Chapter 100: Creature of the Light

Thomas Kasuto

SkullCaliphmon’s Castle

 

“Now…our fight begins,” SkullCaliphmon said. I drew my sword and Zelda reached for a Talisman right before SkullCaliphmon pointed upward. “Look up. The sky…it is clearly visible, and there’s not a cloud in sight!”

Shit, he’s right! The moon was brightly shining down on everything in the castle, leaving not a speck of shadow around. He’s…immortal!

“With the moon shining down this brightly, you won’t even be able to so much as hurt me, let alone kill me!” SkullCaliphmon laughed.

“Final Elysion!” A beam of light shot out from above Zelda’s head and hit the Mega Digimon point blank. The attack created an explosion, kicking up sand and dust that hid SkullCaliphmon from view.

“Gallantmon!” I gasped. The tall Digimon Spirit stepped between us and approached SkullCaliphmon.

“You came here without me asking you to?” Zelda asked. “…I had forgotten you were able to.”

“I apologize for that,” Gallantmon said. “I hope you do not mind me coming here; it seemed as though you were in danger.”

“No, I don’t mind. Thank you for your help, Gallantmon.”

“You think he helped you?!” SkullCaliphmon scoffed. “An attack like that couldn’t dare to come even remotely close to killing me under the moon’s light!”

“He…isn’t hurt?!” Gallantmon exclaimed. “I had heard he was immortal, but this is unbelievable!”

“Gallantmon, we need to find some way to get him into the shadows!” Zelda said. “He won’t be immortal anymore, then!”

“You are correct,” SkullCaliphmon said. “You could also wait until morning…but you’ll all be dead long before either of those things happen! Sirocco Sword!” Gallantmon jumped in front of us, letting the unseen attack strike his shield. “Protect yourselves all you like! My winds can pierce through steel without effort!” As if on cue, the sides of Gallantmon’s round shield fell off as though they had been cut through. The corner of Gallantmon’s cape floated away in the same manner. “Look at that! Pretty clean, huh? No jagged edges or anything!”

“…Gallantmon…do you think you could force him outside of this castle?” I whispered. “His immortality ability is only effective while standing inside this castle.”

“I shall try…”

“You will wear the face of despair when I am finished, Spirit; Grave Danger!” SkullCaliphmon raised his hand, with his palm upwards; countless tombs popped out of the stone floor and began flying in the air around Gallantmon.

“Royal Saber!” A blast of lightning shot out from the tip of Gallantmon’s lance, striking each of the flying tombs and turning them to dust. However, more tombs popped out of the floor to take their place. When Gallantmon finally pointed his spear at SkullCaliphmon, the Undead Digimon merely laughed.

“Now, dance, my tombs! Dance!” SkullCaliphmon began waving his enormous sword around in the air as if it were a conductor’s baton. All of the tombstones rushed forward and hit Gallantmon, each of them shattering into smaller, jagged pieces of rock that cut through Gallantmon’s armor and what was left of his shield. With his legs trembling, Gallantmon struggled to remain standing. SkullCaliphmon ran forward and hit Gallantmon over and over with his dual-bladed sword. Gallantmon weakly hit the floor, disappearing.

No…even Gallantmon was defeated by him?! This isn’t good…

“Now…you two…” SkullCaliphmon walked up to the two of us. “At your current rate, you’ll run out of Spirits to hurl at me before you both die. You have no chance of escape in my trap-filled castle. So, my question to you is this; how will you spend your last moments? Begging for mercy? In each other’s arms? Fighting back?”

“We aren’t going to die here,” I whispered, drawing my sword from its scabbard. “You are.”

“How will that happen? How are two Humans going to stop me?” SkullCaliphmon asked. “Oh…but I guess one of you isn’t a Human, though.” My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced over at Zelda. “Poor, contemptible creature…you are neither Human nor Digimon, the two races created by the Goddess. You have somehow deluded yourself into thinking these allies of yours care about you and love you. Your very existence is baffling…and your life is without meaning.”

