(Author's Notes: Hey, everybody! Here's the second half of Chapter 90. We've officially started the final stretch. I would expect a big and busy final battle and I intend on ending this on a nice, round number. I don't intend to have any more two parters, as I'm trying to be as economical as I can with these last several chapters, but the final battle is going to be dense, so I really can't promise that. I want to try to avoid it, but I'm also going to prioritize giving the scenes the justice they deserve. I'll see what I can do!
Anyways, here's the rest of Chapter 90! I hope you enjoy, and comments are always welcome. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading, all.
Update 2/16/25: Hey, all. It seems like some people - myself included - are sometimes having problems accessing both parts of Chapter 90, particularly within the main document of Holy War. Apparently has been having update syncing problems for the past month, from what I've heard it has something to do with the LA fires. That might be the cause of this. If you're having problems reliably accessing any chapters after Chapter 89, I recommend going to the A Dragon in Shining Armour tumblr, twitter, or Blue Sky pages and clicking the chapter links directly. Alternatively, you can try inputting the URL to the new chapters directly. I personally had some success with this. I hope this gets resolved soon. Feel free to message me if you need.)
Chapter 90: The Beginning of the End (Part II)
Dawn broke over the Chasm of Creation.
The sky was still dark with thick clouds and the receding umbra. Turbulent winds blew through the chasm, the high cliffs on each side creating a howling wind tunnel that intensified the gale.
The Demon Lords and their army of Nightmare Soldiers had reached the Chasm of Creation. A couple hours ago, they passed through the Primordial Pass and they had since stopped at a specific location on Bagramon's instructions.
The Chasm of Creation was massive. The width of the canyon was over two kilometers wide, even nearing three at points. It was wide enough to fit their army without much problem.
Although it was still dark, the dim, morning light was beginning to highlight the tops of the golden brown cliffs. Those cliffs towered over the army. Had he been present, they would have dwarfed even Leviamon in height.
The tall, soaring cliffs reached majestically into the sky with their enduring, primordial strata. They were said to be the first landforms ever created by Yggdrasil. Their weathered, imposing appearances lent weight to this theory.
The sprawling valley was generally flat, although littered with slanted slopes, jutting crags, and vaulting outcroppings. The canyon floor was cracked and rocky. While not ideal terrain for an army, it was still mostly traversable.
Scattered around the Chasm were many old ruins. Ancient, time-worn columns and friezes defined the rocky landscape.
The legions of Nightmare Soldiers, Kowloon Company, and the smaller detachment of the Deliverers all stood at attention, separated from each other in their own formations. Their commanders stood at the front of the formations. Among them were Count Murmuxmon, Baron Digitamamon, Acting Commander DarkSuperStarmon, and other high-ranking demon officers and nobles.
They all were looking at the Demon Lords, who all stood in prime position below the western cliff face.
Lucemon stood atop an old pedestal, facing the gathered army, putting himself on the foremost pinnacle from which to address them. With a confident smile on his face, he looked out across the thousands of gathered Digimon before him.
They were all looking at him. They were all looking to him. For he was the morning star who would guide the way.
Standing below him, on either sides of the pedestal, were the remaining Demon Lords.
Demon stood at the front, silently looking over the gathered army to make sure that their formations were organized down to his exacting standards. Barbamon stood to Lucemon's right, impatiently tapping the butt of the Death Lure as he looked up at Lucemon, hoping he would get the show on the road. Lilithmon stood to Lucemon's left, holding herself with blasé indifference as she also waited for him to get on with it. Lastly, Belphemon stood nearby, cracking his brawny neck and yawning as he tried to wake himself up from the snooze that he had had.
Held firmly in Belphemon's large hand was the end of a thick chain. The chain led to one more Digimon who was given pride-of-place alongside the rest of the Demon Lords.
Seraphimon.
Seraphimon was made to kneel before them, not that he had any strength to resist. Sturdy, chrome digizoid chains were wrapped around his upper body, pinning his arms to his sides and his wrists behind his back. The heavy chains crushed his resplendent wings painfully to his back, preventing them from any sort of use.
The seraphim's head was bowed weakly. He was barely conscience. Sweat drenched his hair and body.
Lilithmon's poison continued to run through his body. His muscles, his blood, his mind all felt as if they were on fire. He could barely move. He could barely think. There were times that he thought he was hallucinating.
He had had dreams of Cherubimon's bloodied body standing over him, tormenting him. Lambasting him for his cruelty and his vanity. Blaming him for his death. Painful, vivid dreams. …Or were they dreams? He didn't know any more. His mind was so degraded that the lines between dreams and reality were corroding.
Even as the Demon Lords showcased him to their army like a trophy on display, there was nothing he could do to resist. He was completely helpless. He was a shell of the solemn and dignified Great Angel that he once was.
Lucemon stood proudly above him, gazing down at the kneeling seraphim with a look of triumphant satisfaction. "And now, Seraphimon, it is time for the final act of this performance…" he murmured to him.
Lucemon glanced behind him and the other Demon Lords. Behind them, Bagramon was turned towards the cliff-face, notably staying out of the army's focus as he quietly went to work on preparing a very precise area of the cliff.
Bagramon stood in front of a giant, stone archivolt that was embedded in the side of the cliff. With his organic hand, he held the Yggdrasil Codex, which was opened to a diagram of an archway the exact same shape was the one that stood in front of him. With his Astral Snatcher arm, he carved ancient ruins into exact locations in the cliff rock that was within the seemingly aesthetic portal.
Bagramon noticed a barely noticeable crack in one of the pillars, likely from the degradation of the Digital World following the Orb of Yang's destruction. There was a tiny ripple in the cliff face within the boundaries of the columned archway. However, he knew that it would still need a push in order for him to infiltrate it.
This was the entrance of the Hall of Yggdrasil.
Bagramon would see to it that he would enter it, no matter what.
Lucemon watched Bagramon carve a few more runes into the rock before turning back to the army, who all looked at him with anticipation. He would let Bagramon do what he needed to do to enable them to enter. In the meantime, he would do what he was best at.
Lucemon threw his arm out dramatically, reaching out to the Nightmare Soldiers.
"Soldiers!" Lucemon cried out, his clear and confident voice commanding silence across the chasm.
"Heretics! Rebels! Revolutionaries! The vanguard of a new tomorrow! The Nightmare Soldiers!" he bellowed with triumph. "That is what they will call you! For you will wake this world from its dark slumber! Here, in this very spot, we will break through this fabricated dreamworld that God has created!"
Raucous cheers erupted from the gathered army of Nightmare Soldiers. Their shouts of pride, triumph, and bloodlust echoed off of the canyon walls.
