Toy Town

Zheng Fan delivered the final blow. A Digimon like Black King Sukamon could lie there and let Leomon attack without a care. But every advantage came at a cost: that flexible protective layer severely weakened his combat power. "Blazing fire, burn all to ash." Against a soft-bodied Digimon like Black King Sukamon, only sustained purifying or corrosive attacks, or an instant shock of overwhelming force, would work. Zheng Fan was still far too weak. Even with Black King Sukamon completely unable to fight, it took him a very, very long time to finish him off.

As he watched his last layer of protection burn in the flames, Black King Sukamon remembered how he had stood out among the countless Sukamon in the sewers, been chosen by that powerful dark force, and evolved. But the Sukamon had no faith in Black King Sukamon, who had only just evolved into an Ultimate, or perhaps they simply judged his combat power by their own. In any case, all they did was throw poop. They had more bodies, and even more poop. And so a battle engulfing the entire sewer system began, while the residents aboveground remained utterly unaware. The Sukamon had heard that whoever absorbed Black King Sukamon could inherit the dark power, and every last one desperately crowded toward him. Although Black King Sukamon was larger than an ordinary Sukamon, he was only several times their size. By the end of that chaotic battle, thousands upon thousands of Sukamon had piled on top of him. If he had not grasped the power of his Digicore at the last moment, he might have died.

The burning flames weighed down on Black King Sukamon just as the Sukamon had back then, steadily draining his data energy. It did not hurt, but watching his abundant energy being sucked dry was agonizing. Feeling that he could hold out no longer, Black King Sukamon mustered all his strength and told Zheng Fan, "You really are far too weak. I will be reborn, and I will watch that great being of darkness devour you, just like this." With that, Black King Sukamon slowly closed his eyes. His body shattered into data energy and drifted into the distance.

A great being in the darkness? Zheng Fan knew he was still far too weak. No matter where he was, the weak could only survive, the strong could truly live, and only the supremely powerful could control their own fate.

"Let's go, Leomon." Zheng Fan and Leomon continued through the sewers. The Sukamon lucky enough to survive had no intention of stopping them. Looking at the Sukamon cowering off to one side, Zheng Fan thought, If the Sukamon hadn't backed down in the first battle, or if they'd joined the attack in the second, the outcome would have been different, wouldn't it? Perhaps this was why cowardly Digimon remained weak. Zheng Fan shared his thoughts with Leomon. After considering them, Leomon said, "Perhaps you're right. But if I saw thousands upon thousands of Leomon fall before an enemy, I might do even worse than the Sukamon. At least surrender never crossed their minds."

Leomon's words made Zheng Fan realize that he had taken far too much for granted.

A sliver of white light appeared not far ahead. They were almost out of the sewers, and both Zheng Fan's and Leomon's gloomy moods vanished. "Zheng Fan, let's race! First one to the exit wins!" Leomon charged off the moment he finished speaking. Faced with such shameless behavior, Zheng Fan could only shout that he was a cheat. Clearly, however, the strong did not care about the curses of the weak. When Zheng Fan emerged from the sewers, he was greeted by Leomon's smug, eminently punchable grin. Just you wait, Leomon. Once I reach the Spirit Realm, I'll be able to use the Sword-Controlling Art. Just you wait, Zheng Fan vowed to himself.

Why on earth was the sewer exit halfway up a mountain, anyway? What a strange design. Back aboveground, Zheng Fan and Leomon were in high spirits, laughing and chatting as they went. There were even plenty of coin-operated drink vending machines along the road to Toy Town. Those were straight out of the human world; the Digimon world had no such thing as coins. Zheng Fan certainly had none on him. He wanted to smash the machines open, but when Leomon told him they belonged to Toy Town, he had to give up the idea.

Toy Town was quite famous on File Island. In-Training and Rookie Digimon might know little else, but they all wanted to visit Toy Town. Champion Digimon also knew that its mayor, Monzaemon, was an Ultimate Digimon, so they knew better than to cause trouble there.

"It really is a bustling city," Zheng Fan marveled. Digimon streamed endlessly through every street and alley, and every shop was packed with them. Anyone opening a shop in Toy Town would surely make a fortune. But that was only how it looked. True to its name, the entire town was one big toy. All that bustle and all those crowds were nothing more than everyone playing house.

"Looks like we came to the right place," Zheng Fan said with a smile. "With this many people passing through Toy Town, even if the Chosen Children aren't here, we should be able to find out where they are. Still, Leomon, you seem to have quite a frightening reputation." Many Digimon had gathered to stare at them, but not one dared come close.

