Chapter 38: Shouting Out the Name of a Move During Battle is Really Cool
"Mizuki, you—"
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
Hearing the voice, Mizuki turned his head, his gaze meeting Aegiochusmon's wide, astonished eyes.
"If you are asking about Ogremon, he is perfectly fine," Mizuki said casually. "He should wake up after being unconscious for a little while. After all, his physical constitution is quite sturdy."
"No, no, no, that is not what I was asking about at all." Aegiochusmon waved its hands frantically, trotting over on its hooves until it stood directly in front of Mizuki. "What I mean is, your strength—could it be that you have already reached the Ultimate level? Just like LadyDevimon?"
"No."
Two voices rang out in perfect unison. Mizuki and LadyDevimon blinked, subconsciously exchanging a glance.
"You go first, LadyDevimon," Mizuki offered with a slight gesture.
Taking the cue, LadyDevimon paused for only a fraction of a second before turning to Aegiochusmon. "Mizu is much stronger than me!" she declared without a shred of hesitation.
"Eh?! Stronger than her?"
Aegiochusmon stood completely frozen, its jaw slightly slack. It readily admitted that the human boy's strength had far exceeded its wildest expectations. But to claim he was even stronger than an Ultimate level Digimon like LadyDevimon... that kind of thing defied all logic.
Just as Aegiochusmon slowly turned its bewildered gaze back toward the boy, Mizuki offered a timely correction.
"That is not true. LadyDevimon is the stronger one."
"Mizu..." LadyDevimon's shoulders drooped, her crimson eyes looking entirely wronged.
"There, there. Be good," Mizuki murmured, reaching out to gently pat her sharp, dark claw.
Watching Mizuki comfort the terrifying fallen angel Digimon as if she were a domestic pet, Aegiochusmon silently gathered its scattered thoughts. It needed a moment to recover from the sheer absurdity of the conversation. First and foremost, Mizuki's strength had undeniably reached the threshold of an Ultimate level. Even if he was not strictly stronger than LadyDevimon, he possessed more than enough raw power to crush weaker Ultimate level Digimon.
Just as Aegiochusmon processed this staggering revelation, Taichi came sprinting over, having finally shaken off his own shock.
"Man, Mizuki, you are seriously amazing!" Taichi beamed, his goggles bouncing with his energetic steps. "In just a few short days, you actually gained the power to defeat Ogremon!"
There was not a single trace of jealousy in the goggle-boy's voice. His praise was entirely pure, radiating a sincere joy that his friend had grown so strong. Spending time with someone so openly cheerful and straightforward was genuinely comfortable.
Mizuki smiled, making sure to redirect the spotlight. "Do not just talk about me, Taichi. You are not doing too badly yourself." His eyes swept over the boy's form. "Judging by the density of your aura, you should already be able to contend directly with Rookie level Digimon, or perhaps even slightly weaker Champion levels, right?"
"Even so, I cannot even begin to compare to you!" Taichi laughed brightly, clapping a hand onto Mizuki's shoulder. He noticed that despite the immense leap in power, Mizuki had not changed at all. The easygoing, approachable demeanor remained exactly the same, making Taichi feel entirely at ease.
"An Ultimate level... hehe, I guess no one would ever expect a kid to possess such ridiculous strength."
"I simply arrived in this world a bit earlier than you did and had a slight head start, that is all." Mizuki rolled his eyes at the overly enthusiastic boy, a helpless but fond smile tugging at his lips. "If anything, you are the truly amazing one. Managing to reach this stage in a mere two or three days is no small feat."
"After all, Taichi has been working incredibly hard these past few days."
Izzy and Kari walked over, taking their places beside the two older boys.
"In order to become as strong as you, he pushed himself until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion on several occasions," Izzy added, adjusting his laptop bag with a heavy sigh.
"Eh hehe, I was just trying to quickly gain enough strength to protect all of you." Taichi scratched his cheek sheepishly, entirely unrepentant despite Izzy's helpless tone.