Lucemon looked around with a smile. He raised his hand, commanding silence once again.
"We are so close to victory!" he continued. "We are at the very doorway to our goals! It will not be long now, before we finally have the justice that we have been so dearly denied! I – along with my fellow Demon Lords – will finally do what we have longed to do! We will do what we sought to do oh those many years ago when you took up arms with us against God's oppressive society! We will do what the Three 'Great' Angels have been so desperate to prevent us from doing! Yes! Our pure and beautiful justice is finally at hand! We will finally destroy God!"
Another chorus of cheers erupted.
"Now, now!" Lucemon shouted, hushing the revved-up army once again. "There are still those who would try to stop us! The small-minded and reactionary fools that want us to live, crushed beneath the weight of this cruel and oppressive system! Those that want us to live in servitude – to never question the roles that we have been given, no matter how unfair! Those that want us to live as slaves in the roles that God and Yggdrasil have created for us! Those like Yggdrasil's blind enforcers who cannot even think for themselves – the Royal Knights!"
A choir of boos and jeers exploded from the frothing masses of the Nightmare Soldiers.
"Those like the armies of the Republic, of the United Dramonic Coalition, and of Saversburg! Those poor, misguided heathens who blindly do whatever they are told, unaware that they are merely the pawns of their greedy and power-hungry leaders. They would happily try to kill us all, not even realising that they are only fighting to preserve the worldly riches of their elite!"
As more boos thundered, Lucemon swept his hand out, gesturing to the chained and kneeling form of Seraphimon.
"Those like the Three Great Angels and the Heavenly Choir! The minions of God who would seek to crush all those that would question this unjust world order! The ones who have trampled on our freedom to do whatever we wish! The ones who have killed our brothers and sisters in our righteous quest for justice! Those like Seraphimon, here, who has personally seen to the death of so many of our comrades!"
That last tirade sent the Nightmare Soldiers into overdrive. Their boos, their jeers, and insults exploded. They would have started throwing projectiles at Seraphimon were it not for the Demon Lords standing in front of them.
"And now look at them! Look at them all! The Royal Knights are all but defeated! Cherubimon is dead! And Seraphimon kneels in chains like the criminal that he is!"
As the boos half-turned into cheers, Lucemon raised his hand commanding silence once again.
"Now, my Nightmare Soldiers!" he cried out, holding his hand to his chest and sweeping his other arm outwards. "I, Lucemon, stand before you on the precipice of change! I am the only one with the vision to lead us into the future! I have broken your shackles from the tyranny of God once before! Now, I will free this world once and for all!"
Lucemon swept his other hand out, crying out as his emotive speech reached its crescendo.
"All of you who have had the strength to persevere, believe now like you did before! Fight now, harder than you ever have! I will be your guide - your voice - your beacon of light! I will be your morning star, lighting the way towards the coming dawn! Now come! Fight with me! Follow me into the flames of revolution! Follow me to the new world! Follow me to paradise!"
The Nightmare Soldiers erupted with stirred-up, passionate cheers that shook the canyon walls. Someone started chanting 'Lucemon! Lucemon!' and that chant soon spread across the army.
Barbamon scoffed and stepped up beside Demon. "Lots of 'I' and not so much of 'we', eh…?" he murmured to the robed Demon Lord. "He's got the rabble eating out of his hand…"
Demon's hidden eyes narrowed into a glare, but he said nothing. Instead, he stepped forwards.
After allowing the cheering to go on for another five seconds or so, Demon raised his arm high.
"Silence!" he boomed, his voice echoing through the canyon. Silence soon swept over the army, particularly after several sharp elbows. Nobody dared to disobey Demon, for they knew his wrath was swift and merciless.
"That's enough! Legions, get into your defensive positions! Follow Barbamon's instructions to the letter!" Demon commanded.
"Okay, you heard Lord Demon!" Count Murmuxmon roughly said to his legion, as his fellow generals started following suit. "Get moving, you lot! On the double!"
Lucemon let out a soft chuckle, allowing this to occur. "Yes, do that. I suppose it is time…" he declared. The Demon Lord of Pride looked back at Bagramon. "Are you ready yet, Bagramon?"
Bagramon drew the final remaining sigil on the center of the cliff wall inside the archivolt. Then, he stepped back and observed his handiwork, ensuring that everything was in proper position.
"Yes… I am ready," Bagramon responded. With cold focus, he glared at magical rune-imbued portal. He clutched the Yggdrasil Codex with his organic hand.
His hand was shaking. Finally… Finally… he was at his goal. After all those many years of waiting and planning… After everything he had done to get himself to this point… He was finally there.
And he was scared.
He was about to come face to face with God. One of the two who was responsible for all of the ills of the world. The one who had done this to him. After years of dreaming of this moment, of speculating what God was and why it did what it did… He was about to find out.
He wasn't just shaking with fear. He was shaking with excitement.
Bagramon approached the stone archway, his eye glimmering with crimson radiance. He raised his wooden Astral Snatcher and lined it up with the impervious portal. He coiled his arm back, and the fabric of space began to bend around Bagramon's wooden fingers.
"It is time… to open the final door."
Then, with a powerful thrust, he plunged his wooden arm towards the cliff, right into the middle of the stone archivolt. His fingers pierced into the central rune and unleashed a torrent of dimensional-tearing magic into them. The sigils suddenly burned brightly as Bagramon's magic tore through the cliff.
Bagramon watched as the rock data suddenly began to ripple. With a powerful shout, he stabbed his hand deeper, feeling the intense, invisible resistance that was fighting back against him. It was Yggdrasil, trying to keep him out… but he refused to let it. He had the advantage – he had arranged it so that he would be able to do this. The barrier was weak. It would not hold. It just needed one… last.. push.
"Hragh!" Bagramon shouted, plunging his Astral Snatcher through the final threshold.
The barrier broke underneath his pressure, and his wooden hand disappeared into the rock like it was air.
He stumbled forwards slightly, catching himself just in time to watch as the rock data inside of the archway suddenly shattered into data particles. Then, the air above the cliff suddenly began to warp as well.
As the rock data faded away, what the barrier was concealing became apparent. A massive, spiral tower suddenly appeared out of thin air. The gigantic structure reached all the way into spiralling clouds in the sky.
Meanwhile, Bagramon stood before a daunting temple entrance, leading inside of the cliff itself.
Bagramon recoiled, momentarily awe-struck by the sublime tower that loomed in all of its austere, magnificent glory above them.
It was the Hall of Yggdrasil.
He let out a shaky breath. He had done it.
