Chapter 11
Approaching Clashes
…..
Craniamon was by far the individual that had served the longest among those that currently held the title of Royal Knight, the thirty-fifth Craniamon to ascend as one Lord Drasil's servants. He knew he was wildly unpopular despite his age, and that many digimon detested him because he was a pragmatist instead of an idealist like many of his fellow knights. He would sacrifice the few for the many and the many for his lord without hesitation if it were for the betterment of the Digital World. It was rare that he ever acted otherwise, rare that he acted as his core told him rather than his mind.
Craniamon's armor slowly shifting the sands beneath him was the only noise that filled the empty village he now walked through, and despite his nature, there was a hollow feeling in his chest as red eyes scanned the dark windowed homes.
It had been days since the humans had scattered to the winds with his lord, and his mission had been gifted: to find and return with Ulforce Veedramon after accessing the threat level of the fleeing Chaos Gallantmon and his ally or allies.
It was rare that the pragmatic Craniamon regretted taking on a mission, his resolve was as strong as the digizoid he wore, his might granting him the strongest defenses of any digimon, and allowed him his place as Yggdrasil's most successful knight...
Yet the air within this village was draining to be within, as though poking at his very data. He could make out what had once been gardens, now empty and filled with dust. Every home was dark and cold as though they were incapable of housing any form of life now. The very sand that Craniamon walked on felt as though it might sink away and drag any weaker digimon to a doom there was no coming back from. This place felt as though it had died long before even he was born.
Yet he knew this place, one he had visited precious few times in his role as a Royal Knight, Dee-vi village, it had never been of much notice each time he had passed through. A small place that provided for itself and had no contact even with its sister village only a mile away, yet despite it all, this place was not one to turn away an outsider. Quite a few digimon here had never been able to surpass the child or even baby levels, with only a few champions and ultimates all that was here to guard them from the terrors of the Dynamo Desert around them, terrors he had not seen in his recent trek through the crags and dunes.
Craniamon's mind recalled one visit in particular from what felt a lifetime ago, when a tyrannomon that had been quite upset he hadn't been sent to quell an invading population of vilemon that was harassing their quiet town. He recalled she had been taking care of a veemon and black agumon back then, her little siblings despite their weakness. A bond that gave her the strength of will to stand up even against the far stronger leader of the vilemon, an ultimate level called Phelesmon.
When he had been a champion, would he have done the same thing? It had been something that had bothered him at the time as he slew Phelesmon and acted on her behalf, a question he had realized was irrelevant in the form of his role as Royal Knight. That tyrannomon had asked if he would return here when he finished his role as a Royal Knight, after he hunted down his true quarry, but Craniamon knew that the role of Royal Knight was one not simply given up or retired from: few Royal Knights ever died outside of battle.
It was not the first time he had delayed a primary mission to intervene in others affairs, but it was the first he had acted of his own feelings since his days before becoming Craniamon. How long ago had his visits here been now? Were that tyrannomon and her siblings victim to whatever had happened here? What were the last moments of the digimon here like, were they aware of their coming fate or were their last moments of pure horror as whatever caused this came through? The thought of those he knew falling to it, although he pushed down that sense of feeling to let duty hold strong, left a hole in his stomach. It was always worse when someone one knew was victim to something than someone you never knew at all.
Whatever happened here was not a fate he would wish on his worst foes, and to have it happen to those like her left him with feeling he had forgotten.
The feeling of failure.
Craniamon would stop by the well in the center of the empty village, slowly untying the rope that held the barely stable bucket to lower it into its dark depths, only to find that the well was just as empty as the gardens and homes around him. He would let it go quickly afterwards, the weaved threads falling to the bottom of the dead well as he slowly glanced around. He knew that there was no one here, and his pragmatist nature knew that they were all gone, that every single digital life here was worse than killed, it had been absolutely exterminated. None of those here would return as digi-eggs, none would see new lives and journeys, and worse yet, he doubted there was anyone besides himself left to remember them.
He was the worst among the Royal Knights to be left to remember someone.
The Holy Knight of Loyalty could only shove these thoughts aside and force himself to ponder what digimon was capable of not just devouring a digimons data, but the data of every digital life-sustaining object in that village. He held no doubt that either it was a weapon of the Demon Lords, or a weapon of the fallen knight he pursued.
The importance of finding Ulforce Veedramon had increased ten fold.
…...
It didn't matter if he knew they were safe, Dynasmon continued to fly at max speed until he started to feel the first signs of exhaustion. With these first signs of fatigue, he lowered himself and everyone he carried down to an area that had nothing but dirt roads, canyons, and dry grass for miles.
As he landed near a river, he groaned as the soreness from both Gundramon and Kazuchimon's attack overcame his body.
"Are you alright?" Alizee asked after she and the others were let down.
"I have been through much worse than this," He let out a hiss, "I can still move, but I will need to rest for a day." Dynasmon slowly lowered himself before he rested his back on a nearby boulder. "Are any of you harmed?"
"My leg is sore," The girl motioned to the leg that got hit during Vulgar's attacks, "but after transforming, it feels much better now."
