"So that's how it is… I see now…"
In that pure-white flash of brilliance—so overwhelming it seemed to fill every corner of vision—the super-giant demon appeared to "understand" something at the very end.
"…I didn't lose to you. Rather, I lost to countless bits of garbage… these tiny, trivial sparks you call 'hope'?"
Utterly laughable. Yet why did this absurd joke become an unshakeable reality?
"To think… even someone like me would be reduced to light now. Haha, how truly…"
The super-giant demon's enormous body fractured into hundreds of cracks, radiant beams of light erupting violently from each fissure. At the very end, it could only unleash one final, anguished roar of unwillingness—
"…This is absurd!!!"
The surging brilliance completely tore apart the demon's body. Within that overwhelming light, a pitch-black DigiCore could be seen trembling slightly.
Then, with a clear, sharp sound, the DigiCore shattered completely, mixing with the torrent of enormous, surging data that flooded toward Zero and Hajime.
"!"
They clearly understood: this was Devimon's data—the terrifying power of a super-giant demon whose strength rivaled or even surpassed ordinary Ultimate-level Digimon.
Even if data absorption wasn't perfectly efficient, with a significant degree of packet-loss inevitable during data transfer, even absorbing just a tenth of that massive data volume would still be astonishing.
Zero and Hajime absorbed nearly sixty percent of the data flood, while the remaining forty percent was shared among all the Digimon who'd participated in the battle.
In a sense, Devimon had truly been "divided and devoured" by the very Digimon it once oppressed. It could be called karmic justice.
The dark clouds enveloping File Island dispersed completely, replaced by crystal-clear skies without a single cloud in sight. Zero and Hajime looked up into that flawless, spotless sky—then wobbled slightly, dropping headfirst from the air.
"Zero, Hajime!"
Rina swiftly dashed forward, skillfully catching the two who had reverted to their Rookie forms—one in each hand. Zero sighed deeply, then smiled toward Hajime beside him.
"Well, your wish finally came true. You avenged your friend with your own hands~"
Hajime paused quietly before breaking into a bright smile. "…Yeah. Thank you, Zero!"
Rina glanced around. The Digimon who had gathered for the battle had already started to disperse.
But what really left her speechless was how many of these Digimon, who just a moment ago fought side-by-side to topple Devimon, had already started to tear into each other the instant Devimon fell.
"Ahaha… although it's not like I don't get it at all, this feels… just way too realistic~"
After all, Devimon had posed a threat to the entirety of File Island. Faced with such a powerful enemy, not uniting meant getting picked off individually, mind-controlled and brainwashed, reduced to helpless fodder. It was natural for Digimon to band together out of mutual resistance.
But now that the greatest threat was gone, all sorts of petty grudges and conflicts that had previously been suppressed naturally resurfaced. Thus, the Digimon who'd just put aside their differences to face a common enemy immediately began settling old scores once again.
So…
"…By defeating that demon, did we really make File Island better?"
Facing Rina's soul-searching question, Zero answered calmly with a faint smile.
"For now, who knows? Perhaps in the end, nothing really changed at all. Perhaps someday another powerful demon will appear, attempting to dominate File Island again. But at least one thing is certain…"
Zero's smile faded as he answered seriously.
"…Because of this experience, the Digimon who fought today will at least know one truth: there is no enemy, no dictator, who cannot be overthrown. Anyone who tries to take Devimon's place in the future must realize that clearly in advance."
People neither should nor would fear dictators. Their fates must always rest in their own hands. Next time, when another powerful Digimon tries to replicate Devimon's actions, it would surely carry at least a hint of caution and respect.
Forming factions based on one's own strength to carve out a territory was not the issue. The problem was that Devimon had never treated the Digimon it dominated as equals, nor shown them any respect.
Without respect for the people, a ruler was merely a tyrant waiting to be overthrown. If Devimon had instead used its great strength to shelter and protect the weaker Digimon—becoming an embodiment of order—then even if it had dominated File Island in reality, most Digimon wouldn't have thought of overthrowing it.
Just like Lucemon once had done… actually, now that he thought about it, this scenario was nearly identical to Lucemon's. Truly, nothing new ever occurs beneath the sun.
"In short, as long as the next Digimon who tries to dominate File Island clearly recognizes this fact, respects the opinions of weaker Digimon, and refrains from harsh dictatorship, then our actions today will have truly changed things. Besides…"
…Besides, at the start, Zero's real motivation for fighting Devimon was merely to allow himself a better chance at growth. With Devimon alive, no Digimon on File Island could ever truly rise above.
Now at least that goal was completely achieved. As for everything else, whatever would be, would be. Zero wasn't yet strong enough to fundamentally change the balance of power in a whole territory. Some things were better left to the real big-shots.
"Well, then—what should we do next?"
Devimon had fallen, so the next move was now the main issue. But Zero quickly set a new goal.
"…Server Continent. After all, we can't just keep Rina in the Digital World forever, right?"
Just as Zero said, Rina belonged to the Real World. She couldn't remain indefinitely in the Digital World. Currently, the most direct route Zero knew to return to the Real World was the portal in Myotismon's castle on Server Continent.
That gateway definitely connected straight to the Real World, and theoretically, as long as they could control it, traveling freely between both worlds would become possible.
"Rina's been helping us all this time. Now it's our turn to help her. What do you say, Hajime?"
Zero, as Rina's Digimon partner, would naturally accompany her. Hajime's initial reason for joining Zero had been to seek revenge by obtaining power.
Now that revenge had been achieved, theoretically, her wish was fulfilled.
However, Hajime didn't hesitate at all, responding immediately:
"…Please let me stay with you and Rina. We're… partners, aren't we?"
Zero and Rina immediately broke into gentle laughter. Rina opened her arms wide and warmly hugged the two of them close. Zero replied, his voice muffled against her embrace:
"Yeah… then please continue to take care of us, Hajime~"
As soon as the words fell from his mouth, the ruins of Devimon's castle suddenly shook twice, before a white beam of light rose up from within the wreckage, revealing a shadowy figure emerging…
---
T/N: LEOMON?? i was about to say what about leomon bro
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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