(A/N: Alrighty then, last time we ended on a cliffhanger with Huanglongmon attacking our heroes just after he was freed. And they had just defeated Ogudomon. Why is a Sovereign attacking them, and can they fight back against one? Prepare to have a lot of questions answered.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 182: Murder

"What the hell!?" Susanoomon exclaimed as he and the others quickly flew out of the way of Huanglongmon's flames. The dragon Digimon's eight eyes followed them as he opened his mouth and breathed more fire.

"Why the hell is he attacking us?" Imperialdramon demanded. "Some gratitude."

Susanoomon shoved him as they flew along. "Maybe it's because you didn't treat him with proper respect."

"Oh, come on, that's crap!"

"Maybe he knows we're humans and sees us as intruders," Gallantmon X suggested. "Zhuqiaomon wasn't exactly fond of us being here either."

"Then why's he attacking OmniShoutmon?" Seraphimon asked. "He's not human."

"Guilty by association?"

OmniShoutmon shook his head. "Huanglongmon can be ruthless and merciless, but he wouldn't be so without cause."

"Well, something is definitely causing this," Omnimon commented.

Huanglongmon breathed more fire. Ophanimon C turned to the fire and summoned up her own flames, causing them to expand outward and completely fill the area. Huanglongmon's flames and hers burned each other out, and the dragon Digimon roared at her.

"Huanglongmon, we are not your enemies!" she shouted to the Sovereign. "Please, listen to us!"

"Emperor's Mace!" Huanglongmon cried, lashing out with his tail. It flew at Ophanimon C, and she quickly used her barrier. His tail broke right through it as if it wasn't even there, and she was sent crashing to the ground.

"That's it!" Omnimon shouted angrily as his older brother protective instincts kicked in. "Sovereign or not, we can't just let him attack us like this and do nothing."

He flew up above Huanglongmon and raised his cannon, firing his Graceful Cannon!

"Yellow Circle!" Huanglongmon cried.

The ground began to shake, the quaking happening for miles. And suddenly, what could only be described as a typhoon of earthflow rose up in front of Huanglongmon, shielding him from Omnimon's attack.

"Stop it!" OmniShoutmon shouted. "You can't attack him!"

Omnimon glared at him. "We don't have a choice. I know he's a Sovereign, but we have to defend ourselves."

OmniShoutmon shook his head. "No, it's not that. I mean attacking him will do more harm than good. His Yellow Circle creates a barrier that doubles as an attack since it generates a massive typhoon on the scale of a natural disaster. You'll just cause a bunch of destruction whenever he blocks your attacks."

Imperialdramon looked at him. "And this guy is a Sovereign? Doesn't sound so great if he's willing to do that."

"Huanglongmon is different from the others. He's good, but he also has evil in him. He's a being of light and darkness who maintains order and balance."

Gallantmon X pointed with his lance. "Looks like he's about to maintain that order now."

Huanglongmon was slowly opening his mouth. As he did so, energy began to gather within his jaws. OmniShoutmon's eyes widened as he recognized the attack. "Oh no! Omni Torpedo!"

"Taiji!" Huanglongmon cried, firing a beam from his mouth up at Omnimon. Just before the attack hit, OmniShoutmon crashed into him, pushing him out of the way of the attack as the beam just missed grazing their feet. The beam flew past them, disappearing into space.

"Get down here," OmniShoutmon snapped, dragging the knight Digimon back down to the others. "You must not let that attack hit you, so don't give him the chance. Stay close to the ground; he won't use it if there's a chance it will hit the planet."

"Why not?" Susanoomon asked, suspecting that he already knew the answer.

"His Taiji continuously disassembles whatever it hits throughout eternity into the two extremes of light and darkness until there's nothing left. He could easily destroy the whole Digital World with it, the whole universe even. There's no way any of us would survive it."

"I don't even think it'll take that much," Gallantmon X reluctantly admitted. "Not after our battle with Ogudomon."