"Sif and I are good." Victor turned over to Clive and Jordan. "What about you two?"
Jordan stayed silent and looked down as he cradled an exhausted Luna. Black used her spear to help her stand while Clive had this determined look on his face.
Out of everyone, those four had it the roughest.
"Dynasmon," Clive turned to their protector. "When that second Demon Lord Chosen appeared, you looked like you recognized that fire digimon."
The Royal Knight took notice of the determined look on Clive's face. Something about it discomforted him, but it was not enough to distract him from the pain of his fight. "His essence was unmistakable. That second Digimon was Apollomon of the Olympos Twelve."
"What!?" Sif yelled as she, Black, and Luna's eyes widened after hearing that name. "The Olympos Twelve?!"
"Who are they?" Victor asked before Dynasmon briefly described the third party of Digimon that had been equal to the Royal Knights and Demon Lords before the Demon Lords took them out first in the war. Victor quickly absorbed the explanation and started to realize something amiss. "Wait, they were killed by the Demon Lords? Then why is one of them working with the one who killed their allies?"
"I believe it is more complex than it looks. Apollomon was counted among the dead when we first received word of their demise," Dynasmon explained. When he saw confusion across the faces of his charges, he sighed, "I do not know what happened. However, I will wager that his reincarnation had something to do with the Chosen System."
"That Arshan kid," Jordan perked up, "Yeah, that digimon was a coronamon when we met him."
"I've heard the tales of digimon being chosen and granted great power, but never of a dead digimon being chosen and revived so soon after their deaths," Sif paled at the thought that one of the Olympos Twelve stood alongside the Demon Lords.
"So that's why he's so tough. His true power filtered into his earlier stages." Black winced before she forced herself to stand up straight, "Huh, I feel better about getting my butt whooped."
Clive also started to laugh, "Of course! There had to be an impossible hurdle for me to prove my greatness!" If there was one upside to having a powerful enemy, Clive's spirits lifted after hearing the hype about his opponent. "That cheater Arshan will be nothing but a footnote into my path!"
"Cheater?" Luna felt confused after hearing the word.
"Of course, he cheated! There's no way a wimp like him deserves such a powerful digimon!"
Dynasmon was unsure of that. Even among the Demon Lords and while in a broken state, the Chosen Children System paired digimon with the most compatible humans it could find. But they had digressed from the point, so Dynasmon coughed to get everyone's attention. "Be that as it may, both this Arshan and Mary have proven the Demon Lord Chosen are leagues above your current level. Had I dueled with Apollomon, I doubt I would be able to win unscathed. If you have any hope of defeating them, you will at least need the level of Ultimate." He looked over to Sif and Victor. "What did Gankoomon do to help you reach the Ultimate Level? And can it be taught to those present?"
Victor answered. "He explained that digivolution requires a "strong" heart. The stronger and purer the emotions I share with Sif, for example, the easier it would be for her to access the higher levels. Sif showed me how beautiful this world was, and it made me promise to protect it."
Sif placed a hand near her chest. "My duty to protect Digimon from the Demon Lord forces reflected Victor's sense of responsibility. Yet, Gankoomon's idea of bringing us closer together was with," the renamon paused to find the words. "Intensity is a good word. He did not like to hold back in training."
"I do recall his training with Jessmon before his ascension." Dynasmon rubbed his chin. "While I won't argue with the results, he may have gone overboard at times." He shook his head at the memory of a Savior Huckmon being forced to take multiple blows that would make even Craniamon shudder from the pressure.
"Wait, are we training now?" Jordan gasped. All were winded from their fight with the Demon Lord's Chosen.
Even Dynasmon was tired from the fighting, short as it was. "No, I suppose not. We will rest here for the night." Dynasmon turned away, leaving the others start to set up camp.
Yet, the Royal Knight did feel a creeping sensation in his mind. To think the Demon Lords would not only use one of the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors but have the strength of an Olympian digimon? He worried about the rest of the Demon Lord Chosen if two already had such prominent powerhouses under the likes of Barbamon and Beelzemon.
"This situation grows more dire with each passing day." Dynasmon sighed. "I hope Gallantmon's group fairs better than us."
…...
"I have no doubt their chosen have access to their mega levels," Breakdramon would state to the group present before him. A serious look in the titan machine's eyes as they rotated to each individual present, the bonfire the group made reflecting light off his form gently as the stars above twinkled to provide what little light they could to those below, "The presence of Exo-Grimmon only confirms that the Demon Lords are in a state to push us deep within our own territory."
Gallantmon was currently leaning against a boulder, resting after having had his wounds reopened when he had been battling Breakdramon, "So what you're saying is it's worse than Leopardmon thought?"
"By far," Breakdramon would let what he had said sink in, "If Leviamon has recruited Exo-Grimmon, what other terrors have allied with them? Who exactly are their chosen and their partners? And now that our foes clearly know of you all, how will they react to your presence? How will you all catch up to them if they now pursue you?"
