53. ExVeemon

"Tai, Tai!"

Zeromaru's voice pulled Tai back to the present.

Though Tai had walked down memory lane for what felt like a long time, just like in any anime featuring a flashback, only a few seconds had actually passed in reality.

Tai looked at Zeromaru. Right now, Deathmon's power was overwhelmingly terrifying, and the energy of the Digi-Destined of Destiny had been completely exhausted.

Faced with this desperate situation, even Tai could not think of any way to turn the tables other than evolution.

"A-Zero..." Before Tai could finish his sentence, Zeromaru suddenly spoke, "Tai, let me evolve."

Zeromaru's gaze was filled with unwavering determination. Admittedly, he had been afraid that if he evolved into something too massive or changed too drastically in appearance, the bond between Tai and him would never be the same again.

Perhaps he was just overthinking things. Even though Zeromaru knew Tai wasn't the kind of person to abandon him over a change in appearance, Zeromaru simply wanted to completely eliminate the possibility of Tai ever thinking, 'I wish I hadn't let him evolve.'

Armor evolution was fine since it was a one-time transformation that allowed him to revert to his original form, but normal evolution was irreversible. Once he evolved, he had to accept the resulting form.

Yet at this moment, under the crushing pressure of Deathmon's power, there was no longer any room for Zeromaru to hesitate out of concern for his own appearance.

If he didn't evolve, they would lose, and Tai would die!

Zeromaru's eyes right now were filled with absolute seriousness and resolution: "I will protect Tai, no matter what, even if it costs me my life!"

Just like for Tai, to Zeromaru, Tai was a partner more important than his own life, more important than anything else in the world.

"A-Zero..." Tai locked eyes with Zeromaru. How could partners whose hearts beat as one not know each other's feelings?

"Then let's go!"

"Ooh—!"

At that exact moment, the seven Crests erupted with the brightest light in their history, enveloping both Tai and Zeromaru within it.

Although Deathmon had been blinded by rage, he could still tell that the current situation was clearly abnormal.

Instantly, from the single eye on his forehead, he unleashed his most powerful signature move, "Explosion Eye," while the Death Arrows on both hands fired frantically as if they cost nothing, creating a blood-red barrage of high-speed gunfire at a rate of thirty-six hundred rounds per second.

Under the relentless bombardment, Tai and Zeromaru were completely swallowed by dust and sand. Deathmon clearly did not know the meaning of the trope "smoke means nobody gets hurt."

As expected, at that moment, Tai's voice rang out from below.

"Digi-Soul, Charge!"

Instantly, a gale-force wind of category eight began to whip across the sky. The desert region was hit hardest by the storm, and several gigantic tornadoes connecting earth and sky formed out of thin air. Right in the center of the largest dust storm, Zeromaru's body was bathed in multiple streams of surging energy.

First and foremost was the sheer volume of data Zeromaru had accumulated himself. Looking back closely, Zeromaru had defeated countless Champion-level foes, multiple Ultimate-levels, and even a Mega-level opponent. All the data gained through these battles was directly tied to his strength, serving as the evolutionary foundation that guaranteed Zeromaru would evolve toward something stronger, fiercer, and more powerful than ever before.

Next were the Crests of Evolution. Normally, a single glowing Crest was enough to evolve a Chosen Child's partner to the Ultimate level. But right now, a full seven Crests were revolving around Zeromaru alone. Words could not describe how overpowered this foundation was.

Finally, there was the seemingly fragile yet most crucial element of all: Tai's Digi-Soul.

Tai had poured out all of his most positive emotions. The Digi-Soul ignited under such circumstances was no longer limited by the color of a single Crest, but instead radiated Tai's truest color.

The exact same blue as Zeromaru.

To a certain extent, these three forces represented the power of Digimon, the Digital World, and humanity. At this moment, the three merged into one, transforming into the greatest light of evolution in history!

"V-dramon, Super Evolution!"

A blue beam of light pierced the sky, cutting through the layers of surrounding sandstorms, and slammed fiercely into Deathmon, who hovered in mid-air.

Deathmon, who had seemed invincible just moments before, was knocked straight down from the sky by the impact.

What was that flying missile? A fighter jet? A meteor?

No, it was fucking Zeromaru!

His physique was twice as large as before, and all of his stats from the V-dramon era surged explosively at this moment. The wings on his back granted him the ability to manipulate the wind, allowing him to execute a signature move even more powerful than the V-Breath Arrow, and even form a protective barrier of wind.

Even his previously slightly chubby body had become robust, with massive, chiseled muscles gleaming like jewels under the sunlight.

Tai felt a deep sense of emotional realization: "The seven Crests really did summon a divine dragon."

A divine dragon named AeroVeedramon!

AeroVeedramon was inherently a battle-tribe species possessing Mega-level combat power even while in the Ultimate stage, and Zeromaru possessed combat capabilities far surpassing those of ordinary individuals of his kind.

An ordinary AeroVeedramon versus Zeromaru.

The difference between the two was akin to a Saiyan compared to the legendary Super Saiyan born once every thousand years.

Combined with the bonus of seven Crests during evolution, it was unimaginable what kind of terrifying power was currently lurking beneath that body. Who on earth could possibly force him to fight at full strength now?!

Fucking nobody, absolutely nobody!

"What's wrong? Is the power of the Demon Lord really only at this level?!"

With just a single flying tackle, Deathmon had already suffered a heavy blow.

He struggled to beat his wings and rose back into the air.

Having evolved into AeroVeedramon, Zeromaru was now large enough for Tai to ride on his back. Looking at Deathmon, Tai no longer felt the suffocating pressure he had experienced earlier.

Watching the chaotic air currents churn up beneath Deathmon's wingbeats, the corners of Tai's mouth curled upward: "Want to gain an advantage in aerial combat? Sorry, A-Zero doesn't have that weakness anymore!"

With a single flap of his wings, Zeromaru altered the airflow, turning it into a tailwind that favored his own forward momentum.

Deathmon stared fixedly at Zeromaru, terrified that looking away for even a split second would cause him to lose track of his enemy.

Yet even with such intense concentration, when Zeromaru's fist smashed into his face, Deathmon's mind went completely blank.

This divine speed was as if Zeromaru had simply paused time during his dash.

Even if Deathmon grew an eye on every single fingertip, there was no way he could have reacted in time.

"It's time for the finale," Tai muttered. Zeromaru began to gather energy, forming a V-shaped energy blade extending from the sharp horn on his nose to the tips of his wings.

"Let's send you off to the other side with this evolved signature move—V-Wing Blade!"

Deathmon attempted a last-ditch struggle, unleashing his signature "Explosion Eye" from his eyes once more.

However, the V-Wing Blade cut through the blood-red ray without the slightest hindrance, slicing both the attack and Deathmon cleanly in two with an unstoppable momentum.

Tai let out a sigh of relief, and without thinking, the words "We won!" slipped out of his mouth.

Sure enough, the magic of those words always worked. The massive energy within Deathmon erupted completely after his destruction.

The spatial distortion-induced portal leading to the human world that had appeared earlier in the sky now grew even larger, generating a fierce gravitational pull. Unfortunately, Tai and Zeromaru, flying high in the air, were the closest to the portal, and having let their guard down after defeating the enemy, they were sucked in by the pulling force almost instantly, caught completely off guard.

The dizzying sensation of jumping across different dimensions plunged Tai's vision into total darkness.