Chapter 6: Distorted Spirit of Light

Zelda

Caladium Village

 

Sadly, I looked down at the rock I held in my hand; I gently ran my thumb over the red design on it, in the shape of a knight Digimon. This one has never once listened to me…and he probably never will…But this isn’t the time to worry about that! If that Minotarumon isn’t stopped right now, more innocent people will get hurt! I gripped the stone, and held it up above my head, the Digimon’s design pointed at the heavens. “Come forth…Gallantmon! Cross over from the other realm, and aid my friends in this fight!” The stone emitted a bright light, and before me stood the astral form of the deadliest Digimon I had ever laid my eyes upon.

“Is it fighting time?!” the Exalted Knight Digimon asked excitedly, his bright yellow eyes glimmering with the thought of fighting someone. However, his excitement was short lived; when he noticed the Minotarumon, his eyes returned to their usual bored, somewhat annoyed glare. Minotarumon noticed the arrival of the Mega level Digimon, and he stood staring with a blank, slack-jawed expression, as if his tiny brain was trying to think about how Gallantmon arrived in the first place.

“This is what I was called for? Fighting this worthless nobody?!” Gallantmon glared down at me, and for a moment, I thought now would be the time that he would finally strike me down in rage.

“…I…I’m sorry…” I said. Maybe I shouldn’t have summoned him…Knowing him, he’ll end up doing more harm than good…

“Well, as long as I’m here, I might as well work on my aim,” Gallantmon said, running up to and thrusting his lance into the Minotarumon’s left arm, destroying the weapon integrated onto it. Minotarumon howled in pain as he attempted to flee, but Gallantmon relentlessly and ruthlessly struck and bashed the Ultimate in the face and head with his shield. As Minotarumon’s wailing grew more and more hysterical, Gallantmon’s laughter grew louder, and he sounded as though he had gone insane from the pleasure attacking Minotarumon brought him. Minotarumon was on his knees, and he looked like he was begging for mercy, but the only sound he could make was an unintelligible grunting noise. Gallantmon raised his lance and pointed it between Minotarumon’s eyes. My body began to act on its own, and before I knew it, I had run up behind Gallantmon.

“Gallantmon! Please, stop!” I shouted. “Please, stop hurting him! He’s had enough!” To my surprise, Gallantmon brought his lance down.

“I am getting bored,” Gallantmon said thoughtfully. “All right, fine, I’ll end this; Royal Saber!” Gallantmon unleashed a blast of lightning from his lance at Minotarumon, but the Ultimate jumped out of the way at the last second, causing Gallantmon’s attack to strike and destroy an outdoor food stand. The Digitamamon waiter ran from the destruction, unharmed.

“Well…I guess we won’t have to be paying him after all!” Statuedramon laughed nervously, sounding somewhat relieved.

“You STILL haven’t paid that waiter?!” Thomas yelled. 

“I still don’t have any Florin!” Statch yelled back, though I doubt Thomas heard him over the noise of Gallantmon’s next Royal Saber, which struck Minotarumon’s right arm, incinerating it as soon as the attack hit. At that point, Minotarumon fell on his back, clutching his heavily bleeding arm while thrashing around in pain, though less vigorously than he had been before.

“Look at you, down on the ground, screaming in pain as if someone is going to pity you…As if you matter,” Gallantmon said. The Exalted Knight kicked Minotarumon across the face before raising his shield. “Final Elysion!” Gallantmon unleashed a beam of light from his shield; Minotarumon screamed in pain one final time, and when Gallantmon’s attack was finished, the Ultimate was nowhere to be seen, having been completely disintegrated from the attack. Minotarumon had been killed.

Oh, god, what have I done?! I stared blankly at the spot Minotarumon had been. I just wanted to stop Minotarumon; I didn’t want him to… Though I had been surrounded by death my entire life, even before I found Gallantmon, and even though I had become quite used to seeing it, I always felt the same dread and nausea whenever I saw it. My stomach was in knots, and my heart felt torn.

“Mission accomplished,” Gallantmon said smugly, before turning around to face me. “The next time you summon me to fight, don’t tell me how to do it; is that clear?!”

“I…I’m sorry…I just don’t like seeing others in pain,” I said meekly, attempting to avoid looking Gallantmon in the eyes. I always felt that if I did, he really would attack me.

“Pity; a worthless emotion, like all the others. Anger and hatred are all you need in life…” Gallantmon grumbled something else quietly to himself as he faded away; enveloped in the same light as Renamon had been when she vanished.