"They'll probably go all out trying to exterminate us like pests," Tiamat stated to the group, "They know we have potential, but I doubt they'll give us the time to reach it."
"Our foes will certainly send their largest to ensure that our only choice is to flee, so that our partners cannot gain strength," Ysanne was sitting on her knees, Swimmon now returned to her fish bowl, "It is likely that attempting to head into our enemies territory may have been an error in my-... In Leopardmon's judgment."
"Milana Velvette," Kyou would speak up, "We have a name to start with, possibly more if you consider that she's likely..."
He would glance at Cecilia, who was staring into the bonfire, completely unaware of the conversation going on, and missed that she had been addressed. The thoughts of her sister's name being spoken as though she were an enemy weighing on her heavily.
Gallantmon seemed to recognize she wanted to be left alone and turned the conversation, "Ysanne's right. Coming this direction was a mistake, and we can only hope Dynasmon and his group made it through the south unscathed. But hear me out, I believe we can absolutely scavenge this situation by changing our direction to head straight north."
Ryu would raise a brow at Gallantmon's suggestion to go deeper in rather than turn around,"How?"
"An old... Well I wouldn't call him friend, more like old acquaintance, lives in a mountain about three hundred miles north of here," Gallantmon would shuffle, "Last I checked in with him, big guy was pretty adamant about staying neutral in our war, but he's without a doubt the best trainer I've ever known. There's a few safe zones made by some scouts we have in the territory we can stop at on the way."
Blaze would ask, "What sort of digimon is this guy that he's better than Leopardmon?"
Breakdramon would be the one to respond to Gallantmon, "I thought you had broken ties with him to respect Darkdramon's wishes."
"We all have our skeletons to hide away," Gallantmon would respond to Breakdramon, "Keeping contact with Bancho Leomon despite his... Attitude is one of mine."
Kyou would repeat Blaze's wish to know who Bancho Leomon was,"Who is he exactly?"
The Crimson Knight looked back to the duo, "Bancho Leomon is a rebel at heart. Always going on about his own justice, hasn't always gotten along with the Royal Knights, but I always counted him as reliable. Guy's saved my rear a few times in my career, I thought he might make us a hell of an army, but well... Turns out he wanted himself and his crew to stay neutral, going on about evils on both sides of the war."
Ryu would ask, "Why wouldn't he ally with you guys over digimon whose entire motif is sin?"
Gallantmon's eyes would settle on Ryu, "He was always there when it counted. For once, I don't blame him too much for wanting to stay out of this one since he doesn't have as much of a unimon in it. If it's just training though, I have no doubt he'll help you all reach higher levels."
Tiamat's eyes having been on Cecilia the whole time, and clearly wanting to address the elephant in the room, would re-divert back to the earlier topic, "Okay. I got to say something, cause I know its on all of your minds too. Cecilia!"
The teenage girl would jolt to look at Tiamat, who's stare was menacing as she continued to speak, "Tell us about your sister, everything. Her skills, her tastes, her size, everything! If she's one of them, then we can't hesitate in the slightest to be ready for her and to take her down."
"That's not fair!" Avani would bounce between her chosen and Tiamat, Lancelot now looming behind his partner like a defensive spirit as Avani spoke for them, "She hasn't seen her sister in years! All she remembers is how much she loves her!"
"Even then!" Tiamat would retort, "She can't have turned into an entirely different person in just a few years! If she is the enemy than we're gonna have to deal with her and her partner sooner or later!"
"W-we don't know if its her," Cecilia responded quietly, "I-it could be another Milana Velvette. A coincidence..."
"I doubt it," Breakdramon would add while getting a glare from Avani, "The subconscious will of Lord Drasil may have chosen you to counter your sister."
This seemed to shake her further as Breakdramon spoke, "To counter... To counter Milana?"
"There you have it, now tell us-"
"Tiamat," Ryu's voice would stop his aggressive partner, the black guilmon looking to see his usually relaxed self giving her a glare to which she slumped slightly under his gaze.
"Fine, but it needs to be addressed eventually."
Gallantmon would give an unexpected response however, "She is right. We do need to address it eventually, be it sooner or later. It might give us the insight we need to turn her tactics on her."
Cecilia would mumble, "... But she's always been better than me..."
Tiamat would wave weakly at Gallantmon as though the Crimson Knight were proving her point.
Kyou would cross his arms and seeing Cecilia's strained state pulled a chord in his burning soul as he spoke for her, "And that later can always be tomorrow. This is clearly not the subject to converse over right now."
Blaze would back him, "He's right. If I found out someone I'd known for a long time was on the enemy team, much less what humans call family, that would could be hurtful at least, world shattering at the worst."
Avani would smile at Kyou and Blaze in thankfulness, even as Cecilia quietly mumbled something to herself.
Gallantmon would then stand, "You all should go to sleep then. Me and Breakdramon will keep watch for anything while you all rest."
"That would... probably be best," Kyou would respond despite not really feeling tired in the slightest, his brain still on the high from their earlier close encounter.
