If this guy were in a manga, he'd definitely be the comic relief.
Chen Ze knew very well that inwardly mocking his own ally at such a critical moment wasn't exactly virtuous behavior.
But after witnessing IceDevimon's flashy, imposing entrance, only to see him immediately taken out by the Eater before he even got to throw a single punch, Chen Ze couldn't help but mutter privately.
Of course, seeing Kei anxiously rushing forward, Chen Ze—still possessing some emotional intelligence—wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
After all, IceDevimon had been gravely injured because he'd been protecting Piddomon.
"This guy must be the gag character from a comedy manga."
While Chen Ze managed enough self-control to hold his tongue, Renamon, who never cared about such social niceties, bluntly voiced what was on her mind.
Even worse, the seemingly serious, stoic BushiAgumon standing nearby actually nodded in solemn agreement, wearing an expression that practically screamed: "He went down just like that?"
"Shut up!"
Chen Ze couldn't help but glare at Renamon, who calmly approached without a care in the world. Right now, he deeply regretted letting her watch all those useless anime and movies.
Chen Ze had always known Renamon lacked emotional tact, common sense, and loved stirring trouble—but even for her, making fun of a situation like this was embarrassingly inappropriate.
Thankfully, Kei had already rushed toward the front, too worried about IceDevimon to overhear Renamon's words.
"The real problem now is how we're going to deal with that Eater…"
Before even fully revealing itself, the Eater had fought Piddomon evenly. Then, once it fully emerged, it instantly defeated IceDevimon, whose strength was still unclear.
This unique Eater's immense power was painfully obvious. Chen Ze sincerely doubted their little group had any chance of defeating it as they were now.
But here lay the crux of the problem: since the Eater had already broken through the Digimon Black Market's firewall, was there anywhere truly safe left in the network?
"It was a great honor to fight alongside you. I shall engrave it in my memory."
Clearly realizing the same thing, BushiAgumon turned decisively, sheathed his blade, and headed directly for the exit.
"Huh? You're leaving now?!"
Chen Ze stared, dumbfounded at BushiAgumon, who was fleeing with such dignity that the word "escape" didn't even seem fitting anymore.
"Facing strong enemies head-on is indeed a warrior's honor," BushiAgumon replied coolly without slowing down. "But understanding one's limits and acting accordingly is also part of the Bushido."
With a casual wave of his claw, he picked up his pace, not even trying to hide his retreat.
"I stepped in solely to repay a debt of mercy. Now that my obligation is fulfilled, I have no reason to remain here."
Renamon silently watched BushiAgumon disappear into the distance. After a long pause, she finally nodded decisively:
"I was wrong. He's the real comedy character!"
...
"Patamon! Tsukaimon! Are you alright?!"
Unaware of the exchange happening behind him, Kei rushed heedlessly to the frontline, coming up beside Piddomon and IceDevimon.
"Kei…" Piddomon murmured softly. He glanced downward and let the flames surrounding him slowly fade away, allowing Kei to approach.
"He'll be fine now."
Lowering IceDevimon gently to the ground, Piddomon knelt beside him and gazed at the human who had raised them both, his eyes filled with quiet resolve.
"Don't do anything reckless! It's not too late—we can still leave!"
As someone who had grown up alongside Piddomon, Kei could see exactly what his former partner was planning.
Kei didn't know how the Eater had targeted Piddomon, but he was confident he could still take his Digimon partners and escape, hiding away somewhere safe.
As for Chen Ze and Renamon?
They would just have to fend for themselves.
Kei was, after all, just a hacker—a selfish one at that. At such a critical moment, protecting his own precious partners naturally came first.
"It's already too late."
As Piddomon spoke, Kei finally noticed it:
The wound on IceDevimon's chest was slowly healing, but now a corresponding, ominous injury had appeared on Piddomon's own chest.
And, alarmingly, that wound wasn't just static—it was continuously expanding, steadily worsening. This was the true nature of Holy Sacrifice: a special technique that transferred a companion's injuries onto oneself.
Thanks to the extraordinary regenerative abilities inherent to Angel-type Digimon, ordinary wounds could be healed quickly enough, effectively making it a genuine method of treatment.
Unfortunately, the Eater's ability to corrupt and assimilate data was clearly anything but "ordinary damage."
Therefore, even Piddomon's exceptional healing couldn't stop the gradual corruption and assimilation of his data—eventually, he too would become nourishment for the Eater's growth.
Whoosh!
Realizing this, Piddomon didn't hesitate. He instantly overloaded his own Digicore to its maximum capacity—
—OVER·WRITE!
This was a unique technique Piddomon had learned from some ancient Digimon—a dangerous skill that involved rapidly rewriting the data within his Digicore, causing immediate mutation and drastic empowerment.
But the price of repeatedly rewriting his Digicore for short-term strength was steep: Piddomon was rapidly burning through his own lifespan as digital data.
It was literally a life-draining "pay-to-win" skill, and one of the main reasons ancient Digimon were renowned for having tragically short lifespans.
"Please…protect them for me!"
Piddomon whispered quietly, rising slowly as his blazing wings stretched open wide behind him. He was speaking directly to Chen Ze and Renamon now—both informing them and pleading for their assistance.
Piddomon had never been some saintly figure overflowing with compassion; if he were, he wouldn't have become Piddomon, but the pure-hearted Angemon instead.
Likewise, Piddomon never believed in unconditional kindness or sacrifice.
Just as now—he was willingly offering up his very existence in exchange for Chen Ze and Renamon's promise to protect Kei.
After all, this Eater had come seeking Chen Ze and Renamon in the first place. Piddomon was at most collateral damage.
Now, this "collateral damage" was prepared to permanently end this trouble for them—if only they agreed to protect Kei and the unconscious IceDevimon.
You could call it Piddomon's selfish wishful thinking.
Yet, no matter how you viewed it, the reality was that he had been forced into this desperate, life-draining sacrifice precisely because of Chen Ze and Renamon.