Chapter One Hundred Sixteen: The Heart Itself Is Strength

The Impmon that had been knocked away was never found, but a Hippogriffomon appeared the very next day. Its Chrome Digizoid-forged treasure was incredibly powerful, and even after pulling out all the stops, it could not be defeated. Eventually, Takato managed to evolve his Guilmon into Growlmon using that DIY Blue Card, finally putting an end to the opponent.

However, this sparked a train of thought in Feng Xue.

Why was that Blue Card, which clearly lacked any parameters, capable of triggering a Digimon’s evolution?

It couldn't just be the "heart." If it were merely the heart, then just like in the first generation, a simple roar would suffice for evolution—why bother with swiping cards?

To get to the bottom of this, Feng Xue had Ruki swipe her cards several times in succession until he finally grasped the mystery.

A Digimon’s card is merely a medium, and the D-Arc is a tool for transmitting power; the heart, therefore, is the power itself.

However, that is not entirely accurate, because the cards provide a module for the power of the heart.

How should one put it? The card acts like a popsicle mold. Depending on the shape of the mold, different forms are produced. Although the sugar water poured in is the same, once frozen, the results are completely different. The power of the heart is that sugar water.

The power of the heart is an emotion. As long as this emotion is properly converted, it can transform into a massive amount of data. This was the fundamental principle behind the evolutions using Digivices and Crests in the first series.

Back then, the Crests were merely emotional amplifiers; they converted specific emotions into data and amplified them, generating tens or hundreds of gigabytes of data to force a Champion-level Digimon into an extraordinary evolution. Precisely because of this, if the emotions were tainted by darkness, the Crest would amplify that darkness as well, causing the Digimon to evolve along a dark path.

The D-Arc, however, is different. It possesses the function of guiding emotional power, and the means to do so is the card.

The process of swiping a card—that seemingly superfluous pose—is actually a form of self-suggestion, much like a spell-casting gesture. Through such an action, the Tamers firmly believe that the card they swipe will support their partners. The D-Arc then extracts this firm confidence from the Tamers and arranges it according to the card’s parameters, thereby producing the card’s effect.

The strength of this effect varies from person to person; the more one believes in the power of the card, the more significant the effect. In the original story, during the battle against IceDevimon, the Meramon card failed to take effect due to a lack of confidence. Conversely, the "Hyper Wing" card, which originally lacked the ability to break through limitations, successfully pierced the ice wall due to Jenrya’s confidence.

The exact opposite happened during the fight against Pajiramon. Because Jenrya doubted the effectiveness of the defensive components, neither the defensive nor the attack-nullifying components achieved their maximum potential. In later plot developments, Juri’s intense confidence allowed Leomon to instantly kill the Makuramon—a formidable foe even among Ultimates—with a Beelzemon card. Yet, even when Takato swiped a MetalGarurumon card, he couldn't instantly defeat an Armor-level Digimon that wasn't even as strong as a Champion.

At this point, Feng Xue finally confirmed the catalyst for a Digimon to break through to the Ultimate level: besides the Light of Evolution, there must be intense self-confidence.

That’s right—for a wild Digimon to evolve, it needs its own emotions!

As long as the data volume reaches the gigabyte standard and the Digimon firmly believes it can evolve, it can break through the limitations of the Champion level and fully evolve. (Ancestral Digimon are the exception; for instance, the first generations of MetalGreymon or Andromon were born through modifications by the Steel Empire. However, once the evolutionary chain is recognized by the Digital World, Greymon can evolve successfully by accumulating data.)

Because Feng Xue had absorbed some data in Akihabara, even though he hadn't landed the finishing blows on Indramon or Vajramon, his data volume was nearing its peak. It seemed he didn't necessarily need the Deva; defeating any Champion-level Digimon would allow him to evolve. However, in the current real world, aside from a few old hands, only the Deva remained.

...

"Are they here?" Just as Takato and the others were discussing their "strategy," Feng Xue suddenly sensed some movement outside. After telling Ruki, he left the small cabin.

"So it’s the three of them..." Seeing the three children lying in the grass, Feng Xue smiled. However, a flash in his peripheral vision caught sight of a person wearing a hat.

"That is not a human!" The moment he saw the child's expression, this thought occurred to Feng Xue. The opponent’s massive mouth and vacant, round eyes revealed his true identity.

"That monkey!" Feng Xue suddenly remembered the Ultimate-level Digimon he had fought before, and he couldn't help but feel a bit tense.

He wondered if the other party had recovered from his injuries.

Feng Xue hesitated. Although Ruki was nearby, along with two other Digimon, he didn't know whether he should engage in battle. He wasn't afraid of the opponent's power; it was just that, according to his vague memories, Calumon was taken to the Digital World by this Makuramon. If it died, the subsequent plot couldn't unfold. Without going to the Digital World, relying only on the resources of the real world, Feng Xue felt it would be very difficult for him to evolve to the Mega level, let alone develop the two crests on his body.

For the sake of his own plans, it was better to keep this somewhat grotesque Digimon alive.

However...

Feng Xue suddenly felt it was quite dangerous for Juri Katou to appear alone while holding Calumon; it seemed she could be snatched away at any moment. Although Feng Xue would be happy to see Calumon taken, if Juri Katou were injured, she would definitely not go to the Digital World. If that happened, how would the D-Reaper possess Juri? Without human emotions, Feng Xue felt the D-Reaper would simply destroy the world more directly, and the protagonists wouldn't even live long enough to receive the power of the Four Sovereigns before being wiped out.

Although the destruction of humanity in this world didn't have much to do with Feng Xue, he had lived here for quite some time, and he didn't want to see Ruki harmed.

However, the situation changed immediately, as a manhole cover in the sewer was suddenly pushed up by a thick fog, and then, from beneath that cover, a sphere sprang out!

"Indramon?" Feng Xue praised internally!

"Talk about something falling into my lap!" Feng Xue didn't even think before rushing forward, thrusting his [Death Claw] from behind toward Indramon.

"Chirp!" As expected of a Deva, Indramon sensed Feng Xue’s killing intent in an instant. He twisted his body and aimed his [Treasure Pestle] at Feng Xue. The pestle and claws clashed. The two passed each other like masters in a martial arts novel, yet neither was injured. No—if one had to be precise, Feng Xue’s glove had been sliced open by the Chrome Digizoid [Treasure Pestle].