"They are coming! Sonne, now!"

"Fira Bomb!"

An explosion is heard, followed by noises of something quickly catching fire.

"Lua! Aim for the wings!"

"Dark Arrow!"

A shriek is heard. Then running noises, strong wind, and finally celebration by the three.

Anpu stands in front of a holographic 3D map, currently on a call with Team Twilight to assist them in fighting off the Angel Army, while observing their current location. Since it's been three days since they left Werushat, they are quite far up north, heading towards Central Network Palace. Anpu calculates that in the best case scenario, the team will arrive there in less than a week.

"Thanks again, Anpu! I think this time, if it wasn't for your help, things could have gotten very ugly" says Komet

"No need to thank me. Focus on your journey, and remember that I'm here whenever you need guidance. I wish you luck!" He waves at the projection and makes everything disappear, with a sweet smile on his face.

Anpu walks towards a different room and gets his sacred scales to judge souls from the dead that just arrived, but before he starts, he feels a different presence in his pyramid.

He shakes his head, displeased. "Your kin are all the same, just invading someone's place as they please"

Rasielmon appears around the corner. "Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Are you actively helping the human now? Not only that, you are helping them fight the Angels, they are getting injured because of that! Did you forget about our deal?"

He shakes his head. "It's self defense, and as far as I know, this doesn't hurt our deal in any way"

"As far as I know, you shouldn't care about the human at all-"

"Her name is Komet, thank you very much"

"Whatever! You changed the deal way too much for my likings, and I don't like where this is going now!"

"Our new deal wasn't holding on very well. In fact, you were just leeching off my efforts and never told me about any progress from your part! So I realized that I should rely on actual allies"

She scowls. "What did you just call me? A leech?" Then she puts her finger on his chest. "Look, you know very well the only reason you got the chance to investigate the Corrosion Virus is because I appeared in your life with that opportunity, so show more gratitude and stop withholding crucial information from me, Anubismon!"

"My name is Anpu, thank you very much"

She snarls, especially because she knows he is doing it to provoke her. "So you chose to be so friendly with the human that you are proud of the pet name she gave you, huh? Let me guess… She and her other two pets are responsible for freeing your… 'Sacred'... Homeland, aren't they?"

He raises his voice. "That's enough proof that they are more reliable than anyone from your kin, including yourself. Did you really think I didn't realize that your 'promise' of trying to do something for Werushat was empty?"

She smirks. "Oh, so it was them! I guess Werushatans were harboring the 'fiend' after all"

"So what? You were in accord with letting her go back to her world, remember?"

"But that should be done without your intervention! Now, why don't you go do your part of the deal properly?"

He glares at her. "And who said I'm not doing it? You know I'm making progress. And now I'm progressing even faster with Komet on our side. More importantly, I never deviated from your original deal, which was to gather information about the real origin of the Corrosion Virus and show the Angels that human genocide is not the answer. Investigating and studying the Corrosion Virus to find a cure was my idea, not yours. So why are you getting so worked up over this now?"

Rasielmon looks even angrier, but she doesn't answer.

He squints. "I'll answer it for you then. It's because you saw a bigger potential in this investigation: you want to be the protagonist of the 'salvation from the Corrosion Virus'. I don't doubt you actually have good intentions, but you want the Angel Army to take all the credit, to be the righteous heroes, but with Team Twilight in your way, they might take the protagonism from your kin, and maybe even expose one thing or two about the Angels"

Her face gets very red in anger. "You are saying it as if you didn't have second intentions too! All I want is to prevent us from making the wrong choices. We are the rulers of the Digital World, we should set a good example to everyone and you shouldn't get in the way of letting us do the right thing!"

"Prevent them from making the wrong choices again you mean?"

She raises her voice. "You should know your place, Anubismon! You are nothing but a subordinate of the Angel Army, so I'll allow no disrespect towards my kin!"

He shakes his head in disappointment. "Showing your true colors now, I see. Took you long enough, although I really hoped you were actually different from them. What are you gonna do now? Kill me? Kill them? You know you can't, because this would just expose our secrets"

Rasielmon turns around and starts to leave. "You are right, I can't do that myself. But there's nothing stopping me from assisting my peers to capture or kill the extras, correct?" She turns her face at him and sticks her tongue out. "Two can play that game. I won't be breaking the original deal this way, right?"

He looks at her, incredulous. "Are you actually going to put your angelic pride over the chance to heal this world as soon as possible?"

She just waves and leaves.

He growls. "I really hope you realize how twisted your mind is right now, before it's too late!"

Two days pass. It's early afternoon, but the skies carry dark clouds over their heads. Komet, Sonne and Lua walk through a forest until the end of it. In front of them, they see a very large flat grassland, with no hills of trees in the way.