It was not until Kari fixed him with a quiet, steady stare that Taichi stiffened. He quickly raised a hand in surrender. "Kari, I have not pushed myself like that since the last time, I promise!"
"Conversely, you cannot push yourself too hard either, understand?" Kari said softly.
Looking at his nervous older brother, Kari did not utter another word. She simply offered a look that clearly communicated, 'It is fine, as long as Big Brother knows his limits.'
Gradually, the rest of the chosen children began to gather around with their respective Digimon partners. Compared to Taichi, Izzy, and Kari, their dynamic with Mizuki was not nearly as familiar. They had kept their distance initially, only feeling comfortable enough to approach after seeing Taichi and the others interacting with the formidable boy as harmoniously as ever.
Mizuki did not mind their hesitation in the slightest. It was entirely natural for overwhelming power to inspire a degree of fear or caution. He was perfectly content to interact with those who naturally gravitated toward him, and he had no intention of forcing connections with those who did not. His decision to help these children stemmed less from a nostalgic attachment to his past life's memories and more from his own inherent kindness. However, that did not mean he would blindly coddle them.
His gaze swept thoughtfully over the gathered group, lingering on each face before finally returning to Taichi. The boy was currently rambling enthusiastically about their chaotic adventures over the past few days.
Watching the young man radiate energy like a miniature sun, Mizuki allowed a faint, genuine smile to curve his lips. "Speaking of which, Taichi."
"Do you want to become stronger?"
"Is that even a question? Of course I do!" Taichi nodded emphatically, his expression turning serious. "After everything we have experienced these past few days, I understand perfectly well that this world is not a safe place. Although everyone in the Village of Beginnings is incredibly friendly, we cannot stay hidden here forever if we want to find our way back home. Whether it is to protect my companions and my family, or to ensure I have the strength to repay you for your help in the future, Mizuki... becoming stronger is absolutely essential!"
As Taichi spoke, his brown eyes shone with a fierce, unwavering light. His emotions were entirely sincere, stripped of any falsehood or hesitation.
Looking at the boy's blazing conviction, Mizuki could not help but sigh internally. That is Taichi for you.
"Since that is the case, let me give you, and everyone else, a little hint." Mizuki's tone shifted, taking on a more deliberate cadence. "About exactly how to become stronger."
"Eh, are you sure about this? Will it not be too much trouble for you?"
While a few of the other children immediately perked up with eager interest, Taichi displayed a look of genuine concern. He had not befriended Mizuki to extract benefits or to leech off his training methods. He simply viewed Mizuki as a friend worth having. Thus, his first reaction to the offer of guidance was not greedy joy, but worry that they were imposing.
"Taichi is right," Izzy chimed in, nodding in agreement. "Classmate Mizuki, you have already helped us so much, and we currently have absolutely nothing we can offer you in return..."
"Hey. What are you saying?" Mizuki tilted his head, feigning a look of deep offense. "Aren't we friends? Are you looking down on me by saying something like that?"
"Ah... I... I did not mean that at all—" The naturally shy Izzy had rarely encountered such direct teasing. He immediately grew flustered, his hands waving anxiously as he cast a desperate, pleading look toward Taichi for rescue.
Weighing the situation, Taichi quickly made an executive decision. "Alright, Izzy. Since Mizuki put it that way, let us accept his kindness. But in return, we must make sure to remember all of this well."
"Mhm!" Izzy nodded vigorously. Even if Taichi had not explicitly stated it, the young genius had already deeply engraved Mizuki's generosity into his heart.
"Alright, look at how painfully serious all of you are acting. This is no big deal." Mizuki looked at the tense children with a helpless chuckle before waving his hand dismissively. A moment later, his expression smoothed into one of absolute seriousness.
"After surviving in this world for the past few days, I think you have all started to notice something, haven't you? Aside from the standard method of accumulating data from defeated enemies, your own emotional fluctuations can, to a certain extent, directly boost the combat strength of both yourselves and your partners."
