Hello everyone and welcome to another update!
Guest IG: I wouldn't worry too much about the lost equipment. The down payment was for that, and it will cover the expenses.
Fish Girl: For review from guests, they won't show up until a few days after posting.
Time for the chapter: Battle on Mt. Fuji
Time for evasive action!
[Execute! Spirit Evolution - Agunimon & Korikakumon]
While airborne, Korikakumon caught Katsuharu, and he and Agunimon landed safely on the ground.
"Everyone okay?" Agunimon asked.
"Yeah," Korikakumon answered and looked at Katsuharu. "You alright buddy?"
"Uh-huh," Katsuharu nodded, breathing heavily. He wasn't used to attacks like earlier, and it was the second time his life got threatened. The first time was when Crusadermon attempted to take his fractal code in the Digital World. He stared down to try to relax his nerves. "Umm… What coming from the ground?"
A small metal object poked out of the ground. Looking at it more closely, it seemed to be tiny drills. Agunimon and Korikakumon reacted immediately and jumped out of the way as giant moles popped out of the ground roaring.
The moles had purple and white fur. Their nails were like tiny drills and had a longer drill attached to their snouts.
[Wind Seeker] Wind blades came from the skies and whistled straight toward Agunimon. The Flame Warrior leaped to the right avoiding the air attacks.
"They wasted no time in attacking," Agunimon raised his fist. Flames lit up from his gauntlet like a Bunsen burner. He looked at the sky and saw a bunch of humanoid birds.
The humanoid birds possessed wings but had female upper bodies. Their feathers were mostly white except for some golden feathers located at the end of their winds. They wore silver, gold-laced armor on their upper body and had large bird-like claws instead of feet.
Drimogemon: A champion-level, animal-type Digimon whose Special Attacks are Drill Spin and Bone Crusher. These mole-like creatures can move underground at high speeds with gigantic drills attached to their snouts. They are rarely rare to encounter due to the species always digging underground.
Harpymon: An armored-level, mythical beast-type Digimon whose Special Attacks are Wind Seeker and Silent Symphony. With their bird-like wings and upper female body, they are known as thief Digimon who are called the "Snatcher" due to stealing valuables from ruins.
[Bone Crusher x3 Wind Seeker x5] Three Drimogemon pulled out bones and threw them at Agunimon like boomerangs. Following, some Harpymon flapped their wings and unleashed gusts of wind. The attacks mixed together, and the wind accelerated the spinning bones.
"Not enough," Moving like a boxer, Agunimon swerved left and right dodging the first two bones then grabbed the last one. "Right back at you!" He threw the bone back, and the dog chew toy hit a Harpymon square in the chest. The harpy fell down and crashed into a Drimogemon.
Agunimon took the opportunity and jumped up for an attack. His fists were already on fire. "You're finished!"
[Pryo Pun–]
"Agunimon! Watch out!" Korikakumon shouted.
"Huh?" The Flame Warrior looked up and saw a blink of light come from higher up the mountain. The next moment, a ray beam shot out heading straight towards him. "Uh-oh."
Before the attack could connect, a tomahawk came in between and deflected it for a moment. Agunimon quickly made his body heavier and landed back on the ground. The beam blasted through the tomahawk but hit empty air.
"That was close," Agunimon said. "Thank Korikakumon."
"No problem," The yeti replied, taking back his tomahawk.
The Flame Warrior looked high on Mt. Fuji. Where did that attack come from?
Higher in the distance and a few kilometers from the peak of Mt. Fuji was a robotic two-legged dinosaur. He was covered in black metal armor and looked weaponized for war. In his hands was a sniper rifle used for long-range combat.
Sealsdramon: A champion-level, cyborg-type Digimon whose special attacks are Death Behind and Scouter Monoeye. Story says that only the one that passes the "Selection D", a special test that screens through 100 Commandramon, can digivolve into Sealsdramon. They can over short distances at speeds impossible to perceive with the naked eye and their primary function is assassination.