Behind him, even Lucemon was momentarily stunned by the appearance of such a large and majestic tower. However, his look of shock soon morphed into one of disdain.
"Hmph… So this is the hubris of Yggdrasil…" he muttered.
Lucemon gracefully jumped down from his pedestal. Upon landing, he dusted his jacket off and turned to look at Seraphimon with a smile of contempt.
"Get him up, Belphemon," Lucemon commanded. "He is coming with us."
The corners of Belphemon's lips curled into an annoyed frown. Grudgingly, he roughly yanked Seraphimon to his feet using the end of the chain. Seraphimon grunted as he was hoisted to his feet. His legs nearly buckled and they just narrowly supported him, almost needing to be held up by Belphemon just to stay standing.
Barbamon craned his head towards them with a dry sneer. "Yes, yes… you two go on your little excursion to meet God," he sarcastically commented. "We'll do all the hard work out here, as usual."
Lilithmon placed her hands on her hips. "As much as I would love to witness God's destruction for myself, I'll trust that you two to take care of that…" she decided, looking over at Bagramon. As she looked at him, she gave him a pointed look. "Be careful in there, Bagramon… You never know what kind of surprises might be in store for you in there."
Bagramon nodded a little at her, and then looked as Demon marched over.
Demon scowled at him behind his hood, but he soon turned to look at Lucemon. "Lucemon, I have to organize the army here. You do whatever you have to do to break into the Kernel, and I'll be right down," he explained, his voice firm and resolute.
His indigo eyes burned with blazing passion and he closes his hand into a crushing fist. "However… Don't destroy God without me. I want to watch it squirm and struggle as it burns within my flames of righteous fury.
"Yes, yes, Demon," Lucemon offhandedly responded. "Well, then, Bagramon?" He turned his head to where the Sage of Death had been standing. "Is it—"
He trailed off when he saw that Bagramon was already walking through the gaping opening and into the large, rectangular antechamber inside. Lucemon's cool, blue eyes narrowed slightly, but he then walked over to the opening as well.
Lucemon followed Bagramon inside of the dark chamber. The antechamber was a large platform that seemed to float in the empty air. Circling around the inner perimeter of the conical tower was a massive, stone staircase. The long, ominous staircase spiralled downwards, descending into the dark abyss below. Along the way, he could see several large platforms that served as landings to the long, declining staircase.
Light filtered in from stained glass windows high above them. However, more notably than that were the dozens of spheres of light, flying frantically around the center drop of the tower. They were like flies whose nest had been disturbed, whipping around hectically in response to the intruders.
Belphemon wandered after Lucemon and Bagramon, poking his head into the antechamber. "…What are those things?" he asked, eyeing all of the glowing orbs.
"They are part of Yggdrasil's security system for the tower. Don't worry about them. They are harmless to us," Bagramon explained unconcernedly. He stood in the center of the platform, gazing down over the side. The stairs led down far into the darkness. However, he knew that their destination lay at the bottom.
Belphemon took one look around the interior of the tower, and immediately tossed the end of Seraphimon's chains over to Lucemon. "…Stairs. I'm waiting out here," he grunted distastefully.
Lucemon caught the chain and levelled an irritated glare at Belphemon. "We were planning to fly down, you lazy oaf. Don't you realise how important this is?"
Belphemon shrugged and turned away from them. "I don't care. I don't care about God. Destroy them, do whatever you want. If you want to take the angel down there with you, you can do it yourself. I'll stay out here. This is where all the fighting's gonna be anyways."
Lucemon rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine…" he tugged on the chain to pull Seraphimon towards the threshold. "Come along, Seraphimon… Let us go meet that God you so dearly love."
"No… You… cannot…" Seraphimon weakly mumbled, attempting to resist despite his body's weakness. "It… is blasphemy…"
Lucemon smiled slyly as he pulled him into the Hall of Yggdrasil with ease, despite the angel's feeble resistance. "Hmm… Why, yes it is, isn't it?" he wryly mused. "As is everything else I have planned… Why, Seraphimon, you should be honoured. You are about to witness the greatest moment in history."
"No…" Seraphimon groaned, pulling futilely against the chains. "Stop…"
"You can no longer give me orders," Lucemon took joy in telling him, yanking Seraphimon forwards. "It is time that you opened your eyes to the truth of this world."
Bagramon turned to them, casting a cold glare in Seraphimon's direction. "Yes… Indeed," he bitterly agreed.
Bagramon turned forwards and walked to the edge of the platform, spreading his wings wide as he looked down at the seemingly endless abyss.
"…Come, Lucemon. Let us see an end to this, once and for all."
A sinister smile formed on Lucemon's lips as he stared at Bagramon's back. He began to walk towards him, pulling Seraphimon along behind him.
"Yes… Let's."
After minutes of descending past the stairs of the tower, Bagramon, Lucemon, and Seraphimon landed at the nadir of the Hall of Yggdrasil.
As they were about to touch down in the center of a flat, circular chamber, Lucemon released the chain he was holding, causing Seraphimon crash roughly to his knees. Then, Lucemon and Bagramon landed on either side of him.
Lucemon looked around the circular chamber. Roots clung to the stone walls and the edges of the winding stairs. However, he saw no doorway. The only thing of note was the stone pedestal that stood in front of them. The glowing ball of light that was usually there to greet the Royal Knights was gone.
"Well, what now, then?" Lucemon impatiently asked. "This had better not take long."
"It shouldn't," Bagramon responded, approaching the pedestal with dauntless resolve. "Just one final push…!"
Bagramon swept his wooden hand forwards and wrapped his fingers around the head of the pedestal. With a focused shout, he squeezed his hand tightly, causing a sudden light to erupt from between his large, bony fingers.
As this happened, the roots on the opposite wall began to writhe and move, as if struggling to stay in place despite being forcibly moved away. While the roots struggled, brief flickers of light could be seen in runic shapes behind them, before the lights were forcibly dimmed.
"There…" Bagramon noted with a dark smirk, removing his hand as he gazed over at the wall where the roots were writhing. "The last struggle of a doomed god."
Bagramon strode forwards zealously. He raised his hand and ripped the roots from the wall, exposing the bare stone behind them.
"This is it," Bagramon spoke, an intense glare in his eyes. "Prepare yourself, Lucemon. For beyond this wall is the Outer Kernel. From there… we break through to the Inner Kernel and God's pocket dimension!"
"Heh," Lucemon chuckled, smiling devilishly. "Go on, then…"
Without wasting another moment, Bagramon coiled the Astral Snatcher back. Then, with a mighty shout, he plunged his hand into the stone wall, piercing through it and shattering the weakened rock on contact.
