*Pushes away all the wrapping and crap* Hey guys, welcome back for the last chapter of 2016! As previously stated we'll be seeing the end of the Battle of Clooloo. Unfortunately this won't mark the end of the Breakdown Arc, more like the halfway point. That's enough prattle though, I'll save that for the end. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Forty-Two-The Undead Pt.3 (The Old Dead)
Jun remembered sitting on the couch and watching nature documentaries to pass her boredom when she saw the towering form of the man-lion creeping up on LadyDevimon. It was amazing how vivid the memories of were of majestic wild cats stealthily stalking their prey before taking it down in the most brutal manner possible. It was both beautiful and terrifying, the humanoid lion evoked more of the terrifying aspect. Speaking of terror Jun was sharply reminded of the various zombie flicks she and Davis used to watch in their youth. In the past month or so she felt she'd lived out some of those zombie movies, and she hated it with a passion. What struck her was the first scene-that moment when the zombies are first introduced with as much build up as possible. The first death was often gory and brutal, an end unfitting for any decent person.
Jun couldn't say rather or not LadyDevimon's end fit the description, she wasn't exactly high on her list of well-liked people. That being said what she saw made her feel pity for what the Fallen Angel. As vile as she was she didn't deserve an end such as the one she was witnessing.
The lion-man took half her face off with one sweep from its claws knocking her to the ground. Trails of blood, data, flesh, and black fabric trailed the fallen creature on the way down leaving nothing between the trio and the humanoid beast before them. For a brief second the red eyes of the creature went to the moaning LadyDevimon, a second later and one of its massive hands roughly grabbed the Digimon by the neck and hoisted her up to eye level. Half of LadyDevimon's head was gone and her body had all but gone limp from the mortal blow. Only one eye remained and it stared lazily at the lion-like face barely two inches from it; the wretched breath that tickled her skin caused it to boil and sizzle as if it'd been touched with acid. LadyDevimon was only barely coherent, completely unable to beg or aid from her fellow demons leaving her at the creature's mercy. Mercy, in one look she could tell the beast holding her head in its grasp had no concept of the word. Her voice only barely worked when she attempted to speak resulting in jumbled up gibberish and hollow whispers that made her state all the more pathetic. Where they pleas for help? Mercy?
Whatever they were it didn't matter because less than five seconds later the feline creature bit into her head, engulfing the entire top half of her skull within its massive jaws. LadyDevimon was able to get in one last quick breath of air before the beast's jaws penetrated her skull with a sickening crunch that could have broken glass.
Sccccrreeeeehhhh!
Crunch! CRUNCH! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
As if some spell had been cast the area encompassing the trio and mysterious man-eater was cut off from the battle around them. It wasn't that those around them couldn't see what was happening, it was what they saw disturbed them enough to stay away. Jun and Onimon were rooted to the dried patch of rock they were on, both of their eyes as wide as dinner plates and their mouths straight lines that trembled ever so slightly. Harper didn't have a face to form expressions, but he could project his emotions through his aura; at that moment what he was projecting was fear and disgust at the creature before him. Other creatures stared in fear and awe as the foul beast continued to make a meal of the female devil starting from the neck then working its way down. It didn't take too long for the creature to reach the waist where it decided it was done with its "snack", and promptly threw it away.
"Kill it or run." Those were the options Jun knew they had to choose from as the beast set its blood-colored eyes on them. The feeling of being a deer in the headlights, or in this case a gazelle, hit her like a truck killing the confidence high she'd been on. In one look she could tell this Digimon, this creature, was not something to be trifled with. They didn't have time to deal with this monstrosity either. "Based on the look on Onimon's face…he won't be able to go through with this. This can't be the Leomon he was talking about, not a chance in hell. Regardless, we can't waste the time trying to convince him of that!" All around her the world was falling to pieces with escape routes in all directions opening then closing as quickly as they appeared. Most of the water had rapidly drained away or had been evaporated leaving the wreckage stranded in the earth while fighting continued to tear down whatever else was still standing. Behind them, a little to the left Janaimon continued shaking the ground with his monstrous size and power. Again, Dagomon had lost the battle, yet his followers seemed devoted to continuing the meaningless battle. It wasn't just Janaimon they had to worry about-Scourgedramon was still blasting the hell out of anything that moved from the skies. Between the two of them what remained of Clooloo would be rubble within ten minutes.
KA-BBOOOMM!
Provided they were lucky that is.
Refocusing her attention back on the strange creature Jun steadied her breath and observed it as it took one slow step towards them. What they were facing down was a little over nine feet of pure muscle with bone protrusions and stitches running over the upper body. Based solely on the network of stitches Jun knew this Digimon was a type of undead, a shambling corpse that had been pieced back together and revived in a manner fit for a horror movie backstory. In addition to a boney breastplate each shoulder had a bone spike jetting out directly above two metallic screws. The arms of the creature were insanely large and just barely avoided dragging across the ground. Thick black wrappings covered the forearms up until the wrists, the top of the hands had glimmering metal plates seemingly nailed into them. Luckily or not the lower half of the lion-man was covered, by shaggy black pants that had a skull belt buckle just to round out the nightmarish image. Most lions' manes were some shades of golden or brown representing their majestic beauty and pride; this creature's mane was wild and unkempt, it was dark and whispered into the air as the fierce winds kicked it up. Putrid clouds of toxin escaped its mouth with every haggard breath it took.