[Scouter Monoeye] A few meters across from him was a second Sealsdramon. He scanned Agunimon's body. Once he located a vital part, Sealsdramon fired his own sniper rifle shooting a concentrated positron beam straight to the Flame Warrior's heart.
"Whoa!" Agunimon leaned right just enough to dodge the beam. "That was even closer."
"Agunimon! Below!" Korikakumon yelled, but his warning came too late.
[Drill Spin] A Drimogemon popped out of the ground and speared Agunimon. The metal drill made an impact with the Flame Warrior sending him flying.
"Why you!" Korikakumon said, practically growling. He was about to throw his tomahawk at the mole to give his friend some payback.
"Tomoki! Second one incoming below!" Katsuharu warned seeing a tiny metal drill poke out from below. During the battle, he hung on the back of Korikakumon's head hanging by the braided hairs. It was the only place where the boy was safe against the enemy onslaught.
[Drill Spin] A second Drimogemon popped out from under Korikakumon. His drill aimed right at the chest.
Luckily, the Ice Warrior saw it coming and slightly shifted his body back narrowly avoiding a pierce to the heart. He then forcibly grabbed the drill ignoring the spinning and pulled the mole out from the hole. The yeti lifted his tomahawk to slash Drimogemon, but a beam hit his weapon stopping him. He had to let go of the mole as a second beam came through almost hitting him.
[Wind Seeker x12] All the Harpymon flapped their wings creating an area-wide wind blast. The attack hit Agunimon and Korikakumon pushing further.
The Legendary Warriors lowered their bodies closer to the ground. If they didn't, the wind would fly them off the mountain.
"Korikakumon!" Agunimon called pulling out his Digivice. "We need cover!"
"Agreed!"
[FA: Frigimon's Subzero Ice Punch x2] A pair of phantom Frigimon appeared in front of the Legendary Warriors and punched the ground. Two tall ice pillars popped out, and snow bears faded away.
Agunimon and Korikakumon then leaned against the ice like blockages. Wind crashed against it, but the pillars held firm. Now they at least had some cover and regroup.
"Okay, what was that?" The Flame Warrior recalled what happened a few moments ago. The enemy came at them quickly, but it was more than that. "I feel suffocated from fighting these guys."
"More like restrained," Korikakumon answered in understanding. No matter what they did, their attacks kept on getting interrupted. It was like fighting with both hands tied behind your back. "I don't know how they're doing it though."
"They're using terrain warfare," Katsuharu spoke up. Unlike Agunimon and Korikakumon who were fighting for their lives, the boy had an up close and personal front-row seat observing everything. He knew exactly what was going on.
"Terrain warfare?" Agunimon asked.
"It's a military strategy that considers the terrain's effects on combat and movement through tactics," Katsuharu explained. "There are mainly three different types of Digimon out there. Think about what each of them did and our environment."
The Legendary Warrior took a moment to contemplate it and understood what Katsuharu was saying. The Drimogemon used the ground to surprise with their drills, while the Harpymon utilized the high winds to amplify their air attacks. These Digimon were made to fight in this environment!
"So the Drimogemon surprised attack us through the ground while the Harpymon strikes in the sky," Agunion summarized, taking a peek over the ice. "What do the Sealsdramon do?"
"Distance," Katsuharu answered. "They're trained snipers and have the high ground. Their job is to find the best possible moment to halt your movements and launch lethal attacks."
As if to prove his theory, a bullet of light shot out heading straight toward Agunimon's head. The Flame Warrior moved out of the way just in time. The beam pierced right past him taking out a good chunk of ice.
"So they have us on ground, air, and range," Agunimon said, disgruntled. "Great… Does anyone else have anything they like to add?"
"I do," Korikakumon replied unfortunately. "I don't we have a lot of time until the volcano erupts."
"What do you mean?"
"Haven't you noticed it when entering the fractal field? Look at the top of the mountain."