The moment that the wall of rock shattered into pieces, an intense inundation of light poured out from the hole. As the vivid light beamed out from within, the darkness vanished from the chamber around them. Bagramon and Lucemon both squinted at the intense blaze of holy light – a final warning to their arrival.
Bagramon initially shielded his eye at the fierce glare of holy light. He felt an intense pressure pouring out from beyond the threshold. It was enough to make his stomach turn.
He could feel it. The power of Yggdrasil. It caused his Astral Snatcher arm to erupt with energy. Its power flowed through the lignin of his arm. His arm reacted so strongly that it began to shake.
"Hah… Haha…" Bagramon laughed, grinning darkly as he clutched his artificial arm. "Yes… Almost… Almost…"
The Yggdrasil Codex dropped to the ground beside his feet, and he walked towards the light.
Lucemon, through his parted fingers as he shielded his eyes, watched as Bagramon stepped dauntlessly ahead of him. He saw Bagramon's white robed body turn dark as he became a silhouette against the blazing light in front of them.
Lucemon scowled and clutched Seraphimon's chain tightly, wrenching him forwards as he made to follow Bagramon through the threshold. "Do not go… without me…" he whispered fiercely, nearly dragging the struggling Seraphimon behind him.
Bagramon stepped through the threshold and into the intense light. As he did, he found himself in a large, vacant area – an abyss of light. He stood within the Outer Kernel.
Bagramon was surrounded by white light, apart from the hole in the seemingly empty space behind him. However, every few seconds, the white abyss flashed red, painting the area with the intense hue of danger. As the crimson flashed around him, he watched as the countless swarm of security spheres come funneling in after he and Lucemon. An overwhelming swath of chains of binary code swept around the white abyss, the final struggle of the Kernel's security system doing something – anything – to try to stop the two heretics.
Lucemon chuckled and yanked Seraphimon through the threshold. "Well! Isn't this the experience?!" he laughed, looking around the Outer Kernel with a mixture of triumph and fascination.
"No! Stop… Stop this!" Seraphimon practically pleaded, his legs buckling with pain as he stumbled into the taboo sanctum. "I… I cannot… this is… blasphemous… heresy…! This cannot be…! God… cannot be here… I cannot… witness..."
"Stop your blathering," Lucemon mocked him. "Even a mind as wilfully blind as yours cannot ignore the truth when it is staring you in the face. Come now, Seraphimon, you might even learn something…"
Bagramon looked around carefully, trying to look past the swarm of light familiars and the streaking code. Now that they were in the Outer Kernel, he had no further knowledge to draw from his past research and the Yggdrasil Codex. He simply had to rely on his instincts… and his finely honed ability.
"Silence," Bagramon ordered Lucemon, not even bothering to look at him. "I need to concentrate…"
At this affront, Lucemon's face slowly darkened. That Bagramon could think he could give him an order… However, he had to ignore it for the moment. He needed Bagramon for one last thing…
Bagramon closed his organic eye. He tuned out all sounds and shut out all visual stimulation. He concentrated, his mind falling into a deep trance. He turned off his senses… and he allowed the magical crystal inside his eye socket to take over.
"Kyoku Invisible Snake-Eyes…" he whispered.
Bagramon's ruby eye flickered… and then illuminated with intense red light. Its eerie, magical glow grew brighter and brighter… until, soon, Bagramon's whole eye was blazing with red magic that poured out of his socket and mouth.
His magical vision became an intense, otherworldly red. He didn't just see the Outer Kernel any more… he could see its very code. Its primordial foundations.
He saw the archaic grid of ancient code that made up the Kernel itself. He saw the cracks that had formed… He could see the weaknesses that made up this holy sanctum.
"I can… see…" Bagramon breathily spoke, his voice distorting as magic poured out of the corner of his mouth.
He turned his head to the right.
There, to the right, the code looked different. The hexagonal framework… it was built differently from the rest. It was newer… created with a different kind of magical foundation. It was built to create a different kind of barrier between the Outer Kernel and something else.
A sinister smile formed on Bagramon's bearded face. Lucemon watched with caution as Bagramon turned, seeing the red energy pouring out of Bagramon's eye.
"Have you found it…?"
Bagramon chuckled and raised his arm back. "Yes…" he explained as he prepared to plunge his arm towards the mystical barrier. Bagramon grinned darkly, even as his hand trembled and fear twisted his stomach.
This was it. This was the moment. He was about to come face-to-face with God.
"Seraphimon… Lucemon… Behold. The true face of God!"
With a powerful thrust, Bagramon plunged his Astral Snatcher arm towards the firewall. As the wooden appendage swept forwards, a magical circle formed at this fingertips.
His magic-imbued claws slammed into the invisible wall. There was a scintillating explosion of light at the point of impact. At first, his hand didn't penetrate. An incredible amount of power was being channeled into the barrier internally. However… the foundations were weak, worn down by the chaos and instability now plaguing the world. Cracks began to appear in the code, which frayed and split underneath Bagramon's pressure.
Bagramon let out a strained shout and put all of his strength - his passion, his zeal, his anger – into this defiant blow. The fractures deepened…
And the barrier gave way. In a massive blast of energy, the firewall warped and caved. The barrier shattered underneath Bagramon's arm, and around it, a powerful swell of light energy that was different from what existed in the Outer Kernel.
The blinding light swept out around his body, causing Bagramon's robes and hair to blow turbulently behind him. As the pocket dimension decompressed and started to reach an equilibrium with the Outer Kernel, Bagramon opened his eye following the intense surge of energy.
He stood before a gaping hole in the Outer Kernel. The walls of the hole were fractured and jagged, as if somebody had hurled a rock through a large window.
Bagramon's eye slowly widened, and his mouth opened slightly. Nervously, he took a step forwards… Beneath his robes and armour, his body trembled with excitement… with fear… with rage.
He looked through the hole that he created. In contrast to the intense, white light of the Outer Kernel… inside this pocket dimension was devoid of light. Yet, just as it was devoid of light, it was also devoid of darkness. Inside, was a dimension of dim, neutral grey. It was highlighted only by numerous, small, shimmering crystals… They were almost like stars, but on closer inspection, they had the shape of tiny diamonds.
It was then, as Bagramon's eye adjusted to the change in contrast, that he looked past the hovering crystals and noticed the glow of a large shape floating behind them.
Bagramon's face slowly sagged with dawning realisation. The next breath he took lingered in his lungs. In that moment, he forgot to breathe.
Hovering in the center of the chamber was a large, geometric object. At first, it was hard to see because of its transparent surface. Only from the glints of light that traced its smooth, straight edges and its pointed vertices was its silhouette apparent. However, Bagramon soon realised its form… and what it truly was.
