My head tilted to the side.
Guilmon's head shot up.
"Ah." I looked in the direction of the school.
"What is it?"
I pushed off the wall. "Company."
"Digimon." Guilmon said.
"A weak one." I said. "I'll go deal with him."
My head tilted to the side again.
Well, that was interesting.
"Or Rika and Renamon will. Hmm." Kind of surprised she's actually going back into battle, her Heart doesn't feel...
Eh, whatever.
"Take care of Calumon for a couple of minutes, would you?" I asked them, stepping out of Guilmon's shed. "I'll be back soon."
I made a sharp turn left, stepping out of their sights, before teleporting to the school.
And, subsequently, Vilemon's Digital Field.
Vilemon was a small -tiny, even- Champion level Digimon. Fairly weak, actually, to the point that there were a significant amount of Rookies that were stronger than the average Vilemon.
His size alone meant that he was hard to take seriously. His lack of power made it even harder.
But the little guy was still a Digimon, and that meant he could cause some serious damage if allowed.
If.
"Nightmare Shocker!"
I leaned to the side slightly, the Nightmare Shocker going straight past me, up into the air, to dissipate at the edges of the Digital Field.
"You're not very good at aiming." I told him.
He jumped in the air, wings beginning to beat. "Shut up! Demon Darts!"
He swung his claws at me, sending off little balls of energy in a rough spread at me. I leapt back, the Demon Darts falling short and hitting the ground.
That'll probably leave some craters there.
I idly noticed Rika and Renamon enter the Digital Field, standing on the opposite side of the field to Vilemon and I.
"Got you on the run now, don't I?!" Vilemon called, dropping to the ground, his back still facing Rika and Renamon.
"He's short..." Rika said to herself. Apparently not quietly enough, however, as Vilemon promptly turned in Rika's direction.
"I am not short!"
"You're less than half my size." Rika countered.
Vilemon gave a growl of frustration. "Nightmare-"
I kicked him in the side of the head before I even realised I was moving.
Good thing, too, as the Nightmare Shocker was sent wildly off course, going wide and, most importantly, far away from Rika.
I acted quickly, grabbing the Champion Digimon by the neck -Enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to choke him- before he could recover, hoisting him into the air.
"Vilemon." I began. "You have just made a very, very stupid mistake."
He tried to break free of my grip, his claws digging into my arm, but he didn't make any progress.
"Nightmare-" My other hand come up. "Shocker!"
The blast collided with my palm, exploding upon contact, accomplishing exactly nothing other than making me slightly more amused.
It was funny, see.
He thought he had a chance of living.
"See, attacking me is something I can understand. Tolerate, even. Plenty of people, Human and Digimon alike, have done so. Attacking her, on the other hand... well, let's just say that I tolerate that much less."
My hand clenched harder, and I began to choke him, mostly so he couldn't try any more Nightmare Shockers. I probably could have killed him like that if I kept at it long enough, but I didn't really consider myself that cruel.
Darkness began to gather in my hand, silent and invisible, as I prepared a spell.
"Goodbye, Vilemon. I cannot say that it was a pleasure knowing you."
I let the spell go- and watched as Vilemon's body was just about instantaneously crushed by the intense gravity, light itself warping slightly from the very, very brief spell.
What remained of Vilemon's body quickly dissipated into data, which began to float over to the other side of the field.
"What was that?"
I looked over to her, noting Rika's confused and... anxious? expression.
"Magic." I answered.
"Are you... are you mocking me?"
"No. Why would you think that?"
"Magic doesn't exist." She said, almost disdainful.
"Rika, you have an anthropomorphic fox as a partner, who is capable of creating exploding shards out of nothing, and who also comes from a different dimension entirely, where such a thing is not only common, but not even the strangest thing that can be done. You believe in all that, but you don't believe me when I tell you I can do magic?"
Rika opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
She closed it, but continued to stare at me.
"Are you sure that he's not a Digimon?"
"I am mostly certain." Renamon responded. "There is no... feeling."
"Renamon is quite right." I spoke. "I am not a Digimon."
"Then what are you? No human could do what you do. What are you hiding underneath that cloak?"
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Because I don't trust you." Ooh, cut right into my non-existent Heart, why don't you. "If you're not a Digimon, then you won't mind taking off that cloak."
"There is no logic in that sentence, but whatever."
I shifted my Darkness around, making sure that my cloak didn't move, forming a coat underneath it.
Rather reminiscent of the Anti Black Coat, actually, though minus both the glowing eyes and colours.
"You see, underneath my cloak Rika, I am actually..." She leaned forwards a little; not much, but enough to be noticeable. I took hold of my cloak's shoulder, flicking it off with a flourish. "Wearing a coat!"
She stared at me in total incomprehension.
I swept the cloak back around myself, latching it back in place.
"Were you wearing a coat underneath that heavy cloak this entire time?"
"Would it surprise you if I said yes?"
"You... are mocking me, aren't you?"
"No." I said, back to complete seriousness, standing tall again. "I am not, actually. You see, I was trying to gauge how you would react."
"What? Why?"
"Most people who go through a near death experience are invariably changed by it." I saw her flinch, but I pressed on regardless. "Though, you seem to have recovered admirably thus far."
"I..." She looked away.
"Which is good, don't get me wrong. I'm quite happy that you're recovering, especially since, the last time we met, you were barely functioning as a human being. It would certainly be a shame to see that fire in your eyes be doused."
Her face scrunched up. "What... what does that even mean?"
"You're a smart girl Rika. I'm sure you can figure it out. But if you'll excuse me, I have places to be."
I should get a top hat. Exits are a lot more classy when you have a top hat.