Chapter 43: The Party Is Ending? No, This Is Just the Beginning!
"The DigiDestined. Your doom has arrived!"
NeoDevimon's voice was a grating hiss, echoing across the battered landscape. "Although I hold no personal grudge against you, in order to deal with that damned LadyDevimon, your power will become my greatest aid."
The Ultimate-level Digimon tightened his massive, clawed hand around Yagami Taichi's throat, lifting the boy off the ground. He intended to crush the life out of him right then and there.
But something gave NeoDevimon pause. After a brief, frantic struggle, Taichi suddenly went limp.
NeoDevimon's six crimson eyes narrowed. He could sense the boy was not unconscious. His pulse still hammered against the leathery grip of the demon's palm. So why stop fighting?
Had the sheer terror of death finally broken the child's mind?
A cruel, calculating light flickered in NeoDevimon's eyes. He did not necessarily need to snap the boy's neck right this second. Even if this child was the most talented among the Chosen, a shattered mind was a malleable one. He could be exploited.
"Your name is Yagami Taichi, right?" NeoDevimon purred, his tone dripping with false sympathy.
A choked, raspy sound escaped the boy's throat. "...Mm."
"Do you want to live?"
"...Yes."
NeoDevimon's grotesque lips curled into a wicked smile. "Since that is the case, why don't you do me a small favor~" He leaned in, the stench of dark data washing over Taichi's face. "I promise you, as long as you are willing to secretly attack Mizuki later... I will let you and your companions live. How about it?"
Taichi hung in the air, silent.
NeoDevimon watched the boy's bruised lips move, forming a faint murmur. The words were lost to the wind.
Impatient, the demon lifted Taichi higher, bringing the boy's face inches from his own bone-white mask. "Speak up. Tell me your answer."
"M-my answer is—"
Taichi gasped for a lungful of air. His head snapped up. The dull, defeated look vanished, replaced instantly by a blazing, unyielding inferno in his brown eyes.
"I won't agree to a damn thing you say, Devimon!"
Before NeoDevimon could process the sudden shift, Taichi twisted his body and drove his fist straight into the center of the demon's mask.
Thud!
"What!?"
The sheer audacity of the strike left NeoDevimon frozen, his massive frame rigid with disbelief. A human child, striking an Ultimate? While the demon was still processing the absurdity of it, Taichi's second fist was already flying toward his face.
Snapping out of his daze, NeoDevimon roared and violently flung Taichi away.
"Damn it, you brat!"
"Ugh...!"
Taichi hit the hard earth, tumbling across the dirt and scraping his elbows raw. Yet, as he pushed himself up onto his knees, coughing up dust, there was no pain on his face. Only a fierce, triumphant grin.
"NeoDevimon, you might be an Ultimate level, but—" Taichi wiped a streak of dirt from his cheek. "Everyone's attacks truly had an effect, didn't they!"
Crack—!
A sharp, crisp sound echoed through the tense air. Right in the center of NeoDevimon's pristine white mask, a jagged fissure spider-webbed outward.
It was a minuscule fracture, but to Taichi, it was a beacon. It was proof that the darkness could bleed.
"NeoDevimon," Taichi mocked, his grin widening. "Is there something wrong with the quality of your mask?"
"You—!" The demon hissed, his aura flaring with violent instability.
Beside Taichi, the earth rumbled. Greymon forced his battered, massive frame off the ground, his heavy footfalls shaking the dirt as he positioned himself protectively next to his partner.
Taichi did not look back, but his voice softened. "Greymon, can you still hold on?"
"...Mm!" Greymon drew in a massive breath, his chest expanding as he let out a deafening, impassioned roar that shook the very air.
"If that's the case," Taichi's gaze sharpened into daggers, his fists raising into a brawler's stance. "Then run another lap with me!"
NeoDevimon gingerly touched the crack on his mask. His fingers traced the jagged edge. When he looked back at Taichi, the cold calculation was gone, replaced by a raging, blinding fury.
His gaze dropped to the Digivice hanging from Taichi's waist. The device was emitting a faint, pulsing light. A deep, instinctual dread coiled in the demon's chest.
"Can't you just close your eyes and obediently let me guide your souls to heaven?" NeoDevimon snarled. "Leomon! Ogremon!"
A distance away, the mind-controlled Leomon and Ogremon had been ruthlessly pummeling Aegiochusmon and Garurumon. At their master's command, they immediately abandoned their prey, their hollow eyes locking onto Taichi and Greymon. They charged.
