Chapter 88: Just an Ordinary Drimogemon
"Me? I am just an ordinary Drimogemon. As you can see, although I am a Champion-level Digimon, I am not exactly a powerhouse. Nor do I have any particular love for fighting."
"Normally, besides burying myself deep in the comfortable earth, the most action I see is playing harmless pranks. You know, finding the favorite bones that Garurumon buried and moving them somewhere else just to mess with him."
"But one day, while I was indulging in my absolute favorite hobby of digging, my drill broke through solid rock into a massive, spacious underground cavern. And standing right there at the entrance to this subterranean space was a guy radiating an absolutely suffocating, ominous aura. I recognized him instantly. Devimon of File Island!"
"I did not care what he was doing down there. I only knew that the very second I recognized his identity, I was completely done for. From that moment on, my mind was trapped in a thick, suffocating fog."
"During my endless, forced digging, I was either drowning in freezing groundwater or getting my hide scalded by boiling magma. The freedom and quiet stability of my past life had completely abandoned me. And all of this misery stemmed from my simple love of digging."
"If... if the Digital World would just grant me one more chance, I swore I would never dig around indiscriminately again for as long as I lived!"
"Perhaps the heavens actually heard my desperate prayer. During one of my mindless, dazed digging sessions, the oppressive dark forces that had been binding my consciousness suddenly shattered, vanishing completely into thin air."
"Did this mean I was finally liberated? Yes! The problem was never the digging! The problem was Devimon! Digging, after all, is a pure and noble pursuit! With a joyful, soaring heart, I slowly opened my eyes."
"Then, my vision focused on an incredibly huge, terrifying bone skull... And the monstrous skeletal giant seemed to be smiling right at me!"
Drimogemon paused, a long, heavy silence filling the air.
"Sure enough, digging is a terrible, terrible mistake!"
"So, you all understand my trauma now, right?" Drimogemon sniffled, his large drill drooping slightly toward the floor. ", I absolutely refuse to dig anymore!"
The large mole Digimon sat in the center of a formidable circle of towering figures, recounting his tragic past with a deeply sorrowful expression. After listening to his story, the surrounding Digimon exchanged glances, their usually fierce features softening with genuine sympathy.
"It seems you have had a rather unlucky streak, haven't you?" LadyDevimon remarked, crossing her arms. Her tone lacked its usual sharp edge.
"Right? Right! You think so too, don't you?" Drimogemon nodded vigorously, turning toward the fallen angel Digimon beside him.
'How should I put this?'Drimogemon thought to himself, studying her dark leather attire and crimson eyes.'Although this lady is clearly a Dark-type Digimon, she is infinitely easier to talk to compared to that awful Devimon. Indeed, one really cannot generalize based on attributes!'While the mole Digimon sighed with deep, emotional relief, LadyDevimon subtly shifted her gaze, exchanging a private, meaningful look with MetalGreymon (Virus).'What should we do?'LadyDevimon communicated through a hushed, compressed data transmission, her crimson eyes narrowing.'This guy refuses to help.''If he really will not do it, then we should just let him go,' MetalGreymon (Virus) replied, his deep voice rumbling quietly in her mind.'What? Are you serious?'LadyDevimon shot back, her wings twitching in irritation.'It is incredibly rare to find a ready-made laborer down here in this wasteland. If we do not get him to help us dig, how exactly are we supposed to search the bottom of this massive Pyramid?'She paused, her gaze sweeping over the stone walls.'Datamon has been hiding down here all this time. That means there absolutely must be something valuable buried in the depths!'Her tone softened slightly as she continued her private transmission.'Think about it. Mizuki exhausted himself completely just to help us. He is literally asleep from the strain. As his partners and subordinates, shouldn't we do something to repay his dedication?''This...' MetalGreymon (Virus) hesitated. The massive cyborg dinosaur fell silent, his glowing eyes drifting intentionally toward the young man resting not too far away.
Mizuki lay quietly in Belle's gentle embrace, his breathing slow and peaceful. His features were relaxed, completely devoid of his usual mischievous energy. Just as he had warned them earlier, the sheer toll of expending such a massive amount of Digi-Soul and mental energy had finally caught up to him, forcing his body into a deep, restorative sleep.
Seeing the boy's exhausted state, MetalGreymon (Virus) withdrew his gaze, a heavy sense of responsibility settling over his metallic shoulders. Coincidentally, Drimogemon also turned his head to follow their line of sight.
"Everyone, I am truly, deeply grateful that you saved me from that terrifying SkullGreymon and helped me escape the nightmare of being controlled," Drimogemon said, bowing his head respectfully. "But please forgive me. I really, truly do not want to continue digging!"