“SkullCaliphmon, shut your mouth!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“…You’re wrong,” Zelda whispered. “My friends…they all care about me…and I care about them…”

“That is not possible,” SkullCaliphmon said. “Who could ever love a half-breed subhuman? You are a disgusting presence.” Unable to contain my anger, I ran up to SkullCaliphmon and rammed my fist into his skull, sending him flying through the air. The Digimon landed on the ground behind his throne, where he was completely covered by its shadow.

A shadow?! Then…if we can hit him hard enough… SkullCaliphmon sat up, and put a hand to his skull, below his right eye where I had hit him. Between his bony fingers, I could see that I had made a few small cracks. Although, that may not be necessary…

“Damn, you hit hard; I wasn’t expecting to feel that,” SkullCaliphmon said, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of his sword.

“You’re finished.”

“What are you talking—” When SkullCaliphmon looked up at me, the part of his skull that I had struck fell apart, caving in and leaving a large hole behind that took his right eye with it. “What?! How did you do—”

“Look down.”

SkullCaliphmon did as he was told. His remaining eye cringed. “Shadows?! Here?! How is that possible?!” The Undead Digimon scrambled to stand up and leave the shadows provided by his throne. I kicked a rock that was near my foot, and it hit him in his other eye, making another hole. In a final effort to escape, he reached his arm out into the moonlight.

“SkullCaliphmon…you are the one who lead a meaningless life,” I said. “Make sure to tell your friends in the Dark Area that.”

“This is…not…the end…The others…they will—” I stomped with all my might on SkullCaliphmon’s shaking arm, shattering the bones and breaking his arm clean off. SkullCaliphmon’s skeletal body faded into dust, and was carried off by the wind, leaving his cloak, sword, and crown behind, all of which faded away soon after.

I looked at Zelda, who was looking steadily down at the ground. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“…I…I have been called worse,” Zelda said. She turned to smile at me and said, “I’ll be fine. I won’t cry…You don’t need to worry.” I sighed, and smiled back at her.

“If you ever need to…you know where to find me,” I said. “I’ll always be there for you.”

“Tommy…thank you.”

I placed my arm around her shoulders and the two of us turned to leave.

Lupinemon

The Savage Prairie

Shendu Territory

 

The stars were brighter than they had been for a long time. “That must mean another of our number has been defeated,” I said to myself. “Us twelve darknesses that darken Arcadia, and with it, the light of hope…Our deaths brighten the stars’ light…” I was undisturbed by our vanishing comrades. Belphemon, Hydramon, Myotismon, they were all weak in my eyes. They were indeed powerful, but they let themselves be killed. A sure sign of weakness. Taking my mind off of them, I looked back up at the sky. Each star twinkled and shined. It was breathtaking. “I suppose that’s another good thing that comes of each of us dying…”

“Care to repeat that little comment?” Without turning around, I knew who stood behind me; I could tell by the stench of iron that came from his armor.

“Greetings, Generalmon,” I said.

“You do not seem very agitated over the recent events that befell our group,” Generalmon said. “You do know that each of these deaths make the rest of us weaker, correct?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And yet, you do not care? DeathPhantomon has informed me that SkullCaliphmon has fallen as well.” Generalmon remained silent for a few moments, as if expecting a reaction from me. I wasn’t going to give him one, of course. “Lupinemon…you do not belong with us.” That comment surprised me; I turned and bared my fangs at the Warrior Digimon, growling. “You are not like the rest of us.”

“Explain yourself before I tear you limb from limb, Generalmon!”

“…You can hide behind your empty words as often as you wish,” Generalmon said. “You say you are a Demon Beast…but you are really…an Exalted Beast.”

“Are you questioning my loyalty to the Order?!” I roared. “How dare you?!”

“I dare because I know it to be true!” Generalmon retorted. “You are a creature of the light, not meant to walk amongst the shadows. Your presence dissipates the darkness we loyal to the order need in order to thrive here, outside of the Dark Area!”

I flung myself at the heavily-armored Digimon, but he swatted me away with his large axe.

“Take that anger and direct it at the members of Lachesis — and not at me — if you truly wish to prove your loyalty.”

I turned my head to glare at Generalmon, but he was gone. My heart was beating rapidly, and I could hear it easily in the silence of the night.

“…Members of Lachesis, huh?” I looked up at the sky. “Yeah…I’ll pay them a visit…”