Chapter 14: Devimon... Evolved!?
Mizuki's intuition had been dead on the mark. At this very moment, the usually peaceful borders of the Village of Beginnings were being torn apart by a desperate, violent struggle.
"Fist of the Beast King!"
A deafening, righteous roar tore through the air. Leomon, his muscular humanoid frame tensed to the absolute limit, thrust his fist forward. An aura of blazing orange-gold energy erupted from his knuckles, taking the shape of a massive, roaring lion's head. The burning projectile tore through the air, illuminating the oppressive, bottomless darkness ahead with its blinding light.
It was an attack meant to annihilate anything in its path. Trees splintered and rocks shattered from the sheer shockwave of its passing. Yet, the moment the blazing lion struck the entity lurking in the shadows, the fiery energy simply snuffed out. It dispersed into a shower of harmless sparks, swallowed completely by the gloom.
Leomon's golden eyes narrowed. His jaw locked tight. He slowly drew the beast-sword strapped to his waist, his knuckles turning white around the hilt as he stared down the unseen terror.
Footsteps scrambled against the dirt behind him.
"Leomon! I've got your back!"
"Super Thunder Strike!"
A jagged web of blinding electricity surged past Leomon's shoulder. The lightning crackled with raw, unbridled fury. While it lacked the sheer, overwhelming mass of the Beast King's strike, the intensity of the voltage was staggering. The air itself tasted like ozone. Elecmon was pushing himself far beyond his normal limits, his data fluctuating wildly—he was teetering right on the razor's edge of digivolution.
But raw fury meant nothing against the abyss. The lightning struck the shadowy figure and grounded out instantly, fading into nothingness without leaving a single scorch mark.
Leomon didn't turn his head, keeping his blade raised. "Elecmon. The DigiDestined?"
"Safe," Elecmon panted, his fur standing on end from residual static. "I had the Champion-level Digimon escort them into the deeper shelters. They're hidden." He stepped up beside the lion warrior, his small body trembling with a mix of exhaustion and rage as he glared into the dark. "Devimon, you cowardly bastard! Are you finally making your move on the Village of Beginnings?"
A low, echoing chuckle drifted from the shadows. The sound was cold, grating, and dripping with condescension—a predator mocking prey that dared to bare its teeth.
"If we are discussing broken promises, little rat..." Devimon's voice slithered through the air, smooth and venomous. "I believe you were the one who shattered our arrangement first. Or have you conveniently forgotten who hid the Holy-species Digimon from me all those years ago?"
Elecmon bared his fangs, a low growl rumbling in his throat. He had no retort. Even though Devimon remained cloaked in the gloom, the sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from him was entirely different from before. The air felt heavy, thick with a dark, corruptive data that made it hard to breathe. This was not the same Devimon they had known. His power had swelled to monstrous proportions.
Completely ignoring the murderous glares of the two defenders, the shadow shifted, seemingly taking in the atmosphere of the surrounding forest.
"I must admit, the Village of Beginnings feels wonderfully vulnerable today," Devimon mused, his tone dripping with dark amusement. "That irritating, sacred barrier that once shielded this wretched nursery is completely gone. Which means there is absolutely nothing stopping me from reducing this place to digital ash."
"Over my dead body!" Leomon's pupils shrank to pinpricks. The muscles in his legs bunched, and the ground cracked beneath his boots as he launched himself forward. His roar shook the leaves from the trees, his blade raised high to cleave the darkness in two.
Elecmon didn't hesitate. He charged up his tails, firing a rapid barrage of electrical blasts to cover the lion's advance. The logic was sound. No matter how much Devimon's aura had grown, he was still fundamentally a Champion-level Digimon. Leomon was a master of close-quarters combat. If he could just close the distance and force a melee exchange, even Devimon would be forced on the defensive.
That was what Elecmon desperately told himself. He waited for the satisfying sound of steel meeting flesh.
Instead, a massive, elongated claw lashed out from the pitch-black void. It moved with sickening speed, completely bypassing Leomon's guard.
