Starting from a Koromon! [129]

“This forest will be your grave… Take this chance to carefully think up your last words~”

From deep within the woods came Puppetmon’s voice. Zero simply swung his GeoGrey Sword and coolly shot back:

“Naturally. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your epitaph is perfect. You, on the other hand… won’t have time to think of any last words at all~”

While trading verbal jabs, their hands didn’t slow down for even a second.

The monstrous trees from all directions shook their branches violently, hurling ghostly flames and dry limbs ablaze with eerie blue-white fire straight at Zero.

Though the sight was intimidating, attacks of this level didn’t even require Zero to swing his sword.

Simply spreading his massive wings wide released energy powerful enough to instantly incinerate the incoming branches. But the relentless assaults from every direction continued unabated, endlessly surging toward Zero’s face.

Annoyed at being constantly harassed, Zero finally lifted the GeoGrey Sword—

A golden-red glow surged upward along the blade. Simultaneously, a pillar of light descended directly from the blazing sun above.

The two streams of light connected, forming a single, colossal blade of energy stretching from earth to sky. Zero planted his foot firmly, then swung downward with all his strength.

The massive sword crashed down with cataclysmic force, pulling even the clouds above into its trajectory, striking the ground and splitting the haunted forest cleanly in two, carving out a path straight to the horizon!

After cleaving downwards, Zero pivoted sharply, swinging horizontally. This second strike released a roaring wave of flames that fanned out, completely clearing a wide swathe of trees in a single devastating sweep.

Just these two simple moves had unleashed map-clearing-level destruction. Even from afar, those watching the battle couldn’t help but silently marvel:

…That’s Mega-level power for you.

Yet even this spectacular attack couldn’t destroy the haunted forest entirely. The cleared spaces quickly filled again with countless more monstrous trees.

Seemingly dead and dried, these trees rapidly regrew, twisting and interlocking branches together. Their bark warped grotesquely, forming horrifying, vivid faces.

These faces contorted with frightening liveliness, and the trees themselves wrenched their roots free from the ground, merging into bizarre, gigantic treants—some with three heads, others six arms—all shambling toward Zero with twisted screams.

“This forest…”

Zero finally realized the problem. Raising the GeoGrey Sword again, he unleashed another surge of energy in the form of a massive beam of light.

Although this beam instantly shredded dozens of treants, the shattered remnants swiftly merged back together, reforming into even stranger, more enormous monsters.

That unsettling feeling grew stronger:

“This forest…is alive?”

It was as though the entire forest itself was one enormous, sinister beast, with these distorted treants merely the hair sprouting from its body.

“So, this is Puppetmon’s domain? A living forest? No… rather than alive…”

Zero stomped firmly, launching himself forward, sword raised before him as he plowed straight through, obliterating every obstacle in his path.

But the moment he paused and landed, countless monstrous hands erupted from beneath the earth, clawing desperately at his body.

Behind him, severed limbs and branches gathered together, forming an enormous treant over thirty meters tall, which immediately swung a massive fist down at Zero’s head.

Zero stood motionless, holding his sword. Instead, he spread his Glorious Wings to their absolute limit, releasing a dazzling burst of golden-red energy that enveloped his entire body.

The monstrous hands and the towering treant behind him were instantly reduced to ashes by the unleashed Glorious Burst. Lifting his gaze, Zero finally glimpsed what he’d been looking for:

…Threads.

Countless fine threads stretched densely throughout the entire forest, connecting every single object within it.

These puppet strings were thinner than hair—no, even finer, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. Rather than physical threads, they seemed to be some semi-tangible “magical strings,” floating between reality and illusion.

Puppetmon could control others’ bodies through these strings. Even Mega-level Digimon in canon occasionally fell victim; for Ultimates and below, being caught was practically guaranteed.

If living beings could be controlled, inanimate objects naturally posed no difficulty. Earlier, Zero felt the forest was somehow alive, yet strangely artificial. Now he understood clearly why:

This entire forest wasn’t alive; it was one enormous puppet controlled by Puppetmon himself!