"Here it is, the Plain Plains. As the name implies, it's a very plain… Plain" says Komet

"Yep, can confirm it. As soon as we leave this area, we will be free from stupid angelic swarms, right? Why are they so active here anyway?" asks Lua

"We got this information from pharaoh Babamon when we all were present. However, as expected, you were not paying attention" Sonne groans. "This territory was home to the kingdom of light, Caelux, the old homeland of the angels before they elevated to supreme rulers of the Digital World and ascended to the heavens. The kingdom ceased to exist, giving place to smaller cities or towns, but angels are still fond of this area"

"Oooh, so they are biased motherfuckers! They don't care about all the places equally"

"Well, at least our visitation to villages isn't totally compromised yet. Some people here are aware of our existence and 'danger', but fortunately their idea and description of us doesn't quite match with the reality" Komet gives a nervous smile

"'Big red eyes! Very sharp teeth! Shadowy and frightening presence! Malicious looking! Careful, they are the Infection and they are going to infect you! Mwahaha!' Those Digimon were really creative about the descriptions, especially the little ones. Thanks, kids! It gave me a good laugh"

"Oh yeah, that's right! I didn't expect to see a daycare for Child Digimon around! There were a lot of kids! Didn't Plesiomon say we would see more high leveled Digimon here?"

"More high-leveled Digimon does not equal lack of lower-leveled ones" says Sonne

"Oh, I guess that's true. My bad"

"But we shall not get distracted by that. You already had your fair share of distraction and enjoyment with the kids there. I suggest you look for the shortest path to leave this field. We should proceed with care and not leave ourselves exposed for long"

She nods and projects the 3D map from her smartwatch. At that moment, Lua twitches her ears. "Careful, we are not alone!"

Komet grits her teeth and quickly mounts on Sonne. At that moment, chains of light come out of the woods and quickly move towards them, but Sonne and Lua quickly jump away from it, rushing to the plains. The chains keep pursuing them, so Komet summons Ogremon's bone club.

Sonne spreads his wings open to take to the skies, but right before doing so, someone dives in their direction like a missile. The creature swings its sword, but Komet parries with the club. Still, the clash pushes her off of Sonne with so much force that she rolls a few times on the grass before going to a complete halt. Lua quickly jumps next to her.

The creature lands. It's an angel: she wears golden armor, a red scarf around her head and neck, has two pairs of wings and holds a sword and a scepter.

Lua snarls. "Where's your angelic courtesy? Up until now every angel felt like presenting themselves before attacking!"

The angel turns around, looking directly at them. "I am Darcmon of the Angel Army. It is I who shall put an end to your existence, fiends, and bring peace to these lands once again"

Two other Digimon appear and surround them. The first one comes from the woods: a long necked four-legged blue mammal wearing silver and golden plates. The second one comes by flying, landing near them: a white creature with long legs, arms and a pair of wings. Its body is wrapped in a lot of silver belts and metal pieces.

"But before that…" continues Darcmon. She looks at Sonne and bows in reverence to him. "...welcome back, Valiant Sun. I am glad that I was correct about your return to this world, although finding you was no easy task. I must understand why you tread this path alongside them, our enemies! Could that be part of a plan that even I cannot comprehend?"

Sonne gives her a serious look. "I believe you must be mistaken. I am not this 'Valiant Sun' you speak of"

She looks confused. "No, I am not mistaken! I was present when Seraphimon created you, so I know your Digicode ID and I can feel it, you are the Valiant Sun. Your mission is to secure a path to lead us to the other world and exterminate all those fiends called 'humans', we had it registered within your core! Have you really forgotten that?"

Komet's eyes widen in shock, and her heart starts beating faster. It's an answer she wanted to know, but she wasn't ready to hear: the Angels in fact plan to attack her world, but they just don't know how to get there yet.

Sonne shakes his head. "I know my creator. He is not the person you speak of, and I am in no means affiliated with the Angel Army"

Darcmon grits her teeth. "Can you really not remember it? Was it the fiend- No, the human, Komet, who modified you and made you deviate from your original mission? Such a despicable act!"

Komet scowls. "What do you know about me? And why kill humans? This is too extreme for something-"

"DO NOT direct your word at me without my permission, fiend!"

Sonne growls and yells back. "DO NOT treat my friend with such disrespect! She has nothing to do with whatever you are trying to imply. For the last time, I am not Valiant Sun. I was born alongside Lua, the Lekismon who accompanies us. Unless you also created her, I cannot be your creation"

Darcmon scowls while gritting her teeth. "It is just as I suspected. She was created to sabotage you, and it seems it worked. Whatever happened, it is still salvageable"

Lua scowls. "Sabotage him? What the fuck are you talking about? And what's wrong with you Angels? Kill all the humans without confirming they're the ones causing the Corrosion Virus? You are all insane!"

"Did you really think your evil deeds would go unnoticed from our eyes?"

"Elaborate" says Sonne

She gets more annoyed. "Are you really going to feign ignorance? First the poor Insekimon in Cerranis gets infected. Then, a fossil in Loch Pless. Later, a Minotaurmon in the forgotten isles of Tavrmenos. We know all that happened during your presence in those respective places. Suddenly, you disappear for almost two months, and when you reappear, the weird phenomenon in Werushat is quelled. Why did the opposite happen with the land of darkness-aligned monsters, I wonder?"

