Chapter 80: Trust Your Companions!
"Datamon, you absolute barbarian!"
Taking the cyborg by surprise, BlackGatomon launched a vicious ambush from behind. Her leg whipped through the air, planting a heavy kick squarely against the side of his glass-domed head and sending him skidding across the dirt.
Nearby, the frenzied Dobermon that Datamon had been controlling was already dealt with—casually knocked unconscious by a swift, precise strike from Belle.
"Damn you! You are nothing but a miserable Champion!" Datamon hissed, his mechanical voice grinding with static.
He struggled to drag his metallic chassis out of the loose sand, his clawed hands splaying wide as he locked onto BlackGatomon. Yet, despite his fury, the cyborg did not launch an immediate counterattack. Instead, his glowing optical sensors flicked nervously toward Belle's position.
To his mechanical bewilderment, the blonde girl simply stood there, her posture relaxed, showing absolutely zero intention of joining the fray.
Datamon's internal processors whirred with bitter regret. If she had lunged at him during his moment of vulnerability, he could have triggered the Dark Network buried just beneath the sand at his feet, ensnaring her in a lethal counter-ambush.
True, this mysterious girl had shattered his Dark Network earlier. But after his cooling fans kicked in and his logic circuits stabilized, Datamon rationalized the defeat as a mere byproduct of his own momentary carelessness. She was undoubtedly powerful—likely far stronger than that buffoon Etemon. But raw power had its limits. In his data-driven mind, she was still only an Ultimate-level entity. And as long as she remained bound by the parameters of an Ultimate, she could never truly overpower the absolute control of his Dark Network.
A fresh surge of arrogant confidence flooded his digicore.
Could she be a Mega? The terrifying variable had crossed his mind. But he quickly dismissed it. If she were a true Mega-level existence, he wouldn't still be functioning right now; he would have been deleted the moment he blinked. Obviously, he concluded, she is wary of me. Or rather... she fears the reach of my Dark Network.
While Datamon lost himself in his own tactical delusions, Belle casually reached down. With a single hand, she hoisted the unconscious Dobermon by the scruff of its neck, lifting the heavy beast as if it weighed nothing at all.
She paid zero attention to the cyborg's paranoid calculations. Instead, her golden eyes were fixed entirely on BlackGatomon, her gaze carrying an abyssal, suffocating weight.
Beneath that stare, BlackGatomon's breath hitched. The ambient light of the desert seemed to bleed away, leaving her stranded in a void of absolute, crushing darkness. The only things visible in that pitch-black expanse were Belle's eyes—twin pools of liquid gold shimmering with a cold, predatory light.
"BlackGatomon," Belle spoke, her tone deceptively light. "I know exactly what you are thinking."
She tilted her head, a faint, chilling smile touching her lips.
"So, I will give you this chance. Datamon is yours to dismantle. He dared to lay his filthy hands on Mizuki. Do not leave a single scrap of his data intact." Her voice dropped to a whisper that seemed to echo directly inside BlackGatomon's skull. "How about it? Can you do it?"
Outwardly, Belle's voice remained as soft and sweet as a child's. Yet to the feline Digimon, it carried the terrifying gravity of an ancient predator commanding its vanguard.
But the truly fascinating part was BlackGatomon's reaction. Instead of buckling under the sheer terror of that aura, her heart hammered against her ribs in pure, unadulterated ecstasy.
She sees it! Big Sister Belle actually approves of me!
BlackGatomon's claws extended, sliding out of her dark paws with a sharp, metallic snikt. Yes! That is exactly right! Any wretched creature that dares to threaten King Mizuki must be eradicated!
A lethal, icy glint flashed across BlackGatomon's feline eyes. She offered a deep, respectful bow toward Mizuki and Belle, then pivoted on her heel. Her posture lowered into a coiled, predatory stance as she locked her sights on Datamon.
Having delivered her verdict, Belle turned her back on the cyborg entirely, walking alongside Mizuki toward the chaotic frontline where Greymon and the others were fighting.