The rest of the group would merely nod in affirmation, no more words would be exchanged as everyone began to shuffle places to find where to best rest.
…...
Aurelia would sigh as she waited by the edge of the Equinox legion camp, the legion led by Lilithmon. The young girl was bored out of her mind to say the least and was bothered by not being out securing the world from those horrid Royal Knights like the rest of her companions, having been told to sit and wait with one of the major camps led by the commanding digimon known as the King of Bugs, who had sent out scouting parties to survey this area. The only other chosen who wouldn't be deep in battle right now was Milana, and even then she had one of the most important roles among the Demon Lords legions as Lucemon's greatest strategist, which meant she probably devising some great plan even as she sat and waited.
Alph was currently handling some of the more boring work related to the legion's logistics deeper within the camp, and she was well within the view of the various insect and plant digimon that filled the core of the King of Bug's portion of the legion, as she had been asked not to wander off. She wasn't one to cause too much trouble, or at least she tried to be, even as her curiosity guided her and did sometimes cause what she saw as controllable problems.
A deep frown found its way onto her face as she muttered to herself, "I'm one of the chosen too, I shouldn't have you fighting for me, Lilithmon..."
"Upset that she won't throw you to the front, Aura?"
The girl nearly jumped out of her skin at the older but familiar voice of another of the Demon Lord's chosen. Arthur Evans stood a slight bit back to her right, standing casually as he looked out to the star ridden horizon with Aurelia. How long had he been standing right next to her, completely unnoticed like her own shadow?
Several questions passed through her inquisitive mind, but the most important came out by its own will, "Aren't you supposed to be in the far south?"
"You know me, boss goes to sleep, I like to see things while he is."
The truth was the opposite, out of all the chosen in the Demon Lord's arms, Arthur was the one that Aura had spent the least amount of time with, not to mention the way his height towered over her put on her on edge. He seemed harmless and relaxed no matter the situation, but Aura had taken to detailing the only other humans she had been with over the past few months, of which she had been the second to arrive. Arthur didn't seem the type to be malicious, but there was this feeling around him that he didn't want the war they were fighting to end, but for what reason was still beyond the thirteen year old. It wasn't enough to make her not trust him, but...
Arthur didn't seem to mind her staring him up and down, instead stating, "You'll get the chance to fight again soon. There's a reason the tyrant's whole part of the legion is scouting this area."
Aura's curiosity fired up immediately, "Arshan and the Hagith legion completely cleared this area didn't they?"
"Everyone makes mistakes, kid," Arthur calling her kid was clearly not meant to offend, but it still rubbed her the wrong way as he kept speaking, "They just happened to miss a rebel cell with something very important to the bosses cause."
Aurelia would look to the horizon where Arthur was watching before answering with a bit of snark at how vague Arthur was being, "Do you like being mystical or do you not have the details?"
"Right, straight to the point, huh?" Arthur rolled his shoulders, to which Aura flinched out of some instinctual reason, something that caused the man to raise a brow for a moment before continuing, "They say its the Spirits of Ice leading a guerrilla squadron against us."
Aura took the time to consider this, in particular that she was fairly certain that the spirits of ice were in the royal knight's possession, "Then this means that the Royal Knights were never driven out of the region?"
"It would seem the bad biker's gotten too comfortable with direct conflict on large battlefields. My intel says there's more than one of these groups running around as well."
"With the other spirits?"
"Dunno, only one I know about is the one the bugs are after."
There were a line of questions Aura wanted to ask now, both a curiosity to know her foes and the desire to help her allies active in her heart with this information.
Had the Royal Knights found the digimon that would inherit the spirits they had found?
How many guerrilla groups had been missed in their rushed take over of Royal Knight territory?
Or perhaps she should ask, where had Arthur gotten this information to begin with, when the massive swarms of the King of Bugs hadn't found anything on them yet?
She was opening her mouth to ask this when a loud buzz filled the air, the hum of dozens of massive bug digimon. It didn't take much however to notice that every single one of them was in a panic, frenzied by some unknown terror to the point they were scrambling both across the landscape and sky to inform their brethren of some unknown development.
Arthur would suddenly grab Aurelia's arm and pull, the sudden force almost had her pull back on instinct only for a kuwagamon to crash land right next to where she had been. The massive red beetle digimon would look over, clearly under duress as it roared, "The enemy humans have allied with a shadow!"
Arthur would raise a brow at the title "shadow" but Aurelia would note the first thing he had said as she processed what that news meant.
She would get the first chance to take their foes down! Foes that she and Alph could definitely take on and were the biggest threat to the digital world at the moment! This was a chance she had been waiting for!
In her head, Aura could already see how she was gonna convince the tyrant to take her along on this new development, a ready smile at proving she and Alpha were more than capable on their own finding its way on her face.
…...
It was morning again when Dynasmon's group had breakfast. Or rather, they searched for breakfast. Although they were near water, they could find no traces of food nearby. Eventually resulting in the group splitting up to cover more ground.
Sif walked with Victor, who took a few seconds to sit and take in deep breaths.
"Are you better now?" The Renamon asked.
