Proof of the Dragon

The Dimensional Domain.

In the sky, a blue gemstone dragon soared.

On the ground, the Crimson Demon Dragon growled.

The two dragons, both at the pinnacle of Champion-level Dragon-type Digimon, faced each other and roared.

"Growlmon!"

Seeing Growlmon like this, Takato Matsuki instinctively grew worried.

His opponent had been formidable last time, and now Growlmon was on his own.

So Takato Matsuki was terrified that Growlmon would get hurt.

He even began to regret asking Mo Yan for help.

"#＄%@..."

The blue dragon chanted in a tongue that was convoluted, obscure, mysterious, and grand, a language neither Takato Matsuki nor Impmon could understand.

As the blue dragon chanted, the Crimson Demon Dragon began to join in.

The rhythmic rise and fall of their voices left Takato Matsuki and Impmon curious about what language this was and what it meant.

As the two dragons chanted, an inexplicable fluctuation began to form.

Then a deep blue dragon-shaped phantom and a crimson dragon-shaped phantom shot into the sky.

In the sky, the red and blue dragon phantoms intertwined, circled, and merged.

A golden trophy resembling two dragons entwined together appeared in midair.

Seeing the trophy appear, Mo Yan stopped circling overhead and landed on the ground, facing off against Growlmon.

[Digital wonder: Proof of the Dragon (replica, single-use wonder).

Description: Dragon-type Digimon are born for battle, and a meeting between two dragons inevitably leads to a duel. To reward the victor and spur on the defeated, Dragon-type Digimon created the digital wonder: Proof of the Dragon.

(Note: Since this was an imitation created by certain beings, its effects differ somewhat from the original.)

Effects: The victor will obtain the defeated dragon's data from its current stage and accumulate victories, gaining the potential for higher, stronger evolution.

The defeated dragon will lose its data from its current stage and devolve to the previous stage. Its core data will be stabilized. Although evolving again will become more difficult, this stabilization represents an increase in its upper limit.]

Somehow, the moment Takato Matsuki and the others saw the item, they understood its effects.

Growlmon...

Takato Matsuki instinctively looked toward Growlmon, who remained on guard, still feeling worried.

Impmon, however, did not care about that at all.

What concerned Impmon was why Mo Yan could always produce such strange things.

And why he could turn into so many different Digimon.

Could having multiple DigiCores really let someone turn into other Digimon at will like this?

Then how could someone obtain extra DigiCores?

"Roar!"

Seeing the Proof of the Dragon finish manifesting, Growlmon was the first to give in to his urge to attack and launched himself at Mo Yan.

Although Growlmon's draconic instincts told him that this Proof of the Dragon was merely a counterfeit rather than the original.

His instinct to battle another dragon still made him choose to fight.

"Fireball!"

Opening his great jaws, Growlmon unleashed a standard Dragon-type Digimon skill.

Red flames surged toward Mo Yan.

"Blue Flame Breath!"

At the same moment, Mo Yan immediately spewed a stream of blue flames.

In an instant, the blue flames collided with the incoming red flames.

Under their masters' control, neither the red nor the blue flames gave an inch.

Their flames appeared evenly matched.

Realizing this, both dragons stopped wasting their strength.

"Plasma Blade!"

The blades on Growlmon's arms shone as he prepared to fight his opponent at close quarters.

"Assault Blast!"

With a beat of his wings, Mo Yan immediately pulled back to evade Growlmon's blades, then lashed his tail at him.

Not expecting Mo Yan to use his wings to evade his attack in time, Growlmon could only raise both arms to block the powerful tail strike.

The heavy blow forced Growlmon back some distance.

"Roar!"

His attack thwarted, Growlmon roared furiously at Mo Yan.

"Roar!"

Mo Yan roared back, refusing to yield.

As though enraged by Mo Yan's roar, Growlmon immediately charged at him.

Seeing Growlmon lower his head and charge again, Mo Yan did not dodge this time. He intended to meet the attack head-on.

This was a Dragon Battle. Constantly dodging was not their way.

Dragons had their pride.

If he abandoned that pride, Mo Yan would be unable to evolve his dragon form further.

He spread his wings fully, staggered his feet, and extended both hands.

Thud!

With a dull impact, Mo Yan caught the horn on Growlmon's head with one hand and pressed the other against his head.

Even so, the tremendous impact forced Mo Yan to slide backward some distance.

His wings began to beat, and Mo Yan pushed Growlmon back, step by step.

With the assistance of his wings, every step Mo Yan took was powerful and steady. No matter how hard Growlmon tried, he could no longer budge him.

With Mo Yan gripping the horn on his head, Growlmon could only swing his tail at him.

Smack!

Reacting instantly, Mo Yan's tail moved second but arrived first, blocking Growlmon's tail strike.

"Fireball!"

Left with no choice, Growlmon strained to lift his head, then spewed flames.

Sensing the change in temperature, Mo Yan beat his wings without hesitation and flew into the sky.

Finally freed from his grip, Growlmon stopped breathing fire and looked up at the blue dragon overhead.

"Roar!"

"Plasma Blade!"

As though he had been mocked, Growlmon sent two slashes of blade light flying toward Mo Yan.

With a slight movement of his wings, Mo Yan easily avoided the attack.

"Blue Flame Breath!"

From high above, Mo Yan spewed flames at the demonic dragon below.

Using both his arms and legs, Growlmon kept dodging Mo Yan's blue fireballs.

"Takato!"

Frustrated by his inability to fly, Growlmon sought help from outside the battle.

"Digi-Modify: White Wings!"

Takato Matsuki glanced at the blue dragon in the sky. Once he received his permission, he immediately swiped his card.

The information conveyed by the Proof of the Dragon had told Takato Matsuki that this was a battle between dragons.

It was honorable, sacred, and inviolable.

That was why Takato Matsuki had to obtain the other combatant's consent.

Otherwise, his actions would be disrespectful.

And this was precisely the quality unique to the DigiDestined.

They respected the wishes of others, even when those wishes seemed ridiculous or irrational to everyone else.

Yet that was exactly why they were chosen, and you were not.

Perhaps they were melodramatic, stubborn, and seemingly inflexible.

They could even be overly softhearted, saying one thing while their actions revealed their true feelings.

But within their hearts shone a pure, brilliant light.

It was that light that made the Digital World choose them.

Six white wings formed on Growlmon's back, granting him the ability to fly.

Watching Growlmon rise into the air, Mo Yan could not help curling his fearsome jaws into a contemptuous smile.

Fighting in the air against a dragon whose greatest future specialty would be aerial combat-Mo Yan could only say that ignorance made his opponent fearless.

The aerial battle between dragons began now.

For the moment, Mo Yan held the advantage, while Growlmon was at a disadvantage.