"What!?" a furious voice demanded. "You defeated Ogudomon? Impossible!"

The voice seemed to be coming from Huanglongmon, but it didn't appear to be him who was speaking. And a few moments later, they saw who it really was.

Something suddenly emerged from Huanglongmon's back. It appeared to be a large, dark red, humanoid dragon. Almost making Huanglongmon look like the lower half of a centaur. The creature that appeared was attached to the Sovereign's back by the waist, the twelve orbs floating its midsection.

The newcomer bared its fangs at the DigiDestined, pointing an accusing finger at them. "You lie! It's hard enough to believe that you defeated a Demon Lord, yet my being here proves it. But to destroy Ogudomon? Impossible!"

Imperialdramon shook his fist at him. "Yeah, well, hate to break it to you, pal, but we did… And who the hell are you anyway?"

The newcomer held out his arms. "I am Dorbickmon." He chuckled. "Actually, I am Dorbickmon Darkness Mode thanks to some DigiFusion, courtesy of the Demon Lords."

"Dorbickmon?" Seraphimon repeated. "DigiFusion?"

"Huanglongmon would never DigiFuse with a servant of the Demon Lords," OmniShoutmon declared.

Dorbickmon grinned. "Correct. Which is why it was a forced DigiFuse. Just an extra precaution on the off chance that Huanglongmon escaped. As a loyal servant to the Demon Lords, I humbly volunteered and was sealed away along with him after we fused. I see those precautions were necessary after all."

OmniShoutmon's eyes narrowed. "Huanglongmon is one of the most powerful of all Digimon. There's no way you could have did a forced DigiFuse with him."

Dorbickmon laughed. "You truly underestimate the Demon Lords, and now you will pay for it."

Huanglongmon leapt at the DigiDestined. "Fang of the Emperor!"

His mouth opened wide as he chomped at them. They all flew in different directions, leaving him unable to decide who to attack, and so he only ended up chomping down on air.

"Super Positron Laser!" Imperialdramon cried, firing a beam at Dorbickmon.

Huanglongmon's tail came up, blocking the attack, and then his long neck twisted around as the DigiDestined flew behind him and he breathed fire. The DigiDestined flew along as the stream of fire flowed after them.

"Attacking him is useless," OmniShoutmon told him. "Huanglongmon's whole body is covered entirely in Huanglong Ore. It's the hardest substance in the Digital World that's literally impossible to measure the hardness of it and can only be scratched by other Huanglong Ore, so inflicting even a single wound on him is impossible."

"Then why's he even need that Yellow Circle shield or attack or whatever it is?" Imperialdramon demanded. "Seems almost pointless if he can't even be scratched by any attack."

Omnimon resisted the urge to growl. "So in other words, we're up a creek."

"Without a paddle," OmniShoutmon confirmed.

"We've got to separate them somehow," said Seraphimon.

Susanoomon glanced back at Dorbickmon and Huanglongmon as they stalked after them. His gaze lowered to Dorbickmon's waist, which looked very much like it was growing out of the Sovereign's back. "I don't think they're gonna give us the chance."

"Dragon Infernal Fire!" Dorbickmon cried, breathing his own stream of fire.

Ophanimon C paused and manipulated the flames he breathed, sending them right back at the dragon Digimon. The flames flowed harmlessly over Huanglongmon, not even reaching Dorbickmon, as they charged forward.

"Hey!" a small voice called, drawing Ophanimon C's attention. "Over here!"

She turned to the voice, spotting Calumon by Lucemon's partially destroyed castle, waving them over. She turned to her friends, calling them over. "Everyone, follow me!"

They hesitated for a moment before flying after the angel Digimon. Calumon waited for them to get close before flying through a window. Most of the others got through fine, but Imperialdramon had to bust through due to his size.

"Why did we just come in here?" Gallantmon X asked. "He'll just destroy the whole place with us inside it."

Calumon just beamed and shook his head. "Oh no he won't. He'll be really super careful when coming after us, if he does."

