Disclaimer:
The Rising of the Shield Hero was created by Aneko Yusagi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. Magic Knight Rayearth was created by CLAMP. Sword Art Online was created by Reki Kawahara. Digimon is owned by Bandai and Toei. Kono Suba was created by Akatsuki Natsume. Gate was created by Takumi Yanai. DanMachi was created by Fujino Omori. This story uses reference material from them.

Heroes of Another World
By: RB3
Lucifuge's Lament 3: The Final Wave

With a basket in hand, Rishia travelled down the dirt paths of Rurorona towards a large white building. It was the infirmary of the WDF where the wounded and ill were brought to receive medical attention. Inside, she met a weasel demihuman secretary at the front desk who filled out forms with a stylus. "I'd like to see Itsuki the Bow Hero," requested Rishia.

"Sure, he's in the same room as always," replied the secretary.

Rishia travelled to one of the rooms in the rear of the infirmary and found a room large enough to house only a single patient. Itsuki was inside resting on the bed. "Hey, am I glad to see you!" said Itsuki with a smile.

"Hi! This is for you," said Rishia, showing Itsuki her basket.

She put it on a nearby stand and removed the cover over it. Her basket had a pile of fruit bought from local grocers which included a few Bio Plant persimmons. Itsuki took one of the persimmons and started eating it. "Mmm! I love this stuff. Thank you so much," said Itsuki between bites of the sweet fruit.

"You're welcome!" said Rishia as she watched Itsuki enjoy the last morsels of the persimmon. "Itsuki, there's something I need to say to you. We've been fighting beside each other for a long time now. When I saw Tact cut you down with the Projectile, my heart sank. I was afraid he might have killed you!"

"Oh, don't worry. It's all over now. I'm safe now, thanks to Motoyasu and the doctors!" assured Itsuki with a smile.

"Yeah, I see that, but no one wants to see someone they care about get hurt, especially not someone they love," said Rishia.

"Love?" asked Itsuki puzzled by her mentioning that.

"What I'm trying to say is that I love you Itsuki!" replied Rishia. "I have ever since you saved me from Lord North. You've done so much for me and my family."

Itsuki fell silent, at a loss for words. "I…" began Itsuki.

"Do you love me too, Itsuki?" asked Rishia, waiting anxiously for an answer.

"Yes! I love you too," replied Itsuki.

Rishia could not help but feel elated. She wrapped her arms around Itsuki and kissed him. "I love you Itsuki! Please get better soon," said Rishia. "Now that Fourbrey has fallen, all that's left is Lucifuge. Once he's beaten, we'll have won and the Waves will be over."

"Yeah, about that... How goes your training with the Projectile?" asked Itsuki.

"Great!" replied Rishia with a smile. "Lord Abel is making a special item to empower my weapon. I might get it later today, when I go to train." Rishia looked at the time on the Projectile's interface. It was about fifteen minutes from her next training session. "Oh! I'm late! I have to get to the colosseum to train!"

"I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for visiting me," said Itsuki.

"I'm glad I could see you, Itsuki," said Rishia.

Rishia kissed Itsuki one more time before leaving for the colosseum in the Molkerei Domain. When she reached the arena, she found Abel and Girimekhala waiting for her there. They were standing across from a group of training dummies specially prepared from the Domain's material as targets. "Hello Rishia. Are you ready for today's session?" asked Abel.

"Yep. Have you finished the special item for the Projectile yet?" asked Rishia.

"Uhuh. Here it is," said Abel, presenting her a small sun made out of gold. "Feed it to your weapon just like we taught you."

Rishia did so and the Projectile became a chakram similar to the sun in appearance with red marking the inner ring. It was known as the Sudarshana Chakra, or Sudarshana for short, one of the weapons held by the Hindu god Vishnu. "Test it against those dummies," said Girimekhala.

