Although things had drifted slightly off course from his initial expectations, it was still comfortably within an acceptable range…
…After all, an Agumon could technically evolve into Numemon—so long as he avoided steering down that horrific path, any deviation was still tolerable in Zero's eyes.
Besides, purely in terms of individual combat ability, the variant GeoGreymon was even stronger than the original Greymon.
Compared to the original, GeoGreymon had a number of spiked protrusions across its body, and its skull helmet was also covered in additional bone spurs. Altogether, it gave GeoGreymon a distinctly more aggressive appearance than its standard counterpart.
Zero dug his muscular hind legs firmly into the ground and charged straight toward Seadramon, head lowered so that the three thick horns of his skull armor formed a deadly battering ram. He opened the fight decisively with one of his signature moves—Horn Impulse!
A body nearly three stories tall, once in motion, was practically a mountain on the rampage. Each step shook the earth beneath his feet, making the ground tremble slightly as he charged forward. Like a battle tank running at full throttle, Zero thundered toward Seadramon without hesitation.
If this collision connected head-on, the relatively slender Seadramon would probably meet its end instantly.
If they were underwater, Seadramon's speed would easily let it dodge such a straightforward, heavy-handed attack. But now that it had come ashore, its mobility was cut in half, if not worse.
Realizing there was no escape, Seadramon opened its jaws, blasting a jet of pressurized water in an attempt to halt Zero's charge.
But Zero had easily dodged this attack even as a small Agumon; now, with a sudden twist of his powerful legs, he whipped his tail around sharply, executing an unbelievably agile drift maneuver…
…Though Zero currently looked massive and lumbering, his maneuverability on land still vastly exceeded Seadramon, who was practically helpless once it left the water.
One quick drift dodged the high-pressure water jet, and in an instant, the distance between the two was reduced to less than three meters. At this distance, Seadramon had no tricks left. Zero's powerful horns slammed into its body, lifting Seadramon off the ground and sending it flying helplessly into the air.
Seadramon struggled in midair, but Zero suddenly crouched down, compressing his muscles, then jumped with tremendous force, directly leaping off the ground…
His robust hind legs gave him explosive strength beyond imagination. Seadramon, suspended helplessly in the air without wings, could only watch as Zero vaulted overhead, positioning himself directly above it, then—
Delivered a textbook-perfect piledriver from above, using the full weight of his body combined with gravitational acceleration to crash brutally down onto Seadramon's helpless form.
The impact was so severe that Seadramon nearly spat out its own internal organs. Taking advantage of the moment when Seadramon was completely immobilized, Zero opened his massive jaws, a golden-red glow swiftly gathering deep in his throat.
Unlike the standard Greymon's Nova Blast, which fired a highly compressed fireball at opponents, Zero's other signature move compressed flame directly within his jaws, and then…
…The giant beast bit down mercilessly onto Seadramon's body, releasing the compressed flames directly at point-blank range. This Mega Flame became the decisive final blow, the straw that broke the camel's back.
Seadramon, having suffered consecutive, devastating blows, finally lost all strength beneath this final attack. Its body collapsed limply in defeat.
Zero released his jaws, reared his head proudly, swung his tail in triumph, and roared mightily into the sky. The furious sound echoed through the forest, sending birds scattering from the trees and animals fleeing in panic…
…The master of this forest lake had fallen. From this moment forward, a new ruler had risen within the Digital Forest!
Seadramon's body quickly began to break down visibly, dissolving into data fragments which Zero promptly absorbed.
Although this data couldn't compare to the vast DigiSoul energy Rina had released when triggering his evolution, absorbing Seadramon's data still filled Zero with a tangible, strengthening sensation. Even his DigiCore pulsed energetically a few times.
Defeating other Digimon and absorbing their data…this was the fundamental law of survival in this world.
In absorbing Seadramon's data, the surge of intense satisfaction made Zero suddenly understand why so many Digimon were obsessed with doing just that…
…This feeling of growing stronger really was addicting.
Meanwhile, Seadramon's body had completely decomposed, leaving only a pulsating core—the Digimon's DigiCore.
The last lingering data enveloped this DigiCore, transforming it into a Digitama (Digi-Egg) covered in water-blue stripes, which floated upward toward the sky.
From here, the Digitama would return to the Village of Beginnings, awaiting the day when it would hatch and reenter this world.
As the battle concluded, a brilliant flash of light enveloped the giant beast, and Zero's form rapidly shrank, returning once again to his compact Koromon appearance.
Although GeoGreymon was impressively strong, a towering form like that attracted far too much unwanted attention. Zero found his smaller form much more convenient for getting around.
