Chapter 4: Malice from the Dark
As the sole guardian of the Village of Beginnings, Elecmon carried burdens far heavier than his small stature suggested. Though he was technically a Rookie-level Digimon, his rigorous training had granted him the formidable combat strength of a Champion, and his unique position gave him access to ancient secrets most denizens of the Digital World would never even whisper about.
Chief among these was the legend of the 'DigiDestined'—chosen humans prophesied to cross the dimensional rift and save their dying world.
To a pragmatic guardian, such tales usually sounded like absurd fairy tales meant to comfort frightened In-Training Digimon. But recently, reality had begun to mirror the myths. First came Nyaromon. Even while encased in her Digi-Egg, she had radiated the distinct, pure aura of a Holy-species Digimon—a rarity that demanded absolute protection. Then came the human boy, Mizuki. The child possessed a strange, magnetic presence, an aura of quiet strength that naturally drew others to his side.
Seeing these two anomalies converge right before his eyes shattered Elecmon's skepticism. These successive coincidences were simply too deliberate to be baseless. Allowing Nyaromon and that strange boy to bond might just be the catalyst for some unexpected, positive change.
Elecmon had firmly believed this, watching them from afar with a sense of cautious optimism. That peaceful illusion shattered only moments ago, the instant his instincts flared. A cold, suffocating presence had breached the perimeter—a vile signature that had absolutely no right to be anywhere near the sacred grounds of the Village of Beginnings.
Oblivious to the guardian's rising panic, Mizuki and Nyaromon sat together under a sprawling canopy of digital stars. The night air was crisp and cool, carrying the faint, sweet scent of data-blooms.
When they first met, the little feline Digimon had been a trembling ball of nerves, hiding behind whatever cover she could find. But as the hours ticked by in Mizuki's calm, steady presence, her walls had crumbled. Her initial, stuttering whispers had blossomed into a steady, animated stream of chatter. And, almost without exception, the topic of her endless rambling was a series of grievances against Elecmon's relentless training regime.
"Um, you know?" Nyaromon flicked her tail, her large eyes looking up at him with earnest frustration. "I really, really hate fighting. But Elecmon always forces me to practice..."
She let out a small, dramatic sigh, her ears drooping flat against her head. "I mean, I understand he's doing it for my own good. He says the world is dangerous. But I just don't like it. I don't get it at all. Why can't everyone just live in peace? Wouldn't it be so much better if we all just got along?"
Mizuki leaned back against the soft grass, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips. He didn't interrupt her tirade with lectures on survival or harsh truths about the world. Instead, he simply listened. He offered a gentle nod here, a soft hum of agreement there, validating her feelings without pushing an agenda.
To Nyaromon, this quiet acceptance was revolutionary. Her affection for the human boy swelled with every passing minute. He really was different from the others!
Riding the high of having a captive audience, Nyaromon unconsciously shuffled closer, eventually pressing her soft, warm body against Mizuki's side. Under the pale glow of the digital moon, their silhouettes stretched across the grass, slowly merging into a single, unified shadow—a quiet reflection of their rapidly deepening bond.
Yet, hidden beneath that serene atmosphere, the darkness within those shadows was beginning to curdle. High above, thick, unnatural clouds rolled across the sky, swallowing the starlight. From the newly formed pitch-black canopy, a gaze dripping with pure, concentrated malice locked onto the pair.
"And another thing, let me tell you, actually I—"
Nyaromon's cheerful voice cut off with a sharp gasp.
The air pressure plummeted. A freezing, metallic scent flooded the clearing. Right behind Mizuki's back, a massive pair of pitch-black wings silently unfurled from the void. Jagged, asymmetrical holes tore through the leathery membrane, radiating an aura of deep sickness and absolute dread.
Mizuki's survival instincts, honed by a past life of tragedy, screamed. He didn't turn to look. He didn't hesitate.
The moment the temperature dropped, his arms snapped forward, scooping Nyaromon against his chest. He threw his entire body weight forward, diving into a hard, desperate roll across the dirt.
A split second later, the space he had just occupied was shredded by a silent, invisible force. The sheer kinetic impact of the near-miss kicked up a cloud of dust, but Mizuki's explosive reaction had pulled them both out of the kill zone.
"Oh?" A smooth, chilling voice drifted from the shadows. "You actually dodged that?"
The towering figure stepped fully out of the darkness, casually inspecting his empty, razor-sharp claws. He let out a low, disappointed sigh. "Just a human brat, yet you possess the reflexes of a beast."
Mizuki scrambled to his feet, keeping Nyaromon shielded behind his shoulder. His eyes locked onto the attacker, and his breath hitched.
The creature standing before them was pulled straight from a nightmare. Towering, gaunt, and wrapped in tight black leather adorned with crimson belts, the entity exuded a suffocating pressure. A dark manifestation ripped from the deepest lore of the Digital World. An embodiment of endless malice and curses. A literal demon from hell.