Rishia hurled the Sudarshana at the dummies. As it sawed into one, it released golden, holy fire which seared the dummy. It bounced to another dummy and then a third to sear them too. When it returned to her, the dummies respawned with extras joining them. She ran into their midst and twirled around, causing the Sudarshana to fly in a circle around her body. It sliced into the dummies while spewing fire to extend her range to more targets. When it flew back to her hand, she rejoined Abel and Girimekhala.

"This thing is my most powerful chakram," remarked Rishia as she examined its stats through the Projectile's magic status displays. In addition to its ability to damage with fire and holy elements, it also improved Rishia's resistance against both.

"It seems you like it. That's good. For now, train with Girimekhala. I'm going to help the mages of the Vassal Heroes," said Abel.

"Thank you, Lord Abel," said Rishia.

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Abel made his way to the area south of the colosseum, where the magic training range had been set up. After a few seconds of waiting, Megumin, Takato, and Arpeggio had arrived to begin their own training session. Arpeggio was the first up and cast a Stone Gas spell on a dozen dummies downrange. It trapped each of them in shells of rock, keeping them immobile. Takato summoned a fire elemental and had it attack the helpless dummies while Guilmon spit Pyro Spheres at them.

Megumin began the chant for Explosion. Once let loose, the spell ripped through the area and incinerated everything in hellish fire. In its wake, it left only a charred crater behind and everything else had been incinerated. The fire elemental, immune to all forms of fire, was the only thing that survived her spell. "Great combination," remarked Abel.

The training continued with the mages of the Vassal Wielders bombarding the dummies with various spells. When they ran out of stamina, they took a break to drink potions by a potion crate. After finishing a good session of training, the group started a conversation. Takato bobbed with anticipation. "It's almost time. I can feel it, Guilmon," said Takato.

"Yep! We're gonna for the big boss soon, the one who started the Waves," said Guilmon.

Arpeggio breathed a sigh of relief. "Once we defeat him, we'll finally be able to head home," said Arpeggio.

"What are you going to do once you retire from being a Vassal Wielder?" asked Megumin out of curiosity.

"I'm going to use what I learned here to improve magic back home. I'll be famous! They'll put my name in the history books!" replied Arpeggio. "What about you Megumin?"

"I'm going back to adventuring with Kazuma and the others. We still haven't beaten the demon king yet. After learning so much with you guys, I'll be able to help them so much. I'm not going to be so useless anymore!" replied Megumin, shaking her fist in determination. "I'll continue my training and become the master of Explosion."

"Good luck! Remember everything we learned together. Other spells can help you master Explosion so don't reject them," said Takato.

"I won't. I'll remember everything you and Master Abel taught me," assured Megumin.

"What about you, Takato?" asked Abel out of curiosity. "What plans do you have after we win the war?"

"I'm not doing anything big. I'm just going to relax and have fun with Guilmon. All we've been doing lately is fighting," replied Takato.

"Okay, nothing wrong with that," said Abel.

"What about you, Master Abel? What are you going to do once this is over?" asked Takato.

"After some clean up, I'm going to return home and relax, help out with rebuilding the Babel Colony," replied Abel.

"Oh yeah! You did mention that the Waves were causing problems back home," said Arpeggio.

"With Lucifuge gone, and rebuilding complete, we can get back to our original mission," said Abel.

"Original mission? What was that?" asked Arpeggio, puzzled by him mentioning this.

"We were searching for the Shards of Divinity, which are pieces of God scattered around the Expanse after YHVH was destroyed. He is one of the most authoritarian and destructive beings there is. He's caused apocalypses in numerous worlds until someone finally stopped him," said Abel. "We're trying to destroy those Shards to prevent his return."

"How did you find out about these Shards?" asked Takato.

"We were investigating demonic activity in a world called 'Orario' after one of its major cities. It's like Melro with adventurers, monsters, and magic. To make a long story short, the city of Orario had been built over a Dungeon which sealed away one of these Shards. With help from friends there, we destroyed it, but we also learned there were others out there," replied Abel.

