Chapter 38:

Torn Souls and Bodies

Unknown specific location, Tokū Solis, November 3rd 2019.

Raymond woke up with a surprised gasp and in cold sweat. He panted heavily while his right hand instinctively reached for his heart, feeling it beating at several miles per hour. After calming and retaking his breath, Stephen looked around him, not recognising the environment before taking a look at himself. Recent scars, in the form of bullet wounds, were near his heart, adding the tally to the other scars around his body. He then noticed, much to his embarrassment, that he was almost naked, only his black boxers remained.

Humiliated, he quickly searched for his uniform and gear. He swept his legs to the side, over the makeshift bed he was on and got up. He spotted a small desk and a wooden cabinet near the bed at the corner of the small, concrete room. As he puts on his combat trousers – still dirty and damped – he observed the room he was in. Had he been captured by the enemy? A prisonner for interrogations? It didn't make any sense to him if they left his equipment with him. Maybe he was retrieved by another friendly unit.

Either way, the room was a dump to say the least. The place was damp and dusty, cracks were visible on the walls, the cheap ceiling lantern was the only source of light in the room. A single white, wooden door separated him from the unknown.

He grabbed his combat shirt, the door opened, causing him to instinctively snatch his M45 pistol on the desk, turning around with the weapon up, locked and loaded, ready to pull the trigger – only to abruptly halt in mid-action once his eyes gazed on a frightened, pale little girl.

She was trembling intensely, gripping her golden trident like a scared puppy. She looked like a nun, wearing a white priestess robe with a light pink klobuk in the shape of a cute rabbit on her head, draping down her back. The little girl had a small round, terrified face, her silver eyes matched her hair colour, innocent and naive. Contradicting the religious theme, she wore a pair of pure white high heel boots. She looked so frail, scared and naive, the embodiment of pure innocence.

Raymond immediately felt guilty and sorry for her. He slowly moved the gun away from her and lifted his hands upwards, showing sign of non-hostility. A reassuring smile graced his mouth.

"Hey there, sorry if I scared you, I do not mean any harm, alright?" He said in a friendly tone.

However the girl was too scared to think straightly and whimpered before yelling in panic: "Onēsan!"

Out of nowhere, a black blur leapt over her, through the doorway, rolled to the side and another nun appeared near Raymond, wielding two handguns, aimed at him. He swept his pistol towards the new visitor, glaring at her.

"Baissez votre arme et mains sur la tête!" She yelled sternly.

"You drop them first!" Raymond responded with a sneer.

The little girl helplessly looked between the two, not knowing what to do to stop the dangerous tension in the room. One wrong word or action could lead in a blood bath and two bodies on the floor; that thought made her gulp nervously.

The second nun was slightly taller than the girl, more or less two heads higher than her. She wore a traditional black nun robe with a black klobuk in the shape of a grinning cat. She seemed to be mature yet still looked incredibly young. She has the same hair and eye colour as the other nun.

"Stand your ground, Noir." A soft but commanding voice came from the doorway, breaking the tension.

The black nun scoffed and dropped her pistols, looking away with a pout. Raymond dropped his sidearm and faced the doorway, instantly awed at the appearance of another figure.

The woman towered over the two nuns and slightly Raymond. Like the two others, she wore a traditional religious robe with a golden toga wrapped and draped from her left shoulder and onto her chest, a red scarf wrapped around her neck only to be revealed as being a scroll floating behind her. She wore an octogonal religious hat made from eight golden slabs with Japanese kanji symbols and Digi-letters. Her light blonde hair hung behind her and just above her shoulders, perfectly complementing her fair and smooth skin while her warm golden eyes bore on him, comforting yet steely. Her light pink lips slightly curved upwards as she notices the human was gawking at her, evident by the faint red blush creeping on his cheeks.

She slowly made her way towards him, Raymond was too entranced to even think or speak. She was beauty incarnate. The floating scrolls and golden rings chimed as she walks bare feet, clean and fair, untainted by the outside world. Her hips swayed gracefully, her toga revealed a bit of her lustful cleavage, her breasts weren't too big nor too small, just perfect to make every men to desire them. She had the perfect silhouette accentuating her beauty and self-confidence, not to mention being extremly hot.

Stephen physically shook his head, trying to shake off any "unprofessional thoughts"; plus he just got a girlfriend and he is not going to lose her anytime soon.

"I see that you've fully recovered from your wounds, captain," Her angelic and soft voice spoke up, putting his heart at ease, "You should thank Sistermon Blanc and Sistermon Noir for nursing and patching you up."

Raymond looked at the two other digimon, both bowed down respectfully, though Noir seemed to still be pissed at him.

"Thank you, I mean it." He said gratefully before returning his gaze at Sanzomon, "You're from the Heavenly Choir, aren't you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed we are. We are sent on a mission towards the frontline to aid the digimon population." Sanzomon answered truthfully, eyeing the human in curiosity.

"I thought the Three Archangels made it clear that they do not want to partake in the conflict." Raymond said bitterly as he resumes to put his shirt back on, him and anything about religion don't go hand in hand.

"True but because of the war, Digimon are left behind with no shelter, no food and no medical-"

"We're trying our best to take care of that problem." He retorted while putting on his plate carrier, the bullet holes were still present which meant that the front kevlar plate was busted.

"Trying won't suffice, Captain," She said coldly and sharply, "The digimon are our top priority, winning the war is yours. With so much going on as of right now, your army can't simultaneously substain its soldiers and take care of the civilians. We're doing you a favour," She explained while her gaze hardened on the human, "As a messenger of God, it is my du-"

"I don't know if God really exists but I'm sure as hell that your God is fake, a program of zeroes and ones like the rest of this world. Humans created this world, not God." All three priestresses were shocked and offended by his words.