This was Puppetmon’s true domain—

—The Puppet Forest!

“Haha, finally noticed, have you? Then you must also understand…from the moment you set foot here, escaping my grasp was impossible!”

As if to punctuate his statement, the earth beneath Zero split violently apart, shaking fiercely as five massive wooden pillars burst from below, sending dirt flying. Immediately, Zero realized what they were:

A giant wooden hand!

Formed by the entire Puppet Forest itself, a colossal puppet emerged halfway from the ground. Its shape resembled Puppetmon, but it towered immensely, so gigantic Zero looked like a tiny insect trapped in its grasp.

The puppet’s shoulders pierced the clouds above, its upper body hidden from distant observers.

…

Meanwhile, far from the main battle, LadyDevimon and Angewomon—hair tangled, clothes torn—paused their fierce wrestling match, breathing heavily as they glanced briefly toward the chaos.

“You see that? That’s what real, absurd strength looks like. That’s the true power of the Dark Masters!”

LadyDevimon gloated, nursing her bruised cheek, hoping this shocking display would intimidate her opponent.

“So what? Zero would never lose to a guy like that!”

Angewomon retorted defiantly, even with her hair knotted and feathers plucked from her wings.

Despite her serene appearance, she was essentially a rebellious, wild cat at heart. These two women had initially fought properly, exchanging grand attacks until they exhausted their energy, before finally resorting to violently clawing and wrestling each other instead.

Even after regaining enough strength for long-range moves, both had silently agreed tearing at each other was somehow more satisfying. As for appearances—these two angry women clearly no longer cared.

Down below, Taichi watched nervously, repeatedly attempting—and failing—to stop Hikari from observing their fight.

Seeing his sweet little sister enthusiastically cheering Angewomon on, waving her tiny fists and screaming excitedly, Taichi felt something precious within his heart crumble to pieces.

Damn it! Give me back my cute, angelic sister!!!

…

Elsewhere, Mistymon rapidly cycled elemental enchantments on his sword, single-handedly holding back Puppetmon’s aerial forces.

Though he wasn’t overwhelmed, he wasn’t gaining any advantage either. Sneaking a glance at Zero’s spectacular battle, he couldn’t help but feel like his own fight resembled a peaceful exercise by comparison.

“Tch…such chaos. I hope Zero-sama is alright.”

As he muttered this, Hajime—currently as Kimeramon—rushed over, smashing through Mistymon’s encirclement effortlessly, scattering enemy formations with a single breath.

After all, she was a true Mega-level force; excluding overpowered outliers, Hajime was nearly invincible among peers.

While covering her comrade, Hajime confidently reassured him:

“If it’s Zero, he’ll definitely win!”

Mistymon clearly heard the unwavering trust in her voice, nodding immediately.

“Yeah, I believe it too. Let’s leave that to Zero and focus on finishing up here.”

…

All three battlefields were fiercely raging, but the Digimon Kaiser—supposedly one of the protagonists—realized he’d been utterly sidelined and ignored.

The Mega-level battles were world-shattering, the women’s ferocious clash was astounding in its own way, and even Mistymon and Hajime’s fight was a vivid example of proper Dark Army tactics.

He desperately tried to do something, even just providing a minor buff with his Dark D-3 Digivice. Yet he found himself completely unable to participate, his hands trembling uncontrollably, nearly dropping the device.

“Damn it…”

A bitter curse squeezed through clenched teeth, yet he felt completely powerless.

“…We’re all the same level. Why is the difference this massive? Is my training method flawed? Are there secret mechanics in this game that I’ve somehow missed?”

His grip tightened until his fingers turned white. Just as he agonized helplessly, a deafening explosion in the distance abruptly drew his attention…

—

T/N: shut up kiddo

This is a fan translation of从滚球兽开始 by 魔王丘比. Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!