"Yeah. It's calming down now." Victor put his hand down from his chest. "I wasn't expecting it to get much worse during our run-in with the Demon Lord's Chosen."
"Are you sure you're alright, Victor? If this happened after I evolved into Ultimate, wouldn't that mean if I stayed as one long, or that when we reach Mega, you'll..." Sif made a worried expression as she trailed off.
"I've lived with it for a while; it'll calm down." Victor stood back up. "Still, we've got a long way to go. I knew we were behind in terms of power, but seeing how wide the gap is, even with us reaching Ultimate, is pretty daunting."
Sif nodded. Mary made her skin crawl and her heart ache. She didn't know much about the other one, only that he seemed scared to face them even with a mega.
She put her thoughts aside for now. "I'll see if I can get you some water from the nearby stream. Don't stress yourself too much."
As the renamon made her way towards the stream, she noticed a lone figure staring out into the water. Jordan brooded near the water with Luna sitting nearby, twiddling her thumbs but looking up every once in a while.
Sif fought the urge to sigh. The rookie-level digimon recalled Jordan's episode before he agreed to join the knights. That whole time, Luna stayed with Avani and Cecilia while the young teen calmed down. Seeing as they were separated from the other two, Luna and Jordan looked worse off than before.
However, Sif was a caretaker before she was a warrior. A small idea came to her mind before she rushed back to Victor after taking some water with the help of carved tree bark.
"Victor, can we go talk to Jordan and Luna?" Sif gave him the drink.
"Why?" Victor was confused but drank some of the water.
"Trust me," She said as she pulled on his arm. The dirty blonde-haired man figured it had to do with Sif's time as a guardian. In other words, even digimon could have motherly instincts.
As Victor saw Jordan, a part of him started to get apprehensive. "I don't really know what you want me to say, Sif. I... let's just say I only know a bad example of how to be a father. I don't think I can do what you want me to."
"You'd be surprised, Victor," Sif gave a nostalgic smile, "sometimes, you just have to lend an ear and be there."
When the two reached over to Jordan and Luna, the younger pair looked over at the older pair.
"Luna," Sif talked in a gentle tone, "please help me search north of this river. We might find more luck with food there."
Luna looked over to Jordan for a second before nodding and going with the digimon.
Victor rubbed his head as the two digimon left. He knew what Sif wanted of him, but this was ridiculous. It didn't stop him from walking to the youngest of their group. "You okay?"
"..." Jordan looked back out to the stream.
Victor forgot that Jordan seemed apprehensive toward the Royal Knights. He also didn't expect him to be like that to others too. The taller man wished Sif was here again.
"You... did well..." Victor found himself saying. "I mean- good job getting Clive and you out of there."
"We were lucky." Victor looked back at Jordan as he stared at the stream. "They were holding back the entire time. We didn't even damage that digimon; all we did was put him to sleep."
"Hey, that's still pretty good."
Jordan stood up faster than Victor prepared for. "You don't get it! We were toys to them! The only reason why we're still alive is because our enemy had a sense of honor and was an idiot while his partner was just as scared as we were! At any moment, if they were even a little more serious, Luna and Black would have been burnt to ash, and we would have been killed or worse! And we have to beat those guys who can already take on the Royal Knights?!"
Victor noticed something. Jordan sounded angry and frustrated as he screamed this. Now that he thought about it: they were indeed lucky with their opponents. Had Alizee and Victor fought Arshan and Coro, Victor imagined Coro taking the fight with Sif seriously enough to be an actual threat. Combine that with the Arshan kid's ability to be as cunning as Clive in plans and tactics with his and Sif's time limit, they'd lose a battle of attrition. Similarly, if it was Clive and Jordan against Mary and Vulgar... best not finish that thought.
"Look, we're still here. It's not all bad."
"But it's going to get worse! Dang it!" Jordan cursed before he looked away. "We're going to die here!"
"We're not going to die here," Victor responded.
"What?" Jordan turned back to the older Chosen.
"I know things look bad. Even now, they look worse than they ever have," Victor thought about his past. As past trauma started to rise, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down, "But we can always move on and survive. I surprised myself and survived some pretty crazy stuff."
"This is different!" Jordan yelled as he threw out his hand. "We're being asked to fight in a war we don't understand!"
"Then we should try our hardest to understand it. Look, Jordan, I'm not going to lie and say everything is fine when it's really not. But believe me when I say that we're stronger than we think. You did good with what you have, and I'm grateful for that." Victor did a quick laugh. "You know, you kinda remind me of me."
The teen with goggles gaped at the thought that he could be anything like Victor. "W-What? M-Me?"
"Yeah," Victor nodded his head. "You said that you would have lost in any other situation, but here you are despite all those facts. I kinda went through something like that, but you? You did it better than I did."
Victor answered with a tone that calmed Jordan's frustration. Jordan couldn't understand how Victor could... believe in such a thing when the facts were staring them in the face. But to be honest? Jordan found it... Slightly calming that someone still believed they could win this.
"Victor," Jordan didn't realize he was starting to speak. "How can you still think we can win this?"
