Agumon who wants to become Omegamon

“I understand.” Makino Ruki nodded knowingly. She glanced at the heavily injured Oboroguruma on the other side, and then at the equally injured LadyDevimon beside her. The situation would soon be even again, a two-on-two battle.

Even if FightingLeomon could defeat Miragemon, Makino Ruki didn't think their chances of winning were that high, because MetalMiragemon was very strong, and Priestmon and Makino Ruki, who were his enemies, knew this very well, so they didn't plan to continue fighting MetalMiragemon.

However, this also requires the right opportunity, but clearly the enemy will not give it to them.

Metal Phantom Beast suddenly spoke coldly, immediately alerting Makino Ruki and the others. However, his target was not them, but his subordinates, those mature-stage beings hovering on the edge of the complete form battlefield.

"Residents of the Ghost Market, my subordinates! Gather your strength, for the sake of devouring flesh and blood, absorbing data!"

At MetalPhantommon's command, a large number of Ghostmon and Ghostmon gathered together, transforming into a gigantic Ghostmon King. Although still in its Champion stage, its size was approaching that of an Ultimate-level being; no one would believe it didn't possess Ultimate-level combat power.

"This is troublesome." Leomon sighed, then put Juri Kato off him and looked at Priestmon, saying, "I'll buy you some time. You take them and get out of here quickly!"

Clearly, FightingLeomon had the idea of ​​covering the retreat.

After all, with Metal Phantommon and Phantommon both intact at their Ultimate level, plus the half-crippled Oboroguruma, and the Demonmon King, who was comparable to an Ultimate level, their chances of winning had been greatly reduced. Their only option now was to run away.

Running away without delay only makes one a target for the enemy.

Therefore, FightingLeomon wanted to sacrifice himself to save his companions' lives.

"No, I don't agree." Kato Juri understood what FightingLeomon meant, so she refused without hesitation. However, to respect FightingLeomon's choice, she decided, "Even if we have to stay, it'll be together!"

Seemingly aware that FightingLeomon would definitely not agree, she added at the end, "You said you wouldn't leave me alone again!"

“Shuli…”

“Juri is right, I disagree too.” Makino Ruki chuckled. “We haven’t been forced to that point yet, and I won’t abandon my comrades!”

“What Ruji means is what I mean,” the priest beast echoed.

Even the lying-on-the-corpse demon beast laboriously raised its hand and waved it to indicate its meaning.

"I still have one last trump card," Makino Ruki murmured, taking out a special card from her card pack. It was a card that could not be bought through normal means and could only be obtained by winning a tournament.

Its name is - Network Password!

This is a program card that has the ability to prevent all Digimon except Data Digimon from acting for 3 turns.

Of course, in reality, even if it can't freeze other Digimon for 3 rounds, it can still render them unable to act for a moment.

This is a card that's a perfect match for Priestmon, capable of turning the tide in dangerous situations, just like now—

"Card swapping—network password!"

As Makino Ruki shouted, a strange power surged from Priestmon, instantly spreading to a quarter of the size of the Oni Market, forcing all Digimon other than Data types within that area to become immobile.

In the blink of an eye, the Phantom Beast, the Oboroguruma, and the Demon Beast King, which were directly facing this strange move, lost their ability to float in the air and fell to the ground. Apart from splashing up a few pieces of gravel, there was no other movement.

At the same time, as companions, FightingLeomon and LadyDevimon, who were nearby, were also not spared and were 'hit' down by the same move.

Before Kato Juri could even marvel at this bizarre scene, she was interrupted by the sudden battle.

Suddenly, MetalPhantommon raised its scythe and charged in front of Priestmon in an instant, swinging the blade down.

Clang!

The priest beast immediately moved to block it.

Although MetalPhantommon's ferocious and terrifying appearance often leads to misunderstandings, it is actually not a Virus-type Digimon at all, but rather a Data-type Digimon.

Therefore, Makino Ruki's 'network password' did not work on Metal Phantom Beast.

"What a powerful technique! It incapacitated them all in an instant." Metal Phantommon glared at Priestmon with its crimson eyes before turning its gaze to Makino Ruki. It knew this human had just done something, and then said to Makino Ruki, "But this technique has a time limit, doesn't it?"

"How many more times can you... you guys use it?"

"Hmph!" Despite being stared at by the Metal Phantom Beast, Makino Ruki showed no fear. Her delicate and aloof face remained expressionless as she coldly said, "Why don't you try and see?"