Komet scowls. "We have nothing to do with those infections! Especially for Minotaurmon, that-"

"Liar! Human-species have shown to be a threat to the Digital World system already, and your presence here just gives further confirmation"

"Even if all those accusations were true, it is still an act of only one individual from a whole species. You should not exterminate the entire group because of a bad conduct of one person" yells Sonne

She points her sword at them. "I will hear no more words from your filthy mouths. You are surrounded, just surrender"

Komet grits her teeth while her heart beats faster. "She knows the places we went and the Infecteds we faced… She seems to know more about us than any other Angel… And they want to… Kill everyone in my world… How do things manage to get even worse? What else does she know? I really must call Anpu!" She projects the interface from her smartwatch and tries to call Anpu. She also presses the 'Identify' button. "Sonne, Lua, battle is inevitable. Analyze them!"

Sonne focuses on the mammal. "Baluchimon. Stage: Adult. A Holy Beast Digimon that protects fortresses and ruins used by Angel-species Digimon. It's highly intelligent and very resistant. It specializes in capturing its enemies. However, it also has a ferocious side where it will mercilessly attack the enemy in extreme situations"

Lua focuses on the white lizard. "Gargomon. Stage: Adult. Originally a Devil-type Digimon, Gargomon has its power suppressed by restraints. It's occasionally employed as a familiar for Angel Digimon. Because of its nature, it's extremely offensive, and it's said that it will exhibit tremendous power once it's freed from its constraint"

Sonne then looks at Darcmon, but she starts talking before he does something. "I am Darcmon, an Adult level. I am part of the Angel Army, low in hierarchy, but despite that, I am regarded as 'The Goddess of the Battlefield' because of my strategic capabilities. I can fight by myself, using techniques with my magnificent blade La Pucelle. And as you just learned, Baluchimon and Gargomon are my familiars"

Komet is fazed by Darcmon's willingness to give away information about herself. "What the hell…? Darcmon is not afraid to just give away information about herself… Are they that confident that they are gonna easily beat us?"

"Baluchimon, Gargomon, you know the plan" says Darcmon. "Now, go!"

Baluchimon is the first to advance. "Cloud Vision!" He spews out a cloud that makes the area heavily foggy. Komet immediately runs towards Sonne, but she hears Gargomon shouting "Black Statue!" followed by belts of dark energy stretching to block her path. She stops and brace herself, but to her surprise, the gargoyle whips Sonne away instead. Because of the dense fog, she can no longer see them, only hear.

Suddenly, something tries to attack her from the left, and she dodges it on time. Then from the right. Then from other directions. Komet keeps dodging them while trying to run away, but it seems whatever is attacking her is always easily catching up and cornering her over and over again. She looks around very scared, and in her next attempt to dodge another attack, she trips and falls. The silhouette of a creature looks at her and lunges towards her. Komet screams and rolls to the side, starting to feel tired.

Then something grabs her from behind, squeezing her arms hard to prevent her from attacking. Komet screams again in fear.

"Calm down, lady hero, it's just me!"

Komet looks at the arms and notices it's Lua. She calms down for a moment, until she sees something trying to attack them again. "LUA! CAREFUL!"

Lua covers Komet's eyes. "They are not real, they are just illusions! This is just an enhanced version of Mori Shellmon's attack"

"H-huh?"

"I was also dodging them at first, but then I remembered we've been in a similar situation before, so I did some testing with my Moon Night Bomb" Lua says, making a bubble from her gloves. "No bubbles were popped when they attacked me, therefore they are not real! And thanks to your screaming, I could find you! Can I get some praise for being smart for once?" She smiles at her full of pride.

"I can do that later. We have Angels to stop now"

Komet starts to get concerned. For whatever reason, the angelic creatures haven't attacked her yet. This is when they hear Sonne screaming in pain. She gasps. "Lua!"

Lua already knows the plan, so she grabs the lass and jumps as high as possible, hoping that will get them out of the fog, and for their relief, they do. From the top, they see both Darcmon and Baluchimon attacking Sonne - who are also outside the foggy area - while the lion does his best to dodge the attacks.

"Hah! Just as Darcmon predicted! Black Statue!"

Komet whips her head towards the voice. It's Gargomon smirking, calling his attack. He whips both girls back to the ground inside the foggy area. Lua cushions the fall for Komet, but takes damage from the impact. She quickly pushes the lass away and uses her legs and arms to stop the white gargoyle, who tries a diving attack on whoever is right under him.

"You sure react pretty fast, but what are you gonna do now? Black St-"

Komet swings the bone club at his face, the weapon charged with electricity. "Hone Konbou!" The hit launches him away. Lua looks at Komet impressed, while Gargomon looks shocked.