"BlackGatomon," Mizuki's voice called out over his shoulder, carrying a warm, casual lilt. "We will be waiting for you to finish up so we can celebrate with a proper banquet."
"...Ah." Hearing that gentle tone, the murderous edge in BlackGatomon's eyes softened for a fraction of a second. She gave a firm nod. "I won't keep you waiting long, King Mizuki."
With her promise made, she bared her fangs at the cyborg.
Datamon watched the exchange, his vocal synthesizer emitting a harsh, grinding sneer of disdain. "A pathetic Champion thinks she can dismantle me?" he mocked, his mechanical fingers twitching. "How mathematically amusing."
The sand around his base began to churn and bubble. Thick, writhing black cables erupted from the earth, thrashing like a nest of mechanical vipers.
Datamon raised a hand, directing the metallic swarm forward. "In that case, I will just tear you apart, capture your core, and use you as use against that arrogant brat!"
Facing the tidal wave of corrupted Dark Cables, BlackGatomon didn't retreat a single inch. Instead, she kicked off the ground, launching herself directly into the mechanical maw!
"Try it if you dare, you rusted scrap pile!" she roared, her claws glowing with dark energy. "I am going to smash your tasteless glass head into a piece of postmodern art!"
"..."
"Mizuki?"
A short distance away, as the sounds of clashing metal and feral hisses erupted behind them, Belle finally broke her silence. She trotted slightly to keep pace with his longer strides.
Before the little blonde girl could fully articulate her question, Mizuki glanced down, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "You want to know why I tacitly allowed you to send BlackGatomon into a one-on-one fight against an Ultimate like Datamon, right?"
Belle blinked, her eyes widening in mild surprise before she offered a small, hesitant nod. "...Mhm."
Seeing her unusually timid posture, Mizuki let out a soft chuckle. "What is with that expression? Are you worried I might scold you?" He leaned in slightly, his tone laced with his trademark teasing. "You were acting so cool and intimidating just a second ago, Big Sister Belle."
"Mizuki..." The little girl's cheeks instantly puffed out, a bright flush of embarrassment painting her face. The terrifying abyss-lord persona vanished, replaced entirely by a flustered child. "I was just... I just..." She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Ugh..."
"There, there~" Amused by her rapid deflation, Mizuki reached out and gently ruffled her golden hair. Feeling the soft, familiar warmth beneath his palm, his expression sobered slightly as he explained his reasoning.
"Admittedly, I hate seeing my comrades put themselves in danger," he began, his voice steady. "But I also understand their pride. Just as BlackGatomon said earlier, loyalty is a two-way street. I offered them the hope of digivolution, a chance to break their limits. In return, they desperately want to prove their worth to me through their own actions."
He paused, his gaze drifting toward the horizon. The memory of him stepping in front of Greymon and BlackGatomon to block an attack flashed through his mind.
"My instinct to protect them earlier... it bruised their egos. It made those two stubborn fighters feel inadequate. They felt like burdens." He looked back down at Belle. "Now that their resolve has peaked, what right do I have to deny them their battlefield?"
", there is one more reason." Under Belle's intensely curious gaze, Mizuki reached out and lightly pinched her soft, doughy cheek. "You are all my partners. My comrades. And since you are comrades worth relying on, I choose to trust your judgment and your strength." He offered a bright, easy smile. "Isn't that just common sense?"
"Mizuki..."
Belle stared up at his gentle profile, her heart swelling. She opened her mouth to speak, wanting to pour out a dozen different promises, but Mizuki had already shifted his focus back to the unconscious Dobermon in her grip. Swallowing her words, Belle simply tightened her hold. She didn't need to say it out loud anyway. Her absolute resolve to protect him had never been stronger.
"Everyone, fall back! Leave this garbage to me!"
[Nova Blast!]