Briefly flashing her eyes to Onimon she opened her mouth to speak hoping to snap him out of his daze, she had to if they were going to survive. "Oni-"
"MOVE IT!"
Harper launched himself at the creature whilst screaming at his companions. The beast was faster than him, already coming within striking distance of them by the time they heard him screaming. For an instant the body froze giving Jun and the star-struck Onimon enough time to break way. The right claw came down with the force of wrecking ball kicking up debris and embers everywhere. Jun and Onimon saw it all happen in slow motion, their mouths hung open in awe of the display of raw physical power. Onimon had less time to gawk as he was the new target of the beast, its red eyes slid onto him and then the nine-foot mass of muscle and rage came at him swinging and roaring. Shock was pushed down by the instinct to survive causing Onimon to slide into defensive maneuvers. Blocking and parrying, dodging and evading, never had those things seemed so hard as they did now for the Nightmare Soldier.
Barely ten feet from him Jun watched the one-sided battle with calculative eyes and baited breath. Before she intervened she had to know her enemy, study them. Despite the sheer mass of the lion-man it moved with a speed that matched that of a shark in water going for the kill. Its movements were reminiscent of a predator's as well. There was no style or technique behind its attacks-merely unbridled savagery. If her hypothesis was right then its intelligence wasn't anything to be worried about, all it had was speed, strength, and more than likely monstrous durability. Indeed, a walking tank.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Jun's eyes didn't pay any attention to the fading DeviDramon that sank to the ground behind her at all. Her eyes were entirely on the information displayed by the Digivice.
Name: MadLeomon
Level: None
Attribute: Unknown
"Oh gee, that sure helps a lot." The redhead scuffed downing another attacker she sensed coming her way.
Description: A raging berserker born from the corrupted remains of Leomon's data. In exchange for complete and total obliteration of its intelligence its combat instincts have been jacked up to their utmost limit turning it into an unstoppable fighting machine. Being a zombie MadLeomon has no will of its own thus it is often used as a puppet by stronger creatures as a bulldozer or living WMD. The deadly poison it carries in its body as well as MadLeomon's own sheer physical abilities make it adapt at doing just that. MadLeomon possesses only two attacks: Beast Blaster and its Poison Claw. Both of them make use of its deadly corrosive poison that'll leave even a Mega groveling in pain from just a glancing blow.
"Heh…heheheheh." Her hollow chuckling went on amongst the fierce combat happening within arms' length of her. "I guess Dagomon decided to get creative with this one." A hand fell over her face as the laughter continued even while Onimon began needlessly shouting for his opponent to "remember him". All Jun did was laugh harder, "Save your breath Onimon. You're the one who needs to wake up. What's trying to dismember you isn't your old friend." Her rifle felt a tad bit heavier than usual, she chalked that up to the steady build of exhaustion working its way up. "Before this place comes down I'll be out of energy, and then I'll be nothing but a target."
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
To MadLeomon the Chrome Digizoid bullets felt like soft thuds from a withered tree branch-they were annoying. Its attention remained solely on the kanabō-wielding Nightmare Soldier before it who refused to counterattack in any way. Too often did its claws just barely graze flesh leaving the bestial hunger inside of him unfulfilled. Screaming in outrage the assault was amped out resulting in blunt-force blows that deeply bruised the flesh of Ultimate-level Nightmare Soldier.
TH-KUNK!
Onimon's body left feint skid marks on the ground before he slammed into a slab of debris that had already been uprooted once by the explosions. Ceasing in his assault the Undead Digimon roared a command to the flyers above them. Accordingly a barrage of missiles and projectiles fell on top of Onimon's location creating a dust cloud that obscured his wounded form.
Swiping away the dust with Tetsuhono Onimon walked forward, fear and hope dancing together in his eyes. "L-Le-Leomon. Como on…wake up already. I-It's me…m-me. Orgemon, I-I know I've changed, but it's still me! I'm Orgemon! Your rival! Y-Your friend! Don't you remember any of that?"
MadLeomon's right hand began to rear itself back, foul energy and air gathering around it like tornado. Onimon only barely recognized the attack as being an upgraded form of Leomon's Fist of the Beast King. Given its appearance upgrade may not have been the right word to use.
"DAGOMON! QUITE TOYING WITH MY PARTNER AND FACE ME! OR ARE YOU TOO SCARED TO TAKE ON ONE LITTLE GIRL!"
Her words were heard as MadLeomon immediately spun in her general direction. The way the creature's mouth twisted into a smile told her immediately the puppet master had taken direct control. "Beast Blaster!"
