a flurry of snow whirling above the city that obscured the sky for days. Yet so little of it ever seemed to fall to earth, creating a continuously dull white and grey midwinter sky.

To Mamoru, this was all incredibly inconvenient; the amount of time it took to go anywhere, the pathetic heating at his dorm. It was only made worse by his own decision to rest the whole of his one-week break. He was now frantically studying for the final exams at the end of the month. There never seemed to be enough time, between dashing to the library for books and finding his way to his reshuffled class venues. The National Centre Test for University Admission was this weekend, and Kyoto University was one of the exam sites. Preparations of the exam venues had occupied most of the lecture halls, pushing many of his classes to obscure wings and annexes. Mamoru thought that he would cease loathing the exam once he finished it. The Centre Test seemed to have come back to haunt him even after he entered university.

It was a wonder that Yasushi and Nagato could still commit to their shrine visit when it was just two weeks away from their major exam. Especially Nagato who was probably the least academically able out of all of them. Perhaps he simply did not care. Mamoru wished he could just stop caring; or even better, that he was actually a genius who could commit to being a DigiDestined and still perform in university. He wanted to ask Reina about her grades, as a point of comparison. Though he decided it was not worth the risk, the potential landmine that it was. Asuka was unhelpful as ever, remaining reticent despite her wellspring of information on everyone.

Mamoru sat in his dorm room, shivering away, pondering how he should continue. The additional portable heater he had bought produced a pitiful amount of warmth. He needed another book from the library but braving the blizzard outside was an intolerable idea. There was also the matter of lunch, which he was reluctant to get for the same reason. Mamoru turned to his shelf of snacks and instant food. It was dwindling, the only substantial thing left was some onigiri he had bought yesterday on a whim. Ever since he had dinner at Reina's house, no other rice balls ever tasted quite as good. Perhaps it was his exhaustion that day which made her food delicious.

A loud sigh left his mouth as he leaned back onto the tatami floor. Impossible, he refused to go out into the snow. If he could continuously feel the cold creeping into his room, he shuddered at the thought of what it felt like outside Mamoru resolved to eating his convenience store food and studying without the commentary for his text. The rice had gone dry, and its fillings were mediocre; a miserable experience. As he was about to start on Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, still gnawing away at his stale onigiri, his Digivice rang. Looking over to the screen, it was a call from Kodai. Mamoru felt immediate irritation, a frown coming to his face. No one their age should be making a phone call.

"What," Mamoru spat.

"Come to Kyoto Tower now!" Kodai yelled over the phone. Mamoru could hear the wind howling in the background.

"What?" He repeated.

"It's an emergency! You weren't answering LINE!"

"What is going on?" Mamoru insisted. Kodai was insane if he thought anyone would go out into a blizzard with no explanation.

"Just get down here!" He hissed. "You can check the news on the way."

With that, Kodai abruptly hung up. Mamoru sighed again; he did say it was an emergency. He still felt hints of bitterness as he donned his parka. Kodai's commanding presence had veered into being domineering. Was he unable to just explain himself for a few seconds?

It was a struggle to open the building's front door, the wind pushing back against him. His foot skidded on the pavement, forcing him to slow his pace. The snow had been melting and refreezing for days, creating a layer of ice on the paths surrounding his dorm. The breeze was picking up again, biting into Mamoru's exposed neck. He really wanted his scarf back from Asuka, though it was now years too late to ask. Mamoru was just in time for the bus, though it moved at a plodding pace. Snow was steadily building upon the road, and visibility had dropped to almost nothing. Only the lack of passengers boarding and alighting the bus prevented his journey from slowing to a crawl.

Mamoru unlocked his Digivice to find out what Kodai had been yelling about. All the news outlets in Kyoto were running the story of a massive flurry that had engulfed the Kyoto Tower. The videos footage from buildings nearby showed the white and red tower having completely disappeared. In its place along the downtown skyline was a swirling spherical vortex of ice and snow. Mamoru narrowed his eyes as he made a closer observation. The wind was moving so unnaturally that it had to be manipulated, probably by some Digimon given Kodai's call. He immediately switched to LINE to see the previous messages from the group. Everyone had responded before Kodai had called him and were rushing to central Kyoto. It seemed he would still be one of the first to arrive since most people were coming from the edges of the city.

