MegaKuwagamon

Cardmaster Twister did not disappoint them. Just as the mass of flesh reached them, a Small King quietly appeared, blocking the filth raining down from the sky.

But the mass of flesh was corrosive. The protective barrier was shrinking at a speed almost visible to the naked eye, filling T.K. Takaishi with despair.

A golden light flashed in the distant sky. It was Cardmaster Twister. "Take these three queens!" This was one of his signature moves.

One playing card swept across the enormous vines, slicing through them effortlessly. Another seemed to possess an irresistible pull; as it skimmed over Oraclemon's head, it drew away every last mass of flesh. The third queen settled gently on Claypotmon's head, sealing Claypotmon and even forcing that swollen body back to its normal size.

"Oraclemon, everyone, you can take a break now. Leave the fight between Ultimates to me." Once his Ultimate aura appeared, no one there objected.

A quarter of the Champion Digimon had died in the chaotic battle. Of those left, more than half had died in their brief clash with MegaNumemon just now. They finally understood how terrifying an Ultimate Digimon could be.

MegaNumemon had noticed Cardmaster Twister, of course. This pause in the fighting was purely to let Charge-Up gather strength. Terrifying though those earlier attacks had been, MegaNumemon had merely been toying with these helpless Champions.

"Hehehehe. I'd love to find out what an Ultimate tastes like." The voice coming from that abyssal maw sent chills down everyone's spine. MegaNumemon made no attempt to hide that desire.

"Perfect. I only evolved recently myself. Fighting an opponent like you is sure to help me improve a great deal." Cardmaster Twister showed no sign of backing down.

As Cardmaster Twister spoke, MegaNumemon's tentacles seized Izzy Izumi and the others, who had already been knocked unconscious, and hurled them at him like cannonballs. Cardmaster Twister lunged forward, apparently intending to rescue them. Seeing this, MegaNumemon thought even less of him. But Cardmaster Twister had complete confidence in his ace defense and made no attempt to intercept them. He slipped close to the barrier and gently pressed a card against it. His body instantly vanished in the barrier's glow.

Cardmaster Twister reappeared behind MegaNumemon. Or rather, MegaNumemon had no back, since countless eyes covered every side. Cardmaster Twister had no intention of hiding, either. His surprise attack was meant to inflict as much damage as possible, and those exposed eyes were his ideal targets. "Royal Poker!" At his call, a spatial portal opened behind him. Its dazzling golden light nearly blinded MegaNumemon. Then countless playing cards flew out of the portal, heading straight for those eyes.

"So that's where Mr. Trist's cards come from," T.K. Takaishi said in wonder.

"Now that's what an Ultimate should be like!" MegaNumemon roared. "Dark Jungle!" Countless tentacles burst out of the ground in Cardmaster Twister's direction. Packed densely together, they truly lived up to the name Dark Jungle.

Above the ground, an endless stream of Royal Poker cards flew from the portal, severing the growing tentacles. Another handful of earth-yellow playing cards appeared in Cardmaster Twister's hand. "Earth Vein Seal!" He flung them out. The cards lodged in the holes left by the retreating tentacles, then instantly melted into an earth-yellow liquid, sealing the ground shut.

"Impossible! You can't possibly be a Digimon of the Jungle Troopers! How could you have that ability?" MegaNumemon howled, as though confronted by a natural nemesis.

"You know quite a lot," Cardmaster Twister said with a smile. "I'm a magician who wanders the earth. If I can't even stop other magicians from digging tunnels, how could I possibly save the world?"

"A magician? What's that?" Such things lay outside MegaNumemon's knowledge, after all.

As the Earth Vein Seal began to take effect, MegaNumemon's range of movement grew smaller and smaller. Sludge was more than a mere description.

"Aaah!" MegaNumemon screamed. Without the protection of the tentacles, every eye was soon slashed by Royal Poker, leaving MegaNumemon nearly blind.

"I haven't lost yet! Endless Defense!" Cardmaster Twister wanted to see MegaNumemon's special move, so he held back.

Far away, the fallen Digimon forced to retreat by the all-out battle between Ultimates felt a stirring within their bodies. They began flying toward MegaNumemon against their will.

One after another, the fallen Digimon were swallowed into MegaNumemon's abyssal maw. The sight made Cardmaster Twister's scalp prickle.

"I never imagined you had a move like that. I have to stop you!" Cardmaster Twister roared, flinging out playing cards again. Some were meant to inflict damage, others to stop MegaNumemon from feeding. But a move called Endless Defense had earned its name. With every Digimon swallowed, MegaNumemon's body swelled larger out of nowhere. Cardmaster Twister's cards slashed across that body. Piercing attacks could force their way through the flesh and struggle onward before their power was completely exhausted. Explosive cards simply bounced off the slick surface. None of them stopped the devouring suction.

"Try this! Pollution!" A lump of foul-smelling sludge erupted from MegaNumemon's enormous mouth and flew straight at Cardmaster Twister.