"D-Did you just attack like a Digimon? H-How?" he asks

Lua just aims her protrusions at him. "Ice Tear!" But before the icicle comes out, the creature quickly flies back up. "Dammit! He escaped!" She looks at the lass. "How did you do that?"

Komet stares at the bone, surprised. "I… I don't know… And I think this is not the first time I did that. Not only that… I also feel like my fighting and flight skills have improved a lot lately…!" She shakes her head and checks her smartwatch. "We don't have time to think about that now." She sees that Anpu still hasn't answered the call, so she swallows hard. "I guess he is too busy to help us today… We are by ourselves"

The girls hear Darcmon shout "Cut his wings off!", followed by the shouts of Baluchimon and Gargomon, a painful groan from Sonne and a loud thud. Komet's heart races even faster, fearing for Sonne's life.

"BIG PUSS!" yells Lua. She starts running towards the voice, but Komet grabs her by her arm. The bunny looks at her in shock, but the lass shakes her head.

Then, Komet stops trying to call Anpu up and calls Sonne instead.

"Komet…" he answers, in a weakened voice.

"Run to the forest now!" she whispers

"But-"

"They want to finish you off first! Don't let this happen! Just run!"

"Wait, what?" Lua looks at her confused and lowers her voice too. "Why would they pick a fight with Sonne first? Aren't you their target?"

The girls hear commotion.

"It's a strategy specifically against us, Team Twilight. I don't know how they got so much intel about us or our way to fight, but it's very clear that they can read us like a book! They started by pushing us to an open field, so that we couldn't hide"

"Black Statue!" shouts Gargomon outside the fog

"He is escaping! I'll not-"

"Baluchimon, stop! This is a trap! He is not really going to leave the human behind. As soon as we start attacking the fiends, he will return" says Darcmon

"They targeted Sonne first because he has great mobility and he's our fortress against most of the Angel's attacks" continues Komet. "If he isolated you or me first, Sonne would quickly come to the rescue, since he wouldn't fall for the illusion trap again, so their plan would quickly fail"

"Komet, I am heading towards the woods, but they are not following me. I am not capable of flying at the moment, my wings are too injured" says Sonne

She shakes her head, but she's relieved that his wings weren't cut off. "Sonne, listen. Our plans A and B won't work, they are already steps ahead of us. We need to do something unpredictable, something so crazy that will confuse Darcmon and her familiars. So I call now 'Dokugumon tactics', where you will be my eyes, seeing what I can't see and telling me their movements, and just like those stupid spiders in Cerranis, you two will just do as I say. They don't seem to be aware of our communication method, after all"

"Hopefully you are not thinking about doing anything risky again" says Sonne, sounding concerned

"Just like I said: we can't use our standard strategies. And that means taking more risks and putting ourselves in greater danger, or we are gonna die here. Our first goal now is to reunite in the forest! It's impossible to win here!"

Sonne growls, then sighs. "Understood. I just reached the forest. I warn you: Baluchimon is reading your movements and informing the other two of it. Be fast, and I am ready for anything!"

Komet nods, and as expected, Gargomon and Darcmon start launching attacks at them. Thanks to Sonne's guidance, they are able to deflect most of the attacks, since their enemies always leave the fog before trying another attack. But as the battle extends for longer, they start to get tired, getting them in close calls more often than not while never being able to counterattack.

"This way they are gonna beat us through exhaustion…" Komet grunts and looks at her smartwatch. "Sonne! Is Baluchimon in your sight?"

"Yes. I believe he is also watching the forest, expecting me to return to the battlefield"

"Great! Lua…"

"I know this face, this is gonna hurt, right? I don't mind getting hurt as long as we make it alive, so go on, tell me the plan!" she says, flashing a confident smile

Komet nods. "Then follow my lead" She proceeds to tell them her plan as fast as possible, without going too much into details.

The two girls get attacked one more time, when Komet shouts "Now!". They hear "Fira Bomb!" from the call, then an explosion next to them, followed by a scream from Baluchimon.

"D-Don't worry Lady Darcmon, I'm fine! Focus on them!" says Baluchimon, sounding in pain.

"Your turn, Lua!" says Komet

Lua nods. "Moon Night Bomb!" The bunny scatters a lot of bubbles above Komet and runs a few steps away, then she shoots ice arrows up.

"Don't go, Gargomon!" shouts Darcmon from above. "This is an obvious bait. This is a clear sign that they are panicking"

Then Lua jumps high enough to get out of the foggy area. She sees Darcmon and lifts her leg. "Moon Night-"

Gargomon reacts quickly and grabs her leg with the energy belt, throwing her down again. Darcmon dives down after Lua, holding her sword pointed directly at the Lekismon. "Baptême d'Amour" shouts the angel. Lua quickly moves her six protrusions in front of her and hits the floor. Darcmon thrusts her sword through the protrusions, trying to reach her Digicore, but Lua punches her in the face, making the angel stagger.

