Chapter 61: The Bizarre Adventure of Nyaromon
"Heigh-ho, hey~ Heigh-ho, hey~"
"We walk and we walk, we swim and we swim~ Who cares if we're clueless, who cares if we're dim? We never speak truth, we lie through our teeth, our rotten tongues hide the mischief beneath~"
On the winding dirt path leading away from the Koromon Village and toward the roaring waterfall, a group of Tapirmon trudged along, carrying Nyaromon on their backs.
As they marched, they continuously hummed their goofy, off-key tune, completely oblivious to their surroundings. They were entirely unaware that their captive, who was supposed to be fast asleep, had already quietly cracked one eye open to observe them.
Clearly, her capture at the hands of these Tapirmon was a deliberate setup.
A short while ago...
"Nyaromon, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course!" Hearing Mizuki's gentle request, Nyaromon immediately bounced up, her voice full of energy. "As long as it's for Mizu, I'll do absolutely anything~"
"It's nothing too dramatic." Mizuki reached out, gently stroking her soft cheek. "I just need you to play along for a bit. Later, pretend to be asleep and let those Tapirmon carry you off."
He withdrew his hand, his expression turning thoughtful. "It's the perfect opportunity for you to infiltrate their ranks and get a read on the situation. After all, even Devimon managed to reach the Ultimate level back on File Island. We have no idea if the enemies here have received similar, unnatural power boosts."
Although Etemon was never considered an overwhelmingly powerful threat in the original timeline, the storyline had long since gone completely rogue. Blindly assuming that everything would proceed normally would be a fatal mistake.
Ultimately, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself was the only true guarantee of victory.
"Conversely," Mizuki added, a faint, confident smirk touching his lips, "if those Tapirmon happen to target me instead, I expect you to stand down and not intervene. Understood?"
"Uh... Is that really okay?" Nyaromon shifted anxiously. "Mizu, you aren't a Digimon after all..."
"Trust me, it's fine. ultimately, those Tapirmon are just a bunch of Rookie-level kids." Mizuki's smirk widened into a distinctly trollish grin. "To put it bluntly, I could knock them out with a single punch each, okay?"
Seeing the absolute certainty in Mizuki's eyes, Nyaromon thought it over for a moment before firmly nodding her agreement.
Consciousness snapped back to the present.
Swaying on the backs of her captors, Nyaromon felt a wave of relief that the Tapirmon had targeted her instead of Mizuki. Even though she knew her partner possessed raw physical strength comparable to an average Ultimate-level Digimon, she still hated the idea of him taking unnecessary risks.
Even if the targets were just a group of weak Tapirmon.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, several unfamiliar, raspy voices echoed from the path ahead. Realizing that someone new had arrived, Nyaromon quickly squeezed her eyes shut, perfectly resuming her feigned slumber.
"Hey, what are you runts doing?"
"You finally conquered the Koromon, so why aren't you back there building the village properly? Why are you out here slacking off and catching Digimon again?"
Accompanied by those exasperated, scolding words, three figures slowly emerged from the dense forest foliage. They were mammalian Digimon with gray fur similar in shade to the Tapirmon, but they stood upright, sporting long ears and razor-sharp claws.
Upon seeing them step onto the path, the singing and dancing Tapirmon froze in sheer panic. In their haste to stand at attention, they abruptly dumped their cargo onto the hard dirt.
A muffled 'Ow~!' nearly escaped Nyaromon's lips before she caught herself, remaining perfectly still on the ground.
"G-Gazimon Boss?!" one of the Tapirmon stammered, trembling. "When did you get here?"
"Yeah, and our rotten tongues— Gah, spit! You idiots almost pulled me into your stupid song!" The lead Gazimon shook his head, recovering from his brief moment of stunned silence before glaring at them. "This is no time for jokes!"
He pointed a sharp claw at the trembling group. "Normally, I wouldn't care about your little pranks, because being annoying is just your nature. But right now, we have a direct mission from King Etemon! Did you forget that we are under strict orders to hunt down any human children accompanied by a Digimon?"
"But..." Facing the Gazimon's wrath, the Tapirmon exchanged nervous glances and pointed weakly at the ground. "The Digimon we just caught was exactly one who was with a human child."
