Chapter 49: The Aftermath
Even with the confirmation that GranDracmon had deliberately held back during their clash, BeelStarmon refused to let the matter slide. Her crimson eyes narrowed, a fierce pout forming on her lips. "Mizuki, even so, we still have to go beat him up!"
"Absolutely." Mizuki nodded without a second of hesitation, validating her lingering frustration. "But before we go hunting for a rematch, Bel, let's make sure the others are actually in one piece."
"Bel...?!" The sudden nickname caught her completely off guard. As Mizuki slipped out of her protective embrace, BeelStarmon froze. A deep, rosy flush crept up her neck, painting her fair cheeks in a bright shade of crimson.
Mizuki paused and glanced back over his shoulder, tilting his head with a look of mild curiosity. "What is it? Do you not like the name?"
"N-No! That is not it at all!" Snapped out of her sudden daze of giddy joy, BeelStarmon shook her head so fast her blonde hair whipped through the air. She clutched her hands to her chest, her voice dropping into a flustered, urgent squeak. "I... I like it very much!"
"Is that so? That is great then." A warm, relieved smile touched Mizuki's lips. Without another word, he turned and jogged toward the clearing where Taichi and the rest of the group lay scattered across the ground.
Left behind in his wake, BeelStarmon stood rooted to the spot, completely enveloped in a wavering, dizzying heat. The intense blush against her pale skin made her look incredibly enchanting, perfectly blending her terrifying power with an absolute, inherent cuteness. She pressed a hand to her warm cheek, a foolish smile tugging at her lips.
Crouching beside the unconscious forms of his friends, Mizuki pressed two fingers against Taichi's neck, feeling the steady, rhythmic pulse beneath the skin. 'It seems GranDracmon really did just put them to sleep.' He had suspected as much during the battle, but only now, after thoroughly checking their vitals, did he allow a heavy sigh of relief to escape his lungs.
Perhaps disturbed by the physical contact, Taichi's brow furrowed. His eyelids twitched, fluttering against the harsh light of the Digital World, before he slowly groaned and cracked his eyes open.
Mizuki looked down at the boy's bewildered, groggy expression. A familiar, mischievous spark ignited in his chest. He leaned in close, arranging his features into a mask of solemn, professional sympathy. "You are awake?" he whispered softly. Taichi blinked, trying to focus. Mizuki offered a gentle, encouraging smile. "Congratulations, Taichi. The surgery was a complete success. You are now a very cute girl."
Taichi's brain short-circuited. His eyes bugged out, one twitching violently as he stared at Mizuki's perfectly innocent smile. Scrambling backward in a panic, Taichi patted his own chest and face before the realization hit him. He pushed himself up from the dirt, his expression deadpan, and delivered a resounding, heavy slap directly onto Mizuki's shoulder.
"Ouch!" Mizuki rubbed his arm, feigning injury. "What was that for?"
"Is this real?! We are not in a dream?!" Taichi demanded, his voice cracking slightly. Seeing Mizuki wince from the physical impact was all the proof he needed. Before Mizuki could offer a sarcastic reply, Taichi lunged forward, gripping both of Mizuki's shoulders with a desperate, crushing strength.
"Mizuki, you... you are okay! You are actually okay!" Taichi's voice shook with raw, unfiltered emotion. "I was so terrified back there. I really thought you were going to die. It is so great that you are alive!"
He pulled back, a wide, relieved grin splitting his face. "Wait, how do you say it in your homeland? Oh, right!" A spark of sudden inspiration lit up Taichi's eyes. Ignoring the subtle, warning twitch in Mizuki's eyebrow, Taichi proudly recited the proverb he had recently learned, enunciating every single syllable. "Good people do not live long, but a scourge lasts a thousand years! Is that not how the saying goes?"
Mizuki stared at him. Taichi beamed back, practically radiating a desperate need for praise over his cultural knowledge. The polite smile on Mizuki's face froze, turning brittle at the edges. "If you do not know how to properly use an idiom," Mizuki said, his voice dangerously calm, "you really do not have to force it."
"Is that so?" Taichi scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely confused. "I thought it sounded pretty smooth."
"And tell me," Mizuki continued, leaning in just a fraction of an inch, "do you honestly believe the word 'scourge' is meant to be a compliment?"
"Ah, well, when you put it like that..." Taichi's voice trailed off. He watched Mizuki's expression shift into a mask of absolute, terrifying benevolence. A single drop of cold sweat broke out on Taichi's forehead, tracing a slow path down his cheek. The survival instincts that had kept him alive in the Digital World were suddenly screaming at maximum volume.
Panic sparked a sudden, brilliant flash of inspiration. Taichi snapped his fingers, his eyes widening in exaggerated realization. "Oh! Right! Izzy!" He pointed an accusing finger across the clearing. "Izzy is the one who taught me that phrase!"
Without missing a beat, Taichi spun on his heel. "Anyway, setting that aside, I need to go see if Izzy and the others are awake yet!" Leaving a trail of dust in his wake, Taichi bolted away from Mizuki, sprinting directly toward the red-haired boy who was just beginning to sit up.
A few yards away, Izzy rubbed his eyes, completely oblivious to the bus he had just been thrown under. '?'
Following Taichi's chaotic awakening, Izzy, Mimi, and the rest of the group slowly began to stir. One by one, the children and their Digimon partners groaned, pushing themselves up from the grassy floor of the clearing, shaking off the heavy remnants of their forced slumber.