“Gallantmon…you may never once listen to anything I have to say. You may even, one day, end my life. Even so, I shall continue to place my trust in you, and I will always pray for your safety and happiness.” I smiled sadly at the stone in my hand. “…Perhaps you’re right; maybe I am too soft-hearted for my own good…”

“Well, it’s because of that soft-heartedness that I’m alive,” Thomas said. “I am forever indebted to you for saving my life, and for lending us your strength in this fight.”

“That was amazing…whatever it was that you did!” Statuedramon exclaimed. “What did you do, exactly?”

“These stones that I summoned Renamon and Gallantmon from,” I held them in my hand, allowing Thomas and Statuedramon to get a good look at the markings on the front of them, resembling the Digimon I summoned from them. “They’re called Digimon Talismans, and they hold the spirits of legendary Digimon slain in battle ages past. However, due to these Digimon having particularly strong wills and a love of fighting, their souls were intertwined permanently within these talismans, and they loyally serve those who hold their talismans. Not many people can summon Digimon, but those who are able to call out to these Digimon and bring them forth onto this plane of existence are called Digimon Summoners.”

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Thomas said breathlessly. “I’ve never heard of such a power!”

“How many are there? Are you going to try to find them all?” Statch asked excitedly. “I wonder if I’ll become a rock when I die! Ooh, I can’t wait to find out!”

“There are hundreds of Digimon Talismans, maybe even thousands; trying to find all of them would be nearly impossible,” I said, placing my two talismans back into the satchel that hung from my waist. I took a deep breath and sighed.

“That special ability of yours really saved our lives,” Thomas said. “I’d hate to think of what would’ve happened to us if you hadn’t saved us.”

This is it; this is my chance to ask them. “…Thomas…Statuedramon…do you two…get around much?” I asked.

“Yeah, we travel a lot for our job, if that’s what you mean,” Thomas said. “We go pretty much everywhere on Arcadia, no matter how far away from our base it is.”

They’re going to say no for sure…I mean, it wouldn’t really surprise me if they did; who’d want someone like me around? I can’t let that worry me; I’ve got to ask! “…I’ve got a favor to ask of the two of you.”

“Sure, what is it?” Statuedramon asked.

“You’ve saved our lives…many times over,” Thomas said. “Whatever I could do to repay the debt, I would be honored to do so.”

“There’s…I’ve been looking for someone for a while now. It’s my older sister, Hannah; over five years ago, we went our separate ways in this village after promising to meet up again here after a month. When I returned, I waited and waited for days, but she…she never returned. I…don’t have any idea of where she could be right now, even though I’ve traveled almost all over Arcadia. So… I was wondering…if I could…Could I maybe…Could I go with you?”

“Of course you may. I haven’t any problems with you coming with us.”

“We’d love to have you come with us,” Statuedramon said.

“…You…You would?”

“I could never say no to a girl with a bare midriff,” Thomas said.

“Yeah, that’s, like, his only weakness,” Statuedramon added with a laugh. I felt my face heat up, but I smiled happily at Thomas.

“Thomas…Statuedramon…Thank—”

“But…just to be clear; you do realize who we are…right?” Statuedramon asked.

“The two of us…are assassins,” Thomas said. My heart sank, but my decision did not change. “We live in the shadows, and we earn our pay by taking the lives of others.”

“Don’t get us wrong; we really appreciate you saving our asses back there, and we have no problem with you coming with us,” Statuedramon said. “But you get nervous at the sight of blood, and you don’t like seeing others in pain. We want you to make damn sure you’re prepared to travel with people whose entire lives revolve around death.”

“…I understand,” I whispered. “I’ve been all by myself for over five years, searching aimlessly for my sister, while seeing blood…and pain…and death…nearly every day of my life…So I guess you could say…that I’ve gotten used to the sight of it. If you truly have no objections with me traveling alongside you two, and helping me look for my sister…then I would be more than happy to join the two of you, and help you with your job in any way I can.”

“…If that is the way you feel…Then you should join our guild,” Thomas said.

“Me? …Join an assassin’s guild?”

“Not assassins, Milady; we are a mercenary guild,” Statuedramon said.

“The two of us just happen to be assassins, as killing is what we do best. But, as members of a mercenary guild, our only desire is keeping innocent Humans and Digimon safe from bandit attacks like the one that happened here. Not everyone in our group is an assassin; there are several among us who have never even touched a weapon before in their lives, and I assure you; it will never be required of you to hurt another living being against your will.”

“They’re all good people; I’m sure they’d accept you immediately,” Statuedramon said. “So, how ‘bout it? Would you like to join our guild?”

“It’s…really all right if I join your guild?” I asked. They both nodded.