"DemiDevimon, I've heard everyone say Leomon is a kind Digimon," a Unimon said. The black-winged DemiDevimon replied, "Leomon is a kind Digimon? Then go talk to him." Unimon immediately fell silent. The surrounding Digimon whispered among themselves as well. "Is that Leomon?" "Leomon is so scary." "Isn't Leomon supposed to be a kind Digimon?" "That can't be Leomon, can it?"

How did this happen? Leomon felt like crying, but no tears would come. Half his nice-guy image came from his personality, while the other half was something he deliberately cultivated. If those In-Training and Rookie Digimon had witnessed a brutal battle, their impression of Leomon would not have been very good either.

Leomon had done it all for Biyomon. He desperately wanted to leave File Island. Only by winning Biyomon over would he have a chance of getting Birdramon or Airdramon to fly him out.

"You two, stop right there, or I won't be so polite!" A huge brown iron ball-Guardromon-appeared. Was this Leomon? As expected of a Champion Digimon, Guardromon actually dared approach them. Seeing Guardromon, Leomon hastily said, "Guardromon, Zheng Fan and I came from the Factory." After hearing this, Guardromon stood blankly for a moment, apparently entering search mode. Before long, Guardromon understood what was going on and asked, "Andromon sent you to find Monzaemon, but doesn't Andromon know Monzaemon's temper very well? If Monzaemon sees you looking like this in Toy Town, you'll be stuck hanging on the wall for ages after a Love Attack." Zheng Fan and Leomon were both baffled. Zheng Fan considered what he and Leomon had in common, then recalled what Andromon and Leomon had said about Monzaemon. "Monzaemon doesn't like Digimon with powerful combat abilities, right? Leomon and I can promise not to damage anything in Toy Town."

Zheng Fan was about to continue when a rumbling sound reached them. Guardromon could only shout, "It's too late! Hurry up and leave!" The Digimon playing nearby cried out joyfully, "Monzaemon is here!" "Monzaemon is here!"

Monzaemon was the largest Digimon Zheng Fan had ever seen, towering as high as a small building. Before this, the largest Digimon he had encountered were Kuwagamon and Numemon, each only about the size of a room.

"Love Attack!" Zheng Fan and Leomon were caught in blue, heart-shaped bubbles without the slightest chance to resist.

"I feel so helpless." The instant Zheng Fan was caught, he lost the ability to use any of his data energy. His arms and legs became useless ornaments. Leomon was completely powerless to resist as well. Why did Leomon always end up completely unable to fight?

"You two villains tried to destroy Toy Town. I'm going to punish you!" The two blue bubbles flew toward Toy Town's walls. "Monzaemon, please wait!" Guardromon hurriedly called. "Guardromon, what is it?" One of Monzaemon's enormous feet was as large as Guardromon's entire body. "Monzaemon, Leomon and Zheng Fan came from the Factory to find you." Monzaemon narrowed his eyes. "From the Factory? I understand what's going on. But these two broke Toy Town's rules, and they must be punished." Although Monzaemon was a Nature Spirits Digimon, he was even stricter than the Metal Empire.

A day later, Zheng Fan and Leomon finally came down from the wall, weak to the point of collapse. Monzaemon's Love Attack not only sealed data energy, but also drained the trapped Digimon's data energy to replenish its own expenditure. The bubbles had hung on the wall for an entire day, powered entirely by Zheng Fan and Leomon's energy. "All right, I know what you two did. Thank you for clearing out the sewers," Monzaemon said, bowing. "This is for you. Love Attack!" At Monzaemon's thanks, Zheng Fan and Leomon breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, before they could finish exhaling, Monzaemon unleashed his special move again. Weak as they were, Zheng Fan and Leomon still turned and ran. Monzaemon watched with a chuckle as red, heart-shaped bubbles instantly enveloped them.

Caught inside the red bubble, Zheng Fan felt a warmth that made him relax completely. He knew perfectly well that in this state, he could not block any attack. But knowing that was one thing; he could not muster even the slightest strength to rouse himself and resist. Of course, these red bubbles were Monzaemon's reward and compensation for Zheng Fan and Leomon, so they would naturally do no harm.

He could feel his strength steadily returning. Moreover, Monzaemon's Love Attack was the only special move Zheng Fan had seen that disregarded the distinction between true qi and data energy. Whether weakening or restoring them, it affected everything.

The Sukamon in the sewers were a considerable nuisance, though fortunately they hated sunlight. Still, a bustling paradise like Toy Town was exactly the sort of place they liked. The Metal Empire's people paid no attention to the Sukamon's strength, and the sewers were far too complicated. Beneath Toy Town, there were always restless Sukamon who suddenly popped out to frighten everyone, infuriating Monzaemon. This time, Zheng Fan and Leomon had done him a huge favor.