Ore Town sat in the center of a mountain range. Originally the home of a group of Gotsumon, it was later attacked by Myotismon's forces following the discovery of a rare Chrome Digizoid vein.
Now, Ore Town had become Myotismon's private quarry. The Gotsumon were forced to become miners, toiling all day without even a full meal. Not just Gotsumon, but many other Digimon had been captured as slave labor. They were filled with grief and indignation but dared not resist, for Ore Town was guarded by the incredibly powerful Ultimate-level Digimon, SkullMeramon.
The blue flames burning on its body were so hot they could easily melt a Gotsumon's stone body. Here, it was the Reaper in name and deed!
Crossing forests and soaring over mountains, Aomori and his team soon reached the vicinity of Ore Town on the "Pidgeot Express," stopping on a mountain to overlook the town. From a distance, Ore Town seemed shrouded in a layer of grey dust, making it hard to see clearly. Aside from a massive stone castle in the center, most of the houses were hemispherical structures built of piled stones.
"It looks filthy, but it'll make a good stronghold."
Aomori decided to occupy Ore Town as his first foothold in the Digital World.
He summoned Darkrai and Absol. Looking at the numerous guards moving back and forth below, he began assigning tasks: "There are quite a few enemies over by the ore vein. Absol, Pidgeot, and Ditto, you go over there and take care of them. Try to capture them alive if possible."
"Piijo!"
"Sol!"
"!"
"Ditto, don't transform so suddenly."
Startled, Aomori continued, "Darkrai, follow me. We're going straight for the throat to take out the mini-boss."
"Master, Master! What about me?" Salamon hopped up and down, trying to look fierce, though it only looked adorable. "I can fight too!"
"Right. Salamon, you stay with Pidgeot." Pidgeot would be in the air, facing fewer risks.
"Okay! I'll do my best!"
Super fierce!
Watching Pidgeot and the others leave, Aomori mounted his Motorcycle. Accompanied by a piercing roar, he charged in a straight line toward the stone castle. As the bike sped forward, the Violet-Gold Knight Set slowly covered Aomori's body from the feet up, until even his head was encased in a helmet.
"Darkrai!"
Understanding perfectly, Darkrai transformed into a dense shadow and merged with Aomori's body. The Dark Pulse, representing ultimate malice, was unleashed without restraint. Everywhere the motorcycle passed, life withered. At this moment, Aomori had become a newly born Digimon—HellKnightmon!
"What a powerful energy signature." SkullMeramon, who had been resting in the stone castle, sensed it immediately. It went to a window and saw a motorcycle charging toward it like a black phantom; its red pupils constricted sharply.
Sensing the immense malice of the visitor, SkullMeramon didn't hesitate. It smashed through the window, jumping down from the castle tower to land right in front of Aomori as he stopped the bike.
"An attack!"
"Enemy!"
"Lord SkullMeramon is engaging the intruder!"
Guards immediately flocked from all directions upon hearing the noise, but they were mostly small fry like Bakemon and Vegiemon. Cowed by Darkrai's Dark Pulse, they only dared to stand at a distance, surrounding Aomori.
Only SkullMeramon could stand before Aomori unaffected. It was a humanoid Digimon, tall and shirtless, wrapped in chains with an iron mask on its head, its entire body burning with blue flames.
"Unknown Digimon, this is the territory of Lord Myotismon. You shall not be insolent!" SkullMeramon was unwilling to fight the unidentified Aomori and invoked Myotismon's name, hoping he would retreat.
However, that was impossible.
Aomori snorted, dismounting from the bike. From beneath the helmet, a pair of purple eyes held deep disdain. "What is Myotismon to me? A mere Ultimate. I don't give him a second thought."
He stepped forward, speaking with an arrogant tone: "I, HellKnightmon, have taken a liking to this place. From this day forward, this is HellKnightmon's territory!"
"HellKnightmon?" SkullMeramon looked at him with some trepidation. This was a Digimon it had never heard of, and its strength seemed quite formidable if it dared to disregard Myotismon.
Although it and Myotismon were both Ultimate-level, there was a vast gap between them. Myotismon, who was favored by those lords, possessed nearly ten times the data volume of SkullMeramon. It didn't even dare to think of resisting Myotismon, which was why it had become one of his trusted lieutenants.
Compared to the HellKnightmon before it, Myotismon exerted a far greater pressure, so its choice was clear.
I'll trade a few blows with this stranger. If I can't win, I'll retreat immediately. Bringing back some intel will serve as an explanation to Lord Myotismon.
"What arrogant talk! Do you dare take this attack!" Having made up its mind, SkullMeramon shouted a threat. Without waiting for a reply, it lashed out with two flaming chains while simultaneously exhaling a massive blast of blue fire.
"Special Move: Heavy Metal Fire!"
The blue flames engulfed Aomori's figure like a tidal wave. Seeing this, SkullMeramon looked triumphant. "Success! My flames burn through anything!"
"Is that so?"
"How is this possible?!" SkullMeramon's eyes widened. It saw its proud blue flames slowly shrink, becoming a sphere the size of an eyeball, held in the hand of that HellKnightmon.
"The fire is decent, but the variety is lacking. Here, have it back." Aomori flicked his finger, launching the fireball, compressed by telekinesis, back at SkullMeramon. The moment it made contact, he withdrew the telekinetic shell.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted, like a miniature nuclear blast. Flames soared into the sky, forming a small mushroom cloud. In this catastrophic explosion, over half of the stone castle was instantly leveled. The lackeys were sent flying by the shockwave, completely losing their ability to fight. At the center of the blast, SkullMeramon, who had absorbed ninety percent of the force, turned into a charred husk without even let out a whimper.
"Surprisingly useful. I wonder about a compressed lightning sphere?" While thinking of new moves, Aomori walked over to SkullMeramon, just in time to hear its final words.
"To be defeated by my own flames... I... I refuse to accept this!"
With that last breath, SkullMeramon finally expired. Its body dissolved into tiny data fragments, slowly rising toward the sky.
Aomori watched the data fragments silently. He knew that, barring any accidents, they would travel outside the Digital World, behind the firewall, to be absorbed by the final boss, Apocalymon, as a source of power.
"Heh. I am that 'accident'." He reached out a hand toward the data fragments.