Meanwhile, on the chaotic secondary battlefield, the air was thick with the stench of ozone and scorched earth. Facing a relentless barrage from all directions, Greymon roared, spewing massive spheres of superheated plasma while simultaneously throwing his massive, scarred body into the path of the ominous Dark Cables.
Claws, tail, horns, and heavy footfalls—every single anatomical weapon at his disposal was pushed to its absolute kinetic limit. He spun, slashed, and stomped, acting as a living, breathing meat-grinder forged from flesh and bone. He raged through the corrupted network, a furious juggernaut wreathed in rolling orange flames.
"This crazy bastard... Tsk... He is completely reckless!"
Watching the sheer devastation Greymon was causing, a heavy look of solemnity settled over Tyrannomon's reptilian features. Through the smoke, the carnivorous dinosaur noticed the terrifying toll the battle was taking. The signs of digital erosion on Greymon's body were becoming impossible to ignore. Wherever the Dark Cables lashed against his scales, the corruption spread, turning nearly half of Greymon's vibrant orange hide into a sickly, bruised blue.
"Boss, what is the play here?"
The gruff voices of the other two Tyrannomon broke through the din of combat. The leading Tyrannomon glanced over his shoulder. His subordinates were currently holding the line alongside two uncorrupted Dobermon and the Monochromon herd, desperately pushing back a frenzied wave of hostile, virus-infected Dobermon.
"Hold the line! Keep pushing them back!" the lead Tyrannomon barked, his jaws snapping. "And make sure you guard the Rookie-level runts!" He turned his massive head back toward the center of the storm. "That Greymon is drawing all the aggro from the Dark Network, but at this rate, the corruption is going to eat his digicore alive. I am going in to back him up!"
Without waiting for a response, the Tyrannomon leader broke formation. His heavy footfalls shook the earth as he charged directly into the heart of the corrupted zone.
Witnessing this, the leader of the Monochromon herd snorted, a thick plume of steam venting from his nostrils. His mind was made up. Giving a firm nod to his four armored comrades, the herbivorous dinosaur lowered his massive, horned head and thundered after Tyrannomon, plunging straight into the deadliest sector of the battlefield!
"Greymon, we have got your back!" the two dinosaur leaders roared in unison.
Greymon whipped his head around, his eyes widening in shock before narrowing into a fierce glare. "You two idiots! What the hell are you doing here?!" he cursed, swatting away a cluster of cables with his tail. "The data inside these Dark Cables is pure, concentrated malice! It is the most chaotic, disorderly Virus-type garbage in existence! I am a Vaccine-type, so my core can naturally resist the erosion for a while. But you two are Data-types! The Virus will shred you! Did you run over here just to commit suicide?!"
Suicide. Yes, that was exactly what this was.
Standing amidst the writhing nest of Dark Cables, both Tyrannomon and Monochromon could feel the suffocating, toxic aura pressing against their skin. Every biological instinct, every line of code within their digicores, was screaming at them to retreat. The warning signs were absolute: Stay, and you will be deleted.
Yet... despite the overwhelming terror gripping their code, neither of them took a single step back. In the brutal, survival-of-the-fittest logic of the Digital World, throwing away their lives for a stranger was a concept that didn't even exist.
Tyrannomon and Monochromon simply exchanged a silent, resolute glance.
[Nova Blast!]
Refusing to let them die, Greymon inhaled sharply, unleashing a massive torrent of fire to incinerate a wave of cables that had lunged toward the two Data-types.
But in his desperation to protect them, he overextended. His guard dropped.
A thick, jagged cluster of Dark Cables whipped through the smoke, hurtling directly toward Greymon's exposed back like a cluster of spears.
Before the lethal strike could connect, the air pressure suddenly shifted. Two distinct roars shattered the tension, followed instantly by twin pillars of scorching heat.
[Volcano Strike!]
[Blaze Blast!]
A torrent of crimson fire and a concentrated beam of white-hot energy intercepted the ambush. The hateful, corrupted cables were caught in the crossfire, shrieking as they were instantly reduced to falling ash.
