Solo Leveling: Digispirit.

Looks like this fucker had finally acknowledged them enough to speak.

And from the look of it, he didn’t care in the slightest that it was two against one.

Well, that only made the fight more even.

"Let’s go, my friend!" Takuya shouted.

"Let’s turn him into a piñata of data!" Pumpkinmon answered with a smile.

Takuya lowered his stance, ready to move at any moment, while Pumpkinmon climbed onto his back once again, leaning over his shoulder as he flipped his oversized axe into a reverse grip, silently signaling that he was ready.

The next instant, all three charged.

MetalTyranomon attacked first. Its modified arms swung forward with enough force to pulverize anything caught in their path. Takuya sidestepped at the last possible moment, igniting flames beneath his feet to propel himself sideways. Using the burst of speed, he spun around the giant Digimon’s attack just as MetalTyranomon’s tail whipped toward him, having already predicted his dodge.

The tail passed barely an inch above Takuya’s head.

Pumpkinmon didn’t waste the opportunity. As they slipped underneath it, he swung his axe into the unmodified section of the tail—the parts that weren’t reinforced with metal. The blade bit deep into the flesh, leaving a long cut before they sped past.

At the same time, Takuya thrust both hands forward.

"Burning Salamander!"

The torrent of fire slammed into MetalTyranomon’s shoulder, engulfing it in blazing flames.

But the mechanical dinosaur didn’t even flinch. Instead, it fired one of its missiles at point-blank range. The shot wasn’t even properly aimed. It simply launched the projectile into the space between itself and Takuya.

BOOM!

The explosion swallowed both of them.

Even MetalTyranomon was caught in its own blast, yet the monster fired without the slightest hesitation. The shockwave hurled both combatants in opposite directions.

Takuya felt the impact slam into his chest. A burning pain spread through his ribs as he tumbled across the sand before managing to stop himself on one knee.

He barely had time to breathe.

MetalTyranomon was already charging again, its other cannon-arm glowing as energy rapidly gathered inside the barrel.

Takuya didn’t retreat. Instead, flames erupted around him, forming a spinning ring that expanded into a blazing wall, swirling faster and faster with each passing second.

The instant MetalTyranomon reached him—A massive pillar of fire erupted beneath Takuya’s feet.

The mechanical dinosaur’s attack struck nothing but empty ground. The impact blasted apart the beach, leaving behind a gigantic crater that would have been clearly visible even from high above the island.

At that moment, Takuya made his move.

Using the flames beneath his feet like rocket thrusters, he launched himself straight toward MetalTyranomon. In an instant, he landed on the giant Digimon’s head. One hand grabbed onto the edge of its metallic face while the other pressed directly against one of its eyes.

"Burning Salamander!"

At the same time, Pumpkinmon buried his axe into the other eye with all his strength.

MetalTyranomon roared.

The massive Digimon violently shook its body, trying to throw both of them off. Unable to dislodge them immediately, it swung one of its enormous mechanical arms across its own face.

The blow connected.

Both Takuya and Pumpkinmon were sent flying, crashing into the sand before bouncing several times across the beach.

The impact hurt. A lot.

Every muscle in Takuya’s body screamed in protest as he rolled to a stop, but by then it was already too late for MetalTyranomon.

Streams of blue data poured from where its eyes had once been.

The giant Digimon had been blinded. In that instant MetalTyranomon completely lost control.

It began thrashing wildly, swinging its arms in every direction while firing missiles and energy blasts without aiming. Explosions erupted across the beach one after another, sending enormous clouds of sand into the air. Even when the shockwaves struck its own body, the mechanical dinosaur ignored the damage, seemingly preferring to hurt itself rather than allow its enemies another clean attack.

Takuya and Pumpkinmon instinctively retreated, carefully watching the chaotic barrage.

Then Takuya smiled.

"This is our chance."