Susanoomon gave the holy beast Digimon a curious look. "Why?"

The holy beast Digimon didn't answer, but it seemed that he was right, as Huanglongmon skidded to a stop outside the castle, looking through the hole Imperialdramon had made.

"Come out here!" Dorbickmon demanded. "Come out and face me!"

Calumon just responded by sticking his tongue out at him, then smiled at the DigiDestined. "Come on, I'll show you Lucemon's super-duper big secret."

Imperialdramon blinked. "Big secret?"

"Don't you dare!" Dorbickmon thundered. "Don't you dare, you little whelp!"

Ignoring him, Calumon motioned for them to follow. "Come on, it's this way."

As the DigiDestined hesitantly turned away from Huanglongmon and Dorbickmon, the latter continued to rage. "You little brat! You'll pay for this! You'll pay!"

Reaching out, Huanglongmon began to dig his way through the castle, but it was obvious that he was trying not to be that destruction. Calumon just ushered them along and into the next room, closing the large double-doors behind them.

"Don't worry," he said cheerfully. "He won't risk destroying the castle, because he might end up destroying the Demon Lords' biggest secret of all."

Susanoomon raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that you and that big Digivice?"

Calumon shook his head. "That was just part of it. I'll show you the big, super, best part."

As Calumon led them along, Huanglongmon and Dorbickmon crouched down and began carefully digging their way through the castle, trying to be as least destructive as possible. The entire castle shook as the giant dragon Digimon slowly dug their way through, and the DigiDestined quickly picked up their pace.

The castle was completely empty of any other residents, indicating what Boltboutamon had said was true; everyone had fled in the face of Lucemon and Daemon's battle. For several minutes they walked along, the only sounds being their footsteps, Calumon's humming, and Huanglongmon tearing his way further into the castle.

Soon it became apparent that they were making their way underground to the more sub areas of the castle, away from Huanglongmon and Dorbickmon. And as they walked along, the walls and ceiling began to reveal itself to be part of a machine, much like Calumon's prison room.

"This place was connected to where I was being kept," the holy beast Digimon told them. "This is where the Demon Lords kept their real secret weapon, the one that made that big thing on the ceiling that used my power work."

OmniShoutmon's eyes narrowed. "What secret weapon?"

Calumon placed a finger to his lips. "Wait and see."

He opened a large pair of double-doors, revealing a massive room that looked like it was the laboratory of a mad scientist. Everything inside the room, even the room itself, was mechanical, as if they were actually inside a machine.

Calumon pointed at something in the middle of the room. "There, that's it. The Demon Lords' secret weapon."

He was pointing at what appeared to be a large mass of flesh. It looked like a giant tumor. Numerous tubes and cables were attached to it, seemingly fused to the flesh itself.

OmniShoutmon made a disgusted face. "What is that thing?"

Imperialdramon looked equally as disturbed. "Looks like a nasty growth you would get cut off, like a cancerous tumor or something.

Calumon frowned. "That's the thing that was powering that big device that sucked out my power and then made the Demon Lords' men Digivolve."

Seraphimon gave him a bewildered look. "You mean that is what powered that giant Digivice? What even is it?"

Omnimon remained on guard. "I don't know, but let's take a closer look."

They slowly moved closer, but as they approached, what seemed to be a giant mechanical hand suddenly slammed down in front of them, cutting them off. It moved aside a moment later, and the mass of flesh began to move.

"Who dares to enter my chambers?" it said.

Gallantmon X's eyes widened. "That thing is alive!?"

The flesh of the tumor began to shift, and, much to the DigiDestined's astonishment, a face appeared on it, nearly taking up the entire side of the tumor facing them. "Yes, I am alive. I can't say the same for you though. Not for long anyway."

Omnimon held up his cannon. "What the heck are you? You're not a Digimon, are you?"

The face twisted with disgust. "A Digimon? Do not lump me in with those wretched creatures. I am far superior to any Digimon. I am Kurata, the ultimate being!"

