Chapter 28: Ancient Species—The Power of Data Rewrite
Mizuki stared at the dissipating fragments of dark, jagged machinery crumbling into digital dust. Black Gears. In the original anime timeline, these insidious, cog-like constructs were Devimon's signature creations, designed to embed themselves into a Digimon's flesh and forcefully hijack their free will. Through them, the ruler of File Island had once sought absolute control over his domain.
To a certain extent, this brutal method of subjugation mirrored Devimon's initial attempt to inject raw dark energy into Nyaromon. However, Devimon's technique back then had clearly lacked refinement. Or perhaps, his partner's innate talent had simply been too overwhelming. Whatever the reason, Devimon's attempt at corruption had spectacularly backfired, ultimately failing to control LadyDevimon after she achieved her Ultimate level digivolution.
It was precisely because of this lingering threat that Mizuki had always maintained a strict vigilance regarding the Black Gears. He had even gone out of his way to warn Elecmon and Leomon, the guardians of the Primary Village, to stay on high alert.
But the sudden emergence of an Ultimate level LadyDevimon seemed to have forced a harsh truth upon Devimon: relying on mind-controlled minions was useless if the master himself lacked absolute power.
Unlike the original timeline, this Devimon had not wasted his resources scattering Black Gears across the island to build a massive, brainwashed army. Instead, he had chosen a far more ruthless path—hunting down powerful Digimon, defeating them, and violently absorbing their data to force his own digivolution. The terrifying Ultimate level entity known as NeoDevimon was the direct result of that ravenous ambition.
As for Andromon...
Mizuki pulled his thoughts back to the present, his gaze shifting thoughtfully toward the towering cyborg Digimon slowly pushing himself up from the ruined earth. Metallic joints groaned and hissed with escaping steam as Andromon regained his footing.
NeoDevimon clearly had not been confident in his ability to completely obliterate a powerhouse like Andromon in a straight fight. So, the fallen angel had resorted to his old tricks, using a Black Gear to suppress the cyborg's consciousness and turn him into a rampaging weapon.
Just as Mizuki pieced this together, Andromon's glowing optical visor flickered, the red light stabilizing into a calm, rational blue. The cyborg looked down at Mizuki, then shifted his gaze to LadyDevimon, who had already reverted to her imposing, dark-winged form.
"It appears... you have successfully halted my rampage," Andromon spoke, his voice a deep, synthesized rumble that vibrated through the air. "As expected of the DigiDestined."
"The DigiDestined? Me?"
Mizuki pointed a finger at his own chest, blinking in a mask of perfect, innocent astonishment. He shook his head, offering a self-deprecating smile. "I am sorry to disappoint you, Andromon, but I am no DigiDestined. I am just an ordinary human who drifted into this world by pure accident." He gestured warmly toward the towering fallen angel at his side. "And this is LadyDevimon. She is my most important partner."
Despite Mizuki's casual deflection, Andromon slowly shook his metallic head. "I am aware that you do not bear the traditional crests of the DigiDestined. But you are, without a doubt, a chosen existence."
"Huh? Chosen?"
Mizuki kept the polite surprise plastered across his face, but beneath that carefully crafted facade, his mind raced like a supercomputer.
'Just as I suspected,'he thought, his jaw tightening imperceptibly.'My transmigration into this world was no random accident. Is it Homeostasis?'
Had the digital god of this world bypassed Kari and set its sights on him instead? Although Homeostasis had not directly interfered with his life so far, the creeping sensation of being a pawn on some unseen entity's chessboard left a bitter taste in his mouth.
However, as his thoughts spiraled toward paranoia, Mizuki forcibly hit the brakes. He let out a quiet breath, his usual optimistic, slightly trollish mindset reasserting itself.
'Forget it. There is absolutely nothing I can do to fight a literal god right now anyway. I might as well just surf the wave. At worst, I will just smash whatever obstacles they throw in my face.'
If his previous life—spent trapped in a hospital bed, slowly withering away from an incurable illness—had taught him anything, it was one absolute truth: to live a good life, you must never allow yourself to suffer from unnecessary mental exhaustion. Worrying about the uncontrollable was a fool's game.
Breaking Mizuki's internal monologue, Andromon continued, his synthesized tone carrying absolute certainty. "My assessment is not unfounded. The Ancient Species standing beside you is the absolute proof of your unique identity."
"Ancient Species?" LadyDevimon repeated, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
She was familiar with the term. Mizuki had given her extensive lectures on Digimon lore during their quiet nights by the campfire. According to his explanations, Ancient Species were incredibly rare, overwhelmingly powerful Digimon capable of easily fighting opponents far above their own evolutionary level. The trade-off, however, was that their evolutionary paths were notoriously difficult and unstable.
But as LadyDevimon mentally reviewed her own life, a deep frown creased her pale face.
Fight above her level? Aside from relying on a massive elemental advantage to slightly disrupt Devimon back when she was just a Rookie-level Salamon, she had not exactly spent her days punching out Mega-level threats.
Difficult digivolution? That was even more laughable. Since arriving on File Island, she had rocketed through her evolutionary stages. Surely, not a single Digimon in the history of this island had evolved faster than she had.
A heavy dose of skepticism filled LadyDevimon's eyes as she crossed her arms, looking down at the cyborg. "You claim I am an Ancient Species? Are your optical sensors malfunctioning, Andromon? I do not believe a single thing I have done aligns with the description of an Ancient Species."
"It is true that your rapid evolutionary line contradicts the standard historical data of an Ancient Species," Andromon conceded smoothly, his mechanical voice entirely unbothered by her doubt. "However, LadyDevimon, allow me to ask you a question. During moments of intense combat, when your emotions surge and your desire to protect peaks... do you feel your raw strength increasing at an exponential, almost illogical rate?"