A single, casual swipe.
The impact sounded like a cannon firing. Leomon—one of the most physically imposing Champion-level fighters on the entire island—was swatted out of the air like an annoying insect. He crashed through three thick tree trunks before slamming into a boulder, his body slumping to the dirt in a broken heap. He hadn't even lasted a single second.
Elecmon froze, his eyes widening so far they threatened to pop out of his skull. The static charge died on his tails.
"Do you feel it now?" Devimon's laughter echoed, cold and hollow. "The absolute chasm between our powers?"
"Leomon!" Elecmon scrambled across the torn earth, completely ignoring the taunt. He skidded to a halt beside his fallen comrade. Leomon was clutching his chest, his breath coming in ragged, data-glitching gasps. A single, casual strike had nearly shattered his core.
"Damn you..." Elecmon whispered, tears of frustration pricking his eyes. "If Mizuki and the others were here... you wouldn't dare act so arrogant!"
Devimon threw his head back, his booming laughter rattling the branches above. "Oh, you naive little creature. Did it never cross your mind that I specifically chose to attack while they were away? I will freely admit, that human boy and his LadyDevimon are problematic. But humans are such fragile, sentimental things. Once I secure you and those precious children as hostages, his hands will be tied. He won't dare strike back. And then, I will tear them both apart."
A massive, pale hand reached out from the darkness, its crimson claws extending toward the two helpless defenders.
But just as his fingertips brushed the air above them, a violent, screaming instinct—forged through countless life-or-death battles—flared in Devimon's mind. He aborted the grab instantly, twisting his body violently to the side.
A streak of pure, concentrated dark energy slashed through the space where his head had been a fraction of a second prior. Even with his inhuman reflexes, the edge of the attack clipped his shoulder, scattering a burst of corrupted data into the wind.
"Tch. He dodged it." LadyDevimon floated down from the canopy, her jagged wings folding behind her back. She clicked her tongue, her crimson eyes narrowing in sheer annoyance at her missed ambush.
Mizuki stepped casually out from the treeline, brushing a stray leaf from his shoulder. He didn't look the least bit bothered. "Don't sweat it, LadyDevimon. We've got plenty of time to carve him up."
He tilted his head, offering the hovering demon a perfectly pleasant, utterly chilling smile.
Devimon hovered in mid-air, his eyes locked onto the human. A strange, crawling sensation crept up the demon's spine. He hadn't sensed the boy's approach at all.
"A sneak attack from the shadows," Devimon sneered, though his voice lacked its previous absolute certainty. "How wonderfully despicable. And to think, you are the ones playing guardian to a Holy-species Digimon. Does it not shame you, so-called creature of light, to skulk in the dark like a rat?"
LadyDevimon rested the flat of her dark blade against her shoulder and rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder she didn't strain something. "Are you actually blind, or just stupid?" she drawled, her voice dripping with absolute contempt. "If you don't need those eyes, I'd be happy to scoop them out for you. Take a good, long look at me. Do I look like a Holy-species to you?"
Devimon opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. He stared at the towering woman in black leather, taking in the chains, the jagged demonic wings, and the suffocating aura of pure, unadulterated darkness radiating from her core. An aura that, disturbingly, felt even denser and more refined than his own.
For the first time in his existence, the Lord of File Island was completely at a loss for words.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Elecmon hauled Leomon up by his belt, dragging the groaning lion over to Mizuki's side.
"Mizuki! Thank the code you made it back," Elecmon gasped, his shoulders slumping in relief. He looked up at the towering dark angel. "But wait... BlackGatomon, did she—"
Mizuki met Elecmon's worried gaze with a calm, reassuring nod. "Relax. Thanks to the data support from the DigiDestined, she's managed to perfectly stabilize the conflicting light and dark energies within her core. She isn't losing control." He gestured to his partner. "To be precise, she goes by LadyDevimon now."
"But then why is she still..." Elecmon trailed off, gesturing vaguely at her distinctly demonic appearance. Why choose the dark form if the light was an option?
