Chapter 114: The Little Demon Beast

"In the end, I still didn't manage to land the killing blow!"

Feng Xue lay on the eaves of Ruki's house, gazing aimlessly into the distance. The Deva, Vajramon, had ultimately perished under the Golden Triangle of Rapidmon. After a careful investigation, Feng Xue concluded that this creature had definitely not escaped as it did in the original story. It was a pity that Terriermon did not consume data; the precious Deva data had gone to complete waste.

However, compared to Feng Xue's own gains, that bit of data was trivial.

At this moment, not only was a hazy, yellowish-green crest floating above his head, but on the back of his left hand, there had appeared an eye-shaped emblem composed of two arcs with spiky protrusions.

In the Digital World, crests were no simple things. Each represented immense power and profound significance. Even the most common Ancient Digital Armors relied on the power of "Emotion Crests"—the badges—to allow Digimon to evolve. The crest on the back of Feng Xue's hand, however, was the authority over the Dream World he had seized from Pajiramon.

Yet, the Dream World was not a true region. Or perhaps, in the Digital World, the Dream World remained merely a concept. Unlike the Dark Area, which had already birthed a genuine space, it existed in a state of incomplete formation, dwelling only within the consciousness of Digimon who wielded dream powers. Perhaps only when a Digimon possessing the authority of the Dream World (such as Tapirmon or Giromon) evolved to the Mega level would they earn the recognition of the Digital World, allowing them to carve out a portion of that authority to create a true Dream World.

Unfortunately, Titanmon was sealed within an egg by the Olympus Twelve, and the strongest master of dreams in this world was merely the Ultimate-level Pajiramon.

Thinking of this, Feng Xue could not help but feel a sense of relief.

In his "Perfect Body: Will of the Demon" state, he possessed a quasi-dominion over ownerless data. He had originally intended to use this authority to intercept the data of the [Treasure Bow]. Unfortunately, the [Treasure Bow] was an artifact belonging to the Four Sovereigns, and all Feng Xue could salvage was a portion of the core data belonging to Antylamon. It was only after absorbing this core data that Feng Xue discovered, to his surprise, the authority known as the "Lord of Dreams" contained within.

Although the Dream World had not yet taken shape, with this authority, Digimon like Giromon or Tapirmon would obey his commands, much like how GranDracmon could command all Vampire-type Digimon.

But what truly concerned Feng Xue was not the significance this held for the Digital World, but the information contained within it. As the Digital World was essentialized by data, the essence of authority was naturally an infinite amount of information interpreting that authority. By deciphering this information, Feng Xue gained vast knowledge regarding dream powers. This allowed him to conceive of dream-based abilities that could be used in conjunction with his Infinite Tsukuyomi. With this knowledge, he could even forge a true Dream World within his own domain!

"Feng Xue, there's a Digimon!" Just as Feng Xue was lost in thoughts of the future, Ruki's voice interrupted his daydreams.

Feng Xue did not speak, instead closely following Ruki. He hadn't noticed it while lost in thought, but now, focusing his senses, he could feel a powerful surge of energy.

"It's a Deva, and a Virus-type one at that!" Feng Xue's expression turned grave. Compared to the peace-loving Vaccine types and the indifferent Data types, Virus types were naturally volatile. Even Guilmon, who served as a protagonist, frequently fell into a berserk state during battle. It was precisely because of this that the average combat power of Virus types was higher than that of the other two.

However, when Feng Xue arrived at the foggy area, he saw only a round, rolling figure hovering there.

"Why is it you... where is the Deva?"

"That's my line! What are you doing here? I could have handled that guy all by myself!" Impmon shouted, gesturing wildly. But looking at the situation, it seemed the Deva had sensed his arrival and retreated first. This was not like the behavior of a Deva... Was it because it had just arrived in the Real World and its data hadn't stabilized yet?

"You, by yourself?" Ruki’s voice was melodic, but to Impmon, who had just been reminded of his dark history, it sounded piercingly harsh.

"That guy isn't an ordinary Digimon; it's a Deva serving the Four Sovereigns! You won't be able to defeat it unless you evolve," Feng Xue explained with a curl of his lip. Though he didn't expect Impmon to listen, who knew what kind of deranged creature this guy would evolve into later? Establishing a good relationship now was still quite important.

"What did you say?" To his surprise, Impmon bristled at these words. Heaven knows how that Deva had provoked him just moments ago. He roared, "You keep saying I can't evolve! You look down on me! I'm strong enough without evolving! I'm not like you! I'm strong! I don't want to hang out with humans!"

With that, Impmon ran off.

"What a fool..." Ruki pouted and turned around. "Let's go, Feng Xue!"

"I'm a bit concerned about that guy..." Feng Xue looked up at the departing Impmon. In the original story, Impmon seemed to have had an exchange with Renamon. If he didn't follow him, who knew what kind of chaos the plot would descend into?

"Oh? Feng Xue, you care about your juniors? Is it because you're a Devimon and he's an Impmon?" A look of unprecedented gossip appeared on Ruki's face as she asked with intense curiosity.

"How should I put it? In truth, that guy coming to the Real World has something to do with me..." Feng Xue said with a look of "remembering the glorious years." "Back then, I discovered what seemed to be an entrance to the Real World, but I didn't know if it was dangerous, so I grabbed an Impmon and threw him in. I didn't expect that after one Digimon passed through, the entrance would close..."

"Are you regretting it, Feng Xue?" Ruki's expression was complex, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"No regrets!" Feng Xue shook his head. "If I had been the one to enter that portal back then, I would probably be just like that Impmon now. Furthermore, I wouldn't have been able to form a contract with Ruki..."

"What are you saying!" Ruki's face flushed bright red—whether it was due to the chuunibyou-esque lines of their original contract or something else, it was impossible to tell. She turned away in a flurry, her back to Feng Xue. "Then what are you waiting for? You're concerned, aren't you? Go after him!"

"Right!" Feng Xue nodded and, with a few flashes of movement, vanished from the land where the Deva had just descended.

"Idiot!" Ruki muttered a complaint so soft it could barely be heard, then turned and left.