Chapter 167: The Hope of Victory

"Alphaamon... W?"

Qin Fei gazed at the slender, almost willow-like pitch-black figure before him.

At first glance, he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

It still featured the black base with gold trim, but the bulky shoulder guards were gone. The physique was much slimmer and softer than the original Alphamon; looking roughly at its silhouette, the shoulders were narrow, the waist slender, the hips wide... and there were even gently rising contours at the chest.

It gave a more feminine and graceful impression.

Especially on her forehead, a single horn, remarkably similar to that of Tykewynmon, had appeared in a semi-mechanical fashion.

"Could it not be... ?!"

Qin Fei suddenly realized something. In the outer silhouette of Alphamon W at this moment, he seemed to catch a glimpse of Tykewynmon's shadow.

"Could it be... because of the jogress evolution with Tykewynmon? Even her appearance was influenced by her?"

"..."

Or perhaps, this kind of change had actually been subtly taking place all along... ever since she was invaded by Devimon's dark energy, and Lolo helped purge it.

It was just that the jogress form with Dragon Rider Cwynnmon and this latest evolution had brought all those cumulative influences to the surface at once.

Perhaps the seed for Black Dorugamon's evolution into Alphamon W had already been planted back when it was still a Digi-Egg...

"What... is that? The power of the... Royal Knights?"

The injured Gallantmon crouched on the ground, leaning on his lance. As he looked at the slender, dark figure in mid-air, a strange emotion stirred within his heart.

"She" seemed to belong to the Royal Knights, yet did not appear to belong to this world.

"Alphamon W... is it?"

Omegamon also halted his attack, gazing at the Digimon before him that evoked a strange sense of familiarity.

However, the moment Alphamon W appeared, the most violent reaction came from Yggdrasil itself...

"..."

"Anomaly defense mechanism detected, external world attack program detected, threat level increased, priority elevated, target reassigned..."

"..."

Yggdrasil's optical sensors flashed continuously with streams of code as it blared constant warnings, shifting all its attention toward the newly appeared Alphamon W while condensing crystal arrows brimming with immense energy.

"Lolo, what's wrong?"

Qin Fei looked over at the somewhat unusual Black Angewomon beside him, his gaze carrying a hint of puzzlement.

Black Angewomon approached Qin Fei, looking at Alphamon W with a peculiar expression as she said, "I feel... as if I had once merged into one with that black Digimon?"

Qin Fei's eyes flickered with surprise. Wasn't this a memory belonging to Tykewynmon?

Lolo in this form shouldn't have memories from that period, so why would she say such a thing? Could the emergence of Alphamon W already be influencing Lolo?

"Go help Alphamon W. Yggdrasil is no ordinary opponent."

Qin Fei quickly pushed his doubts aside, deciding to leave all explanations for after Yggdrasil was defeated.

"I understand!"

"Card Slash, Duftmon!"

Watching Black Angewomon transform into her leopard-masked state, Qin Fei turned his attention back to Alphamon W... Wondering how she stacked up against the original Alphamon in terms of sheer strength.

Crimson flashes continuously darted from Alphamon, discharging toward Yggdrasil before her and shattering a large portion of the surrounding crystals. Instantly, she leaped forward, materializing right above Yggdrasil's head. A red blade of light materialized in her clawed hand, and she brought it down in a heavy slash against its head.

"Clang!"

Red energy and dark-red lightning collided violently, unleashing terrifying turbulent shockwaves.

Fortunately, the battlefield was high in the upper atmosphere, but the dark clouds previously torn apart by Yggdrasil's dimensional rift were instantly ripped to shreds by this turbulent energy, revealing a pristine, clear evening sky.

However, the dark-red radiance enveloping Yggdrasil instantly formed a powerful defensive barrier, deflecting a portion of the damage.

As Alphamon W watched the lightning sliding along her blade of light, seemingly attempting to entwine around her arm, she immediately extended her other palm forward. A crimson energy orb instantly erupted into a beam of light, clearing away the dark-red lightning before she swiftly retreated a distance.

Yggdrasil's body, which had nearly been cleaved in half by Alphamon W's strike, began to regenerate at a visible speed.

"That Digimon is amazing, but I've never seen it before."

Thoma pulled out his pocket-sized laptop, yet all information regarding Alphamon W on the screen consisted only of question marks.

