Going Out in a Blaze of Glory

"This is highly classified. Without my permission, you are not to tell anyone!"

Captain Satsuma spoke sternly, his face set.

Miki Kurosaki nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Captain Satsuma looked at Mo Si. "Miss Angewomon, I hope you'll keep this confidential too."

"Don't worry. What you want is what I want too."

Mo Si also wanted Kurata dead as soon as possible, so she fully supported Captain Satsuma's undercover operation. She even hoped it would succeed that very day.

Kudamon said, "Since you already know, you can handle communications with Saint."

"Me?" Mo Si blinked.

Kudamon said, "I can feel your passionate heart."

With Mo Si acting and speaking however she pleased, it should have been impossible for her to maintain her Angewomon form.

Unless...

This Angewomon's faith in holiness and justice had already become unshakable.

Yes, only someone with absolute inner conviction could remain unmoved by outside influences.

Anyone else needed rules and precepts to restrain them and prevent them from falling.

It was like the saying of an ancient eminent monk: "Wine and meat pass through the gut, but the Buddha remains in the heart." Only someone with an exceptionally elevated inner state could achieve that.

The Angewomon before Kudamon had to be the same-free in her behavior, steadfast in her heart.

Although Kudamon was a member of the Royal Knights and a messenger of God, Kudamon deeply respected those with such inner strength.

"A passionate heart?"

Mo Si pinched her chin and pondered for a moment. Do I even have one of those?

If we're talking about a horny heart, sure.

A passionate one? Not so sure.

"Thank you for the compliment, but you have a much better operator."

Besides, it's not as if I'm the only one who can do this job. Don't even think about making me work overtime.

With that thought, Mo Si pointed at Miki Kurosaki. "Shouldn't professional work be left to professionals?"

Miki Kurosaki gave an awkward chuckle, inwardly resigned. More work again. And probably no overtime pay.

"All right, then." Kudamon nodded. "But I still hope you'll offer some suggestions. Your wisdom is important to us."

"I'll do my best."

This time, Mo Si agreed without refusing. Then she patted her belly and asked, "Isn't it time to eat?"

"..."

A short while later, in the DATS cafeteria.

"What is this?"

After washing up in the restroom, Mo Si returned to her seat and stared in confusion at the dog-food-like stuff in her bowl.

She didn't think DATS was insulting her, since Kudamon had the same thing on the plate in front of them.

"This is Digimon feed, a compressed food developed for Digimon digestive systems. It quickly restores stamina." With that, Kudamon picked up a piece of Digimon feed and tossed it into their mouth.

Seeing this, Mo Si picked up a piece too, brought it to her lips, and took a small bite.

"...It tastes pretty good."

It tasted like a dense mushroom-and-beef snack. Unfortunately, its texture was like a compressed biscuit, though it was indeed easy to digest.

Once she had eaten her fill, Mo Si followed Kudamon back to the command room.

Kudamon jumped onto Captain Satsuma's shoulder, winding their tail around the back of his neck and draping it over his other shoulder. At a glance, Kudamon looked like a scarf.

Mo Si found a chair in the command room, sat down, and crossed her legs to wait quietly.

Time ticked by. Just as she switched from her left leg over her right to her right leg over her left, Miki Kurosaki's computer finally beeped.

Miki Kurosaki pressed the answer button, and a voice rang out. "Headquarters, please respond if you read me. This is Crow. Over."

Crow?

An undercover code name?

Heh, he's really getting into it.

Mo Si couldn't help smiling.

Miki Kurosaki said, "Headquarters copies. Over."

Saint sounded surprised on the other end. "Why is it you? Over."

"I'm handling communications with you," Miki Kurosaki said irritably. "If you have something to report, get on with it. Over."

Although she knew he had been forcibly turned into a champion of justice, she still felt some resistance toward him.

Saint didn't mind Miki Kurosaki's tone. "I've escaped back to my place. What should I do next? Over."

Miki Kurosaki turned to Captain Satsuma.

Captain Satsuma said, "Photograph the Space-Time Shock Bomb as evidence that Kurata breached the space-time barrier."

Miki Kurosaki repeated his instructions, adding an "over" at the end.

Saint said, "But I don't know where the Space-Time Shock Bomb is stored. Over."

"..." Captain Satsuma's brow furrowed.

The command room fell silent.

Mo Si suggested, "Lure Kurata out. He's bound to have a Space-Time Shock Bomb with him."

Captain Satsuma had thought of that too, but the question was, "How do we lure him out?"

Mo Si thought for a moment. "Have Saint contact Kurata and tell him he wants more power-an Ultimate Digimon implanted into him. Kurata should have to perform that kind of operation himself. He thinks Saint is still on his side, so he won't be on guard against him."

Captain Satsuma's and Kudamon's eyes lit up. This way, they could not only obtain evidence but also catch Kurata on the spot.

Two birds with one stone!

"Wait... they can capture even Ultimate Digimon?" Kudamon realized, frowning.

The enemy was stronger than Kudamon had expected.

As a member of the Royal Knights, Kudamon's power had already reached the body's limits. Calling it ten times that of an ordinary Ultimate would be no exaggeration. But Kudamon was not arrogant, and hearing that the enemy possessed Ultimate Digimon called for caution.

"What do you think?" Captain Satsuma asked.

"No problem." Kudamon's gaze was resolute.

Captain Satsuma nodded to Miki Kurosaki, signaling her to proceed.

Receiving the order, Miki Kurosaki relayed Mo Si's suggestion to Saint.

Saint answered, "Understood," and ended the transmission.

He had agreed readily, but if he was exposed at any step, his life would be in danger!

Yet to someone who aspired to the holy path, that was martyrdom. That was where he belonged.

Thus, he faced death without flinching. He had no fear.

To atone for his sins and eliminate the great villain Kurata, he would sacrifice anything, including his own life!

Saint would live up to his name!

His name would go down in history. He might even go out in a blaze of glory...

Mo Si sensed Saint's readiness to march nobly to his death, then remembered that he had been utter scum before. The sheer contrast sent a chill down her spine.

This technique was essentially Izanami-a personality correction. In other words, mind control. It was terrifying.

If Kudamon weren't kind by nature, things could have gone horribly wrong.

Come to think of it, dark Digimon had similar mind-control abilities too.

For example, Myotismon in the first series had controlled a large crowd even after death, making them chant "Lord Myotismon." That had allowed Myotismon to revive and become the Ultimate VenomMyotismon.

Mo Si recalled that when she took over the Myotismon Soul and entered her Blood Queen form, she hadn't felt that she possessed any hypnotic abilities. Looks like even after a takeover, I still need training to unlock the potential of whatever I've taken over.

It was just like Mira. Even after taking over the Satan Soul, she still had to study dark magic to bring out more of its power.

The Myotismon in the first series had essentially reached the limits of what a Myotismon could achieve. Its vitality surpassed that of most Ultimates, and it had even clung to life into the second series, going from a mid-series boss in the first to the final boss in the second.

In a sense, that was pretty inspirational.

Practically the savior of villains!

By comparison, the Myotismon Mo Si had taken over was merely one of her possible evolutions, not even a complete, independent Myotismon. It was still far from that Digimon's limits.

Although she was no longer in the Fairy Tail world and couldn't find suitable magic to learn for her Blood Queen form, she could still maintain that form for extended periods and train it into an energy-efficient state, something like a full-power form.