Chapter 79: Bandit Witch

Zelda

Black Rose Mountains

 

“Gallantmon! That didn’t take very long!” I said happily. Gallantmon bent down and revealed the three Horcruxes he held in his hand. The Mirror, the Flute…and Saias’s Sword… “Gallantmon…I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough…”

“Would you like to know something?” Gallantmon asked. I looked up expectantly at the Digimon Spirit. “A little while ago…I was visited by DeathPhantomon.”

“DeathPhantomon…one of Lilithmon’s allies?” I asked. Gallantmon nodded. “What…did he want?”

“He was very gracious…In fact, he gave me the ability to use an attack I had lost once he had been freed from the Dark Area,” Gallantmon said.

“An…attack?”

“Indeed…would you like a demonstration?” Gallantmon asked. When I remained silent, Gallantmon stood straight up and became enveloped in a black light. “Shadow Evolution! Premenitmon!”

I watched in amazement as the form of Gallantmon changed into that of the lizard-like Bio Hybrid. “Zelda…it’s been quite some time since we’ve met,” Sephyrus said. “At least, as far as your memory is concerned, it has been. For me, it was yesterday.”

“Sephyrus…it was…you?” I asked. “The entire time…you were Gallantmon?”

“No, not the entire time,” BioPremenitmon said. “The Gallantmon that protected you — the one that walked off just moments before — that was really your Gallantmon. I simply found the Horcruxes before he did. Oh, and you don’t need to worry about him; our paths haven’t crossed, so he hasn’t been harmed.”

“Then…with those three…”

“Yes; with these Horcruxes, we now possess all ten Horcruxes!” BioPremenitmon exclaimed.

“Royal Saber!” A blast of lightning struck the rock the Bio Hybrid stood on, causing it to explode and shatter into hundreds of small pieces.

“So long, Zelda! And thank you for all your hard work! I could never have done it without you!” BioPremenitmon began running off. “Shadow Evolution! Gryphonmon!” In his new form, the Bio Hybrid took flight, and in the blink of an eye, he was out of sight.

“Zelda…I’m sorry,” Gallantmon came running out of IceDevimon’s Castle. “I…couldn’t find them before he did…”

“No…Gallantmon, it isn’t your fault,” I said, giving the Digimon Spirit a small smile.

“What should we do?”

“Well…right now, we should go and find my friend, Luna.”

“Then…she’s probably fighting Asuramon and Parrotmon,” Gallantmon said.

“Are they strong?” I asked.

“Parrotmon’s a bit of an idiot and a loudmouth, so he shouldn’t be causing her too much of a problem,” Gallantmon said. “But Asuramon…if she isn’t careful, he could easily defeat her…”

“Let’s go, then! We have to hurry!”

Bellaluna Rosalina

 

“She’s using it!” Asuramon gasped. “She’s using Maleficia!”

“Shell Needle Rain!” Countless spikes shot out from my back and pierced through Asuramon’s legs, knocking the Ultimate Digimon over. I turned to face Parrotmon; the other Ultimate had a frightened look in his eyes, and he gently placed Chrysania on the ground as I began to stand up.

“No need for…any more violence, right?” Parrotmon asked, laughing nervously. “You…you wouldn’t actually—”

 I ignored his pathetic pleading. “Blue Prominence!” A ball of blue flames formed in my hands, and I fired it off as a stream of blue plasma at Parrotmon, who was instantly killed when the attack hit him.

“You’re getting to be a problem…Bellaluna,” Asuramon said. He was standing, and the spikes I had shot into his legs were now in his hands and being used as swords. “IceDevimon…would not approve of anyone being a problem to us!” The tips of the spikes became ignited in flames, and the Ultimate Digimon rushed forth.

“Avalanche Axes!” A pair of axes fell from the sky, and I hurled them at the approaching Digimon, slicing his four arms clear off. Asuramon fell to his back, unable to get up.

“The randomness…of Maleficia…always seems to work out in your favor,” Asuramon’s blue-masked face said. “It’s…a pity, really…you could’ve done…so much more with it…”

“Fenrir Sword!” A large sword materialized in my hands, and I thrust its blade deep into Asuramon’s chest. The flames covering his body dispersed as the Ultimate Digimon slowly became encased in ice.

