Chapter 10: Shades of Evil

Etemon

Linnea Village

 

It had taken me a while, but I finally found the remnants of Meramon’s demolished restaurant. Grinning at the damage I had caused earlier in the night, I turned to glance behind me. The streets were empty. There wasn’t a single Human or Digimon in sight. They had all fled at the first sight of me. Its better this way, I thought. The fewer witnesses there are, the easier it will be for me to get away with murdering him. I looked around. That lowlife Meramon was nowhere to be seen, either. My smile vanished. “Meramon…Where is he? Where are you, Meramon?! Quit hiding, wherever you are, and face me, you coward!”

“I’m right here,” I heard Meramon’s voice say. I turned around and saw him sitting at an outdoor table of a neighboring diner, one that hadn’t been destroyed last night. Across from him was a small Candlemon. “I’m no coward…unlike you, Etemon.”

“Excuse me?! What the hell did you just called me?!” I shouted. “Go on! Say it again! Say it to my face!”

“I called you a coward,” Meramon said in a darker, but still unnervingly calm, tone of voice. “Unlike you, I don’t find it necessary to destroy other people’s homes from the safety of my own home. Unlike you, I don’t use whatever power I may have to endanger the lives of others as a means for entertainment. And unlike you, I do not murder innocent children simply because I am able to do so.” The tall Champion level stood up and began walking over to his old saloon, gazing at it in a wistful manner. “You think that, just because you have a lot of power, you and your cronies can bully others into doing whatever the hell it is that you want them to.”

“So, what? If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!” I yelled.

“See, that’s your problem, Etemon,” Meramon said. “Bandits like you don’t know when to talk and when to fight. Now is a good time to talk.” I clenched my fist in anger, observing Meramon as he spoke; not once had he looked over at me. “On the other hand…it’s also a good time to fight. You need to pay for what you did to my little brother, Etemon! Fire Blast!”

“That’s not going to work, idiot!” As Meramon began running towards me, with his arms spread out and the flames covering his body blazing furiously, I leapt up and punched the Champion level in the face, knocking him down.

“Big brother!” Candlemon jumped out of his chair and started hopping over to Meramon.

“No…Candlemon, stay away!” Meramon said. I walked over to the fallen Digimon and bent down.

“Well? Now who’s the coward here, huh? ‘Cause it sure don’t look like me,” I whispered.

“Fire Fist!” Without hesitation, Meramon retaliated and hit me in the face.

“Bastard!” I reached down and grabbed the Champion Digimon by the neck and hoisted him into the air. “You’re dead!”

Thomas Kasuto

 

We’re almost there, Meramon…please; don’t let us be too late! As we neared the end of an alley, Statuedramon unexpectedly stopped and looked around the corner.

“Thomas, I found him!” Statuedramon whispered, pointing to Etemon. “He’s got Meramon by the neck; should we help him?”

“If you mean Meramon, the answer is yes,” I said, drawing my sword. “This is how we earn our pay…after…all…” Statuedramon was not there to listen, as usual; he had run yelling out of the alley, holding up his sword.

“Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” Statuedramon fired a transparent, sword-shaped projection from his sword that, when it hit Etemon’s back, exploded on impact.

“…So…you managed to escape,” Etemon said, turning around and dropping Meramon to the ground. Gasping for air, he was helped off the ground by his little brother.

“Meramon, are you okay?” Zelda asked as we caught up with Statch.

“You…saved me…” Meramon coughed. “Even though I didn’t deserve to be saved…I…I don’t know what to say…”

“We’ll be fulfilling your request now,” I said. “Etemon will die. That, I promise.”

“…Thank you,” Meramon said. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“You figured out that I’m a bandit pretty quickly; too quickly. How’d you know?” Etemon asked.

“You have a terrible poker face, Etemon; I knew as soon as I told you why I was in this village,” I said. “And now…it’s time for you to die.”

