Agumon who wants to become Omegamon

If Makino Ruki and Kato Juri were still here, they would probably immediately notice something was wrong with this stone forest.

And now, although they are not here, Huangfu Weilai is here, who is more reliable than them.

At this moment, Huangfu Weilai looked at the stone forest filled with yin energy. Without much thought, he knew that there was something wrong with this place, not to mention that he also sensed more than a dozen hidden gazes scrutinizing their group.

"Um, Future..." Mochizuki Meiko tugged at Huangfu Future's sleeve, her voice trembling slightly, "Do we really have to go in here?"

"Meiko, this place is a bit scary." Even the Maine Coon had already snuggled into Mochizuki Meiko's arms.

"It's alright, Yashin." Huangfu Future comforted her with a smile, "Although this place looks gloomy, at most there are Ghost-type Digimon, it's nothing serious."

"If they dare to mess with us, we'll make sure they can't even be a ghost."

"...How can you say such scary things with such a serious expression?" After listening, Mochizuki Mei couldn't help but complain, which gave people a cute and unexpected feeling.

"Hehe, so in the Digital World, the first thing you have to do is get used to fighting," Huangfu Future said.

Looking at Mochizuki Yako, and recalling how she had tugged at his clothes earlier, like a kitten seeking protection, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

How did this optimistic and cheerful girl with long, straight black hair, who seemed a little afraid of ghosts, grow into the shy and quiet girl from the original story six years later, who could tell ghost stories in a serious manner without being afraid?

It really makes me curious!

"Red Catmon, from now on, Meixin will depend on you for protection. Can you do it?" Huangfu Weilai patted the head of the Meixin Catmon hiding in Wangyue Meixin's arms. The fluffy fur felt really comfortable to touch.

"Yes, I can! I can definitely protect Sprout!"

Upon hearing this, the Maine Coon, which had been trembling with fear, finally calmed down, jumped out of Mochizuki Meiko's arms, landed on the ground, and stood ready.

Clearly, Mochizuki Meiko is the only light and softness in her heart. If any danger tries to touch that girl, it will be attacked by the sharp claws hidden under her fur.

Huangfu Weilai smiled, feeling a strange sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including admiration or regret). It seemed that the Maine Coon had finally become a little more promising.

Watching the Maine Coon's antics in the original work is enough to make one's head spin.

A fully grown Digimon was completely suppressed by Gennai Ichijouji, who was transformed from the young man, and didn't even put up a fight. If Meicoomon had launched a close-range counterattack, Gennai would have been severely injured, if not killed.

Another Champion-level Gatomon, similar in size to Meicoomon, was able to defeat several Champion-level monsters in Myotismon's dungeon.

Although Gatomon has the blessing of the Holy Ring, what's more important is that it possesses a tenacious will that Meicoomon lacks.

Now, only by arousing some of Meicoomon's fighting instincts can she stop looking like a cute creature.

Instead, it possesses the same fighting power to take on multiple opponents as it did during its Leopard Transformation.

Although that was the effect of being corrupted and enhanced, the fact that Meicoomon possesses this level of combat power indicates that she actually possesses such potential.

So the four of them entered the eerie stone forest.

Unlike the extremely vigilant Meicoomon and the cautious Mochizuki Bud, Huangfu Future and Hackmon had extremely relaxed expressions, showing no sign of worry about the dangers within the Stone Forest.

However, this is only to be expected.

After all, one of them is Huangfu Future, who is in human form and even surpasses the Ultimate level, while the other is Hakumon, who can fight against ordinary Ultimate level beings at his Perfect level.

Whichever one of them is involved, they all possess the ability to easily flatten this stone forest.

However, they all refrained from making a move, as if by prior arrangement.

The reason why Huangfu Future did not make a move was obvious: he wanted to train Maine Coon and Mochizuki Bud.

The reason why Hakumon did not take action was even simpler: Huangfu Weilai had not given any orders.

Soon, they gradually ventured deeper into the Stone Forest from its entrance, arriving at the middle section of the forest.