Mizuki let out a dry, knowing chuckle, smoothly cutting off the question. "Who knows? Maybe she just thinks the leather looks better."
It didn't matter to him if her base code dictated she was a Holy-species. Mizuki had never bought into the concept of predetermined destiny. His philosophy was simple: the heavens might deal the cards, but the player chose how to play the hand. A person's path—or a Digimon's—was forged by their own choices, not their origins. He would never force his partner into a mold she despised just to satisfy some arbitrary cosmic rule.
LadyDevimon kept her crimson eyes locked on the enemy above, but her pointed ears twitched, catching every word her tamer spoke. A deep, quiet warmth bloomed deep within her dark core. He didn't judge her. He didn't demand she conform to the light. He simply accepted her, exactly as she was. The sheer, intoxicating joy of being completely understood sent a fresh surge of power coursing through her data.
Elecmon blinked, processing the human's casual dismissal of fate, and slowly nodded. He let the matter drop. Honestly, he didn't care about the politics of Holy versus Dark species. His entire universe revolved around the safety of the infants in the Village of Beginnings. His past strictness with her earlier forms had only ever been born of a desperate desire to see her survive. If this terrifying new form kept her and the village safe, he would welcome it with open arms.
Shaking off his doubts, Elecmon turned his attention back to the wounded warrior leaning heavily against him. "Leomon. Can you stand?"
Leomon spat a glob of corrupted data onto the grass and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ugh... My core is stabilizing. I can still fight."
"Good," Elecmon muttered, his tails sparking back to life. "On my signal, we hit him with everything we have. Fist of the Beast King and my Super Thunder Strike, combined. We don't need to kill him—just pin him down long enough to create an opening for LadyDevimon to land a fatal blow!"
Leomon tightened his grip on his sword. "Understood!"
The two Champions braced themselves, their data flaring as they prepared to launch a suicide charge.
A pale hand suddenly dropped in front of them.
"Hold it," LadyDevimon ordered, her tone flat and devoid of its usual mocking lilt. "You two need to step back and focus entirely on keeping yourselves alive."
Elecmon and Leomon blinked, completely bewildered.
Ignoring their confusion, LadyDevimon turned her head slightly, her crimson eyes locking onto her partner. "Mizuki. You see it too, don't you?"
Mizuki didn't smile this time. His gaze was fixed on the hovering mass of darkness above them. He studied the shifting, unnatural density of the data swirling around the enemy. Slowly, he nodded.
"...Yeah. I see it."
"If my analysis is correct," Mizuki said, his voice dropping to a serious murmur, "the Devimon hovering up there isn't a Champion anymore."
"He's managed to evolve to the Ultimate level," LadyDevimon finished, her grip tightening on her sword.
"What?!" Elecmon shrieked, his fur puffing out in sheer terror.
Leomon froze, his golden eyes widening in horror. "Ultimate level?!"
As the two defenders reeled from the revelation, the suffocating shadows clinging to the enemy finally began to peel away. The darkness dissolved like burning paper, revealing the true horror lurking within.
"What a shame," the entity mocked, his voice now layered with a metallic, grating distortion. "I had hoped to string you along a little further. But since you possess such keen eyes, I suppose the masquerade is over."
Mizuki stared at the descending figure, a rare flicker of genuine shock crossing his features. Devimon's Ultimate form... Wait, something was fundamentally wrong here. His mind raced through the Digimon lore he knew. If Devimon had taken this specific evolutionary path, his mind should have been completely shattered by the sheer influx of corrupted data. He should be a mindless, raging beast. How was he speaking so coherently? How was he maintaining his sanity?
The last of the shadows burned away, reflecting clearly in Mizuki's astonished eyes.
Massive, tattered crimson wings stretched out, blotting out the artificial sky. A sickly pale, heavily muscled upper body was exposed, bound by dark leather straps. But the most terrifying feature was the face—a cold, emotionless metal mask bolted directly onto his skull, glowing with six unblinking, soulless optical sensors.
An Ultimate-level monstrosity.
NeoDevimon!
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