Agunimon looked at the peak of Mt. Fuji and understood what his friend meant.
Before entering the fractal field, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the volcano. It looked more like a mountain and dormant to the sight.
But after entering the fractal field and looking at it now, Mt. Fuji was far from dormant. Smoke billowed from the top, and the temperature went up a few degrees. One of Japan's most famous landmarks now looked like a dangerous volcano seen in movies.
"Roaawww," The sound of a dragon's roar echoed throughout the whole area causing the whole mountain to shake like an earthquake. The Legendary Warriors grabbed the ice pillar to keep their balance and their enemies temporarily stopped attacking.
After a few moments, the shaking subsided.
"That's not good," Agunimon said. He recognized the roar anywhere. It came from his beast spirit. Judging from the sound, the spirit was in the middle of a battle and losing. "We need to get to the top of Mt. Fuji now!"
If the Legendary Warriors didn't hurry, they were going to lose the Beast Spirit of Flame. Not only that, the volcano was on the verge of erupting. The fractal field was doing a good job containing it, but once Mt. Fuji went off, nothing was stopping it from spilling into the Real World. Who knows what kind of damage will happen?
"That's going to be pretty hard with our current circumstance," Korikakumon said, pointing to the other side of the ice pillar where the Harpymon resumed their air assault. He also looked down to check if any Drimogemon were going to pop up. "Unless you have an idea on how to get passed this."
Agunimon didn't, but maybe someone else did. "Katsuharu, you have a pretty good grasp on the situation. Got any solutions in that smart brain of yours?"
"I do," The boy answered. "The solution is simple but hard to execute. You just have to take out one of the variables."
"You mean taking out the Harpymon, Drimogemon, or Sealsdramon?"
"Right. The strategy they're using against us is solid, but it's too balanced." Katsuharu explained. "Take out one of them and their whole formation falls apart."
"Great idea," Korikakimon said. "How do we do that?"
"Umm… I don't know…"
"What!" Agunimon shouted. "What do you mean you don't know? It's your idea!"
"Look, I'm sorry," Katsuharu responded, slightly apologetic. "But there are a lot of variables going on right now and finding the most optimal solution is going to take time." The boy looked at the ice pillar. The cracks around it were getting bigger. "Which we don't have a lot of. Unless you can think of something faster."
Agunimon didn't, but Katsuharu did have the right idea. Take out one of the Digimon types and the rest will follow. The real question was how, and the Flame Warrior looked around to see if there was anything he could use.
Unfortunately, his prospects weren't much. All he could see was just ground and rocks. Not much work with. It was the perfect area for the Drimogemon to dig around in but not him. It caused the Flame Warrior to sigh but didn't give up. There had to be something around this volcano he could work with.
'Wait a minute…, A thought suddenly occurred to Agunimon. 'A volcano… That's it!'
[Silent Symphony x15] The Harpymon unleashed a series of silent but powerful screeches. The sounds touched the ice pillars, and they shattered like fragile glass causing the Legendary Warriors to jump away from their makeshift blockade.
"Korikakumon! Brace yourself!" The Flame Warrior warned. His fists were already on fire. "Things are about to get a little hot."
[Pyro Punch] Agunimon proceeded to punch out fireballs to the ground multiple times halting their enemies' attacks. He kept at it until the ground around him was red and then touched it humming something to life. Korikakumon and Katsuharu looked at him strangely. What was he trying to do?
Soon though, they found out. Steam started to show up in their surroundings. A part of Mt. Fuji got hotter until the area felt like a sauna.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Korikarumon complained. His feet kept jumping up and down. He felt like he was stepping on hot rocks. "Besides burning my feet, I don't see how heating the ground helps us!"
"No…," Katsuharu said, eyes widened in understanding. "It's a great idea! He's going to suffocate them out!"