Seeing Mizuki adopt a teaching posture, the children exchanged thoughtful glances. As they carefully reviewed their recent battles, they realized the truth in his words. Whether it was the sudden trigger for Agumon's digivolution or the visible spikes in power during their desperate training sessions—everything seemed inextricably linked to their internal convictions.
Mizuki's calm voice anchored their attention. "A large part of the reason you were all brought to this world is that, as children, your minds remain untainted by the complex cynicism of human society. You retain pure, concentrated qualities. And these qualities, when bolstered by absolute conviction, raw emotion, and sheer willpower, can draw out an incredibly powerful force."
He raised his right hand, curling his fingers inward. "This power... you can call it 'Digi-Soul'."
As the final syllable left his lips, a surging, brilliant aura of pure data ignited around his clenched fist, crackling with suppressed energy.
Digi-Soul... Staring at the captivating data enveloping Mizuki's hand, Taichi and the others suddenly felt as though a thick fog had been violently blown away from their path.
In the very next second, Taichi clenched his own fist. A light as dazzling and fierce as the midday sun erupted around his knuckles.
"This is... my power!?" Taichi gasped, staring at his glowing hand in sheer wonder.
Seeing the boy's success, Mizuki nodded secretly in approval. He knew the concept of Digi-Soul originated from the fifth season of the Digimon anime—a season he had not actually watched in his past life. However, based on his deep analytical understanding of the world's mechanics, he had theorized that the children of the first generation, especially someone as fiercely driven as Taichi Yagami, possessed the exact emotional resonance required to manifest it.
Ultimately, this phenomenon originated from the raw power of the human heart, a force that was exponentially amplified by the inherently idealistic worldview of the Digital World. The only reason the Season One children had not achieved this in the original anime was likely due to incomplete early lore settings, heavily restricted by the overarching will of The Constant.
But this was no longer a simple anime, nor was there a scriptwriter dictating their limits. As for The Constant, since It had chosen to bring Mizuki here, Mizuki fully intended to handle things his own way.
Following Taichi's explosive manifestation of his Digi-Soul, the other children gradually began to draw out their own latent talents. However, compared to Taichi's blinding light, their auras were noticeably dimmer. This was likely due to their current mindsets and lack of combat hardening. Mimi and Takeru, in particular, produced the weakest flickers of light among the group.
Mizuki was not surprised by this outcome in the slightest. It was not a matter of looking down on the two youngest members. As the future bearer of the Crest of Purity, it was entirely normal for Mimi's sheltered mindset to require significant trials and growth before she could fully ignite her potential. The same logic applied to Takeru, who was the same age as Kari. The innocent, fragile minds of sheltered children ensured the purity of their hearts, but that very fragility currently acted as a mental block to their martial progress.
As for why Kari could effortlessly match Taichi's output? One only needed to observe the eerie, quiet maturity she occasionally displayed—a depth of understanding that far exceeded any normal child her age—to understand exactly why her light burned so brightly.
After a brief moment of internal reflection, Mizuki's eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous glint. He instinctively snapped his fingers, the sharp sound cutting through the quiet awe of the clearing.
"Oh, right!" he announced brightly. "Regarding the power of the mind, and drawing out people's emotional qualities... these concepts might sound a bit abstract and difficult for you to grasp fully right away. But, there is a very specific trick to make it much easier to understand, and to forcibly help the emotional spike needed to draw out this power."
"Hmm? What kind of trick?" Taichi leaned forward, his curiosity thoroughly piqued.
"That would be—"
Under the expectant gaze of every child and Digimon present, the corners of Mizuki's mouth slowly curved upward into a thoroughly delighted, almost wicked smile.
"When fighting, you must loudly shout out the name of your attack~ ☆"
A heavy silence descended upon the clearing.
"Shout out the name of the attack?"
The children exchanged deeply puzzled, utterly bewildered looks.