The Shichijo Bridge was jammed with vehicles attempting to cross, utterly deadlocked. Mamoru felt a sense of dread build in his as the bus he was on uneasily stood still. As they inched closer towards the significant downtown intersections, he began to squirm in his seat. There was no time, he would just brave the cold. To his frustration, the bus driver refused to let him alight in-between stops. Mamoru had to contain himself from exploding. He had to remind himself that it was impossible to articulate the urgency of his situation.

Left with little other option, he forced opened the emergency door release and dashed into the cold. He ran down Karasuma street, struggling to prevent himself from slipping on all the sleet. The entire area had been brought to a standstill in a complete whiteout. He started to lose feeling in his exposed skin as the cold gust hammered away at his person. The wind seemed to howl, almost cackling at him as he approached the scramble crossing in front of Kyoto Central Station and the Tower.

The final steps to reach the crossing felt like he was piercing a veil. The air around him thickened as he attempted to force his way through, buffeting him with snow. Even breathing became difficult with the violent gust around him, ripping air away from his lungs. Arms braced over his face, Mamoru managed to break through, finding the air at the Shiokoji scramble crossing much calmer.

"Mamoru!" Kodai's voice rang out across the deserted street. He gestured frantically for Mamoru to take shelter in the hotel mall below the tower. As he ran in, Kodai promptly shut the glass doors behind him, cutting off the howling wind.

"Where are all the cars?" Mamoru asked. The intersection was completely empty, an abrupt change from a massive gridlock just a few hundred meters north of them.

"There was an announcement to stay indoors and avoid downtown Kyoto," Kodai replied. He was rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

As Mamoru felt the warmth of the building's heating, the feeling in his extremities began to return to him. Only a few people were standing around or seated at the nearby coffee shop. It was a ghost town for a Friday afternoon. Sitting near an electrical outlet were Yuki and Natsuki, the younger girl typing furiously on her computer. Despite being indoors, both of them were still bundled up in their identical brown trench coats.

"So," Mamoru began, "A Digimon is causing all this."

"It's at the top of Kyoto Tower," Kodai replied curtly.

"What are we waiting for?" Mamoru said, taking out his Digivice. "The two of us should be able to stop it."

"The elevator is completely out," Natsuki said, heading off Kodai's response. "Yuki has been trying to get it working."

Yuki continued where Natsuki had left off almost immediately. "It is a mechanical failure, probably from the extreme cold. I cannot do anything from my computer."

Mamoru traced the wires from her laptop to see that she had an ethernet cable connected to the wall outlet as well. "Is the whole building wired up or something?"

Yuki continued to work away at her computer. Without turning to look at Mamoru, she lifted her free hand and pointed toward a plaque near the entrance he had come from.

"Izumi Corporation" Mamoru muttered.

"They were the contractor for the recent renovations. The entire building has an integrated computer network. I asked Koshiro-san for administrator access."

It seemed excessive to have a computer network for an entire building, even if they did create a digital system for the observation deck.

"So, we can't go up, but the Digimon doesn't appear to be going anywhere either." Mamoru mused. "Is Kyoto at risk of being engulfed?"

"Maybe if this continued for a few more days," Yuki said. "but we have a more pressing issue."

Mamoru tilted his head to the side, thinking of the possible problems. The weather outside was getting so severe that it was impossible to believe that it was not immediately dangerous. The snow was building up at an alarming rate, reaching slightly above his ankles. Yet, it seemed that it was nowhere near as bad further out in Kyoto where the snow seemed to melt before it became unmanageable. The Digimon causing this had a limited area of influence.

Before Mamoru could arrive at a conclusion, Kodai spoke up. "If we can't get up, no one can come down either."

"What about the emergency exits?" Mamoru immediately retorted. While he was reluctant to climb a hundred-meter tower, surely people would have been willing to descend for their safety.

"I think they are frozen shut," Yuki said, still somehow nonchalant despite Mamoru's rising level of alarm the more information he received. "The computer system's remote release failed to work."