Lua removes the sword, letting out a painful shriek, and throws it towards Komet, who quickly grabs it and stores it in her device. "Disarmed!"

"Gargomon! At my left!" shouts Darcmon. She regains her balance and pounces on Lua, immobilizing her.

Gargomon quickly dives down to hit Komet square, but he crashes in the bubbles that were in his way. The lass jumps away, and the gargoyle crashes on the floor looking drowsy. Darcmon looks at the scene in shock.

"Guess who fell for the obvious bait!" mocks Lua. While Gargomon starts snoring on the floor, she aims her now bleeding protrusions at the angel. "Dark Arrow!"

Darcmon quickly dodges the attack, so the dark arrows just go straight up. At the same time, chains of light grab Komet and lift her, and Baluchimon slowly appears in their sight.

"I captured her, Lady Darcmon! Finish Lekismon off!" he says

"SONNE, NOW!" shouts Komet

Darcmon and Baluchimon hear her shouting and brace themselves for whatever it's coming. This is when everyone gets hit by an explosion caused by a giant fireball, launching everyone away and dissipating the foggy field.

Komet rolls a few times on the grass. She slowly sits up and sees everything blurry. She sees a silhouette quickly approaching from the smoking grass and grabbing her. As soon as her vision clears she realizes it's Sonne, and uses her strength to mount him. The lion goes to Lua's direction, who is limping in his direction.

"I can go by myself," Lua says, grimacing in pain. "Let's just go to the forest, quickly!"

Sonne nods, and both run towards the woods. At that time, cold rain starts to fall. To their disappointment, Darcmon and her familiars are also quick to recover from the explosion. Gargomon gets up looking very confused, since he was taking a forced nap.

Darcmon grits her teeth. "The rainfall arrived later than expected…" She sighs and raises her staff. "It seems we need to escalate this-" She gets interrupted by a giant boomerang zipping next to her, breaking her staff in a half in the process. Her eyes widen in shock.

Gargomon growls. "Who needs reinforcements anyway, we can take care of this by ourselves! White Statue!" He raises his hands, and a big gargoyle statue materializes from thin air, falling on the boomerang when the weapon was returning and breaking it in the process. The statue opens its eyes, which glows green, and starts moving towards Team Twilight.

Komet gasps when she realizes the statue is faster than anyone would expect. The team finally gets in the woods, but they notice Darcmon flying past them, also into the forest. The angel unsheathes a new sword. "Vague de La Pucelle!" She launches a series of light slash waves and starts cutting down the trees.

"Are you serious?" says Komet

"They have surrounded us already" growls Sonne

"We have to just run! Just run deeper into the forest and hide!"

Sonne runs, but the gargoyle statue whips its tail to hit them. The lion swerves to avoid the attack, but he gets hit by one of Darcmon's slash waves, opening a wound in his leg. He shrieks in pain and trips, but he forces himself to keep running despite the injury.

Fog starts to spread across the woods. It's Baluchimon again. The trio tries to hide themselves again. Komet starts to look defeated when Lua comes up with an idea.

"We still have an ace up our sleeves: Icarumon!"

Komet frowns and shakes her head. "No! I already said-"

She grabs the lass by the arms and shakes her. "We don't have a better way to win this! We got to the forest, but they still have the upper hand!"

Komet scowls. "No! You don't understand! You shouldn't entrust me with such power without having a great plan first!" She closes her eyes shut and shakes her head, breathing faster. "It's the worst mistake anyone could make! I'll just put everyone in even worse situations again…!"

"Worse than what we are already in? We are almost just as good as dead!"

Sonne looks at her with a serious face. "I know something troubles you. I have no idea of what it can be, but I know for sure it clouds your view about yourself"

"No! Y-you don't understand! Y-you…" She starts getting tears in her eyes. " I really… I-I really can't be trusted with such power! You two don't know how horrible of a person I can be when alone with power! I can make you suffer! I can make you die!"

"Well, too late, because we already trust you! I don't know what the hell you think of yourself, but let me tell you something: I've known my friend Komet for more than a year now, and the more I see her actions, the more I love her!"

Komet shakes her head.

"She puts herself in danger to help others and never leaves her friends behind even when the situation is dire! She is funny and very smart, making plans that saved our asses a few times already. Oh wow, I couldn't find where the 'horrible person' part comes in!" finishes Lua

"You have entrusted us with your power. You have trusted us. It is only reasonable that we reciprocate" says Sonne

The lass gets more distressed. She remembers losing control of Icarumon. She remembers Nightmare. She remembers the fire. "No! No! You did it already! And what happened after that? I lost control and fell into the sea! We could have died there! It's my fault that we got stuck in Werushat! I… I-!"

"...made a mistake? Perhaps you did. Do you wonder why we still trust you regardless? Because we learned that you are no different from us Digimon. You are capable of growing from every mistake and 'evolving' to better forms, making a better version of yourself. We have witnessed that a few times already. We never saw this 'horrible person' you talk of, so I believe this being is non-existent nowadays. You strive to be a better person, and grow to a better version of yourself. This is what we always see, and this is why we trust you with all our hearts!"

