...
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon's voice exclaimed as green and purple vines launched themselves at full speed at Herissmon.
Herissmon ran quickly, dodging all of Palmon's vines; after a few encounters, predicting that attack had become child's play.
I sent a mental command toward Herissmon, explaining my plan quickly; the little hedgehog gave a small nod as he continued to run and dodge Palmon's vines.
When the attack was over, Herissmon kept running before launching himself against the ground and turning into an electrified sphere. Without a single second's thought, he quickly spun gracefully and headed as fast as a bullet train against Palmon.
"Lightning Dive!"
Palmon clearly wasn't expecting that counterattack when she was rammed and knocked to the ground by Herissmon; small spikes remained embedded in her arm and chest. It was a pity that electrical attacks didn't seem to work so well on her, possibly because she was made of plants and dirt instead of flesh, bones, and nerves.
Whatever.
Taking a huge leap into the air, Herisson returned to its original form as it fired a massive amount of electrified spikes at the still collapsed Plant Digimon.
Palmon took a deep breath before releasing a large purple cloud with small, sickly white particles.
"Totemo Kusai Nioi!"
Rot.
All the thorns that came in contact with the smoke were melted before they could touch Palmon; the Digimon allowed itself to stick out its tongue mockingly as large green and purple roots sprouted from its feet that looked like snakes from how fast and precise they were.
"Poison Ivy!"
Watch impassively as the poisonous roots spread from the ground to reach Herissmon, impaling him.
Suddenly, Herissmon's body scattered into a bunch of yellowish lightning bolts that formed a golden flower-like shape before disappearing.
"Checkmate" I muttered with a smile as I looked right behind Palmon. Herissmon charged a huge amount of energy in its sharp claws, and before the Digimon Planta could even react, a huge net of energy paralyzed it and knocked it to the ground helplessly.
"Mouuu... that's so unfair!!!" Mimi shouted loudly as she stomped towards me. We were both in a corner of the training ground, and we were only allowed to communicate with each other once the fight was over. "That passive ability is silly!"
I simply folded my arms as I raised an eyebrow. "You have a ridiculous attack too; you can't judge me"
While talking to Mimi, I couldn't help but refresh on the last week of intense training by BlackGarurumon; the fierce wolf took it upon himself to polish Herissmon and Palmon's skills as much as possible in the shortest amount of time possible.
As well as trying to awaken the power of our Emblems.
Emphasized: trying.
Apparently, Miracles were a strange quality, since it was not a quality in itself but something intrinsic and fundamental to my being.
According to Gennai, it was the will to make the impossible possible; it was the strength to reverse the situation, to save the insurmountable, to reach the unreachable.
I think you get the point and why I still can't access the full power of my Emblem, don't you?
And Mimi... It was a little strange that her Emblem was Reliability.
But it's not my Emblem; it's not my problem.
"But mine only works if you're trapped! Yours is like having a second life in Mario" Mimi exclaimed in frustration as she pointed her finger at me. "No fair! If I hit you hard enough, you'll just pop up in another part of the field without a scratch!"
"Skill Issue" I replied with a smirk that only infuriated the girl in cowgirl cosplay more.
Whatever she was going to say died in Mimi's throat as a shadow was cast over us. I straightened up as steadily as I could as I slowly turned to face the huge jet wolf who was glaring at us with narrowed eyes.
Despite being so big, he sure could be quiet when he wanted to be.
We both looked at the huge wolf nervously, waiting for his verdict.
"That wasn't bad" BlackGarurumon finally said, causing us to collapse from relief.
That was possibly the best praise we had received this past week.
Laughing at our relieved expressions, the big wolf turned around as he started walking. "Looks like Matt and TK's expedition was successful; I feel a strange energy with them"
Mimi and I looked at each other for a few seconds before following the jet wolf. No one made any comment on how Herissmon was dragging Palmon along as he chirped happily, ignoring Mimi's Digimon comments.
No one noticed the catastrophe that was about to happen.
***
"... how safe is your information, Wizardmon?" I asked curiously as I looked closely at a large dimensional bubble placed in the middle of nowhere. To an ordinary Digimon, here was just desert and more desert, but to someone who has experienced, learned, and used the magic of the World, spotting these small dimensional bubbles was child's play.
And yet, he had to applaud Piximon for hiding his dimensional bubble so masterfully. If Wizardmon wasn't literally a wizard, I doubt I would have found this place so easily. It was a mixture of illusion, perception, and space-time distancing so well done that it was practically invisible and, surprisingly, impenetrable.
No matter how hard you tried to touch the bubble to break it, you would never really touch it; the space between me and the bubble would always grow to infinity.
This was truly a sublime display of magic.