"That won't work on me," Cardmaster Twister said. Although none of his various playing cards could stop the sludge, his teleportation technique could easily evade an attack like this. Sure enough, just as the sludge reached him, his body rippled, and his real self vanished to who knew where.

"How is this possible?" Cardmaster Twister's frightened voice rang out. When everyone located its source, they saw him covered in foul-smelling sludge. It was eating away at his body. Though he used all manner of playing-card magic to ease the corrosion, it had little effect.

"Hahaha! Speaking of that, I ought to thank you. If you hadn't blinded me, how could I have understood the greatness of the earth so quickly? Let me tell you, as long as a Digimon stands upon the earth, there's nowhere I can't find them!" MegaNumemon howled madly. "Now let's see which of us gives out first!"

"Everyone, attack MegaNumemon with everything you have!" Oraclemon's weak voice rang out. "MegaNumemon's Pollution is a contest of wills. If Cardmaster Twister can't hold on, he'll die. Attack MegaNumemon with all your strength. Once Cardmaster Twister recovers, we'll win."

"Hahaha! Don't even dream of it! Endless Defense!" MegaNumemon opened that enormous mouth and began sucking in fallen Digimon again.

Every one of the few remaining fallen Digimon was an elite. Among the normal Digimon, only the likes of Butterflymon and Claypotmon had reached this level. Given a single opportunity, they could evolve into Ultimates. Now, however, they were nothing but MegaNumemon's food.

Though barely lucid, every fallen Digimon instinctively resisted being devoured. Meanwhile, the combined fire of the normal Digimon barely scraped MegaNumemon's skin. They also tried to eliminate the fallen Digimon to cut off that supply, only to discover, to their sorrow, that their attacks merely wounded them and made them get swallowed even faster.

Just as a Kuwagamon was about to be swallowed, a pale blue ball of lightning flew in from afar, burning half of Kuwagamon's body to charcoal. It also knocked Kuwagamon out of range of MegaNumemon's enormous mouth.

MegaNumemon paid it no mind. The injured Kuwagamon flew back toward that mouth at three or four times the previous speed. But Kuwagamon had regained clarity. "Kabuterimon. My sworn enemy. I am Kuwagamon. I am a servant of darkness. I am Kuwagamon. I am not a servant of darkness."

Kuwagamon murmured, those eyes growing ever brighter. A pillar of light descended from the sky.

"Kuwagamon, digivolve to... MegaKuwagamon!"

MegaKuwagamon was no longer pitch-black from the taint of darkness, but a pallid white. Strange red runes marked that body in various places, manifestations of Kuwagamon's power. MegaKuwagamon's entire body was as large as a villa, fully a third of MegaNumemon's size after Endless Defense.

"Ami-Kuwagamon Scissor Arms!" While everyone marveled at the newly appeared Ultimate Digimon, MegaKuwagamon aimed those hard scissor arms at MegaNumemon.

MegaNumemon's Endless Defense was immensely powerful. Though MegaKuwagamon's scissor arms cut into that body, the wounds kept healing, trapping the blades inside. MegaKuwagamon's screams made the pain all too clear.

Cardmaster Twister, still wrapped in sludge, was also fighting desperately. Several playing cards shot out with a series of whooshes. As though guided automatically, they flew into MegaNumemon's body along the channels opened by MegaKuwagamon's scissor arms. Muffled explosions sounded, twisting MegaNumemon's entire body.

Though the opening lasted only a moment, Kabuterimon had already flown back from afar. From the sky, Kabuterimon aimed at MegaNumemon's abyssal maw. "Mega Cannon!"

"MegaKuwagamon, can't you stay?" T.K. Takaishi asked through his tears. MegaKuwagamon looked at Tentomon, standing in front of Izzy Izumi, and said, "From the moment we were controlled, we had already lost. The Digimon World has given me another chance, and I'm going to take it."

"Well, MegaKuwagamon, we prepared ourselves before the war began. They won't blame you," Master Lu-mon said reassuringly, though with a guilty conscience.

"Won't blame me? How could they not? Those fools are certain to insist that Claypotmon could have been saved, and I killed Claypotmon right in front of them. If they want revenge, let them come." MegaKuwagamon spoke openly and firmly, completely drowning out the Champion Digimon's discussions.

"MegaKuwagamon, I'm Tentomon now. We're the same kind of Digimon. Don't look at me like that," Tentomon said.

"Heh. Don't worry, Kabuterimon. I'll come challenge you to a duel once you've evolved into an Ultimate." MegaKuwagamon stubbornly refused to change, leaving Tentomon wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.

"Well then, Mr. Trist, I've made up my mind. I'll join your Magician Troupe." MegaKuwagamon finally turned to the business someone had been eagerly awaiting. Delight spread across Cardmaster Twister's face, and he hurriedly said, "Wonderful, wonderful! Then let's hold a meeting now to discuss troupe matters." The implication was clear: anyone uninvolved should leave.