Pressure.
Overwhelming pressure.
Taichi looked up at the thirteen sacred figures, his entire body groaning, bones creaking, sending waves of piercing pain through him.
Too strong!
He could feel that the Thirteen Royal Knights weren't even intentionally targeting them.
The sheer aura they inadvertently radiated pierced through kilometers of rock layer,
Suppressing Taichi, who was cloaked in a special Chrome Digizoid cape, making it hard to breathe.
'Guh...!'
Taichi gritted his teeth, his eyes wide, a low growl forcing its way from his throat.
'I am the Emperor, the hegemon who unified the Digital and Real Worlds, the man destined to stand at the apex.'
'I hadn't personally killed Yamato yet. I hadn't properly hugged Hikari.'
'I hadn't seen the scenery after the mist cleared with Agumon.'
'How could I fall here?!'
"Agumon, Warp Evolve!"
Boom…
The deep, dark Crest of Revenge ignited the endless emotional power within Taichi's heart, channeling into Agumon's body.
Evolve, Greymon!
Evolve, MetalGreymon!
Evolve, WarGreymon!
Three incredibly dazzling flashes of light pierced straight up from the dark depths kilometers underground, aiming for the surface.
The Thirteen Royal Knights stood silently in place, expressionless.
A Mega level was just a slightly stronger ant to them.
Any one of the Holy Knights could easily obliterate him.
"WarGreymon, a Vaccine-type Digimon hailed as the 'Dramon Bane'. Its strength ranks in the middle among Megas. Its chance of winning against any of us is zero."
The calm and rational Leopardmon, a data panel flashing before his eyes, analyzed in a low voice.
"Don't let your guard down. He was once chosen by Yggdrasil, possessing emotional power far beyond the ordinary. We should still attack together and subdue him directly!"
The golden-clad Holy Knight Magnamon spoke steadily.
With that, his azure claws stretched forward.
Boundless energy converged before him, gradually forming a super beam containing the Digi-Core.
His ultimate technique was named 'Plasma Shot'.
Under Magnamon's full power, the 'Plasma Shot' was said to be capable of piercing through a planet's core, creating a beam that could bore through both poles… a planet-piercing ray!
Its power was thousands of times greater than the Soul-Igniting Shot BlackWarGreymon had condensed with all his will!
'He can't block it. Even with kilometers of rock and soil in between, WarGreymon cannot possibly defend against the Plasma Shot's attack."
Leopardmon gazed coldly underground, uttering icy words.
"Yagami Taichi will die."
Boom!
A dazzling torrent of data converged into a terrifying Plasma Shot within 0.1 seconds.
It tore through the air as a thick beam connecting heaven and earth, aimed directly at the steel ruins.
Clang! Bam!
Magnamon's gaze suddenly sharpened, looking deep into the endless depths underground.
The expected, pleasing sound of penetration did not come.
Instead, a sharp metallic collision sound came, transmitting deafening sonic waves, the reverberations lingering, causing Leopardmon's pupils to contract violently.
"How is this possible?!"
Leopardmon's face darkened as he quickly pulled up a data model.
The destructive power of the Plasma Shot was planet-piercing level. Let alone WarGreymon, who wasn't known for defense, even a Mega specialized in defense, like the 'Inferior Leviathan' created by Taichi, absolutely could not withstand it.
The instantaneous destructive force it generated was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than the human world's nuclear weapons, and concentrated on a single point… its penetrative power was peerless.
How could such a full-power attack be...
'Look carefully. It's Chrome Digizoid. We were careless.' Gallantmon's pupils slightly contracted, seeing through the kilometer-deep pit in a single glance, speaking lightly.
'Chrome Digizoid?'
Leopardmon looked over in confusion, his face revealing an expression of utter shock.
'Such high-purity Chrome Digizoid... how did a mere human obtain it?!'
Within his line of sight, kilometers underground, WarGreymon raised the Courage Shield on its back, its whole body trembling, desperately resisting that Plasma Shot beam.
And the shield in its grasp, engraved with the 'Mark of Courage', was forged from ultra-high-purity Chrome Digizoid!
"Conservative estimate, at least 95%, possibly 97% purity. It's already very close to the armament on Gallantmon's body."
Data flashed before Leopardmon's eyes as he analyzed, trembling.
97% purity Chrono-Alloy was a concept unimaginable for ordinary Megas!
Take one of the Dark Masters from ten years ago, MetalSeadramon, for example.
It claimed its entire body was covered in Chrome Digizoid, calling itself the Digimon with the strongest defense.
But in reality, its Chrome Digizoid purity was only 60%, barely over half.
The higher you go, the more difficult purifying Chrome Digizoid becomes.
70% purity Chrome Digizoid could create a high-tier Mega, capable of sweeping through ordinary Digimon.
80% Chrome Digizoid coverage meant one could practically walk sideways through the Digital World, it was hard to break through its defense below Holy Knight level.
Chrome Digizoid above 90%...
Even during the zenith of the Metal Empire, it was a rare national treasure, a top-tier masterpiece among the Supreme Creations!
"...It seems the reason Yggdrasil-sama is so wary of this human is because of the Steel Empire's treasure." Craniummon narrowed his eyes slightly, looking down at Taichi below, growing more and more interested.
'If we can obtain this treasure, we might be able to re-armour ourselves, perhaps even achieve a stronger evolution!'
In their memories, that 'Great Catastrophe' that purged the Metal Empire plunged the Digital World into a deathly silence for centuries, severely damaging its vitality.
But it also allowed the long-invincible Royal Knights to find a new path of evolution.
Modified Armament!
High-hardness Chrome Digizoid, Digizoid of various attributes, armament enhancements for the data core...
The Supreme Creations of the Metal Empire delighted the Royal Knights. If this time, they could once again find an opportunity for evolution through this human...
'Everyone, I propose we capture this human alive. Any in favor?'
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
For a moment, within the Royal Knights with their divergent thoughts, seven members chose to second the motion.
Most of the remaining six remained silent, with only Gallantmon objecting righteously.
"Yggdrasil-sama's mission is of paramount importance. How can you, for the sake of becoming stronger, arbitrarily…"
'Gallantmon, I know you are the most loyal to Yggdrasil, but 100%...'
'Let's capture him alive first, force him to reveal the location of the Metal Empire's legacy, then take him back to Yggdrasil. That doesn't seem to affect the overall situation, does it?'
Sleipmon, its entire body crimson, stepping with flame-like hooves, chuckled softly.
The Royal Knights were undoubtedly immensely powerful, and when united, the thirteen could crush any enemy in the Digital World.
But…
This near-divine organization was never a monolithic entity.
Regarding justice, order, and the faith in their hearts, each of them had their own interpretation.