"...Well, to be frank, I actually don't," He walked up and put a hand on Jordan's shoulder. Victor smiled as he looked into Jordan's eyes, "but I've been given a reason why I should fight. And we've promised to do all we can to protect all of you."
Jordan could only stare in disbelief at the older chosen.
"Victor! Jordan!" The two humans turned to see their partners hurrying over to them.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Victor asked as he and Jordan walked to the two digimon.
At first, they thought they were being attacked, but Luna looked up with a smile and pointed in the direction they came from, "There's a town nearby!"
Dynasmon's team knew that they were in Demon Lord Territory, but it didn't change how their stomachs continued to grumble in pain. Dynasmon himself was fit enough to travel again but took this opportunity to rest a little longer. If things did go south, he would need to be as close to full power, if not reach it, as he possibly could. And he could always save them from any non-mega threat.
So, that left the team of seven to visit the place for themselves.
As they went closer to the city, it didn't take long for them to see it looked more like a town one would see in an Old American Western. Wooden houses, dust roads, and to really sell it: Digimon wore vests, ten-gallon hats, and those that could wore spiked shoes.
"Hello there, strangers!" While everyone was looking away, a small green digimon with plant-like limbs, two bulb-like green eyes, a wide smile and wearing a pink hat with white straps hanging loose greeted the Royal Knight Chosen, flower petals could be slightly seen from the edges of the hat, "Welcome to Vaquero Town! I'm Palmon! Ya'll look like ya woke up on the sorry side of a bullmon!"
The chosen looked at each other. After their encounter with Mary and Arshan, they looked more roughed up than they thought.
"Now, don't sweat it! Ya ain't gotta tell me what sob story ya'll went through. Refugees are common around these parts, with the fighting reaching Royal Knight Territory. Ya'll came in the right time; we just got a new shipment of supplies! I'm sure there's enough for you folks too."
For once, a stroke of luck. It looked like no one recognized them as humans, and they came across a town willing to give them supplies. To the chosen, they were glad that this town was spared from the warpath of the Demon Lords.
"Food sounds so good right now," Luna sighed as she and the rest started to follow Palmon.
Vaquero Town was a much-needed decompress for Dynasmon's team. The humans felt like they were in a movie while enjoying sights such as centarumons doubling as both a horse and a cowboy while a snow agumon had his bridges on too tight and made a silly, exaggerated walk.
Then they walked up to the town saloon, where they heard the sound of a piano tune. Palmon opened the creaky doors, and the smell of cyber cigars hit the noses of everyone. Palmon went straight to the bar where a plump yellow digimon clearly made mostly of roots used his tendrils to clean multiple glasses. His beak-like mouth blended well with his yellow-green flesh as slitted red eyes focused on his task, red and blue petals on his head twitching with a non-existent breeze.
Palmon would address the working digimon to get his attention, "How ya doing, Vegimon?"
"Palmon!" The champion digimon's odd beak formed a broad smile as it showed several sharp teeth ash looked to the rookie before he then spotted the group behind the rookie, "And newcomers too! Well, how about we give you guys the Vaquero signature hello? First drink here is on the house!"
Clive, Alizee, and Victor turned to each other for a split second before racing to an empty seat.
"Guys?" Jordan raised his brow.
"Uh-uh!" Clive put his hand out, "You're too young for this. Go and help Palmon with supplies."
Jordan was about to argue until Vegimon placed three mugs in front of the older chosen. The youngest decided to follow Palmon when he saw what looked like synchronized chugging.
Alizee finished her drink first, "That. That felt good."
"I haven't had a good drink in what feels like forever," Victor then looked to Vegimon, "Thanks."
"Hey, we've got a steady set of supplies coming our way. It's the least we can do to pay it forward by helping those like yourselves," Vegimon took the mugs of those that finished.
Sif exhaled as she felt like she could relax here, "I am rather envious of this town, so far from the war that even the Demon Lords wouldn't stop by here."
Vegimon stilled in a way that caught the attention of those in the seats. He turned to them with a confused look, "That's an odd thing to say. You fellas don't know?"
Black had this feeling rising in her chest that made her feel sick, "Know what exactly?"
Before he could respond, everyone heard a shout that boomed across the building, perhaps even the town.
"XROS UP BALLISTAMON, I'M CALLIN' YOU OUT!"
"It's happenin!" Vegimon placed his glasses safely before he and the other Digimon bolted through the doors while others ran to the windows. Soon, the rest of the team spotted Palmon running out, leaving behind a confused Jordan and Luna.
"What's going on?" Black asked before the rest of them also made their way out of the saloon.
Clive was the first to speak up as he saw what captured everyone else's attention. "Huh, this place was missing a standoff."
The busy town now became deathly silent. On one end of the road was a digimon clad in black armor that vaguely resembled a rabbit. Great mechanical ears jutted from the side of his head, ending in points of red as a cowboy hat as dark as his armor balanced with the horn on his forehead. His arms clearled ended in cannons with three red finger-like prongs, and his super skinny abdomen looked a little odd in balance with the orb from that constituted his hips. Within his helmet, two yellow eyes held a fierce look at his opponent.
