DC: Scapegoat, Pt. 2

DC: Scapegoat, Pt. 2

No POV
“Hey, whoever you are… please… wake up soon.” The Murmuxmon opened his eyes weakly, but he still saw nothing but black. The lids soon closed again. He could hear three voices speaking quietly, and recognized two of them.
“Akasha, I don’t know if he’ll wake up at all…” Barbello said softly.
“He’ll be lucky if he does,” an unknown voice said. “He was in pretty bad shape when my guys found him. Looks like he was trying to out-run some of YHWH’s special troops. I’m surprised they didn’t blast him to oblivion.”
A soft sigh preceded Akasha’s voice. “Please, Tres… Is there anything else we can do? I don’t think I could stand it if another Ultimate like this was destroyed by that wretched Writer.”
“I don’t think there is... You know, Murmuxmon are pretty rare these days,” Tres commented. “I mean, the first things really hit by the PURGE were demon lord types like me and the other Nanadai Mao Digimon. Of course, species like Murmuxmon and BelialVamdemon have that type, too, and virtually all of them were wiped out… This guy’s probably the only one of his kind left, just like me.”
Akasha began gently stroking the Murmuxmon’s cheek. “You have to pull through,” she whispered. “After I saw Azazel again, I made a vow that I would save as many Viruses as I could, so I can’t lose you…”
Hearing his name, the demon Digimon groaned softly. “Because of me, Akasha?” he asked weakly, opening one eye. “I didn’t know I was that inspiring.”
“Wh-what!?” the LadyVamdemon exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth. “Your voice is the same as… It… It can’t be… But it is. You… You’re… Oh, Azazel! What happened to you!?”
Azazel shook his head. “They’re gone, Akasha… He destroyed them…” The demon lord tried to sit up, but the vampire grabbed his arm to hold him down.
“Who’s gone?” she asked, distress evident in her voice. “Who was destro—Oh, no… You don’t mean…”
“Yes. YHWH destroyed Jophielle and Raziel. I think Michael is still alive… but Raguel…” The Ultimate Digimon clenched his teeth to keep himself from breaking into tears. After a pause, he continued. “Raguel is alive and well, and is a Dominimon now… Ultimate evolution was his reward for betraying the last of us.”
“Wait, I’m lost. Could you start at the beginning?” Azazel realized the speaker was the being Akasha had called Tres. The Beelzebumon Blast Mode was sitting casually on a chair across the room. “I have no idea what’s going on,” he said plainly.
“Could you be any more blunt, Tres?” Barbello asked. Azazel was surprised to see that she had evolved into a Lilithmon. “I really find it hard to believe you have a heart.”
Akasha swiftly crossed the room and dragged the Beelzebub monster to the cot where Azazel lay. “Tres, this is Azazel. We were the best of friends before I fell… back when I was a Darcmon, and he was an Angemon. We both believed that the DigitalPURGE was a terrible thing, and we met a Tailmon named Jophielle who shared that view, and Azazel convinced his friend Raguel, who was also an Angemon then, to help us try to stop YHWH. Of course… YHWH found out about our plan, and I took all the blame so the others could stay and keep trying.”
“After Akasha fell, Raguel wouldn’t have anything to do with Jophielle and me,” Azazel continued. “It wasn’t long before Raguel and I became HolyAngemon and Jophielle became an Angewomon, and I met an Angemon named Michael and a Cherubimon Zen named Raziel. Those two joined us. I also became the guardian of the Digitama and Baby Digimon not long before I evolved, and used this position to try to save the Virus Digitama by collecting eggs from the Primary Village myself… On one of these trips, I ran into Akasha and Barbello.”
Tres held up a hand, a confused look on his face. “Hang on. If you were a HolyAngemon, why are you a Murmuxmon now? If you were gonna evolve, you should’ve become a Seraphimon or something, right? I mean, you don’t seem like the kind of guy to just go through a random Dark Evolution.”
“Somehow, Raguel found out about that meeting and told YHWH. That was when Raziel and Jophielle were destroyed. Then I was called into YHWH’s chambers… and he infused my data with a corruption program similar to the one he used on Akasha. The firewall that protects YHWH’s chambers ejected me from the rooms into the courtyard, where the transformation happened. Then Raguel, who had just evolved to Dominimon, told all the other Digimon at Holy Angel Castle that I had always been a Murmuxmon and that the Viruses had sent me to the castle to corrupt the angel Digimon. No matter what I said, he twisted my words to further condemn me. I left, and YHWH’s top troops followed me. The last thing I remember before waking up here is passing Infinity Mountain and seeing a squadron led by the Seraphimon general Akrasiel closing in on me.” Once he had finished, Azazel looked up to see Akasha had turned her back to him, her entire body shaking.
“That… that…” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She clenched her fists and whirled around quickly, a look of extreme rage on her face. “Ugh! I can’t think of a word to describe that despicable Writer! We can’t let him get away with this. I wasn’t nearly this upset when I fell myself, but… now YHWH has either destroyed or condemned almost every angel Digimon who wanted to stop him. And of all the Digimon he could’ve done this to…” She paused to wipe a bloody tear of anger from her face. “Why did it have to be you? You were the kindest archangel in the entire Digital World. You would never do anything to hurt another being. How the hell could the others believe Raguel?”