"So, the adventure continues for you," said Megumin.

Abel nodded. "So far, we haven't heard word of any other Shards. Until then, we're going to rest and do a little rebuilding," said Abel.

"Looks like we've all got things to do after we beat him," said Megumin.

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At a field a small distance away, Filo and the filorial kids began a game of soccer with a leather ball. Filo kicked it at a goal, which Sakura blocked by leaping into its path. She took the ball and kicked the ball back to her team mate Kou. As he ran down the field, Filo tried to knock the ball from under his feet. He evaded her attempts and kicked the ball at the goal. Yuki attempted to catch it, but was a split second too late and it passed the goal line. Kou and Sakura raised their arms victoriously and exchanged high fives. "Yay! That's one point for us!" said Kou.

"That ties the game," said Sakura.

As Filo and the filorial kids played, their parents and guardians watched. "It's nice to watch the kids play," remarked Motoyasu feeling a sense of peace from seeing his kids play ball.

"Kids laughing and having fun... That's the way it should be," said Eclair.

"Once we defeat Lucifuge, we'll pave the way to a world where that can happen. Then, our duty as heroes will be complete," said Naofumi, who then looked down as he felt a sense of sorrow and loss. "The world won't need us anymore. We'll be sent home, but our friends will still be here. I'm worried about them. Will they be okay?"

"I know what you mean. I've only been with them for a year, but these kids are my pride and joy. What does the future hold for them?" asked Motoyasu feeling similar anxiety as Naofumi.

"After I came here and the king started coming down on me, I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Now, I don't want to leave, not without knowing that my friends and family here will be taken care of," said Naofumi.

"What's up? Why so glum?" asked Midori as she came by to check on them.

"Oh, hi Midori. We were just thinking about the filorial kids and how we'd have to leave them once this is all done," replied Motoyasu.

"Oh, don't worry about that. That's only true of the Vassal Weapons. The Cardinal Weapons stay with their owners until death," said Midori.

"Is that true?" asked Naofumi.

Midori nodded. "Yep. You're stuck with that thing until you die," she replied.

"So that means we won't be able to go home?" asked Motoyasu, now seeing a new problem.

"Maybe, then again, maybe not. The Dragon's Era family of weapons can teleport us places, even across dimensions. It's just that the Cardinal Weapons have a stupid rule that won't let us go off-world," said Naofumi.

"That's right, but after we've defeated Lucifuge, there's a chance the weapons might drop that restriction. I mean, the Waves will be over. What's the point of keeping you here? If not, maybe my friend can do something to remove that restriction," said Midori.

"It's worth a shot," said Motoyasu.

"Yeah, that gives me hope. If I can go off-world like the Vassal Heroes can, I won't have to abandon anyone," said Naofumi now able to hold his head up high as he felt hope brimming from within once again.

"Thank you Lady Midori. You've made all of us feel better," said Eclair.

Midori smiled. "You're welcome!" she said.

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At the arena, Raphtalia, Hikaru, and Ren had just came out of a vigorous swordsmanship session at the arena with Girimekhala as instructor. They fetched bottles of protein shakes from a metal pail bearing ice. When Ren chugged down his, the sweet taste of a strawberry milkshake met his tongue. "Mmm, this is good!" he purred with contentment. "I haven't had a strawberry milkshake in so long."

"A toast!" requested Hikaru, clinking bottles with Ren and Raphtalia.

"I love it here so much! We have all these conveniences which makes life so easy. We didn't have things like these back in Rurorona," said Raphtalia.

At that moment, Sinon arrived from the magic range in the southwest of the colosseum. "Hey guys!" called Sinon.

"Hey! Grab a shake and come drink with us!" said Hikaru, waving at Sinon to come over and do so.

"There isn't much time left. We're just a few days from the last battle against Lucifuge," said Raphtalia.