Sanzomon always perceived the human as caring and understanding but seeing him being venomous and bitter towards God surprised her. This must be another side of him she hasn't predicted prior their meeting.

"Enfoiré..." Sistermon Noir muttered angrily, furious that the human would say such ignorant and blasphemous statement.

Feeling the tension rising in the room, Raymond picked up his equipment and grabbed his helmet, ready to leave this place. Too bad that things got sour in the end, especially in front of such a beautiful woman, digimon or not.

"I'm grateful for your hospitality but I have a war to finish and Marines to lead." He said as he made his to the doorway; only to be blocked off by the two nuns.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, captain Raymond." He winced when she mentionned his rank and last name. An angry woman is always bad news, at least that's what his father used to say.

"For you are still in need of medical help." He slowly turned around and looked at Sanzomon in confusion.

"Do I?" She nodded quietly.

"Do you remember your encounter with a NeoDevimon in the Green Zone?" She enquired while sitting on the edge of the desk, crossing her arms and overlapping her right leg over her left one.

"Yes..." He replied with some hesitation, vaguely remembering the siege of the Village of Smiles.

"Well, if my memories serve me right, you were hit by one of his attacks," She began, Raymond nodded to confirm her statement, "One of your men also got hit by it and he was permanently blind while you were fine. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"What are you trying to say here?" Raymond asked back, getting impatient.

"A NeoDevimon can either use their claws to brainwash or suck away data of a digimon or send a curse to its victims. The curses can only happen in this World, thus humans are not affected to some of their attacks, in some way. Since humans are not made up of 'zeroes and ones'... " She gave a quick glare at his direction before continuing, "They can only be permanently blinded. Which is not the case for you."

Raymond leaned his back against the wall next to Sistermon Blanc, taking the information into consideration; it all made sense to him but one question remains: is he cursed or not?

"Have you been receiving nightmares eversince your encounter with that digimon?" She asked rhetorically, knowning the answer. He nodded silently to confirm it, still shocked at the information.

"Vivid nightmares... yeah..." He said while staring blankly at the ground, "They felt so... real... like I've already experienced them... why?"

"That's because they are more than just lucid and intense nightmares, they are visions of a certain future."

"Fucking great..." He thought dreadfully.

"These nightmares represent a message, a warning of an incoming danger."

"But I can't remember them most of the time." Raymond stated, he was always bothered by the fact he can't remember some of the horrors he had seen in these nightmares, just a faint feeling of dread.

"That's the point, the victim will get confused and then will go in a state of insane paranoia, trying to prepare for the worst only to be caught off guard in the end." She explained coldly, getting up from the desk.

"And what about the constant vomiting?"

"That is another side effect of the curse that is deadly, its a poison that slowly overtakes your blood cells, supposedly data, but since you're a human, it cannot overtake your mind or heart, it can only destroy you from the inside by damaging your organs. You're vomiting your own blood," A headache and nausea soon hit Raymond, he can tell he is having a shitty time now, "If the curse doesn't kill you, than your own body will. Fortunately we can cure the poison."

"But not the visions, huh?" She nodded as a reply, "Guess some impending doom is about to happen then." He stated dryly.

"Would you kindly lie down?" She demanded softly and politely. Raymond obeyed her demand, walking to the bed. He was stopped by her, she pointed at his plate carrier and shirt. "Take those off." She instructed with a small sly smirk.

With a blush, he took them off, set them on the ground and lied down on the mattress, breathing calmly while staring at the concrete ceiling.

"Where are we exactly?" He asked out of the blue.

"Dans le sous-sol du bâtiment." Sistermon Noir answered while she, her sister and Sanzomon encircled him, only their heads appeared in his field of view.

"The same one where I was? Near the bridge?"

Noir simply shook her head as she takes out a vial of holy water. Sanzomon's scrolls floated around them, the Digi-letters began to glow while she started to chant a prayer, her eyes closed, her mouth spoke in an angelic voice, the rings chimed in a particular rhythm. Sistermon Blanc stabbed the bottom end on her trident on the ground, murmuring the chant with Sanzomon while Sistermon Noir applied holy water on his chest, where his heart is located at.

Raymond simply stared in wonder as the scrolls glowed of pure light, Digi-letters floated away and danced around him. He felt Sanzomon's soft and caring hands placed on his head and gently rubbed his skull – if this was a massage than he was enjoying the heck out of it as his eyes closed in peace, enjoying the warm and soothing sensation around him and inside of him, building up from within.

Two minutes of concentration later (two minutes of heavenly head massage in his case), the chant ended, the Digi-letters disappeared and the scrolls hazily floated back to Sanzomon.

"The curse has been lifted." Sistermon Blanc announced. He opened his eyes and saw to his left Noir holding the vial of holy water, now turned into a black sludge. "We have extracted the poison off of you with holy water to heal your wounds," The white nun explained.

Raymond smirked, "That's the second time you've saved my life, I owe you twice."

"Hé! Ne m'oublie pas! J'ai aussi sauvé ta vie!" Sistermon Noir remarked angrily with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll also get you something in return, don't worry," He got up and put his shirt and plate carrier back on, "Thank you, again, for saving my life."

"We're just doing our duty, captain, just like you did out there when you sacrificed yourself for you men." Sanzomon stated with a hint of admiration.

"So I guess this is goodbye." He said almost sadly, no more sight-seeing now.

"Do not worry, we will meet again, but first you have a war to win while we have digimon to help," She picked his helmet from the ground and stared at it, holding it preciously in her hands, "Before you leave, promise me that you'll be careful out there, warn your people about this, prepare yourself and them for the future."

"Will do, ma'am...and I'm sorry for what I said earlier, didn't really meant it..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his cheeks heated.

