(A/N: Alright, here we go, I've been waiting for this chapter. Got quite a lot going on here. Things are really going to escalate. Our heroes are almost at Lucemon's castle, where Boltboutamon claims he has a prize waiting for them. Meanwhile, Lucemon and Daemon are still fighting it out. What's going to happen? Read on to find out.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 179: Power Source
Tai let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as he stared up at Lucemon's castle; if castle was even the right word for it. It was so large, it was bigger than an entire estate, and that wasn't even counting how high it rose into the sky. But the size wasn't what had him forgetting to breathe. It was what being here meant.
This was it, after all this time, they were finally going to face off against Lucemon, leader and strongest member of the Demon Lords. It was not something any of them were looking forward to doing, but it was something they had come to terms with. But now that they were here, Tai wasn't exactly sure how his friends felt about it, but he didn't feel ready.
"Well, here we are," said Davis. "Lucemon's castle."
"The last place we want to be," Takato chimed in. "And it also just happens to be the place where we need to be."
Shoutmon swallowed, looking like he might faint. "W-We don't have to do this, you know. We can still turn around."
Kari's eyes narrowed in determination. "No way. We've come too far to turn back now."
In the distance, a stream of fire flew through the air, but they didn't see the source of it. It was something they had been seeing for some time now, since before their fight with Boltboutamon and the Digimon he had brought along. They still didn't know what the commotion was all about, but whatever was causing it seemed to be avoiding the castle, because the teens had yet to catch a glimpse of it.
"What is that?" Takato asked uneasily.
"As long as it continuous happening way over there, who cares," said Takuya.
Takato shook his head. "No, we should care. This is Lucemon we're about to face. What if whatever that is makes its way over here while we're fighting him?"
TK looked at the shooting flames. "That seems unlikely. It's been avoiding coming anywhere near the castle. It's probably afraid of Lucemon."
Kari nodded in agreement. "And if it were an actual problem, Lucemon probably would have taken care of it himself."
Tai sighed. "Let's not worry about it right now. We've got to focus on Lucemon. The leader of the Demon Lords is no joke."
Davis gave an encouraging smile. "Yeah, but after him, all that's left is Daemon and Bagramon, then we're home free."
"And Boltboutamon," Kari added. "Don't forget about him."
Suddenly, a miniature portal appeared, and the Digimon in question's head popper out. "Did someone say my name?"
The teens all jumped away from the sight of Boltboutamon's floating head, and Tai glared at him. "Great, just what we need."
"What are you doing here?" Takuya demanded.
Chuckling, Boltboutamon expanded the portal so he could step out if it. "Have you forgotten already? Did I not say that I had a prize waiting for you at Lucemon's castle?"
"The only prize we want is getting rid of Lucemon!" Davis growled.
Boltboutamon clapped his hands together, making a show of pretending to look remorseful. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid Lucemon isn't in right now. He's got his hands full at the moment."
Takuya's shoulders sank. "What? You're kidding, right? After we came all this way, he's not even here?"
"Where is he?" Shoutmon demanded.
A cruel and amused grin spread across the demon Digimon's face. Slowly, he raised his hand, pointing to the commotion happening a distance away. "Right there."
The teens all turned, watching as several beams flew through the air from far away. "What?" Tai asked. "That's Lucemon? That's been him this whole time?"
Boltboutamon chuckled. "He's been fighting Daemon for two days straight."
Everyone turned back to him, surprised. "He's fighting Daemon!?" Takato exclaimed.
Boltboutamon looked amused. "But of course. With his new power, Daemon believed he should be the leader of the Demon Lords. That's why he spared you. He wanted you to witness him becoming the supreme ruler of this world, where even Lucemon would bow to him. Of course, Lucemon isn't one to bow down to anyone. He met Daemon's challenge, and they've been going at it ever since."
TK looked back at what he now knew to be the battle between Lucemon and Daemon. "So that's why their fight hasn't come near the castle. Lucemon didn't want his home to be destroyed in the battle."