The lion-head screeched a sound so terrible all Jun and everyone else in the vicinity wanted to do was shut their ears to block it out. It flew at her with the speed of a missile, cleaving apart the ground it soared across on its way towards her. Just the shape of the blast alone would have been enough to freeze most targets in their place through fear alone, after all, the blast did resemble MadLeomon's own malefic face a little too well. For better or for worse the Undead Digimon's face wasn't frightening to Jun now that she'd grown accustomed to it.
WHOOSH!
That was the first reason why she was able to avoid the attack, the second was because her body had grown accustomed to these situations. There was three feet between her and the blast when she evaded the attack. Though she'd managed to dodge the move the strong stench it carried was almost enough to make her want to vomit. She didn't have time for that as immediately after the attack failed to hit its mark MadLeomon rushed in attempting to crush her with its hands. Having perfected her evasion to the point of almost making it an art form Jun waited until the last second to move thus letting the zombie bury its claws into the earth. In that moment a brilliant whitish-silver light flashed and a second later MadLeomon was snarling at the pain in its right arm. Its bloody hollow eyes exchanged fire with the determined eyes of the human girl holding her knife in one hand and her rifle in the other.
WHOSH! WHOSH! WHOSH! KA-BANG!
SLLLIIISSSHH! SLLLIIISSSHHH!
WHOSH!
SLISH!
WHOSH! SLLLLIIISSSHHH!
Amongst the spectators of the battle was Onimon, still watching the Undead Digimon's body with wide unflinching eyes. He was lucky the battle around him was so intense few paid him any attention, but one creature did.
"HEY DUMBASS! DO YOU PLAN ON MOVING BEFORE OR AFTER THIS PLACE IS BURIED UNDER FIVE HUNDRED FEET OF RUBBLE?!" Thundered Harper right into Onimon's face. He'd slithered all the way up to the Digimon's face without him noticing and clearly the volume of his voice was enough to snap him out of his stupor. "IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED YOUR PARTNER IS DOING THE TANGO WITH FUR-FACE THE ZOMBIE!"
Scanning the surroundings he saw what the revenant was referring to. Jun was indeed dancing with the unholy abomination that was his former rival, and while she'd yet to receive a serious wound it was clear MadLeomon wasn't fighting at full strength. "Jun!" In two bounds he was between the two combatants. Blocking an overhead swing with his kanabō he locked himself in keeping the Undead Digimon at bay. Given their positions that it was rather hard to avoid looking at each other face to face. The logical side of his brain told him not to examine every trace of the Zombie's face, not to compare it to Leomon's. Against that logic he did just that. Everything matched up perfectly, the shape, the eyes, and the style of the mane, all of it reminded him too much of the warrior he'd spent decades challenging. "L-Leomon." He breathed out putting both hands on his weapon to keep from being overwhelmed. With his greater strength MadLeomon began pushing him back inch by inch, and worse he couldn't find the strength to resist. "If I don't do something fast he's going to delete me!"
CLINK!
A tiny sphere rolled between Onimon's legs stopping between the two combatants. The Ultimate's ears picked up the frantic command of his partner thus immediately braced himself for what came next. The explosion of sound and light had been highly tuned to the point it could disorient a Cyborg Digimon with high speed sensors and what not so it was only natural Onimon and MadLeomon were deeply affected. The only difference was the former was prepared while the later was caught completely flat-footed. While MadLeomon was disoriented by the flash grenade Onimon already knew where to go, and that's exactly what he did. In two backwards leaps he was right beside his partner, his arms still throbbing from the struggle contest between him and the undead lion-man.
"We're leaving," Jun started looking around them. "If you want to catch up it can wait until after we don't hell falling on top of us or around us."
"Coming in hot on our six!" The trio's resident ghost sounded from the shadows.
Both of their heads turned to see what the latest threat was, and both of them promptly cursed to the high rainy heavens. A literal wall of high-explosive water bubbles was heading their way destroying anything and everything that came in its path. Grabbing Jun Onimon leaped out of the way just as the blast tore apart the surrounding area, MadLeomon saw the attack coming however he didn't seem to mind too much being caught in its wake. Come to think of it only a handful of Deep Ones seemed to care if they were caught in the crossfire of Janaimon's attack.
Perhaps they'd already realized how much of a lost cause the entire thing was.
Janaimon seemed to be under the impression blasting everything that moved was going to turn the tide of a battle whose victor had already been decided. Within the crumbling citadel his immense size was a hindrance, the giant crustacean could barely move without encountering an obstacle requiring him to use his pincers to advance nor could he get a clear shot at his most desired enemies. In a blind fury at the damage that had been done his claws opened up for his Jetstream Destroyer. The powerful concentrations of water and air pressure effortless blasted through almost everything in their path causing widespread panic and chaos amongst the rank and file of both armies. Seeing that Janaimon simply kept blasting away without any real target in mind leading to even greater destruction. Every now and then he took break to use his Iron Vice in order to generate an earthquake strong enough it shook the entire citadel further destabilizing the central structure.
"Having fun lobster?" Cackled an insane voice carried by a shadowy figure that rushed through the chaos. "Well I'm afraid your fun time is over!" The voice belonged to Caassimon, who was now directly below Janaimon in a crouching position. In the blink of an eye the werewolf sprung up delivering a bone-shattering knee blow to Janaimon's chin. The strength he carried became evident when the gigantic Digimon was actually lifted off of the ground and howled in pain. That wasn't enough for Caassimon, he wanted more. "Let me hear you scream lobster! Come on! I haven't had my fill for today!"
