Chapter Seven: Parting

The sky seemed to darken, and seven rainbow-hued pillars of light descended from above like a divine miracle, each enveloping one of the Digimon chosen by destiny.

“What?!”
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock, staring blankly at the extraordinary scene unfolding before them.

Even Kuwagamon, who had been brimming with murderous intent, halted in its tracks, forgetting its attack as if equally unable to comprehend this unbelievable spectacle.

All seven Digimon began to evolve simultaneously.

“….”

“Botamon digivolve to… Agumon!” “Poyomon digivolve to… Biyomon!” “Motimon digivolve to… Tentomon!” “Tsunomon digivolve to… Gabumon!” “Tokomon digivolve to… Patamon!” “Bukamon digivolve to… Gomamon!” “Yokomon digivolve to… Palmon!”

As the radiance faded, seven Digimon in their new forms—each deeply familiar to Qin Fei—stood before everyone, their presence awe-inspiring.

“So it really does happen here,” Qin Fei murmured to himself, feeling both gratified and a little disappointed.

Only his Blacktoothmon remained in its infant stage.

“Wha…what?!”
Tai and the others seemed still unable to recover, staring in a stupor at the transformed Digimon before them.

“Everyone, go!”
The newly evolved Rookie Digimon quickly snapped to attention and charged at Kuwagamon, but were still swiftly batted aside by its massive claws.

The difference in size and strength between the two sides remained considerable.

“Whoosh, whoosh—”
“Poison Ivy!”

Kuwagamon spread its wings, preparing to take flight, but was suddenly caught by Palmon’s vines. It lasted only a moment, but it was enough to put Kuwagamon on the defensive. Seizing the chance, Agumon and the others unleashed all their attacks, bombarding Kuwagamon.

Though Kuwagamon struggled to rise during this onslaught, Agumon and the rest never gave it the opportunity. Their relentless assault quickly forced it back…

At last, exhausted from the earlier chase, Kuwagamon was overwhelmed by the seven Rookie Digimon and collapsed backward into the forest behind it.

“…We did it…”
Tai and his friends looked on in shock and delight at what had just transpired, still feeling as if it were a dream.

“Tai!”
The Digimon, overjoyed, ran to their human partners, eager to share the triumph of their evolution and victory.

“Amazing, you’re incredible! Well done!”
Tai rushed forward, hugging Agumon and shouting with excitement, while the other children regarded their partners with expressions of awe and happiness.

Qin Fei remained silent, cradling the injured Blacktoothmon and hurrying toward the interior of the cliff, for he knew Kuwagamon was not dead—not even seriously wounded.

A group of Rookie-level Digimon could inflict only so much damage on a Champion like Kuwagamon. Soon, it would rise again, attacking everything in sight, perhaps even shattering the cliff itself.

“Qin Fei, where are you going?!”
Sora, sensing his unease and noticing him running toward the woods, called out in surprise.

“Everyone, get away from the cliff! Kuwagamon won’t be defeated so easily—trust me!”
Qin Fei gritted his teeth as he ran, then added, “If you fall, wait for me on the beach, I’ll come find you—just believe me!”

“What are you talking about? Fall where?”
Baffled by Qin Fei’s strange words, the others looked at each other in confusion.

But before they could make sense of it, Kuwagamon, just as Qin Fei had predicted, rose again. With a furious swing of its giant pincers, it struck at Tai and Agumon, who were closest.

“Tai!”
“Huh? Ahhh!”

Sora’s cry jolted Tai into action, and he narrowly dodged the massive pincers.

But the already unstable cliff was not so lucky. A huge fissure opened where the pincers struck, rapidly spreading outwards.

The ground trembled as though the world itself was collapsing.

Crack—crash!
“Ahhh!”
“Yikes!”
“….”

Except for Qin Fei, the others all tumbled from the broken edge of the cliff.

Even Kuwagamon, closer to the inner side, plunged into the river below along with a landslide of rocks and earth.

…

“I hope they’re all right…”
Holding Blacktoothmon in his arms, Qin Fei watched the others vanish over the cliff. He bit his lip anxiously—even though, according to the story, those chosen children would be fine, guilt still lingered.

Falling from such a height was perilous; a misstep could mean never even finding the bodies.

He had agonized over this choice—while Agumon and the others were ganging up on Kuwagamon, Qin Fei had been weighing the consequences.

He didn’t want to disrupt the story's flow; that was the children’s opportunity. If he’d warned them in advance that Kuwagamon wasn’t really defeated, or that the cliff would collapse, even if they believed him, they might not have ended up drifting downstream to that fateful beach.

And without that, the trigger for Agumon’s evolution to Greymon might have been delayed.

If the Digimon Adventure events veered from the familiar storyline, Qin Fei would lose his advantage in predicting the future. If, because of his interference, some children’s Digimon failed to evolve, then when they faced their first boss, Devimon, there might be casualties—or even worse, he himself could be at risk. He doubted he could turn the tide like a protagonist.

Qin Fei had considered falling with Tai and the others and following the original story, but when he saw the badly injured Blacktoothmon in his arms, he abandoned the idea. Blacktoothmon couldn’t take any more, and Qin Fei wasn’t confident he could protect it during the fall.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”
He glanced at the rushing river below, at the distant figures riding the school of fish summoned by Gomamon’s power.

Qin Fei gritted his teeth and followed the river downstream. Fortunately, his backpack contained enough compressed biscuits and emergency rations to last until he reached that phone booth on the beach.

“Qin Fei, I…I’ll be fine,”
Sensing his tamer’s concern, Blacktoothmon murmured weakly in reassurance.

“Don’t talk. Focus on recovering. Leave the rest to me.”

Hearing the firm concern in Qin Fei’s voice, Blacktoothmon fell silent, curling even tighter in his arms, as if feeling completely safe.

Neither Qin Fei nor Blacktoothmon noticed the faint white glow flickering from the Digivice in his pocket.

…

“Whew, I wonder how far it is. I hope I can make it before nightfall, or else I’ll have to look for that bus.”
Qin Fei splashed his face with the cold river water, trying to stay alert.

After wolfing down a compressed biscuit, he felt his energy returning, even if the taste left much to be desired.

“Qin Fei, I’ve finished eating.”
Blacktoothmon seemed much livelier after two biscuits, his endless curiosity leading him to explore everything along the way—even stirring up a few schools of fish in the river.

“Blacktoothmon, what will it take for you to digivolve?”
Watching Blacktoothmon hop and skip ahead, Qin Fei sighed softly, muttering to himself.

“…”

“Sniff, sniff!”
“Hm? What is it, Blacktoothmon? You…”

Suddenly, the normally cheerful Blacktoothmon stopped in its tracks, nose twitching as it spun around. Its eyes narrowed to slits, fixed intently on the sky above.

There, a familiar red beetle Digimon was hurtling down in a steep dive.