Chapter 6: If You Don't Want To, Running Away Is Fine Too
"Why must everyone fight?"
"..."
Hearing Nyaromon's quiet murmur, Elecmon lowered his gaze, his brow furrowing.
He did not deliver the stern lecture he usually reserved for the younger Digimon. Instead, the crackling electricity around his fur dimmed. After a heavy silence, he spoke in a low, measured tone.
"Fighting is inevitable for life."
"Some exist to plunder. Some exist merely to survive. And some... fight to protect."
As Elecmon spoke, Nyaromon's wide, trembling eyes shifted toward the slender boy standing between them and the encroaching darkness.
'Did it actually work?'
Mizuki stared at his own clenched fist, then at the momentarily dazed Devimon looming ahead. The demon had not sustained any visible damage, but the sheer force of the blow had made him stagger. Mizuki drew in a sharp, cold breath, the frigid air stinging his lungs.
It succeeded, but not completely.
Just as he suspected, this reincarnated body offered him far more than just a clean bill of health. A strange, burning heat pulsed through his veins, manifesting as a faint, fiery aura around his knuckles.
'This feeling... is it a Digi-Soul?'
The concept drifted up from the depths of his memory, a lingering detail from Digimon Data Squad. Unfortunately, aside from the first season, his knowledge of the franchise was spotty at best.
"..."
Mizuki exhaled slowly, pushing the distracting thoughts aside. He widened his stance, raising his fists once more toward the towering shadow of Devimon. The fiery heat in his chest flared in response to his conviction.
He still had no idea why he had been pulled into this digital realm. But he had been given a second chance—a healthy, breathing body free from the torment of his past life. In return, the least he could do was fight for the world that granted him this miracle.
His only regret was that he might not survive long enough to properly enjoy this hard-won existence.
A dry, helpless smile touched Mizuki's lips. Then, the amusement faded, replaced by an absolute, terrifying calm.
Despite his fragile, slender frame, standing before the overwhelming malice of Devimon, he looked exactly like the heroes etched into old legends. The howling, freezing wind whipped past him, yet his unyielding will seemed to manifest into a vibrant, invisible scarf, fluttering proudly against the dark.
Nyaromon watched him. Her small body shook violently, terror gripping her data core, yet an unfamiliar warmth bloomed in her chest. Driven by an instinct she could not name, she launched herself forward, hurtling straight toward the terrifying demon.
Elecmon tensed, his muscles coiling to intercept her. But as a brilliant, pure white light erupted from Nyaromon's small form, he froze.
'A DigiDestined?'Elecmon watched the boy's back, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm.'If you are truly one of those legendary beings... then please, bring a miracle to that child!'
For a fraction of a second, the entire world ground to a halt.
Elecmon's silent, desperate prayer.
Devimon's suffocating malice pooling into his elongated claws.
Mizuki's cold, unblinking stare.
Nyaromon's reckless, desperate charge.
Everything collided at the exact same point in space and time.
And then, the miraculous radiance engulfing Nyaromon shattered the silence, striking up an impassioned, triumphant melody that echoed across the barren wasteland!
"Nyaromon—digivolution!"
Wrapped in a blinding, incandescent cocoon of light, her data structure rapidly expanded and rewrote itself.
Devimon's crimson claws slashed downward, aiming straight for Mizuki's throat. But before the lethal strike could land, the newly evolved Digimon burst from the light, unleashing her power in a completely different form.
"Salamon!"
"Puppy Howling!"
Holy-type energy gathered violently in her throat. Amplified by the blinding light of her digivolution, Salamon unleashed an ultra-high-pitched, concussive shockwave. The sheer acoustic force slammed into Devimon's descending arm, violently throwing his strike off course.
Mizuki did not waste the opening. He pivoted on his heel, driving his aura-coated fist directly into the center of Devimon's chest. The impact cracked like a whip, forcing the massive demon to skid backward across the dirt.
Having exhausted every ounce of her newly formed energy, Salamon collapsed onto her stomach, her floppy ears drooping into the dust.
She had successfully repelled a Champion-level threat, yet her face held no joy.
"I've really had enough..." she whimpered, her voice cracking. "Fighting... I just hate it—"
"Tsk. Well done, little pest." Devimon's deep, grating voice cut through the air. He straightened up, brushing the dust from his chest. "In that case, I cannot allow you to live!"
Mizuki's Digi-Soul was growing stronger by the second, but raw willpower alone was not enough to pierce Devimon's dense data structure.
Recovering his balance, Devimon instantly shifted his predatory gaze away from the boy. He locked onto the exhausted Salamon, his dark aura flaring wildly.
"Death Claw!"
This time, the attack carried no hesitation. Devimon channeled the entirety of his abyssal power into his elongated hand. He intended to obliterate this Holy-species Digimon—a creature possessing infinite, threatening potential—in a single, merciless strike.
The terrifying pressure of Devimon's killing intent paralyzed Salamon. She could not lift her paws. She could only watch, wide-eyed, as the crimson claws tore through the air toward her face.
A shadow eclipsed her vision.
Mizuki lunged across the dirt, throwing his body over her small frame just as the claws descended.
Flesh tore. Blood sprayed across the dry earth.
Salamon flinched as the heavy metallic scent of blood filled her nose. She stared at the deep, jagged lacerations carved into Mizuki's back, her small body trembling violently.
"I've really had enough..." she murmured, tears welling in her eyes. "Why am I a Holy-species Digimon? Why do all the bad things have to happen to me... I just—"
"If you don't want to fight, then run away."
