Chapter 90: One Code At A Time
The boundless sea of sand stretched outward, its golden dunes shifting under the heavy, bruised hues of the setting sun.
Atop the highest crest sat two figures of completely mismatched size and power: the towering, heavily armed MetalGreymon, and the small, rotund Drimogemon. Despite the sheer difference in their levels, they presented a strangely peaceful picture against the twilight horizon.
"Hey... Big Brother MetalGreymon."
"...Hmm?"
Hearing the squeaky voice beside him, MetalGreymon stopped the rhythmic swaying of his massive, cybernetic tail. He lowered his heavy, metal-plated head to look at the furry creature sitting near his foot.
Drimogemon stared out at the fading sun. His whiskers drooped. His eyes held the hollow, thousand-yard stare of someone who had seen entirely too much of the mortal world.
"Tell me," Drimogemon muttered, his voice heavy with melancholy. "Is digging really something worth dedicating my life to?"
"..."
MetalGreymon fell silent. The question triggered a very specific, very chaotic memory from just a few hours prior.
It had not been long since MetalGreymon had given the little mole a rousing pep talk, successfully reigniting Drimogemon's passion for excavation. Filled with renewed confidence, Drimogemon had proudly declared that he could handle the underground scouting all by himself. He had dove into the earth, his drill spinning furiously.
Ten minutes later, a muffled, mournful shriek echoed from the freshly dug tunnel.
"Bad luck! Bad luck! Terrible luck!"
As it turned out, Drimogemon had tunneled directly into the hidden subterranean vault where Datamon had previously stored the core of the Dark Network. The spinning drill had coincidentally struck the exact sequence needed to activate the dormant, corrupted cables buried in the bedrock.
If not for LadyDevimon, who had been standing guard nearby, the situation would have ended in disaster. Hearing the panicked screams, she had reacted instantly, plunging her elongated claws into the earth and yanking Drimogemon out by the scruff of his neck just a split second before the surging black miasma of the Dark Network could swallow him whole.
"..."
MetalGreymon mentally reviewed the little mole's track record.
First, Drimogemon dug a hole and accidentally uncovered Devimon's deepest secret, resulting in him being mind-controlled. Then, he dug straight into a pressurized pocket of groundwater, nearly drowning, before pivoting directly into a magma vein and nearly boiling alive. After finally getting his bearings and digging in the correct direction, he popped his head out of the dirt only to find himself completely surrounded by a hostile pack of towering MetalGreymon (Virus).
And today, he had managed to strike the exact volatile remnants of Datamon's Dark Network.
Was this furry little fellow cursed by the Digital World itself?
The memory faded. MetalGreymon looked down at Drimogemon, who was still staring blankly at the horizon, completely lost in his existential crisis. The giant cyborg dinosaur racked his brain, searching for the right words.
"Actually, you aren't really unlucky," MetalGreymon rumbled, his deep voice vibrating through the sand. "Although your process is... full of twists and turns, the results are always good, aren't they?"
He gestured with his organic claw. "Take today, for example. You dug straight into the Dark Network and almost lost your life. But look at you! You are sitting right here, perfectly fine. Not only did you uncover the exact coordinates Datamon tried to hide, but you did not suffer a single scratch."
MetalGreymon nodded to himself, pleased with his own logic. "Looking at it from that angle, your luck is incredible. Perhaps this is the unique blessing that digging brings."
"I know... I know that..." Drimogemon groaned, lifting his chubby paws to cover his face. "But knowing that just makes me more confused!"
He dragged his paws down his snout, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. "If it were just good luck, I would be thrilled. But every single stroke of luck comes packaged with a near-death experience! All I want is a quiet, peaceful life. I do not even know if this counts as good luck anymore."
As Drimogemon continued his muffled complaining, MetalGreymon's auditory sensors twitched. He picked up the sound of approaching footsteps and a familiar, steady breathing pattern from behind the dune.
A spark of anticipation lit up his eyes. The massive Digimon immediately pushed himself up from the sand, standing at full attention.
"Lord Mizuki! I am very glad to see you are alright!" MetalGreymon boomed, his voice echoing across the dunes. "This is truly excellent news."
Mizuki crested the hill, a relaxed smile on his face. "MetalGreymon. How is the adaptation to your new body going?"
"It could not be better!"