"Guys," Victor's eyes widened as he whispered to the group, "Look at the symbols on that Digimon's shoulders."
The rest saw the odd but familiar symbols on the shoulder pads of the black Digimon.
Clive remembered those symbols. He ingrained them into his mind when he fought against the generals of that legion, "One of insignia's for the demon lords legions."
Before anyone else could react, they heard the sound of heavy boot clinking and saw a rather ridicolous looking digimon walking out to face the Demon Lord Digimon. He looked almost like a toy, his blocky red and blue torso adorned with a red cape, only for what was clearly a revolver barrel to emerge. From his shoulder pads emerged two more barrels that looked more like the heads of grenade launchers than of the revolver on its torso. His heavy boots clicked as a cowboy hat fluttered slightly with the wind, empty yellow orbs staring the black digimon down. It was clear which of the two was Xros Up Ballistamon now.
"Black Rapidmon," The XU Ballistamon narrowed his eyes as the wind blew a dust ball between the two, "This town ain't big enough for the both of us."
Clive made a note before the silence resumed, "He even said the line..."
Everyone stayed still as both digimon lowered their gun arms. Everyone in Vaquero Town watched with bated breath as the two stared down at one another.
Then, like lightning—
The two called out their attacks.
Or at least, one of them tried to. The one with a quicker draw launched their attack first and caused a small explosion on the loser.
As the dust settled, the one down was none other than XU Ballistamon.
Black Rapidmon lifted his right hand to blow the smoke out before silence filled the town.
The chosen were horrified. A Demon Lord Digimon had just defeated the sheriff of the town! Did they have to all evolve and fight the Ultimate—
"YAY! WAY TO GO, SHERIFF RAPIDMON!" Like a dam about to break, the town started to party, throw their hats up, and whistle when the Demon Lord Digimon won?
It took a second for outsiders to realize that everyone was cheering for the black digimon. But they couldn't process why anyone would root for the bad guys like this. Then, their minds started to point toward the fact that said Demon Lord Digimon was the town sheriff.
Sheriff? As in, town protector? That was never a word that one would associate with the Demon Lords.
However, the stunned chosen watched the ultimate digimon walk up to the downed XU Ballistamon.
"You're getting better there, XU." The black Digimon helped up the fused Digimon.
"Doggone it! I thought I had ya there that time, Sheriff!"
"Maybe next time," The black digimon turned towards the direction of Dynasmon's charges. They all flinched under his— "Hey, Vegimon! Mind helping me lug this guy to Darcmon's place?"
They all relaxed as it looked like the ultimate didn't recognize them. However, they all stayed there in stunned disbelief as everyone else started to return to normalcy.
"What just happened?" Alizee finally asked.
"Guys?" Black's voice made everyone look in her direction. "Did anyone notice the banners around the Sheriff's Department?"
They followed where she was looking, and there they saw it: a building that proudly wore banners of the Hagith Legion. Next to it was a giant sign that read, "Welcome to Vaquero Town, founded by the Hagith Legion's very own Beelzemon!"
Beelzemon.
The Demon Lord they just escaped and had caused so much destruction and suffering... created a town that looked peaceful and even... fun?
"Isn't he great?" Everyone turned to a happy Palmon. "Black Rapidmon is a Captain of the Hagith Legion! With him around, no Royal Knight force would dare set foot in this town!" Her eyes widened. "Oh, silly me! You fellas need your supplies, right?"
Without another word, she left the chosen in their still stupefied state.
A few more seconds passed before Alizee was the first to find her voice.
"I want another drink."
…..
The page turned, but Katarina could not hear it over the sound of pacing footsteps.
"Where did I put it? I swore I organized this a while ago." Milana's voice interrupted the narration of Katarina's mind.
The sounds of her senior finally made the Chosen of Leviamon put her book down, "Milana, what are you doing?"
"Apologies, I misplaced a specific document that I need... Ah. Here it is. I'll need to tell the clerks not to move documents as much as possible."
More often than not, Katarina would have simply gone back to reading her book after hearing the problem was solved, yet, Katarina spotted the paper that Milana grabbed. It wasn't a document or a conventional one, for that matter.
Documents don't have elaborate designs with a large contact number on them.
Her curiosity rose as she put the book down, causing Lily to look over at her partner, "What's that?"
Milana took a second to consider her answer, "It's a contact number for a certain mercenary corporation. I have a job for them in mind: to capture the Royal Knight Humans."
"Why hire mercenaries? Don't we have Digimon just as good in the legions? And why are we using them to get the humans? Can't we handle them?"
"Multiple reasons. We need all our forces. Despite our numerical advantage, we're stretched thin both defending and conquering. Having another specialized force helps us narrow down our capabilities. As for why I want them and not us to handle it... well. I trust you're smart enough to figure it out."
Without another word, Milana started to place a call. The room dimmed before a screen showed the leader of the Mercenary Guild.