"If it's cold enough to freeze the door mechanism…" Mamoru said as he processed the full magnitude of the situation.

"It's very far below sub-zero up there," Kodai said, finishing his thought.

"Shit!" Mamoru exclaimed. Any lingering irritation he had at being dragged out into the cold had disappeared. "We have to do something, right now."

He raised his Digivice, bringing Hagurumon out. There were looks of shock and confusion from the few other people in the mall, but no one took any action.

"I'm still thinking of a plan," Kodai said, "Your Digimon can fly right?"

"Wisemon can," There was still a tinge of reluctance as he said that. It was a desperate situation, but he hoped to somehow resolve it without Digivolving to ultimate level. He remembered the toll it had taken on him last year. Mamoru could ill afford that with his exams less than a week away.

"I think GrapLeomon should be able to scale the tower," As Kodai said that, he raised his Digivice bringing out Bearmon.

"How do you plan to even reach the base of the tower?" Mamoru asked.

Natsuki chimed in before anyone else could reply. "We still have access to the hotel roof." She was still cheery, even in this bleak situation. "The others are almost here too."

Through the glass door, Mamoru could see the remaining four DigiDestined trudge through the snow towards them. It was a miracle that the Nara Line was still operational enough to bring them here from Uji. Only Noriko was in her brown sailor-fuku school uniform, the two third-years had no classes before their exams.

"Sorry for the delay," Nagato said. "I got to the station earlier, but I waited for the rest of them."

Noriko shook off the snow on her as soon as she entered the building. "My legs are freezing." She said miserably.

Mamoru could not imagine wearing a skirt in this kind of weather. Though Yuki and Natsuki seemed fine with their leggings. He was just thankful that he had at least two layers all over his body. Reina and Yasushi immediately brought out their Digimon at the sight of Hagurumon and Bearmon playing nearby. Their Digimon were child-like as ever.

"How serious is it?" Yasushi asked as he cleaned his glasses.

"There are over a hundred people trapped on the observation deck." Yuki announced, still not turning to look at anyone. "the sensors that are still working read that it is reaching below minus twenty degrees Celsius."

"They'll freeze to death," Reina said, her voice quavering slightly. It never got that cold in Kyoto. No one would have winter clothes for temperature that extreme.

"Hotel roof, now," Mamoru said. He was struggling to suppress his frantic urge to do something immediately.

"Hold on," Kodai said, still entirely composed. "Yuki, is there anything more you can do?"

"Not with my computer," she said, promptly closing her laptop. "Most of the system has been physically disabled by the cold."

Kodai nodded and proceeded to stand on a chair in the café, catching everyone's attention. "Everyone," His voice easily overpowered the howling wind outside. "Please remain indoors, the temperature is dropping rapidly. Prevent anyone from leaving the building for their own safety."

Something was reassuring about his words. More so in the way he conveyed them. The various patrons and the people waiting in the corridor seemed to concur with what he said. Kodai, in his thick leather bomber jacket for winter, appeared much older than he was. Mamoru wondered if they would be so calm knowing that he was just nineteen.

As the DigiDestined moved off, some of the onlookers seemed to have picked up that they were much younger than they initially seemed. They gave Noriko, Natsuki and Yuki confused looks as they brought out their Digimon partners. They must have noticed that they were high schoolers from the bits of their uniform that were not covered by their coats or jackets. Yet no one stopped them, either too polite or confused to do anything despite being adults.

It was an arduous climb through the maintenance stairwell to reach the building roof on the ninth floor. This was the most flights of stairs Mamoru had seen in his life, Kyoto having few buildings this tall. He was stuck behind Nagato, carrying a long rectangular bag over his shoulder that kept knocking into him.

"What are you carrying?" Mamoru sighed, fed up with being jabbed.

"It's my bokken." Nagato grabbed the bottom end of the bag to control it swaying.

"You still have Kendo?" It was literally one day before their exam. Mamoru could not imagine that he would still be doing anything related to school clubs now.

"Nope," Nagato said casually, "I brought it from home. I thought it might be useful."