"We're going in too! Let's not lose to it, ShineGreymon!"

"Leave it to me, Big Brother!"

At that moment, not only did ShineGreymon fly toward Yggdrasil, but Marcus Damon also clenched his fists, seemingly eager to engage Yggdrasil in physical combat himself.

"Honestly, Marcus is way too reckless!"

Yoshino watched Marcus charge into the fray himself, speaking with a mixture of headache and worry.

"Well, that's my son for you!"

BanchouLeomon, on the other hand, looked at Marcus's pioneering back, displaying a completely different expression from Yoshino.

"I can't give up either..."

With a hearty laugh, BanchouLeomon rejoined the battlefield, seemingly harboring a subtle intention to protect Marcus.

"..."

"Yggdrasil, by doing this, aren't you no different from those humans who destroy the Digital World?"

Just then, a familiar voice approached rapidly from afar.

It was Mercurymon, with Keenan and Falcomon riding on his shoulders; they, too, had arrived to join the battle.

"Protect the Digital World, defeat Yggdrasil."

Keenan's words remained brief and resolute. Gripping his boomerang, he seemed intent on charging into battle just like Marcus, but Mercurymon stopped him.

"Keenan, this is not a battle you can interfere with. You should go protect those injured Digimon instead."

"Mercurymon, I am a Digital Soldier. A soldier must not run away from battle... I want to protect everyone!"

"..."

Mercurymon looked at the "son" gazing up at him with unyielding eyes, nodded, and said, "Be careful."

With those words, his figure vanished from the spot, instantly reappearing beside Yggdrasil to unleash a countless barrage of heavy punches.

True to his reputation as the Digimon renowned for ultimate speed.

"We've arrived too!"

Right after, from the opposite direction, the resounding roar of El Doradimon echoed across the expanse.

It seemed to be slowly approaching by borrowing the water current's power from the dam.

Babalumon directed Pumpkinmon and Piximon to continuously treat the injured Digimon, escorting them back inside the castle for protection.

Relying on its formidable defense and colossal size, El Doradimon shielded them from Yggdrasil's lightning attacks.

Though every strike of lightning inflicted sharp pain, it was clear El Doradimon could not hold out much longer.

"Do you see this, Yggdrasil?!"

Marcus arrived beneath Yggdrasil, roaring angrily, "When you decided to abandon this world, did you ever think about the Digimon who still wish to save it?!"

"Incomprehensible... Incomprehensible."

Yet, Yggdrasil at this moment behaved more like a malfunctioning computer, its cold warning sirens blaring continuously.

"Damn it!"

Witnessing the scene before him, Marcus knew that combat was the only remaining option.

"..."

"Hehe, missed me, little brother?"

Qin Fei felt a stir in his heart as he looked at Nanami's familiar figure appearing beside him. The bewilderment in his eyes seemed to ask how this woman, who always fled when things went south, had returned once again.

"Don't look at me like that. The human world was wrecked to that extent by it, so I came back because I want to return to a peaceful life too."

With that, Nanami shot Qin Fei a seductive wink before pulling out her bio-hybrid Digivice: "Hyper Bio Enhanced Evolution!"

"Bio Lotusmon!"

"Little brother, after the battle is over, how about going on a date with big sis?"

Watching Nanami bite her red lips as she looked at him, Qin Fei flashed an OK sign, finally satisfying her enough to fly toward the battlefield.

"If you want a date, we'll have to see if I'm even still in this world by then."

Qin Fei watched Nanami's departing back, laughed awkwardly, and shook his head helplessly.

Gazing at the various Digimon rushing to the scene one after another, Qin Fei felt a deep emotional stirring. Whether human or Digimon, the yearning for life and the desire to survive were ultimately the same.

"Huh?"

Qin Fei suddenly witnessed a shocking sight: countless beams of light filled with Digi-Soul surged into the sky and directly vanished into Alphamon W's body.

Those were the collective hopes and expectations of the Digimon.

It seemed that Alphamon W's stellar performance earlier had inspired the surrounding Digimon to entrust their hopes of victory entirely unto her.

"This is?!"

As the golden accents on Alphamon W's body began to emit a blinding radiance akin to the sun, and he felt the astonishing power gathering within her...

Qin Fei suddenly had a premonition deep in his heart: Alphamon W... was going to win! (To be continued)