Basking in Mizuki's attention, MetalGreymon flexed his cybernetic arm, striking a powerful, combat-ready pose. "If I was not worried about catching my comrades in the crossfire, I would have loved to go a few rounds with that blue MetalGreymon!"
Mizuki let out a dry, amused chuckle. "Ahaha. Well, in a sense, the two of you are rivals fighting for the exact same ecological niche."
The ancient, tangled grudges between the Megadramon and Greymon evolutionary lines were always a headache. Mizuki shook his head slightly, shifting his gaze away from the giant dinosaur and down toward the furry creature sitting in the sand.
Drimogemon blinked, looking up at the human.
He had observed Mizuki from a distance before, noting that the young man carried an aura that made Digimon feel instinctively safe. Now, standing just a few feet away, that sensation was magnified tenfold.
How could he even describe it?
Sitting in Mizuki's presence felt like lying on a patch of soft, sun-warmed grass on a lazy afternoon. It felt like a gentle breeze brushing through his fur, carrying the scent of fresh air and absolute safety. Bathed in the ambient warmth of Mizuki's Digi-Soul, the heavy knot of anxiety and distress in Drimogemon's chest began to unravel, melting away without him even realizing it.
"Hello, Drimogemon. My name is Mizuki."
The young man spoke. His voice was smooth and pleasant, carrying the same comforting warmth as his aura.
'His voice is so nice!' Drimogemon thought, his eyes widening slightly.
But as Drimogemon sat there quietly marveling at the human's gentle nature, Mizuki's next words caused his brain to short-circuit.
"Regarding the harm my companion's willful request brought upon you, I must apologize."
Mizuki lowered his head, offering a sincere, formal bow. "I am truly sorry, Drimogemon."
"Eh?!"
Drimogemon froze, his jaw dropping open. Beside them, even MetalGreymon looked stunned, his mechanical jaw clicking slightly as he stared at his human lord bowing to a Champion-level mole.
A few paces behind Mizuki, LadyDevimon shifted her weight. She opened her mouth, clearly intending to voice her objection to Mizuki lowering himself like this, but a sharp, freezing glare from Belle instantly forced the words back down her throat. LadyDevimon snapped her mouth shut, looking away.
It took Drimogemon several seconds to reboot his brain. He scrambled to his feet, waving his chubby paws in a frantic, awkward panic.
"T-That... you... Lord Mizuki, you really do not have to do this!" Drimogemon stammered, his cheeks flushing beneath his fur. "Actually, I was not harmed at all!"
He ducked his head, his innate timidity taking over. "Besides, the fact remains that your group saved my life. By all accounts, I am the one who should be repaying you."
Mizuki straightened up, looking at the shy, flustered Digimon. He offered a soft, reassuring smile and shook his head.
"One code at a time," Mizuki said, his tone gentle but firm. "If we allow debts and favors to blur together so easily, the necessary boundaries of respect will also become blurred. You have already repaid my companions' help through your actions and your hard work today."
Mizuki took a step forward. "And now, it is time for me to apologize to you for their discourtesy."
Under Drimogemon's wide, curious gaze, Mizuki reached out and gently placed his hand atop the mole's furry head.
"W-What is this?!"
The moment Mizuki's palm made contact, Drimogemon gasped. A massive, torrential surge of pure data poured directly into his core.
Yet, despite the sheer volume of energy flooding his system, there was no pain. There was no pressure. The data felt incredibly warm, smoothly integrating into his code as if it had always belonged to him.
A second later, Mizuki withdrew his hand.
"This... I... Lord Mizuki, I am—"
"Just consider it a small token of compensation, and my personal thanks," Mizuki interrupted softly, his eyes curving into a warm smile. "In the future, you can use this power to evolve to the Ultimate level."
Mizuki stepped back, crossing his arms loosely. "This way, you will not have to worry about encountering danger while digging without the strength to fight back."
"Really?!"
Drimogemon's eyes sparkled with sheer delight. Without even thinking, he reached inward, instinctively mobilizing the new, vast reservoir of power resting within his core.
A blinding pillar of evolutionary light erupted from the sand.
Under the watchful, awestruck gazes of Mizuki, Belle, LadyDevimon, and MetalGreymon, the little mole's silhouette began to rapidly expand, stretching upward into the twilight sky.
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