The cold air slammed into them as they opened the roof access door. It was nowhere near as strong as typhoon winds, but it still made it slightly difficult to breathe. The snow on the roof reached above their keens. It was still manageable for the guys as well as Reina and Noriko who were above average height. Yuki, on the other hand, struggled, being a full head shorter than Mamoru. The snow went up to her thighs, forcing her to literally wade through it.

As they reached the centre of the roof, they looked up to see that the tower's observation deck was still obscured. Looking off the rooftop, they could see a wall of snow being stirred up by the wind, blocking the rest of the city from their vision. There were two spheres, one encasing the entire building and the surrounding roads and another just around the observation deck.

A sense of dread came over Mamoru, what would happen if this Digimon was mega level? It certainly seemed as powerful as what Mamoru had seen attack Tokyo. If it took four experienced ultimate level Digimon to subdue it, what hope did they have? Even without the inclement weather impeding them. They continued to stare upwards, hoping to get a glimpse of their foe through the flurry.

Their body heat began to melt some of the snow around them, drenching their legs. "I think I've read about this," Yasushi murmured. Everyone turned to him, hoping for some insight into their situation.

"The Battle of Weihaiwei," he mused. "It snowed so fiercely that it inspired Nagai Kenshi to compose Yuki no Shingun."

Noriko promptly smacked him on the back of his head. "Really? Talking about a Snow March? Of course a member of the History Club would give out such useless information."

"What…" Yasushi muttered. "It's the one hundred and twentieth anniversary of the battle."

"Unless you know something that will finish this now or prevent us from freezing to death, please shut up." Noriko said miserably.

Turning to Yuki and Natsuki, they seemed to be the worst off. They were shivering away, standing almost waist-deep in snow as it continued to pile up.

Nagato grunted at Yasushi before taking out his Digivice. "I have an idea."

Kotemon glowed bright yellow, Digivolving into Musyamon. The Digimon ignited its nodaichi with a ghostly blue flame. Mamoru could immediately feel the intense heat radiating from the sword. The snow around them quickly melted, soaking through their pants and leggings.

Yasushi glared back before turning to Tapirmon. Not wanting to be outdone by his rival, the newly Digivolved Sorcermon began to draw in the moisture from the freshly melted snow. It coalesced into a ball on the tip of his staff. In the same maneuverer he had used at Amagase, Sorcermon fired the water bullet heavenwards. The ball of water exploded as it contacted the sphere of snow, scattering small ice crystals in all directions.

The snowy wind obscuring the observation deck began to dissipate. While they could now see the red metal lattice at the top of Kyoto Tower, there was still wisps of snow carried by the gust revolving around it. Perched atop the spire was a winged humanoid figure, completely white. It was difficult to make out details standing at the tower's base, though it was clear that the Digimon had horns and was partially clad in some sort of leather.

"Yuki," Mamoru prompted, turning around to look at her.

She was already on her Digivice, scrolling through information. "It is hard to be certain, but I think that is an IceDevimon."

"It's only a champion level Digimon?" Noriko exclaimed. "This is insane, the whole of Kyoto is being blanketed."

"Whatever it is," Kodai began, taking control of the situation. "We can't afford to hold back."

Everyone nodded in agreement, Digivolving their partners in response. Mamoru was still reluctant to Digivolve to ultimate, but it seemed necessary. That champion level Digimon appeared incredibly strong. Besides the two magician Digimon, Wisemon was the only other one who could fly.

"Kodai, how exactly are you planning to get GrapLeomon up there?" Mamoru asked.

"Yuki showed me the blueprints for the tower before you got here." Mamoru already hated the way this was going. "The exterior is just sheet metal over a frame that is like the Tokyo Tower. GrapLeomon is just going to punch through the metal and use the frame as handholds."

Mamoru opened his mouth but could not find the words to respond with. It was probably a sound plan since they had examined the structural schematics. Yet it seemed incredibly excessive to punch dozens of holes in Kyoto Tower.

"That's going to cost a lot of money." It was Natsuki who responded. Not quite what Mamoru was concerned about but at least someone else thought the plan had issues.