Takuya looked up at the castle. "Actually, it looks like some of the battle did take place here. Some parts have been pretty damaged."
Boltboutamon laughed. "Fortunately, your prize wasn't damaged in their fight. In fact, it's the real reason why they moved their battle away from the castle."
Tai gave him a suspicious look. "What prize? What is Lucemon hiding?"
The demon Digimon's grin widened. "The Demon Lords' greatest source of power."
His words hung heavy in the air, leaving the teens speechless. They had assumed that this 'prize' Boltboutamon had spoken of was nothing more than another one of his games. But the source of the Demon Lords' power…
Tai's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? They have no source of power, they're just incredibly strong, so they oppress others."
Boltboutamon chuckled. "Indeed, yes. But what of their forces? It's no secret that they attract those who seek power. But does it not seem strange that they have so many powerful minions, yet there are so few strong Digimon who stand against them? At least in comparison."
Takuya's brow furrowed in thought. "I just assumed that they personally wiped out anyone strong enough to oppose them long ago, and then had their servants stop anyone from challenging them so no one could get strong enough to fight them while they let their own men continue to get stronger."
The demon Digimon wobbled his head in acknowledgement. "Well, that does have something to do with it. But there's another reason too. For example, aren't you curious how Devimon and VenomMyotismon came back as so quickly, and as NeoMyotismon and MaloMyotismon no less? Or how about how Lucemon was able to remake Millenniummon, something that is borderline impossible to achieve? Don't you want to know their secret?"
He received no response. In truth, no, they hadn't really considered it. They'd known that the Demon Lords had given them power, but they never actually stopped to ask how.
TK's fists clenched. He knew Boltboutamon was playing them, but the question just begged to be asked. "Fine, how did they do it?"
Boltboutamon turned his back to them. "I'm not going to tell you. But if you really want to know, the answer lies there, in that tower."
He pointed up at one of the castle's towers. There was nothing special about it, it was just a plain ordinary tower, no different from the others.
"Well fine," said Takato. "We'll just have to make our way there and see what they've got."
The demon Digimon turned back to them and spoke in a singsong voice. "I wouldn't recommend it. Security is pretty tight, and the castle is very big. It'll be rather difficult to get in there. Better to make your way there from the outside."
Takuya pulled out his Digivice. "Then we'll just fly up there and-"
"Set off the alarm," Boltboutamon interrupted. "And both Lucemon and Daemon will come running. No, I'm afraid there's only one-way to get up there undetected and unnoticed, as long as you can avoid being seen."
"So what then?" Davis demanded, unable to believe that they were pretty much having a casual conversation with Boltboutamon of all people. "You expect us to climb up the side of the castle in our human forms?"
Boltboutamon's eyes danced merrily. "That should work. You'll be able to get in and out without setting off any alarms."
Shoutmon threw him a dirty look. "Why should we believe anything you tell us?"
Suddenly, the demon Digimon's grinning face was right in front of his. "You shouldn't. You should believe whatever you want. Believe what I say and go claim your prize, or don't. I really couldn't care less."
Snickering, he stepped away from the dragon Digimon. A portal opened beneath him, and he began sinking into it.
"Wait!" Kari called after him. "Why are you helping us like this?"
"Yeah," Tai agreed. "Why would you of all people go behind the Demon Lords' backs to help us?"
Boltboutamon continued to slowly sink into the portal. "You haven't figured it out yet? Because it's fun!"
He sank completely into the portal and it disappeared, leaving the teens alone to think about what he said. They looked up at the tower in question, and then, as if they had one mind, they all looked at to Tai for an answer.
The eldest of the teens let out an audible sigh. "Let's start climbing."
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The battle had been raging for days. Any Digimon in or near the premises had long since fled the area. Not that there had been many to begin with since Lucemon's castle was nearby. But as Lucemon and Daemon continued to do battle, every Digimon, even those loyal to the Demon Lords, had made a quick getaway.
"Algol's Flame!" Daemon cried, spitting a fireball at Lucemon. The giant dragon swerved around the fireball, and it erupted in the sky, setting it ablaze.