"Quite a lot. I checked six times, and even one of them was when I was sober... the Card is here" Replied the magician, who for once was not drunk. "Is there a problem?"
I hummed lightly.
"Evilmon" I called into the air as I snapped my fingers. A moment later, a black flash manifested not far from me, from which emerged a small imp kneeling before me.
I looked at it wordlessly for a few seconds; the small, weak attempt at a demon began to tremble slightly in what it surely thought was its day of execution.
"This is the place?" I asked serenely.
"Yes, yes, yes" The imp nodded frantically, letting out a nervous and fearful smile, perhaps an attempt to appear strong despite the terror that consumed him. "Here was the last time I could feel the sacred energy of the Chosen Children..."
I nodded without a word and glanced sideways at Wizardmon.
"Oh..." That was all Wizardmon's response before shrugging and pulling out a bottle of vodka. "Well... I can see why you called us all out."
Instead of taking the bottle from him, I simply let it be as I dismissed Evilmon and turned to stare at the Piximon bubble.
'A Pandora's box... to find the last card I need to let the Chosen Children know of my presence... a perfect balance' I thought wryly as I looked at the edge of the pocket dimension; thoughts and plans fit what I was about to do.
Balance.
Every action has its reaction.
I reached inside my cloak, rummaging through my own dimensional space.
When I found what I was looking for, I couldn't help but let the smile on my face spread slightly as I pulled out a sword ordinary to anyone but terrifying and lethal to the one who knew its wielder.
One of Piemon's swords.
It was not a special weapon; it had no name, it had no purpose, it had no reason for being; it was simply the residue of an already dead Digimon.
But even as a simple residue, it had enough power within it to slice through hundreds of Digimon Adults with absurd ease. I wouldn't be surprised if this simple sword had enough power to split a mountain in two; after all, the Ultimate Digimon were simply ridiculous in power.
Normally, one Digimon Adult could be defeated by several Digimon Child, and several Digimon Adult could defeat one Digimon Perfect.
This rule was followed in most cases, with some exceptions, of course.
But this rule was not followed with the Ultimate Digimon.
They really were something else, the pinnacle of our purpose, our goals to be. They were the representation of evolution itself, powerful enough to warp the world around them with their mere presence and capable of annihilating armies of Digimon Perfect with a single attack.
They were truly the pinnacle of our purpose.
And it was this very pinnacle and fulfillment of purpose that ultimately left them empty, aimless, and lost.
The longed-for pinnacle representing our very existence was only an empty throne that, instead of filling us with pride, only tore us apart inside. Eventually, one would leave such a throne to start from scratch, to have a purpose again, to feel proud again, and to fight for something again.
It was a cycle.
A twisted, sick cycle that caused the decay of everything.
I looked at my own face in the reflection of the sword; immersed in my thoughts, faces of acquaintances and enemies came into my head. Sensations of ancient eras assailed me, past conversations echoed in my ears, and battles won and lost filled my being.
And finally, the realization of it all, the resignation of being a prisoner and hopeless devotion.
I closed my eyes for a few moments, allowing it to exist, before turning to face a small part of my army.
Tailmon, Wizardmon, Eyesmon, and Madleomon.
Each leading a small amount of Digimon Virus, being mostly Digimon Child with a few Digimon Adult to provide reinforcements in case of emergency.
"Wizardmon" The alcoholic wizard straightened up firmly as he looked at me lazily. "Put up a barrier and return to the castle immediately"
Nodding, the wizard quickly began his ancient chants as various familiar and unfamiliar runes appeared around him.
"Tailmon" The white cat was already perfectly formed, an impressive display of discipline and control for someone of his evolutionary level. "You are in charge of searching for, finding, and retrieving the last remaining Card. You are not allowed to die in this operation until you deliver the Card to me in hand, understood?"
Tailmon nodded firmly as her eyes filled with determination and longing. She may be my newest commander, but she was the most loyal to me by far. Always seeking my approval, always carrying out her orders to the letter, and going above and beyond.
A devotion as strong as metal.
...It was a shame I couldn't return that devotion.
"Eyesmon" I intoned, causing a large shadow to manifest from Wizardmon's sword; hundreds of reddish eyes filled with malicious intent glared at me with hatred and anger. "You are in charge of providing information and organizing the troops. I don't want to hear that 25% of these troops were eliminated by bad organization or friendly fire. Is that clear?"
"Madleomon" The ferocious lion let out an incompensable growl as he cowered before my intense gaze. I couldn't hide my smile at his docility. "Rip apart anyone who doesn't belong to the Nightmare Soldiers, distract the Chosen Children long enough, or eliminate them if you get the chance; mercy is not an option"
Nodding to myself, I turned my gaze back to the huge bubble in front of me.
I raised my sword high in the air.
And opened my Pandora's box.
…
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