Chapter 115: Namo Samantabhadra, How Utterly Devoid of Compassion
The hour of the ox had not yet arrived. No sacred torii gates cast long shadows over the earth, nor did a blood-red moon hang ominously in the sky. Yet, this ordinary dirt clearing in the Digital World was about to become the epicenter of a magnificent, devastating duel.
Two youths stood at opposite ends of the field. The wind howled through the trees, whipping their clothes around their frames. Their gazes locked, fierce and unyielding, cutting through the heavy tension like drawn blades.
"DOMO. A pleasure to meet you. I am Yagami Taichi." The brown-haired boy pressed his hands to his sides and delivered a crisp, ninety-degree bow.
Across from him, the white-haired youth mirrored the gesture with absolute, rigid precision. "DOMO, Yagami Taichi-san. I am Mizuki."
Off to the side, a small, pink, fairy-like Digimon hovered in the air. Piximon clutched her spear, her large eyes blinking in utter bewilderment. She slowly turned her head toward the other Chosen Children gathered nearby. "Are they always like this, pi?"
Before Izzy or Kari could even open their mouths to explain, the tranquil atmosphere shattered. The very second Mizuki finished his polite introduction, Taichi kicked off the dirt. He lunged forward like a coiled spring snapping loose.
"You fell for it, Mizuki!"
A ruthless ambush! A fist aimed straight for the face!
But facing this aggressive, dishonorable strike, Mizuki's eyes flashed. He exploded into motion with terrifying speed, his fist crossing the distance first to plant itself squarely into Taichi's cheek.
"Guwaaaa!" Taichi's body launched backward through the air, spinning wildly from the impact.
When faced with a despicable ambush, one simply needed to crush the opponent before their technique could land! Such terrifying situational awareness! As swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as a mountain! A flawless counter-strike! Having seized the absolute advantage, Mizuki naturally pressed his assault.
He closed the distance in a flash, raising his hand high before bringing it down in a merciless karate chop.
"Satsu-Batsu!"
"Guwaaaa!"
The heavy blow struck Taichi directly on the shoulder. The brown-haired boy collapsed into the dirt, letting out a dramatic wail of agony.
Surely, anyone possessing Ninja Dynamic Vision would have clearly witnessed this intense display of Karate Etiquette unfold in a mere zero-point-two seconds!
Mizuki stood over his fallen foe, his expression cold and unyielding. "Recite your death haiku, Yagami Taichi-san!"
Taichi clutched his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he looked up in mock terror. "Ba... Bakana! Impossible! I am a Chosen Child!"
Just as Mizuki raised his hand to deliver a merciless kaishaku to the defeated Yagami Taichi-san, a pink blur shot across the clearing. A small figure wedged itself directly between the two dramatic idiots.
"You two need to take this seriously, pi!"
Piximon reached out with her tiny, deceptively strong hands and clamped down hard on both of their ears, twisting sharply.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Mizuki flailed, his stoic ninja persona instantly shattering. "Piximon, I am sorry, pi!"
Taichi frantically patted the air in surrender. "We were just playing around! Just warming up! Do not be so serious, pi!"
Piximon stared at the two pleading boys. Instead of softening, her large eyes narrowed, and a dark, ominous shadow seemed to fall over her round pink face. A blinding light suddenly erupted from her small body. The data around them swirled into a localized storm, the intense glow forcing the children to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, the tiny fairy was gone. In her place stood a stunning, statuesque woman draped in elegant white fabrics, a golden blindfold covering her eyes, and a white dove resting near her shoulder. Venusmon.
The Mega-level goddess tilted her head, a terrifyingly sweet smile curving her lips. "You two... are you ready to take this seriously?"
Taichi stared up at the Digimon who had just transformed from a tiny pink puffball into a breathtakingly beautiful older sister. His brain short-circuited, entirely failing to process the danger.
Mizuki, however, possessed flawless survival instincts. Without a single second of hesitation, the white-haired boy grabbed Taichi by the collar, hurled him directly toward Venusmon as a human shield, and bolted in the opposite direction.
Taichi stumbled forward, his arms flailing. "Wait... Mizuki?!"
He reached a hand out toward his fleeing friend, his fingers freezing in mid-air as the ultimate betrayal registered in his mind. Then, the temperature plummeted. A bone-chilling aura radiated from the beautiful goddess standing right behind him.
"Clench your teeth," Venusmon whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "You mischievous little brats!"
A heavy smack echoed across the clearing.
"Guwaaaa!" Taichi screamed, his voice cracking. "Mizuki, save me!"
Hearing the agonizing wail echoing from behind him, Mizuki, ever the loyal and devoted friend, did not even pause to look back. In fact, he pumped his arms harder, accelerating into a full sprint.
"Taichi, my good brother!" Mizuki shouted over his shoulder, his voice fading into the distance. "When the Qingming Festival comes around, I promise to burn plenty of paper money for your spirit!"
A short while later, back at the training grounds.
"Mizuki!"
