31. Digital Soul of Courage

"Impossible! You brat, you actually made the Crest of Evolution glow!"

"This isn't just my achievement; it is the power everyone has bestowed upon me." Tai denied Etemon's claim. It was the unwavering will of the Koromon, who refused to back down even when faced with an overwhelming enemy, that had inspired him and allowed him to ignite the Crest.

At this moment, Tai finally understood the true essence of the Crest: it was courage. As long as one summoned courage from within, power would surge forth endlessly.

Etemon, who had been composed and effortless just moments ago, suddenly froze in expression.

He knew of the existence of the Crests of Evolution. When he first learned that these small chips contained the power to evolve Digimon, he had even dispatched subordinates to search for them.

In fact, one of the Crests was stored within the very colosseum Etemon used to host his concerts.

However, Etemon had never grasped the method to unleash the power of the Crests. Even Datamon, who worked under him, could not analyze the principles behind them—at least, that was what Datamon had told him.

Later, after Etemon and Datamon had a falling out, the research and collection of the Crests were cast to the back of Etemon’s mind.

So, when he saw Tai actually make the Crest glow, Etemon was incredibly shocked. Especially upon seeing the Koromon, bathed in the radiance of the Crest of Courage, evolve into various Rookie forms, he broke into a cold sweat.

After all, if even these small fry could evolve, then Zeromaru, who had always stood by Tai’s side and been bathed in the most power from the Crest, might evolve into an Ultimate!

An Ultimate as adept at combat as Etemon could, even without using special moves, crush all the partner Digimon—except for Angemon—from the original timeline with just his fists and kicks.

Yet, when Etemon had absorbed vast amounts of dark energy and his strength had skyrocketed, he was instead instantly killed by MetalGreymon, who had evolved into an Ultimate.

This was because partner Digimon who evolved using the Crests were bolstered by the emotional strength of their Crest-bearers, achieving a state of being "one in heart and body."

Fighting in this state meant that while the damage sustained by the Digimon would be reflected back onto the Tamer, the Digimon’s own power would far exceed that of other individuals of the same type.

Seeing Zeromaru’s body shrouded in white light, Etemon had briefly thought he would meet his end here. But to his surprise, Zeromaru did not evolve; instead, a battle aura ignited around his body.

Etemon breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was no evolution, everything was manageable.

It was merely a slight increase in power, with his muscles growing a bit larger—nothing that could scare Etemon.

He did not believe any Digimon could defeat him while at the Champion level.

One had to know, there was an insurmountable chasm between the Champion and Ultimate levels!

"It seems the power of the Crest was split too thinly among these Koromon. Hehehe, your luck has run out now," Etemon sneered. He would not let Tai, who possessed the power of the Crest of Evolution, escape. A Tamer with the potential to trigger an Ultimate evolution at any moment was too great a threat to him.

"Indeed, it seems one Crest's power isn't quite enough," Tai said calmly.

He was incredibly composed at this moment.

Setting aside the fact that Zeromaru had gained a massive amount of data after defeating Creepymon, his strength in his base form was already enough to contend with an Ultimate.

Bolstered by the power of the Crest, he felt a new, surging wave of power erupting from within his body.

It was as if Tai’s own strength had been superimposed upon him.

At this moment, Zeromaru was even stronger than when he had defeated Creepymon!

He couldn't even imagine what level his strength would reach if he were to layer "Overwrite" on top of this.

Tai felt the same way.

To some extent, the power of the Crest and the Digisoul shared the same nature; both were powers unique to humans that burst forth through agitated emotions. However, unlike the Digisoul, which could be triggered by any emotion, the Crest of Courage could only be activated through courage.

Tai, feeling a sense of intuition, clenched his fist. The Digisoul transformed at that moment into the same orange hue as the Crest of Courage.

If he were to encounter Creepymon again, Tai figured he could blow his head off with a single punch of this "Courageous Digisoul"!

Seeing Etemon’s relaxed demeanor, they couldn't help but marvel. As expected of someone who roamed the continent, his sheer presence was extraordinary.

Could it be that he was even stronger than Creepymon?

Once this thought surfaced in his mind, a fierce fighting spirit surged within Tai.

Fighting an enemy even stronger than Creepymon—that would surely be exhilarating!

At this moment, the Rookies, led by Hackmon, were the first to step forward.

Hackmon: "We will take the lead in the battle!"

Dracomon: "That's right! We've already evolved, how can we keep being protected?"

Agumon: "I want to be like my big brother and protect our village!"

Gabumon: "Me too!"

Even as Rookies, they were no longer defenseless babies. Having made up their minds to fight, they charged toward Etemon before Tai and Zeromaru could.

"Five-Finger Flurry!" Hackmon, a small dragon-type Digimon cloaked in a red cape with a body as sharp as metal, was the first among the many Rookies to reach Etemon.

"A bunch of Rookies dare to challenge me, the superstar and King of Digimon? I’m really being looked down upon!" Etemon sneered. He didn't dodge, simply raising his arm to block Hackmon’s claws.

What kind of power could the attacks of mere Rookies possibly have?

But the result exceeded Etemon’s expectations. As they collided, a sound of clashing metal rang out between Hackmon and Etemon. Then, Etemon clearly felt a tearing pain in his arm.

Mere Rookies, and they actually managed to hurt me?!

Before Etemon could recover from his shock, Dracomon arrived beside Hackmon, spinning his body to whip his tail at Etemon.

"Tail Smash!"

With the impact of their signature moves, Etemon was forced back two steps.

Agumon and Gabumon seized this fleeting opportunity, simultaneously spewing flames from their mouths.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Baby Howl!"

The red and blue flames reacted in the air, multiplying their power and transforming into a massive fireball that slammed into Etemon's chest.

"Hiss—!"

The stinging pain of the burns made Etemon gasp. At the same time, he realized that these guys before him were no ordinary Rookies.

Etemon’s eyes, behind his sunglasses, shifted toward Tai. Sure enough, as the Rookies fought, the Crest of Courage on Tai’s chest glowed ever brighter.

They were also being bolstered by Tai’s power.

Or rather, their courage had inspired Tai, who then burst forth with even greater courage, which was then converted by the Crest and fed back to the Digimon as power.

It could be called a mutual resonance.

Etemon immediately realized he had to finish Tai off at once. Otherwise, as the glow of the Crest grew brighter, these guys might even evolve into stronger Champions.

No, even worse—what if they defeated him while still in their Rookie forms?

No way! As a superstar, how could he bear such a scandalous reputation?

"Dark Spirits!"

Panicked, Etemon unleashed his signature move directly at Tai.

To avoid becoming the most pathetic Digimon in history, this attack contained 120% of Etemon’s power.

A mere human brat with no combat ability could never withstand this blow!

Just as Etemon was thinking this, his smile growing increasingly deranged, Tai flicked his hand, and as if the Dark Spirits were nothing more than a soap bubble on the side of the road, he slapped it into oblivion.