"You are forgiven, Raymond." She said while the human got up, looking her in the eyes. She leaned forward, placing the helmet on top of him and adjusting the chin strap, "Stay safe, my hero." She whispered to his right ear and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, his blush grew darker.

Sistermon Blanc was about to gasp in surprise at the sight but Sistermon Noir covered her mouth abruptly with her hand while the latter giggled softly.

"Now sleep, warrior." Sanzomon then whispered and on command, Raymond fell unconscious in her arms.

She let the sisters carry him away to drop him off to a designated location. After the two nuns left the room, a sad smile laid on her lips, another digimon appeared behind her from the shadows. The Gargoylemon had a mischievous grin while shaking their head in mock disapproval.

"Tsk, Tsk, it is forbidden to fall in love with a human, Sanzomon, you should know better."

"It was just a small kiss on the cheek, Gargoylemon." She responded in annoyance.

"But your heart speaks louder than your mind, that action meant more than 'just a kiss on the cheek'." Gargoylemon's grin grew wider.

"Gargo, I did not save your life, redeemed you from the Dark Area and recruited you in the Order so you can sass me non stop," She turned around with a mild glare, "And don't you dare speak about forbidden love, he who wanted to propose to a Angewomon." She shot back with a smirk.

Gargoylemon chuckled and raised his hands in defense, "Hey now, I was a young, foolish and love sick Devidramon at that time, I'm a different digimon now."

"How we managed to be friends during those times still boggles me," Sanzomon sincerely admitted, though he was a good friend despite being a demon, "Anyways, I'm guessing you're not here to annoy me with your remarks."

"Correct, in fact, I was sent to aid you to carry a package away." She looked at him in confusion.

"You meant the human?" He nodded. She sighed and face palmed, "You were late so I thought you'll never come, I had the sisters taking care of him,"

Behind his mask, Gargoylemon's eyes widened, he is going to be scolded and given a moral lecture from SlashAngemon once again for being late and not accomplishing his tasks.

"Damn it!" He quickly ran out of the room and turned right.

"They went left!" Sanzomon corrected him loudly.

"R-right! I meant left! I mean- Yeah!" She saw him running pass the door, giggling at her friend's antics. Despite being another digimon, he is still the same Devidramon she knew and befriended years ago.

"Still a doofus..."

Imperial District, Tokū Solis.

Since the early hours of the day, the sky turned grey and rained on the war torn city. The black trails of smoke still rose up from the ruins, the battle continued, intense firefights echoed from the city.

In the Imperial District, the IDDF and the digimon coalition have pushed further in the heart of the city, where the enemy fought with more tenacity and ferocity. The fight got more savage, brutal, unforgiving and hideous. Imperial troopers were now deploying suicide bombers, IEDs, trapped buildings and chokepoints, using civilians as living shields and committing atrocities before the very eyes of the humans, aimed to traumatize and break their morale.

The battle shifted to a deadly slaughter house in less than a week. A true Hell on Earth for the many soldiers of the IDDF. The fanatical and loyal legionaires managed hold their ground, the coalition surrounded and outnumbered them yet a stalemate was drawn on the map.

His armour clattered as the rain pelted down on them. Magnamon gazed at the ruins ahead of the trenchline, visibility slowly decreased with the heavy rain. The Marines and Army soldiers positioned across the line waited for the enemy. Three hundred meters away from them is the Imperial Senate, heavily guarded by a mixed force of the Honour Guard and the Defense Guard, another branch of the Honour Guard, along with a platoon of the Elite Corps.

Intel from the Reconnaissance Corps suggested that a large contingent of Imperials are bounding towards them, using large numbers to overrun the line.

Standing next to him was Duftmon with their task force standing at attention and ready for the upcoming fight. The knight of Miracles heard the tactician hiss in annoyance and looked to his right. Duftmon had pulled his blonde hair in front of him and twisted the water out much to his annoyance, his white wings were also damped, making them uncomfortable and heavy to fly with.

"Why can't they just surrender now? They know they're fighting a losing battle, they're throwing their troops into the fray blindly with no strategy behind... Primitive coming from a Tactimon," He remarked irritatedly.

Magnamon shook his head, "We're fighting in their own turf now, they're getting meaner and meaner as we move forward. They won't abandon home or let it fall, not without a fight." He stated as a matter of fact.

"Magnamon, we've been fighting in their territory since the beach landings and they're getting desperate as we move inland. They know they are losing. This doesn't make any sense. It will be wiser if the Emperor tried to negociate a surrender and spared millions of lives," Duftmon countered back sharply, his eyes narrowing venomously, "This massacre would have been avoided, these men could've gone home by the time we sign a peace treaty, this war could've ended sooner."

His response kind of surprised Magnamon, whom didn't expect Duftmon to be... caring about the men, women and digimon they were fighting alongside with. Has the war changed him? He thought so in amazement at this change of personality.

"Are you caring about us?" He spoke too soon, immediately regretting his poor choice of wording once he saw Duftmon eyes widened in shock before glaring at the knight.

"Of course I care about all of you. I may not consider you as my friends but you are my teammates. I want to spare as many lives as I can in this conflict and in the future, Magnamon, each life matters to me." He said with determination, purpose... and passion much to his surprise.

Magnamon went silent for a bit before he chuckled and rubbed his right arm sheepishly, "Gosh... I guess I owe you an apology for misjudging you all these years..."

The tactician narrowed his eyes at his fellow knight, "You've been misjudging me all these years, huh?"

The golden knight quickly raised his hands in defense, "H-hey! It's not my fault if you have a cold and solitary personality, i-it is quite hard to befriend you when you're always eyeing and criticizing us not to mention giving us the cold shoulder everytime."

