Chapter Forty-Eight: Deception

"Look, Qin Fei and Suna are back!"

Meimei called out with delight to everyone gathered below the waterfall, her eyes fixed on the triumphant orange-red giant bird soaring across the sky.

The Baldoramon seemed to notice Meimei waving at them and, spreading its flaming wings wide, swooped down toward their group.

"Qin Fei, how did it go?"

Taichi stepped forward, his voice filled with excitement.

"It's done," Qin Fei replied with a relaxed smile, his manner casual and easy.

"Ha! I knew you wouldn't disappoint," Taichi said, his eyes shining. The children paused for a moment, but soon shrugged it off—they had grown used to Qin Fei's ruthless efficiency in dealing with enemies.

Everyone grows up in their own way; these children were no exception. After facing so many dangers in the digital world, their hearts were no longer as innocent as when they first arrived. Their enemies, after all, had never shown them any mercy simply for being chosen children.

"What about you all?" Qin Fei glanced at the waterfall—clearly, the Koromon had been rescued.

"We locked the Gazimon and Pagumon in the same cages where the Koromon were held, tied them up tightly, and the Koromon have all returned to their village," Yamato explained, gesturing to the waterfall behind him.

After learning there was a fearsome Etemon lurking behind the Gazimon and Pagumon—one even more terrifying than Devimon—none of the children dared let them go free.

"Why not just get rid of them?" Loretta, the Digimon, cast a sidelong glance at the children, apparently thinking they were wasting time.

"Well..." The children hesitated. Dealing a lethal blow to so many Pagumon and Gazimon still weighed on them; after all, these creatures had just recently been chattering and bouncing around in front of them.

"Forget it," Qin Fei suggested, "let's rest in the Koromon village for a bit. We were all up all night."

"That's wonderful!" cheered the children, jubilant that Qin Fei hadn't pressed the issue.

"Thank you for saving our village," said one of the Koromon, "To show our gratitude, please allow us to treat you to a good meal. Though most of our food was wasted by the Pagumon."

This time, at last arriving in the real Koromon village, they were warmly welcomed by the Koromon.

"No need, we've already eaten. All we want now is to sleep," the children replied. As soon as they relaxed, exhaustion overwhelmed them, and they became listless and drowsy. The Digimon, fatigued from their evolutions, were just as weary.

"Well... all right then. Please feel free to use our tents as you wish," said the Koromon, seeing how tired the children were. Without hesitation, they offered up their homes.

Meimei and Takeru, the youngest, rushed off to find a room to rest, while the others arranged a rotation for keeping watch before settling in for some much-needed sleep.

Even in the safety of the real Koromon village, the children were still wary. Qin Fei took the first watch, holding the now-awake Black Gabumon in his arms, his gaze distant and unfocused, lost in thought.

Fortunately, Black Gabumon had finally grown used to Qin Fei's scent and no longer resisted being held.

"Loretta!" Qin Fei called quietly as the children went off to rest.

"What is it, Qin Fei?" Loretta's voice came from nearby.

Sensing her presence, Black Gabumon tried to wriggle free, wanting to jump onto Loretta, but she fixed it with a sharp look, and it could only sulk and stay in Qin Fei's lap.

"Go check behind the waterfall."

"Oh? Do you want me to take care of the Gazimon and Pagumon?" Loretta's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Not just that," Qin Fei replied, picking up a slender branch and drawing a pattern on the ground—an emblem of courage, like the sun.

"Look for this symbol at the end of the waterfall cave," he instructed.

Loretta glanced at the drawing at his feet, nodded, and disappeared into the shadows.

Left alone, Qin Fei fell silent again, troubled by a dilemma.

Because he had changed the course of events, the powerful Etemon was still waiting elsewhere, hoping the children would stumble into his trap. Taichi had yet to obtain the crest.

Though the Koromon village was relatively safe for now, it was hardly a long-term solution. Taichi needed the crest, but to obtain it, they would have to enter the cave behind the waterfall, which led directly to Etemon's lair, filled with black cables—an encounter with Etemon was almost inevitable.

Yet passing through that place was the only way to get the crest.

Tormented by this predicament, Qin Fei could not devise a perfect solution.

Recalling the original story, Etemon had been lured to the Koromon village, and only after its destruction did Taichi obtain the crest and manage to escape. That method would not do now. In the original plot, the Koromon had not yet returned to their village at the time—if it was destroyed, it simply meant more hardship for them as they rebuilt elsewhere.

But now, with the Koromon safely back, luring Etemon here would mean disaster, perhaps even their total annihilation.

Qin Fei himself could be ruthless enough to ignore their fate, but the children—especially Agumon and Taichi—would never agree. If the Koromon perished and the children were left with psychological scars, it might even trigger future problems with evolution, like Agumon's infamous uncontrollable transformation into SkullGreymon.

It would be a disaster for everyone.

"It seems there's no choice but to deceive the Koromon a little," Qin Fei thought, and at last, his brows began to relax as an idea formed.

With a flick of his wrist, a card slowly formed in his hand.

"Shadow Clone? And it's another non-Digimon card—did I get it from the Gazimon and Pagumon?"

From his experience with the Numemon, duplicate Digimon yielded no new cards.

Qin Fei smiled and let the matter go, assuming Loretta had already dealt with the Digimon.

"Now, I just need to see if there are any black cables nearby—anything that might draw Etemon here."

The black cables were certainly present; in the anime, Etemon was drawn to the Koromon village by them.

...

The next morning, the sun was already high in the sky.

Qin Fei felt he had slept better than he had in a long time, with no pressing dangers nearby. The Gazimon sentries had been eliminated, and Etemon was still lurking, waiting in vain for the children to walk into his ambush.

But now, he had to enact his plan.

Qin Fei decided to tell the Koromon a "well-intentioned lie" to persuade them to leave their no-longer-safe village.

"Loretta, how are you? Did you get some rest?"

"I did," Loretta replied with a sideways glance. After how he'd bossed her around yesterday, now he was concerned about her?

"Then let's go ahead as planned. Did you find the black cables nearby?"

Loretta nodded. "Not far from the village, just as you described, I found something like black underground cables. But I didn't get too close, in case I drew attention."

Qin Fei gave her an approving look and handed her his Digivice.

"Go use this to scan the dark cables. I'm sure Etemon is getting impatient."

"You're planning to lure Etemon here on purpose?" Loretta eyed him curiously, aware of the risk.

"Don't worry—if anything goes wrong, I'll handle it."

"You?" she retorted. "You mean 'we'll' handle it, don't you?"

Casting him a sharp look, Loretta took the Digivice and headed out.

Ever since her evolution into Arachnemon, Loretta's tongue had grown noticeably sharper.