I smiled. Maybe, just maybe, for once in my life, I would have a place I could call home…The thought made me happier than I had been for the longest time. “I…I would be honored to join your guild, Thomas!”

“The feeling is mutual, but first, we need to finish our job,” Thomas said. “We need to hurry to Linnea Village and eliminate a bandit leader. It would be best if we left now, during the night; traveling Cyprus Desert in the day is rough, as I’m certain you are aware.”

“Are you feeling up to it, Thomas?” Statuedramon asked.

“Yeah, my arm feels fine,” Thomas said.

“And your leg?”

“…Fine as well.” Thomas turned to face me. “Are you ready to depart? There isn’t anything from your home you need to get, is there?”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t actually my home,” I said. “I travel around a lot, and the people of this village are gracious enough to allow me to stay in that house whenever I’m here.”

“All right, then; let’s go!” The three of us headed off into the outskirts of the village, and to the desert village of Linnea.

I wonder…As we began our trek through the desert, I carefully observed Statuedramon. Does he really…not notice? Every Digimon I’ve ever met has noticed, but he doesn’t seem to…

Thomas Kasuto

Linnea Village

4 Hours Passed

 

As we finally stepped foot in Linnea Village, the moon had inched its way to the middle of the sky; in spite of this, however, there were many Humans and Digimon up and about, conversing, constructing, and playing amongst one another as if it were daytime. Architecturally, it was identical to Caladium Village, and I had a feeling that every desert village would be the same.

“I’ve come to this village before,” Zelda said. “It was one of the first places I came across after leaving my home village, Adonis…Everyone here welcomed me with open arms, and treated me kindly. I was a little surprised at first; I was not used to being treated that way…”

“What do you mean?” Statuedramon asked.

“It’s…nothing, really,” Zelda smiled sadly. “All the Digimon here…they just said there was something different that they noticed about me. It made them feel uneasy to the point where they almost attacked me, and I was more or less kicked out of the village. I haven’t been back here since. It’s been almost the same for almost every other city or village I’ve been to, even Caladium; that’s part of the reason why I have to travel around a lot.”

“Zelda…why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that the Digimon here tried to hurt you? We didn’t have to come here!”

“I’m sorry; I just didn’t want to slow you two down…”

“Why the hell would anyone be trying to hurt you of all people?! You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met!” Statuedramon shouted. “Well, you and Thomas’s surrogate mother, that is.”

“There was nothing ‘surrogate’ about her,” I corrected. “As far as I’m concerned, Victoria Kasuto is my real mother; she loves me like her own child, and she was the first person who ever gave a crap about me. I can’t even remember the last name my birth parents gave me, so I gave myself hers.”

“…Yeah. She was the same with me, you know…” Statuedramon sighed. “So…who are we supposed to kill this time?”

“We weren’t told,” I said. “Rather, our Boss doesn’t seem to know. It seems that we’re supposed to find out on our own.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too hard,” Statch said. “Bandits are total idiots; I’m sure at least you can trick ‘em into revealing themselves, Tom.”

“Of course, our target could easily be anyone in this crowd, so it would be best to keep our guard up,” I said.

“Do you think we could find somewhere to eat? I’m getting hungry,” Statuedramon said.

“You’re always hungry,” I retorted. “Besides, you never did pay that Digitamamon back in Caladium because we didn’t have any Florin, and in case you haven’t noticed, we still don’t.”

“But I wanna eat!” Statuedramon whined.

“Well, if I’m remembering correctly…there should be a really great restaurant around here somewhere,” Zelda said. “The food was amazing, and the owner was really nice; he let me eat for free because I didn’t have any money back then.”

“Do you think you can get another free meal out of him?” Statuedramon asked.

“I’d rather pay him; I wouldn’t want to take advantage of his kindness,” Zelda said. “I have enough Florin with me to cover us for a few days.”

“All right! So, where’s that restaurant?!” Statuedramon greedily rubbed his hands together, anxiously looking at each house and building we passed by.

“…That building, over there,” Zelda pointed to a building quite larger than the others, resembling a saloon, with the words Meramon’s Diner painted in big red letters near the top for everyone to see.

“Are you sure this is it?” Statch asked.

“Of course; I ate here for every meal for all four days I was here. There’s no way I’d forget what it looks like.”

“Then let’s go!” Statuedramon eagerly ran into the diner, madly shoving the batwing doors open as he tripped and fell, facedown onto the floor.

That idiot never looks where he’s going… I sighed, my head hung low as I walked into the restaurant after my Digimon with a smiling Zelda.