"Tide of Despair!" Lucemon Larva cried in an emotionless voice.
The dragon opened its mouth and breathed a stream of fire. Daemon flew directly at the flames, wrapping his wings around himself, and drilled straight through the stream of fire. He unwrapped his wings when he reached the dragon's face.
"I'll reduce you to an egg," Lucemon Larva told him, making the dragon raise its claw. "Dimensional Slasher!"
The dragon swiped at Daemon, its claws tearing through dimensional borders in the process. Daemon's hand came up, catching the claw, then turned his eyes to the large black sphere the dragon held.
"Dark Spreader!" he cried, lashing out at it.
His claw shot forward, forcing its way through the black sphere. He felt the effects of his attack become neutralized, but he proceeded to reach for the larva inside.
"You'll never reach me," Lucemon Larva declared without a hint of emotion. "Ensure!"
The halo around his pointed tail-like tip began glowing, and he started firing energy stingers. Daemon's hand recoiled each time it was struck, but he pushed onward.
"You're not as strong as you think," he declared, and his hand closed over the larva.
With a burst of strength, he yanked his hand free, pulling the larva out of the black sphere. The dragon immediately went ballistic without Lucemon Larva to control it. It roared loudly and began breathing fire everywhere. Daemon snarled as a stream of fire flowed over him, raising a wing to block it.
"Unhand me," Lucemon Larva demanded as he squirmed in Daemon's grip. "Protect!"
He fired a blast of dark energy, and Daemon ended up releasing him. Lucemon Larva proceeded to fire energy stingers at Daemon as he flew back towards Gehenna as the dragon raged. Upon flying back into the black sphere though, he regained control of the dragon, and had it lunge forward to sink its teeth into Daemon's shoulder.
"You'll pay for that," Lucemon Larva told him. "Nihilism Maelstrom!"
The Crowns of the Seven Deadly Sins floating around him began to swirl with pink fire. Then they let out a destructive light that consumed the land, completely obliterating everything for miles. Daemon roared as he was caught up in the attack, taking heavy damage, but glared at Lucemon against the pain. "Algol's Flame!"
He spat a ball of fire. It struck the dragon in the chest, interrupting his attack as the fireball erupted into a massive blast of fire. The dragon roared as Lucemon Larva cried out in frustration as they went flying backwards, his attack dying down as the flames consumed him.
Daemon flew above him and brought his balled fists down, sending the dragon crashing to the ground. "Algol's Flame!"
He spat another fireball down at Lucemon. The larva looked up as it came at him and commanded the dragon to raise the black sphere. "Gehenna!"
The black sphere glowed with purple energy and absorbed Daemon's attack into it, where it was neutralized. Then the Crowns of the Seven Deadly Sins all pointed at Daemon and began glowing. "Divine Atonement!"
All seven crowns fired a beam at Daemon. He wrapped his wings around himself for protection, but it did little as the seven beams struck him. As he fired his attack, Lucemon Larva had the dragon fly up to the Demon Lord of Wrath, spin around, and whack him with his tail. Daemon went flying backwards, but opened his wings and stopped his momentum.
"Purgatorial Flame!" Lucemon Larva cried.
The black sphere the dragon held suddenly became engulfed in flames. Those same flames shot at Daemon as if from a flamethrower. The Demon Lord of Wrath sneered as he approached and brandished his claws.
"Dark Spreader!" he cried, flying forward towards the flames. He swiped at them, cutting his way through until he reached Lucemon, then repeated his attack.
His claw slashed at the dragon, leaving deep gashes that left him infected with a dark virus. The dragon roared and held up the black sphere as Lucemon Larva had the dragon unleash his Wrath of Darkness attack, firing a ray of destruction from Gehenna. Daemon was pushed back by the attack, and Lucemon Larva neutralized the dark virus by absorbing it into Gehenna, allowing the gashes on the dragon to heal.
"You cannot win," Lucemon Larva told him. "You'll never be a match for me. After two days of battle, you should have realized that by now."