"Of course I'm criticizing you, you all act like a bunch of rookies everytime!"

"That's not fair! We take our job seriously you know!"

"Oh by Yggdrasil just kiss already!" Complained a female Shinegreymon, earning herself baffled stares from her two superiors while some of the other task force members giggled.

Duftmon regathered his senses and fully faced her, staring sternly into her eyes, "Do not interfere with our conversations, Sergeant Shinegreymon, this will be your first and last warning."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Won't happen again, sire."

Magnamon gave a sympathetic look at the younger digimon and returned his gaze back at the battlefield, sensing the enemy approaching.

"Get ready, Marines!"

"Here they come!"

"Maintain fire discipline, long bursts, aim for the chest!"

The officers and NCOs barked out instructions and orders as the men and women in uniform got ready for battle. A heavy silence hung in the air, all weapons were locked and loaded, mortar and artillery support were online and ready to rain death on the enemy. All of the sudden, bullets, laser bolts and other projectiles flew all around them, the single, clear war cry of the legionaires echoed from the mist charging at the humans and allied digimon.

"Return fire! Fire at will!"

"Light 'em up! Do not let them get pass us!"

The barks of human rifles and machine guns joined the loud and chaotic cacophony of the battlefield. Enemy and friendly shells rained down, the ground erupted, buildings collapsed, explosions scattered across the urban environment, wounded men and digimon wailed and cried for help, blood was spilled on both sides in a matter of seconds.

"Shinegreymon! Call in CAS Beta! Use ranged attacks only!" Duftmon ordered firmly behind cover while Magnamon launched multiple volleys of rockets.

"Hai!" She replied and began to request air support from her communicator.

"All troops use ranged attacks only, take out the biggest targets!" Magnamon commanded, the task force obeyed and set up their ranged weapons.

Shortly after the battle began, human tanks arrived to the scene much to their relief, gunning down the enemy wave with heavy hitting bullets and high explosive shells. Like the other battles fought, it was an absolute carnage, heavy casualties were inflicted on both sides, ending with the complete annihilation of the enemy, no survivors remained, the humans mowed and chewed through them, no one was spared from their fury and will to put their foes in an early grave. Both sides fought with equal and almost animalistic savagery and ferocity.

Minutes of intense battle have passed and the enemy wave was utterly destroyed, not a single imperial survived, only clouds of data and pools of blood remained on the street. The human soldiers panted heavily, exhausted and some nearly collasped while others remained stoic, neutral.

"Check your ammo and fix bayonets!" Officers shouted across the line.

The men and women obeyed without a second thought, they stoically pulled out their bayonets and fixed it at the end of their rifle. A handful of them, mostly young humans, were shaking nervously, breathing nervously, trembling with fear. That firefight was only the beginning, the battle will get uglier.

Duftmon noted that the humans were getting impatient in their tactics to end the war. They advanced too quickly for their support and supplies to keep up, resulting in more casualties along the way. More men will perish of they keep up like this, he will witness more bloodshed where it could've been avoided. But he was also like them, he wanted the war to end as soon as possible, like a majority of digimon whom had fought for over a decade now in the conflict. However patience is key in this battle, the men will need some rest and respite. The Royal Knight simply sighed solemnly and prepared himself to get over the top and capture the Imperial Senate.

The tanks and light armoured vehicles rolled out to the other routes, flanking the main road to the Senate thus surrounding the cornered enemy. Two squadrons of attack helicopters flew overhead, shooting out rockets and spewing out heavy hitting lead at the enemy. Some of the soldiers and Marines cheered at them.

"Alright! Let's move out!"

"Let's go, Marines!"

"Move out! Move out!"

"Get your asses out of here!"

The humans got over their defenses and moved through the main road at a slow pace, weapons brandished forward, checking corners, crumbled buildings and narrow alleyways along the way. Ahead of the large force was a group of combat engineers, the most exposed and vunerable soldiers since they were occupied with sweeping the ground with their metal detectors, trusting and relying their lives to the men behind them. Magnamon, Duftmon and their task force walked among the humans, surveying their surroundings.

The military force abruptly halted when one of the engineers held their fist up. The soldiers scattered to the side of the road, kneeling and grasped their weapon tightly. The digimon simply followed suit and hunckered down with the other humans while the engineers were carefully digging the ground. A mine has been discovered. They placed two handgrenades next the improvised explosive device and ran back with the others.

"Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" One of them shouted.

Seconds later, the ground shook violently, a thick cloud of dust and ash rose up from the epicenter while pieces of concrete fell on the men and women harmlessly. The soldiers then continued their trek towards their objective, hearing the distinct thunderclaps and roars of the tanks and LAVs up ahead, already engaging the enemy and pinning them down.

All of the sudden a shot rang from across the street, one of the combat engineers fell on the ground motionlessly, half of their skull punctured by a bullet. A missile then flew at them before the humans could react. It soared pass Magnamon and hit the road meters behind him, throwing away half a dozen troops.

"Contact front!"

"Right side! Right side!"

"Hostiles to the left!"

Coming out of the ruins and rubbles were a hundred legionaires, melee weapons brandished and ready to spill blood. The soldiers and Marines quickly responded, gunning down the incoming assailants before meeting them in hand-to-hand combat. Bayonets and swords clashed, blades penetrated armour and flesh, clubs crushed limbs and bones, spikes dug in flesh and skull, blood gauged out of the wounds while bodies fell on the road.

The soldiers and Marines fought off the wave of Troopmon, undead digimon, unable to feel pain or fear, mindless soldiers with one thought in their minds: kill. A bullet through the head or digicore will suffice to kill them or explosives. The undead digimon didn't let out a single warcry, just the rhythmic sound of their respirators.