Floating in place, without emotion, was a clear, crystalline octahedron. Within the center of its glassy, transparent body was a small sphere of light. The light glowed radiantly, like it was its heart.
Despite Bagramon's forcible entrance to its domain, the octahedron made no hasty movements. It continued to float… to observe. It was almost otherworldly. There was no sense of soul or identity. It simply floated there, existing with singular purpose and nothing else.
Bagramon stared at the ethereal shape, his eye growing wide. The breath he had been holding finally released in a tremoring whisper. All of the anticipation… his weeks upon weeks of research… his plans… his sacrifices… They all led to this moment. This meeting. This confrontation.
This entity… this was the being that Bagramon once worshipped as his god. It was their light. It was the Being of Goodness.
It was God.
As he gazed upon this deity… no, this program… a single tear formed in Bagramon's dismayed eye. The tear trickled down his left cheek and rolled past his lips, which contorted into a wretched and bitter smile.
Bagramon released a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. He raised his organic hand to his cheek, covering the tear as a soft, depleted chuckle escaped his cynical smile.
"So… this is your true form…" Bagramon mused, attempting to compose himself as he lowered his hand and gazed upon. "After all this… after everything… this is it…"
The entity that Bagramon referred to as God didn't respond. It didn't even move. The only action that could have possibly considered an acknowledgement was the slight drift of the orb of light within its body in Bagramon's direction.
"…Hello, God. It is me, Bagramon…" Bagramon greeted, stepping into the pocket dimension adjacent to the Outer Kernel.
"…Or, perhaps, I should call you by your proper name… your true name…"
Bagramon stalked closer, his wooden hand creaking into a fist. His smile faded, and his ruby eye blazed vividly.
"…Homeostasis."
The program known as Homeostasis did not respond. It continued to float silently, ominously – ever-watchful.
Bagramon stopped, staring critically up at the crystalline rhombus. "That is your program designation, isn't it?"
Homeostasis didn't speak. The only thing it did do was send its smaller, auxiliary crystals forwards, causing them to form a chequered array between Bagramon and itself. The crystals pulsed and a barrier formed between it and Bagramon.
Bagramon stopped, reaching his hand up to the barrier before him. He chuckled and shook his head disparagingly.
"Do you fear me, God?" Bagramon asked. "Now that your time is nearly at its end, do you feel afraid?"
"Do you feel that same desperation that so many Digimon have felt in their final moments? Those same Digimon who you allowed to die for your perfect 'order'?" Bagramon's smile vanished and he glared through the barrier with blazing fury. "As the Archangel of Death – no, the Sage of Death – I will be their voice. I will be their cries for justice. I will be their vengeance."
A small, hollow smile resurfaced once again. "…Well, God…? Do you still want me to repent my sins? Will you still grant me your forgiveness for denouncing you?" he mocked it. "The arrogant mercy of an unfeeling program…"
Bagramon looked past Homeostasis and into the dark walls of the pocket dimension behind it. "And then there's Yggdrasil…"
Lucemon stepped through into Homeostasis' pocket dimension. Upon doing so, he stared at the floating shape with bemusement.
"So… this is true face of our glorious and omniscient God, is it?" Lucemon distastefully mused, his voice rich with sarcasm. "Pathetic… I knew it all along. Yggdrasil and Homeostasis… they are nothing but demiurges… A creator and a maintainer who became obsessed with preserving their own power. They are fake, pretender gods… Physical entities masquerading as something greater."
Lucemon chuckled darkly. "Well… Now it is finally time to put an end to this absurd comedy."
Lucemon looked over his shoulder at Seraphimon, who was still on the other side of the threshold, desperately averting his gaze within the Outer Kernel.
"Come on, now," Lucemon commanded, roughly yanking Seraphimon inside. "Don't keep your god waiting."
Seraphimon weakly crashed to the floor inside of the pocket dimension. He hit the ground in a clamour, uttering an agonized groan.
"No…" Seraphimon deliriously murmured, shuddering on the ground. "This… is blasphemy… Forgive me…"
Lucemon chuckled and released the chain from his hands. "No… the only blasphemy here is that thing you call your god," he mocked him.
Lucemon kneeled down beside Seraphimon, grabbing him by the top of his helmet. He roughly jerked Seraphimon's head up, forcing him to look ahead at Homeostasis' true form.
"Take a good look, Seraphimon," he hissed viciously into his ear. "That is the one that you so blindly serve. That is the one that you have devoted your entire life to. That…" Lucemon pointed emphatically the alien crystal before them. "That is your God, Seraphimon.
Seraphimon gasped as he was forced to break the taboo and gaze upon the true form of his holy lord. With poison running through his veins and his body wracked and bound, he was unable to resist. Through his warped and delusional sight, he gazed at God and saw the truth.
He saw God's stretched out geometric form looming over him. He did not feel its light. Its warmth didn't reach him. It floated coldly, distantly, watching him like an unworldly judge.
"No… I…" Seraphimon uttered, unable to even bow his head to avert his gaze. "You… lie…"
Lucemon let out a laugh of pity. "Oh dear! Even when the truth is right in front of you, you still cannot accept it? I suppose that is a natural reaction when you realise that your entire life has been a lie! To think of all the time you wasted, all of the sweat you secreted, all of the blood that you spilled… all in the name of God! And now, only to realise that God is nothing but a program! The Homeostasis Program…"
"No… you are… trying to bewitch me…!" Seraphimon choked out in desperate protestation.
"Would you deny your own god, Seraphimon?" Lucemon mocked him. "Why, that would make you a heretic…" Lucemon chuckled and shook his head condescendingly. "Dear Seraphimon… For all your talk about the goodness and purity of the light, here you are, fumbling around in the dark. You live in the darkness of your own creation… the darkness of your own willfulness ignorance. And you are happy to do so… You would rather scratch around in the darkness of God's obfuscation, being told what to believe."
Lucemon cupped Seraphimon's chin in his hand and force him to look at him. "I, Lucemon… I am the one true light. I will illuminate God's darkness with the light of truth and knowledge. I will control them both… the light and the darkness." He roughly pushed Seraphimon's head back towards God's form. "I will erase that program… and replace it with a proud heart and a brilliant mind."
"…No…" Seraphimon weakly raised his head, looking over to Bagramon. "Bagramon… he is… lying… You know… In your heart, you know…"
Bagramon stared at Seraphimon coldly.
"…No, Seraphimon. It is time that you stopped lying to yourself," Bagramon bluntly stated. "Lucemon and I… we have seen the Archives. That is how we have come this far… This charade that Yggdrasil and Homeostasis have cast over the Digital World… It is finally coming to an end. You have been taken for a fool, Seraphimon. You, Ophanimon, Cherubimon, myself… We were all used by God."