The face's words echoed throughout the room. It was one word in particular that that actually gripped the DigiDestined. No, not a word, a name.

"Kurata?" Seraphimon repeated. "But… that's a human name."

The face's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You know human names? How?"

Ophanimon C suddenly inhaled deeply. "That name, Kurata. Wasn't that…? You were the guy who was transported here with Marcus thousands of years ago!"

The others gasped in surprise. The face also looked caught off guard, but then suddenly became angry. "Marcus? Marcus Damon? You know that little brat? But he should be dead!"

Gallantmon X shook his head, getting over his surprise. "You mean after you left him to die when you fled."

"Cowardly bastard," Imperialdramon growled.

"Silence!" Kurata bellowed. "I will not have such lowly life forms speak to me as such. I possess more power than any of you, for I am human!"

"Hardly," Susanoomon muttered, looking him up and down. "What the hell happened to you? How did you become… this?"

A mad grin spread across Kurata's face. "I simply did what I had to do. Lost and alone in an unknown world, I aligned myself with the most powerful beings around. As a human, I held a great power, one the Demon Lords found to be quite useful. And so I utilized it, bringing out my fullest potential. With my help and my power, I could Digivolve the Demon Lords' servants."

Ophanimon C's grip on her lance tightened. "That artificial Digivice, he was combining his human energy and Calumon's power with it to Digivolve the Demon Lords' men without the need for them to absorb data."

Kurata sneered. "Ah, so you saw my creation, did you? Yes, I suppose you would have if you managed to rescue Calumon there." His eyes darted around the room. "I built everything you see here, using my great ingenuity to bring out my full potential and evolve myself beyond anything imaginable."

Behind his helmet, Seraphimon raised an eyebrow. "I would hardly call what you are now an evolution. You can't even move."

"Bah! What would inferior creatures like you know about true evolution? I have cast off all unnecessary useless bits and kept only the essential and greatest parts of myself and brought them to their highest potential."

"I seriously think that that's up for debate," Omnimon muttered. "And for your information, we're humans too."

That wiped the smirk right off Kurata's face. At first he looked surprised, but then he scowled at them. "What nonsense are you speaking? It's more than obvious that you're Digimon. I have extensive knowledge of all Digimon, so don't think you can fool me!"

Imperialdramon humphed. "I guess that's something you didn't consider in your calculations when turning yourself into this so-called 'perfect' being. You're stuck in here like this, so you only know what others tell you. We've been in the Digital World for over a year. We inherited the power of Digimon and also learned how to use our power to Digivolve. And we didn't have to turn ourselves into disgusting blobs like you did."

Kurata's eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at them, but his shock soon gave way to a mixture of anger, fear, and disgust. "And so you became Digimon? You utter fools! Why would you become such vile, loathsome, horrendous creatures for any reason? You'd be better off dead."

"Says the giant cancer tumor," Susanoomon shot back. "And we can change back to human form anytime we want."

"Blasphemy!" Kurata thundered. "To even think of touching such a pathetic, disgusting creature, let alone becoming one for any period of time."

Omnimon glared. "Ok, racist, then how exactly do you justify becoming a pawn for the Demon Lords if that how you view Digimon?"

A sliver of flesh above Kurata's eye shifted in what seemed to be the equivalent of him raising an eyebrow. "A pawn? Incompetent fool! It is I who is using the Demon Lords. I supply them with power for their armies, yes, but it has enabled me to get anything I want and need from them, and provide me with the ultimate protection."

"I really think you need to reevaluate who is using who," Ophanimon C told him. "The Demon Lords only give you what you need to get what they need from you. It's more convenient to have your cooperation, but if you don't give it to them, they'll take what they want from you by force. You're a prisoner and you don't even know it."

They expected some kind of negative reaction from him, but instead Kurata just grinned. "You think so, do you? Well then, allow me to let you in on a little secret since you won't be leaving here alive anyway. Oh, I have so been longing to share this with someone."