It quickly became apparent that GranDracmon had left them with a parting gift. Whether born from a twisted sense of fairness or mere whim, every single scratch, bruise, and lingering ache they had sustained prior to the encounter had completely vanished. Their bodies felt entirely refreshed, brimming with a strange, unnatural vitality.
Once everyone was gathered, Mizuki delivered a brief, sanitized summary of the battle and their terrifying opponent. The children exchanged wide-eyed glances, processing the sheer scale of the threat that had just stood before them. A chorus of shocked gasps echoed through the clearing.
"What? GranDracmon?!" Taichi yelled, his jaw dropping. "Who even is that?!"
"Are you telling us there are other evil presences lurking on File Island besides Devimon?" Aegiochusmon demanded. The goat-legged warrior immediately dropped into a defensive stance, his eyes scanning the surrounding tree line, his muscles coiled tight as a spring.
Watching the rising tide of panic threaten to consume the group, Mizuki offered a helpless shrug. He raised both hands, palms out, gesturing for calm. "Regarding that specific issue, you actually do not need to worry."
"GranDracmon is not a Digimon native to this world," Mizuki explained, his tone steady and grounding. "And strictly speaking, he is not purely an evil existence. He operates on his own set of rules." He paused, a shadow crossing his eyes as he remembered the crushing weight of the vampire's aura. "However, having said that, he is still incredibly dangerous. We were lucky."
"Not... a Digimon from our world?" Aegiochusmon blinked, his defensive posture faltering as confusion washed over his human-like face. The concept of multiple worlds was entirely foreign to him.
Taichi stepped forward, a relaxed, easygoing smile returning to his face. He clapped a hand firmly against Aegiochusmon's armored back. "Relax, Aegiochusmon. Did you not hear Mizuki? The guy is just bored. He is not going to go out of his way to hunt us down."
Taichi glanced down, winking at the pink, round Digimon resting near his boots. "You agree with me, right, Koromon?"
"Taichi is absolutely right!" Koromon chirped, bouncing happily against the dirt, completely unbothered by the lingering tension.
"You two are entirely too optimistic..." Aegiochusmon muttered. He stared at the carefree duo, a deep frown creasing his features. Despite possessing a face that looked no different from a human child's, the heavy, weary distress in his eyes made him seem decades older.
Yet, what Aegiochusmon failed to realize was that Taichi's breezy attitude was not born from ignorance. Beneath that cheerful exterior, the boy's mind was churning through a careful, calculated deliberation.
Taichi fully understood that GranDracmon was a cataclysmic threat. But logic dictated a simple truth: given the sheer, overwhelming gap in their strength, if the vampire king truly wanted them dead, no amount of nervous pacing or anxiety would change the outcome. Panicking was entirely meaningless. The only logical path forward was to stay calm, adapt, and use every single breathing moment to grow stronger. That was the only way to survive.
Catching Taichi's eye, Izzy gave a slow, subtle nod. The red-haired genius had reached the exact same conclusion, his tense shoulders finally dropping as he offered a quiet expression of approval. Hovering faithfully by his partner's side, Tentomon buzzed his wings, his large green eyes silently observing the silent exchange between the two boys.
Watching Taichi and Izzy—the two pillars of their group—visibly relax, the lingering dread in Mimi's chest finally dissolved. Her naturally simple and optimistic nature quickly took over, allowing her to exhale a long, shaky breath and let her guard down.
However, as the tension faded, her attention drifted. In the quiet lull of the conversation, Mimi's gaze slid over to Mizuki. Standing just half a step behind him was BeelStarmon. The terrifying, god-like Digimon was currently acting entirely out of character—she was hovering protectively close to Mizuki, her fingers twitching as she secretly, desperately tried to sneak her hand into his without drawing attention.
Mimi blinked, a sudden, random thought popping into her head. She crouched down, poking the green, plant-like Digimon resting by her feet. "Hey, Palmon? What do you think your Mega form looks like?"
"Hmm?" Palmon looked up, blinking her dark, hollow eyes. "I do not know. Do you know?" She tilted her head to the side. The large, vibrant pink flower blooming atop her head swayed gently in the passing breeze. Combined with her innocent, bewildered expression, she radiated an indescribable, endearing cuteness.
Staring down at her partner, Mimi felt a complicated knot of emotions twist in her chest. Palmon's Rookie form was not exactly conventionally pretty—she was essentially a walking weed with root-like feet—but she possessed a distinct, unmistakable charm. She was ugly-cute.
But that charm completely vanished the moment she evolved. Why did she have to turn into Togemon? A massive, boxing cactus with a terrifyingly blank face was practically the definition of a giant, prickly oaf.
It was not that Mimi disliked her partner. She loved Palmon dearly. But driven by the simple, vain heart of a young girl, Mimi desperately hoped that her partner's future digivolutions would yield something a little more elegant. Something beautiful.
Reaching the Mega level felt like an impossible dream right now. But the Ultimate level... maybe, just maybe, when Palmon finally reached her Ultimate form, she would become just a little bit cuter. Clasping her hands together beneath her chin, Mimi closed her eyes and began to silently, fervently pray to whatever digital gods were listening for her partner's future aesthetics.
Unaware of the harsh judgment being passed on her evolutionary line, Palmon simply stared at her partner's praying form. '?'
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