Devimon.
The moment the name clicked in his mind, Mizuki's characteristic dark humor flared up as a defense mechanism. 'Are you kidding me?'he complained internally, his jaw locking tight.'I haven't even left the beginner village yet, and the final boss is already spawn-camping me? What kind of garbage game balance is this?'
As if reading the boy's frantic thoughts, Devimon's pale, bloodless lips curved into a cruel, mocking smile.
"It seems you know exactly who I am." The Fallen Angel Digimon chuckled, a sound like grinding glass. "That makes things so much easier. Listen closely, child. I bear you no ill will."
Crimson eyes burned through the gloom, flickering with a hypnotic, unsettling light. Devimon slowly extended his right hand, his elongated, metallic claws glinting in the faint ambient light like the fangs of a striking viper.
"Hand over that little one in your arms." The demon's voice was a velvet trap, smooth and deadly. "Give her to me, and I will allow you to walk away from this place with your life intact. A fair trade, wouldn't you agree?"
Mizuki looked down. Nyaromon was shaking violently against his chest, her small claws digging into his shirt, utterly paralyzed by the sheer terror radiating from the Champion-level threat.
Mizuki let out a low, dry chuckle.
"So, let me get this straight," Mizuki said, his voice remarkably steady despite the adrenaline flooding his veins. "You're telling me to cherish my hard-won second chance at life, and not throw it away for a little Digimon I barely know?" He tilted his head, feigning consideration. "I have to admit, logically speaking, it sounds like a perfectly reasonable deal."
Devimon's smile widened, his claws twitching in anticipation. "In that case—"
"But I refuse!" Mizuki snapped, his tone shifting from casual to absolute steel.
A fierce, unyielding light ignited in Mizuki's eyes, piercing through the oppressive gloom of the dark clouds. The latent power of his Digi-Soul stirred deep within his chest, responding to his rising conviction.
"I'll be the first to admit I'm no saint," Mizuki declared, his grip on Nyaromon tightening protectively. "But selling out the one who saved me just to save my own skin? That's a line I will never cross!"
"Well said, brat!"
A familiar, booming voice shattered the tension. The instant Mizuki's declaration echoed through the clearing, the air crackled with raw ozone.
Several blinding bolts of crimson lightning erupted from the tree line behind Mizuki. The Super Thunder Strikes arced wildly through the air, weaving a deadly net of electricity that sealed off all of Devimon's escape routes, aiming to obliterate the dark intruder in a single, devastating barrage.
Yet, facing the furious ambush, Devimon merely let out a disdainful sneer. He didn't even bother to raise his wings to defend himself. He stood his ground, allowing the high-voltage currents to slam directly into his chest. Sparks showered the grass, and smoke curled from his leather bindings, but the Fallen Angel didn't flinch. He relied entirely on his overwhelming physical endurance to tank the attack head-on.
The power scaling was terrifyingly clear. Just as Elecmon was no ordinary guardian—possessing strength that rivaled a Champion—this Devimon was no standard Champion-level threat. He was an apex predator of the dark, a monster whose power defied the common sense of the Digital World.
Elecmon didn't look surprised that his ultimate attack had merely grazed the demon. He vaulted over Mizuki's head in a blur of red fur, landing heavily between the boy and the Fallen Angel. Electricity still crackled furiously across his nine tails.
Without taking his eyes off the enemy, the guardian barked an order over his shoulder. "Brat! Grab Nyaromon and run! Get as far away from here as you can!" Elecmon's claws dug deep into the soil. "Leave this monster to me!"
"Elecmon..." Hearing her strict but caring mentor's voice, Nyaromon peeked over Mizuki's arm, her voice trembling with fresh tears.
But the guardian couldn't afford a single second of distraction to comfort her.
"Devimon!" Elecmon roared, his eyes wide with absolute fury. "You dare lay your filthy hands on the Village of Beginnings?! Are you actively trying to break the ancient agreement?!"
To leave the Village of Beginnings in peace was the ultimate unwritten law. It was a sacred taboo upheld across File Island, and indeed, throughout the entirety of the Digital World. To attack the cradle of life was to invite the wrath of the world itself. But here stood Devimon, casually trampling over that sacred boundary.
"Break the agreement? Oh, no, no, Elecmon. Why must you rush to put such an ugly label on me?" Devimon dusted a stray spark from his shoulder, his tone sickeningly relaxed. "I assure you, I have absolutely no intention of harming this precious little nursery."
The demon's crimson gaze drifted lazily past the bristling guardian. His eyes locked onto Mizuki, piercing right through the boy to the trembling bundle of data clutched in his arms.
"You know as well as I do," Devimon purred, his voice dripping with dark hunger. "My goal here is singular. I only came for the Holy-species Digimon."
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