Recovering from the Demon Lord of Pride's attack, Daemon sneered at him. "So you believe, but I almost killed you not too long ago. Next time I get my hands on you, you won't be so lucky."
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Lucemon Larva insisted. "I'd sooner destroy this whole world than bow down to another."
Daemon chuckled. "And you may very well have had I not interrupted your Nihilism Maelstrom. You won't have much of a world to rule if you destroy everything."
"I'll settle for destroying you. Destruction Field!"
The Crowns of the Seven Deadly Sins turned a bright blue. Suddenly, they began rapidly firing beams in all different directions. The dragon roared and flew after Daemon, his seven crowns repeatedly firing destructive beams. Daemon took off as the dragon flew after him, leaving a trail of destruction behind that leveled the land.
"Is this what you've resorted to?" Daemon asked as he flew around, dodging the beams. "Simply destroying everything in your path in the hopes of hitting me?"
"You have no right to criticize anyone's methods after resorting to such desperate attempts to gain enough power just so you could have a hope to stand against me. You should have remembered your place and ruled by my side along with the others. But instead you chose to challenge me. And for that, you will die."
"We shall see. Algol's Flame!"
"Gehenna!"
Daemon's attack was absorbed and neutralized. The Demon Lord of Wrath snarled and flew directly at Lucemon, grunting as the beams struck him. He and the dragon met, and Daemon threw a punch, his fist slamming into the dragon's jaw. He then hit him with an uppercut, knocking the dragon Digimon up into the air, and Lucemon stooped firing. Daemon then grabbed him by the tail and swung him down, and the dragon crashed to the ground.
It recovered quickly though, snarling up at Daemon, and the larva in the black sphere let out an emotionless growl. "You're quite the nuisance."
"You don't intimidate me, Lucemon," Daemon told him. "I know your weakness. This may be your strongest form, but it's also when you're most vulnerable. You completely lack any consciousness. And once I destroy the manifestation of your will that is your little larva body, your Shadowlord dragon will be little more than a mindless, destructive beast."
The dragon roared again, slowly floating up to join Daemon in the air again. "You're insolence truly knows no bounds. Only the risk of losing another one of the Sovereigns has prevented me from taking you down until now. But now I think that luxury is no longer so important."
Daemon sneered. "Funny, I was going to say the same thing. And you're one to talk. I look forward to silencing you, after I force you to admit which of us is superior. And once I prove which of us is greater, then you and the rest of the world will bow down to me."
"We shall see. Tide of Despair!"
"Algol's Flame!"
The dragon breathed a stream of fire as Daemon spat a fireball. The two attacks collided, erupting into a massive fiery blast that filled the sky, the force of the blast knocking both Lucemon and Daemon back. They recovered quickly though and flew at each other again, both of them roaring furiously.
"ENOUGH!"
The loud booming voice echoed across the land as the sky tore open. A giant demonic, wooden arm burst from the rip, stretching down and crashing into the ground between the two Demon Lords. Both Lucemon and Daemon came to a stop, staring at the arm, and then looked up.
Bagramon descended from the sky, his right arm having grown to a gargantuan size. He pulled it out of the ground and shrank back down to its normal size as he settled down between Lucemon and Daemon.
"You two are an utter disgrace," he told them. "You place your petty squabbles over what truly matters. It's no wonder so many of you have fallen."
"This does not concern you," Lucemon Larva told him. "This is a matter between us."
Bagramon turned to him. "But it does concern me. We hold an alliance, everything you do when it comes to our mutual goal concerns me. And you have let things fall to ruin."
Daemon bared his fangs at him. "We have done no such thing. We are stronger than ever."
"And have lost more in this past year than you have gained in the several few thousand," Bagramon scolded. He swiped his hand through the air. "Just look around. You just about had the world in the palm of your hands, and had it all taken away from you by a group of puny, insignificant humans."
"The humans are of no concern," Lucemon Larva replied uncaringly. "We can destroy them at any time."
Bagramon's eyes narrowed. "Can you? Can you really? From what I recall, all seven of you have been making that claim for months, and yet the humans live, taking more and more of this world from you with each passing day. Your failure to act is the result of this."
