Four Holy Beasts

The Four Holy Beasts ((四聖獣); Dub: Digimon Sovereign, Four Sovereign Monsters) are a group of four Ultimate Holy Beast Digimon who protect the Digital World and govern its stability. They represent and rule over the cardinal points of the compass — Xuanwumon for the north, Zhuqiaomon for the south, Qinglongmon for the east, and Baihumon for the west. They are led by Huanglongmon, who represents and is enshrined in the Center, from which he supervises the others. In turn, each of the Four Holy Beasts has three Deva as subordinates. The Four Holy Beasts have reigned over and protected the Digital World since the age of myth, and have passed into legend as beings which are extremely difficult to track down. Baihumon reins over the Folder Continent and File Island, having being seen in the Codec Ruins and the Register Grassland; Xuanwumon lives in the Forest of the Gods, around the Script Forest; and the WWW Continent is home to Qinglongmon and Zhuqiaomon, with Qinglongmon living in the Assembler Tower, and Zhuqiaomon in the Boot Volcano.

However, due to Lucemon descending to the Digital World, Huanglongmon was sealed in the deepest, darkest place within the earth. This caused the Four Holy Beasts to lose their rule and struggle for hegemony, but an equilibrium was established that is still maintained.

In 2007, the Seven Great Demon Lords secretly released the crack program Tempest into the Digital World which affected a number of Digimon, including the Four Holy Beasts, and caused world wide rampage as a consequence that eventually led to the L&R War.

=Members= The Four Holy Beasts are derived from the of Chinese mythology. In ancient Chinese astronomy, the sky ecliptic is divided into four sections, and each section is assigned a mythological creature. Symbolically and spiritually, the Four Symbols have been culturally important across many countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

The Four Holy Beasts share several common features:
 * Each of the Four Holy Beasts guards over one of the four cardinal directions of the Digital World.
 * They all possess immense power equal to that of a god.
 * They all possess four shining, red eyes.
 * Each Holy Beast possesses twelve Digicores that float outside of their body, instead of a single Digicore inside their body.
 * Each Holy Beast is served by three of the twelve Deva who share their Attribute. The Deva are assigned to each Holy Beast according to the cardinal direction that corresponds with their respective zodiac sign based on the Earthly Branches system.

Emperor Enshrined in the Center
Huanglongmon is derived from the Yellow Dragon, the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor, a legendary sovereign in Chinese religion. It is included alongside the Four Symbols as the ruler of the Center and the embodiment of Earth.

Like its origin, Huanglongmon is the emperor who governs and supervises over the Four Holy Beasts and the Digital World. It is enshrined within the center of the four cardinal directions. Huanglongmon also possesses twelve external Digicores, but unlike the Four Holy Beasts, it has eight eyes instead of four.

=Appearances=

When Miyako goes on a school trip to Kyoto, she ends up encountering Takenouchi Haruhiko, Sora's father, and Kido Shuu, one of Jou's older brothers. Haruhiko, a professor at Kyoto University, and Shuu, his student, explain to her about Kyoto's importance to the Digital World, telling her that Kyoto is the place where it is said that the barrier between the two worlds are at their weakest and that's why Digimon were able to pass. They explain to her about the Four Holy Beasts, who guard the four cardinal points of the city and protect it from evil spirits.

In Digimon Adventure 02 - Episode 37, while protecting the last of the Holy Stones, the Chosen Children use their D-3s on the stone to release Qinglongmon. Qinglongmon explains that the Dark Masters had sealed away the Four Holy Beasts, but remained sealed even as the Dark Masters were defeated. To break the seal, the Chosen had to return to the Digital World and give up the power of their Crests.

Appears in "Loss". In a flashback the Dark Masters battle against the Four Holy Beasts. At the edge of defeat the Holy Beasts evolve.

Xuanwumon is the evolved form of Orochimon.

Gennai tries to get help from the Four Holy Beasts to solve the problem in Odaiba.

While none of the Holy Beasts actually appear in-game, each of the four main cities on each server are named after the cardinal legendary beasts they are named after.

Each of the Four Holy Beasts is an Observer over the individual ranks of Tamers, with Clavis Angemon being in charge of the Platinum rank Tamers.

The Four Holy Beasts appear as collectable cards.

The Four Holy Beasts appear as collectable cards.

After Aiba Takumi or Aiba Ami collects all of the Four Holy Beasts medals, the Medal Man rewards them with 10 Exciting Meats and 3 Best Meats.

After Amasawa Keisuke collects all of the Four Holy Beasts medals, the Medal Man rewards him with 10 Exciting Meats and 3 Best Meats.

Xuanwumon is a member of the Four Holy Beasts. Vikaralamon had travelled to the Human World to the ascertain the threat after a large quantity of devices affected the Digital World. Xuanwumon however considered it to just be a "passing noise" and so travelled to the Human World to retrieve its subordinate.