Komet eyes open in surprise

"He is right!" says Lua "You're not who you think you are!"

"So allow us to make you evolve further, Komet!" says both, in unison

At that moment, a pair of chains of light quickly moves in their direction, but Komet deflects them with the bone club. She feels the floor shaking, sees the silhouette of the statue approaching and hears the noises of trees falling. She looks at Sonne and Lua, closes her eyes, and opens it back, filled with determination. "I will! I will evolve further! We will evolve together!"

Sonne and Lua smile, proud of her and proud of themselves. They start shining brighter and become a flow of light with 0s and 1s.

"We are three different minds whose souls beat together like a single heart, and together, we'll reach higher heights!" The flow circles faster around her and encloses her in a bright energy ball, which explodes moments later, revealing Icarumon. The pressure of the explosion is so strong that it causes the fog to dissipate. She opens her eyes, and feels the energy of all three flowing through her body.

The first enemy she sees in front of her is Baluchimon. "You play an important role for your group, so you are going down first! Theseus' Kick!" She quickly flies towards the holy mammal, and before he can even react, she performs a freezing kick on his neck, sending him flying far and hitting on a standing tree, knocking him unconscious.

Darcmon looks at Icarumon in shock. "That mysterious surge of data two months ago… It was also you!"

"Yep, that was me, fighting to survive on an island full of crazy cultists. You said the Angel Army went there, yeah? Have you done something about the people there? Because I'm pretty sure that place wouldn't get the Angel Seal of Approval"

The stone gargoyle approaches Icarumon from behind and tries to punch her, but she just performs a backflip and drops on its head with a diving kick. She pushes the leg harder and destroys the statue, making it crumble down.

Darcmon quickly flies towards her, readying an attack with her sword. Icarumon launches explosive feathers at the angel, but she just deflects everything with her sword. "Baptême d'Amour!" She launches a series of attacks against the flying mammal, but she dodges everything while also dodging attacks from Gargomon.

Then she finally kicks Gargomon away, grabs Darcmon by her arms and drops from the air, making both crash on the ground. The angel gasps upon impact. She growls at Darcmon and uses her feet to hold her arms, while threatening her with her sharp claws. "Now tell me, how close are the Angels from invading the Human World? How do they plan to do so?"

"I do not fear you, fiend! I will not reveal any of our plans. Kill me, infect me, mutilate me, but I will remain loyal to the Angel Army until the very end, while your days of terror end here" She smirks. "Also, you are not the only one with a trump card. Gargomon!"

"Yes, Lady Darcmon!" shouts Gargomon. He places his hands on the restraints and rips them off, and starts screaming in pain. A mix of white and dark light revolves around him and gets absorbed by his body, resulting in an exploding ball of light, revealing a new Digimon: a four-legged white mammal, with mouths with sharp teeth in his front legs, three scorpion tails and wings on his body. His face is fully covered by a metal plate.

Icarumon grits her teeth, and before she could react, the new beast pounces on her, grounding her in the process. She holds his arms to not be bitten by the hand-mouths. The creature tries to sting her with his tails, one at a time, but Icarumon kicks the beast away and does a kick up to stand again. She spreads her arm-wings open and flies up, but the beast quickly does the same and hovers in front of her. She also sees Baluchimon waking up.

Darcmon gets up and smirks. "Meet Manticoremon, fiend. A violent beast that craves for and consumes the data of others. This beast has fixation on fiendish viruses, so it will prioritize a virulent Digicore over anything else in its killing spree. The only way to stop him is suppressing his powers back with special restraints, which only angels are capable of doing, in which I do not intend to do so until you are completely annihilated. Now, perish!"

Manticoremon shoots energy balls from his three mouths at Icarumon, but she counterattacks it by launching her feathers at it, creating an explosion in the middle. The violent beast flies through the smoke at an impressively fast speed and rams into her, making her slam into a tree. He keeps flying in her direction and launches more energy balls, but she drops down to dodge the attacks.

She focuses on Manticoremon. "It's an overpowered Perfect like me, but still, it's so fast and strong…!" As soon as the beast gets close enough, she kicks him away again, making him land next to Darcmon. She stands up and flies again.

Darcmon observes the violent beast quickly recovering and standing up again, and looks back at Icarumon. "Watching you struggle to escape almost makes me pity you-" She gasps. Icarumon looks shocked at what she is witnessing: Manticoremon just skewed Darcmon with one of his tails. The angel holds the tail and pulls it off of her. "W-why?" She stammers.

The beast just keeps attacking her, trying to sting her again. She deflects the attacks with her sword, but she falls on her knees, placing her hand over the injury. When the rampaging beast is about to pounce on her, Baluchimon intervenes and uses his chain of light to restrain him. It works only for the first few seconds before he breaks out of it.

