The sudden development instantly shifted the delicate balance of the battle.
When two masters fought, even a split-second distraction would mean exposing a fatal flaw.
Zero, momentarily distracted by Taichi's sudden shout, gave Myotismon exactly the opening he needed.
"Heh! You made this mistake last time too—you really don't learn!"
Laughing coldly, Myotismon's crimson lightning surged violently, striking Zero head-on and sending him flying backward.
At the very same moment, Gatomon suddenly sprang into action, swiftly knocking Taichi away with one blow. Before Hikari could even scream, Gatomon forced her onto her knees with a precise kick, swiftly restraining her in a perfectly executed hold.
In an instant, the atmosphere turned tense and heavy. Taichi struggled to his feet, staring in disbelief.
"Gatomon?! What are you doing?!"
"My apologies, Taichi," Gatomon replied, voice icy and devoid of emotion. "I'm a spy sent by Myotismon-sama. You and your sister have my gratitude for looking after me until now."
Myotismon had blasted Zero away, yet Zero didn't appear severely injured—though with Hikari now held hostage by Gatomon, he clearly couldn't act recklessly.
Believing himself fully in control of the situation, Myotismon let out a triumphant laugh.
"Excellent work, Gatomon… now, bring the girl to me."
After witnessing the previous battles, Myotismon clearly understood why Zero had grown so strong, so rapidly—it was undoubtedly thanks to these two human children.
Humans' emotions could significantly affect a Digimon's evolution. Having personally observed this through Zero, Myotismon's determination to invade the human world grew stronger than ever.
Now was the perfect chance… to test exactly how humans influenced Digivolution.
"Understood," Gatomon said obediently, escorting Hikari toward Myotismon.
Seeing the fear creeping into the girl's eyes—a familiar sight he'd observed countless times from defeated foes—Myotismon felt immense satisfaction.
"Good. Now, this should—"
Yet, the moment Gatomon brought Hikari close, Myotismon's expression abruptly froze.
"…Wait. You're not—!"
Before he could finish, the "Hikari" held by Gatomon shimmered and shifted. Revealing a magician's staff, the imposter raised it, unleashing a sudden bolt of lightning directly at Myotismon.
Realizing the deception, Myotismon quickly swung his cape, absorbing the thunderbolt into its folds, effortlessly dissipating the attack.
But in that single moment of distraction, Myotismon exposed a fatal opening. Zero, who'd been waiting patiently for precisely this opportunity, struck without hesitation.
"Sorry about that, but I'm not stupid enough to trip over the same stone twice. This time… you're the one falling for the trap!"
His final word rang out as his claw plunged straight through Myotismon's chest, eliciting a scream of agony.
Even though Myotismon had command of the entire domain's data and had touched the very edge of Mega-level power, Zero's blow—already nearing Mega-level himself—nearly shattered Myotismon's DigiCore outright.
Meanwhile, the "Hikari" imposter revealed his true form—it was Wizardmon, who had used his illusions to disguise himself.
…From the very moment they had entered the Misty Realm, the real Hikari had swapped places with Wizardmon. The girl who had been there all along was Wizardmon in disguise.
Myotismon could have easily seen through Wizardmon's magic, but with his full attention focused on Zero, he hadn't spared the effort to closely scrutinize anyone else.
Only after Gatomon pretended to betray the team, dragging the imposter closer, did Myotismon finally realize something was off.
But at that distance, it was already too late. Even if Wizardmon's sneak attack hadn't harmed him, it had distracted him enough to leave a deadly opening.
All of the previous actions, all the tricks laid down beforehand, had been for this single, crucial strike. Which meant… Gatomon had long since revealed her true allegiance to Taichi and Hikari.
"You… betrayed me? How?! How can something so absurd even happen?!"
More than the pain of his nearly destroyed DigiCore, Myotismon was utterly unable to comprehend Gatomon's betrayal.
She was a Digimon fully accustomed to the cruelty of the Dark Army—was she seriously moved by mere "love and peace"?
"Because I finally found my reason for living. Because I finally remembered… the 'light' I've always waited and searched for!"
Myotismon's body grotesquely swelled, like a balloon rapidly filling with blood. A deranged smile twisted his face.
"…Fine then. Now… witness my true power!!!"