The two rushed forward again, zigzagging through the explosions. They narrowly avoided direct hits, though the shockwaves continued battering their bodies every few seconds. Even so, neither of them slowed down.

To create another opening, Pumpkinmon summoned his giant pumpkin directly above MetalTyranomon.

Unable to see it coming, the blinded Digimon failed to dodge.

The enormous pumpkin crashed onto its body, pinning it beneath its weight while leaving only its head exposed.

Before MetalTyranomon could push it away—

"Burning Salamander!"

"Lantern Jack!"

Twin torrents of fire slammed into the exposed head. The combined explosion tore through the pumpkin itself, blasting away huge chunks that dissolved into data while the flames continued to engulf MetalTyranomon’s face.

They didn’t stop. Again. And again. And again.

Takuya and Pumpkinmon circled the giant Digimon, constantly changing positions after every attack. Fire rained down from different directions, making it impossible for MetalTyranomon to determine where the next strike would come from.

The strategy was simple.

Overwhelm it with firepower.

Slowly, MetalTyranomon struggled back onto its feet.

Then...It turned and tried to flee.

Like a wounded beast, the enormous Digimon staggered across the beach, roaring in pain. The arrogance that had filled its voice only moments earlier had vanished completely. Now there was only desperation.

At this point, it even exposed its back to them. Its final mistake.

Takuya gently lowered Pumpkinmon onto the sand. Fighting together had been the right choice while MetalTyranomon could still see, but now they no longer needed to stay togheter.

Flames erupted around Takuya’s entire body.

He accelerated forward.

"Salamander Break!"

He crashed into MetalTyranomon’s back like a living missile, creating a spiraling tornado of fire that wrapped around the giant Digimon and completely engulfed it. Before the inferno had a chance to fade, Pumpkinmon made his move. With perfect timing, he summoned yet another giant pumpkin high above the battlefield.

The massive pumpkin plummeted from the sky.

BOOM!

It drove the burning MetalTyranomon back into the sand. Almost instantly, the pumpkin itself ignited, transforming into a blazing prison that slowly consumed the digimon trapped inside.

This time...

MetalTyranomon didn’t get back up.

The giant mechanical dinosaur finally dissolved into countless streams of blue data, all of which flowed directly into the D-Scan.

Absorbing data...

2.2 GB absorbed.

Processing data...

"...That’s a lot."

Takuya let out a slow breath.

If he had somehow defeated a Perfect-level Digimon by himself, he estimated he probably would have received nearly four gigabytes instead.

Still...

He wasn’t about to complain.

Fighting a Perfect alone would have been little short of suicide. Pumpkinmon had made all the difference.

Only after confirming that MetalTyranomon had truly disappeared did Takuya pat Pumpkinmon on the shoulder before collapsing backward onto the warm sand. Pumpkinmon immediately followed suit.

For several long seconds, neither of them spoke.

They simply lay there, breathing heavily before letting out one long, exhausted sigh.

"Looks like LoaderLeomon’s information about this Digimon was outdated," Takuya muttered.

"And how," Pumpkinmon replied, raising one arm.

Part of his plush body had been torn open. Several stitches had split apart, exposing streams of blue data where stuffing should have been.

Takuya stared at the wound for a moment.

"...You’re literally made of data."

"What were you expecting?" Pumpkinmon asked with a weak laugh.

Takuya chuckled before lying flat on the sand.

He wasn’t in much better shape.

Every movement sent pain through his body, and he was almost certain MetalTyranomon’s tail had cracked at least six or seven ribs. Even taking a deep breath hurt.

For a while, the two simply stared up at the endless blue sky.

"I’m tired..." Takuya sighed.

"I want a pizza."

"A real one."

Pumpkinmon turned toward him. "A real one?"

"Yeah. The pizzas in Korea aren’t bad, but the variety is pretty limited. I like American pizzas more. They use way more cheese... and some of them even have cheese stuffed inside the crust."

He spread his hands dramatically. "It’s basically a fountain of cheese pretending to be a pizza."