Another fell by his hand, Duftmon swept his sword sideways, wiping away some of the dark blood coming out of the Troopmon. He took a quick observation around him; more regular enemy troops were bounding on them while the humans' armour support was taking heavy fire, slowly backing due to the lack of infantry support. They need to push through the enemy line soon or else the offensive will be another bloodbath.

"Magnamon! We need to punch through the line! Get the squad up now!"

The golden knight nodded without a second thought after he kicked a Knightmon through a destroyed building.

"Shinegreymon! On me!" He ordered as he flew pass the sergeant.

"Hai! Second Squad with me!" She ordered quickly.

Victorygreymon, Arresterdramon, Wargreymon and Rapidmon followed her, taking out hostiles along the way before they halted before Magnamon. The Royal Knight with Wargreymon and Rapidmon bombarded the enemy ahead and push through the wave while Shinegreymon, Victorygreymon and Arresterdramon covered their rears, eliminating half a dozen enemy troops at a time. In less than two minutes, a clear hole punctured enemy forces straight to the Senate.

"Way's clear! Move up, troops!" Duftmon ordered loudly.

Legionaires began to retreat due to high casualties and the imminent danger to the Senate. The Marines and two platoons of Army soldiers joined the Royal Knight Task Forces while the rest stayed behind, detaining and regrouping enemy soldiers who surrendered or wounded.

The Imperial Senate resembled to Roman architecture, made of stone with large and strong marble pillars and a large dome roof, plated in gold. It was a gigantic and magnificent structure, despite taking a heavy toll from the ongoing battle, tank shells and heavy rounds punched through the thick layered walls of the building, it was still standing despite the damages it took.

Magnamon and Second Squad were the first ones in the building, going through the large sized hole made by a tank shell. They were immediately met with enemy fire, rounds flew around them from the ground-level and on the balcony of the first floor, filled with more legionaires. Wargreymon jumped infront of his squadmates and pulled over his Brave Shield, deflecting most of the incoming rounds while Rapidmon and Magnamon provided cover fire for the rest of the task force and the humans.

Human guns barked as loud as the digimon' weapons and attacks. Projectiles flew in every direction, bodies fell from above and on the ground, tainting the pristine black and white marble floor with blood.

"Rapid Fire!"

"Plasma Shoot!"

The combined attacks were launched at the cluster of enemies on the balcony. The building shook violently caused by the heavy detonation, a thick cloud of ash and dust filled the main hall, causing some of the humans to cough while visibility was extremely low. They waited impatiently for the thick cloud to clear out, weapons at the ready to shoot at anything that moved. A full minute passed and silence remained in the hall. Surprised and cautious, the humans began to spread out and clear the hall and the adjacent rooms.

"Looks like that did the trick, huh?" Rapidmon commented, mildly surprised at the turn of the event.

"This place is still under Imperial control, we keep moving while the humans clear the area," Duftmon instructed while moving pass the task force and the humans.

The wooden double doors bursted open, the digimon task force cautiously walked in the large and long splendid corridor, a couple of doors were present on both sides and at the end of the corridor was the amphitheatre where the senators, diplomats and politicians were gathered. A platoon of Marines followed behind them, systematically breaching and clearing each room on the corridor. Though the rooms came up empty, Duftmon, along with the other digimon, sensed a dozen hostile presence in the amphitheatre. The tactician glanced at the Knight of Miracles who nodded in return confirming his suspicion. Duftmon gave a swift hand gesture, signaling the Strike Force soldiers to follow him while Magnamon informed the Marines about the location of the HVT.

Shinegreymon volunteered to take point, summoning her GeoGrey Sword as she approached the doorway. She looked back at her superior officer, waiting for his order. Her squadmates were ready to breach into the fray, their body tensed as adrenaline pumped into their datastream and bloodstream. A very close engagement awaits them at the other side of the door, their target is a powerful foe on his own but she can sense his bodyguards and they meant business, this will be a hard fight but it is nothing that the squad can't handle, especially with Duftmon and Magnamon on their side.

Duftmon took out his rapier and nodded at her. She turned back to the door and launched a strong kick at its hinges, breaking it in half.

Large chunks of wood flew in the amphitheatre like bullets. The first to take the full brunt of this sudden attack was an Astamon, caught off guard and mouth agaped before the wooden shards implanted themselves into their chest, shredding their guts and causing massive internal bleeding. They fell with a light 'thud' before the task force bursted in the amphitheatre, simultaneously launching their attacks at their targets.

Shinegreymon narrowly dodged a slash attack from a Butenmon and deflected a strike from a Justimon at the same time. She kicked the cyborg digimon away before parrying Butenmon's spear thrust and planting the blade of her sword through their neck. Blood jouted out of the wound after she pulled the blade out, showering her in blood, the thick crimson liquid slowly dripped down her red and white armour.

"Critical arm!"

She quickly took two steps back, avoiding being sliced in two by the upward stream of hot energy inches away from her face, the intense heat radiated off the cutter-type Critical arm. She narrowly dodged the second downward slice. She spun on her feet, shifting her body closer to Justimon and delivered a strong knee strike to his side. Justimon staggered a few feet away and growled angrily. Shinegreymon took a fighting stance, her sword held in front of her, the blade slightly pointed towards him. His Critical arm summoned a short, mono-edge, blade and took his stance.

The two warriors silently stared at each other, looking for any signs of weaknesses or opportunities. As if cued, they both charged at each other with their swords ready to strike. Once within range of his blade, Justimon lunged forward, opting to cause serious damage with a sword thrust at the last second. However, Shinegreymon had faster reflexes, she used her wings and momentum in speed to launch herself over her opponent, landing behind him with a slide, spun around and thrusted the sword through his back, the blade stuck out through his spine and ribcage. A sharp and pained gasp escaped his mouth before he went limp and slid out of the blade, his body fell to the ground and blood pooled out of the gaping hole.

