The dragon battle ends

"Takato Matsuki, what are you worried about?"

An angel dressed in gleaming white robes and wearing a pure white crown appeared beside Takato Matsuki and asked him a question.

At Mo Yan's question, Takato Matsuki kept his face pressed against the protective barrier, his eyes fixed on the Dragon Battle in the sky. "I... I don't know..." he said, sounding a little lost.

The moment he finished speaking, Takato Matsuki realized something was wrong.

That mysterious Digimon who could keep changing forms should have been fighting Growlmon right now.

Then who was the Digimon speaking to him!?

At that thought, Takato Matsuki turned to look beside him.

"A ghost!"

What greeted his eyes was a phantom Flame Angemon in Divine Attendant Form, glowing with soft white light.

The strange sight frightened Takato Matsuki so badly that he grabbed Impmon beside him.

"You jerk! Let go of me!"

Caught in Takato Matsuki's sudden embrace, Impmon shouted in fury.

"Ah!? Sorry! I'm sorry."

Realizing his behavior was inappropriate, Takato Matsuki hurriedly released Impmon and apologized.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not a ghost. To be precise, I suppose you'd call me a Digital Ghost."

Giving in to his mischievous streak, Mo Yan smiled and explained things to Takato Matsuki.

Even though he was an Angel-type Digimon, he still had his own mischievous tastes.

"A... a ghost!?"

Mo Yan's explanation only frightened Takato Matsuki more.

"Ha ha...

You little brat!

Mmph... mmph..."

Seeing how scared Takato Matsuki was, Impmon immediately began laughing at him without restraint.

But before Impmon could get more than a couple of laughs out, he was silenced.

Feeling that he had been treated unfairly, Impmon immediately glared at Mo Yan and gestured for him to undo the silencing.

"What a wonderful reaction. It reminds me of the days when I used to cause trouble in Witchelny."

Takato Matsuki's jumpiness reminded Mo Yan of when he had first started learning magic.

Back then, he had constantly played tricks on other Digimon under the pretext of mastering his magic and putting it into practice.

In the end, his many victims had given Mo Yan a taste of his own medicine, turning him into a doll for three days.

Remembering those "glorious days," Mo Yan could not help sounding a little wistful.

"..."

Takato Matsuki had no idea how to respond and could only smile awkwardly.

"Don't worry. Win or lose, Growlmon will benefit from this.

Besides, Guilmon has been alive for so long without ever taking part in a Dragon Battle. That isn't a good thing."

Ignoring Takato Matsuki's awkwardness, the phantom angel spoke gently.

"I... I know...

It's just... it's just...

I'm a little worried about Growlmon..."

Takato Matsuki scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Yes, I know.

But you have to let him learn to fight on his own, don't you?"

The phantom angel understood Takato Matsuki's concern, but did not approve of this kind of care.

At the same time, the phantom angel was worried that Takato Matsuki's concern would trigger the D-Ark's power and make Growlmon evolve again.

If that happened, this battle would lose its purpose.

Mo Yan's Dragon Form would then be unable to awaken its draconic wild instincts or obtain some of Growlmon's data.

That would have a certain impact on Mo Yan's future plans.

Even Mo Yan would need to spend more time and effort making up for the data he missed this time.

That was why Mo Yan had released the Angel Digicore and used its newly acquired ability to prevent any evolution Takato Matsuki might trigger.

An angel who obtained a Holy Ring would always gain some wondrous, magical abilities.

The angelic phantom that had appeared now was one such example.

With the Angel Digicore at its center, it released the Holy Ring's power and then drew in part of Mo Yan's consciousness.

That was how this phantom, similar to a Digital Ghost, had been formed.

As for whether doing this would affect Coredramon's battle, Mo Yan considered that exactly what he wanted.

All along, Mo Yan had used the humanity he once possessed to control his various DigiCores and suppress the instincts of the Digimon forms born from them.

During discussions with his mentor, SageMon, they had both agreed that this was wrong.