BOOM! BOOM!
The next two kicks felt like wrecking balls to Janaimon's armor-like carapace. It was inconceivable, yet the pain he was feeling was proof Caassimon was much stronger than he looked. He was airborne and his attacker wasn't finished with him by a long shot. Angron and Nuceria, Caassimon's most beloved weapons roared to life as he raised them up then brought them down across his armored body.
SSSSSCCRREEEECCHHHH!
"AAAARRRRRRRAAAAHHHH!" The Mega-level Digimon screeched as the chainsaw axes cut through his shell and into his flesh spreading the pain throughout his entire body. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt save for the pain brought by his master's lashings. Except this was different-it burned instead of stung. When at last Janaimon felt his body make contact with the ground even if it was a crash landing his immediate thoughts went to making the werewolf demon pay. "You bastard!" The crustacean screamed attempting to flip himself over.
"Sure crabby! You can try after you've caught your breath!" Exclaimed the Nightmare Soldier still suspended in the air. Wearing his usual mad grin he propelled himself down towards his enemy's still exposed abdomen.
CCCRRRAAA-AACCKKKK!
"AAARRRAAAGGGGGGGHHHH!"
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU CRABBY!"
CRRRAAAAA-CK!
"AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!"
CCCRRAAA-AAACCKK!
CRRA-ACCKKK!
The rank and file of the Daemon Corps knew better than to interfere with their commander's battle, or rather, his playtime. That was why as the Mega gleefully tortured the Sea Animal they continued the fight against the last of the stranglers in earnest. As they attempted to reach their wailing commander the demons happily struck them down. Around Janaimon humans and Digimon fell in droves, the reinforcements now reduced to half of what it previously had been.
"Don't you get it crabby?" Mocked the demon dragging his feet over the numerous cracks in Janaimon's underbelly. "You guys lost this one, and it wasn't one of those lose the battle but win the war things. You're going to lose the war, there's no doubt about it." Angron and Nuceria began to burn with crimson light followed by black lighting cackling around the saw blades. As the Nightmare Soldier raised the two together the arcs connected turning both weapons into energy outlines that merged together. "You see Janaimon, I'm torn. On one hand I want to delete you here and now," The energy condensed into a solid shape that became matter barely a second later. In both hands Caassimon now wielded a six foot double-sided chainsaw axe that made his previous two look tame in comparison. "But I still want to see the look on your face when we roast your "god" alive like the disgusting overgrown fish he is! Song of the Red Sands!"
The three-sixty spin happened so fast few observers could actually see the over-sized weapon being swung. Its affect was a different story.
SSSCCCRRRRRREEEE-IIIIILLLSSSSHHH!
Janaimon's aerial backup was gone in an instant, completely and utterly obliterated to the point not even Digi-Eggs were left behind. The crimson-colored whirlwind continued slicing and dicing everything within the vicinity which was exactly what Caassimon wanted. Wings were clipped, limbs were severed, and mutilated bodies fell like rain drops showering the surrounding landscape with gore.
"BEAUTIFUL! COME ON CRABBY, LAUGH WITH ME!" Caassimon bellowed planting his axe in his enemy's side as he threw his arms out to soak in the destruction he'd caused. Though Janaimon did nothing but curse him he continued laughing, a wretched sound that could have easily been confused for the roar of his chainsaw axes. Once the laughter ended the demon turned his attention to his wounded adversary. "You know what Janaimon? I've decided I won't delete you just yet; that would be cruel and wrong of me. You…deserve more than that, many creatures have met their end by my axe, but your deserve something special. Remember those two options I talked about earlier? I've decided to go with number two!" Giving the wounded crustacean one more laugh Caassimon leaped off of him and bounded towards the crumbling tower.
Despite the pain he was in Janaimon was moving and venting. "Caassimon! Get back here! Do you hear me you stupid mutt!" Through sheer willpower the gigantic Digimon rolled itself over and took aim at the werewolf's fleeing form. "Jet-"
THHHUUMP!
"JANAIMON!" Came Tosamon's voice from somewhere in the maelstrom of combat and death.
Janaimon already knew what she was going to say, but he could not heed her warning. Shutting his eyes he braced for the immeasurable pain he was about to endure.
Bluntly speaking Scourgedramon eclipsed Janaimon in terms of size if only by a couple twenty feet or so. In terms of strength there was no contest between them because no matter how much strength he exerted Janaimon could not hold a candle to the cyborg. Those two undeniable facts were why Scourgedramon was able to easily lift him up by the tail and toss him as if he were a plank of wood.