With a fierce roar, Myotismon's entire body expanded grotesquely. His once-elegant gentleman's figure twisted horribly, black sludge-like matter bursting forth from beneath his tearing flesh.
"What the…?"
Even Zero, close as he was, paused in shock. He knew clearly that his previous attack had severely damaged Myotismon's DigiCore. But somehow, instead of collapsing, Myotismon's data volume surged explosively.
"Don't tell me…"
A thought flashed through Zero's mind. Myotismon was probably using the domain's key, forcibly absorbing all of its data, to trigger a forced evolution to Mega.
But if he'd been able to reach Mega-level by force all along, why hadn't he done it before?
…Or perhaps he'd deliberately chosen not to.
Digimon evolution wasn't linear; from Ultimate-level upward, many Mega-level routes existed. Depending on how evolution was triggered, the resulting Mega-level form varied drastically.
Myotismon's ideal evolution surely would've been a Demon Lord-type Digimon—powerful yet still rational and intelligent.
But now, by forcibly absorbing enormous, chaotic data to reach Mega-level, the form he assumed would almost certainly become a mindless beast—immense power, but devoid of intelligence.
For an ambitious strategist like Myotismon, such a result would be utterly unacceptable. He'd suppressed himself all this time rather than become such a creature.
Going to the human world was his method of finding another path. But now, thanks to Zero, that dream had vanished like smoke.
If Myotismon didn't force this evolution here and now, he'd likely die on the spot. Yet from his reaction, this decision wasn't improvised—he had prepared for this very worst-case scenario well in advance.
No wonder upon entering the Misty Realm, not a single one of Myotismon's subordinates had appeared—only Myotismon himself stood to meet them…
He must have dismissed his minions ahead of time, leaving them with explicit instructions as a contingency.
Myotismon had planned to trap Zero with his spy, Gatomon. Zero, however, turned the tables and trapped Myotismon instead. But now, even Zero realized Myotismon still had another hidden card…
"This time, let's see who laughs last!"
Twisted beyond recognition, Myotismon no longer needed to hold back.
MYOSTIMON—SUPER DIGIVOLUTION!!!
Zero suddenly felt himself hurled backward by an invisible force, power far beyond anything he'd encountered before.
The grotesque mass that had once been Myotismon rapidly expanded, towering over the landscape. The upper half barely maintained a distorted human form, while the lower half transformed into monstrous, fur-covered claws.
As Zero stared at the demonic entity before him, he immediately recognized its form…
Virus-type. Evil. Mega-level Digimon—
—VENOMMYOSTISMON!!!
Myotismon had finally broken through the barrier to Mega-level, reaching the pinnacle of normal Digimon evolution—but in exchange, his once-proud intellect had been utterly extinguished.
The beast-like monster roared savagely, casually swinging its claws. The motion alone tore the earth apart, hurling rubble and violent winds directly at Zero and Gatomon.
"!"
Among those present, only Zero—barely touching the Mega threshold himself—had a hope of withstanding this. Gatomon and Wizardmon stood no chance, unable to even approach.
"…So powerful."
Blown away by the sheer force, Gatomon bitterly realized that her prideful agility meant absolutely nothing in the face of such overwhelming strength.
Meanwhile, Taichi's body shimmered, revealing the real Hikari, who had remained concealed by Wizardmon's magic until now. Under this terrifying pressure, she was forced into the open.
Zero rushed forward, clashing pseudo-Dramon Killer against VenomMyotismon's claw. The result was a complete stalemate.
Had Zero been truly Mega-level, he might've held an advantage. But his current form was merely Ultimate, temporarily enhanced by the Crest of Courage—just a cheap imitation. Facing a genuine Mega-level opponent, the disparity was clear.
"Tch, now this is getting a bit troublesome…"
Staring down VenomMyotismon, Zero clearly understood—overcoming this Mega-level opponent at his current strength was impossible. He would have to truly evolve into Mega himself.
But this aligned perfectly with his initial plan. From the start, he'd intended to use the fight against Myotismon as a catalyst for his own Mega evolution.
He never believed Myotismon would lack a final trump card in his own lair; it just turned out a bit tougher than expected. Still within acceptable limits, however.
"So, this is Mega-level… The enemy I must face and the power I must acquire. Excellent—come! Let me experience it first-hand!!!"
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T/N: awooo yess