Chapter 83: Companions Evolving in Succession
Life, once extinguished, cannot be rekindled.
This was an absolute law of the Digital World, a grim reality that every Digimon understood down to their very core.
Yet, in this moment, not a single pair of eyes held even a shred of doubt as they watched Mizuki.
They stared intently at the young man's somewhat slender figure, their breath hitched in their throats. None dared to blink, terrified that even a split-second lapse would cause them to miss a miracle.
Beneath their unwavering gaze, the shattered, mangled remains of Monodramon began to shift.
Mizuki remained silent, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.
'The digicore has been thoroughly corrupted by the virus data,'he thought, carefully analyzing the swirling streams of dark code beneath his hands.'If I force a direct restoration now, would he even be the same Digimon?'
He didn't know the answer to that. And he wasn't willing to risk his companion's soul to find out.
So, he opted for a different, far more unorthodox route.
Since it was impossible to purge the virulent data without tearing Monodramon's fragile digicore apart, why not rewrite his very foundation to accept it?
As for the decaying flesh, that didn't matter. As long as the spark of life remained intact, the sheer, overwhelming power of digivolution would forge a new vessel!
Mizuki's hands moved with practiced precision, his Digi-Soul flaring as he adjusted and injected streams of purified data into the broken Digimon. Bathed in a brilliant, blinding light, Monodramon's form began to rapidly expand, twisting and growing into something entirely new.
A short distance away, deep within the dark network they were currently purging, MetalGreymon (Blue) and LadyDevimon paused. Feeling the massive surge of energy rippling from behind them, the two exchanged a knowing glance.
"It seems King Mizuki has brought forth yet another miracle," MetalGreymon (Blue) rumbled, his cybernetic jaw clicking as a wave of deep respect washed over his features.
"Isn't something like this only natural for him?" LadyDevimon replied, her tone dripping with a casual, almost arrogant confidence that suggested she expected nothing less from her partner.
Suddenly, she paused, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh, right. You got me sidetracked."
MetalGreymon (Blue) tilted his massive head. "?"
"Don't call him King Mizuki anymore," she instructed, her voice taking on a reverent edge. "Call him His Excellency Mizuki."
"His Excellency?" MetalGreymon (Blue) blinked his organic eye, processing the term. "Isn't that a title reserved for a god?"
LadyDevimon smirked, crossing her arms. "And isn't His Excellency Mizuki essentially a god to us?"
The cyborg dinosaur fell silent for a moment, mulling it over. "A gentle god... Yes. It is indeed far more fitting than simply King."
Back at the epicenter of the light, Mizuki finally completed the delicate operation.
The moment that familiar, terrifying aura swept across the digital wasteland, the four surviving Monodramon gasped, their eyes widening in absolute shock.
When the light shattered, the figure standing before them was not the small, familiar purple dragon from their memories. Instead, a colossal, nightmarish behemoth towered over the landscape, a terrifying entity composed entirely of bleached, pale bone!
[Data Type to Virus Type!]
[Monodramon digivolution!]
[SkullGreymon!]
"I... I'm alive again?!"
Eerie green flames ignited within the empty sockets of the skeletal dragon's skull. SkullGreymon stared down at his massive, fleshless claws in sheer disbelief, his deep, echoing voice trembling with emotion.
"Did... did King Mizuki do this?!"
"I'm sorry, Monodramon," a calm voice called out from below. "With my current abilities, this is the best I could do for you."
SkullGreymon snapped his massive skull downward, finding Mizuki looking up at him with an apologetic smile.
"Your physical body had already died, and your digicore was on the absolute brink of collapse," Mizuki explained, dusting off his hands. "If I had forcibly restored your original form, I'm afraid you would have lost your sense of self entirely. You wouldn't be you anymore. So, I used a workaround. I modified your digicore's base attribute, allowing you to absorb the virus data and evolve into this form instead. Though, ensuring you kept your sanity intact during the transition was quite the headache."
"No, no, no! King Mizuki, how could you possibly apologize to me?!" SkullGreymon panicked, his massive skeletal frame dropping to one knee with a thunderous crash. "I should be the one thanking you!"
The terrifying undead dragon bowed his head deeply, his voice thick with overwhelming gratitude. "If it weren't for you, I would be completely dead right now. Erased. Instead, I have not only escaped death, but I've been gifted this incredible, overwhelming power! I... I don't even know what words to use to express my feelings. Please, accept my most sincere gratitude, and my absolute, unreserved loyalty!"