Shinegreymon merely stared at the body for a couple of seconds before moving to help her squadmates and superiors.

The second Alturkabuterimon fell by Duftmon's hands, the weird blue-ish blood oozed down the rapier's thin blade. The tactician immediately flew to the side to avoid another raged attack from the lone Kuzuhamon, well guarded by three Pajiramon and two Butenmon. Magnamon was busy fending off against two Paildramon with Wargreymon while Victorygremon, Arresterdramon and Shinegreymon were battling against a group of GranKuwagamon. His options were limited and somehow Tyrantkabuterimon is still untouched in the middle of the fight. They need reinforcements and now.

"Hostiles in the area, watch your fire for friendlies!" He heard a Marine yell from the doorway. This wasn't the help he needed.

Small arms fire erupted in the amphitheatre, largely amplified as more Marines began to pour in, focusing their fire at Kuzuhamon and her small squad of bodyguards. Bright and fiery flashes roared out of the muzzles, a waterfall of warm, empty brass fell on the pristine marble floor. The cacophony of rifles and light machine guns drummed heavily into Duftmon's ears as he observed them behind cover, figuring out his next course of action.

"Sir! Sir!" The Royal Knight looked around, he wasn't sure if someone tried to call him or someone else, "Over here, sir!" He gazed at a Marine, waving his arm around to gather his attention, "What are your orders, sir?"

"Focus your fire on the priestess and her bodyguards, overwhelm them with greater volume of fire, Magnamon and I will handle the HVT," He instructed flatly.

The Marine simply nodded and relayed the orders to his unit, "Marines! Aim for the witch and wipe out the rest, leave the HVT to the RKs!"

"Magnamon, I need you to suppress him now!" Duftmon called out to his teammate across the room.

"I'm kinda busy here! A-a hand would be GREAT!" Magnamon replied loudly, dodging the sharp claws of a Paildramon.

"Wire punch!"

Sharp cables shot out of Paildramon's hands, wrapping tightly around Magnamon's arms and abdomen, slowly crushing them to the bone. The Royal Knight let a pained groan and struggled to free his arms. Irritated, he glared at his opponent while his armour started to glow brightly.

"That's it, no more mister Nice guy!" His armour shone bright enough to blind Paildramon though they still held onto the digimon, "Miracle Glitter!" Hot burning light shot out of his armour, envelopping and engulfing Paildramon with holy fire.

Screaming in agony, Paildramon let him go, spinning agitatedly around themselves, dancing in the flames. Cannons summoned out of his shoulder plates, aimed at the screaming target.

"Plasma Shoot!"

Two beams of plasma slammed into Paildramon, tearing flesh and bones like a pen through paper. The digimon fell on the ground lifelessly, two large holes bore in their chest before they dissolved into data particles. Magnamon panted heavily after defeating his enemy, he looked for Wargreymon, whom just executed the second Paildramon by decapitation. He gave a thumbs-up and Wargreymon replied with a nod. The two parted ways.

"Oh fuck! Fuck! Run!"

"He's coming for us!"

The Marines shouted in panic when Tyrantkabuterimon flew straight at them, eyes glinting in amusement, his crooked smile showed rows of razor sharp teeth. The giant insect digimon extended his arms out, prone to slice and dice every human in his path. Without a second to spare, Magnamon prepared to arm his cannons while Duftmon chased after him.

"Plasma Shoot!" A swarm of anti-personnel missiles soared out of his shoulder plates, seeking and pursuing the designated target.

The large velvet digimon twisted his body around in the air, dodging every missile with impressive agility and prowess. The missiles harmlessly hit the other end of the amphitheatre, resulting only in property damage. The Royal Knight of Miracles watched helplessly and in horror as the "King of Bugs" smirked smugly at him before launching for the unfortunate Marines. Their screams of agony, pain and pure horror filled the large, spacious room.

Tyrantkabuterimon mercilessly hacked and slashed every human in his path, swiping his bladed hands left and right, dismembering and disembowelling his preys with a sadistic and gleeful, toothy smile. Blood, organs and guts shot out of their bodies and covered every inch of the wide doorway. The gory scene ended in a minute, the powerful digimon flew away, covered in the blood of his victims, leaving behind the trail of disfigured bodies and thick rivers of dark red liquid.

Magnamon remained still in the air, not believing his eyes, his face was pale, blood and sanity washed away from within. Then a purple blur flashed pass him; Arresterdramon nominated to chase after the High Value Target despite Shinegreymon's protests.

"I'm on pursuit!" He yelled in the distance, eyes narrowed at the target with determination and boiling fury; he will make sure to delete the digimon swiftly and with extreme prejudice.

However the HVT was faster than him, already reaching the main hall where dozens of Marines and soldiers began to open fire at him. Arresterdramon doubled his efforts, slowly gaining speed and approaching the area as the rapid and frantic gun shots grew louder, so were the cries of the humans.

"Fall back! Fall ba- AAAH!"

"Keep shooting!"

Finally the winged dragon spotted the Mega-level digimon, taking out four humans with a swipe of his tail while bullets simply bounced off his tough exterior shell. The humans desperately continued to fire, their rifles hopelessly spat out volleys of bullets but with no effect. Some started to flee the building for their lives. At the corner of his eye, Tyrantkabuterimon noticed the furious dragon charging at him. He swiftly picked up a wounded soldier by his feet and threw the man at the digimon.

Arresterdramon raised his arms up on reflex. He felt the full weight of the man impacting against his limbs, the bones let out sickening cracks, he was dead before he hit the floor. Shocked and appalled at the sight, he glared furiously at Tyrantkabuterimon with uncontrolled rage.

