Chapter 44: Zero Beast Armament

That was the Zombie Tyrannosaurus.

Zombie Tyrannosaurus, an undead virus-type Digimon in its perfect form, whose special attack is [Oblivion Bird Hunt]. This skeletal Digimon, stripped down to nothing but bones, is obsessed with combat. Even the destruction of its flesh means nothing; driven solely by the instinct to fight, it persists in surviving, thus becoming the Zombie Tyrannosaurus.

The protagonist never expected to encounter a perfect-form Digimon here, and even more so, a Zombie Tyrannosaurus. No matter how one looked at it, this creature was nothing like those that wouldn’t attack unprovoked.

As mentioned before, most Digimon here are not aggressive by nature. Yet "most" implies a rare few exceptions. In other words, this particular Zombie Tyrannosaurus was likely among that minority.

[Zero-Type Cruise Missile]

Just as the thought flashed through the protagonist’s mind that the Zombie Tyrannosaurus might attack them, the organic missiles mounted on its back launched directly in their direction.

“Zero, find somewhere safe to hide,” the protagonist glanced at Agumon, signaling him to run.

Although the protagonist felt little need for Agumon, he still considered it shameful to waste a companion without cause. Besides, he’d already told him to take cover; if Agumon failed to return alive, it would be his own responsibility.

After directing Agumon, the protagonist activated Digimon’s burst mode and summoned the Metal Kong puppet, all in an instant.

Even the weakest perfect-form Digimon possessed a combat power of at least 1001. As for Digimon’s current strength, it could only reach above 1000 if a [Power Strike] was triggered.

Soon, the Metal Kong puppet stood not far ahead, taking the brunt of the [Zero-Type Cruise Missile], exploding into a shower of light. At that moment, Digimon leaped forward, charging at the Zombie Tyrannosaurus.

Truthfully, for a rookie to take on a perfect-form Digimon was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Digimon. Across all rookie-level Digimon, those capable of such feats were exceedingly rare. Even then, survival was slim—most might only succeed against the weakest perfect forms.

Though the protagonist wasn’t certain of the Zombie Tyrannosaurus’s strength, surviving so long in these ruins without being slain by other Digimon surely meant its combat ability wasn’t the weakest among perfect forms.

[Blade of Destruction]

In a flash, Digimon appeared before the Zombie Tyrannosaurus, swinging the great sword down. Yet, when the attack landed on the beast’s bones, only a crisp sound rang out, not even leaving a mark.

[Death Claw]

Seeing this, the Zombie Tyrannosaurus swept at Digimon with a skeletal hand, hurling him against a nearby wall.

It had to be said that, at this moment, Digimon’s combat strength could rival a fully matured Digimon—though likely to lose, he wouldn’t be defeated in a single blow. But before a perfect-form Digimon, no matter how strong, he was still just a rookie.

The watch, witnessing the scene, shouted anxiously, “Use Zero Beast’s data, hurry!”

The protagonist asked, “How do I use it?”

Zero Beast’s data, as displayed in the game, counted as a material, not a consumable, so the protagonist had no idea how to use it.

The watch urged, “Place Zero Beast’s data onto me, quickly.”

He was so insistent because he realized if the protagonist died here, he too might perish. He wasn’t sure if dying in the game would merely ruin the account like other players, or result in death for real. But he dared not gamble.

“Seems there are things I still don’t know about you.” The protagonist murmured, “I hope we can be honest with each other afterwards.”

The watch replied, “If we both make it back alive, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

As soon as the words fell, the protagonist placed Zero Beast’s data onto the watch. Instantly, the data transformed into a bright beam, rushing toward Digimon’s body.

At this point, though Digimon hadn’t died, he’d lost ninety-five percent of his health from the Zombie Tyrannosaurus’s blow. Collapsed on the ground, he couldn’t even move.

The reason he managed to salvage five percent of his health was that, in that instant, Digimon first blocked the attack with his shield, then used [Demon King Might] to defend, then relied on armor coated with Time Digimon Alloy, and, in that moment, triggered the power of [Power Strike]. Only then did he retain five percent of his life.

To think, as a rookie Digimon, not being annihilated in one move by a perfect-form Digimon was already incredibly fortunate.

After all, this was reality—not a world in a novel or those animated series. Here, there was no such thing as a protagonist. In other words, if struck, death was certain; unlike in anime, where being hit might only cause de-evolution.

When the beam of light struck Digimon, the protagonist opened Digimon’s status panel to review his attributes. Next to burst mode, something called Zero Beast Armament appeared.

Zero Beast Armament: Special Data

It can double Digimon’s overall combat power.

Zero Beast Flame Cannon: Gathers all energy in the body for a single attack. The strength of the attack will be three times higher than Digimon’s total combat power.

With Zero Beast Armament equipped, Digimon could muster nearly perfect-form combat strength even without triggering [Power Strike]. Now, with [Zero Beast Flame Cannon], he could unleash triple damage, enough to defeat some of the weaker perfect-form Digimon.

Unfortunately, it was limited to a single shot.

Almost as soon as Digimon equipped the Zero Beast Armament, the Zombie Tyrannosaurus seemed to sense something. Having previously ignored Digimon’s direction, it now turned its head once more to face him.