"The spell turned against the sorcerer, huh?" thinks Icarumon. "You said this beast always prioritizes virulent cores, right? Well, look at that. This speaks volumes". She watches Manticoremon flinging the angel at the tree like a ragdoll, who seems to be losing her consciousness, and shakes her head. "Serve you right. My business here is done". She flies away from the woods, heading towards the open field. But then she stops and looks back.

"If that beast just keeps running rampant like that, he will quickly reach that daycare we visited not long ago…!" She shakes her head. "Screw that, that will be the angel's fault, so why should I care? I should just go". She shakes her head again. "Will I really just leave innocents to die like that, when I have the power to prevent a greater disaster?" She shakes her head once again, frowns and groans in frustration. "Three minds, huh? I must choose carefully what I must do next"

She looks at the fight once more and sees that even though Darcmon is too weak to restrain Manticoremon, she still tries to stop him with Baluchimon. Icarumon knows for sure there are no angels nearby, or they would have arrived to support their fellow angel. She looks at her wing-arms, and notices that her feathers are starting to fall. "Dammit! I don't have much time! Think Icarumon, what would all three agree with?" She closes her eyes. Then, she snaps her eyes open. "Follow your heart!"

Icarumon quickly flies back to the forest. When Manticoremon is about to bite Baluchimon's neck with the three mouths full of sharp teeth, the flying beast dives in his direction. "Theseus' Kick!" She kicks his head to the ground and jumps in a backflip behind him. She holds his three tails and pulls him away. The beast quickly turns around and starts pursuing her, who quickly goes back to flying. Baluchimon groans in pain and looks at her in confusion. He gets up and stays next to Darcmon to help her recover.

They fly towards the grassy field. Cold rain falls on them while Manticoremon keeps pursuing Icarumon, quickly approaching her. She notices that she can't keep herself as stable in the air anymore, because she keeps losing feathers, which burn one by one. The beast falls on her and they both crash on the ground, and quickly start trading punches and bites while rolling on the wet grass.

They both struggle to get rid of each other, but Icarumon gets the upper hand and kicks him away from her. "It's finally time to use that last technique". She gets up and raises her hands to the skies. "Icarus Tears!"

A translucent circle with Digimoji around it appears in the sky above her. All the rain that crosses that circle starts boiling and moving by her will. She collects as much water as possible, and throws at Manticoremon at once, instantly burning his skin at touch. The beast tries to fly away, but the boiling rain burns his wings further and deeper. Manticoremon roars in pain and falls back to the floor.

"Daedalus Feathers!" She launches her remaining feathers on him. They explode as soon as they pierce his skin, making him stagger. Now unable to fly, she runs towards the beast, grabs him by his tails and throws him back to the forest. She runs towards him again, picks him up and uses her remaining energy to place him next to Darcmon and Baluchimon.

"Baluchimon, restrain him if you want your friend alive" She looks at Darcmon and shakes her head in disgust. "Your ignorance could have taken the lives of innocent Digimon, the very ones that you Angels cherish so much. Think very well about everything that happened now, o 'bastion of righteousness'" growls Icarumon

Darcmon, very weakened, just stares at her speechless. Baluchimon uses his chains of light to restrain Manticoremon, who breathes hard but still tries to get up to keep fighting.

The now-featherless Icarumon turns around to leave, but she coughs hard and falls on her knees. She coughs a bit more, covering it with her hands, and when she looks at it, she sees blood. "D-Dammit… Time's more… Than up… I'm on… Over…time…" She falls flat on the floor and blacks out.

Sonne opens his eyes, his vision a bit blurry. He tries to move, but he notices he is chained against a tree in an uncomfortable sitting position for lions.

"You are already awake…! I am grateful you are the first"

He slowly raises his head towards the voice. It's Darcmon. He looks around and sees Lua and Komet, also tied on the tree with him, both still unconscious. Wet towels are placed on Komet's head and neck.

"What an unexpected turn of events. You won the battle, and yet got captured. I would like to ask you a few questions," she continues. "What is the human's true intentions in the Digital World? I believed I knew her malicious intents, but when the chances to get us eliminated arose, she, you, or whatever that evolution was-"

Sonne glares at her. "Yes, we had not only the chance, but also a fair reason to kill all of you. Hopefully the aftermath of the battle leads you to reflect on your actions."

The angel shakes her head. "I still cannot fathom your actions from this whole ordeal. What do you plan to achieve from saving my life while infecting innocent beings?"