"Spin Caliber!"

"Shine of Bee!"

The two digimon simultaneously launched their attacks, the oversized Tail Anchor shot out towards the dark red insect digimon while his body glowed suddenly. Just as the tip of the Tail Anchor hit him, his body expanded and exploded in a red-hot and furious inferno that engulfed the entire hall. The explosion was powerful enough to shake the whole building violently like a JDAM bomb. An eerie silence reigned over the devastation.

Shinegreymon along with Duftmon and Magnamon behind her, flew as fast as possible to the scene. There were no sounds of fighting nor cheers of victory down the large corridor. Anxiety and fear griped her to the core, her mind racing with a million questions per second until she reached the main hall and abruptly halted in her tracks in mid-flight, almost bumping into a pillar.

Scattered all across the white marble floor was a sea of dark grey ash, gently blown away by the breeze like sand on the great dunes of the Mesozoic Kingdom or The Grand Pharaohmon Desert. The numerous human soldiers that fought alongside them simply vanished from existence. No trails of blood, equipment or bodies... only bullet holes and ash.

She looked down at her feet when she stepped on something, breaking it with her full weight and armoured foot. Moving her left foot away, she gasped and felt her heart tightening in multiple knots, cutting her from breathing properly. On the floor was the distinct pair of faded green goggles of Corporal Arresterdramon. She fell to her knees and shakingly picked the broken goggles in her hands, carefully grasping them like it was a sacred relic.

Grief plagued her digicore when she came to the harsh reality of the event. Arresterdramon, along with the humans, were killed instantaneously by Tyrantkabuterimon, who is now probably flying away, back to enemy line with his life safe and sound. She sobbed loudly, screaming her heart out in sorrow and anger.

The two Royal Knights silently walked pass her, observing the sight in defeat. A whole company of men perished in a few minutes, gone to the wind with their identity forever lost and forgotten. Lone tears dripped down Magnamon's cheeks, for once in his lifetime, he felt helpless, useless and lost.

"This cannot be happening..." He mumbled in disbelief, "They're gone... all of them..."

Duftmon turned around when he heard the rest of the task force coming, halting in their feet once they laid their eyes to their squad leader. Shinegreymon has lost it, her body trembling in a catatonic state, muttering incoherent words under her breath, pupils as wide as an eclipse.

"You," Duftmon pointed at Wargreymon, "Take over command of the squad, I'm promoting you to sergeant. Take her to Duskmon, we're pulling back for debrief and regroup. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Wargreymon responded with a sharp salute despite his body aching with pain.

"Double time! We'll be right behind you," The tactician instructed firmly. He then gazed back at Magnamon, who has being quiet for some time, "Are you alright, Magnamon?"

The oblivious digimon remained silent for a couple of seconds, staring blankly at the ground. He suddenly shook his head and stared back at Duftmon, "Huh?... oh... Yeah, I'm fine..." He answered weakly.

"Then let's go. We do not have enough time to waste here."

"What are you planning to do?" The golden knight asked curiously, hesitantly following Duftmon.

"Doing the humans a favour; blow this place to the ground. Hostile troops will surely want this place back. I'll call in an air strike and hopefully take them out with it," He explained coldly, "Then we need to report to Alphamon of Tyrantkabuterimon's escape."

"But what about those soldiers? Their identities?" Magnamon asked with a cracked voice.

Duftmon stopped in his tracks just when they stepped outside the building. He briefly contemplated for an answer but found none other than the harsh and cold truth. "That is not our problem, Magnamon. They're dead and there is nothing we can do. They've done their duty, they died for their country. End of the story. You should know how this works."

Magnamon didn't have anything to respond. No remarks, no passionate protests, nothing. He conceded to his words and followed his command.

"Grani, this is Duftmon, requesting a tactical air strike on the Imperial Senate," Duftmon requested through his long range communicator.

"Did Alphamon authorised the order?" Grani Zero Arms enquired doubtfully.

"Negative, I have multiple hostile units that will soon swarm the area and flank our left wing. We do not have the manpower to hold them off," Duftmon explained in a serious tone, leaving no more room for further questions, "Make sure to warn nearby friendlies before you drop the bombs."

"Copy that. Tactical air strike on the Senate in eight minutes."

Forward Base Foxtrot 5, Tokū Solis.

Combat Medic Sarah Fox went out of the Medical Station to pass the time for her break. Her hand systematically dug into her trouser's left pocket and took out a packet of cigarette and her lighter. She picked a cigarette out and light the tip of it before placing it between her lips and inhaled the tobacco. A long sigh of relief blew out of her mouth along with the trail of smoke. She leaned against the wooden wall of the station and stared at the night sky.

She was extremely exhausted, like her colleagues, tired, frustrated and filled with constant anxiety. The things they had to see on a daily basis, it was too much for some. Every minute of the day, another wounded comes in, covered in their own blood and crying out for God to help them. One in four would later be dead on the operating table.

She unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed each other for warmth. The air wasn't that cold but despite that fact, her body simply trembled like a dead leaf. She supposed to be stress, which she was familiar with so there wasn't much to be worried about. This is after all the "Digital Front", so far the deadliest warzone in Human History, eventhough it isn't located on Earth.

She inhaled one last drag of her cigarette before she threw it and stomped it to extinguish the flame. She was about to head back in when something caught her eye. She swore to herself she just saw a child running around the corner.

"What the hell?"

She cautiously walked to the corner and peered around it. At the other side, standing at the other end of the building in the narrow and dimly lit alley was a little girl, dressed with clean and beautiful robe... not to mention adorable with the bunny like hood she had on her head. Sarah's eyes went wide in surprise. Was this another human they forgot to rescue? How did she got here in the first place? Is the place already haunted? That last question made her back shiver. She had seen and played enough horror movies and games to know what the fuck is going on.

