Chapter 57: The Celestial Vanguard

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

9 Hours

 

“Apollomon, where have you been?!” Dianamon yelled as the two of us let ourselves in. “You still haven’t fully recovered from when Lector stabbed you two weeks ago! You are in no condition to be fighting like Thomas and Pheragas!”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I made you worry,” Apollomon said, weakly grinning at the female Mega Digimon.

“So, just to be clear, you weren’t worried about me?” I asked.

“Oh, you know I worry about you too, Thomas; but I know you didn’t get stabbed a while ago — well, I guess you did, but…Oh, you know what I mean! And you, Apollomon; you’re going straight to bed!”

“I can’t…not yet,” Apollomon said. “There is something I must tell everyone…It is about the Horcruxes. Everyone should here this.”

“…Fine. I’ll gather them up,” Dianamon said. “But after you tell us what it is you need to tell us, you are going straight to bed, mister!” Apollomon laughed quietly to himself, amused, as Dianamon strode off.

Lilithmon

Mandala City

 

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! Those bastards!” I paced back and forth around the empty center of the sunken city. “It wasn’t enough for them to murder SkullCaliphmon, but they had to go and attack me?! Unforgivable!” I looked down at my bare stomach, were the shirt had been burned away by Apollomon’s attack. “These burns don’t look too bad, I suppose, and hopefully not too noticeable…But I can’t let them do it again! If the image of my beauty is wrecked by hideous burns…”

“My lady, your beauty remains intact and as flawless as ever,” Sephyrus said. “There is nothing those plebeians can do to ruin your beauty in any way. In any case, our main concern should be the state of your friends.”

“…You’re right as always, Sephyrus,” I said.

“So, are your friends going to be pissed that SkullCaliphmon got his head caved in, mother?” Michalis asked, sitting atop a destroyed marble column.

“Yeah, probably…Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. After all, it’s not my fault that Thomas killed SkullCaliphmon! They shouldn’t be too mad at me for something beyond my control!”

“What would you have us do, Milady?” Sephyrus asked. “If you wish it, the two of us shall continue to gather the Horcruxes you created. In your stead, if you wish.”

“If your friends are going to be pissed at you, you should let us get the Horcruxes for you and free them instead,” Michalis said.

“…You’re right,” Lilithmon said. “Very well. Sephyrus…I will teach you the spell…the spell that will free my comrades from the Dark Area.”

“As you wish it, my lady,” Sephyrus bowed.

Apollomon

 

“So, vut is it you vished to tell us?” Pheragas asked. I took a deep breath in, and looked around. Dianamon sat right next to me, eyes constantly flickering back and forth between my eyes and my old wound. Sitting on a couch directly across from me was Luna, with Chrysania snuggled right next to her, and Pheragas standing behind them. BlackGaomon and Statuedramon sat in the middle of the floor, and Thomas and Zelda sat together on yet another couch, holding hands. All but Thomas had looks of confusion of varying degrees.

“It’s about Lilithmon,” I said. “She’s back.” Complete silence befell the room.

“Well…can’t exactly say I was expecting that,” BlackGaomon said.

“You were all affected by her selfish desires, so I think it is only fair that I tell you what little I know about her,” I said. “First of all…Lilithmon was not born of darkness. She was born an angel Digimon named Ophanimon. However, she soon fell to darkness, becoming the evil Digimon we are all familiar with.”

“Lilithmon…was an angel?” Chrysania asked. I nodded.

“I do not know the specific details of how it happened, but apparently, she was not the only angel Digimon to fall into darkness,” I continued. “Another Digimon called Cherubimon, being desperately loyal to Ophanimon, fell into the darkness with her, and they both became corrupted, Fallen Angel Digimon. That was when she befriended the other ten most powerful Digimon in existence. Now, Ophanimon and Cherubimon were part of a three Digimon group known as the Celestial Digimon, along with a third Digimon called Seraphimon.”

“Seraphimon?! Wait a minute; I just remembered…he was the Digimon we met in Yew, Thomas!” Statuedramon exclaimed. “Like…two or three weeks ago…and we forgot to tell Apollomon about him…”

“Yes, Seraphimon has always been a bit of a loner since those days long ago, always traveling across Arcadia. Anyway, Seraphimon, fearing the evil Lilithmon, Cherubimon, and their new friends would spread, formed a group of twelve Digimon, rivaling their number, known as the Celestial Vanguard. I…was a part of that group.”

“You? But…didn’t all of that happen over five hundred years ago?” Statuedramon asked.

“Yes, well, I am over five hundred years old,” I laughed. “SlashAngemon…he was also a part of that group. All twelve of us were charged with defeating one of the evil Digimon, who had formed a group known as the Order of the Enchantress. I was the only one who had failed…my mission was to try to reason with Cherubimon to bring him back from the darkness, or to destroy him…and I failed at both attempts. Seraphimon tasked himself with defeating Lilithmon, and SlashAngemon was tasked with defeating a Digimon known as SkullCaliphmon.”

“…That’s how you knew where to find Lilithmon when the Bio Hybrids took the necklace,” Thomas said. “SlashAngemon was the one who killed him…and he told you where it happened.”