In Part 9, Truth route, Minase Akiharu explained to Momotsuka Takuma how, in the past, five youths from Kamakura were offered to the Kemonogami to obtain their power. However, one of them had a wicked mind, causing the Kemonogami to turn savage. Due to that, the four strongest Kemonogami now sealed those wild Kemonogami from the four directions. The mural on the first floor of the inner shrine shows Huanglongmon, while the one on the third floor shows these four strongest Kemonogami, which share aspects with the four gods that protected the north, south, east and west in ancient texts. According to Akiharu, the mural depicted how the Master was sealed by the four Kemonogami, and therefore, they should have clues about the Master since he was now running rampant. To learn about their locations, the team decides to go to the amusement park to meet with Jijimon, who indeed knew about them and told them their true name, the Four Holy Beasts, and how they existed to capture, supress and restrain the Master, but their power had weakened. However, no one knew where they were, as no one had seen them as long as Jijimon had lived. Nonetheless, Jijimon thought the Master would aim to destroy them to obtain his full power, so he could be used as a guide to them.

The party met Baihumon soon after, finding his Western Shrine by accident while escaping from the Master. Baihumon easily killed several Kenzoku, then attacked the party, though this turned out to be just a test from his part, which was ended by the appearance of the ghost of his partner, Byakko Boy. Byakko Boy explained how he and four more were sacrificed to obtain the power of the god beasts to govern Japan, but one of their own, Minase Haruchika, was swallowed by said power and went berserk. As such, they now bound him, but wouldn't be able to do so much longer due to the fog destroying the world and the souls in it. Byakko Boy accepted Takuma's desire to save Minase Miyuki, who had been taken by Haruchika, and instructed them to meet with the other three Holy Beasts, as those of the Western Shrine acknowledged their power, and the power of all Four Holy Beasts should be able to return the Master to normal. The Western Shrine was now safe, as they had learned of Byakko Boy and Baihumon and recovered their power to supress Haruchika, but the attacks on the other shrines would be even more fierce, and the other shrines were weakening in the order of north, east, south. While he could not tell them where the other shrines were, the fog would show them the way. Afterwards, they cleared the fog from the amusement park and gave Labramon the ability to evolve into Baihumon herself.

Afterwards, the party met Xuanwumon in Part 10, thanks to Renamon disguised as Haru leading them to the Northern Shrine. However, he was already under attack by the Kenzoku, and was besides himself in pain. Renamon took the chance to reveal themselves and attack Akiharu to sacrifice him to the Master, thus giving him the power to defeat Xuanwumon, thinking that with the power he'd regain he'd have no more use for Miyuki and would free her. However, they're beaten as Taomon, and the fight gave Xuanwumon enough time to get rid of the Kenzoku that attacked him. Angered at the situation, Xuanwumon attacked the party, thinking they were responsible for the Kenzoku. As Taomon pointed out to Takuma, they had a chance to win as Xuanwumon could not use his attack technique, as it had a charge time and he had used it against the Kenzoku, and furthermore, all Four Holy Beasts were weakened. However, Xuanwumon was still covered in a barrier that woudn't let any attack hit him. Takuma refused to give up in spite of this, and wished to find a way to calm Xuanwumon down and make him recognize their strength. Taomon then joined the party, as making the Four Holy Beasts recognize them would allow them to save Miyuki, and taunted Xuanwumon by pointing out that his barrier was a cheap trick, much like what Taomon did earlier. Despite recognizing it as a provocation, Xuanwumon nonetheless lowered his barrier and swore to crush Taomon and the rest with his full strength. Xuanwumon refused to give up and listen to Takuma even after being beaten, and he only stopped after the appearance of Genbu Boy's ghost. While the ghost recognized their strength and how hard they trained, much like the five sacrifices did in the past, Xuanwumon arrogantly pointed out he had just been careless and he wouldn't lose again, though Genbu Boy wasn't as sure of that. Xuanwumon finally listened to Takuma's request to save Miyuki, though he deferred judgement to his partner, who trusted Takuma. As such, they agreed to do what they could, although Genbu Boy knew it wouldn't be enough, and instead offered them knowledge: how humans and Kemonogami were once two halves of a single soul, and how they grew stronger together than they could on their own. He also explained how the world was filled with things that couldn't be quantified with their own values, and Minase Haruchika gained his power by being the first to understand that. Genbu Boy finally asked the party if they were prepared to face the unimaginable difficulties coming their way, which Takuma and the rest resolutely confirmed. Thanks to that answer, and how stunned he was by their progress, Genbu Boy entrusted the party with Xuanwumon's power, giving Floramon the ability to evolve into Xuanwumon. They also cleared the fog from the second island.