Daemon gave him a condescending look. "And what of you? Why have you not acted until now?"
Bagramon turned to him. "Because I shouldn't have to. Is it not you who desires to rule? Should you not be able to have proper command of your own domain? I seek to take this world from its former sovereignty, to change it so that there is everlasting peace, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. If that means destroying all life, or taking away free will, or even becoming the epitome of evil, then I will do it."
He pointed at Daemon. "But you seek to rule it, and your takeover coincides with my own goals. It's why I allied with you to help overthrow the Sovereigns. But it's still the two of you who wish to rule. And with your supposed unstoppable power, you should have been able to see to that."
He held out his arms. "But just look at what you've done. Look at what you've allowed to happen. In your arrogance and incompetence, you've lost several powerful subordinates, including all of your Chaos Generals, five of you have been destroyed, and four of the Sovereigns have escaped. Once loyal subjects have betrayed you, hope and opposition has surfaced in ways that haven't been seen in several millennia. And at the core of it all are the humans who you have allowed to continue to do this while you revel in how much stronger you are than them, yet doing nothing to stop them yourselves."
He lowered his arms and looked back at them in disdain. "Not only have they grown vastly more powerful than even the original Guardians, but you have allowed them to destroy almost all of you. And rather than dealing with a problem that you should have taken care of ages ago, you are here fighting for your petty reasons, doing their job for them. You've left me with no choice but to step in before you actually kill each other and throw away everything we've worked for, and giving the humans victory by default."
He looked from one to the other, but neither Demon Lord objected to what he said. Bagramon snorted in disgust, expressing his disapproval. "If the two of you wish to kill each other, then I will be happy to let you. But do it after you take care of the real problem before you relinquish everything you've strived for. If you can't even figure out that much on your own, then it's more than obvious that your ambitions and ideals are worth nothing compared to my own. Do what needs to be done before I make fools of you myself by taking care of a simply matter that you let grow out of hand because of your arrogance and pride."
He turned his back to them. "And if it's really your reputations you're worried about of lowering yourself to personally face the humans, then consider this. At this point, others might be wondering that the real reason you're not facing them yourselves is because you're afraid of them."
With nothing more to say, he used his right arm to tear a hole in dimensions and step through it, leaving the two Demon Lords behind to think on his words.
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"This is crazy!" Takuya shouted for the hundredth time. "This is completely crazy! I don't even know how we made it this far!"
Takato couldn't help but agree with that as he looked down at the great drop beneath them. He gulped nervously while gripping his hold on the crevice of the castle wall he was clinging to. "Well, the good news is that if we fall from this height, we should have plenty of time to Spirit Evolve before we hit the ground."
"That's not exactly reassuring," Takuya shot back.
Davis paused to shake out his hand. "Well, Boltboutamon was right about one thing; we haven't set off any alarms while scaling the castle wall."
Kari's brow furrowed. "How do we even know Boltboutamon wasn't just messing with us about the security? It's exactly the kind of thing he would do."
Unlike the teens, Shoutmon was having a much easier time with the climbing, and he looked down at them. "Ordinarily, I would agree with you, but if this is where the Demon Lords' source of power is, then it would have heavy security, so I doubt he's lying about that."
TK, however, felt that Kari may have a good point. "I don't know. Even if their source of power is here, how do we know this really is the right spot? It would be just like him to be waiting at the top and be like 'Oh, shoot, I made a mistake; it was actually that tower you were supposed to go to', or something."
But Tai, surprisingly, found himself believing the demon Digimon. "For some reason, I doubt it. Remember, this whole thing is a game to him. He's playing with us and the Demon Lords. Right now, he's just getting all the pieces into place, and having a blast while doing it too."
"Maybe," TK reluctantly agreed, "but I wouldn't put it past him to make things difficult for us just for a laugh."
Shoutmon let out a low grunt, finding he agreed with both of them. Looking up, he saw that they were nearing the top, and so called down to them. "I'm going to go take a look ahead. I'll let you know what I see."