Soon, the Drimogemon popped taking deep breaths of air. Their faces and hands were sweating profusely. It looked like they wanted to find the nearest lake to drink from. These guys weren't the only ones who could use terrain warfare.
Agunimon wasn't just punching fire into the ground to stop his enemies. He was tapping into the magma deep within the volcano and willing it to heat up the whole battlefield. If it was already hot just by stepping on the ground, imagine what it was like digging under it. The feeling would probably be like being stuck inside a car during 100-degree summer weather. Not fun.
"Nowhere to run now!" Agunimon shouted and dashed in front of the moles. He made sure to appear in the right position to block the Sealsdramon's sight preventing any sniping.
"Agunimon! Use these!" Korikakumon threw his tomahawks to the Flame Warrior.
"Thanks!"
[UA: Pyro Axe Whirlwind!] Agunimon grabbed the weapons, jumped up, and went into a spin forming a fiery tornado. The flaming vortex engulfed the three Drimogemon. First, the moles experienced the burning sensation from the swirling fires then the tomahawk swings came slashing at multiple parts of their bodies.
"Argh," The Drimogemon screeched miserably from the flames and cuts. Fractal code appeared around them, and the data went to Agunimon's Digivice. The flames kept moving leaving behind three moles who scampered down Mt. Fuji.
The fire tornado plowed right through the horde of Harpymon and headed straight toward one of the Sealsdramon.
[Scouter Monoeye x2] Sealsdramon attempted to scan in hopes of locating the Flame Warrior, but it was no use. The swirling flames were making him too well hidden. The snipers readied their weapons to get in the perfect shot.
When the fire tornado moved in close enough, it dispersed and Agunimon appeared. He held the tomahawks in front dropping down fast toward one of the Sealsdramon.
The sniper took the shot, but it was deflected by the tomahawk. The attack didn't even slow the Flame Warrior down, and he kept going.
"Get rekked!" Agunimon slashed deeply at Sealsdramon. He cut from the sniper's left shoulder going down toward his right hip.
"Ugh," Sealsdramon grunted before his fractal code appeared. It automatically entered the Flame Warrior's Digivice, and a worn-out lizard action figure appeared falling to the ground.
Agunimon suddenly bent backward as a beam flew straight past him. The other Sealsdramon fired the other shot. He turned to look at the sniper and said. "You're next."
As the Flame Warrior ran his way toward him, Sealsdramon fired off more shots, but it was no use. Agunimon kept deflecting them with the tomahawks or dodging them. One of the main weaknesses of snipers was short-range combat. Once someone got close enough, they would become easy pickings. Both fighters knew that too well.
"Harpymon! Come and distract the fiery one!" Sealsdramon commanded and moved backward. He wanted the humanoid birds to intercept the Flame Warrior, while he found a new location to snipe.
Unfortunately, Korikakumon wasn't going to let that happen.
[Frozen Arrowheads] As the Harpymon tried to fly to Agunimon, the yeti jumped in between. He swung his body, and his extensible hair braids flew out. The bladed edges on each braid aimed at the humanoid birds.
The Harpymon panicked and swerved. They managed to dodge the bladed braids, but their flight pattern was disrupted. They weren't going to come to Sealsdramon's aid anytime soon.
Katsuharu was right. By taking out the Drimogemon, the Legendary Warriors had an easier time fighting. The current formation was useless on them now.
With no other interference, Agunimon had no problems closing in on Sealsdramon and was only a few feet away from him. He raised the tomahawk and slashed. "You're finished."
"Not yet…"
[Death Behind] When the tomahawk was mere inches away from Sealsdramon, he pushed his rifle back causing the axe to hit the strap. Free of his heavy weapon using the momentum, the sniper moved behind Agunimon and pulled out a knife. He aimed at a specific vital part of the Flame Warrior's back and thrust forward. "Die!"
Screech! The sound of two metals clashing rang out, but the collision wasn't between knife and armor. It was a clash between weapons. Before the knife could pierce the armor, Agunimon angled the other tomahawk to cover his backside making Sealsdramon's last ditch lethal ineffective.