Seraphimon coughed and wheezed, his body shaking. "How… How can you…?"
Bagramon turned to him, turning his back to the being believed to be God.
"…Homeostasis… It was initially created as a stabilizing program after the chaos of the Crisis of the First Cycle. After the Digital World was nearly destroyed as a result of the wars between the Four Holy Beasts, the Dragon of Chaos, and Susanoomon, a program was needed to fill the void left by Huanglongmon's Great Sealing. The Orbs of Yin and Yang helped to stabilize the world, but… a program was created as a failsafe to preserve the balance of the Digital world. That was the birth of Homeostasis."
Bagramon smiled weakly. "Eventually, however… Homeostasis itself evolved. Yggdrasil was always an interventionist god. It actively made changes to the Digital World… and not always were they for the better. Homeostasis evolved into a counterbalance to Yggdrasil's interventionist excesses. And as for us lowly Digimon… Most continued on praying to Yggdrasil and Huanglongmon… but some of us 'grew wise'," Bagramon explained, his voice dripping with irony.
"We noticed holes in the canon of Yggdrasil… Knowledge that we thought could be explained only by the presence of God. So then, we rejected Yggdrasil and instead believed God was the one true deity… but we were merely replacing one falsehood for another. In truth… there are three gods: Yggdrasil, Huanglongmon, and Homeostasis… and none of them care about us Digimon. That, Seraphimon… is the grim reality. The awful truth."
Seraphimon stared blankly, his warped and overwrought vision slowly shifting back towards God. "…Lord… My lord, God… Tell me… that they lie. I beseech you…" he pleaded, his voice quavering. "Tell me the truth… and I will believe it… I will believe whatever you say…"
Homeostasis didn't speak. It didn't confirm nor deny… It didn't tell him anything.
"Please… I beg of you… God," Seraphimon choked, his shuddering body lurching forwards. "As your most faithful servant… After all that I have done for you, in your name… After all that I have sacrificed – after all that we have sacrificed for you… I beg you… God…"
Homeostasis just continued floating in abstract silence.
Seraphimon's body shook. His golden feathers began to shed from his chained wings, floating to the floor around him.
As the silence stretched out, Seraphimon wrenched his head upwards, glaring at his god with sorrow and rage.
"SAY SOMETHING!"
Even as Seraphimon's voice echoed, Homeostasis did not. …It didn't even seem to acknowledge him.
Seraphimon, grimacing with rage and agony behind his mask, bowed his head. He began sucking in oxygen, his breaths becoming more and more laboured. He let out a strained growl and his chained hands began to distend and twist.
Bagramon looked over at Seraphimon and Lucemon. He watched as the sorrow and nihilism seemed to take hold of Seraphimon's body. Unlike Lucemon, who was grinning with triumph at Seraphimon's torment, Bagramon took no pleasure in it. Despite everything that Seraphimon had done, Bagramon did not take satisfaction in this.
He had been just like Seraphimon once. He had believed… and he had been betrayed. As far as he was concerned, Seraphimon was a victim in this too.
"I think that even you are beginning to see the truth now, Seraphimon," Bagramon calmly told him. "And if you still do not… you soon will in a few minutes."
Seraphimon panted and bowed deeper, sweat dripping off his face and more of his feathers falling around him.
"Well, Seraphimon?" Lucemon taunted him, looking down at the pathetic angel beneath him. "How does it feel? God won't even speak to you. You are worthless to it now. You are nothing more than a discarded pawn. A pathetic, little fool who has done nothing but prop up the power of a false god. Everything you have done, everything you believe… it is meaningless!"
Seraphimon wheezed and shook, his hands balling tightly into trembling fists. "I… Aaaah… Grrraaah…" he deliriously groaned.
As he kneeled, the shedding of Seraphimon's dishevelled, golden feathers gave way to leathery violet beneath.
Lucemon watched and stepped back with a perverse smile as shadows began to creep out from underneath Seraphimon's plate armour and slither up his form. "Yes, that's it… acknowledge your futility. Realize that anger that you hide so well… Understand the meaninglessness of false hope."
Seraphimon began choking and writhing in pain and anguish. His body started wrenching and jerking back and forth, straining against the chains.
As he did, the darkness seeped into his armour, the pure, blue metal becoming defiled and turning a noxious green hue. The vertical, four-pointed star on the front of his mask shifted forty-five degrees to become a diagonal 'x'.
As Seraphimon twisted and groaned, his holy breechcloth fell to the ground and his supernal armour morphed, becoming sharper and more menacing. The Crest of Hope on his breastplate faded, becoming replaced by deep crimson, matching the shock of spiked hair that formed at the top of his head.
Bagramon watched with unfeeling pity as Seraphimon changed before him. He saw the last of the writhing angel's virtuous body fade away as bat-like wings extended from his back and the sides of his head.
Without so much as an acknowledgement, Bagramon stepped past Lucemon and the former Seraphimon, ignoring the angel's desperate clamor and the sounds of the chains splitting. He still had work to do.
Striding past them, he used his arm to open up a larger hole between the two pocket dimensions before stepping back out into the Outer Kernel.
"Now for the final player to make its entrance…" Bagramon spoke, offhandedly batting away a few of the glowing nodes that flew around him.
Bagramon stepped out into the middle of the white, flashing space, turning to the end opposite from where they came in.
"The one who created it all… The one who would destroy it all…"
Bagramon's face became a blazing glower, and he raised his arm, hewn from the heartwood of the World Tree, high above his head.
"The one who hides in the Inner Kernel. The one who treats Digimon like its pawns. The one who pulls the strings from behind the curtain, manipulating this world to its pleasure…"
Bagramon's right eye flashed and he swept his arm down, tearing through the fabric of the Outer Kernel.
"It is time to show yourself! Yggdrasil!"
Bagramon's magic-laced, wooden fingers ripped through the dimensional barrier, shattering the barrier between the Inner and Outer Kernels.
A yawning portal opened up before him. The hewn edges of the barrier were effervescent with binary code. With a triumphant smile, Bagramon looked inside the gap.
Inside was a hallowed, primordial space. It was a vast, empty space of white. Circling the perimeter of the Inner Kernel were walls of glowing code and magical circle, working furiously to counteract the damage being committed against it.
And there, in the center of the Inner Kernel, was a massive, white figure. Its white and grey surface shimmered resplendently in the light. However, its form was even more otherworldly than Homeostasis' was.