Scourgedramon spun the gigantic crustacean around for almost a full minute before he let him go letting physics carry him across the battlefield into the citadel's walls. The resulting fall out closely resembled that of a small meteor making impact, complete with the mayhem that followed in the wake of such a disaster. The Cyborg Dragon let its eyes linger on the downed Digimon for just a few minute before it turned its attention to the ants still battling it out below its feet. Scourgedramon snarled releasing duel streams of hot steamy air. The shoulder cannons on its back hummed to life then unloaded their payload, sweeping across the battlefield like a pencil on paper. Violent joy spread through the dragon's body at the pillars of fire and smoke that erupted mere seconds later. It wasn't enough though, the thirst for blood within the beast hadn't been sated just yet. Spreading its feet apart a little more energy began to build up in its right arm causing the machinery and braces on it to glow bright red. "Bane Breaker!" Scourgedramon howled slamming its fist directly into the ground.
None of the tremors Janaimon created could hold a candle to the shockwave the Cyborg Dragon unleashed. Unholy energy was transferred from the beast to the ground uprooting anything and everything attached to the ground. Crimsons energy shined through the cracks before erupting in glorious columns of rock, dirt, metal, fire, and bodies further scattering the conflicting armies. Of course the Daemon Corps was the first to recover, such harsh, borderline sadistic tactics weren't at all odd to them. In truth that was their style of operation.
"Scourgedramon," Came the commanding voice of Thymósmon who seemingly materialized on the dragon's shoulder.
"Thymósmon, what do you want? Another ground pound or aerial bombardment?" The dragon questioned.
"Something of the first choice, break the ground up." The spearman answered casually. These fish have clung to the ground long enough I believe it's time we roasted them once and for all. Besides, in case you haven't noticed the sky is falling."
"Ah, yes, I was having so much fun I forget about that." The level- less Digimon chuckled turning his immense head to the skies above him.
Though the portal had become destabilized it was far worse on the Human World. There wasn't much left of the Earth-side tower as the DigiDestined had made certain Dagomon wouldn't be using it for anything every again. With the barrier between worlds temporarily cracked open there was only one place for the debris to fall-right down on top of them in the Dark Ocean. Every time the brats blasted a chunk out of the Earth-side complex it fell through the dimensional gat becoming a falling piece of debris that crushed anything underneath it. The rain of debris continued coming down in droves as the DigiDestined had no intention of stopping until Clooloo was nothing but a pile of rubble.
KA-BOOOMMM!
Another chunk of wreckage, this one equally the size of a skyscraper, came through the portal trailing fire and death behind it. Unfortunately it collided with the central tower before it could hit the ground. The horrid screeching of metal against metal was deafening to behold almost as much as what came after the conclusion. The latter half of the wreckage outweighed the portion that had collided with the tower and was now leaning downwards, another chunk of the central tower went and the debris was falling again. It completely demolished the segment of the defensive wall under it along with anything and everything that couldn't get out of the way in time. Kicking up dust and ash everywhere the entire eastern portion of the fortress became a dust-covered wasteland with the resulting aftershocks reaching for miles.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Change of plans, we're withdrawing." Thymósmon snorted as several more equally humongous chunks came through the portal. "We've won so there's no need to stick around here to prove it. Sound the retreat."
"One…more." The Cyborg Dragon snarled turning his head a little so her cybernetic eye fell squarely on the warrior.
In just a few seconds Thymósmon read the look in his comrade's eyes and sighed in annoyance. "Sometimes you're an even bigger glutton than I am."
"What? I like watching fish burn." He hotly responded.
"Fine then, but make it quick."
Raising further into the air headless of the rubble rain coming down on him Scourgedramon began converting power from his reactor into his mouth. Once more breaking through the color barrier of the Dark Ocean he stained the air itself bright crimson building up raw malefic power. "World of Cinders!"
Perhaps the sharpest, brightest, and hottest laser any of the spectators had ever seen exploded from the dragon's mouth onto the ground. It only stayed for a moment as the level-less dragon suddenly swung his head in different directions dragging the laser along the ground. Cutting off the energy supply Scourgedramon waited the customary sixteen seconds for his attack's after effects to become evident. The time passed and he was not disappointed.
Glorious arcs of fire exploded the crimson scorch marks his laser beam had left; the resulting gust caused by the explosions were the equal of gale-force winds. Said winds were superheated to the point those too close to the initial blast more than likely had their skin melted off with oblivion following shortly after. The further away they were the less they had to worry about being incinerated, instead what they had to deal with was the blowback from the blast. Cutting across miles and through any sort of obstacle the fallout was like a firecracker being tossed into a crowded room. That was the reaction Scourgedramon wanted to see, and he was not disappointed.
"Ah, I guess that's enough fun for one day." Scourgedramon stated while effortlessly blasting apart a piece of debris mere seconds from coming down on top of him. The destroyed remains continued falling down towards the frightened masses beneath him. "Who knew fishing could be this much fun."
Almost a quarter of Clooloo had been demolished yet enough stood so that if one stood at the top they'd still have a bird's eye view of the area. Said view offered one nothing but a field of battle and chaos only a madman would take joy in seeing. Caassimon was a mad dog so naturally the scene before him was one of utter beauty. He took in the smell of the battlefield, a tantalizing mix that could only be found in the most hellish wastelands. It resonated with the data that composed Caassimon's being, data that had been mined from military bases and mainframes, police records detailing only the most horrific of crimes committed by humans. In a way one could say Caassimon was a "child" of humanity, one of the ones born from their violent and anarchic nature. Given that analogy it was no wonder the hell before him filled him with such euphoria. His digital blood was pumping and his heart was thundering in his chest.