With an ease that made the teens envious, he quickly climbed up the castle wall the rest of the way until he reached the window at the top. He wasn't surprised to find it barred off with Chrome Digizoid bars, but what he saw inside caused his mouth to drop open.
"You guys have got to see this," he said quietly.
"What?" Kari called up to him, not being able to hear what he said.
"I said get up here, quick!"
A few of the teens grumbled as they continued their ascent. Eventually, they managed to make it up to the window ledge that Shoutmon was on, which, fortunately, was big enough for them all to sit on, giving them another much needed reprieve from the last spot they had been able to take a rest on.
"What's so pressing?" Tai asked as he struggled to catch his breath.
Rubbing the sweat from his brow, Davis held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "Ow, my fingers killing me."
"Forget your fingers," Shoutmon snapped impatiently. "Look."
He pointed through the bars into the tower, which seemed to consist of a single large room. Inside was a giant crystal that seemed to be attached to an elaborate machine, as if the entire room were mechanical. And sitting inside the crystal, looking very unhappy, was a small white Digimon.
Kari gripped the bars. "Aww, the poor thing. Who is it?"
TK took out his Digivice. "Calumon, an In-Training holy beast Digimon. He's an extremely rare and unique Digimon. It says… wow. It says he has the power to make other Digimon Digivolve."
Shoutmon's grip on the bars tightened. "This explains so much. The Demon Lords must have been forcing Calumon to use his power to Digivolve their servants. That's what Boltboutamon was talking about."
Tai's eyes narrowed. "So that's how NeoMyotismon and MaloMyotismon got their power. The Demon Lords used Calumon to make them Digivolve."
Shoutmon crossed his arms in thought. "But it still doesn't make sense. It's true that Calumon can make other Digimon Digivolve, but that power doesn't last. Digivolving with Calumon's power isn't the same as unlocking a Digivolution. Once the Digivolved Digimon burns off their energy, they'll DeDigivolve again. So the Demon Lords can Digivolve their men for short periods of time, but the enemies we've faced have had full access to their forms. Calumon couldn't have given them full access to their Digivolutions."
"Huh," Davis muttered thoughtfully. "Couldn't they have just used Calumon's power to temporarily Digivolve their men in order to defeat strong opponents so they could absorb their data until their men were strong enough to naturally be able to unlock their Digivolutions on their own."
Shoutmon considered this. "That may have been the case for some, but with the number of powerful servants the Demon Lords have, it's highly unlikely. There must be something more to this."
Takato pointed. "Maybe it has something to do with that."
The others looked to where he was pointing, gazing up at the ceiling of the tower. A large device, about the size of a car, was suspended from the ceiling by numerous cables. Others ran down from the mechanical interior if the room to attach to the device, and several more hung down from the device to the crystal containing Calumon. But despite the size and different appearance of the device, there was no mistaking what it was.
"Is that… a Digivice?" Davis asked in astonishment. "How did the Demon Lords get ahold of a Digivice?"
TK's eyes narrowed in thought as he studied the device. "I don't think they did. It looks like something they built. It's like some giant, primitive version of ours."
"So they've been using that thing, along with Calumon's power, to not just Digivolve their forces, but to unlock their Digivolved forms without having to absorb enough data," Takuya theorized. "But if they had that, then why didn't Daemon just use it to Digivolve to Ultra? Why that whole thing with Arcadiamon?"
"Maybe it has limits to what it can do," Kari suggested. Then she frowned. "But wait, I thought our Digivices used the power they drew from us, and that's what allowed for Digivolution."
Shoutmon humphed. "I guess they found an alternate power source. Whatever that is combined with Calumon's power, and they can not only replenish their forces, but make them even stronger."
Takato's heart began racing with fear. "Guys, this is bad. If they can use that thing to bring back guys like Devimon and VenomMyotismon, and make them stronger, then they can do the same for others, like the Chaos Generals, or even the Demon Lords we've defeated already."
"So why haven't they?" Kari asked worriedly.
