Chapter 45: Say Goodnight, DanteDevimon
DanteDevimon, an Ultimate Level Digimon.
Sometimes, one had to wonder if such a transformation could even be called an "evolution." Though his power had surged to terrifying new heights, it had come at the cost of his original wisdom and intellect. Was it truly worth gaining strength by embracing madness?
No one could know what thoughts, if any, were churning within DanteDevimon's corrupted mind. But the irony was bitter. Even after sacrificing his sanity, he was still utterly suppressed—toyed with, even—by Belphemon. His desperate gambit, his deep sacrifice, now seemed ridiculous. Pathetic.
"Damn you, LadyDevimon—hehehe! Die!" he shrieked, his voice a discordant blend of rage and glee.
"So noisy," Belphemon commented, her tone laced with disdain. "Do you do anything other than scream like a madman and flail about?"
As DanteDevimon's massive claw descended, she sidestepped the clumsy attack with impossible grace. In the same fluid motion, one of her gun-blades flashed, neatly severing one of his fingers, which dissolved into a shower of corrupted data.
"How disappointing, I say—ugh."
The words slipped out before she could stop them. Realizing she had unconsciously reverted to her childhood speech habit, a faint blush crept across Belphemon's cheeks. Despite her appearance as a tall, elegant, and mature woman, she instinctively brought a hand to her mouth in a gesture of pure, unadulterated cuteness. The stark contrast between her lethal prowess and this charmingly flustered moment only deepened her allure.
Unfortunately, the only one present who could truly appreciate it was Mizuki. Tai was still just a boy, and DanteDevimon was lost to a world of mindless fury.
"La-dy-De-vi-mon!" the beast roared again, the sound grating on Belphemon's nerves and making her frown.
"Honestly, are you deaf? Can't you understand me? My name is Belphemon now, I say—Ugh!"
She had wanted this. She had wanted to prove how much she had grown with a splendid, decisive victory. She wanted Mizuki to see her in this cool, powerful new form. But DanteDevimon was proving to be a wholly unworthy opponent.
'Doesn't this make all my preparations feel wasted?' she thought with a sigh.
Her figure flickered. The multifunctional scarf around her neck unfurled, transforming into a pair of sleek, black wings. With a powerful beat, she launched herself into the air, her posture a perfect blend of grace and menace. She flew along the length of DanteDevimon's outstretched arm, closing the distance to his main body in an instant.
As she drew near, the twin guns in her hands became a blur of motion. The razor-sharp blades affixed to them began to sing, weaving a battlefield symphony written in steel and data.
"Double Claw!"
Two cold flashes of light arced through the air. With a sickening crunch of code, DanteDevimon's entire arm was severed at the shoulder.
The agony of losing a limb didn't instill fear in the maddened Digimon; it only stoked the flames of his ferocity. Roaring, he attacked with his remaining arm and the two giant claws of miasma sprouting from his back, three monstrous limbs swiping at the lone figure in the air.
But his mindless rage only served to highlight Belphemon's overwhelming strength.
She didn't even deign to look back. With her back still turned to him, she swung her gun-blades in two precise, elegant arcs. The three attacking appendages were shattered into clouds of dissipating data.
Watching her perfect, deadly dance from the ground, Tai's face was alight with admiration. "So cool, Belphemon!"
"Uh... Yagami Taichi, I can be cool too..." a dejected, rumbling voice muttered from beside him.
Hearing the jealousy in his partner's tone, Tai scratched his head awkwardly and offered a sheepish grin. "Of course, MetalGreymon! You're super cool too!"
"Um, speaking of which—" Seeing that a little praise was all it took to placate his partner, Tai quickly changed the subject. "If I remember correctly, Belphemon can shoot, right?"
"Hmm?" Mizuki, who had been captivated by the beautiful, deadly figure in the air, turned his attention to Tai and nodded. "What about it?"
"I just haven't seen her shoot much," Tai observed, recalling the battle so far. "If I'm not mistaken, she only fired a few shots at the very beginning. After that, she's been fighting with the blades on her guns the whole time."
As Tai pointed it out, Mizuki couldn't help but reflect. He had to admit, it was true. More than that, it had been her preference ever since she was LadyDevimon. Despite possessing Darkness Wave, a powerful long-range attack that could decimate a wide area, she had always preferred to charge in, dark spear in hand, and engage in brutal close-quarters combat.
The image of her, speaking in that soft, cute way with her little verbal tic, while simultaneously hacking enemies to pieces… A fond smile touched Mizuki's lips.
"What does it matter?" he said softly. "At least she's cute, isn't she?"
"Cu... cute?"
Hearing Mizuki's casual remark, Tai's eyes widened in utter confusion. He stared at Mizuki as if he'd grown a second head.
Cute?
Who?
Belphemon?
Tai's gaze shifted back to the battlefield. At that very moment, Belphemon was expertly wielding her gun-blades to sever DanteDevimon's legs at the knees. As a massive spray of data erupted from the wounds, Tai caught a glimpse of the faintly crazed, ecstatic smile on her face. She was like a black rose blooming in a field of carnage, exuding a lethal danger that was, against all logic, strangely captivating.
'This is what he calls cute?'
Tai recalled Mizuki's words again. After a long moment, he simply shook his head. A wave of pure confusion washed over him. He just didn't get it.
While Tai was trying to puzzle out Mizuki's way of thinking, the relentless assault was finally having an effect on DanteDevimon. The constant pain, the unending humiliation, began to pierce through the thick fog of his madness. A sliver of the sanity he had sacrificed began to return.
It is said that one person's joy is another's sorrow. The same holds true for Digimon. As DanteDevimon's clarity returned, the sounds of the battle, the cheers from the ground, became nothing but noise.
He didn't understand. They were both Ultimates. Why was the gap in their power so immense? Belphemon… she hadn't even used her full strength, yet she had toyed with him like a child. The crushing disparity made every ounce of effort, every sacrifice he had made, feel like a cruel joke.
A wave of intense, bitter frustration washed over him. But it changed nothing.
A crisp, metallic click echoed in the sudden silence.
Belphemon stood with one high-heeled boot planted firmly on DanteDevimon's forehead, pressing his head to the ground. She leaned forward, aiming the gun barrel concealed in the heel of that same boot directly between his eyes.
"Say goodnight, DanteDevimon."
"You—"
BANG!
A single gunshot rang out, and with it, DanteDevimon's digicore shattered into a million glittering fragments.
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