"THIS DAY BELONGS TO US! IT BELONGS TO THE DEMONS OF THE DARK AREA! THE SEVEN DEADLY DEMONS! THE DAEMON CORPS! WE HAVE CLAIMED THIS VICTORY IN THEIR NAME AND IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD DAEMON! KNOW THIS YOU MUTANT FILTH! THIS DAY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF YOUR END! WHAT HAPPENED TODAY IS YOUR FUTURE! THERE IS NO ROCK, NO SEA CAVE, OR PATCH OF FOREST THAT YOU CAN HIDE THAT WE WILL NOT FIND YOU! LIKE WILDFIRE THAT BURNS DOWN ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH WE WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU! NOTHING CAN OR WILL CHANGE! REMEMBER THAT MUTANTS! CARVE IT INTO YOUR HEARTS AND DIGICORES, AND STRUGGLE WHEN WE DO FIND YOU! FIGHT, FIGHT US WITH ALL YOUR HATRED SO YOU CAN AT LEAST DIE WITH SOME DIGNITY!"
For the demons to hear Caassimon's voice was like hearing heaven's horns blowing for them. The Deep Ones had a different viewpoint. Many had fled the battle hoping to save their lives for another day while the rest remained behind to fight at the command of Tosamon and Janaimon. Both aquatic Digimon threw back their heads and howled in rage and despair knowing what Caassimon's proclamation meant. For Tosamon she was going to face the wrath of a father she'd rather die than disappoint, and for Janaimon he'd be punished for failing his master when he needed him. Completely overcome by the despair they enjoyed inflicting upon others they began lashing out at anything near them, allies, enemies, it didn't matter just as long as it was destroyed when they struck it down. The despair and fear turned to anger whilst Caassimon's voice continued presiding over the ruined fortress, his laughter never once letting up. If they had to guess or if they were sane Tosamon and Janaimon would have realized he was laughing at them.
"That's right fishies," He chuckled with a look of pure malice from his perch point. "Get angry, hate us and despise us with every ounce of your being. For every thought you conjure up our lord grows stronger while your pathetic wimp of a god gets weaker. Keep going, curse us until your souls are boiling with fury so hot it could scorch the heavens. Just. Like. HER!"
It really wasn't fair, they had over ten ways out and every one of them came with an eighty or ninety-percent chance of death. Said death would be extremely brutal and quick. "Well shit, I guess this plan really did work too damn well." Jun muttered scratching the back of her head. Breathing was growing harder by the second courtesy of the Hellfire returning to decimate the remains of the fortress. Given the substance's supernatural nature it was only natural the smoke it produced was nothing short of toxic and destabilizing. It didn't help that the Daemon Corps had practically set Clooloo on fire…again. "Talk about pyromaniacs."
"Jun," Harper called from her shadow sounding a little more distressed than usual. "If you've got a plan of escape now's a really good time to hear it."
She couldn't blame the specter for being distressed, he may have been crazy, but he wasn't suicidal. The black and red flames around them could damage even his none physical existence, break down what remains of his psyche until the person known as Harper ceased to existence. For a Digimon to be touched by the flames would be to suffer the same fate, their data would be deleted within the span of seconds leaving no fragments to be collected or reconfigured. A human like her, well, she didn't need to think too hard about what would happen then. Truly each of their lives were in danger, and Onimon and Harper were looking to her to save them. Again, she didn't blame them because she was the reason the two of them were even in this situation. Her partner and the specter she'd befriended, they were her responsibly.
Even though the air itself had turned rotten she deeply inhaled letting the pain stab into her lungs to wake her body up. Five deep breaths and her mind was clear and focused. There was fire and havoc all around them meaning everything that got in their way was an obstacle. There could be no wasted move in eliminating them. In order to survive they would have to advance forward, they couldn't stop for one second or allow hesitation to slow them down. Everywhere they looked lay a path to the outside, the only problem was making the journey. Looking to her Digivice she brought up a rough map of the area. Enemies and debris blocked the twenty meter run they would have to make to escape. Twenty-eight meters. Even if they cleared that she knew they would have to get further out to avoid the destructive fallout of this battle. After that they would have to hide before they could begin moving to Innsmouth.
Twenty-eight meters stood between them and the next leg of their journey.
"We sprint."
"Huh?"
"Come again?"
"Directly ahead of us," she pointed. "Is a hole in the wall, there's enough of land bridge we can make it into the forest and just keep going until we can find a place to rest. Between us and our exit is maybe a dozen or so stranglers either trying to escape or still battling it out. Unless they're directly in front of us don't pay them any mind." Her voice was unsettlingly calm and controlled despite the droplets of sweat cascading down her sun-kissed body. With eyes brightly illuminated by the flames she turned to Onimon and spoke in a voice that was one part commanding the other gentle. "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, don't look back. No matter what we've got to press ahead. Nothing can hold us back for even a second." In a heat beat her eyes narrowed into dark slits and her voice dropped whatever gentleness it had. "Onimon, am I clear?"