MetalGreymon (Virus) remained silent, his mechanical jaw locked.
LadyDevimon sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in quiet frustration.
Just as the two Virus-attribute Digimon were struggling to come up with a way to persuade the stubborn mole, the Vaccine-attribute MetalGreymon, who had been standing quietly nearby, suddenly stepped forward and interjected.
"I say, Drimogemon," MetalGreymon began, his deep, rumbling voice carrying a calm, earnest weight. "You mentioned earlier that you always encounter unlucky things whenever you dig. But tell me, are you counting this specific time—the very moment you were finally liberated—as part of that bad luck?"
"Huh?" Drimogemon blinked, his small eyes widening in surprise. MetalGreymon's words struck a chord, causing the gears in his head to slowly turn.
'He has a point,'Drimogemon thought, scratching his chin with a massive claw.'Indeed, although my digging this time gave me a near-fatal heart attack by dropping me right in front of that terrifying SkullGreymon, I actually did not suffer a single scratch. In fact, because of that exact moment, I finally escaped the mind control of that evil Devimon... Could it be that digging really isn't a curse after all?'
Just as Drimogemon was processing this revelation, MetalGreymon's incredibly honest and sincere voice echoed through the chamber once more. "You see, Drimogemon, digging is actually highly beneficial for you."
"Admittedly, in the past, you were indeed captured and controlled because of your digging. But look at you now. Aren't you also successfully liberated because of your digging? When you balance the scales, they cancel each other out perfectly. All in all, it is as if nothing bad ever happened."
Drimogemon stood completely stunned, his jaw dropping slightly as he absorbed MetalGreymon's flawless, airtight logic. "Can it... can it really be looked at like that?"
"And—think carefully about this," MetalGreymon continued, gesturing toward the sleeping boy with his organic claw. "If you help us out right now, knowing Mizuki's character, do you honestly think he would treat you poorly? You should know by now that Mizuki is absolutely nothing like that tyrant Devimon."
"...That is very true." Drimogemon nodded slowly, the hesitation melting from his posture.
He looked around the room again. Although most of the Digimon gathered here were clearly related to darkness and the Virus attribute, they completely lacked the cruelty and mindless brutality that usually accompanied those stereotypical impressions. They were incredibly powerful—capable of crushing him instantly—yet they were actually willing to stand here and talk to him nicely, treating him as an equal.
'Is all of this warmth and reason thanks to that human child named Mizuki?' Drimogemon subconsciously shifted his gaze back toward Mizuki's resting form.
He could clearly see the way the surrounding Digimon positioned themselves around the boy. Every single one of them genuinely admired and respected him, forming a protective, loyal barrier. Although the look in BlackGatomon's eyes as she stared at the boy was a little strange—perhaps a bit too intense—overall, the atmosphere was entirely harmless and deeply comforting.
'It seems that this fateful encounter, brought about entirely by my digging, might not be a bad thing after all,'Drimogemon concluded, his confidence swelling.'According to this logic, my previous judgment about my favorite hobby was far too one-sided and pessimistic!'
Thinking of this, Drimogemon turned his gaze back to MetalGreymon, his eyes shining with a deep, deep hint of gratitude. "Thank you, Greymon. Truly. If it were not for your wise words, I would have almost given up on my life's greatest passion."
"You are very welcome, little fatty," MetalGreymon replied earnestly. "Also, just to clarify, I am MetalGreymon. The one standing over there is Greymon."
"Okay, MetalGreymon. Also, for the record, I am not a little fatty. I am Drimogemon."
"..."
Watching MetalGreymon completely turn Drimogemon's worldview upside down and persuade him in just a few short sentences, both MetalGreymon (Virus) and LadyDevimon stood frozen, entirely too shocked to speak.
Why? How? They had just been racking their brains, trying to formulate a complex, manipulative strategy to force the mole to work, and yet this brutally honest Dragon Digimon had achieved it so effortlessly?
Could it be... is this the unique, unassailable way that honest Digimon communicate with one another!?
Under their utterly bewildered gazes, Drimogemon offered a final, respectful salute to MetalGreymon. Then, with a loud, mechanical whir, he began rapidly rotating the massive steel drill on his nose, turning his body to face the solid floor, fully prepared to dig straight toward the very bottom of the Pyramid.
"We are counting on you, Drimogemon!" LadyDevimon called out, her tone surprisingly sweet.
"Do not worry, just watch me!" Drimogemon shouted over the deafening roar of his spinning drill, dirt and stone already flying into the air. "You know, my drill is strong enough to pierce straight through the planet's mantle!"
He slammed his drill into the stone floor, his voice echoing with absolute, burning passion. "Let me show you the true strength of the chosen King of Digging!"
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