Pumpkinmon’s eyes sparkled. "That sounds amazing."

"I’ll take you there someday," Takuya said with a grin. "Once I reach my next stage, I should be able to travel much more freely between countries. And as far as I know, I’ll have permanent access to this island, so... I’ll be coming here a lot."

Pumpkinmon remained silent for several seconds. "So... you’ll go back?"

"I have to." Takuya nodded. "My family’s there. Besides..." He smiled awkwardly. "I still have things I need to do in the Human World. And honestly... I don’t think staying here forever would be a good idea."

Pumpkinmon simply nodded. The conversation naturally faded away.

The silence wasn’t awkward.

After everything they had been through, neither of them felt the need to keep talking.

They simply lay there, listening to the gentle rhythm of the waves.

After a while, Takuya reached into his inventory and pulled out what little food he had left. The two of them ate until they were full.

Over the past few days, he had noticed something interesting.

Eating didn’t magically heal his injuries, but it noticeably accelerated his recovery. The effect was subtle—almost impossible to notice during combat—but after battles like this one, the difference became obvious.

Time quietly slipped by.

One hour.

Neither of them moved.

Two hours.

Still nothing.

There was no reason to hurry.

This had been MetalTyranomon’s territory. After witnessing that battle, it was highly unlikely that any nearby Digimon would willingly approach the area anytime soon.

They simply enjoyed the rare moment of peace.

Eventually, Takuya spoke without taking his eyes off the sky.

"...There’s someone watching us, isn’t there?"

Pumpkinmon, still lying beside him, silently raised a thumb.

He had noticed it too.

About an hour earlier, both of them had sensed subtle movements somewhere nearby. Whoever it was had been observing them ever since.

Unlike every hostile Digimon they had encountered on the beach, however...

This presence didn’t feel aggressive.

It felt...

Curious.

Takuya quietly extended his senses.

The Digimon was definitely there.

The feeling was unmistakable, like someone constantly staring at the back of his head.

Even so, he didn’t bother getting up.

He was exhausted.

Pumpkinmon was in the same condition.

If whoever was watching had wanted to attack...

They would have done so already.

"So... what do we do?" Pumpkinmon groaned. "I’m hurt, and I really don’t want to move."

Takuya thought for a moment before shrugging.

"...Let’s just wait."

That was all they could do.

So they waited.

Another hour passed.

The presence gradually drew closer.

Much closer.

By now, Takuya could almost pinpoint its exact location. It no longer felt like someone observing them from afar. Instead, it cautiously circled around them, peeking from one hiding place to another as if trying to determine whether they were truly as exhausted as they appeared.

Still...

It never attacked.

Definitely intelligent, Takuya thought.

Not only had it waited until the battle was over, but it had also spent hours observing them instead of rushing in recklessly.

Eventually, the presence came close enough for Takuya to accurately judge its strength.

Adult level.

That was all he needed.

Fire burst beneath his feet.

In a single explosive dash, Takuya vanished from where he had been lying and reappeared directly behind the creature that had been spying on them. He reached out to grab it—

Only to freeze for the briefest instant.

"...Huh?"

Standing there, equally startled, was a small BlackTailmon.

A/N: Okay, here’s today’s Chapter!

I have to admit, this one was pretty difficult to write. Mostly because MetalTyrannomon is supposed to be strong, so I had to make Takuya and Pumpkinmon take advantage of one of its weak points in order to win. Finding a way to make that feel believable wasn’t easy.

I also read a few comments saying that the power scaling feels inconsistent. It isn’t that I’ve made Adult-level Digimon weaker than they used to be. The thing is, Digimon stages represent a range of power, not a fixed level. It’s not like Solo Leveling, where one A-Rank hunter is generally comparable to another A-Rank.

Some Adult Digimon are simply much stronger than others. A Numemon, for example, isn’t on the same level as a Greymon, even though they’re both Adult-level Digimon.