Chapter 41: Hackmon—Burst Mode

"Hackmon, Burst Evolution!" Elena shouted, and at Hackmon's feet, an evolution matrix appeared as a radiant glow of evolution erupted from its body.

Elena raised her voice, saying, "I admit your Digimon is strong, but it's only about as powerful as my Hackmon before Burst Evolution. Now that my Hackmon has achieved Burst Evolution, how do you expect to defeat me?"

"What a coincidence." The Digimon named Beast split its mouth in a slight smile, murmuring softly. Then, an evolution matrix appeared at Beast's feet as well, and the light of evolution burst forth from its form.

Evidently, Beast had also allowed his Digimon to undergo Burst Evolution. He simply hadn't shouted it out loud. After all, as a Digimon who had lived for who knows how long, he was hardly childish enough to yell out such things. This wasn't a contest of loudness—whoever shouts louder doesn't become stronger.

A glint flashed in Elena's eyes as she said, "Your Digimon can Burst Evolve as well? No wonder, no wonder. This is going to be much more interesting."

"Burst Evolution..." The others watching wore startled expressions. Even that one player who had been so arrogant at first, whose Garurumon had been defeated by Beast's Digimon, now had a very complicated look on his face.

Burst Evolution wasn't part of the latest update. It had existed since the game began. According to the official announcement, as long as a Digimon could surpass its limits while preventing itself from advancing to a higher stage, it could undergo Burst Evolution.

Simply put, if the light of evolution appeared but the Digimon didn't evolve from Rookie to Champion, yet the system still judged the evolution as successful, this fell under Burst Evolution in the game's design.

However, players hadn't paid much attention to Burst Evolution—not because it wasn't strong, but because it was so difficult for lower-level Digimon to achieve it. Most Digimon, once they surpassed their limits and the light of evolution shone, would simply evolve, such as from Rookie to Champion.

To trigger Burst Evolution, the Digimon must, upon the light of evolution, be deemed to have evolved successfully by the system, but not actually change from Rookie to Champion. This was extremely rare. Moreover, even in the anime where Burst Evolution appeared, the protagonists only achieved it at the Ultimate level.

The reason players hadn't cared much was simply that they believed Burst Evolution was out of reach at their current stage, so they hadn't focused on it. But now, seeing it so close, everyone’s minds began to stir with possibility.

They all knew, of course, that if a Digimon could become stronger before evolving, it would naturally be even stronger afterward—just like when Beast evolved his Agumon X after clearing that hidden dungeon boss.

Normally, a Champion-level Digimon like KingGreymon would have a minimum combat power of 101. But when Beast's Digimon evolved, its combat power soared directly to 666. Was this because KingGreymon was inherently strong? No, it was simply because Agumon X's combat power had already reached 300 before evolving.

Similarly, why had Beast's Digimon defeated Garurumon without even using Burst Evolution? Simply because Garurumon was too weak. And why was Garurumon weak? It was because its base form was even weaker. If Garurumon had reached a combat power on par with Beast's Digimon before it Burst Evolved, Beast would have needed Burst Evolution to stand a chance.

[Trident Saber] After Burst Evolving, Hackmon's appearance was reminiscent of SaviorHackmon in its Ultimate form, with its arms and tail transformed into blade-like weapons. The moment Burst Evolution completed, it lunged straight at Beast's Digimon, sword slashing.

[Destruction Blade] On the other side, Beast's Digimon, having entered Burst Mode as well, drew its greatsword and met Hackmon's attack head-on. In that instant, their blows collided, then both swiftly retreated to create distance once more.

If [Trident Saber] were unleashed by Ultimate-level SaviorHackmon, it could slice through even Chrono Digizoid in a single swing. Judging by the strength of Beast's Digimon's greatsword, it would be unable to withstand such a strike.

Unfortunately, the [Trident Saber] executed now was unleashed by a Rookie Hackmon and was much weaker. Moreover, the blade that formed after Hackmon's Burst Evolution was nowhere near the strength of SaviorHackmon's. Finally, Beast's greatsword was shrouded in the aura of [Demonic Majesty], so it easily blocked the attack.

[Demon Lord Wave] Lifting one hand, Beast's Digimon released a blast of energy toward Hackmon.

[Super Flame] Hackmon opened its jaws and unleashed a stream of fire at the incoming energy attack. The two powers collided in midair, erupting into violent waves of energy.

At the same time, between their attacks, tendrils of mist began to rise slowly, obscuring Beast's vision, Elena's vision, and even blocking the view of the spectators hovering in midair.

Just as the mist began to swirl upward, a sharp light flashed in Beast's eyes. In an instant, his body moved, vanishing into the mist. The airborne players watching could barely make out, through the shifting fog, that Beast was rapidly closing in on Hackmon.

However, the moment Beast plunged into the mist, Hackmon's figure also darted in. To the spectators above, it appeared the two had converged, but what transpired within the mist, few could say.

"Boom!" The next moment, a surge of fierce wind burst from where the two met, scattering the fog that shrouded the battlefield and revealing the figures within.

Hackmon and Beast's Digimon were still locked in a sword duel, their blades clashing—the cause of the winds. When the turbulence finally faded, the two separated again, standing face to face, their auras clashing in the air, seemingly evenly matched.

Beast watched the scene, a calculating glint flickering deep within his eyes...