Greymon stumbled forward, his fierce, battle-hardened expression cracking to reveal pure astonishment. He looked over his shoulder at the smoking craters. "You two..."
Their fear had literally been burned away by their own roaring flames.
"What? Surprised?" Tyrannomon scoffed, two thick streams of scorching white steam venting from his nostrils. He slammed his heavy tail against the ground. "Don't get cocky, Greymon. You aren't the only one here who knows how to brawl."
The roaring fervor in their digicores sounded like a war horn across the battlefield.
"We are Champion-level warriors too! We lead our tribes for a reason!" Monochromon bellowed. White-hot embers spilled from the corners of his heavy jaws, illuminating the fierce, unyielding fighting spirit burning in his eyes. He might have been a herbivorous Dinosaur-type, but when pushed to the brink, his armored bulk and raw physical power projected an intimidating presence that easily rivaled carnivorous predators like Greymon and Tyrannomon.
"Don't look down on us, you striped bastard!"
Seeking advantage and fleeing from certain death was the most basic biological instinct. Under normal circumstances, neither Tyrannomon nor Monochromon would have ever risked their lives for a Digimon they had met less than an hour ago.
But as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their minds flashed back to the image of a certain human—a being of terrifying power who had unhesitatingly stepped in front of a lethal attack just to shield his partners. That single act of selfless bravery had ignited something dormant within their code.
"...Hmph."
Staring at the two stubborn dinosaurs flanking him, Greymon fell silent. The corners of his mouth twitched. It was an absurd sensation. They had known each other for barely an hour, yet standing here in the ash and fire, it felt as though they had been bleeding side-by-side in the trenches for years.
The deep weight of that camaraderie drew a deep, rumbling growl from Greymon's chest.
Since when did it start? he wondered. Since when did this brutal, blood-soaked Digital World—a place ruled entirely by the cold law of the jungle—gain such a stubborn touch of warmth? Strangers from different species, different types, were now willingly putting their lives on the line for one another.
And all of it... all of it traced back to that one human.
Thinking of Mizuki, Greymon's jaws parted, stretching into a wide, savage grin that bared rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"In that case, try to keep up!" Greymon roared, the flames in his maw reigniting. "It would be pretty damn embarrassing if you got yourselves deleted right after making such a cool speech!"
"I will throw those exact words right back at you!" Tyrannomon shot back, the heavy muscles in his legs coiling like springs.
"Graaah! Let's turn this trash to ash!" Monochromon bellowed.
With a synchronized, devastating roar, the three massive Dinosaur-type Digimon charged forward as one, throwing themselves headlong into the writhing sea of corrupted cables!
[BGM Starts—!]
[A body that emits light!]
[Merging into one, Matrix digivolution!]
[In that instant, I understood everything—]
[The true meaning of our meeting!]
"For King Mizuki!" Greymon, Tyrannomon, and Monochromon roared in absolute unison, their voices echoing across the desert.
Mizuki: "..."
A short distance away, Mizuki, who was currently kneeling in the sand examining the unconscious Dobermon, paused his diagnostic scans. He blinked, listening to the passionate, synchronized battle cries echoing from the frontline.
This time, however, he didn't pinch the bridge of his nose or sigh in exasperation. Perhaps he was finally getting used to the sheer theatricality of it all. Or perhaps, deep down, he simply wanted to honor the genuine, burning loyalty of those pure-hearted Digimon.
"Give it everything you've got... everyone," he murmured softly.
Shaking his head with a fond smile, Mizuki refocused his attention on the corrupted Dobermon pinned beneath his hands. With Belle standing by to assist in filtering the raw data streams, Mizuki initiated a deep-dive analysis of the hound's infected digicore. He was determined to find a way to purge the viral frenzy and rescue these unfortunate creatures from Datamon's control.
"Mizuki," Belle chimed in, tilting her head as she watched him carefully untangle the corrupted code. "I could easily purge this infection by shifting into Final Mode and rewriting their data directly. Why go through such a tedious, manual process?"
