36. MetalGreymon versus Greymon

Back to Tai.

Gazimon had headed into the arena ahead of Tai to release the Greymon. As a Digimon who had been enslaved by Etemon, regardless of whether he was truly the big brother of the Koromon village, he shouldn't be imprisoned here like a slave.

"By the way, is this Greymon a Vaccine type or a Virus type?"

Gazimon scratched his head. "It's a Vaccine type... Virus-type Greymon are quite rare in the Digital World."

Tai nodded. He had only asked out of curiosity; it certainly wasn't because Virus-type Greymon were black and blue.

As soon as they got out of the vehicle, Zeromaru woke up, though the experience on the ride had left him with deep psychological trauma.

"Tai... I never want to ride in a vehicle again, QAQ."

He clung to Tai's back like a koala, making Tai carry him toward the interior of the arena. Tai felt a bit guilty for not noticing Zeromaru's condition during the ride, so he let him cuddle up.

"But if I'm carrying you, you'd better not throw up on me!" Tai said nervously.

Zeromaru rested his head on Tai's, saying lazily, "I won't. You're not a vehicle, after all."

"Geez, I really don't know what you're so motion-sick about."

Recalling how Zeromaru had looked like a dead dog earlier, Tai decided they shouldn't take any more vehicles for the rest of the journey. In any case, their top running speed wasn't necessarily slower than a train.

"I've saved the rest of the route in my Digivice, so we'll be fine walking on our own."

Walking through the eerily quiet entrance corridor, Tai wasn't worried that Gazimon would use the head start to set any traps. Even if they took it a step further, if the opponent had any underhanded tricks left to force him into a desperate struggle now that even the mighty Etemon had been defeated, Tai would actually have to commend them.

They passed through the arena's archway, and the view suddenly opened up. The interior was spacious and grand. The spectator stands were empty, and the lights illuminated the central field. Tai paused, stunned.

This wasn't the sandy floor one would expect in an arena; it was a soccer field, outlined with white lines and marked by goal frames on either side. With the long corridor they had just traversed and the stands capable of holding thousands, Tai felt as if he were about to participate in a soccer match. Yet, for some reason, he felt a sense of dissonance about the field.

Tai stood on the field waiting, but Gazimon, who had run into the locker room at the other end, remained silent.

"Why is it taking so long?" Tai frowned, sensing something was wrong, and headed toward the locker room with Zeromaru.

Just then, Gazimon's voice echoed from the room: "Run!"

Tai and Zeromaru didn't hesitate—they turned and ran... or that would have been the case if they were normal. Instead, their previously leisurely pace quickened, and in an instant, they reached the door. Tai kicked it open to find Gazimon tied up on the ground, his body covered in fresh wounds that hadn't been there before.

He noticed the locker room window had been forced open and immediately walked over, catching a glimpse of several Gazimon fleeing in a panic toward the distance. "Those guys! They'd even attack their own kind!" Tai balled his fists in anger, realizing that among Etemon's remnants, there was still a Digimon capable of issuing orders.

Just then, the giant screen in the center of the arena flickered to life.

"Hello there, Taichi Yagami."

"So it's you!"

Tai spun around, his gaze piercing as he stared at Datamon on the screen. "You're the one who took over the slave trade after Etemon, aren't you!"

Zeromaru spoke up from the side: "Tai, that's Datamon. He's an Ultimate-level Digimon."

"Oh, don't look at me with such frightening eyes. I'm actually quite fond of you," Datamon said with a grin. "Thanks to you defeating Etemon, I was finally able to break free from the cage that had bound me for years."

Tai sneered, "You don't look like you're planning to invite me to dinner. Enough talk—whatever tricks you have, bring them out!"

"So impatient. Very well, just watch."

*BOOM!*

A sudden, immense force struck from outside the arena, effortlessly splitting the structure in two. Immediately, a giant dragon-like Digimon, half-black and half-white and covered in mechanical plating, charged in.

"RAAAH!" The MetalGreymon, taller than the arena itself, let out a roar toward the sky, a sound like Godzilla.

"That's a MetalGreymon! Another Ultimate!"

It was the first time Zeromaru had seen an Ultimate-level Digimon of his own draconic lineage, and a surge of battle spirit welled up in his heart.

Tai was also surprised. "That Datamon... he can actually command an Ultimate?"

He scanned the MetalGreymon with his Digivice and found its stats were even higher than Etemon’s without the cable enhancement.

"Well, a worthy opponent to have some fun with," Tai said, a smirk forming.

Of course, this was assuming Zeromaru didn't use any overloads or Crest enhancements, calculating purely based on base stats.

"Zeromaru, go—"

*BOOM!*

As Tai was speaking, the wall behind him was suddenly smashed through, and a Greymon wearing a collar charged out.

"WAAAAAH!"

Upon seeing the MetalGreymon, the Greymon's eyes turned blood-red. Ignoring the massive power gap, it roared and charged. Tai watched the Greymon's retreating back. The creature wasn't even as thick as one of MetalGreymon's legs, yet it didn't care about the difference in strength—or perhaps it wasn't thinking at all—as it unleashed a Mega Flame at the opponent.

The Mega Flame struck MetalGreymon's chest, but after the explosion, it hadn't caused the slightest bit of damage. Tai was reminded of his battle with Andromon; it seemed these mechanically augmented Ultimate Digimon possessed extremely high defense.

MetalGreymon fired several blue lasers, blocking the Greymon's path. As the number of lasers increased, they began to rotate and converge toward the Greymon.

*BOOM!*

An explosion sounded, and the Greymon collapsed into the smoke. Tai was just about to have Zeromaru step in to pull the Greymon away when he noticed the creature, which should have been incapacitated, struggling to stand up again. With a crazed roar, it charged once more.

"Is that the Greymon Etemon captured? That guy... he doesn't look right."

Gazimon emerged from the damaged corner. "Maybe it's to keep his winning streak alive."

Under Tai and Zeromaru's confused gazes, Gazimon explained: "Every Digimon captured by Etemon and thrown into this arena was promised that if they achieved 100 consecutive wins, they would regain their freedom."

Tai asked, "Has any Digimon reached 100 wins so far?"

Gazimon shook his head. "Impossible. For the sake of freedom, every Digimon fights with everything they have. Since they are all Champion-level Digimon with similar combat strength, every match is a death match. How many death matches can one person win in a lifetime?"

Tai looked at the Greymon and muttered to himself, "But that guy... he's already won 99 in a row."

Watching the Greymon, who collapsed repeatedly but stood up again and again as if he didn't know pain, Tai understood. The creature's sanity had been ground away, bit by bit, through one desperate death match after another. Even so, he remembered he had to win, he had to secure those 100 wins to be free.

Now, although Etemon had been defeated, the Greymon didn't know that. He believed he had to win this final battle to leave.

Under the barrage of MetalGreymon's Giga Blaster, the Greymon fell once more. Having sustained multiple Ultimate-level finishers, his life force was flickering like a candle in the wind. But in his mind, the voice that forced him to stand up again and again did not stop:

*Cannot lose...*

*Must win.*

*I finally evolved.*

*Must win!*

*I have to go back.*

*Must win!!*

*The little ones in the village are waiting for me to go back and protect them after I evolve.*

*This is the promise I made to my little brothers... Since a promise was made, it must be kept!*

*Stand up, stand up!*

The Greymon opened his blood-red eyes once more, crawled up with a struggle, and roared to the heavens:

"I WILL BE VICTORIOUS!!!"

At that same moment, one of the Tags on Tai's chest suddenly began to glow.