His eyes darted to the side, and a section of the wall opened to reveal shelf upon shelf of what seemed to be black collars and black spiral shaped bracelets. Kurata's eyes shined with excitement at the sight of them.

"Behold," he declared proudly, "my dark rings and dark spirals. With these little devices, I'll be able to make any Digimon I put them on completely subservient to me. I'm close to perfecting them, but once I do, I shall begin mass-producing them. The Demon Lords think I'm making these for them to use, and while it's true that the Digimon ensnared by them will obey their commands, it's my orders that are final and which rank above all others. Soon even the Demon Lords will obey my command."

OmniShoutmon stared at the dark rings and spirals in disbelief before looking back at Kurata in horror. "You would actually rob everyone of free will?"

"Doesn't surprise me," said Imperialdramon. "It's what Bagramon wants after all."

"So you plan to take over the whole Digital World?" Ophanimon C asked. "Is that your grand plan?"

Kurata's eyes were crazy as he snickered with a madness that reminded them of Boltboutamon. "Such a limited imagination you have. Controlling every last Digimon is only the start. Once I take over this world, I'll find a way to return to the real world. With my army of Digimon, I'll take over the human world as well. Then I'll rule both worlds. Oh, but why stop there. I'm sure there are other worlds out there as well. I'll find them all and take over them as well. Oh, but that's just the beginning. Once I take over everything, I'll find a way to eliminate every last Digimon. Not one will be left alive, not one."

"You can't," Seraphimon interrupted. "Digimon that are killed will just be reborn. You can't 'eliminate' them."

Kurata's grin widened. "Do not underestimate me. I was able to do a forced DigiFuse of Dorbickmon and Huanglongmon. If I can overpower a Sovereign in such a way, there's nothing I can't do. And I won't be satisfied with anything less than the complete, and total, and absolute genocide of the entire Digimon species! Of course, as you said, there's that whole pesky coming back to life thing they do after they die problem, but I'll find a way to prevent them from coming back somehow, and then I'll wipe out every last one of them! I won't have these disgusting vermin inhabiting my worlds, not a single one of them!"

He laughed maniacally. It was truly an unsettling sight, and not just because of his horrendously grotesque appearance. The man, if he could still be called a man, was beyond crazed, and he relished every moment of it.

"This guy is totally bonkers," Imperialdramon muttered. "What possessed him to set such insane goals?"

"Fear," Omnimon replied. "Fear and greed. Marcus said something about how Kurata seemed to have some kind of Digimon-phobia. He's probably some kind of racist with xenophobia, and couldn't help feeling powerless amongst such powerful creatures. His fear of them and superiority complex probably manifested into a desire to dominate and destroy, and his greed grew from there into a god complex where he feels like he should rule everything."

Gallantmon X looked at Kurata in pity and disgust. "Makes sense. I heard before that when someone is truly afraid of something or someone that they'll have no choice but to either avoid it, dominate it, destroy it, or become subservient to it. Seeing as he couldn't avoid things, he opted to do the other three; be subservient to the Demon Lords for his goal to dominate and destroy."

"It won't happen," Seraphimon declared. "We won't let you just do whatever you want. We'll, put a stop to you, even if you are human."

Kurata stopped laughing and glared at the angel Digimon. "You think you can stop me, you race traitor? You'll be the first of my slaves!"

From off the shelves, several dark rings and spirals suddenly flew at the DigiDestined. Ophanimon C spotted them out of her peripheral vision and turned to them. "Watch out! Holy Light II!"

Light shined brightly from her body, and the dark rings and spirals shattered to pieces as the light flowed over them. Gallantmon X then acted next, firing a blast of lightning at the rest of the ones on the shelves with his Royal Saber.

Kurata's face twisted with fury. "Damn you!"

The mechanical arm from before suddenly flew at them. Omnimon acted quickly, using his Fearsome Blade to slice the giant arm in half, and Kurata's eyes flashed violently.