LadyDevimon blinked, her imposing posture faltering as she stared blankly at the cyborg. Prompted by the question, she began to sift through her memories.
"Do I...?" she muttered, genuinely uncertain.
"Actually, you do," Mizuki chimed in, his voice cutting through the heavy air.
He stepped forward, looking up at his partner with a knowing smile. "Think back, LadyDevimon. Do you remember the day you saved me? You were still just a tiny In-Training Nyaromon, yet you somehow managed to physically knock back a Champion-level Kuwagamon. And later, after you evolved into Salamon, you successfully batted away a direct strike from Devimon's claw. Those feats defy all standard data scaling."
"But..." LadyDevimon tilted her head, the chains on her dark armor clinking softly. She looked utterly bewildered. "I did not feel like I was doing anything special. I just... reacted."
Mizuki could only chuckle, shaking his head in helpless amusement. "Ah, the classic case of the player being too immersed in the game to see the stats. You are simply too close to the situation to realize how absurd your own power is."
"Precisely," Andromon interjected, nodding his metallic head. "That explosive, logic-defying power is the ultimate proof of your Ancient Species lineage., this specific manifestation of power is considered an extreme rarity, even among the ancients. It is a phenomenon known as Data Rewrite."
"Data Rewrite?" LadyDevimon echoed, the words feeling foreign on her tongue.
Beside her, the casual amusement vanished from Mizuki's face. His posture stiffened, his eyes widening in a brief flash of genuine shock before settling into a heavy, uncharacteristic solemnity.
Catching the drastic shift in his mood, LadyDevimon immediately dropped her guard, leaning down toward him with a worried expression. "Mizuki? Why do you look so grim? Is this power... is it weak?"
"...Data Rewrite." Mizuki repeated the term slowly, testing the weight of the words. He looked up at her, his voice dropping to a low, serious register. "Weak? No. It is the exact opposite. It is an overwhelmingly terrifying ability."
He took a slow breath, organizing the vast library of lore in his head. "A Digimon possessing this power can continuously and forcefully rewrite their own core data during combat. This allows their physical and magical parameters to completely shatter their natural limits. When active, you are no longer bound by the established physical laws of the Digital World. Based on all the knowledge I possess, only two specific Digimon have ever truly mastered this power."
Mizuki held her gaze, his voice deadpan. "One is the Royal Knight, UlforceVeedramon. The other is the savior, Jesmon."
"Shatter limits? Unbound by laws?" LadyDevimon's crimson eyes widened, but not with fear. Instead, a fierce, intoxicating joy flooded her features. A dangerous smile curled her dark lips. "Isn't that absolutely incredible? Why do you look so worried, Mizuki? This means I can protect you from anything!"
"I look worried because this power is essentially a double-edged sword resting against your own throat," Mizuki snapped back, his sudden intensity startling her. "Do you know why only absolute anomalies like UlforceVeedramon and Jesmon have mastered it? It is because the data amplification required for a Rewrite acts exactly like hyper-accelerated cellular division in a human body."
He stepped closer, refusing to let her look away. "Yes, it grants you god-like power for a brief moment. But the cost is your very existence. Every time you rewrite your data to surpass your limits, you are burning your own core code. It inevitably leads to a massive, rapid reduction in your total lifespan! Only by finding a way to successfully overcome that fatal degradation can a Digimon truly claim to have mastered this ability."
Mizuki had deliberately laid out the brutal truth, fully expecting the grim reality of a shortened lifespan to instill a healthy sense of caution—perhaps even fear—into his partner.
But he had severely underestimated the depth of the creature standing before him.
Upon hearing that her life would be drained away, LadyDevimon did not flinch. The fierce joy in her eyes did not dim; it solidified into an unbreakable, burning resolve.
"If that is the only hurdle," LadyDevimon said softly, her voice devoid of any hesitation, "then I will simply overcome it."
Before Mizuki could process her words, the towering, terrifying fallen angel dropped to her knees in the dirt. The heavy leather and metal of her armor creaked as she lowered herself to his eye level. Reaching out with a clawed hand, she gently—so incredibly gently—took Mizuki's hand and pressed his palm flat against the center of her chest, right over her data core.
"For me, as long as I can ensure your safety, I am willing to pay any price," she whispered, her crimson eyes locking onto his with a terrifying, beautiful intensity. "You are the one who pulled me from the dark. You showed me the warmth of this world, and you gave this chaotic data a reason to exist."
She leaned into his touch, her voice dropping to a fierce vow. "Therefore, I will fight for you. I do not care about some unfathomable destiny, and I do not care about the grand designs of this world's gods. I fight simply for you. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"LadyDevimon..."
Mizuki stood frozen. He felt the steady, powerful thrum of her digital heartbeat radiating through his palm, a rhythmic pulse of pure, unadulterated devotion. The heavy silence stretched between them, the weight of her absolute loyalty crashing over him like a tidal wave.
He pressed his lips together, a myriad of emotions warring in his chest. Slowly, the grim solemnity melted away from his face. He let out a long, defeated sigh, a gentle, utterly helpless smile touching the corners of his mouth.
"Honestly, Mizu... I can never win against you, can I?"
He didn't pull his hand away. Instead, his fingers curled slightly, resting firmly against her armor. "Alright. If you are going to be this stubborn about it, then we will face all of this together. Whether it is the curse of the Rewrite, or whatever twisted destiny this world has planned for us. We break it together."
"Yes." LadyDevimon smiled, a stunning expression that softened her demonic features into something purely angelic. "Together."
She nodded once, saying nothing more. But as she knelt there in the ruins of the battlefield, her crimson gaze never left Mizuki's face, as if she were trying to engrave the very essence of his soul permanently into her core.
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