"I see, with a child— Wait, what!?" The lead Gazimon's eyes bulged. "You're saying she was with a child?!"
Realizing that the little Digimon they had just dropped might be their primary target, the three Gazimon frantically looked toward the spot where Nyaromon had landed.
But the ground was completely empty. Nyaromon was nowhere to be seen.
Did she escape?
Just as the Gazimon began to curse themselves for not listening to the Tapirmon immediately, a smooth, melodic voice drifted down from the canopy above.
"You boys seem to be up to something interesting down there~"
"If you don't mind, how about sharing it with me?"
Startled, the three Gazimon and the group of Tapirmon whipped their heads upward. Perched gracefully on a thick branch of a massive ancient tree sat a black, feline Digimon. She had appeared like a phantom, completely undetected. She wore purple gloves with sharp claws on her paws, and a golden Holy Ring gleamed brightly on her long, swishing tail.
This was the form Nyaromon had evolved into: BlackGatomon.
She was also the only special individual in existence who retained the Holy Ring while in the BlackGatomon state.
Noticing that every single pair of eyes was glued to her, BlackGatomon leaped down from the branch, landing on the dirt path without a single sound.
"Allow me to introduce myself," she said, her voice dripping with elegant confidence. "I am BlackGatomon. A Champion-level Digimon."
Champion level?!
Hearing that classification, the Tapirmon and the three Gazimon visibly flinched, taking a collective step back.
But the shock only lasted a second. The lead Gazimon quickly suppressed his initial fear, puffing out his chest as he forced a mocking smirk onto his face.
"You? A Champion-level Digimon? Don't make me laugh."
He swaggered up to BlackGatomon, deliberately standing tall to compare their heights, before letting out a harsh, barking laugh.
"BlackGatomon, right? Let me tell you a little secret. Your Gazimon Boss here says that on the Server Continent, a tiny little pipsqueak like you who doesn't even reach my shoulders can only be considered one thing... a harmless little loli."
BlackGatomon stared at him in utter silence.
Facing the Gazimon's blatant mockery, she did not show the slightest hint of anger. Her expression remained perfectly placid. She simply let out a soft, almost pitying sigh.
Then, without a single word of warning, she casually swiped her purple-gloved hand through the air.
The sheer kinetic force of that gentle motion erupted into a devastating shockwave. The concentrated air pressure tore through the treeline with the roar of a hurricane, instantly obliterating a massive swath of the dense forest. Ancient trunks splintered into toothpicks, foliage was vaporized into green mist, and the earth itself was carved into a deep, ragged trench that stretched far into the distance.
Staring blankly at the apocalyptic devastation that had just replaced their surroundings, the Gazimon and the Tapirmon fell into a dead, suffocating silence.
The lead Gazimon's jaw practically unhinged, his eyes wide with unadulterated terror.
"So, what do you say?" BlackGatomon's voice floated through the settling dust, as soft and gentle as a passing cloud. "Do you still harbor any doubts about my strength?"
She tilted her head, offering them a sweet, innocent smile. "After all, I'm not some unreasonable monster. If you do have any complaints... cough, cough... I mean, if you have any doubts, please, feel free to voice them out loud."
Yet, despite her soft, melodic words, every single Gazimon and Tapirmon felt a terrifying, crushing pressure radiating from her small frame, pinning them in place.
They exchanged one frantic, terrified glance, and immediately made their decision. They dropped to their knees, bowing so hard their foreheads slammed into the dirt.
"WE ARE SORRY, BIG SISTER BLACKWARGREYMON!" they screamed in perfect unison.
"Huh? Wait, why are you calling me 'Big Sister' again?"
BlackGatomon blinked, her sweet facade breaking as she suddenly remembered Agumon and the others doing the exact same thing. She couldn't help but facepalm, letting out an exasperated groan.
"I said, can you please not call me that? Just BlackGatomon is perfectly fine, okay?"
"YES, BIG SISTER BLACKWARGREYMON! WHATEVER YOU COMMAND, BIG SISTER BLACKWARGREYMON!"
BlackGatomon fell silent.
She slowly lowered her hand from her face, her purple-gloved fists clenching so tightly her knuckles cracked under the strain.
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