Chapter 26: The Evolution of a Beast

He couldn’t recall whether it had been mentioned before, but the watch was capable of detecting the location of Zero Beast’s data. Its detection range might encompass a leveling area, a dungeon, a city, or a small village. While this seemed broad, it was actually rather limited.

Beast One was quite fortunate: as soon as he entered this hidden dungeon, the watch had already informed him that Zero Beast’s data was concealed within. Since only Beast One could hear the watch’s message, the others remained oblivious. From the very moment he set foot in the hidden dungeon, his purpose diverged from that of the others. While they aimed to clear the dungeon, defeat the boss, and see if they could obtain some valuable loot, Beast One’s sole objective was to locate Zero Beast’s data.

Unfortunately, he had not found any trace of Zero Beast’s data along the way. In the end, he could only turn his attention to the dungeon’s final boss. He wasn’t sure if, after leaving without defeating the boss, the hidden dungeon would disappear and whether he would ever have another chance to encounter Zero Beast’s data.

Therefore, even knowing that Kong Steelmon’s overall combat power reached six hundred sixty-six, he was determined to take the risk. And he wasn’t entirely without hope: his Digimon had surpassed the evolution threshold, meaning it could evolve at any moment.

This time, Beast One was gambling, trusting that his luck wasn’t so poor. Whether his gamble would succeed was ultimately left to fate.

Despite his many thoughts, as Kong Steelmon charged forward, Beast One’s aura erupted, pressing forcefully against Kong Steelmon.

Counting the earlier episode with Agumon X and now this, it was already the second time. Moreover, Kong Steelmon was the boss of the hidden dungeon and was in the mature stage; its eyes flickered with suspicion, but its feet slowly retreated.

“Go on, whether you evolve or perish depends on your luck now.” As he subdued Kong Steelmon, Beast One’s voice drifted into his Digimon’s ears.

The Digimon seemed to understand that failing to evolve would mean certain death, but showed no sign of worry. Almost as soon as Beast One finished speaking, his Digimon charged at Kong Steelmon.

[Control Shield]—in that instant, a shield appeared before him. Bearing the shield, he rushed toward Kong Steelmon.

[Power Strike]—as Beast One’s Digimon appeared before Kong Steelmon, the suspicion in Kong Steelmon’s eyes faded. It swung a fist at the Digimon.

Seeing this, Beast One’s Digimon dug in his heels, leaping high into the air, intending to strike from above. But Kong Steelmon’s punch shattered the shield, and with it, the Angelmon’s Guard—a rare piece of gear was destroyed.

[Energy Cannon]—before Beast One’s Digimon could attack, Kong Steelmon aimed the arm mounted with a cannon and fired.

“Boom!” Beast One’s Digimon raised his greatsword to block, hoping to withstand the blow. But he miscalculated. Kong Steelmon’s attack shattered the sword and pierced his body, leaving a gaping hole.

At that moment, his Digimon’s life points dropped to zero; his data began to dissipate, and death was imminent.

That blow also destroyed the Beetlemon Sword, which had been fused into the skill. Of the three items Beast One had acquired from the outside dungeon, only the ring remained in his hand.

However, if Kong Steelmon attacked Beast One now, even the ring might not save him. The outcome would be not only the loss of the ring, but also the destruction of his account. With the way this game worked, he couldn’t guarantee that dying here wouldn’t mean real death.

[Hello, your Digimon has activated the power of evolution at the moment before death. Would you like to evolve?] Just as Beast One was despairing, a system panel appeared before him.

Was there any doubt? Of course he clicked to evolve.

Almost the moment he confirmed, an evolution matrix appeared beneath his Digimon. Suddenly, his Digimon erupted in a brilliant light of evolution.

[Finally, the mature stage—how I wish I could reach the ultimate stage soon.] A trace of emotion crossed Beast One’s face. His strongest form was, naturally, the X-Antibody Ultimate, but even the Complete form’s battle power was formidable.

Though outsiders couldn’t see what happened within the light of evolution, Beast One, as his Digimon’s owner, could.

Bathed in evolution’s radiance, Beast One’s Digimon underwent transformation: a pair of pure white wings sprouted from his back. The helmet on his head turned golden. The white armor became red, coated in a layer of crimson Digi-Alloy.

However, Beast One realized the Digimon had not yet reached maturity; it was still at the growth stage—this was Beast One’s own Burst Mode. He recognized it because it matched his own burst mode from when he was at the growth stage.

Yet suddenly, Beast One noticed something unexpected: it wasn’t over yet. From the massive wound on his Digimon’s chest, wisps of black aura began to seep. Under the shroud of this blackness, the wound healed rapidly.

Most strikingly, black patterns started to spread across the red Digi-Alloy coating. These patterns wove across his body and finally converged on his face.

The remaining black aura gathered wildly and swiftly around his Digimon, forming a phenomenon reminiscent of the Fire Sovereignty found on Stubbornmon—except Stubbornmon’s was golden, while this was pitch-black.

It was a darkness like an abyss, deep and boundless, a terrifying presence that finally shaped itself into the form of a burly man.

This was Demon King Sovereignty!