Of course, now that he'd achieved digivolution once, he could transform back into GeoGreymon at will whenever necessary.
At that moment, Rina and Gabumon, seeing the battle had ended, approached Zero once again.
Rina gazed curiously at the bouncing little pink ball on the ground, amazement filling her voice.
"Eh? You're Zero, right? Amazing! You can turn into such a huge, cool form, then shrink back into this adorable shape? Isn't that totally cheating? How'd you do it?"
Facing Rina's openly curious questions, and considering she was now officially his human partner, Zero didn't see the point in hiding anything.
"Well…that explanation would take quite a bit of time, but basically—"
Digimon possessed strong territorial instincts, and Seadramon itself was notoriously aggressive. With Seadramon occupying this lake, it was unlikely any other powerful Digimon would coexist here.
Thus, with Seadramon now defeated, this lakeside area was temporarily safe, giving Zero the perfect chance to rest and recuperate.
...
For the next hour or so, Zero patiently explained Rina's current circumstances. Naturally, he couldn't go into great detail about everything, since he himself wasn't completely clear on certain points.
But the basic concept could be explained well enough.
"So that's how it is! Digimon, the Digital World… You mean I've fallen into some incredible world made of data and networks? It's exactly like an anime or a video game!"
Fortunately, Rina seemed to be quite the anime and gaming enthusiast, making it relatively easy for her to accept these strange circumstances.
Plus, her optimistic, carefree—or perhaps completely oblivious—personality meant that upon encountering such an unusual event, her first reaction wasn't "Oh no, I'm in trouble," but rather, "Wow, this is so cool!"
As Zero patiently explained the situation to Rina, Gabumon recovered somewhat. Although it wasn't fully healed, it was at least able to move again.
"How're you feeling?" Zero asked, hopping over to Gabumon. "If your injuries still hurt, maybe you should rest a bit longer. With Seadramon defeated, it should be safe enough here for now."
Gabumon nodded hesitantly, then finally spoke after a pause.
"I…I have a favor to ask of you two…"
Its voice wavered, clearly embarrassed, but finally, it steeled itself and bowed its head deeply…
Seeing this, Zero immediately responded without hesitation.
"What favor? Tell us first."
He didn't agree outright, sensing this request probably wasn't simple. Gabumon itself seemed uneasy about troubling others.
But eventually, it found the courage to speak:
"…Can you teach me how to become stronger? I want to evolve. I want strength…so I can avenge my friend!"
Zero immediately understood something important. "Your friend?"
"Yes. He was killed by the demon ruling this island. I must avenge him, but I'm no match for that monster. I can't even defeat his underlings. So please, teach me—I want to become stronger!"
Hearing this, Zero instantly felt at ease.
This is exactly why I worked so hard to save you—to get you to join my pirate c…err, I mean, to team up with us.
As for Devimon, that was precisely the enemy and obstacle Zero had planned to face from the beginning. They would've clashed eventually anyway.
As Gabumon spoke, Zero was already vividly picturing himself and Gabumon evolving side-by-side to Ultimate level and crushing everything together.
But agreeing outright seemed too easy, so Zero decided to pretend hesitation and feign reluctance before "begrudgingly" accepting.
Yet before he could even begin to respond, Rina cheerfully blurted out:
"Of course it's fine! Zero, let's help him!"
"W-wait, when exactly did we become 'us'?"
Zero was momentarily speechless. This girl's familiarity was way too strong—but Rina answered with perfect confidence.
"Huh? We fought together already, right? So you and I are already friends! Plus, Gabumon totally helped earlier. Don't be shy now~"
Before Zero could argue, Rina scooped him up in a warm hug, silencing all his protests in a single instant.
At that moment, Zero's mind went blank, leaving only one thought:
…Holy crap, they're huge!
What sorcery has blinded my eyes?!
Zero's mind was still short‑circuiting, but Rina seemed completely unaware that anything was wrong. In her eyes, Koromon‑form Zero was just an adorable plush‑toy‑like creature—something you hugged without a second thought.
As for embarrassment… please. Just take one more look at Rina's outfit…
…A girl who dared to dress like that and run around in broad daylight clearly had no concept of modesty to begin with! What was a tiny hug compared to that?!
Under Rina's full‑power "human warmth" assault, Zero—who had already intended to agree anyway—naturally lost the last traces of resistance. He accepted swiftly and cleanly.
"Alright then. From today on… please take care of me."
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T/N: future me here, this shit IS PEAKKKKK i've already translated over 200 chapters of it in my drafts, hehehehehehehe i love digimon now
PLEASE SAVE IT!!!!! it does start a bit slow but give it a few more chapters!!!!!!!!!