Etemon began to laugh. “Come, now; do you really think you could kill me?!” Etemon asked, laughing harder. “You say you’ve killed many Digimon, but you’re only a Human! You must be joking!”

“There is no other option; as soon as the order is given, it must be carried out.” I held up my sword and aimed it at Etemon’s chest. “And my orders are to ensure that you die. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

“Don’t be ridiculous; there isn’t a Human around who’s strong enough to defeat me! Or a Digimon, for that matter! Dark Network!”

“Statch, get ready!” I shouted as Etemon prepared his attack. Statch nodded and ran in front of me, holding up his shield.

“Dimensional Shield!” The design resembling a mouth on Statch’s shield opened up just as Etemon’s Dark Network impacted; however, instead of dispersing, the sphere was swallowed by the mouth on his shield until it was completely out of sight. “Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” Statuedramon pointed his sword skyward, and it began to glow black. He then swung his sword at Etemon, firing yet another projectile, this time a black one, at Etemon.

“Fireball!” Meramon hurled a fireball at Etemon, which struck him in the chest simultaneously with Statuedramon’s attack; the combined strength of the two attacks caused him to fall to the ground on his back.

“What the hell…was that?” Etemon was breathing heavily, and he tried to pick himself up off the ground.

“My shield is able to absorb the attack of any Digimon; then, based on the attack I absorbed, I am able to change my sword attack’s element to that of the attack I just absorbed,” Statuedramon swung his sword once more, firing yet another attack at Etemon. However, the Ultimate leaped off the ground and avoided the attack at the last second.

“Wow, you must be invincible,” Zelda said breathlessly as Meramon threw another fireball at Etemon, knocking him to the ground once again.

“Yeah, I am pretty amazing,” Statuedramon said.

“And oh so modest,” I added. Statch laughed sarcastically.

“Well, I guess there are a few things I can’t deal with; for example, I am unable to absorb any physical or melee attacks, like Giromon’s chainsaw attack. Also, I’m pretty slow with all this armor on, so I have a lot of trouble dealing with enemies that are fast.” I smirked as he said this.

Good…now, Etemon will probably think…  

“Enemies that are fast, you say? Well, why the hell didn’t you say so earlier?!” Etemon jumped back to his feet and began running toward Statch, his claws extended. In spite of this, Statch closed his eyes.

That’s my cue! I thought, smiling as I ran up to and stabbed Etemon, thrusting my sword into Etemon’s right arm, which the Ultimate Digimon clutched in pain as blood came gushing from the gaping wound. Immediately, I pulled my sword out and wiped the blood off so as not to stain the blade with that filth’s blood.

“Fast Digimon usually don’t have the best defense,” Statuedramon explained.

“How?! How could a Human be strong enough to hurt me?!” Etemon asked as the blood flooded from his arm faster and faster with each passing second.

“It’s because you’re weak, Etemon,” Meramon scowled at Etemon, standing behind him with his brother, Candlemon. “You’re so weak, you find it necessary to take the lives of those weaker than you in a pitiful and failed attempt to prove that you are strong. You’re pathetic.”

“How DARE you of all Digimon call me weak?! Dark Network!” Etemon aimed and fired his attack at the two Flame Digimon.

“Oh, shit, I’m not going to make it in time!” Statuedramon ran frantically over to Candlemon and Meramon, but Etemon had already attacked; there was no way Statch would have made it in time.

“Come forth, Gallantmon! Cross over from the other realm and protect these innocent souls!” I turned around and saw Zelda holding a Talisman high above her head, and instantly, the form of Gallantmon appeared before Candlemon and Meramon. Etemon’s attack collided with Gallantmon’s shield, and it instantly dissipated. “Are you two okay?” Zelda called out to the two Digimon.

“You…protected us…” Meramon said, staring at Zelda. “Even after everything I said to you the other day…I didn’t deserve to have my life be saved by you, but you did anyway…”

“Well, I’m glad the two of you are safe,” Zelda replied, smiling sweetly.