Finally, Taichi, ever the brave vanguard, slowly raised his hand. "Um, Mizuki... wouldn't doing something like that be a little too embarrassing?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, racking his brain to find a polite, tactful way to phrase his exact thoughts. "Of course, I am not doubting your methods at all! I just feel like doing that out loud is a bit... a little too... chuunibyou?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Mizuki wagged a finger at him, clicking his tongue in mock disappointment.
He completely understood their hesitant reactions. After all, coming from the Far East—the undisputed homeland of the 'chuunibyou' phenomenon—it was not strange that these kids were acutely aware of eighth-grader syndrome.
But—
"Do you remember what I just told you?" Mizuki's voice dropped an octave, taking on a dramatic, theatrical weight. "The power of the mind, the sheer mental energy held within the human soul, is our absolute greatest reliance in this world."
He gestured grandly toward the tall, dark figure standing quietly beside him. "LadyDevimon, humor me for a moment."
"Let them see just how incredibly cool—er, ahem—I mean, let them see exactly how much shouting out the name of an attack during battle can violently stir the mind and elevate one's emotional state!"
"..."
Looking at Mizuki's impassioned, overly dramatic posture, LadyDevimon fell completely silent. She had extremely good reason to suspect that her partner was simply indulging his mischievous side and actively looking for an excuse to play a prank on the kids.
However, as his loyal partner, she merely sighed internally and gave a firm nod, indicating she was ready to play along.
"Alright then! Watch closely!"
Under the children's varied gazes—ranging from intense curiosity to deep skepticism to nervous expectation—Mizuki stepped forward. He gripped the handle of his black parasol with both hands, holding it horizontally across his chest like a sacred blade. His eyes narrowed, his expression adopting a mask of solemn, world-weary gravity.
"Seal Thirteen — Decision Start!"
Just as those vigorous, heavy words fell from his lips, LadyDevimon responded in a perfectly timed, deep, resonant voice.
"—Acknowledged!"
"LadyDevimon, LadyDevimon, LadyDevimon—"
Just like that, Mizuki began rapidly chanting LadyDevimon's name, repeating it over ten times with an incredibly firm, almost fanatical tone. And with every single recitation, the ordinary parasol in his hands pulsed, emitting a blinding flash of holy light that left the watching children utterly dumbfounded.
Taichi's eye twitched. "So... why is the chant just 'LadyDevimon' over and over again?"
Mizuki completely ignored the peanut gallery's complaint.
Finally, his chanting reached its crescendo. "This is the battle to save the world!" he declared with devastating conviction.
Right on cue, LadyDevimon shouted his name with equal intensity: "Mizuki!"
In a brilliant explosion of golden illumination, the mundane parasol in Mizuki's hands was completely enveloped in holy light. The data violently rewrote itself, transforming the umbrella into a beautifully crafted, majestic longsword radiating immense power.
Taichi's jaw dropped. "Eh?"
Izzy adjusted his glasses, his eyes wide. "The parasol just turned into—"
"A sword?!" the rest of the children screamed in unison.
Kari simply stared, blinking slowly. "..."
Under the collective, shell-shocked gazes of the chosen children, Mizuki hoisted the radiant longsword high above his head. His eyes locked onto an empty patch of ground in the distance, and he swung the blade down with terrifying, explosive force.
"Ex—calibur!"
A colossal, surging wave of golden energy erupted from the blade, tearing through the air and crashing violently into the empty ground. The previously level earth instantly detonated upon contact. A deafening roar echoed across the landscape as scattered rubble shrieked through the air, and a massive plume of dust and debris was blasted high into the sky by the sheer, devastating power of the strike.
The shockwave ruffled the children's hair, leaving them frozen like statues.
Mizuki, the sole architect of this terrifying display of destruction, calmly exhaled. With a casual flick of his wrist—as effortless as setting down a delicate teacup—he dispersed the holy light, restoring the legendary sword back into the form of a simple black parasol.
He turned back to the dumbfounded, pale-faced children, flashing them an incredibly smug, brilliant smile.
"Hmm~ How about that? Have you now witnessed the absolute power of shouting out an attack name during battle?"
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