Chapter Eighty-Four: The Crystal Arena

"Ha~ No problems, right?" Stretching lazily, Qin Fei crawled out of the hollow tree and glanced at the gradually brightening morning sky.

"None at all. This little hideout of Gatomon’s is quite secure. If she hadn't led the way, I wouldn't have noticed such a concealed spot here," replied Loretta Beast, shaking her head and stretching her stiff body.

The group—one human and three Digimon—had taken turns keeping watch through the night. Now, as the darkness receded, they finally felt relief. Mercurimon hadn't come, and neither had Yu Ren nor Night Hawkmon.

"Thank you, Gatomon," Qin Fei said to Gatomon, who had also emerged from the hollow. It was thanks to her little hideout that they’d all made it safely through the night.

The tree itself was enormous—ten people might not have been enough to encircle it. Its roots twisted and wound together beneath the trunk like dragons and serpents, forming a spacious hollow beneath. With the added cover of fallen leaves and bushes, the entrance was all but invisible except to the most careful eyes.

Last night, weary from their ordeals, the group had rested there.

"Qin Fei, where will we go next?" Loretta Beast asked, eyeing the unfamiliar surroundings.

"I haven’t decided yet. If there’s somewhere I can condense a DigiSoul, that would be best." Qin Fei shook his head, still at a loss. But he had certainly experienced firsthand the hostility of Digimon toward humans in this world.

"Hmm?" As Qin Fei surveyed the area, his dark eyes suddenly narrowed—he seemed to have spotted something extraordinary.

"What is it?" Loretta Beast, seeing the flicker in his gaze, grew cautious.

"It's nothing. By the way, what’s that building over there?" Qin Fei pointed to a striking structure in the distance and suddenly turned to ask Gatomon.

It was a gleaming edifice, as if made entirely of crystal—one side reminiscent of a coliseum fused with an opera house, the other bursting with crystalline clusters.

"That’s the Crystal Arena," Gatomon replied. She herself had rarely ventured there.

"Loretta, everyone, let's go take a look." Calling to his companions, Qin Fei couldn’t suppress his eagerness and set off toward the building, wanting to see if it matched his memories.

Loretta Beast and Black Dorulumon exchanged glances, then followed Qin Fei, resigned. Gatomon hesitated, but in the end stepped forward as well; after all, she’d promised to be his partner and intended to keep her word.

Though the destination didn’t seem far, it took Qin Fei the better part of the day to reach it. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful—unlike yesterday, no Digimon attacked them.

At last, where a broad plain met the mountains, they stood before the magnificent crystal structure, each of them awestruck by its beauty.

"It’s so beautiful..." Loretta Beast murmured, her eyes shining, and Black Dorulumon’s gaze was equally dazzled.

"What if... we pried off a piece to take back? Who knows, maybe you can bring things from the Digital World to the real one. If that’s possible, we’d make a fortune!" Qin Fei rubbed his bare chin, clearly tempted. Yet he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea as inappropriate for the moment.

"Forget it, this isn’t the time for that. Let’s go inside first." More important matters awaited.

"Wait, Qin Fei! Something’s coming—fast!" Just as Qin Fei stepped toward the crystal building, Loretta Beast stopped him, and Black Dorulumon sniffed the air warily in the same direction.

Focusing his gaze, Qin Fei saw it too: a large, shadowy Digimon was racing toward them.

"It’s Drillmon!" Gatomon was the first to identify it, but she hesitated, then added, "It looks like there are several figures riding on Drillmon’s back."

"Hmm?" Qin Fei’s heart skipped a beat as he watched Drillmon approach at speed. His expression changed.

"Could it be...?" he muttered.

"Alright, charge inside!" A passionate shout rang out from Drillmon’s back, urging it on toward the Crystal Arena.

A human voice.

Qin Fei could now clearly see the scene atop Drillmon: a blue-clad youth with a headset and a ponytail clung tightly to the fur on Drillmon’s head, apparently steering it. Another blond boy in blue was gripping Drillmon’s back, bracing himself against being thrown off. Along with them were two Digimon: a small blue dog with a red bandana and boxing gloves, and—

"Agumon?!" Loretta Beast gasped, staring at the yellow, dinosaur-like Digimon in disbelief.

"Could that be Tai and his friends, here in this world too?" The thought of Tai being sucked into the warped dimension came to Loretta Beast and Black Dorulumon, making the possibility seem more likely.

"No, that’s not Tai’s Agumon..." Qin Fei said as Drillmon, bearing the two boys and two Digimon, thundered past them. The boys’ eyes reflected the same surprise at seeing another human child here.

But before either side could react, Drillmon and its passengers had already disappeared into the Crystal Arena.

"..."

"Qin Fei, what… what should we do now?" Loretta Beast and the others were at a loss after witnessing such an extraordinary scene.

"Let’s go in and take a look," Qin Fei decided after a moment’s thought, a flicker of anticipation in his heart. He wanted to see for himself how humans and Digimon partnered in battle in this world—and to observe the way DigiSouls were used in their fights.

...

"Who was that human child just now?" The ponytailed boy asked the blond youth, clearly surprised to encounter another human in the Digital World.

"Don’t worry about that now—let’s defeat Drillmon first," the blond boy answered, glancing at the hard crystal floor. He quickly grasped the other’s intent: the solid ground would stop Drillmon from escaping, allowing them to fight at full strength.

"Alright, watch me take this guy down!" With a fiery shout, the ponytailed youth slammed his fist down on Drillmon’s head, his hand instantly wreathed in the burning energy of a DigiSoul.

"Let’s go, Agumon!" With Drillmon dazed by the blow, both boys and their Digimon partners leapt off its back.

Agumon grinned, full of fighting spirit. "I’ve been waiting for this!"

"DigiSoul—charge!" the ponytailed youth shouted, pressing his palm onto his orange, boxy Digivice.

"Agumon, digivolve to... GeoGreymon!"

In a flash, a Digimon even more ferocious and imposing than Greymon appeared where Agumon had been.

"Our turn!" the blond boy called to his blue, dog-like partner.

"Yes, master!"

With a snap of his fingers, a blue DigiSoul wrapped around the blond youth’s hand.

"DigiSoul—charge!"

"Gaomon, digivolve to... Gaogamon!"

In Gaomon’s place now stood a towering, shaggy canine Digimon.

"Come on, you overgrown mole!" the ponytailed youth taunted, clearly still furious with Drillmon.

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

Suddenly, the blond youth stopped his companion, noting the strange look in his eyes. "Something’s not right with that guy."

"Yeah?"

At that moment, Drillmon began trembling violently, as if reacting to some powerful provocation...