A growl escaped Shoutmon. "The Demon Lords don't accept failure. If they failed once, they'll fail again; that's their philosophy. Plus, all those Digimon we defeated have also likely been absorbing data and getting stronger even after having Digivolved for many years. Calumon may be able to make someone Digivolve, and the Demon Lords may have found a way to make their Digivolutions stick, but he can't increase their power the way absorbing data does, and the Demon Lords aren't likely to share their own power with them."
TK grabbed the bars and attempted to shake them. "In any case, we can't leave him in there. We need to rescue the little guy and destroy that Digivice copy."
"I hear that," Davis agreed, and pressed his face against the bars. "Hey, Calumon! Can you hear us, little guy?"
The holy beast Digimon slowly looked up. His big green eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. What the teens had thought were ears on his head suddenly stretched out to reveal that they were actually wings as he bounced on his feet. "Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!"
Davis grinned. "Hey, hang in there, buddy! We're coming for you!"
Takato smacked his arm. "Will you quit yelling! We climbed this tower so we wouldn't alert anyone of our presence, and now you're just going to start screaming."
"Relax, I'm just giving the little guy some encouragement," Davis shot back, and waved down to the holy beast Digimon. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of there in no time!"
Calumon patted his cheeks joyfully. "Oh happy day!"
Davis chuckled. "My sister would cuddle him to pieces. Come on, let's blast our way through then blast our way out."
"I think not."
The teens froze at the sound of the eerie emotionless voice. It was somewhat familiar, but also different. Slowly, they turned around to see a giant purple dragon clutching a large black sphere coming in to land on a nearby tower. And right by its side was Daemon.
Shoutmon let out a cry and jumped back. He pressed against the bars, but his feet kept skidding against the windowsill as he tried to back up further. "L-L-Lucemon and Daemon!"
The teens were instantly on their guard. They saw Daemon, clear as day, but they didn't see Lucemon anywhere, only the dragon accompanying the Demon Lord of Wrath.
"Where's Lucemon?" Takato asked. "And who's this dragon?"
Shoutmon pointed with a trembling hand. "That is Lucemon. He's in his Shadowlord Mode. He must have Digivolved to his Mega level to fight Daemon."
"Mega!?" Davis exclaimed. "That's right, I forgot he wasn't a Mega before since he's so strong."
Lucemon Larva let out an emotionless laugh. "You humans never fail to show your ignorance."
The teens turned their direction to where the voice was coming from, realizing that it came from the larva inside the black ball.
"Hey, what is that thing?" Takuya asked. "It looks like some kind of angel insect."
"That's Lucemon Larva," Shoutmon replied, still looking horrified. "The manifestation of Lucemon's consciousness who controls the main dragon body, and it too is as strong as a Mega. In this form, he's a Super Demon Lord who wears all the Crowns of the Seven Deadly Sins."
Takato winced. "Super Demon Lord Lucemon and Ultra level Daemon. Guys, I have a really bad feeling about this."
Daemon chuckled. "Foolish boy, you have no idea what's in store for you. We let you get away with too much for too long, but no more. The gloves are coming completely off now." He flew up and landed on the dragon's back as it held the black sphere above its head. "Prepare to face the true power of the Demon Lords!"
Bands of Fractal Code emerged from both Lucemon and Daemon. They coiled together, wrapping around the two Demon Lords, forming an egg shape, and then it began glowing.
"Lucemon/Daemon! DNA Digivolve to… Ogudomon!"
(A/N: Ok, so a lot has happened. Boktboutamon was telling the truth about a prize waiting for them at Lucemon's castle, and it turned out to be Calumon, whom the Demon Lords have been using as a source of power, and an artificial Digivice to make the Digivolutions they've been forcing Calumon to perform permanent. But before our heroes can even worry about that, they have a much bigger problem to worry about. Bagramon has stopped Lucemon and Daemon's fighting, and now they've Digivolved together to become Ogudomon. And if you don't know, let me tell you, that is very bad news. It's a worst-case scenario. How will our heroes deal with this? Stay tuned to find out.)
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New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Calumon
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Ogudomon