He didn't look into the flames for any sign of MadLeomon who'd been lost amongst the confusion. If he did Jun probably wouldn't have been too happy about it, hell, she was probably pissed at him for spacing out when he did leaving her to fight on her own. The look in her eyes penetrated his hard shell and hooked into him with intensity. Not for the first time he didn't feel like he was standing in front of a human teenager, her eyes were what really sold it. Their focus and intensity, the unflinching confidence and strength behind them. He'd seen them before. He'd seen them in…Leomon. "Y-Yes…yes ma'am." He finally answered finding his ability to speak again. "I'm…I'm ready."
"So…that's it huh? A straight sprint through hell?" Harper cooed with a voice that gave the image of a sick smile. "You're crazy girl, but you've got bigger balls than any man I've ever known!"
At that remark the three laughed before getting into position. Jun hopped on Onimon's shoulder who took a starting position while Harper melded himself into their shadows. Given how fast they were about to go he was going to have to hold on like hell if he planned on keeping up. All their minds synchronized and their bodies braced themselves for the taxation that was about to follow.
"No matter what…don't stop moving forward. If you stop you'll doubt yourself, and if you doubt yourself then you'll freeze. If you freeze then it's game over."
None of them were ready for the game to be over yet.
And that was why when Onimon took off his feet kicked up enough dirt and rock it could have been mistaken for an explosion.
Each step he took created an imprint and a slight tremor it seemed as if a wrecking ball had been let loss. What was most impressive was the fact Onimon's entire foot never touched the ground, only the forefront of his feet as allowing the follow thing would have taken too long. The hulking demon was moving with a speed that could have been mistaken for a jet fighter's. This did not go unnoticed by those quick enough to catch on to them.
Breaking off from their own fights they rushed the speeding Digimon hoping to drag him down long enough to dogpile him.
KA-KKLLIIINNKKKK!
All of the enlarged prayer beads moved with speed equal to that of their controller, their already immense power actually being amplified by the velocity they were going at. Easily shredding anything they came into contact with the trio's journey went undisputed until they heard the earth-rattling roar of a feline beast hot on their trail.
"Beast Blaster!"
"EVADE!"
A little to the right but still forward and they'd avoided the Undead Digimon's attack. They did so again only this time they had to move to the left to dodge the second.
CHRUNK!
Based solely on the sound the trio deduced for his next attack MadLeomon had chosen to throw a piece of debris at them. With his mind calm enough for him to think Onimon knew how to react and when. He was the Digimon Hunter and he'd be damned if he let this be where his end took place.
WHOSH!
Spinning on his right leg he gracefully evaded the attack while at the same time releasing Tetsuhono. "Whirl Flame!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Jun was sure if she survived this mess she might have had a future in the military or law enforcement based solely on her shooting ability. Tossing one of her rifles as it was out of ammo she moved on to the next one and continued firing. In spite of the speed they were going at Jun could still see everything happening around her clearly as if nothing had changed. Perhaps it was the adrenaline pumping in her blood. Blood and data splattered granting her sick satisfaction along with the feeling of constant motion.
"Fire up ahead so brace yourselves!" Onimon screamed recalling some of his prayer beads to form a barrier around them.
WWHOOSSSHHH!
Even through the flames Jun saw shadows, the last outlines of beings too slow or too weak to endure the hellish flames consuming the landscape. Looking on them with neither pity nor disdain she waited for the shadows to become real figures so she could press down on the trigger once more. The minute that happened she could hear the muzzle of her assault rifle exploding.
"RRRAAAARRRAAHHHH!"
KA-DING!
"BEAST BLASTER!"
"ON OUR SIX!"
"EVADE!"
Feeling the vast increase in power Onimon bobbed to the right, this time only barely avoiding the dark lion-shaped blast that plowed through another crowd of combatants.
WHOSH!
Spinning again to avoid the oncoming projectile Onimon kept himself from looking directly at MadLeomon's approaching form. All he needed to know was that the undead creature was gaining on them, and they were about to start coming up on roadblocks.
"ONIMON!" Jun screamed.
"I KNOW!"
The prayer beads reconstituted themselves forming a solid formation around the trio. At least four of five in the front to clear away anything and everything that impeded their path, a couple dozen to the side, and the last to the rear to hold off MadLeomon. As with Jun's bullets the level-less beast treated the supernatural objects as mere annoyances and continued charging through them. Its roar blasted their ears almost overshadowing the howl of the wind in their ears.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
THUNK!
Jun was honestly confused as to what she was hearing before the sound of earth breaking apart was heard. Was it her hear or was it sound of MadLeomon's skull-crushing palms slamming against the ground? That last sound didn't exactly clear things up, but it told her the Undead Digimon was now airborne.
"I HAVE TO! THERE'S NO CHOICE!" "ONIMON! FLIP ME!"