“That is correct; I believe Lilithmon is now attempting to free all of her friends from the Dark Area. To do that, she needs the Horcruxes she made for them before she was killed. Also, she can only free her friends in the place they were previously killed. That is how I knew where SkullCaliphmon would be; because SlashAngemon killed him in Cyprus Desert, so I knew that was where Lilithmon would be going.”

“Apollomon, what exactly is a Horcrux?” BlackGaomon asked.

“I can answer that,” Luna said. “A Horcrux is an inanimate object made by a powerful magic-user that places a small portion of someone’s soul — not necessarily that of the mage — into said inanimate object. If that person is killed or dies, then the mage can bring that person back to life, but only once. You see, when they come back, that little bit of their soul in the Horcrux joins back up with the rest of their soul, and afterwards, the mage can then proceed to make another Horcrux for that person if they so desire.”

“That’s why you didn’t die when you were stabbed in the chest, Thomas,” I said. “If the soul of a Digimon is infused with into a Horcrux, then whoever is in possession of the Horcrux will gain some of the abilities of that Digimon. SkullCaliphmon was apparently an immortal under special circumstances — ergo, you had that same immortality when you wore his necklace.”

“So, we just need to keep killing those Digimon as soon as Lilithmon brings them back, right?” BlackGaomon asked.

“Correct; their true power comes from all twelve of them being alive at once. If all twelve of them were to walk Arcadia at once…then they would be nearly unstoppable,” I said. “What makes them even more dangerous is that some of them have powers unique to them, and foreign to other Digimon of the same species. For example, among them is a Myotismon capable of using fire attacks, and legendary golden flames, at that.”

“Do you know where any of the other Horcruxes are?” Thomas asked.

“…Only a few of them,” I replied. “In Cyprus Valley, there is a stone containing the soul of one of those Digimon. Also, I believe that Knight Commander Saias had one as well…”

“Saias?! No way!” Statch exclaimed.

“Yes; I believe his sword may have been a Horcrux, as well. It would be best if we could retrieve them as soon as we can, because it’s possible that Lilithmon knows about them as well. Pheragas, I would like for you and BlackGaomon to go to the old military base to see if you can find the sword. Thomas, I would like you, Zelda, and Statuedramon to go to Cyprus Valley to find the stone.”

“Well, why not just send us to the ocean to find a specific droplet of water?” Statch asked sarcastically.

“Is there anything about the stone you could tell us that would make it easier for us to find it?” Zelda asked.

“If you hold it, you’ll be capable of utilizing pyrokinetic force,” I said. “And for some reason, I think it may be purple…I…don’t know if that information will help you…”

“So, basically, we’re looking for a purple rock that will let us use legendary flames when we hold it,” Thomas said.

“If we’re going to go that far south, we should hurry,” Statuedramon said. “The valley is a long way away from here, and those Bio Hybrids may have already started heading in that direction.”

“Right; BlackGaomon and I vill go to de military base so ve can find dat sword,” Pheragas said.

“Don’t follow them, Apollomon,” Dianamon said to me in a stern voice as soon as Thomas and the others left the villa.

“Yes, mother,” I said sarcastically. Dianamon rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room.

Pheragas Danved

Yew

20 Minutes

 

“I don’t see how we’re going to find anything buried underneath all of that rubble,” BlackGaomon said. The military base where Apollomon fought Saias stood before us, a smoldering mess of debris and charcoal. Instead of deciding to rebuild this base, the knights decided to build another one in a completely different location, leaving this destroyed one alone, abandoned and untouched for the moment.

“Look on de bright side, BlackGaomon; at least dare von’t be any knights to get in our vay,” I said. I turned over a huge mound of burnt rubble, finding nothing but charred ashes underneath. “Dat is a good ting; dis might take a vile…” 

“Do you remember what his sword looked like?”

“I tink it may have had a black handle…”

“…Do you think it would be too much to hope that the sword just got burnt up altogether, making its use as a Horcrux worthless?”

“Dat may not be a vise decision; ve should just find de sword so ve can go back to Apollomon.” I began walking to another area of the base when, upon hearing the flapping of a giant pair of wings, faint, but growing more distinct as I could hear it approaching, I stopped.

“What’s wrong, Pheragas?” BlackGaomon looked up at me.

“…I hear someting. Somevun is coming…By air…”

“You mean, like a flying Digimon?” I nodded. The shadow of a huge Digimon flew over us, and a barrage of flames and lightning bombarded us from the sky. “It must be the Bio Hybrids!”

“Yes, it is a good ting dey did not go aftuh dose kids,” I said.

Just then a voice from above us announced, “Missing you was not an accident. If you do not hand over the Sword of the Earth’s Crust, we will not miss again.” Whoever spoke to us had a deep, booming voice, and it was easy to tell what he was saying despite being so high up in the sky.

“Give us a goddamned minute! We haven’t even found it yet!” BlackGaomon said.

“I intend to keep it that way. Our master desires that sword to be in his possession, along with all the other Horcruxes. Leave this place now, and there’s a chance you’ll survive.”

“No way! We won’t let Lilithmon get her hands on the Horcruxes!”

“…So be it. You have sealed your fate!” More flames rained down upon us, surrounding me and BlackGaomon in a ring of fire. A flash of green was the last thing I saw as something struck me from behind, leaving me to fall unconscious from the blow and from the smoke produced by the flames.