"I'm glad that this is done with, but it's kinda sad to have to leave all these new friends we've made behind," said Sinon.

"I know the feeling," said Hikaru. "It's just like when we defeated Debonair. Umi, Fuu, and I returned to our world and left behind friends like Ferio and Ascot. At least we know they're doing well and it's peaceful because of us."

"I know you're not an emotional guy, but you must feel the same too, Ren?" asked Raphtalia, turning to him.

"Kinda," said Ren. "I would be lying if I said I didn't have regrets."

"Same here," said Sinon. "I appreciate my friends here and those waiting for me back home. As much as I want to get home as soon as possible, we need to do this right and make sure Lucifuge can't harm any more people in Melro."

Hikaru's face lit up. "Let's give it our all when we face Lucifuge and his minions!" she said, holding up her bottle to call for a toast.

"Cheers!" said everyone before clinking bottles together.

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A month had passed as the forces of the WDF and their allies prepared for the invasion of Lucifuge's Domain. During this time, the sands trickled down the Dragon Hourglasses as Lucifuge pushed forward his own plans to harvest souls for Lucifer. Eventually, all of the sand had piled on the bottom of the hourglasses. Columns of golden light descended upon the heroes and brought them to the locations of the Wave. Motoyasu and the Vassal Wielders appeared at the edge of a ranch with cows blissfully grazing away, unaware of the danger.

Hikaru looked around and saw several familiar farms. "This is the Molkerei Region. The Jacob Farm is further south of here," said Hikaru.

"I've called WDF HQ. They know and should be sending people over as reinforcements," said Sinon.

The monsters started tumbling down from the sky like bombs. One of them had landed at a location south of the heroes' current location. Motoyasu quickly disintegrated the creature, a Wave zombie, with Ein Soph Aur. Another creature landed nearby. "A Greymon?" asked Takato upon seeing it.

"I thought we dealt with the Digital World already?" asked Megumin.

"Either we didn't finish the job, or Lucifuge is deliberately relinking the worlds again," replied Arpeggio.

"Guilmon, attack!" said Takato.

Guilmon advanced and started spitting Pyro Spheres at the orange dinosaur. The attack only bumped the creature back, as it was as resistant to fire-based attacks as Guilmon was. It spit a Nova Blast in return, but Takato's Barrier blunted the attack. Arpeggio lobbed Fast Rock Shots at Greymon. The sheer volume of rocks wore down and staggered it. Megumin followed by trapping it in a Clinging Morass. Their combined attacks had weakened Greymon so much so that the black tar swallowed it whole, even as it struggled to get out.

Outside in the plains beyond Hourai City, the capital of Reiki, Team Bow pummelled the incoming horde of monsters with an assortment of attacks. As Rishia decapitated a Wave zombie with the Sudarshana, a terrifying roar resounded through the air. The group saw a giant red dragon soar past in the sky above. "A flame dragon!" said Abazure, eyes widened in fear of the beast.

"If I remember correctly, Abel fought one of those things at Hummerfalle," said Itsuki.

The dragon flew a distance away, then turned back to make another pass. This time, it started spraying the ground with flaming breath, forcing Team Bow to scatter and avoid damage. As it flew away, Abazure lobbed arrows while Itsuki lobbed icy versions of the same. Itsuki's arrows made contact and released an icy burst, an effect which made the beast flinch. Rishia hurled the Sudarshana to follow slightly afterwards, slashing the creature's right hind leg. Blood splattered over the ground and the stinging pain forced the creature to land.

Itsuki approached and lobbed more icy arrows. They hit again and the icy bursts painfully sapped heat from the beast. It reared its head back and expelled flame. During this attack, Lojir had moved into a blind spot of the dragon and ran in to attack. He leapt at the creature and plunged his axe into its neck. Blood splattered all over him and the ground. The dragon thrashed about in agony and slammed into him. Though knocked away, Lojir righted himself and landed on his feet, digging a groove into the dirt to bleed away his backward momentum.