"You still don't get it? We, or she specifically for that matter, doesn't have the power to infect anyone! She has nothing to do with the Corrosion Virus! In fact, she is just another victim of that disgrace! She didn't come to the Digital World, we dragged her here! " yells Lua, who no one expected to be already awake

She clenches her fists. "She is the Angel's enemy, I should not…" She shakes her head, feeling conflicted. "Baluchimon, release them"

Baluchimon's eyes widen in shock. "Lady Darcmon! Are you sure? They are-"

"Release them. I cannot reciprocate their actions with divine retribution, given the fact that a punishment is undeserved for that matter"

The mammal makes the chains disappear, still feeling tense. "If Great Lord Seraphimon learns about this, he will-"

"I am aware. If punishment shall befall me, then so be it. I will report back to Lady Rasielmon, and in her hands I will leave the judgment of my actions"

Lua dusts her body, gets up and scowls. "Why don't you talk to the Angels and tell them that they might be wrong about humans? Maybe they could even collaborate to solve this Corrosion Virus problem!"

Darcmon sighs. "It is not that simple. The mindset of the Three Archangels is set in stone, and such beings of lights cannot be wrong. The Three Archangels gives commands, the Angel Army follow the commands, no question asked, because they too follow these principles"

"What's wrong with the Angel Army?" growls Lua.

"I, however, have a bit more 'free will' in my thoughts and actions, given my origin as a common Digimon that was elevated to an angel, not born as one. Consider yourselves lucky for that. Had you passed out in front of any other Angel, you would be dead by now"

"I believe it is not a matter of luck. You excel in strategy, you would question the whole situation before slaying us. Besides, she felt you have more heart than your peers, given the fact you treat your familiars as friends, not tools"

Darcmon sighs.

"What makes you guys believe killing all humans is the solution? And what is stopping you from traveling to the Human World?" yells Lua.

She points her sword at Lua. "Do not misunderstand the situation, fiend. That does not make us allies, since I do not wholly believe in the innocence of her species. I will refrain from giving further information regarding the Army, as my intention is not to sin further"

"If perchance we find a cure to the Infection and a way to bring it to a complete halt, will the plan to invade and destroy the Human World be aborted?" asks Sonne

"Perhaps. I have no power in that decision, since I am nothing but a low-ranked angel, despite my abilities. However, if this is something you truly seek, I…"

Sonne and Lua look at her more intensely, waiting for the rest of the sentence.

Darcmon shakes her head. "No, forget it. Leave Caelux at once. Follow north as fast as you can, before other angels arrive. This time I will not inform them of your position, and perhaps we should not meet again, as I cannot guarantee we can keep our truce. Now, go!"

Sonne and Lua get up. She takes Komet and places her on him.

"For protecting the village in imminent danger by the presence of Manticoremon. For your merciful act of not slaying my familiar. You have my gratitude, and I do not intend to forget that!" says Darcmon

Sonne and Lua look at her, nod and leave.

In the pyramid, Anpu is locked inside a cube of light. He sits on the floor, waiting for Rasielmon to return, while very worried about the well-being of Team Twilight. The only thing he knows is that his devices are still detecting Komet's smartwatch, since his map still indicates its position, but that doesn't necessarily mean the owner made it alive.

The angelic cat finally returns to his room, looking expressionless. Then she shifts her gaze to the locked Anpu, and slowly frowns in guilt. She motions to make the cage of light disappear. The jackal gets up and looks at her in a very serious expression, very close to snarl at her.

She lowers her head. "I'm sorry. I made a huge mistake"

"I know" he answer bitterly

"Darcmon told me everything that unfolded in their battle…" Rasielmon proceeds to tell him everything the other angel said.

He smiles in relief. "Glad to hear someone in the Army can actually use their brain"

She puffs in annoyance, then sighs. "You know what? Just do it your way. You are right, the Angels suck at doing the right thing, and I just proved that further. So I grant you full control of the mission and the investigation. I'll not interfere, and I'll assist whenever possible, if I still serve any purpose to you"

"A change of heart I see"

"Also, you are free to tell them everything about what we did, including what I foresaw"

He looks at her, confused. "But you never told me-"

"'A darkness on the horizon and a clash of two worlds. The salvation upon destruction by the light of the purge'"

He opens his eyes wide. "That… Does not sound positive at all, regardless of the angle you try to see. But you did say it has more than one way to interpret it, correct?"

She nods. "This represents more than a single outcome from the same event. It can be the fate of a world or of a person, and it can even be very far in the future, far from our era even. But still, Seraphimon forced me to share it with him, and added to all that mess from the Human World… You know, when that thing happened… He firmly believes we are the heralds of salvation. That we are the light that will purge the evils of Corrosion Virus by destroying the Human World, saving our world…" She shakes her head

"I see. I'll not mull over this prophecy or whatever you call it. It can in fact drive someone crazy. And for this very reason, I'll not share it with them"

"It's a wise decision!"

"One more thing. You said I could take the lead on everything. Surely you understand this may represent a danger to the Angel Army's status quo. Are you ready for that?"

She sighs. "I want to do the right thing. If our power is threatened because of that… Yes, I'm ready"

"Very well. Then I can now truly consider you my ally"

"One more thing"

"Hm…?"

"I haven't noticed it before, but after learning more about what they are capable of… You crossed the line, didn't you? About the method you used to save her life, I mean"

Anpu stays silent

"...I'll turn a blind eye to this"