Meanwhile, those dozen or so veiled gazes gradually became more unrestrained and restless.

"Sweetheart, Mirai, Hackmon, you all need to be careful," Meicoomon warned.

As a cat, she had already smelled the odors here and sensed a certain danger.

"Look, what's that?" Suddenly, Mochizuki Yako pointed ahead, where there were strange beast shadows.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the eerie beast-like figures were actually a group of lifelike black statues.

The statues depict vivid expressions.

Pain, despair, madness, struggle...

It's so lifelike, it's as if this statue was made from a real Digimon!

"It seems this is the masterpiece created by the owner of this place," Huangfu Weilai said calmly.

"Could it be that they all use Digimon..." As if realizing this possibility, Mochizuki Meiko covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, every statue here is a work of art that I created myself.” Suddenly, a mature voice that sounded like a gentleman rang out, and then a Digimon that was all red, had wings, held a trident, and looked like a demon appeared.

He bowed politely to Huangfu Weilai and the others, saying, "Welcome. My name is Felice Beast. Although it is presumptuous of me, I have a request that I hope you will grant. Would you be so kind as to become works of art in my collection?"

After he finished speaking, the dozen or so pairs of eyes that had been staring at them finally appeared.

Those were Digimon, their bodies entirely crimson, covered in black spell tattoos, and wielding tridents—these were Devimon.

They were already surrounded.

It seems we have no choice but to reluctantly comply with Feralas's 'request'.

[Image: Devil Beast]

[Image: Feralas]

Chapter Nine: Blade King Hackmon

But is that really the case?

Faced with the approaching Devimon, Meicoomon was on high alert, its fur standing on end, while Mochizuki Meiko looked around like an innocent little rabbit.

Huangfu Weilai's gaze remained unchanged, and a mysterious smile still lingered on his lips.

Only Hakumon's eyes narrowed immediately, sparks began to appear at the corners of its mouth, and then it spewed out a dragon-like flame towards the approaching Devimon.

—【Baby Flame】!

This is the same skill as Agumon, but in Hackmon's hands, it produced an effect even greater than Champion-level Greymon's 'Super Flame'.

Facing this attack head-on, the demon beast naturally raised its trident, intending to pierce the flames directly.

However, he overestimated himself and underestimated Hackmon.

The result was that he himself, amidst the raging flames, screamed as he was reduced to data and vanished.

Upon witnessing this horrific scene, the remaining demon beasts instinctively stopped in their tracks and took a few steps back.

They stared at Hakumon in the encirclement with lingering fear. Hakumon had killed one of them in a single move, which meant that if they all attacked together, they probably wouldn't fare much better than the Devimon that had been burned to death earlier.

Such a huge difference in strength made the group of Devilmon, even the one with the numerical advantage, want to avoid a direct battle with Hakumon. Instead, they subconsciously wanted to hide in the stone forest and use the terrain to their advantage to ambush their enemy.

Of course, this idea was just a fleeting thought. Although almost all of them thought the same thing, they couldn't say it out loud.

After all, they still had a boss giving them orders, so they couldn't just back down and resort to underhanded tactics.

Papapa

Seeing one of his subordinates burned to death on the spot, the Felus Beast did not become enraged, but instead clapped its hands in praise.

"Sparashi, Sparashi—!" Fellermon sized up Hackmon, its eyes revealing a bloodthirsty greed. "A mere Rookie stage, just a Rookie stage, yet you can unleash the power to instantly kill a Champion-level Devimon. It seems you have quite a talent."

After saying that, Feralmon pretended to extend a hand and invited Hackmon, "Would you like to follow me? I can show you even greater scenery."

"You?" Hakumon chuckled dismissively, retorting, "A mere Ultimate-level being, just an Ultimate-level being, you think you can show me anything better?"

"Heh, if it's about talent, then of course there's no help." Facing Hakumon's mockery, Ferasumon laughed without caring and uttered terrifying words, "But if you want to turn your talent into strength and see a higher view, the first step is to survive."