In Part 11, Garurumon brought the party to Qinglongmon's shrine, however, only Takuma, Akiharu, Agumon and Garurumon himself (now Gabumon) entered it. Unlike the previous two times, they immediately met Seiryū Boy, who sensed Baihumon and Xuanwumon's "breaths" on Agumon but not Gabumon, who had just joined the team. Takuma asked him for his help, but Qinglongmon thought it'd be a waste of his power to give it to weak humans, when it should be used to supress the Master. He challenged Akiharu to pass his trial, and refused to allow Takuma to help. While they cleared the trial, Qinglongmon just followed it with his "final trial", which Garurumon also cleared after evolving into Metal Garurumon. Seiryū Boy acknowledged that Takuma and the rest may be able to defeat "him" if they could defeat Qinglongmon, with the Professor believing this "him" was one of the boys offered as a sacrifice. Seiryū Boy explained their past - how they became god beasts and united the world to create one devoid of hatred, but the Master could not abandon hatred, because he was betrayed and offered as a sacrifice by his own sister, a maiden he idolized. The others tried to stop him, but they could only supress his powers and barely so at that. As such, he entrusted the heroes to return Haruchika to his senses, and from that, save the world. Takuma and Akiharu accepted their mission to save Haruchika, and Shakomon was given the power to evolve into Qinglongmon, as well as clearing the fog on the dam and waterway.

In Part 12, Suzaku Boy appeared in the school to Tominaga Ryo, Kimishima Saki and Hinata Minoru, who are scared of him due to him being a ghost. Agumon realized he was Zhuqiaomon's partner, though Takuma wondered why he'd leave his shrine. As the team searched the school, several paranormal phenomena happened, and everyone's Partner Kemonogami left them. Following Agumon, who had gone into an unresponsive state, Takuma found himself in the gym alongside everyone else who had lost their Digimon, and then an earthquake happened, though Renamon thought it had to do with a nearby shrine as they could feel the power of a Holy Beast. Using his camera, Takuma found a weak point in the floor, which hid an old well. After everyone entered the well, its floor broke, making them all fall into the South Shrine. In it, they met with Zhuqiaomon who had taken the form of a ball of light and was surrounded by the Partner Kemonogami. He denied their partnerships, as he thought humans only used Kemonogami. Despite that, Takuma asked him for his help, though Zhuqiaomon didn't believe they could succeed where the Four Holy Beasts had failed. Takuma refused to stand down and asked him to release Agumon, which only angered Zhuqiaomon, who saw it as proof they saw Kemonogami as nothing but tools, and exclaimed that they didn't understand his endless wrath. Kayama Shuuji asked him to explain said rage, and Zhuqiaomon agreed to do so, relating how a thousand years ago, he and his companions had met and formed bonds with humans, which made him happy, until they were betrayed by Haruchika. They combined their powers to fight him, but at the verge of victory, they were betrayed once again, this time by their own human partners, as they pitied Haruchika and were unable to deal him the finishing blow. Ultimately, the Four Holy Beasts were sacrificed to stop the Master by bounding them to the shrines. He planned to punish the humans for what he saw as decieving his allies, and used the Partner Kemonogami to do so, influenced by his rage. Takuma mananged to get Agumon to come back to his senses, followed by Ryo and Shuuji doing so for everyone else. Zhuqiaomon was forced to recognize the strength of their bond, although he still believed they'd be betrayed eventually, which Agumon denied. Zhuqiaomon decided to just kill everyone himself. After he was beaten, Suzaku Boy appeared in front of everyone, explaining that he wanted to lead everyone to the shrine as they had the blessings of the other Holy Beasts, but his powers were unstable outside hte shrine, causing him to fail to communicate properly. Zhuqiaomon was surprised at the appearance of his partner, and Suzaku Boy explained he had always been there but never had the right to answer Zhuqiaomon's calls. However, the other humans gave him the courage to act, and he apologized to his partner, then explained that there were originally five God Beasts, but Haruchika caused his own, Huanglongmon, to Dark Evolve due to his hatred for his clan. Said Dark Evolution, the Master, fused from Haruchika and Huanglongmon, had immense power and drew in all sorts of malice from both worlds, which he used to try to cross over to the human world. However, he was stopped by the other four God Beasts, who became the Four Holy Beasts. The Master took in the dark emotions that were common of their era, and he planned to use them for revenge against the human world. While he was stopped in the past, he could now make that desire true using Miyuki. The Four Holy Beasts were doing all they could to stop him, but their failure was a matter of time. Takuma explained how they had to beat the Master and calm his rage, so that tragedy would not repeat itself once the were gone, which Suzaku Boy agreed with, and he asked Zhuqiaomon to put his faith in them. Zhuqiaomon finally agreed, as he didn't want them or their partners to pay for the mistakes of the Four Holy Beasts' own partners. As such, Zhuqiaomon gave them his blessing and made them promise not to fail their mission. Said blessing allowed Falcomon to evolve into Zhuqiaomon.