Hovering in place was a figure in the shape of a gigantic, elongated hexagon. Long, faceted shapes extended majestically from the sides of its body like appendages. Long claw-like arms rested at its sides, while thick, yawning conduits extended from its analogous shoulders like wings.
It was not shaped like a Digimon in the slightest. In fact, the only thing that even vaguely resembled a head was a long, white, crescent shape. It was a surreal entity. Glowing ominously was a red optic centered in a slit in the middle of its head. It watched Bagramon as it broke into its hallowed space.
"Finally we meet," Bagramon greeted with a dark smile. "Yggdrasil."
The figure known as Yggdrasil hovered silently in place.
However, unlike God, it didn't merely watch and do nothing. Long, thorned vines began to emerge from underneath Yggdrasil's skirt.
Bagramon was unconcerned as he stepped forwards. He didn't even stare at the imposing, ethereal entity before him. He was looking past it… at something else.
A large, crystal orb was hovering behind the being known as Yggdrasil. It was a perfect sphere, its light blue body glossy and crystalline in texture.
That orb… that was Yggdrasil's core. That was its true form. The hulking body of Yggdrasil before him was just its physical avatar.
Bagramon smiled with sinister triumph as he gazed at the two aspects of the same creator god before him. With his organic hand, he began to fiddle with a pouch that was hung from his belt. Meanwhile, he raised his artificial hand, admiring its size and capabilities.
"Yggdrasil… I must thank you for the arm," he wryly noted. "It wasn't easy to create, but it has been extremely useful in helping me to get here. In fact, it has been absolutely invaluable… It was almost worth losing half of my body for, if I am honest…"
Bagramon closed his hand into a tight fist before relaxing his fingers. He moved the Astral Snatcher down and fished something out of from the rune-imbued pouch.
Between his thumb and his index finger, he held a large, black shard that exuded overwhelming negative energy. It wasn't just any kind of energy… it was godly energy. For it was a large fragment of the Orb of Yang. The intensity of Huanglongmon's power was enough to rival even the pressure of the creator deity before him.
Bagramon smiled and stepped forwards fearlessly, as a mass of tendrils rushed out from Yggdrasil's avatar's body.
"Now, Yggdrasil… you are going to help me again."
Outside the Hall of Yggdrasil, Barbamon oversaw the formation of the Nightmare Soldiers and Kowloon Company.
"No, no!" Barbamon shouted out, flapping his demonic wings as he held himself in the air for a better vantage point. He swept his staff out, pointing out to the right. "Demon! Have the Third Legion move a hundred meters southwards! Deeper into the chasm!"
Demon grunted gruffly and gestured to the demon officer in charge.
"Good," Barbamon stated, overlooking the army assembled before him.
To his far left was the Primordial Pass - the gradual, rocky incline that led from ground level, past the rocky spires and crags, and down into the Chasm where they were. Guarding this entrance to the chasm were the Kowloon Company brigades of three thousand strong.
In front of him were three back-line legions whose job it was to remain in reserve and support the mercenary company and the approach of the Primordial Pass.
To his right, deeper into the chasm, where the canyon opened up wider, were the remainder of the legions. Four legions of Nightmare Soldiers guarded the approach from the south. Many of the demon Digimon were foot soldiers, but there were just as many aerial soldiers, most of whom were flying in formation thirty meters above the ground and their terrestrial counterparts.
Barbamon had, before him, a powerful defensive force. They outnumbered the combined Order-Saversburg-UDC alliance. He had been able to pick the location of their battle. It was maybe not the perfect terrain to mount a defence, but as a matter of circumstance, he made the best with what he had to work with. He was confident about the bottlenecks that he made. Most of the enemy army was ground-based, so they would have to funnel into the bottlenecks that he created. That was where he concentrated the best of their soldiers.
All that was left was for him to fine-tune the formations to his exacting standards, and they would soon reap the rewards.
"DarkSuperStarmon!" Barbamon called out to the Acting Commander, waggling his Death Lure staff at him. "Your name is too long! You're DSS from now on! Anyway, move Second Brigade backwards twenty meters! Inverted wedge formation!"
"Urgh… Yes, Boss!" DarkSuperStarmon called back before commanding the mercenary brigade in question to back up in reverse.
"The old man sure is in his element," Lilithmon dryly stated as she leaned against to a ruined column next to Belphemon. "It would be nice to get this battle over with and wipe out those Royal Knights once and for all… As fun as it is to toy with them, it's time to finish this and move on to the next phase."
"That's for sure," Belphemon agreed. The hulking Demon Lord was sitting cross-legged near the entrance of the Hall of Yggdrasil. He cracked his furry knuckles before readjusting the metal gauntlets over the backs of his hands. "I'll crush those knights into dust for sure this time…"
Lilithmon chuckled. "Just save me one or two for my own amusement," she told him.
"No promises…" Belphemon replied, looking around as Barbamon and Demon moved the army into place.
Lilithmon scanned the area as well, boredly waiting for something to happen. At first, she took notice of two, blue insects who stood out like sore thumbs. She idly noted Blitzmon and Bolgmon hanging near the back of Kowloon Company, hovering awkwardly between them and the central Legions until someone remembered to give them orders.
Then, she looked upwards, boredly watching Barbamon hovering above them, shouting orders and waving his staff around. At first, she thought about how annoying his voice was and quietly wished he would shut up. Then, however… she noticed something.
When they arrived in the Chasm, Barbamon had posted winged sentries above the tops of the chasm cliffs in order to warm them in case they saw the Royal Knights advancing.
At that moment, however, she couldn't see them anywhere.
Lilithmon scanned the peaks of the cliffs. None of the sentries were in position. It was like they had disappeared…
Lilithmon frowned, a sinking feeling growing inside her chest. She looked up at Barbamon, who was so busy directing the army that he didn't notice the individual sentries missing.
"Something's wrong…" she murmured. "Old man!"
"Not now, woman! Can't you see I'm busy?!" Barbamon dismissively shouted back.
Lilithmon scowled. "Listen, you old coot!" she shouted. "Where are the sentries?! The ones guarding above the Chasm?!"
Barbamon frowned with annoyance. "What do you mean, 'where are the sentries'?! They're right there! Can't you—"
Barbamon's eyes followed the head of his staff up to the cliffs where he was pointing. However, there were no sentries. The one he had positioned there had seemingly vanished.
"…Eh?" he balked.
Belphemon's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his beast-like lips peeled back to reveal his jagged teeth. His fur began to stand on end. He snarled and pulled himself to his feet, looking around. "Something's…"
A few hundred meters away, Demon spun around in the sky, calling out with fury in his voice. "Barbamon!" he roared.
