40. Iron Rooster Beast

"It seems the enemy has taken the bait. What do you think, shall we make a move?" Zeromaru whispered to Tai.

"Don't be hasty. We still don't know if they are a willing accomplice or simply being coerced." Tai lay on his surfboard, looking composed. His right arm, wearing the Digivice, was submerged in the water as he sent a message to Zeromaru.

What he wanted to confirm, naturally, was the identity of the Numemon. As for the Cockatrimon, there was no need to scan that one. The stench of villainy radiating from within it was, to Tai, like a red-named player suddenly popping up among a crowd of friendly NPCs, with their health bar fully visible. Tai was genuinely surprised by his own self-control in being able to hold back from striking immediately.

The Numemon tentatively inched closer, finally touching the chain of the Digivice. It examined the object with curiosity. After all, this wasn't some toy sold by Bandai; it was a genuine treasure imbued with magical power, its texture and weight far more substantial than its appearance suggested.

*Come to think of it,* the Numemon mused, *accessories like this should come one per person, right? This human kid is carrying seven all by himself—does he not have any friends to hang out with? Wearing so many pendants around his neck all day will lead to cervical spine curvature.* It was unclear why a Numemon, whose biological structure was similar to that of a slime, would be so concerned about cervical vertebrae.

Despite the chaotic thoughts swirling in its mind, the Numemon's movements remained steady. It clutched the seven chains, carefully jumped off the table, and after giving Tai and Zeromaru one apologetic look, scurried back to the captain’s quarters.

***

"Guhahaha! I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Numemon, you did well, you did very well!" Cockatrimon jumped up and down, clutching the Digivice.

"Since I've brought the item back for you, you should let me go now, right?" Numemon asked, wringing its hands anxiously.

"Hmm?" Cockatrimon stopped bouncing and stared at the Numemon with its blood-red eyes.

"What's wrong?" Numemon felt extremely uncomfortable under that gaze.

Cockatrimon chuckled. "Nothing. If you want to leave, then go ahead." It opened the window of the captain's quarters and pointed toward the desert, where the scenery shifted rapidly as the ship sped along. "Go on."

"Boss, you're joking, right? Heh, hehehe..." Numemon gave a nervous laugh.

Cockatrimon crept closer, scaring the Numemon into backing away. But in the cramped captain's quarters, it eventually reached a point where there was nowhere left to retreat.

"No, don't! I already completed your mission! I didn't do anything wrong! Why, why won't you let me go?" Tears welled up in Numemon's eyes.

"The mistake you made was evolving into a weak Numemon!" Cockatrimon spat out a blast of green flame.

"Petrifying Fire!" As the name suggested, it was a technique that turned whoever it struck into stone.

"What a tasteless enemy. To kill the donkey the moment it finishes grinding the grain—I’m truly impressed you can bring yourself to do that."

Tai appeared in front of the Numemon as if he had teleported, raising his arm to block the Petrifying Fire.

"Guh—!" Cockatrimon shrieked out of reflex, but upon seeing Tai's arm rapidly turning to stone, it burst into laughter.

"Gwahahaha! What a moron of a brat! To save a filthy, bottom-feeding Numemon, you’re about to become a statue yourself!"

Never expecting to defeat the DigiDestined so easily, Cockatrimon was beyond ecstatic. "Lord Datamon, my mission is complete!"

"The bottom-feeding trash is you!"

"Cockatrimon, is it?" Watching the petrification spread from his arm to his chest, Tai remained calm. "Let me teach you a lesson today."

"Petrification attacks are ineffective against the Power Type!"

*Crack, crack—*

The Spirit of Courage flared up. Tai pushed through the petrification effect, crossing his arms in front of his forehead.

"Cha—!"

He swung his arms violently to his sides. The petrification was forcibly interrupted, and the stone shards on his body exploded outward like a shell being cast off. One of the fragments struck Cockatrimon, launching it out of the captain's quarters and flying off into the horizon.

"Wah! Lord Datamon, save me!"

Cockatrimon clearly hadn't expected Tai to break its signature move so easily. Furthermore, its body had already begun to turn into data where it had been struck by the stone.

"Hmm?" Datamon, who was busy preparing to fuse materials in an inverted pyramid, seemed to sense something and looked toward the sky. "Cockatrimon?"

His sixth sense told him that Cockatrimon was in a life-or-death crisis. Although Datamon always approached problems with rational thought, considering the opponent was Tai, it made sense that things had turned dire so quickly. He manipulated his monitoring equipment to locate Cockatrimon.

Immediately, he spotted Cockatrimon wedged into a giant cactus. The thorns had pierced its body, and half of it had already dissipated into data.

"Useless creature." Unsurprised by the result, Datamon commented indifferently.

Just then, the voice of a subordinate came from outside the door.

"Lord Datamon, did you call for me?"

Walking in was a Digimon identical to Cockatrimon, except its white feathers and crest were a pale and deep red. It was a subspecies of Cockatrimon, Akatorimon.

"Ah... Akatorimon, you've come at the perfect time."

Datamon pointed his Digivice at the newcomer, while the other screen focused on Cockatrimon.

"Join in the sacred evolution!"

Under the influence of an inexplicable, magical power, Cockatrimon and Akatorimon merged together.

"Jogress Evolution!"

***

Tai, having repelled Cockatrimon, did not remain idle; he knew the opponent wouldn't be defeated so easily.

He first retrieved the heavy Digivice and placed it back around his neck, then brought the cruise ship to a stop so that Zeromaru could move freely. Afterward, they sent the Numemon off the ship and transmitted a map of the NEO Village to it.

"Don't worry, I will eliminate these thugs in the shortest time possible so they can't threaten your life. But if you're really worried about retaliation, just hide in the NEO Village for now."

Numemon looked at Tai in disbelief. "I’m the one who stole your important item—why are you helping me?"

Tai shrugged. "Well, it wasn't your fault you were being coerced."

Just then, the sky grew heavy with dark clouds, and lightning began to strike like rain.

"Hoho, this enemy looks quite formidable." Tai was very satisfied with the display.

A bird-type Digimon, entirely golden and protected by spherical purple armor, descended from the distance at supersonic speeds, landing before Tai.

It was Vajramon.

Although its appearance had changed, Tai recognized its identity instantly by its aura.

"Cockatrimon, you actually evolved."

The opponent was an unexpected surprise. After all, MetalGreymon had already evolved into a Perfect-level Digimon when it first appeared. Tai hadn't known that Datamon possessed the power of Jogress Evolution, and this time, he had witnessed Cockatrimon evolve from an Adult level to a Perfect level with his own eyes.