"Nice try," Agunimon turned around and gave the sniper a spinning round kick causing him to fly right into the air. "Korikakumon!"
Three bladed braids came and pierced deep into Sealsdramon midair. "Arrgh," The sniper grunted in pain. Freezing cold energy infiltrated his body. Fractal code appeared around him and automatically went to the yeti leaving the second discarded worn-out lizard action figure.
"Roaargggh," Another dragon roar rang out shaking the whole mountain again. But this time, something felt different. The roar was weaker than the last one, the shaking seemed more erratic, and the temperature rose. Whatever was happening inside Mt. Fuji, the dragon was losing.
"Guys! I'm gonna go on ahead. Take care of things here without me!" Agunimon stated, passing the tomahawks back to his friend and sprinting higher up the mountain.
[Avalanche Axes] The Harpymon tried to pursue the Flame Warrior, but Korikakumon wasn't going to allow that to happen. He swiftly jumped up in front and waved his tomahawks crazily at them.
Unfortunately, the humanoid birds were prepared.
[Wind Seeker x15] The Harpymon dispersed and then all attacked with wind blades. At first, Korikakumon managed to slash apart the wind blades with berserk strength. But then the humanoid birds focused their attacks at one point and blasted the yeti back to the ground creating a small crater.
"Grrr…," Korikakumon stood back up growling. Although he and Agunimon managed to beat the Drimogemon and the Sealsdramon, the Harpymon still had the aerial advantage. Avalanche Axes had high attack mobility but low range. Those pesky birds could just attack mid-range, and they knew it too.
His other attack, Frozen Arrowheads, was a no-go either. It had the range, but the mobility was too linear–like a straight-shooting arrow. The Harpymon would easily dodge the Frozen Arrowheads and continue their assault. Korikakumon could manipulate his braided hairs but not against numerous foes. Manipulating each braid simultaneously and doing different things would give in a massive headache. At this rate, the humanoid birds were going to outlast him and catch up to Agunimon.
"Tomoki, do you remember when we were watching that movie where that lady was using a rope dart?" Katsuharu asked. He was still hanging on the back of the yeti's head.
"...Yes," Korikakumon answered, confused. They were still in the middle of a battle. How was remembering a movie supposed to help him?
"Turn your tomahawks into a rope dart. It'll solve the issue of your range issue and beat these birds," Although Katsuharu couldn't do much in fighting, he could still observe the battle and offer sound advice.
"It's a good idea," The Ice Warrior understood his friend's logic now, "but I don't have any chains or ropes that I can attach to my weapons here."
"You don't need rope or chains," Katsuharu pulled up the yeti's hair braid. "You already have the perfect substitute right here."
Korikakumon's eyes lit up, and he quickly manipulated his hair. Two braids each wrapped tightly around his tomahawks. Two more also wrapped around Katsuharu making sure the boy was secured.
"Better hold on," The yeti said to his friend. "I'm about to go crazy!"
[SCA: Avalanche Meteor Axes] Using his new makeshift weapons, Korikarumon went berserk. His tomahawks flew straight at two Harpymon. The humanoid birds managed to dodge, but then the dual-bladed axes pulled back and hit them in their backside. When his tomahawks returned, the yeti twirled the axe at his foot, stepped on it, and pulled at the braid. Once taut to the fullest, he lifted his foot, and Tomahawk shot out to another Harpymon hitting her like a bullet. The poor humanoid bird didn't even have enough time to dodge.
Thanks to Katsuharu's advice, Korikakumon created a new attack. Avalanche Axes always lacked range, but by using his hair braids as rope, the yeti now had a longer distance to attack. Although it took more movements to fling the tomahawks, the cost was well worth the reward.
Remembering how the lady used her rope dart to fight and making sure Katsuharu didn't get accidentally hurt with his attacks, Korikakumon went rampant on Mt Fuji. His tomahawks danced in the air like meteor hammers as they hit the Harpymon.