As if on cue, the ground suddenly began shaking.
Free pebbles and rock fragments began vibrating and falling down the cliffs. The violent rumbling beneath their feet caused alarmed shouts to erupt from the soldiers, especially as the less surefooted among them toppled over. These tremors were merely the overture to what was to come.
There was a thunderous crack as the ground suddenly split open. It was like the chasm itself was roaring.
Massive pillars of rocks exploded from within the ground. Two colossal outcroppings burst from the bottom of the canyon – right in the midst of the two reserve legions. Hulking pillars of jagged bedrock erupted from underneath their formation, throwing the dozens of demon Digimon through the air like ragdolls.
Barbamon's face sunk, his mouth hanging open and his eye twitching with incredulous rage as he watched the two towering outcropping decimate the integrity of his ranks.
The rocks didn't stop there, however. Using the two columns as a foundation, more columns of rock began bursting out of the ground. They tore through the surprised and panicked reserve legions. As they did, the outcroppings connected two each other, forming two walls of descending stone – almost like a crude staircase - out in two diagonal directions.
These piercing walls of stone weren't merely an attack – they changed the landscape of the battlefield. The north-west-reaching wall separated Kowloon Company from most of the reserves of the Nightmare Soldiers. At the same time, the south-west-reaching ridge erupted the ground underneath the rear guard of legions guarding the southern approach. This cut off the bulk of the Demon Lords' vanguard off from the reserve legions in the center as well.
The Demon Lords' army had, in one fell swoop, been split into three.
As the body of a hapless Musyamon smashed into the rocks beside him, Barbamon remained still. His eye continued twitching, and his hands slowly choked the neck of his Death Lure staff as he gazed up at the two colossal walls of rock that had trisected his army.
With simmering rage he watched as one figure emerged at the precipice of the cliff.
The brown figure of a feline emerged, his form silhouetted by the morning light.
Duftmon: Leopard Mode gazed down from between the two crags that he had created. He observed the army below, until finally, his green eyes landed on Barbamon. Their eyes locked, and, in that moment, Duftmon glared at him with a mixture of not only smug triumph, but callous and bitter justice.
As soon as he imparted his feelings to his foe, Duftmon turned his head, raising it up high, and summoning a proud and mighty shout from within.
"Order of the Royal Knights!"
As Duftmon looked forwards, the forms of his fellow Royal Knights emerged on the precipice on either side of him.
"Royal Knights…"
"…Attack!"
A couple kilometers away from the Chasm of Creation, to the north of the Primordial Pass, where the decaying, grassy fields turned to rocky tableland, two figures stood.
ChaosDukemon stood beside Beelzebumon and the Behemoth, watching from a distance. They watched as the Order's terrestrial army marched alongside the Saversburg army down through Primordial Pass, funneling into the Chasm of Creation to meet the mercenaries and Nightmare Soldiers in combat. The sounds and lights of explosions could already be seen erupting, hidden from their view, within the canyon.
"…Looks like it finally started, huh?" Beelzebumon mused, looking over at ChaosDukemon as he idly patted Behemoth.
ChaosDukemon was quiet, glaring with silent intensity as the army of his friends went to engage the Demon Lords.
"You definitely gonna do this?" Beelzebumon asked him. He glanced up at the sky, which began to grow thicker with apocalyptic clouds.
ChaosDukemon stepped forwards unwaveringly. "…Yes," he coldly answered. "They're all fighting like anything they do matters… This world is ending, and I am the one ending it. Before that happens, I'm going to kill all of the ones that have stood in my way."
Beelzebumon turned his head to the right, noticing something very large suddenly emerging out from behind the base of the massive tower of Yggdrasil. "…You mean like him?" he casually wondered.
ChaosDukemon followed his gaze, noticing the movement as well. His piercing, yellow eyes sharpened with bubbling rage at what he saw.
The massive body of Leviamon slinked out of hiding from behind the Hall of Yggdrasil, as well as from a sharp ridge of flatirons. The huge crocodile began 'stealthily' crawling along the top of the western plateau. He made his way southwards, not too far from the edge of the cliff overlooking the chasm below. It was hard to tell if he was planning to enter the battle or merely watch.
It didn't matter to ChaosDukemon. He had a score to settle with the gigantic reptile.
"Leviamon…" ChaosDukemon hissed, his eyes cold and baleful, like the surface of the moons.
Beelzebumon grinned a little but as he watched the massive crocodile demon crawling along the mountainous cliffs. "Heh, I didn't think Levi would actually show up…" he wryly mused. "Maybe ol' Fluffy ain't as yellow–bellied as I thought. Looks like you're in luck, Dukey."
ChaosDukemon glared at Leviamon unblinkingly for several moments. However, his gaze slowly shifted to the left. He watched as distant figures – the Royal Knights, followed by the Aerial Strike Forces, descended into the Chasm from the cliff opposite to the one that Leviamon was on. Past them, approaching from within the canyon from the south, he thought he could see a flock of dragon Digimon in the far distance. There was one form in particular that he noticed… he could almost swear that he saw Megidramon leading the charge.
"…It's begun… There's no going back now," he growled. In a swath of darkness, ChaosDukemon summoned the Balmung lance and Gorgon shield over his hands, gripping them tight with emphasis. "There's no going back for anybody…"
Beelzebumon glanced at the dark knight out of the corner of this three eyes. "You go ahead and do whatever the hell you think you need to do. Kill whoever you want – Royal Knight, Demon Lord – it don't fucking matter to me…"
Beelzebumon drew his two Berenjena shotguns from his back and ankle holsters respectively. As soon as the grips of the double-barrelled shotguns rested securely in his hands, he turned to face ChaosDukemon with a deadly serious look in his eyes.
"Just so long as you remember… I'm gonna be the last one you fight. So don't you fuckin' die before then. …Got it?"
ChaosDukemon met Beelzebumon's fiery stare with a simmering look of his own.
"I don't intend to…" ChaosDukemon told him, turning away from him and walking ahead brusquely. "Don't worry, Beelzebumon. At the end of this battle… at the end of this world… I'll do my best to kill you last."
Beelzebumon couldn't help but let his intense stare be interrupted by an amused grin. "Swell… Glad to hear it, Dukey," he responded, watching as ChaosDukemon walked away from him, towards the battlefield. "But I don't plan on dyin'…"
ChaosDukemon strode forwards single-mindedly. The final battle had begun. The Royal Knights, Leviamon… they were all in his vision now.
He had things to do… answers to find… scores to settle.
He was going to cut through whoever stood in his way, whether they were his foes… or even his former friends.
It was the twilight of the Digital World.
And he was going to see that it was all going to end.