"I'll kill you!" he bellowed, and suddenly, there was movement all around. Wires and cables came down from the ceiling and walls. Several more mechanical arms came moving in, along with cranes, claws, drills, blowtorches, buzz saws, and several other mechanical parts coming out of the walls that Kurata seemed to be controlling. "Die!

The numerous mechanical appendages all flew at the DigiDestined. Fortunately, the room was more than large enough for them to freely fly around, and so they maneuvered around Kurata's attacks. But while Kurata would have easily been able to tear them apart if they were in their human forms, possibly even in their Champion level forms, they mechanical appendages were useless against the DigiDestined's current power.

Despite being able to be used as weapons, the mechanical appendages were meant for building and disassembling, not attacking. And so the DigiDestined flew about, tearing their way through whatever Kurata threw at them. Kurata's face twisted further and further with rage and hate before he finally let out an angry bellow and an alarm suddenly sounded.

Imperialdramon pointed his arm cannon at the blaring alarm and flashing red light and fired his Super Positron Laser at it. "No one's coming for you. Not even the Demon Lords. We defeated them. All of them, along with their Chaos Generals too."

Kurata's eyes flashed violently. "You lie!" he shouted, although he was now visibly sweating. "No one can beat the Demon Lords! And no one can beat me!"

He lashed out with whatever he had left. The DigiDestined proceeded to hack, blast, and smash their way through everything he sent their way, all the while Kurata visibly became more and more nervous as he lost more limbs, if that was indeed what they could be called.

Finally, the last moving part fell broken to the floor. The entire laboratory was in ruins, smoke and fire filling the room. Kurata's eyes flew here and there, looking for something he might use to attack with.

When he came up with nothing, his gaze returned to the DigiDestined and he let out a bellow of rage. "You miserable bastards! How dare you do this to me! Do you honestly think you've won? That you've somehow managed to stop me? Fools! I'll never stop! I'll rebuild, starting over from scratch if I need to! I'll make you pay for this! Mark my words, I'll make you pay! I'll hunt you down wherever you go and make you suffer! And not just you! When I get back to the human world, I'll seek out your families too and kill them all for your defiance! You'll never stop me! I'll take over both worlds no matter what it costs, I swear it! Nothing can stop me! Nothing!"

The DigiDestined were silent as they watched Kurata rage, nothing but a harmless, shapeless mound of flesh with a face. They exchanged uncertain looks, each of them wondering what they should do with the fleshy monstrosity who had made some truly horrible threats. The only one who didn't join in on their silent communication was Omnimon, who stood motionless, facing Kurata with his eyes downcast.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," he said quietly. "And I'm very sorry you did," he raised his head, eyes hard, "because you now leave me with no choice."

Slowly, he raised his cannon, pointing it at Kurata, and he began walking towards him. The look in Kurata's eyes changed as he watched the knight Digimon approach, seemingly realizing for the first time just how helpless and vulnerable he was.

"W-Wait, what are you doing!?" he exclaimed, fear evident in his voice.

Omnimon continued walking towards him determinedly. "You have horrible agendas, Kurata, and you've made it abundantly clear that you have no intention of changing. Like I said, you leave me no choice, I have to destroy you."

Shocked gasps escaped the DigiDestined. "Tai!" Ophanimon C cried.

"Be quiet, Kari. This is my burden. As the leader of the team, this is my responsibility."

Nervous sweat poured down Kurata's face in abundance as his bravado disappeared entirely, leaving him utterly fearful. "Y-You can't be serious! You can't kill me, we're both humans!"

"Yes," Omnimon agreed. "We're human, and that's why it will be me and me alone who bears this burden. I won't let the others have blood on our hands."

"No!" Kurata shouted. "St-Stop! You can't do this! Killing Digimon is one thing, but I'm human! I won't come back! Once you kill me, I stay dead!"

Omnimon came to a stop, keeping his cannon pointed at the giant blob of flesh. "I'm well aware, but it's what needs to be done."