"And by following me, you can survive and gain the right to see higher views."

Fellers grinned sinisterly, completely revealing his true colors.

Did you really think that someone who looked polite and gentlemanly was a good person?

After all, he is a fallen angel-type Digimon that evolved from Devimon.

Since he fell into depravity, the concept of a good person has become completely foreign to him.

"Ha, you think you can take me seriously?" Hackmon replied to Feraelmon in his usual tone, showing that he completely disregarded Feraelmon.

'#

The crimson veins on Fellers' forehead throbbed violently; this time, he couldn't even maintain his gentlemanly facade.

At this moment, he stared at Hakumon with a gloomy and bloodthirsty look. "Just as you said, I am at least a mere Ultimate-level monster. Is it really okay to underestimate me like this?"

"Heh, it's just an Ultimate level, that's all. Who isn't like that?" Hakumon said with a sneer.

Upon hearing this, Fellermon's pupils contracted sharply, and he finally understood the meaning behind Hackmon's words and the source of his fearlessness.

Everyone is at the same level of completeness, and no one thinks they are weaker than the other. If they were to fight, the outcome would be uncertain!

Fellers realized he had misjudged the situation and kicked it onto the steel plate.

However, it is very difficult to get him to admit defeat in front of all his subordinates.

Just like a class reunion, the person who stands out the most among everyone finds it hard to admit in front of their classmates that they are not as good as an outsider.

This is not only a matter of his self-esteem, but also a matter of his prestige towards others.

In short, he's stubborn and won't admit it!

Then, Feralmon looked at Hackmon and said, "In that case, let me see the real you."

Clearly, the cunning Feralmon did not fully believe Hackmon's words; in fact, he was waiting for Hackmon to reveal a weakness before delivering a thunderous and fatal blow.

Hakumon was clearly aware of Ferasumon's treachery, so he kept his eyes on him.

However, as if seeking his opinion, he turned his head towards Huangfu Weilai without taking his eyes off Fellersmon.

It seems they are asking Huangfu about his future thoughts.

As for Huangfu's future plans... naturally, it's to get the hell out of him!

Therefore, Huangfu Weilai nodded and did not grant Hakumon power through the Divine Plan, because Hakumon itself has always possessed the power of the Ultimate level, and its current form is merely the result of compressed data.

Clearly, Hakumon, eager to fight, intends to further unleash its data and break free of its shackles.

then--

Hackmon, Evolution Blademaster Hackmon

In an instant, the dragon-type Hackmon evolved into the dinosaur-type One-Blade King Hackmon, which was even larger than an off-road vehicle. It stood tall and straight next to Huangfu Future, then suddenly darted out and rushed away.

At the same time, the Fellus Beast spread its blood-red wings, held its trident, and swooped down.

His eyes blazed with anger and...smugness, but he muttered to himself, "I was really underestimated. He didn't even evolve directly to his perfect form. Is he just planning to use his mature form to deal with me?"

“That’s enough,” Blademaster Hakumon replied.

Immediately, it closed its claws and thrust forward.

"Heh!" Fellers chuckled sinisterly, thinking to himself, "You will pay the price for your arrogance."

Immediately, he raised his trident and, using a movement similar to that of the demon beast, thrust forward—[Death Clash]!

Clang!

The sharp claws clashed head-on with the dark red trident, producing a metallic sound and sparks flying.

Then, they brushed past each other.

Feraelmon revealed a sinister smile, suddenly turned around, and black energy waves gathered at the tip of its spear. This was a terrifying skill that could turn a Digimon into a statue if it hit its target.

However, what's faster than Fellermon is Blademaster Hackmon's tail.

—【Ten-Hit Kill (Teen Blade)】!

The tail blade, vibrating at a special frequency, lashed out at Felusmon, knocking him to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

[Image: Blademaster Hackmon]

Chapter Ten: Encirclement

While Hackmon was still talking to Feralmon, on the other side, seeing Hackmon being held back by its leader, the previously retreating Devimon began to move forward again.