“…Nicely…done…Luna,” Asuramon’s yellow-masked face said. “It was…good…seeing you again…”

“Electron Cannon!” From the palms of my hands, I unleashed a devastating electrical blast that struck him directly in his frozen face. Asuramon and the blade wedged in his chest shattered into thousands of little pieces, the ever-prominent smile on his right head remaining until it, too, shattered with the rest of his body. “Chrysania!” The golden light I emitted vanished as I ran over to the injured girl and crouched down next to her; to my immense relief, she was still breathing, though just barely. Her face had gone completely pale from the loss of blood. “Hang on, Chrysania; mommy’s got you! Mommy’s going to make you all better…” I hurriedly drew two cross-shaped designs in the dirt with Chrysania’s blood. Her hands, which had been hanging on by a few threads at the wrists, joined back together with her arms. They looked good as new, as if they hadn’t been nearly torn off in the first place. “Chrysania! Chrysania! Oh, please, be okay, Chrissy!” I lifted the small girl’s upper body off the ground and tightly hugged her, crying. “Please…be okay…”

“Chrissy is okay…mommy,” Chrysania said, smiling up at me as I laid her down into my lap.

“Chrissy…why…why did you follow me?” I asked tearfully.

“Chrissy was…worried about her mommy…She wanted to make sure Zelda or her mommy wouldn’t get hurt while they were gone…”

I smiled back at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Chrissy…the next time mommy tells you to stay behind…do it.” Chrysania nodded. As she continued looking up at me, her smile began to fade. “What’s wrong? I’m not mad at you, if that’s what you’re wondering…”

“No…It’s…that Digimon that bit Chrissy…he said…He said that…you used to work with him…Is that true, mommy?”

“…Yes, it is,” I said.

“Can you…tell Chrissy about it? That Digimon…told Chrissy what you did the day we met…”

“He…told you that?” I felt the blood drain from my face.

“You…you destroyed Chrissy’s village when she was younger…Did you…really work with those two Digimon? Or did he lie to Chrissy?”

“…No. No, he…he didn’t lie,” I said. “A little over ten years ago, when I was about nineteen…I worked with Asuramon and Parrotmon under IceDevimon’s rule…as bandits.”

“B—Bandits?”

“It was the only way for me to get money,” I said. “I was young and foolish…when I was fifteen, those two told me they needed a witch of my skill to work with them. It was the first time I had ever been praised for my work…so I did whatever IceDevimon asked of me without hesitation. I destroyed villages, murdered innocents with a smile on my face, ruined thousands of lives, and gorged myself on their blood until I felt as though my stomach would burst…Whenever I worked with Parrotmon, or Asuramon, or Zudomon, IceDevimon would always remind us to not kill any girls that had green hair; he always said to bring any we found directly to him…The day I met you, Chrysania…It was a day unlike any other. I had just finished destroying your home village of Lady’s Mantle in Cherifia Territory. I had burned everything to the ground with Parrotmon and Asuramon on my side…until only you were left. Three years old, and you were standing all alone, surrounded by flames, and…you were crying. You had no idea what was going on, but you were frightened…and it was all you could do. You were scared and alone, and…in that state, you reminded me of myself…Scared…and all alone in the world…”

“Chrissy…doesn’t remember this…”

“When the three of us found you…It was as if I had just realized what I had done those past four years…You had nowhere else to go, so it was at that moment that I decided to adopt you myself…But I couldn’t stay and live on as a bandit with a three-year old adopted daughter…so I left…and joined Lachesis as its witch, back when Apollomon, Dianamon, BlackGaomon, and SlashAngemon were the only members. I joined them to fight against bandits like Parrotmon and Asuramon…mostly as atonement for what I had done to you…but also…I wanted to be a good role model for you…But I can clearly say that I’ve failed…Rather, I’ve never had a chance.” Chrysania reached up and placed her small hand over my cheek.

“You’ve done a good job…mommy,” Chrysania smiled. I smiled back sadly, and shook my head.