Milana stood up straight as she addressed who appeared on screen, "Hello, Zeke Greymon."
"Milana," The Golden Digimon answered before glancing behind him, "I take it this call means you wish to hire my services?"
"Indeed. I have a job specifically for you and your mercenaries in mind. The Demon Lord Army will pay handsomely as usual."
"I'm afraid that I cannot accept," Zeke Greymon's words made Katarina balk in surprise. She couldn't recall the last time anyone refused Milana. The eldest of the Chosen held a neutral face before the Mega continued, "Because I am currently in the middle of a contract. However, several of those I trust in my inner circle are still available for this request. I believe Vulturemon would eagerly accept if it involves the Hagith Legion once more."
"It doesn't, at least not directly."
Before Milana could speak another word, a muffled but loud explosion went off in Zeke Greymon's background.
"I suppose your other contract is making their move," Milana fought the urge to smirk as the guild master remained silent.
"How many do you need?"
"I need eight of your best. Seven if Vulturemon is still able."
"Then I will send you their contacts," That was all the golden Digimon said before abruptly ending the call.
As the call ended, Milana put a hand on her chin. "That is odd."
"What is?" Katarina asked as data streamed from presumably the mercenary leader's area.
"Zeke Greymon is a renowned Mercenary. He is battle-tested to the point he could likely take on anyone among the Royal Knights and Demon Lords and have a reasonable chance of coming out on top. As such, he is also the most expensive bounty hunter available for hire in the Digital World."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Lily asked as she tilted her head.
"I think," Kat spoke up, "You're wondering who is rich enough to hire ZekeGreymon? Aren't there plenty of rich digimon?"
"There are, but most are either neutral or within our fold, so it wouldn't make sense for most of them to hire a bounty hunter when they're not fighting or threatened. If it was the worst option and he was hired by the Royal Knights, our scouts should have picked up... bah. It might be nothing but an odd feeling." Milina mused. She supposed that it wasn't too far-fetched that mercenaries would be used during a time of war even by neutral factions.
As Milana went over the list of mercenaries chosen by Zeke Greymon, her contact device received another ring.
"Ah? How serendipitous. I was just thinking about him," Katarina raised her brow before she turned back to the screen. Milana answered the call, "Hello, Arshan."
"U-Uh... uh- H-Hey, Milana...? C-Crazy Weather we're having, huh? And I-I see Katarina's there. I thought she'd be with Leviamon."
Katarina felt indifferent towards the last of the Demon Lord Chosen. However, she knew enough about the skittish teen that whenever he started to stammer, something was wrong.
If Katarina knew this, Milana spotted what was wrong immediately, "Arshan, Katarina is here because she didn't want to be out at sea throughout Leviamon's campaign. But, more importantly: where's Mary? You two should have made this report together."
Arshan explained his situation.
Or he would have if he stopped stumbling on every word that tried to come out of his mouth.
Thankfully, or not, Coro was never far from his partner. His voice came from outside the screen, "Come on, tell her that Barbamon withdrew his legion from the front lines to chase after Dynasmon and the other humans!"
Milana felt her blood-pressure spike, "HE WHAT!?"
At that moment, Arshan flinched. But to his credit, he wasn't the only one who did that. Coro, Lily, Katarina, and even Milana's bodyguards outside the office, Percival and Gawain, took a step back in surprise.
"Barbamon withdrew an entire third of our front-line force against the Royal Knights just for one Mega and a few humans!? I can't believe he would... No! He would! Curse him!" Milana was furious to hear such a tactical blunder. She inwardly cursed Barbamon for his blinding greed before forcibly calming herself down. "Arshan, you and Beelzemon will need to slow down your advance. Stay camped for another week. I'll send in some reinforcements from Lord Lucemon's legion to fill in the gaps."
Milana loathed how her plans just took a massive blow from her 'allies'! It shouldn't have been much of a surprise, but oh did it so make her so very livid all the same.
"O-Okay. I-I'll tell BZ and Kazuchimon about this. ... Sorry..."
Arshan closed the call. Yet, Milana moved with purpose to change the screen back to the numbers Zeke Greymon gave her.
"I don't understand," Katarina found herself watching Milana focus intently on the list of digimon, "The Hagith Legion is still pretty big on its own. And why is Barbamon going after the Chosen a bad thing when you were going to do it with Bounty Hunters?"
Milana answered without looking away, "The Hagith Legion may have the numbers advantage, but it doesn't mean anything to the unique defenses the Royal Knights set up to protect Yggdrasil. But the crux of this problem is Barbamon. By chasing after the Chosen, he's putting them in a situation of extreme stress. That will far more than likely create scenarios that will force our rivals to reach Ultimate then Mega levels sooner rather than later. My original plan was to use bounty hunters to kidnap the humans away from their partners and render them useless for the rest of the war. They were supposed to do this subtly, but now our enemies are going to be expecting danger at every corner."
Katarina understood the situation. However, she recalled another important fact that didn't come up.
"Hey, wait a second. Wasn't Aura supposed to call first before Arshan?"