After saying that, he took out another card and swapped cards in front of MetalPhantommon, allowing Priestmon to read the data and gain even greater power.

"Card Swap - Digital Queen!"

Instantly, after that strange move, a faint pink glow appeared on the priest beast's body.

Despite its seemingly insignificant appearance, the Priestmon's power suddenly surged the moment it appeared, and its explosive force sent Metal Phantommon flying.

Digital Queen: For female use only. All stats are multiplied by 1.5 from the base values, but energy is reduced by 80.

"How is this possible?!" Even the cunning MetalPhantommon couldn't help but be stunned at this moment. How could Priestmon, a Digimon that was clearly a master of ranged attacks, possibly outperform him, a melee ghost wielding a scythe, in terms of explosive power?

This isn't a Digimon!

Before MetalPhantommon could react, Priestmon chanted an incantation while wielding its giant brush to draw a character in the air. This was Priestmon's ultimate attack—[Bon hits use n]

He then launched an attack directly at the Metal Phantom Beast.

The Metal Phantom Beast, facing the amplified power of the 'Brahma Brush Flash', did not underestimate its opponent and immediately unleashed its strongest power.

In an instant, the energy-like scythe expanded to twice the size of the Metal Phantom Beast. Then, the Metal Phantom Beast swung the giant scythe and unleashed its ultimate attack—[Soul Predator]

With a single, powerful strike, the 'Brahma Brush Flash' was shattered. It was clear that even with Priestmon's power boosted by 1.5 times, it was still no match for MetalPhantommon.

Just as Metal Phantommon was sharpening its scythe, ready to fight Priestmon, it realized that Priestmon's figure had already become a small black dot in its eyes, and it was clear that it could no longer catch up. So it fell silent.

"....

At this moment, Metal Phantom Beast felt its anger about to explode beyond its limit. It had never been so angry since it failed to evolve into its ultimate form.

Why did I go through all that trouble?

Why destroy half of the long-established ghost market?

As a result, the priest beast just ran away.

This burning anger, urges to erupt, is stuck in my throat; I want to vent it, but I have no target; I want to swallow it, but I can't.

This feeling of being stuck in the middle made Metal Phantom Beast extremely uncomfortable.

Finally, the Phantom Beast, now free from the 'network password' control, cautiously flew to the back of the Metal Phantom Beast and asked tremblingly, "Boss, what should we do next?"

The Phantom Beast's meaning was clear: whether or not to pursue. However, seeing the Metal Phantom Beast's furious state, he dared not bring it up directly and could only probe indirectly.

As for why it wasn't the Oboroguruma that asked...

Ha, that guy is pretending to be dead on the ground because he's seriously injured.

There was no other way but for Mirage Beast to come on its own, after all...

"It's almost dawn. Clean up the ghost market, and then..." The Metal Phantom Beast suppressed its rage and said through gritted teeth, "Give up the pursuit!"

"Yes!" The Phantom Beast breathed a sigh of relief.

Metal Phantom Beast's expression remained icy; it was truly unbearable to suppress this anger!

I guess I should find someone to vent to...

Oborogon?

No! He's already seriously injured. If I go looking for him, he'll really be beaten to death.

Phantom Beast?

Sure! But to clean up the ghost market now, we can't do it without him...

Who else?

Suddenly, Metal Phantom Beast noticed the tall, white figure that had just floated into the air not far away—King of the Demon Beasts.

Suddenly, a series of hoarse, sinister laughs came from his mouth.

He's the one.

It is merely an aggregate of mature-stage demons, possessing combat power even greater than that of a fully-formed demon. They will disintegrate soon anyway, so I might as well be merciful and help them. After all, there are plenty of mature-stage demons in the demon market, so I won't feel bad even if I fail.

Then, Metal Phantom Beast smiled and beckoned to King Ghost Beast, saying, "Ghost Beast, come here!"

Chapter Sixty-One: Escaping the Ghost Market

brush--

Like an airplane streaking across the sky, the priestess beast maneuvered the barrier at full speed away from the ghost market until her energy was completely exhausted, at which point she found a suitable and safe place to land.

"Let's rest here," the priest beast said, panting heavily.

"Looks like they didn't catch up!" Kato Juri exclaimed.

"Fortunately, they didn't catch up..." LadyBeast said weakly.

"FightingLeomon..." Suddenly, Priestmon spoke to FightingLeomon.

"What's wrong?" FightingLeomon sensed that Priestmon was acting strangely.