Kodai merely shrugged. He was confident that there was no better alternative. Mamoru knew that the three of their Digimon that could fly might not be enough to defeat IceDevimon.

"Senpai, you ready?" Noriko's arms were raised in a boxing position, feet shoulder-width apart, her eyes staring directly at their foe. Sorcermon and Wizardmon were floating behind her. They looked poised to take flight, waiting only on Wisemon.

"Mamoru, we'll catch up," Reina said as Gatomon leapt off her shoulder, running on all fours towards the tower base. "The three of you should get up there as soon as possible."

Mamoru nodded and turned back to Noriko. She gave him a cheesy thumbs up as the two magician Digimon rocketed into the air. Wisemon followed shortly after, his two golden wings fully extended. The three Digimon flew in a triangular formation as they skimmed the tower surface on their ascent, their cloaks billowing in the wind. Below them, GrapLeomon and Gatomon had begun to scale the side of the tower, smashing through the sheet metal as they went.

Natsuki's partner, Floramon, had Digivolved into Kiwimon. It was a flightless bird with brown fur instead of feathers. Despite changing from a plant to a bird type Digimon, Kiwimon retained a vibrant mane made of leaves. While highly mobile, owing to powerful legs, Natsuki's partner was clearly unable to climb a vertical surface like the tower. Similarly, Ikkaumon and Musyamon were stuck at the base of the tower.

The ice devil perched atop the tower leaned forward, body stiff as a board, before falling away toward the oncoming Digimon trio. IceDevimon unfurled its wings, sending a wave of cold air downwards and coming to a stop mid-air in front of the observation deck. In the lead, Wisemon easily evaded the attack as they continued rapidly ascending. The wild Digimon let loose a howl that pierced through the wind. Mamoru saw Reina flinch as the cry resounded around the building. It sounded eerily like what they had heard that day at Kiyomizu-dera.

The snow around them seemed to fall upwards, slowly being sucked in by the gust being generated around IceDevimon. A sphere of fast rotating ice crystals formed around the devil again. Sorcermon reacted immediately attempting to counter using his own magic to absorb the ice into another Drowning Aquarius. The sheer volume made it a struggle for the magician Digimon to control. Wisemon took advantage of the break in the flurry made by Sorcermon to fire a lightning bolt at the IceDevimon. The wild Digimon dived away, dragging the snowy gale with him. Wisemon's attack grazed the red metal cage around the observation deck, melting some of the steel. Mamoru winced at the sight of the botched attack; they would have to be cautious fighting around the tower.

Wizardmon let loose a volley of fireballs at the fleeing Digimon. They appeared as faint red orbs as they travelled through the sky, obscured by the amount of snow being kicked up in the air. IceDevimon banked left and upwards, avoiding the spray of fireballs. Noriko let out a yelp as her partner's stray attacks closed in on the building roof. As Kiwimon sprang into action, the only one close enough to do anything, they mercifully detonated in mid-air. A few months ago, they probably would have caused a massive amount of collateral damage. Not only had their Digimon's coordination improved, but their ability to fight without direct commands had developed. Even if they were in closer proximity to their partners, there would not be enough time to verbally relay them an instruction like that. Though he was still unsure if their improvements would be enough to defeat this Digimon.

The IceDevimon continued to perform aerial acrobatics, eluding the pursuing Digimon. Sorcermon was right on its tail, staff extended in front of him. Each time they lined up, the magician would release a hail of ice shards in an attempt to shoot down his foe. Thankfully, the ice shards seem to just disappear into the flurry instead of causing any additional damage. While Wizardmon was mostly able to keep up with his white and blue counterpart, Wisemon was falling behind their breakneck manoeuvres. The two champion level Digimon clearly had much more experience flying that Mamoru's partner who rarely Digivolved beyond the land-bound Clockmon. The gap in experience eventually became too much for Wisemon, and the IceDevimon managed to loop back behind on his tail. The aerial battle became strung out, with Wisemon in the lead trying to shake off IceDevimon who was being shot at by the two wizard Digimon further behind.

