On the summit of Infinity Mountain, the giant Devimon's body began to dissipate.
Just as Aomori thought it was over, the surrounding dark energy suddenly churned and surged. Then, as if manipulated, it swept up Devimon's data and converged into a single black sphere.
"Tch! I hate enemies who play dead." Aomori released his own suppressed power, frantically absorbing the surrounding dark energy to contend with the opponent.
Half a minute later, not a speck of dark energy remained in the air. A third of it entered Aomori's and Darkrai's bodies, while the remaining two-thirds fused with Devimon's data, forming a black orb.
With a few crackling sounds, the black orb shattered, and a humanoid Digimon, similar in size to Aomori, emerged.
It was completely naked and pitch black, with the same muscular physique as Etemon. Its head resembled an ape, but it had four crimson eyes, a gaping mouth with two fangs, and a demonic countenance.
"A Digimon I've never seen before. Is it simply a fusion of Devimon's and Etemon's data?" Looking at the DeviEtemon before him, Aomori, in his Bond Evolution state, showed a solemn expression for the first time.
The previous Devimon seemed powerful, but was actually strong on the outside and weak within, with scattered energy. This DeviEtemon, having absorbed a large amount of dark energy and condensed it, gave Aomori an oppressive feeling that seemed even stronger than Bang's when serious.
Darkrai inside him also warned: "Aomori, be careful."
"Understood."
DeviEtemon's four eyes darted around, then all fixed on Aomori. It mumbled indistinctly: "Die."
As the sound reached Aomori's ears, its body instantly appeared before him, a fist surging with pitch-black energy, directly aimed at his face.
"So fast!" Aomori had never thought he would say that word. He crossed his arms in front of him, taking the blow and being sent flying sideways.
"And so strong!"
The DeviEtemon grinned as if smiling at Aomori, and its body vanished again.
But this time, its fist struck empty air.
Aomori reappeared elsewhere, black lightning flashing around him. He had used his Breathing Style in his Bond Evolution state, boosting his speed, finally able to keep up with DeviEtemon's movements.
Having had its punch dodged, DeviEtemon was annoyed. It opened its mouth and blasted a Kiss of Death at him.
Aomori raised a hand, returning with a One Hit, One Kill. The black energies collided, canceling each other out.
Amidst the dissipating energy, both human and beast vanished simultaneously, engaging in a high-speed duel on the mountaintop.
During their clashes, the Infinity Mountain's body constantly crumbled, breaking into chunks and falling to the base of the peak.
By the sea, worried about Aomori, Salamon and the others had all run out onto the deck to watch Infinity Mountain.
Seeing the dark energy disappear, before they could rejoice, the intense collisions began again. They realized the battle wasn't over; in fact, it was becoming even more ferocious.
"Master..." Salamon mumbled, feeling very uneasy, as if a voice was constantly prompting her.
'Go help him, go help him...'
Her gaze gradually firmed, and she declared loudly, "Master is in danger! I'm going to help him!"
"Don't you dare go!" BlackAgumon blocked her path. "I promised Master I'd keep a close eye on you."
"I'm going to!"
"Don't you dare!"
"Hey, don't fight, don't fight!" DemiDevimon interjected between the two, seemingly mediating but actually blocking BlackAgumon's view.
'Fool, hurry up and go. Hopefully, you'll run into some powerful Digimon on the way and get eaten. That'll be one less rival.' DemiDevimon had long been discontent with the cutesy Salamon.
Indeed, with DemiDevimon's covert assistance, Salamon found an opportunity and jumped off the ship.
BlackAgumon's eyes blazed. It threw DemiDevimon aside, leaped onto the ship's railing, and blasted a fireball at the scampering Salamon.
The fireball exploded near Salamon's feet, knocking her to the ground.
BlackAgumon came to her side and said in a deep voice, "I told you not to go!"
"I am going! I don't want Master to be in danger!" Salamon's eyes welled up. She roared forcefully, "I don't want him to!"
No sooner had she spoken than her body suddenly glowed. When the light faded, Salamon had transformed into Gatomon.
"You Digivolved?" BlackAgumon asked in a daze. It knew that this time, Salamon had evolved entirely on her own, without the power of the Digivice.
"Yes, I'm a Champion now! You can't stop me!" Gatomon said with a smile.
"Right, I can't stop you. So you have to take me with you."
"Huh?"
"My mission is to watch over you, so wherever you go, I go."
"Alright then!" After evolving into Gatomon, she became much more confident and assertive.
"Damn it! How did things turn out like this?" Seeing the evolved Gatomon, DemiDevimon was practically dying of jealousy.
Watching Gatomon and BlackAgumon head off to find Aomori together, DemiDevimon gritted its teeth and followed.
"Wait for me! I'm coming too!"
…
On Infinity Mountain, the battle continued, but the situation was increasingly unfavorable for Aomori.
Affected by the dark energy, Aomori's eyes had turned bloodshot. He had fallen into a frenzied state, abandoning the use of skills and engaging in pure hand-to-hand combat with DeviEtemon purely on instinct.
Although he temporarily suppressed DeviEtemon, as time passed, the Bond Evolution state couldn't be maintained for too long. If Bond Evolution wore off, Aomori would lose the chance to finish off DeviEtemon.
"Aomori, Aomori, wake up!" Darkrai tried to awaken him, but it had no effect.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Aomori's eyes were bloodshot. His murderous fists slammed into DeviEtemon repeatedly, causing dark energy to seep from its body.
"Die! Die! Die!" DeviEtemon was not to be outdone. Its sharp fangs and claws easily tore through Aomori's Violet-Gold Knight Set, leaving trails of blood.
Dark energy seeped into his body along the blood trails. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Aomori completely lost his sanity, becoming a literal "HellKnightmon."
Just then, in a secluded spot on File Island, seven beams of light suddenly erupted. They converged into one in the air, then shot toward Infinity Mountain, striking Aomori in the midst of his fight.
Under this light, plumes of smoke constantly rose from DeviEtemon's body, forcing it to retreat again and again.
As for Aomori, enveloped in the light, his Bond Evolution state was immediately dispelled; he and Darkrai separated.
The light lasted for over a minute, cleansing the dark energy that had entered his body. Once the light vanished, Aomori had regained his sanity.
"Aomori?"
"Yes, Darkrai, you worked hard. Let me take over now." He recalled the exhausted Darkrai and looked in the direction where the light beam had disappeared. "Homeostasis? I owe you one for this."