Priestmon and LadyDevimon exchanged another knowing glance and said in unison, "We'll leave Ruki in your care for now."

LadyDevimon then fell into a coma and regressed back to the familiar Rookie-level LadyDevimon.

Along with her, Priestmon also degenerated from exhaustion, and even more completely than Impmon, regressing back to its juvenile stage.

Clearly, even with Makino Ruki's power, using the two special cards, 'Network Password' and 'Digital Queen', in succession still placed a great burden on Priestmon.

This caused her to inevitably regress to her juvenile stage, just like in the original series after evolving to the ultimate form and then depleting her energy.

"Foxmon, little demon beast!" Makino Ruki, unusually abandoning her usual reserved demeanor, exclaimed and immediately hugged the two of them.

Although she knew that the priest beast must be expending a lot of energy, she did not expect it to be so great that it could not even maintain its growth stage form.

The little monster is the same; it can no longer maintain its mature form.

Makino Ruki held Pocomon in her left arm and Little Demon Beast under her right arm.

Kato Juri looked at the two of them with concern: "Are they injured?"

"The fox spirit is alright, it's just exhausted," Makino Ruki replied softly, then glanced at the small spirit beast she was holding in her right hand, a hint of worry in her eyes. "This one, however, is more seriously injured. I wonder how it is now..."

"Don't worry, the little monster is fine, it just needs to rest for a while," said the lion beast that had reverted back to its original form. "Now that it has reverted, its injuries will be refreshed. At most, it will have some hidden injuries that need to be healed, but overall it is out of danger and there will be no life-threatening crisis."

Hearing this, Makino Ruki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, when a true life-threatening crisis occurs, even the data that make up the body are collapsing, and that's when it's truly difficult to save someone.

The little monster is currently just unconscious and exhausted.

"The baby foxmon is so cute." Knowing that her companions were all alright, Kato Juri relaxed. Then she noticed the little yellow ball in Makino Ruki's arms. Its fluffy appearance immediately struck a chord with Kato Juri.

"Let me see." Kato Juri took out the Arc Light Machine and pointed it at Renamon's Baby form. Instantly, a projected screen displayed its information: "Pocomon, Baby Form ||, Small Digimon, Special Attack is the Sess House Ki, which transforms into a stone and spews poison gas."

"Pocomon?" Makino Ruki stroked Pocomon's fluffy fur, a rare smile appearing on her face.

"What should we do next?" Kato Juri asked.

"Let's rest here for a while, since neither the little monster nor the Pocomon has woken up yet," said Makino Ruki.

Although the time was short, she did get some rest. But after being provoked by Metal Phantom Beast and the others, even though she has now successfully escaped, she no longer has the desire to rest.

This experience of encountering the Ghost Market in the Digital World left a deep impression on Ruki Makino; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she narrowly escaped death.

This also made Makino Ruki fully realize the dangers of the digital world.

With both the imp and the Pocomon unconscious, even the aloof Ruki Makino wouldn't be so thoughtless as to wander around aimlessly.

So, taking advantage of this rare break, Makino Ruki decided to calm down and wait, and recall her strategy from the previous battle against the Metal Phantom Beast.

At the same time, she couldn't help but sigh and reflect that without Qiren, Jianliang, and Alice, the pressure she faced alone against the Metal Phantom Beast was so immense.

If it were the four of them, given the Metal Phantom Beast's strength, Makino Ruki was certain they would kill it.

Groudon serves as the tank and main force, Swiftmon acts as a disruptor and ranged attacker, Salammon is responsible for restraint and strong attacks, and Priestmon is for restraint and support.

Thinking this, Makino Ruki's consciousness gradually lengthened, and her breathing gradually became steady.

She fell asleep.

Clearly, the consumption of using two special cards not only pushed Priestmon to its limit, but also Makino Ruki. However, she hadn't felt tired because her mind had been tense before, but now that she was finally in an environment where she could rest, her mind relaxed and fatigue finally set in.

Seeing Makino Ruki holding the sleeping Pocomon and the little demon beast, Kato Juri smiled and gently covered them with the small blanket she had brought.

She had witnessed Makino Ruki's heroic act of turning the tide, and only now did Makino Ruki act like a girl, shedding her cool exterior and finally giving people the feeling that she could be so cute, rather than reliable.

[Photo: A group of four]

Only at this moment would Kato Juri hate her own weakness, and the helplessness of watching helplessly and having no other choice would surge into her heart.

"I need to work even harder!" But Kato Juri didn't get discouraged; instead, she encouraged herself.