"This is so cool," Yasushi said, his gaze whipping back and forth as he followed the Digimon. "It's like watching a real dogfight."

"Dogfight?" Noriko exclaimed, scowling at Yasushi. While Mamoru could see why their battle was quite a spectacle, perhaps it was not the best idea to say it aloud.

"It's nothing about animals fighting each other." He said backtracking, only now realising his words could be misinterpreted easily. "It's when fighter planes battle in the sky. Like in those World War Two movies."

"I hate the history club." Noriko sighed.

Mamoru was more worried about Wisemon who was unable to elude IceDevimon. Every so often the wild Digimon would fire a blast of ice shards from its wings, only narrowly missing his partner. Despite having the numerical advantage, only Sorcermon was launching attacks consistently, with Wizard occasionally finding the opening to cast a fireball. Ikkaumon and Kiwimon had ranged attacks as well, but it was too risky to fire them off from the ground. Both friendly fire and collateral damage were a constant worry, limiting their openings.

"Sanada-san," Yuki said, her eyes fixated on her Digivice. "We have to hurry. The temperature is reaching close to minus forty on the observation deck."

Mamoru's eyes widened at her statement. That kind of cold would be extreme even for Hokkaido. "Kodai, can you do something?"

GrapLeomon and Gatomon were two-thirds of the way up the tower and continuing to progress fast. They left in their wake a trail of holes throughout the structure. The smaller cat Digimon seemed to have gotten the hang of climbing and was racing ahead.

"We could smash the windows." Kodai offered. "Gatomon is small enough to get inside and force open the emergency doors."

"I doubt anyone can move up there." Mamoru countered.

They had been trapped there for almost two hours now with the temperature steadily dropping. Even if they were huddled together in the interior of the observation deck, it seemed unlikely they could muster any more strength to get out of the tower. Shattering the windows would just expose them to the gale force winds outside.

"We have to do something." Kodai shot back. There was no progress with the dogfight, seeming to have reached a stalemate with neither party able to shoot down each other.

"How heavy is Gatomon?" Noriko asked.

"Not very?" Reina had a confused expression. "She can still rest on my shoulder pretty comfortably."

"Senpai, can you lure the IceDevimon closer to the tower? It will give Gatomon and opening."

"Gatomon doesn't have a ranged attack" Mamoru replied. Did she intend to involve that Digimon in aerial combat as well?

"Our Digimon can probably catch and carry Gatomon," Noriko said with a grin.

"You've got to be kidding," Mamoru instinctively responded. They were having a hard enough time fighting the IceDevimon as it is. Passengers would just make it worse.

"We have to try something," Noriko pouted.

Mamoru let out another sigh, far too many for one day. What choice did they have?

He signalled for Wisemon to climb toward the tower again, their dogfight having spilt over to the surrounding buildings' airspace. Wisemon skimmed the surface of the tower, flying right under Gatomon and GrapLeomon, IceDevimon close behind. As the wild Digimon neared the tower, Reina's partner seemed to grasp the plan they were going for and leapt into the air. Her lightning paw barely the grazed the ice devil as it took evasive action at the last moment. Wizardmon broke off from his pursuit and dove, catching Gatomon in his arms. The cat Digimon jumped back onto the tower as he returned to chasing IceDevimon.

While not as successful as any of them had hoped for, it had disrupted the wild Digimon enough to change its pattern. Halting in mid-air, it again summoned a flurry around itself. Before Sorcermon could blast a hole in its defensive shield again, IceDevimon let loose large shards of ice in all directions.

"Wizardmon!" Noriko yelled. Her partner darted in front of the observation deck and fired off his attacks, just in time to destroy the oncoming ice shards. IceDevimon's onslaught was far from over, the enormous icicles now raining down on the DigiDestined.

"Ikkakumon, intercept them," Yuki instructed; her voice raised but still remarkably calm. Mamoru found it hard to believe this was her disposition even in the heat of battle.

Ikkakumon's horn rocketed skyward towards the threat. The black casing broke away as it gained altitude, revealing a green missile that homed onto the falling ice shards. Yuki's partner began to rapidly fire his Harpoon Vulcan attack, but there were too many incoming projectiles.

