30. The Rolling Ball Gives Birth to All Things

Tai followed the Koromon deep into the small path for several minutes. Before long, he saw a stone slab engraved with a sun-like pattern blocking his way. Tai looked at his glowing Digivice and discovered that the pattern on it was identical to the one on the slab.

Presumably, this was the first Crest. At that moment, the entire path began to emanate an orange glow. The stone slab was bathed in the same light, then slowly shrunk until it was the perfect size to fit into the empty slot of the Digivice, at which point it automatically slid inside.

With the path cleared, Tai found that they had reached the other side of the mountain. "This is very far from our village," the Koromon said. "Etemon won't be able to find us here for a while."

They could not return to their previous village, so the Koromon found a patch of open land on this side of the mountain, intending to build a new one—the NEO Koromon Village, or "NEO Village" for short. Tai and Zeromaru helped with the reconstruction. As the village began to take shape through their collective efforts, Tai and Zeromaru exchanged a nod.

"Are you leaving?" The Koromon, possessing the keen intuition often attributed to children, sensed Tai's intent to depart.

"Yeah, we still have a lot to do," Tai said, crouching down to scoop a Koromon into his arms. He had to collect the remaining Crests; judging by the slots on the Digivice, there were six more hidden across Server Continent. Beyond that, he had to locate and defeat all the dark forces on the continent. Even on File Island, there had been formidable foes like Devimon; Tai did not believe that on the vastly larger Server Continent, Etemon was the only Digimon causing harm.

"You're still going to go after Etemon?" they asked. "Don't go! Etemon is an Ultimate-level Digimon; you can't win."

Tai clenched his fists. "Whether we can win or not is something we'll only know after we fight."

A Koromon looked up at the smile on Tai's face and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so confident? Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid?" Tai was stunned, as if the question had never crossed his mind. In an instant, his thoughts raced. From the first day he arrived in the Digital World, he had met Zeromaru, and together they had fought powerful Digimon until, without realizing it, they had become infinitely stronger than they were at the start. They had encountered opponents stronger than themselves along the way, but those encounters only fueled their fighting spirit, allowing them to grow stronger through shared resolve and eventually overcome their enemies. Lost in thought, Tai realized he couldn't remember the last time he had felt fear.

Hearing the question now, it felt a bit like a child asking a master about the meaning of humility. Tai shook his head. "I don't know. I've never thought about it."

"Is that so?" the Koromon mused. "Then you really are brave."

Is not being afraid the same as being brave? Tai felt that courage wasn't quite that, but he couldn't put into words exactly what it was.

"Ouch!" A Koromon nearby tripped and cried out, snapping Tai out of his thoughts. Looking over, he saw a familiar black cable lying next to the fallen Digimon. Tai recognized it immediately—it was the medium Etemon used to amplify the power of his voice when he sang.

"This means Etemon's minions are here, too!"

The Koromon erupted into a panic. One stammered, "We have to leave immediately! Etemon could find us at any moment!" Another added anxiously, "Yes, yes! We can't just sit here and wait to die; we must find a safe place to hide."

"No!" A lone Koromon stood up. His voice wasn't loud, but it held the power to command everyone's attention. "Where can we run to? Etemon’s eyes are everywhere on Server Continent. Sooner or later, we'll be found again by creatures like Gazimon!" The Koromon’s eyes seemed to spark. "Running away like this solves nothing. Every time we flee, we abandon our home and our future. Isn't experiencing that twice enough?"

The Koromon's words may have been naive or immature, but the sheer willpower behind them made Tai look on with newfound respect. As he listened, Tai fell into deep contemplation, failing to notice that the Crest he had just obtained was beginning to glow.

"Hehehehe, I've finally found you~"

Etemon’s grating laughter echoed through the air. A train emblazoned with the "Monkey" kanji rumbled over the black cables, crushing trees and forests as it sped toward NEO Village. Tai immediately stepped in front of the Koromon to shield them. The side of the train slid open, and Etemon stepped out.

"To think you'd hide here with these weaklings. So, the so-called 'Chosen Children' are nothing more than cowards, just like these In-Training Digimon."

Seeing the evil Digimon who had terrorized Server Continent for so long appear before them, many of the Koromon huddled together in fear.

"We are not cowards!"

"Bring it on! We aren't afraid of you!"

Some of the Koromon, moved by the earlier speech, stood with firm gazes, side-by-side with Tai. Watching them tremble yet refuse to retreat a single step, Tai finally understood.

"You're wrong!" Tai stepped forward, his eyes locked onto Etemon. "Even if they are weak, the Koromon who choose to live despite constantly having to run... and the Koromon who, knowing they lack the strength and feeling the fear, still choose to fight for their companions to protect their home—this power to overcome fear is what true courage is!"

Etemon froze. "What are you talking about?"

Tai continued, "If the Koromon are going to fight for their survival, then I will fight to protect such brave Koromon!"

Suddenly, the Crest on his chest erupted with unprecedented brilliance, illuminating the entire valley as if it were midday. The Koromon standing in the front line were bathed in this light, and they felt an inexhaustible well of strength and courage surging within them.

"Koromon, Digivolve!" they shouted in unison.

"Agumon!"
"Gabumon!"
"Candlemon!"
"Salamon!"
"Dracomon!"
"Renamon!"
"Veemon!"
"Huckmon!"
...

In the blink of an eye, the area was filled with various Rookie-level Digimon. Tai was stunned by the sight, realizing this was the power of the Crest of Courage. It was the first time he had ever seen Koromon evolve into so many different types of Digimon—half of which he had never even seen before.