It was because in their own way all their thoughts and actions were synchronized that the Nightmare Soldier knew exactly what Jun was thinking. He hadn't been blind or deaf like he'd been before.
MadLeomon came down in a crouching position before them with one arm drawn back. Poisonous vapor coiled around the limb like a snake winding up for the attack. "Poison Claw!"
WHOSH!
"HUH?"
All things considered MadLeomon deserved credit for at least realizing what had happened before Jun and Onimon sprung their trap.
The girl was no longer on the Ultimate's shoulder, instead she was now rolling through the air tucked into a compact ball adjacent of her partner who'd slid beneath the attack.
What he did not see was that one of his hands was held up flat. "KIMON BLAST!"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! BOOOM!
Four heart beats in and Jun heard the explosion whose shockwaves bristled against her skin. Ground fall came seconds later and she was sprinting just as surely as her partner had been before. To her left she saw him coming up on her, sweat now coming as a waterfall down his face as well.
Both of them were reaching the end of their stamina, yet they continued pressing forward.
Behind them while MadLeomon thrashed about in pain a revenant sneaked up on him. Through telekinesis the revenant had brought with it a gift, a smoldering heap of wreckage that would have been large enough to flatten a rhino. Without a mouth it screamed as it brought it down on top of the beast then turned tail and followed after its companions.
Throwing off the debris the lion-man roared at its fleeing query completely unware of the ruinous rain coming down on top of its head. A shadow fell over it causing it to look up just in top to see yet another hunk of debris coming down on top of it. This time though it was twice the Digimon's size. More came after that, and more, and more, and even more until MadLeomon could no longer find the strength needed to lift its head up.
Jumping over the bridge and into the forest the trio did not stop running, not when the sound of metal colliding with the earth was still blasting their years. Through the vines and branches they advanced, never once stopping to look back.
Not even the sky-shaking sound of the dimensional rift finally giving out and sealing itself shut with a thunderous boom could detour them from their escape. If anything it hastened them onward.
"Away, away." The unlikely trio thought until it had become a shared mantra. "Keep going until this place is nothing but a distant memory."
In the place of Clooloo, Dagomon's once mighty fortress now lay an amassed mountain of scrape, rubble, corpses, and fire. On the reverse side in the land of men and dreams in the middle of the Black Sea was a gaping hole that sucked in sea water until the darkness dissipated. Around it were hundreds of children and their digital pets and allies, all of whom carried scars of battle that would be slow to heal. On Earth save for the floating wreckage there was no sign of the Lovecraftian structure. In the Dark Ocean nothing but a pile of crushed pride remained.
Beneath the waves Dagomon roared and raged, he cursed one person in particular,
Within his temple Daemon bellowed with laughter praising that same person.
"JUN MOTOMIYA!"
Time passed, how much was hard to say given the nature of the Dark Ocean. What was clear was enough had passed for the metal to begin rusting and cracking and the Hellfire to at last begin to die out.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
CA-LINK!
The berserker was drained of its power to the point even standing was difficult. Regardless, it stood up as if it were the same proud lion the Oni remembered. Wondering down the pile of wreckage it stared lazily at the horizon. Its prey had escaped it, its prey was still out there. This would not stand. What miserable excuse for a soul that lingered within its body forced the berserker to advance, to hunt them down.
It would find them no matter where they hid. It would find them and rip them apart limb from limb.
That was its purpose.
The lion roared a twisted sound proclaimed its hunt had begun and set off on the trail of its query of the remains of Clooloo.
AND THAT'S A WRAP PEOPLE! So how was the end of the year finale? Was there enough action? As one reviewer guessed it the surprise guest of these was MadLeomon. Talk about strange coincidence when I'm prowling the wiki for possible Megas and I find Leomon actually has an undead counterpart. I honestly didn't know rather to be happy or sad since the poor guy can't catch a break. Now with a Leomon stand-in I can torture Onimon more!
In regards to some of the other characters seen let's begin with Thymosmon. Thymos is the Greek word for "anger", and there's one hero in Greek mythology whose rage was so legendary Homer spent the entire Iliad talking about it. That's right folks, Daemon has a a digital Achilles at his beck and call! The name of his spear roughly translates into "Meteor Hunter" and most of his attacks are based around the supposed myth Achilles was the fastest hero of his time, that and Rider of Red from Fate/Apocrypha. Next is the Ax-Crazy werewolf who arguable took the spotlight of this chapter. Caassimon is based off of Glasya-Labolas, a demon said to be a president of Hell who is also the author and captain of bloodshed and manslaughter. Him being a werewolf is representative to how wolves were often seen as satanic creatures in Christian lore and his weapons are for lack of a better description love letters to Warhammer 40k. Lastly we have my favorite Scourgedramon. His design came from the Duel Masters series I watched as a kid (God that series had some terrifying and amazing creature designs) where almost every dragon that showed up was decked out in so much heavy armor how they flew was a miracle. It's also something of a expy of a canon Digimon. As you can see I might have made Daemon's side more appealing than Dagomon or even the DigiDestined, I couldn't help it ;)
Happy New Year and I'll be seeing you all in 2017!