"You can't! This is murder! Cold-blooded murder! Once you do this, there's no going back! Do you really want that hanging over your head forever!?"

Omnimon's raised arm was shaking as he tried in vain to keep it steady. Tears were in his eyes, but they held the same hardness. "I know what this is, but this is on you, not me! I can't let you go through with your plans! The only world a monster like you should be in is Hell! For the sake of everyone and everything, you must be stopped!"

Kurata looked at the others. "You've got to stop him! You can't let him do this to me! It's accessory to murder! Aren't you going to do anything?"

The DigiDestined stared at Kurata, looking torn. But then, one by one, they all looked away.

Now Kurata had tears in his own eyes as he did his best to shake his head as nothing more than a giant face on a large blob of flesh. "Please, don't! You can't do this! I'll die, I'll really die for good! You can't do this! If not for me, then for your own sake! Don't kill me! You don't want to be a murderer! Please!"

Omnimon shut his eyes, his whole body shaking now. He let out an agonized cry and dropped to his knees, his cannon arm falling beside him. Tears poured down his cheeks as he cursed his weakness.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to both himself and his friends. "I can't do it."

Kurata stared down at Omnimon, still looking fearful. But as he watched the knight Digimon weep, his fear slowly dissipated. He finally let out a relieved sigh, and then broke out into a grin as he pulled himself together, and then began laughing.

"So that's it then!" he declared mockingly. "You can't bring yourself to do it. I should have known. You who had to rely on becoming Digimon to get by, of course you'd be too weak. I'm glad you've learned your place."

If Omnimon had had actual hands, he would have clenched them. Kurata's cruel mocking laughter echoed around him, but Omnimon couldn't rise against it. After all, he was right, he couldn't bring himself to take a human life. Digimon, technically, never really died, but for a human, death was permanent, and Omnimon just didn't have it in himself to end a human life, not even an evil person like Kurata who was planning on doing horrible things.

Someone came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and Omnimon looked up to see OmniShoutmon standing beside him.

"It's ok," the dragon Digimon told him. "You've done more than enough. There's nothing wrong with admitting when a burden is too great for you."

"OmniShoutmon…" Omnimon whispered.

"Besides," the dragon Digimon continued, "you're wrong about something. You may be the leader of this group, but this isn't your responsibility." He looked up at Kurata. "It's mine."

Omnimon's eyes widened. "What?"

"What?" Kurata exclaimed.

OmniShoutmon moved to stand in front of Omnimon, facing Kurata. "Being king isn't just about ruling, it's about serving, serving your people, and serving your world. It's not always easy to be king. Sometimes you have to make very different decisions, decisions you don't always want to make, but have to, even at your own expense. That's what it truly means to be king. This is my responsibility. I'll do it."

The fear returned to Kurata's face, and he began to panic. "No, you can't! You're bluffing! You have to be!"

OmniShoutmon punched his fists together. "It's my duty as the Digimon King to rid this world of all threats to it. No matter what."

An aura of energy appeared around him in preparation of his attack. Kurata's face seemed to shrink in on itself as he realized that this was really about to be it for him.

"Stop," he said his voice low. "Stop!" His voice rose higher, his eyes wide and crazed with fear. "STOP IT!"

"Omni Core Fusion!"

OmniShoutmon's aura took form and flew at that mass of flesh. Kurata's cry echoed through the room as it flew at him, and the blast completely obliterated him into nothing.

(A/N: So, a lot of surprising revelations happened this chapter. Not only is Huanglongmon being controlled by Dorbickmon through a forced DigiFuse, but Kurata, who was mentioned in passing several chapters ago, is not only alive, but has been helping the Demon Lords all this time by using Calumon's power and his own human energy to Digivolve the Demon Lords' forces the same way our heroes have been Digivolving with their Digivices. It looks like that's it for Kurata. But what are our heroes going to do about Huanglongmon and Dorbickmon? 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/Dorbickmon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Dorbickmon_Darkness_Mode_One