"The only way to overcome fear is to face it head-on."
Moss's fingertip traced down from Angewomon's chin, gliding along her right arm to her wrist.
"Uh…" Angewomon squirmed, feeling uncomfortable.
Angewomon Lucy sighed, "Moss, stop bullying her."
With a slight smile, Moss gripped Angewomon's wrist and yanked her up. "Let's go. Fight to forget your fears."
"Huh?" Angewomon blinked, instinctively trying to pull her hand back.
But her wrist felt locked in place, as if caught in a vice. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.
Even though she possessed powerful holy energy, Moss had superior physical strength—enhanced further by the Bull Talisman's power—making resistance futile. Angewomon could only be dragged helplessly to a clearing.
A black-and-white contrast: the two Angewomon faced each other.
Moss raised her hand, summoning a crimson whip from her palm.
"That's…" Angewomon trembled.
Devil's Blood Whip.
She knew it well. She'd grown up being whipped by it. Myotismon had lashed her countless times simply because he disliked her eyes.
"I'm starting."
Moss lunged forward, lashing out with a sweeping strike.
Snap!
Angewomon didn't dodge. The whip struck her squarely, sending her flying ten meters. A red mark bloomed across her waist.
"Good," Moss smiled. "Looks like you've understood the meaning of facing your fear. Let's continue!"
Angewomon silently fumed—what meaning? I froze up from fear!
She'd learned the hard way: if she didn't dodge, it was one lash; if she did, she got more. Experience, not courage, guided her.
Whoosh!
The second strike came.
But the first hit had dulled her terror. "So this is what the Devil's Blood Whip really feels like…" she thought.
Just like how a thrown dagger is most terrifying before it's released, the whip was scariest before the first strike landed. Once it hit, the unknown fear lessened.
This time, she reacted. Unfurling her eight wings, she narrowly evaded the second whip by soaring upward.
Moss pursued her mid-air, preparing the third strike. "Don't run—charge straight at it!"
Angewomon was speechless—was she nuts?
…Then again, wasn't she nuts too?
"I'm not weaker than Myotismon anymore. So why am I still afraid? I'm not a fool!"
Her rebellious spirit ignited.
She turned and stopped running.
The third lash came. Angewomon took it, then grabbed the whip with her left hand, yanked Moss toward her, and slapped her.
Smack!
"Thanks," she said. "For helping me say goodbye to my cowardice."
Moss grinned, letting the whip vanish as she stroked her stinging cheek. "Not bad. But if you think that's enough to beat Myotismon—you've got a long way to go!"
"Huh?" Angewomon blinked.
Then—dark energy pulsed from Moss's chest like a void, birthing dozens of bloodthirsty bats.
Nightmare Wing Attack!
A swarm of bats surged at Angewomon like a barrage of bullets. She summoned holy energy to form a shield.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
It was like machine gun fire against a steel wall.
Moss kept her strength equal to Angewomon's—any more would ruin the fun.
While Angewomon held off the bats, Moss blinked to her side, seized a handful of her golden hair…
"Ah!"
She was spun like a discus and slammed into the ground.
Boom! A human-shaped dent formed.
Climbing to her feet, Angewomon glared. "So that's how you fight, huh?!"
Moss twirled a golden lock and smirked. "Same length hair. If you can grab mine, feel free."
"You think I won't?" Angewomon lunged at her.
But Moss's hair moved like serpents, binding her arm, spinning her around again—
Boom!
Another dent.
Angewomon charged again.
Boom!
And again.
Boom!
Wizardmon, Astamon, Goblimon, Mushroomon, Otamamon, Gekomon, and Kunemon alternated glancing up and down.
Each time they looked down—another dent appeared.
After the tenth one…
"Ugh…" Angewomon groaned, bruised and staggering.
Then—she shrank.
She'd devolved back into Gatomon.
"What happened?" Gatomon stared at her paws in disbelief.
Moss landed, returning to her Angewomon form. "You ran out of DigiSoul."
She cast Holy Bubble, healing Gatomon's wounds.
Digivolving and de-digivolving doesn't erase injuries. Just like how SaberLeomon died even after de-digivolving. Wounds persist through forms.
Even the scars Myotismon left under Gatomon's gauntlets still remained—just hidden, not gone.
"My DigiSoul resonates well with you. Evolving you to Ultimate is easy—I can do it ten times a day."
Moss replenished her stamina and injected another DigiSoul.
In a flash, Gatomon evolved again into Angewomon.
"Come on, let's keep fighting."
This time, Moss stayed in her normal Angewomon form.
The fear was gone. Now, it was about strength.
"Still?!" Angewomon hesitated.
She wasn't naturally combative, and after being smacked down ten times…
She lacked the courage to keep going.
"You call that a stance? That look in your eyes? Can you beat Myotismon like that?"
Angewomon stiffened.
She had to defeat Myotismon!
Fine then—
Fight!
She dashed forward like a hero charging a demon king.
…
Every Digital World has a god-like overseer—like Yggdrasil.
In this Digimon Adventure world, that god is Homeostasis.
Homeostasis values balance. When good and evil are in equilibrium, it takes a hands-off approach. Only when evil surges will it intervene.
Its current intervention plan: eight chosen children and their Digimon.
But something went wrong. One Digimon—Gatomon—got separated from her partner.
Homeostasis had located her, but chose not to intervene directly, as it lacked a physical form and preferred natural development.
Still, it watched her.
Then one day… Gatomon met an otherworldly Digimon.
No big deal. Visitors from other dimensions were common.
But this one—this Angewomon—could evolve Gatomon without the Holy Plan?
And transform into a vampiric form?
This wasn't right!
A being of light using dark powers?
Homeostasis was utterly confused. Was she good or evil?
Uncertain, it chose the only option—
To continue watching from the shadows…
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Each 25 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)
10 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen