Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Elder of the Mysterious Temple

"Nothing brings me more joy than plunging the Digimon of the chosen children into darkness, hahahaha." Watching the Digimon egg in Qin Fei's arms being tainted by the power of darkness, Devimon finally burst into triumphant laughter as he approached his end.

"Damn it!"

No one had anticipated such a turn of events; Devimon managed to trick them one last time upon his death. When he was barely clinging to life in the deep pit, everyone had let their guard down, only for him to use his last ounce of strength to give them a cruel "surprise."

Staring at the Devimon card gradually materializing in his hand, Qin Fei felt no urge to examine it. Instead, he urgently set down the Digimon egg in his arms and began inspecting it carefully.

"What happened? Is something wrong?" Tai and Matt hurried over, concern etched on their faces. Though they were curious about the sudden appearance of the Digimon egg, they knew this was no time to ask about it.

The Digimon egg looked unchanged, showing no sign of corruption by the dark aura. Yet this only made Qin Fei more anxious. The deeper the problem is hidden, the more severe its eruption.

"Qin Fei, you could try using that card," Loretta Digimon suddenly suggested.

Qin Fei was taken aback, but quickly caught on, hope flickering in his eyes.

"Card swap!"

"Devimon!"

Now, Qin Fei no longer cared about revealing his unusual abilities before Tai and Matt. He took out his other Digivice. Under their incredulous gaze, Devimon's shadow materialized and then transformed into black light, converging upon Loretta Digimon's hand.

Soon, Loretta Digimon's Bone Cleaver morphed into a sinister glove with a black base and red edges, tightly fitted to her right hand.

"What... what is that?"

The intense aura of darkness made everyone tense up again, body and nerves alike. Behind Tai and Matt, Agumon and Gabumon’s expressions changed, preparing themselves for battle.

Qin Fei ignored their alarm and produced another card.

"Card swap!"

"Black Gear!"

Quickly, the glove on Loretta Digimon's hand began to emit a dusky glow. A gear-shaped symbol appeared on the back of the glove.

Loretta Digimon then gently pressed her palm onto the Digimon egg, closing her eyes to sense its inner aura. The children watched her anxiously, not daring to interrupt.

"Found it!"

Suddenly, Loretta Digimon's eyes snapped open, her right hand seemed to grasp something, and she began to pull it out forcefully. With every tug, Qin Fei felt as if the egg in his arms was crying out in pain, as if linked to his own emotions, making him involuntarily sorrowful.

But Qin Fei did not stop her; instead, he held the egg tighter, enduring the agony of its infection.

"If I can share in your pain, then please, give it all to me," Qin Fei gritted his teeth, murmuring to the egg in his arms, a gentle expression unfamiliar to Loretta Digimon appearing on his face.

At that moment, Qin Fei seemed to become someone else entirely.

"This is the last help I can give it. Please take good care of it." Qin Fei felt a lightness inside, as though something within him had dispersed. He understood that after sharing the pain within the Digimon egg, the soul of his original self had finally faded away.

"Come out!"

With a sharp cry, at last, Loretta Digimon pulled out a pitch-black gear, woven as if from strands of darkness.

"Is it done?!"

The children cheered instantly, even their Digimon companions beamed with joy.

"No, it's actually a failure," Loretta Digimon sighed, shaking her head as she crushed the dark substance in her hand.

"Wh... why?" T.K. looked anxiously at the Digimon egg in Qin Fei's arms.

"Most of the impurities have been cleared, but the purest strand of dark power remains deep inside this egg, rooted so firmly it cannot be removed."

Hearing this, everyone’s faces fell in disappointment.

"So, will an evil Digimon like Devimon hatch from this egg someday?" T.K. asked nervously, but upon seeing Matt’s warning look, he promptly fell silent.

"No," Qin Fei stood up, holding the egg firmly. "Light and darkness alike are simply forms of power to be harnessed. As long as one remains true to their nature and inner kindness, the power of darkness is not necessarily evil."

He smiled at Loretta Digimon, "Looks like you might have a new companion soon."

Patamon nodded. After evolving into Angemon, he had sensed the power of darkness in Loretta’s body, yet he had to admit she behaved admirably.

"What do you mean by another companion? We're all your companions. Let's just say we're gaining a new one," Agumon remarked cheerfully, having picked up Tai’s optimism and carefree spirit.

Upon hearing Agumon's words, everyone smiled knowingly.

"I wonder when this egg will hatch..." T.K. gazed expectantly at the egg in Qin Fei’s arms.

"It should be soon," Qin Fei replied, gently stroking the now-calmed Digimon egg and glancing around.

Elimon had returned as well, having spent the previous battle relocating Digimon eggs and baby Digimon to safety. Now, seeing Devimon finally defeated, he brought the eggs and babies back.

"Tai!"

"Izzy! Mimi!"

Suddenly, Mimi and Izzy arrived, riding atop Betamon.

"I know the power of the Holy Plan!" Izzy exclaimed excitedly before even landing, as if he had made a remarkable discovery.

"Holy Plan?" Tai’s joyous face was tinged with curiosity.

"This!" Mimi and Izzy raised their first-generation Digivices, their faces alight with happiness.

Tai scratched his head, smiling awkwardly, "But we already defeated Devimon just now."

Mimi and Izzy: "......"

"So the legends were true..."

A weak voice startled everyone: it was Leomon, who had also arrived, though his wounds still showed no signs of healing.

"What do you mean, legend?" The children’s curiosity was piqued by Leomon's words.

"......"

......

"So, according to this, once the darkness in this world is eliminated, will we no longer be needed here?" After listening to Leomon's account of the legend, Izzy offered his perspective.

"What are you saying, Izzy?" Mimi was momentarily bewildered.

"In other words, we might be able to return to our own world," Izzy explained.

"Really? That’s wonderful... wait, that can’t be right." Mimi’s excitement quickly turned to doubt. "Didn’t you already defeat Devimon?"

"Yes, but when Devimon was destroyed, he said even greater darkness lies across the sea," Qin Fei replied, holding the Digimon egg.

"I agree; Devimon was defeated far too easily," Tai mused, feeling that the core of darkness in this world shouldn’t be so weak.

Qin Fei rolled his eyes in exasperation. If not for Loretta Digimon evolving into Dark Spider Witch and weakening Devimon significantly, these chosen children would have followed the original story, battered and even sacrificing Angemon.

"So what..."

"Thunk..."

Just as Mimi was about to ask another question, a sudden sound came from the ground as something broke through the soil. Everyone jumped in fright.

Qin Fei’s gaze flickered. The location of the Elder Genna’s appearance was different from the original story; his device should have been near Devimon's temple. Or perhaps there were many of Elder Genna's communicators buried beneath File Island?

"So these are the other chosen children," a flash of seven-colored light appeared, and a stooped old man materialized within it.