At the exact same moment, NeoDevimon lunged forward, his massive claws elongating into wicked, dark blades.
[Guilty Claw!]
"But having said that," NeoDevimon roared, "all I can do now is guide you all to hell!"
Trapped between three rushing threats, Taichi did not flinch. The fire of his fighting spirit burned brighter than ever. "The one going to hell is you! NeoDevimon!"
"That's right. The one going to hell is this guy~"
A familiar, lazily amused voice drifted into Taichi's ears.
Before the boy could even blink, the deafening roar of gunfire shattered the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sleek, black silhouette descended from the heavens. Moving with terrifying grace, the figure delivered a devastating, spinning kick that violently deflected NeoDevimon's descending claws. Without missing a beat, she leveled a pair of massive handguns and unleashed a dense, blinding barrage of bullets straight into the demon's chest!
"You are—" Taichi stared, utterly stunned by the unfamiliar blonde woman standing defensively in front of him.
Before he could ask for her identity, that familiar voice spoke up from right behind him.
"Yagami Taichi, getting distracted in the middle of a battle isn't a good habit, you know."
Taichi gasped. "Right! Leomon and Ogremon!"
He whipped his head around, expecting to see the two controlled Champions leaping at his back. Instead, he found them sprawled face-first in the dirt, completely unconscious.
Standing over them was a young man, casually dusting off a heavy, brick-filled satchel. He had clearly just used it to bludgeon Ogremon over the head.
Noticing Taichi's dumbfounded stare, Mizuki offered a relaxed wave. "Yo, Yagami Taichi."
He looked the battered boy up and down, a teasing smirk playing on his lips. "The way you look right now isn't very pretty~ Are you performing some kind of post-modern art?"
"There's no such art!" Taichi barked back, exasperated.
But as he looked at Mizuki's calm, smiling face, the crushing weight that had been pressing down on his chest evaporated. Taichi was not afraid of fighting NeoDevimon, but he had known, deep down, that the odds of actually winning were slim. Now, with Mizuki back, the suffocating burden of leadership eased.
"Mizuki," Taichi breathed out, a genuine smile breaking through his dirt-smudged face. "You're late."
He gestured to the chaotic battlefield. "However, judging by the current situation, you can at least catch the end of the party."
Mizuki chuckled, stepping up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Taichi.
"I must correct two mistakes in your statement," Mizuki said smoothly, his eyes drifting toward NeoDevimon. The Ultimate-level demon was staring at them, his six eyes wide with absolute shock and disbelief.
"First," Mizuki raised a finger. "It's not 'I,'but'we.'"
"Second—"
A blinding light erupted. Suddenly, a pair of massive, tattered purple wings burst outward from behind Taichi.
Taichi's eyes widened in sheer astonishment as the data storm engulfed Greymon. The dinosaur's body expanded, his flesh converting into heavy, mechanized armor. Silver metal clamped over his skull, and a massive trident claw replaced his left arm. The raw power of a brand new form shook the earth!
"As for the party," Mizuki finished, his voice cutting through the roar of digivolution. "It's not the end. It's just beginning!"
Greymon, Super Digivolve to... MetalGreymon!!!
Mizuki looked up at the towering, mechanized cyborg Digimon. While Taichi's face was painted with pure, unadulterated joy, Mizuki felt a quiet sense of awe.
He can achieve Super digivolution without relying on a Crest? Mizuki thought, a soft sigh escaping him. No... rather, this is the true strength of these children.
Pushing the thought aside, Mizuki turned his attention to the battlefield, addressing his own partner.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly. "Let us put an end to this karmic feud with Devimon today."
"..."
The harsh winds of the battlefield whipped past them, lifting a stray strand of her beautiful blonde hair.
Hearing Mizuki's words, his partner did not offer a dramatic speech. She simply kept her cold, piercing gaze locked onto the demon ahead.
Just as Mizuki had said, her mind was already made up.
For Mizuki.
This time, she absolutely had to obliterate this opponent!
Nyaromon... Salamon... BlackGatomon... LadyDevimon...
Looking back at the long, arduous road they had walked together, she realized how far she had come. Accompanied by Mizuki's unwavering faith, she had finally shattered her limits and crossed the threshold into the Mega level!
Her black leather trench coat drifted wildly in the howling wind. Her stunning blonde hair and tall, commanding figure painted a stunning image—a deadly, dark rose blooming amidst the carnage of the battlefield.
Her name was the Mega Level—
BeelStarmon!
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