Rishia hurled the Sudarshana. slicing another deadly wound into the flame dragon's neck. Itsuki followed with a volley of icy arrows. Upon contact, they released an icy burst and put the beast into hypothermic unconsciousness. Lojir hopped on and hacked its neck, lopping off the creature's head. The warrior raised his weapon in triumph. "The dragon is dead!" cheered Lojir.

"YEAH!" cheered others nearby.

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Despite killing so many monsters, the Wave did not die down and had an unchanging, effectively infinite timer according to the Cardinal Weapons. After being recalled, the heroes reported their battles at the debriefing in the WDF HQ. "So a flame dragon, Digimon, giant frogs, and one-eyed baboons?" asked Melty. "Didn't we fight those things in the previous Waves?"

"Yeah. It looks like Lucifuge is bringing back some blasts from the past for a final showdown," remarked Sinon.

Itsuki turned to Abel. "Have you gotten into contact with the people in those worlds yet?" asked Itsuki.

"We've sent messages to them as soon as we made contact with the enemy. They're all as shocked as we were to see this happen. They thought it would be over once we defeated the demons causing the Waves," said Abel.

Naofumi sighed. "This won't be over until we bring down the head demon," said Naofumi.

Melty nodded. "Definitely," she remarked.

The WDF set up a teleconference between the leaders and important people of the worlds they had encountered. Their images ranged from Ferio and Clef of Cephiro to Princess Pina of the Western Saderan Empire. The only group not returning were the people of Alfheim, as they had sacrificed their virtual world to ensure Melro's survival. Everyone thought that the Waves were done with after the WDF had defeated Fourbrey and the demons responsible. Now, the threat had returned once again, far more dire and deadly than ever.

Pina appeared flustered after witnessing recent events. "How are the Waves happening again?" asked Pina. "I thought you defeated the demons!"

"We still haven't got to their top boss yet. We're making preparations for that. This time, Lucifuge linked the worlds together with his Domain. He knows it's only a matter of time before we come after him," replied Abel.

"The Wave that erupted this time is the worst we've faced yet," said Clef.

"There were a lot more monsters than the last ones, a LOT more, and new ones I haven't seen before. Umi, Fuu, and the others are putting in a lot of work just to keep them at bay," said Ferio.

"Takato, your friends had to battle a great number of monsters foreign to the Digital World as well," said Azulongmon.

"As I've reported, the Babelites, WDF, and its allies in Melro are preparing to invade Lucifuge's Domain as we speak. The same will apply as before. Once we move, they may try to exploit this opportunity to strike at you guys. Be ready," said Abel.

"Where have the Waves hit this time?" asked Clef. "Where are the links between our world and the others? I know ours is at the Wind Shrine."

"Cephiro's link connects Siltvelt City with the Wind Shrine in Cephiro. The Fantasy World's link connects Rurorona Village to Axel. Falmart's link connects Hourai City to Italica. Finally, the Digital World's link is between Molkerei and the eastern Physical Layer. In turn, each of these links goes through Lucifuge's Domain," replied Melty. "If and when the enemy retaliates, it will be at these locations. They are where we must focus our defences."

"Understood," said Captain Aaron as representative of the Kingdom of Belzerg, the nation which ruled over Axel.

"Yes," said Pina.

"We'll be there. Let's put a formidable defence so our friends can focus on the main battle without concern for us," said Azulongmon.

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Meanwhile at Cephiro, the Wave continued to deposit monsters onto the land. Umi, Fuu, and companions such as Lafarga and Lantis were at the Wind Shrine in battle against a group of Yaksa. These demons resembled pink-skinned ogres who wore a garland of skulls and wielded a scimitar in each hand. Lantis met one and parried its two strikes. He struck back, forcing the creature to parry and retreat for distance. Lantis sent a blast of magic to follow it, an attack which struck true and blasted it to the ground.