Taichi stood in the center of the clearing, violently rubbing his backside. It throbbed with a fresh, stinging heat courtesy of Venusmon's heavy-handed discipline. He glared indignantly at the white-haired youth, who was currently being dragged back into the camp by the collar, courtesy of a very unamused goddess.
"You actually abandoned me back there! That was completely disloyal!"
Mizuki dusted off his shirt, adjusting his collar with absolute shamelessness. "What are you talking about? We are brothers, are we not? Can you not muster up a little more spirit of sacrifice for my sake?"
Taichi's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. "But there is absolutely no reason for me to be the one making the sacrifice!"
"You bastard!" Mizuki narrowed his eyes, raising his fists.
"Teme!" Taichi growled, stepping forward to meet him.
Just as the two teenage boys were about to devolve into another ridiculous brawl, a shadow fell over them. Venusmon leaned in, her face appearing right between theirs. A gentle, sickeningly sweet smile graced her lips.
"You two..." she hummed, her voice soft enough to send ice water down their spines. "Exactly how long are you going to keep this up?"
Staring into that terrifyingly gentle face, Taichi instinctively slapped both hands over his bruised backside. Beside him, Mizuki immediately clamped his hands over his ears, his posture turning rigid.
Venusmon observed the two little rascals through her golden blindfold. Seeing them finally compose themselves and stand at perfect attention, she gave a satisfied nod. The blinding light of data swallowed her once more, shrinking her tall, elegant frame back down into the small, round form of Piximon.
"Honestly, I do not understand why you two act like this, pi," Piximon sighed, hovering in front of them with her spear resting on her shoulder. "You are clearly the two most outstanding children in the group, pi. But the moment you get together, you become even more troublesome than a pair of newborn In-Training Digimon, pi!"
"Um, actually..."
A hesitant voice drifted over from the sidelines. Izzy stood a few paces away, clutching his laptop tightly against his chest. He offered a nervous, placating smile. "Actually, Mizuki and Taichi are still very reliable when it comes to critical moments..."
Piximon whipped around, her large eyes locking onto the red-haired boy. "What was that? Izzy, you little brat, are you trying to defend them, pi?" She floated closer, raising an invisible eyebrow at him. "Although I said these two idiots are the most outstanding, you are actually not far behind them, pi."
She poked the blunt end of her spear against Izzy's chest. "But all of that potential is completely useless unless you work hard enough to bring it out, pi! Do you want to fall behind your friends just because of some temporary laziness, pi? No, pi? I did not think so! If not, then go over there and train properly, pi!"
Under Piximon's relentless barrage of scolding, Izzy's posture visibly shrank. He hunched his shoulders, thoroughly defeated. Offering Mizuki and Taichi a quick, deeply apologetic glance, the red-haired boy turned on his heel and scurried away toward the obstacle course, fleeing for his life.
Having dealt with the interruption, Piximon turned her fierce attention back to Mizuki and Taichi. She brandished her spear at them one last time.
"You two little rascals better get serious, pi! I am going to go prepare dinner for everyone, pi. If I come back and find you two acting like a couple of dramatic fools again, you are completely finished, pi!"
With that final threat hanging heavily in the air, Piximon spun around and flew off toward the camp kitchen, not bothering to look back.
The two boys stood in absolute silence for a long moment, waiting until the tiny pink fairy was completely out of sight. Once he was certain the coast was clear, Taichi let out a long, shaky breath. He rubbed his aching backside again and slumped against a nearby rock.
"Honestly, Mizuki," Taichi groaned, staring up at the digital sky. "How on earth did you manage to find such a terrifying teacher?"
Mizuki leaned against the rock next to him, staring blankly ahead. A cold sweat still clung to his forehead. "To be completely honest with you... I am pretty sure I just saw my mother waving at me from the afterlife."
It was exactly as Taichi had said.
Following their emotional reunion earlier that day, the group had learned that Piximon was personally overseeing Mizuki's training. Without missing a beat, the rest of the Chosen Children, led enthusiastically by Taichi, had immediately requested to join the regimen.
While most of them still harbored the innocent, carefree mindsets of ordinary children, their brutal experiences had forced them to mature. Surviving the deadly trials on File Island, followed by the terrifying encounters with Ultimate-level enemies here on the Server Continent, had carved a harsh truth into their minds. They finally understood the absolute necessity of personal strength. If they wanted to protect their Digimon partners and survive this world, they could no longer afford to be weak.
For her part, Piximon was more than happy to take the exhausted children under her wing. Just as she had declared upon their arrival, the encroaching darkness was a crisis that threatened the entire Digital World. As a proud resident of this realm, she absolutely refused to stand idly by while evil ran rampant.
The grueling routine had pushed all of them to their limits. Even Mimi, who was notoriously willful and hated physical exertion, had voluntarily accepted Piximon's harsh training methods. Granted, her fierce determination had only lasted about twenty minutes before she collapsed in the grass not too far away, loudly complaining about her aching feet and ruined nails.
But she had dragged herself back up. She had not given up halfway.
Looking around the clearing at his friends pushing through their exhaustion, Mizuki allowed a small, genuine smile to touch his lips. Every single one of them was growing. They were adapting, surviving, and becoming stronger together.
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