"Kiwimon," Natsuki cried. "Pummel Pecker." Kiwimon launched a stream of projectiles that looked like miniaturised versions of herself. Many of them missed their mark, but their sheer number made up for that, destroying more of the oncoming icicles.

The fearsome barrage they put up succeeded in destroying most of IceDevimon's projectiles, but one of them inevitably broke through. The group braced themselves for the impact as Ikakkumon moved in front to shield them with his body.

"We're not just a damn snow melter!" Nagato yelled out.

Mamoru looked up to see Muysamon cleave the ice shard clean in two with his blade, the remnants flying harmlessly past them. Nagato looked as though he could explode. Mamoru had not been keeping an eye on him, fixated with the battle raging above them. Looking at him now, Nagato must have been infuriated as his inability to contribute to the fight. His partner was not agile enough to scale the tower and had no range attacks.

There was still a constant barrage of ice at the observation deck, keeping their Digimon occupied defending it.

"Why the hell is it so strong?" Noriko was exasperated. Wizardmon was shooting down the brunt of the attacks, his meteor squall being the most effective ability among the three Digimon for the job.

"I bet it has the evolution virus," Yasushi said.

"I don't think it is just that," Natsuki interjected, surprising most of them. Like Yuki, she was usually more reticent. Perhaps she was getting more comfortable with all of them. Or maybe it was just Mamoru presence that was unknown to her before Arashiyama.

"Even including that," Kodai replied. "it is way too strong to just be a champion level."

"Ikebana," Natsuki muttered. Everyone's expression turned to confusion. Even Yuki, who was probably the most analytical of them appeared puzzled by her best friend's statement.

"Remember Arashiyama?" Natsuki continued, turning to Mamoru and Noriko.

"What about it?" Noriko responded.

"That SnowAgumon, it was really strong too," Natsuki said, nervously turning to look at Kodai. She was starting to hesitate. Mamoru guessed it was probably due to Kodai's imposing presence. He probably did not intentionally do it, but his statement likely undermined her confidence.

"Go on," Mamoru said, trying to encourage her. "more theories are better than less."

"It's like seasonal flower arrangements," Natsuki replied, seemingly on a tangent. "Even if you can get flowers out of season nowadays, they're not nearly as impactful in an arrangement."

"Okay?" Mamoru said hesitantly. He was still unable to see the link. Looking to Yuki for insight, she had a blank expression that indicated she was attempting to process the information. Not even she could decipher this.

Natsuki looked extremely flustered, so caught up in trying to get her point across that she had not bothered to shake off the snow building up on her.

"Agumon's fire attacks were effective at destroying the ice." She continued.

Mamoru looked around to see if anyone else had some inkling of what she was trying to say. Noriko retained her puzzled look, though Yuki's expression had subtly changed.

"Digimon still follow natural logic," Yuki said, causing Natsuki to smile in relief.

"Natural logic? Like formal logic?" Mamoru replied, unable to fully understand.

"Not your philosophy stuff." It was now Reina who interjected, seeming to have grasped the idea as well.

"What Natsuki is trying to say," Yuki said, stepping forward. "IceDevimon is likely much stronger because it is winter."

It clicked for Mamoru. He could not believe how dense he had been. Digimon still interacted with the natural world on a fairly intuitive level. They had all seen it at before at Amagase and at Arashiyama. A fire attack could easily melt ice and water could be manipulated despite its different states. The IceDevimon had access to so much snow, and the low temperature made it easy to form ice. It would likely have been an easy opponent to beat in the heat of summer.

"So what do we do about it?" Nagato asked impatiently. "We know why it's strong, but we can't do anything about it."

Before Mamoru could respond, their Digivices started to buzz. Whatever the new notification was, it was terrible timing.

"Digimon appearances, right on top of us," Yuki said as she scrolled on her Digivice.

Mamoru could see figures start to emerge from the blizzard obscuring the other end of the roof. There were both humanoid and quadrupedal figures emerging from the snow. Nearly a dozen of them were approaching.

"You got to be shitting me," Yasushi said.

Mamoru had to concur.