Salamon choked on a sob. She stopped trembling, her wide blue eyes staring blankly at the bleeding boy shielding her.
Devimon yanked his bloodied claws back, preparing for a second, fatal sweep.
"Kid, grab her and run!"
Elecmon roared, charging forward at maximum speed. Electricity violently arced off his fur, pushing his core to the absolute limit. Risking the total collapse of his own data, he slammed into Devimon's side. The sheer voltage finally managed to scorch the demon's dark flesh, stalling his advance.
Ignoring the searing pain in his back, Mizuki scooped Salamon into his arms and sprinted away from the epicenter of the clash.
"Why..." Salamon whispered against his chest.
Elecmon had always protected her. And now, this strange human boy was bleeding for her. He had even told her it was okay to run away.
Mizuki skidded to a halt behind a cluster of jagged rocks, far enough from the immediate danger. He gently set her down on the cold ground.
"Salamon, take this chance and get out of here. Elecmon and I will buy you time."
"Don't even think about escaping!" Devimon's furious roar echoed across the wasteland. "Death Claw!"
"That is my line!" Elecmon shouted back. "Sparkling Thunder!"
Explosions rocked the terrain, sending plumes of dust into the sky.
"Mizuki... why?"
Staring blankly at the boy, Salamon asked the question that had been tearing at her core.
Mizuki knelt in the dirt. Despite the blood soaking his shirt, a gentle, almost teasing smile curved his lips.
"Because you saved me first. Now, it is my turn to save you." He reached out, lightly patting her head. "I am doing this for you, and for the miracle that allowed my life to continue."
Leaving those words hanging in the air, Mizuki turned his back on her and sprinted straight back into the chaotic fray.
Elecmon was currently suspended in the air, his neck firmly trapped in Devimon's crushing grip. If Mizuki delayed for even a second—
"Devimon! Your opponent is me!"
"Tsk... you troublesome brat!"
Seeing the boy charging at him again, Devimon clicked his tongue in deep annoyance. He casually tossed the battered, wheezing Elecmon directly at Mizuki's feet.
Mizuki caught the electric Digimon, sliding backward from the momentum. He glanced down. Elecmon was severely injured but still breathing. Confusion flashed through Mizuki's mind—why would a cruel entity like Devimon spare an enemy?—but the battlefield offered no time for contemplation. He pushed the question aside, his Digi-Soul flaring around his fists once more.
"..."
As Mizuki and Devimon violently clashed again, Salamon remained frozen behind the rocks, her eyes locked onto the boy's bleeding back.
Images of their brief time together flashed rapidly through her mind.
His calm smile.
His gentle words.
The warmth of his hands.
They had known each other for less than a single day. Yet, to Salamon, Mizuki had already carved out an irreplaceable space in her heart.
He was the first person to ever thank her.
He was the first person to truly understand her fear.
He was the one who told her, 'It is okay to run away.'
But the moment she realized he was fully prepared to die just to give her that chance... a completely foreign emotion violently erupted within her data core.
It burned hotter than her fear. It instantly incinerated her deep-seated aversion to conflict.
'No. I absolutely will not accept this!'
As that absolute conviction settled into her soul, the blinding light of digivolution erupted from her body once again, piercing through the gloom of the wasteland.
"She is evolving again?"
Devimon, currently trading blows with Mizuki, caught the brilliant flash from the corner of his eye.
That split second of distraction was all Mizuki needed. He pivoted, driving a brutal, aura-infused punch directly into Devimon's jaw.
The attack landed perfectly.
Yet, Mizuki felt absolutely no joy.
Instead, a sudden, freezing dread washed over him.
Ignoring the Devimon he had just sent flying into the dirt, Mizuki whipped his head around, his eyes locking onto Salamon's distant, glowing figure.
The realization hit him like a physical blow. The reason Devimon had not crushed Elecmon's throat wasn't out of mercy. It was because he couldn't.
Even the fact that Mizuki had just knocked him away so easily...
It all made terrifying sense. Devimon had grown drastically weaker. He had split his data, leaving behind an empty, fragile shell to act as a decoy.
And his true target was, without a shadow of a doubt, Salamon!
Mizuki finally understood the demon's sinister strategy.
But he was a fraction of a second too late.
Just as Salamon's data began to rewrite itself for the second digivolution, the shadows behind her violently twisted. The true Devimon materialized from the darkness, looming directly over her small, glowing form.
"The brighter the light shines, the deeper the shadows become." Devimon's voice was a chilling whisper against her ear. "Little one, I hope you remember this lesson for your next life."
"Damn it! Salamon—!" Mizuki screamed, sprinting desperately toward her.
"—!" Salamon gasped, unable to move.
As the pure light of digivolution fully enveloped her body, Devimon's true, terrifying Death Claw plunged directly into the blinding radiance!
It seemed the demon intended to physically tear her data apart to stop the digivolution entirely.
But would he succeed?
The answer was no.
Rings of dazzling holy light pulsed outward, phasing harmlessly right through Devimon's encroaching claws. The evolutionary process had already locked into place; Salamon's transformation was an absolute certainty.
Yet, strangely, Devimon did not display the furious rage of a thwarted predator.
Instead, a deeply sinister, mocking smile stretched across his pale face.
"If I cannot stop your digivolution..." he purred, dark, corrupted virus data suddenly bleeding from his claws directly into her pure light. "...then I might as well give you a little push!"
"—!"
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