“No…No, I’m…I’m a terrible person, Chrissy!” I said. “I ravaged your entire village! I killed your entire family! I…” a dagger materialized in my hand without my notice. “Chrissy…I understand…if you hate me…for what I’ve done. You deserve to live a life without hate…” I raised the dagger up to my neck. “But there’s no need for you to dirty your pretty hands…”

“NOOOO!” Chrysania quickly snatched the dagger out of my hand and tossed it far away from me. “Mommy…you can’t die!”

“You don’t…hate me?”

“No! Chrissy loves you! You can’t leave her without a mommy! Chrissy doesn’t remember her real mommy, so you’re now Chrissy’s real mommy! Chrissy doesn’t care about what you did in the past! Please don’t leave Chrissy all alone!” Chrysania had thrown her arms around my waist, and begun sobbing uncontrollably into the front of my shirt. “Chrissy…loves you…mommy…”

“Chrysania…I…I love you, too,” I said, stroking the back of her head. “I’m sorry…I promise I’ll never leave you again.” Chrysania raised her head, smiling at me.

“Mommy…why did you never tell Chrissy you could do such powerful magic?”

“Powerful magic? Oh…you mean Maleficia?” Chrysania nodded. “It…can be very dangerous to use,” I said. “First of all, it’s difficult to control the attacks, making it difficult to hit my target. However, the main reason I never showed it to you…was because the Digimon attacks called forth by it are chosen at random. If I had gotten the wrong attack…I could have killed us all…”

“Oh…”

“Well, that’s enough about that,” I said. “We need to find Zelda. Do you feel okay enough to walk?”

“Yeah, Chrissy’s feeling better!” The young witch stood up and smiled down at me. “Thank you…mommy…”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” I said, standing up too. “Mommy’s little angel…”

“Are you two okay?” a voice called out to us.

“Zelda! Yay, Zelda’s here now!” Chrysania ran up to and threw her arms around Zelda. “Is Zelda okay, too? Zelda didn’t get hurt, did she?”

“No, I’m fine, sweetie,” Zelda said. “A lot has happened, though…”

“…Why don’t you tell us about it on our way back home?” I suggested.

“I think that would be best…”

Sephyrus

1 Hour

 

I followed a river that led from the mountains all the way into the dense jungle of Lotisea, eventually coming to a stop at Lake Viscaria.

“The original resting place of Hydramon,” I said. “Now…it shall be known as his second waking place.” I placed the Clairvoyant’s Mirror into the frigid waters of the lake and watched it sink slowly and gently to the shallow bottom. As it slowly floated away, I begun reciting the ancient words Lilithmon had taught me. The mirror emitted a bright gleam that cut through the clear blue surface of the water, and in mere moments, the monstrous Hydramon stood before me. “Good to have you join us, Hydramon.”

“At long, bloody last…liberation!” Hydramon exclaimed. “But…you said ‘us,’ didn’t you? You are the only one in sight…”

“Lilithmon couldn’t be bothered to come here herself, but she is here in spirit,” I said. “Also, DeathPhantomon is still on the prowl somewhere; for all we know, he could actually be here. I just cannot fathom what goes on in that mind of his…”

“I understand perfectly,” Hydramon smirked.

“Now…forgive me if I am wrong, good sir, but…do you not have eight heads?” I asked. “I see only one…”

“You are correct; ages past, I was once an Orochimon, a destructive eight-headed beast. However…those heads were but a mere illusion, and were little more than puppets. Upon evolution to the Mega level, the other heads seem to have gained a mind of their own, with their own individual personalities. It shames me to say this, but…if too many of my heads are present, we all begin to bicker. I keep only a few of my heads visible to avoid just that. Now, enough of the pleasant chit-chat, Sephyrus; I need to speak with Lilithmon. Quite urgently, really. Might you know where I can find her?”

“She is in Mandala, good sir,” I replied.

“Mandala…and we’re in Lotisea? Of course she chose to live in a place on the other side of the continent…”

“Look at the bright side, Hydramon; Mandala sank to the bottom of the ocean,” I said.

“Well…that is good news, isn’t it? Haven’t had a good swim in a while!” Hydramon looked quite thrilled. “Care to join me, Sephyrus?”

“I’m afraid I cannot; I still need to free Machinedramon and Lupinemon.”

“I understand,” Hydramon’s center head nodded.