The little girl gave a small smile and animatedly waved at the military woman. Sarah gulped nervously. This is beginning to look like a horror game, and children are the worst in those games. Always creepy and unnerving. Despite that, something told her to trust the little girl, forcing Sarah to step out of the corner to fully show herself to the girl.

"H-hey there, sweetheart," Sarah forced out a friendly smile, but being nervous at the same time, her smile was wry and far from being friendly. The little girl visibly cringed and sweat dropped. "You know this is not a safe place here. Do you want me to take you back to mommy and daddy, um?" Sarah lend her hand out, eventhough they were several dozen meters apart from each other.

The girl simply shook her head and waved at the woman to follow her before disappearing behind the building. Sarah just stared in bewilderment, getting more nervous. She hesitated between following the girl or simply 'nope' the hell out of here like nothing happened. The second option was tempting but her soldier side kicked in, ordering her to march forward. She let out a sigh and walked towards the direction where the girl went to.

Reaching the end of the medical station, she was further confused and slightly scared that there was no one in sight, the dirt path led to the road, where numerous soldiers and vehicles pass through every minute; surely someone with working eyes would've spotted the child. She then looked down and let out a startled scream.

"Holy crap!"

A body was sitting against the wall, the torso and head hunched over. The body wore the distinct woodland MARPAT uniform of the USMC. The uniform was dirty, covered in sweat, dirt and stains of dry blood. At first glance, it seems to be a corpse but after checking the pulse on the neck, Sarah gasped in shock when she found out the body was alive.

She quickly lifted the head up to identify the man. His face filled with dirt and dry blood, almost unrecognisable yet familiar. She then checked his plate carrier where the name tag should be. Tough luck it was ripped apart by a sharp blade or claws and a bullet hole. She dug her hand in his shirt filled with grime, searching for the dog tags. Third time's a charm, she thought.

"Bingo!" She whispered triumphantly, pulling the dog tags out of the shirt and expose it to the light with her personal smartphone, "Stephen Raymond..." She glanced at his shirt again and noticed that he was a captain. "Captain Stephen Raymond, huh?"

"..."

"..."

"OH SHIT!"

Her soldier instincts drove her to carry the unconscious Marine back inside the Medical Station. Her night just got more stressful after the encounter with the little girl.

The entrance was kicked open as Sarah brought the Marine in, yelling for immediate assistance. The whole medical staff rushed in with a stretcher and carried the wounded man to an operating table where physicians will first inspect the wounds before treating them. Sarah sat down on a chair at the entrance waiting area, breathing heavily after carrying a fully loaded Marine across a dozen or so meters. She is now lacking sleep – like her night couldn't get any worse.

"Where did you found him?" Asked her superior officer, Captain Elias Conrey, standing in front of her while handing out a foam cup of water.

"Behind the buidling, sir." She answered after chugging down the whole cup with one swig.

"How did he get there?" She shrugged in response, not wanting to discuss about her encounter with the ghostly girl; she will have nightmares for sure.

"So you just happen to find Captain Raymond, who has been MIA for a couple of days, today behind the building?" He asked sceptically.

"Yup," She answered back, her fingers drumming around the empty cup innocently.

The officer eyed her closely, reading in her eyes to see if she was lying. To his surprise, she wasn't, it was the sincere and honest truth. However he did notice how exhausted and sleep deprived she looked, possible case of insomnia added with a daily dose of stress could mess someone up. Eventhough she was the best in his team, he knew at one point she'll also break. Reluctantly, he let her off the hook.

"Try to get some rest, Sarah, you did great enough to deserve one." Without a single protest she stood up, gave a lazy salute and walked out of medical station.

Conrey quietly watched her leave the building before checking up on the Marine with the rest of his staff.

He was mildly surprised to see the Marine officer awake, well and sat up on the stretcher. He was chest naked, whole torso covered with old and recent scars, as if healed up a day ago. Raymond stared back at him with a tired smile, a nurse was doing a quick health check up until she noticed her officer present in the room. She walked to him and handed out the clipboard.

"He's alright. Just a few bruises here and there but otherwise fine," She murmured softly, "However it seems that he doesn't remember how he got here... there's a possibility of a head trauma or simply... a miracle, I guess..."

"At this point, Corporal, I think I can believe your words in this world." He replied with a sly smirk and walked towards Raymond with the clipboard in hand, "How are you feeling, Captain Raymond?"

"I'm still alive." The Marine answered nonchalantly. Conrey chuckled in response as he glanced at the clipboard.

"One of my staff found you behind our building. Do you have any idea how you got there?" Raymond shook his head confusely.

"Sorry, my memory is kinda fuzzy at the moment..."

"Do you know how long have you been absent?" Conrey enquired with interest, noting a few things on the sheet of paper.

"A day? Two?"

"Five days. You've been MIA for five days. A small search and rescue team tried to find your body in the ruins around the bridge," He explained stoically, "Your company had to move on while we tried to search for you. You were nowhere in an eight kilometer perimeter."

Raymond let those words sink in his mind. He wondered wildly just what happened to him during these days. Kidnapped by the Imps? Rescued by friendly forces? That can't be it. "Am... am I fit for duty?" He asked, hoping it would be a yes.

The doctor affirmed with a clear nod of the head, "You may return to your unit tomorrow. Until then, you should rest. I'll give the heads-up to command."

"Thanks."

"For what?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For patching me up."

Conrey stood motionless for a moment, not sure on how to respond to that. They did nothing for him. They only washed him with a wet towel. "It was nothing." He replied before he left the Marine alone.