"Winds of Admonishment!" announced Fuu, which sent a ranging tornado into the Yaksa crowd. It scooped up half a dozen and they were left trapped and helpless as the winds spun them around.

"Water Dragon!" announced Umi, who let loose a raging, serpentine dragon of water into a pack of Yaksa. The spell smashed its way through them, crushing all of the Yaksa, who vanished in a black haze.

Caldina waved a fan and let loose a haze of sparkling pink mist upon the Yaksa. Ensnared in her spell, the Yaksa stopped and glanced around puzzled at seeing several clones of their foes appear so suddenly. They lashed out at the imposters, their weapons only catching empty air whenever they swung at them. The Yaksa continued to attack these illusions, fruitlessly expending their time and energy. Ascot summoned a water spirit into their midst. It formed an arm out its very body and slapped each of them to the ground.

"We're doing well! Let's keep it up!" cried Caldina.

At the Fantasy World, the adventurers of Axel had gathered outside the eastern gate of the town to form a line against the demons which marched towards their home. The two sides stared each other down for ten minutes, then it happened. "Let's get those demons!" cried one adventurer.

"YEAH!" cheered the others.

The two sides charged at each other started to exchange blows once they met. Yunyun hurled a Fireball spell at a Yaksa fighting for the other side. To her shock, the demon seemed to absorb her spell without suffering any harm from it. In fact, her spell refreshed it instead. The Yaksa charged in and brought the scimitar down upon her. "AAAAH!" screamed Yunyun as she covered herself.

Suddenly, Darkness was in front of her, having parried the strike and locked weapons with the demon. "This one is wild and untamed. Let me take this one!" said Darkness.

"Geez! This is no time to get your freak on!" cried Kazuma.

"Kazuma, that thing absorbed my spell!" said Yunyun.

"Maybe it's only strong against fire. Try a different element," said Kazuma.

"Right!" said Yunyun. As soon as Darkness pushed the Yaksa and backed away, Yunyun cast a Lightning spell upon it. True to its name, the spell sent a bolt of lightning from her fingertips to strike the demon in the chest. The Yaksa got staggered momentarily, then returned to attacking Darkness. "It absorbs fire and resists my lightning," mused Yunyun.

"Try something else! There has to be something it's weak against!" cried Kazuma to Yunyun.

"God Blow!" announced Aqua as she came in with a magically enhanced punch to the Yaksa, who quickly dodged the attack. It swung back at her, but Aqua quickly reared back to avoid getting slashed. "It dodged my attack!"

"You idiot! That was a head-on attack. Of course it saw you coming!" cried Kazuma.

The Yaksa tried to chop her, but she backed away and caused its blow to hit the ground instead. "AAAAH! Help me Kazuma!" cried Aqua as she fled the Yaksa, flailing her arms in panic.

"Hold on tight!" said Kazuma.

He cast Create Earth to conjure a pile of dirt in his hands, then Wind Breath to blow it into the Yaksa's eyes. The demon stopped immediately and flailed about blindly, which gave Aqua the opening she needed to get away. "Thank you Kazuma!" she said upon reaching a safe distance.

Yunyun cast Blade of Wind against the Yaksa, which resulted in the demon being sliced in half. The Yaksa's separated halves vanished in black miasma. "Good work!" said Kazuma.

"It looks like it was vulnerable to that. Now I know what spell to use!" said Yunyun with a cheerful smile.

At Falmart, the JSDF forces had gathered around the city of Italica and saw the horde of demons suddenly appear in flickers of blue light. "There they are! Fire!" cried a JSDF commander.

Dozens of artillery shells landed on a distant field, exploding in the ranks of the advancing demons. Despite such a powerful bombardment, the demons survived it and continued their advance. The soldiers hiding in fortifications began to fire rifles while Italica's mages prepared their own volley of spells. The bullets did little more than to stall the demons, but the mages' spells caused actual losses in the demonic ranks. Blasts of various elements came back at the JSDF and Saderan Republic's position, pummelling it with repeated explosions.