It would affect the further evolution of Mo Yan's corresponding Digimon forms, as well as the emergence of their ultimate forms.

Thus, Mo Yan had to use an external force to compel himself to release his Digimon instincts.

After much consideration, Mo Yan and SageMon agreed that his Dragon Form would provide the breakthrough for awakening those instincts.

That was because Dragon-type Digimon had extremely strong wild instincts.

This was also why Dragon-type Digimon had always been considered candidates to become powerful fighters.

With just a little stimulation, those instincts could awaken and then be mastered by Mo Yan.

The first step was to complete the formation of the Holy Ring.

Only then would the DigiCore of his Angel Form have the power to draw in Mo Yan's consciousness.

Once Mo Yan's consciousness was divided, his draconic wild instincts would lose their restraints and awaken on their own.

Mo Yan could then interpret, study, and master those wild instincts from an observer's perspective.

His ultimate goal was to harness those wild instincts to achieve higher evolution.

He would also use this as a starting point to master the instincts of his other eleven DigiCores.

No, ten.

There was no need to master his Angel Form's instincts.

Once he had mastered all those instincts, Mo Yan could begin awakening his Primal Form.

By then, he could become a major powerhouse among Digimon.

"I... I know.

But I just..."

Takato Matsuki actually understood everything Mo Yan was trying to tell him.

But understanding was one thing, and worrying was another. They were not the same.

Moreover, Growlmon was a Digimon Takato Matsuki had created, and he felt a special attachment to him.

On top of that, Takato Matsuki could feel what Growlmon felt in real time.

"You're just worried, right?

Have you ever considered that Growlmon has a will of his own?

As a Digimon, and one of the strongest Dragon-type Digimon at that, how could he possibly avoid fighting?"

Mo Yan picked up where Takato Matsuki had trailed off, thought for a moment, and asked him those questions.

"Growlmon has a will of his own...

Yes. That's right.

Even though I created Growlmon, he's a Digimon now.

And he's my friend.

We've been together for so long. How could I do that!"

Takato Matsuki stared intently at the sky, watching Growlmon continue fighting despite being covered in wounds.

That fierce desire to fight.

That exhilaration of constantly unleashing his power.

That excitement born from his injuries.

All those emotions, all those sensations, reached Takato Matsuki's heart.

"Holy Magic: Dimensional Partition!"

The phantom angel saw the growing resolve in Takato Matsuki's eyes, along with the power of his heart that was about to spill out of him.

He hurriedly cast holy magic, partitioning space to block the power of Takato Matsuki's heart from reaching Growlmon.

Although completely stopping it was impossible, the phantom angel only needed to hinder it slightly and create a brief delay.

During that delay, the phantom angel hurriedly told the main consciousness that he seemed to have messed things up and asked him to hurry.

Otherwise, the phantom angel could not guarantee what changes might occur next.

Mo Yan seemed to have anticipated this situation.

After all, people only ever heard of angels guiding others and giving them positive energy.

They never heard of an angel misleading others and giving them negative energy.

From the very beginning, all Mo Yan had needed was for the phantom angel to draw in part of his consciousness so that he could make room for his draconic wild instincts and achieve their awakening.

Of course, Mo Yan still had to defeat Growlmon in Coredramon form and obtain some of the Demon Dragon's data.

After all, his future depended on it.

In the air, the Demon Dragon, who was ill-suited to aerial combat, had already fallen into an utterly disadvantageous position.

"Fireball!"

"Blue Flame Breath!"

Knowing defeat was inevitable, Growlmon still followed his draconic pride and launched one final breath attack.

The red and blue blasts collided, scattering sparks like fireworks.

Amid those fireworks.

The Crimson Demon Dragon fell toward the ground, landing safely under the influence of a mysterious power.

The blue gemstone dragon roared in the air, proclaiming victory.

The Proof of the Dragon in the sky released two beams of light, enveloping the two giant dragons respectively.

Two beams of light shone from the Proof of the Dragon in the sky, enveloping the two giant dragons respectively.