“What the hell is this…thing?” Gallantmon asked. Etemon’s mouth hung agape as the tall Mega Digimon looked down at him with a disdainful sneer. “You can’t honestly expect me to dirty my beautiful lance with the blood of this garbage!”

“If you don’t wish to fight, you may return home, if you’d like,” Zelda said, holding up Gallantmon’s Talisman. Without another word, Gallantmon faded away into nothingness. The talisman in Zelda’s hand flashed brightly for a moment. Etemon continued to stare at the spot where Gallantmon had stood, his mouth still agape and his arm still bleeding.

“You really ARE weak; Fireball!” Meramon hurled a fireball at Etemon, but the Ultimate was able to dodge it at the last second. Meramon threw more fireballs, but Etemon easily dodged all of them.

“Meramon!” The Champion Digimon glanced over at Statuedramon as the Rookie held up his shield. “Over here!”

“Fireball!”

“Dimensional Shield!” Once again, the mouth on Statuedramon’s shield opened up, swallowing Meramon’s flame attack. “Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” This time, his sword began to glow red, and when he swung it, his attack was red and covered in flames as it struck Etemon and engulfed him in flames. Etemon then fell to the ground and began rolling around in a vain attempt to smother the flames. I jumped up and landed on Etemon. Both my feet pinned the Digimon’s arms to the ground.

“Your end has come,” I said in a calm voice, forcefully thrusting my blade into Etemon’s chest. Etemon briefly raised his arm and wrapped his hand around my blade, and I watched as first his fingers, then his hand, and then the rest of his body, dissolve into small bits of data. His screaming came to an abrupt stop, the flames suddenly subsiding as Etemon died. “Mission accomplished.”

“Yep; now all we have to worry about is the boss yelling at us for taking too long,” Statuedramon said. Meramon stood, staring blankly at the spot where Etemon had died.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I can’t believe that monster is finally gone…” Meramon turned to look at me. “And you…you kept your promise…”

“Of course; I was ordered to murder Etemon, anyway,” I shrugged.

“And you…” Meramon turned to Zelda. “Even after all those things I said to you the other day, you still protected me and my little brother. I don’t know what to say, though I’m sure a simple apology or thanks wouldn’t suffice.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that; I’m happy I was able to help you,” Zelda said. “And you don’t need to apologize; I was never mad at you.”

“Well, anyway, thank you; I owe you my life for the kindness you’ve shown to me and Candlemon,” Meramon said. Turning to me, he asked, “What are you going to do now? Now that Etemon’s been defeated…”

“We’ve no more business here. We need to leave as soon as possible; though he says he doesn’t mind, my superior officer expects the members of our guild to return as soon as they finish a mission,” I said. Turning to look off into the distance, to the North, I said, “If there’s ever any more trouble in this village, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our base of operations is in an old, abandoned fortress in the Province of Celosia, in a forest on the borders of Valencia Territory and Lotisea Province.”

“Yes…I’ll do that, though I hope I won’t have to,” Meramon said, smiling as the three of us walked off. “Goodbye, and thanks again!”

“We’re leaving so soon?” Statuedramon asked.

“It’s still early in the morning. If we hurry, we might be able to reach the Eastern Province by moonrise. We’ll have to travel through the desert at its hottest point, but…”

“Hmm…I guess that’s preferable to angering the boss,” Statuedramon mused.

“…What kind of person is your boss?” Zelda asked nervously.

“Uh…it’s kind of hard to describe him,” Statch said. “He’s a Digimon, though. That’s, uh…about all I know…”

“It’s very difficult to tell what he’s thinking,” I added. “Nobody’s ever seen him mad, though, except for our lieutenant…She has advised us many times to not do anything that would anger him.”

“And it’s…okay that I’m going with you, right?” Zelda asked.

“You need to find your sister, right? Of course it’s okay,” I said, turning around to give her a reassuring smile. She gave me a shy smile back, and the three of us continued on our way.