"You could, and it would be faster," Mizuki agreed, his fingers glowing faintly with Digi-Soul as he manipulated the data strands. "But unless it is a life-or-death emergency, I prefer to solve these problems using my own intellect and baseline abilities. Relying entirely on the absolute authority of a Super Ultimate form is a dangerous shortcut."
He kept his eyes locked on the complex web of code, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. Then, realizing how his words might have sounded, he quickly glanced up. "Ah, to be clear, I am not looking down on your power, Belle—"
"I understand perfectly, Mizuki." Belle nodded, her expression suddenly taking on a serene, scholarly wisdom that contrasted sharply with her cute appearance. "You mean you don't want either of us to become overly dependent on raw, overwhelming force. My Final Mode is born from our bond and my innate talent for Data Rewrite. If I constantly fall back on the absolute authority of that form to solve every minor inconvenience, my fundamental intelligence and tactical adaptability will stagnate."
She placed a hand over her chest, her golden eyes shining with clarity. "Whether it is the destructive might of a Mega, or the reality-bending authority of Final Mode, it is ultimately just a tool—a part of me. My duty is to master that power, not allow the power to master me. A true warrior doesn't let their strongest weapon become their only crutch."
"Belle..."
Mizuki stared blankly at the tiny, golden-haired girl who had just delivered a flawlessly articulate philosophical monologue. A look of genuine astonishment washed over his face. "Since when did you become so... incredibly mature?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Belle's deep, scholarly aura shattered like fragile glass. She immediately puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms and glaring at him like an angry, inflated pufferfish.
"Hmph! Now I am upset!" she whined, stomping her foot in the sand. "Mizuki, are you implying that I am usually just a childish brat?!"
Watching her throw a tantrum mere seconds after sounding like an ancient sage, Mizuki had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Her sheer duality was, without a doubt, a lethal manifestation of cuteness.
"Ahem, no, no, that is not what I meant at all," he lied smoothly, reaching over to pat her head until her pouting subsided.
Having successfully appeased his temperamental partner, Mizuki returned his focus to the complex task of purging the Dobermon's corrupted code.
But just as his decryption efforts finally began to yield positive results, the violent clash between BlackGatomon and Datamon on the far side of the battlefield took a sudden, chilling turn.
"BlackGatomon... I must admit, my initial calculations regarding your threat level were severely flawed."
Datamon's mechanical voice rasped with static. His metallic fingers reached up, trembling slightly as they brushed against the reinforced glass dome encasing his brain. A jagged, spiderwebbed hole had been punched clean through the casing. A flicker of genuine apprehension pulsed within his optical sensors.
"For a mere Champion to inflict this level of structural damage upon an Ultimate-level entity..." The cyborg lowered his hand, his tone shifting from mockery to cold, clinical anger. "Even accounting for my lack of specialized close-quarters combat protocols, you have earned the right to be proud of your final moments."
As Datamon's chilling verdict echoed across the dunes, the shattered fragments of glass littering the sand reflected a grim tableau.
Suspended high in the air, hoisted up by a dozen thick, constricting cables, was a small, battered figure.
BlackGatomon.
Despite her ferocious assault, the sheer gap in raw power and the overwhelming reach of the Dark Network had finally caught up to her. The intense, brutal duel had ended in her total defeat.
"..."
Her slender body was bound tight, the corrupted black cables digging mercilessly into her fur. Her head hung limp, her limbs motionless. To all outward appearances, she had been completely crushed, her consciousness fading into the dark.
However, Datamon's optical sensors were too focused on his victory to notice the subtle, terrifying anomaly occurring right in front of him. Had the cyborg bothered to run a deep-level scan, he would have realized that BlackGatomon wasn't dying.
Deep within her digicore, her dormant data was boiling. It was rioting, thrashing wildly against its constraints, fueled by a terrifying, desperate ecstasy and the absolute need to fulfill her promise to her King.
BlackGatomon: "..."
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