Seeing the giant skeletal monster acting so politely was a jarring contrast, but the four Monodramon nearby immediately joined in, cheering at the top of their lungs.
"Yes, yes!"
"King Mizuki, Monodramon, oh, wait, no! Brother SkullGreymon is right!"
"It's all thanks to you that our brother can still stand here and talk to us!"
"Even though he's become a bit ugly, cough, cough! I mean, the fact that our brother could become so handsome and powerful is all thanks to King Mizuki!"
"Long live King Mizuki!"
"King Mizuki's kindness can never be repaid!!!"
"Loyalty! Absolute loyalty!"
Mizuki rubbed his temples, a deep look of helplessness washing over his face as he stared at the group of dragons kneeling and prostrating themselves in the dirt.
"You guys..." he sighed. "What are you doing? I've told you a hundred times, we don't do this whole bowing and scraping thing here."
He stepped forward, his tone softening. "I know you all view me as some sort of king, but I prefer to see you as my companions. My friends. So please, stop dropping to your knees so casually, alright?"
When they hesitated, Mizuki put his hands on his hips, feigning a scowl. "Get up! Hurry up, or I'm actually going to get angry!"
Seeing Mizuki's anger, the Digimon exchanged panicked glances and scrambled to their feet, dusting themselves off.
"Right, right! King Mizuki is right!"
"No kneeling! No kneeling! Get up, everyone, King Mizuki doesn't like it!"
Despite their words, the reverent gleam in their eyes made it painfully obvious that they hadn't truly taken his philosophy to heart. Their unspoken consensus was clear: You can treat us as companions all you want, but we will always treat you as the king to whom we owe our lives!
At that moment, another figure approached, supported by a few of his comrades. It was the Tyrannomon who had fought valiantly alongside the Monodramon earlier.
Unlike Monodramon, this dinosaur possessed a latent adaptability to darkness. Because of this, he had weathered the virus data much better. In fact, under the blessing of that very adaptability, his form had already shifted from a standard Tyrannomon into the far more menacing DarkTyrannomon.
"Congratulations, SkullGreymon," the dark dinosaur rumbled, offering a weary but genuine smile.
"Tyrannomon... no, wait. DarkTyrannomon?" SkullGreymon turned his massive skull toward his comrade. "This is all thanks to the great King Mizuki's benevolence."
"An Ultimate level..." DarkTyrannomon murmured, a dry chuckle escaping his maw. "It's truly magnificent. I won't lie, you guy... I'm really envious."
He stared up at the colossal skeletal dragon. There was a clear, unconcealable longing in DarkTyrannomon's eyes, yet it was entirely devoid of malice or jealousy. He was genuinely happy that his comrade-in-arms had survived and grown so strong, even if he wished he could reach those same heights.
"You guy..." SkullGreymon muttered, touched by his friend's sincerity.
As the two dragons conversed, Belle arrived at Mizuki's side, carrying the encrypted knowledge she had extracted from Datamon's databanks.
Mizuki accepted the data stream from Belle, his eyes flashing as he quickly processed the new information. A rough understanding of the digital mechanics formed in his mind.
A playful, almost teasing glint appeared in Mizuki's eyes as he turned his attention back to the brooding dark dinosaur.
"What's this? DarkTyrannomon, are you really that envious of SkullGreymon?" Mizuki called out, his lips curling into a sly smirk.
"Huh?!" DarkTyrannomon flinched, suddenly looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Th-this... well... I..."
Watching the normally ferocious dragon stumble over his words in sheer embarrassment, Mizuki let out a gentle laugh. Accompanied by Belle, he walked over and stopped right in front of the massive beast.
"King Mizuki?" DarkTyrannomon asked, blinking in confusion.
"Don't speak," Mizuki said softly, his voice carrying a soothing, absolute authority. "Just relax."
DarkTyrannomon's confusion slowly melted into a wide-eyed, breathless anticipation.
Mizuki reached out, pressing his hand firmly against DarkTyrannomon's dark, scaled claw.
Instantly, a blinding, familiar light erupted from his palm, engulfing the dinosaur in a roaring pillar of digital energy. The sheer force of the digivolution data spiraled into the sky, illuminating the dark network.
When the blinding radiance finally shattered and dissipated like glass, DarkTyrannomon was gone.
In his place stood a colossal, heavily mechanized behemoth, its metallic armor gleaming with terrifying power. A completely new form!
[DarkTyrannomon digivolution]
[MetalTyrannomon!]
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