The humanoid birds couldn't predict the trajectory or dodge the duel-bladed axes anymore. All they could was let the Tomahawks hack them. Their fractal code appeared automatically going to Korikakumon. The Harpymon then transformed into white birds, and the little animals flew away from the mountain. Their defeat was imminent.
With no more obstructions, Agunimon could now get to his beast spirit. As he made his way higher, the slope became steeper, and the Flame Warrior had to resort to climbing. But he made it and stood at the mouth of Mt. Fuji.
"Whew," Agunimon waved some smoke away from him looking down below. He still couldn't see much through the volcanic smog but could feel the temperature rising from the heat waves. The Beast Spirit of Flame was definitely down there. "Here we go."
The Flame Warrior wasted no time and jumped into the volcano. Just like the Legendary Warrior of Ice wasn't affected much by the cold, the heat had no effect on Agunimon, even in magma-level temperatures. Still, Takuya would never attempt this if he was in his human form.
After falling a few kilometers, Agunimon finally landed on solid ground. Looking around, he mostly pillars and patches of rocks with walls surrounding him like a pit. What wasn't rock was filled with molten hot magma.
The Flame Warrior stared at the dangerous bright, red liquid. It was bubbling like crazy, and he could feel something holding in but about to burst. If something wasn't done, Mt. Fuji was set to blow.
"You came…," A guttery voice said in the distance.
Following the sound, Aguinimon saw a creature that looked like he was born from the volcano.
He resembled an earth dragon with a black body matching the minerals of burning coal. His claws, teeth, horns, and other parts of his body glowed bright red like magma, and the spikes on his back kept puffing out smoke like mini-volcanos.
Lavorvomon: A champion-level, rock dragon-type Digimon whose Special Attacks are Mightly Flame and Earth Stamp. They are a Digimon whose entire body are made out of lava, and spouts mineral dust as they go about their activities. Even though they have wings, they can't fly but can crawl extremely fast despite their appearance. They usually have a friendly personality, but now have become evil thanks to the Demon Lords' influence.
"So you defeated the Drimogemon, Harpymon, and Sealsdramon, huh?" Lavorvomon said, then smiled. "Unfortunately, it was all for naught."
Hovering around the lava dragon's arms was the Beast Spirit of Flame. It was in his relic form releasing intimidating pressure.
"Don't tell me…," Agunimon stared at his other spirit and could feel it weakening. He heard from the others earlier about how their enemies grabbed their beast spirit and tried to make a run for it.
But Lavorvomon wasn't doing that. Instead of taking the spirit, he looked like he was trying to…
"The Beast Spirit is mine!" The lava dragon shouted in triumph as the last resistance from the relic broke.
"Noooo!" Agunimon dashed at Larvorvomon trying to stop him, but he was too late.
A bright light exploded engulfing both the Digimon and spirit, and the Flame Warrior got pushed back from the force. When the light faded, Larvorvomon or spirit wasn't there anymore. Instead, there was a tall dragon-like creature.
He stood upright like a human in a bipedal posture. His head consisted of a bird-like filled with razor-sharp teeth, and blue, raptor eyes, and was almost entirely covered by a silver helmet with crimson stripes, an emblem, and horns related to the Greymon Species. He had flaming, feathered wings, sharp claws on each of his limbs, and a muscular body covered in crimson armor, inlaid with silver panels and golding etchings. Both forearms were equipped with triangular, golden superweapons.
"...I was too late." Agunimon said, looking at the new Digimon. He knew this appearance all too well. His beast Digimon form: BurningGreymon.
The Beast Spirit of Flame had been taken over…
Oh no! The Beast Spirit of Flame was taken over. What will Agunimon do now?
To find out. Tune in next time on Digimon Frontier 2: Fractal Fusion!
Preview: Volcanic Showdown