Simultaneously at the Digital World, the demons rushed at the army of the Sovereigns, which included Takato's Digimon Tamer friends as members. Sakuyamon sent out a Spirit Strike. Fox spirits of each element went out in search of demons. The red fire spirit pierced through the body of an Ose, who got burnt to ash instantly. The electric yellow spirit struck a Decarabia, causing it to collapse in convulsions. The blue water spirit struck a Yaksa, freezing him solid before collapsing and shattering to pieces.

Mega Gargomon unloaded a volley of missiles and bullets upon the crowd. In an instant, dozens of demons got ripped to pieces. "They're losing momentum. Keep at it!" cried Guardromon, who launched missiles at another group of Decarabia.

As the Sovereign forces pushed ahead, they closed with the portal which linked the Digital World with Lucifuge's Domain. After several more bombardments, the demonic force broke completely and went into full retreat. The Digimon pursued them across the desert to a cavern in one of the mountains. Once the Tamers and the advance force entered the heart of the cavern, the environment shifted into an eerie crimson hue. After exiting the cavern, they found themselves in the wilderness across from what appeared to be a city.

The group had entered a Domain. It was as crimson-hued as the cavern and had root-like structures delineating its borders. Ahead, Lucifuge's city was under heavy assault as Fallen demons fought with those belonging to the Babelites and Spade Mercenaries. "Where do we go now?" asked Kazu.

"South," said Rika. "That's the way to the Falmart. We have to help them since they're in trouble."

The Sovereign forces and their Tamer allies made their way in that direction, where they found a horde of demons occupying a base. One of the key structures was a Cathedral of Shadows, a building which summoned demons to fill Lucifuge's army. The Digimon army immediately bombarded that forward base. Some of their shots struck the Cathedral of Shadows, knocking out support pillars which brought the roof down. Infuriated by the act, the demons lobbed a massive volley of elemental blasts in return.

Though many Digimon in the army got deleted, the Sovereign army retaliated in kind and the demons followed the fallen Digimon in death. Mega Gargomon lobbed dozens of missiles upon the demonic army. In their wake was devastation, leaving nothing behind but charred, crater-filled ground. The demons were gone and the portal to Falmart became undefended. "The way is clear. Let's go in!" said Mega Gargomon.

The Sovereign forces marched through the portal and found the plain ahead charred and covered in craters. In the distance, the Sovereign advance forces could see several explosions pop in the distance from the fighting. The Tamers separated from the group and went in that direction. Sakuyamon soon met a demon which resembled a biped panther whose head was on the chest of its suit of armour. This demon, Flauros, spewed flame at Sakuyamon like a dragon. She evaded by moving right, but the demon simply turned its gaze to follow her.

She flew into the sky and released a Spirit Strike. Four foxes of various elements raced at Flauros. The first to hit, the fire fox, got dissipated harmlessly by its fire nullification trait. Flauros hopped away from the next two spirits, but the fourth, the green wind fox, caught him in the chest and sent him to the ground. As he got up, Sakuyamon had an Amethyst Mandala set up on the ground around him. It released a violet glow and banished Flauros in an instant.

Itami breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the Digimon from the outer wall of Italica. "Reinforcements have arrived! It's about time!" he remarked, before returning to firing at the demons.

Seeing the Digimon strike from the rear of the enemy's line was a massive boost in morale, as the demons were now trapped in the middle. They had nowhere to go except into JSDF fire or the attacks of the Digimon. Itami and the JSDF continued to shoot despite their weapons being unable to harm the demons except by staggering them. Mega Gargomon unloaded a massive volley of missiles into the enemy, blowing up dozens in a single attack. After attacks like that, the enemy dwindled in number until none remained.

END OF CHAPTER