The Murmuxmon sat up slowly and shook his head again. “I don’t know… Maybe they believed him because they saw me thrown from YHWH’s chambers and watched me transform as the virus took over. The Baby Digimon didn’t believe him, though. But now there’s no one to take care of them…” he said sadly. He dropped his gazed as tears silently began to fall down his face. “The generals will go back to their cruel training programs to force them into YHWH’s army as soon as they evolve.”
“Azazel,” Barbello said suddenly. All the Digimon in the room turned to look at her. “You may have been cast out from your home and forsaken by your friends, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up.” She slowly glided across the room. “Will you join us and fight alongside the other Viruses to stop the PURGE? With Lucifer’s help, the three of us are organizing a group to lead the resistance. We would be honoured if you’d join us. Besides, you would be able to do more good here than in YHWH’s castle.”
“You… really want my help?” Azazel asked quietly. The other three Viruses nodded. “I guess… there really isn’t anything else I can do, is there?”
“That means he says ‘yes,’” Akasha said with a smile. “Now, since you seem to be feeling well enough, you should meet Lucifer and some of the other Digimon here.”
Azazel’s POV
I learned that “here” referred to a place formerly known as Nightmare Castle, which had served as a base for several evil Viruses through the millennia. The Digimon had renamed it Virus Castle, and it was in the very heart of the Virus Territory.
I met several Digimon that day: a Demon Punish Mode named Dis, a Piémon named Santiago, a Mephismon named Rosiel, an Andiramon Aku named Alexiel, and a Mummymon named Ramses. They were the others who were to be in the leading group.
I repeated my story for them. All of the Digimon present obviously hated YHWH, but the injustice I had suffered exponentially increased their feelings. A little later, I met the Virus Writer, Lucifer.
No POV
The Murmuxmon sat in the Writer’s “office.” It had once been a library, but someone had filled it with computers and other large machines. The only source of light came from a few candles and the soft glow of the computer screens on the walls.
He sat in a large old-fashioned chair across from the DORU man, retelling the story of his fall once again. “… and I woke up here. Akasha said Tres brought me here almost a week ago,” Azazel concluded. The being behind the desk nodded.
“I see,” Lucifer said in a cool voice as he brushed black-and-red hair from his eyes. “So Akasha wasn’t kidding… There are – er, were – Vaccines that disagreed with YHWH’s vision.” He sighed loudly. “What a terrible being. How could anyone be so heartless? As a Writer, I can read your data, so I know everything you’ve said is true.”
The Digimon’s eyes widened slightly. “So you can see the program that corrupted me? Would… Would you be able to create a counter-program –“
“Nope,” the Writer interrupted. “Akasha asked the same thing when I met her, and I wasn’t able to help her. Plus, this is an improved version with a strong encryption code. It’s not even written in Digital Code. I wouldn’t be able to crack it.” When he noticed that the demon lord’s face had fallen, he added, “I’m really sorry. I wish I could help you, but I haven’t been a Writer for that long… In your world’s time, YHWH has a centuries of experience, while I have only a few decades.”
“I understand,” Azazel said softly. “Oh, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you. When I met Akasha and Barbello at the ruins of Primary Village, they said the Digitama they were collecting would become Chosen Digimon. Does that mean..?”
“You know any of the legends of the Chosen Children, right?” Lucifer asked. A nod answered him. “I’m going to bring humans into this world to help fight against the PURGE. Those Digitama have hatched into the Digimon I’ve selected to be their partners, and Akasha and the others are taking care of them now. Of course, one egg is missing because the Digimon that hatches from it generally evolves to a Vaccine. I think you picked it up that night.”
The Murmuxmon sat silently for a minute. “Does that mean I ruined your plans?” he asked finally.
“On the contrary,” the DORU being replied. “If that Digitama is in the care of the Vaccines, I’m sure YHWH will summon its partner. He’s already picked two humans to help him run the DigitalPURGE. That’s just one less kid I’ll have to find myself, and both the Digimon and human would be safe from the PURGE. Guess I should thank you. Now, I have some final adjustments to make to the Digivices for the Chosen Children, so I’ll have to excuse myself.”
The Writer stood and turned to the bookshelves behind his desk. He tapped the spines of several books in quick succession, and the wall broke into bits of data and disappeared, revealing a large room full of computers. He stepped into the room, and the bookcase reappeared.
Azazel began to stand, but stopped when he noticed the laptop on the desk was still on. Curiosity got the better of him, and he turned the device to see its screen.
Digital Code covered the monitor, the Digital World’s written language which most Digimon were unable to read anymore. Having been a high-level archangel type, Azazel knew the language very well, especially since the ribbon worn by a HolyAngemon was marked with the Code.
It was a list of names and locations in the Real World. There were six names listed at the top, then a space with six more names following. The top six also had another name listed under a column titled “Partner.” The Ultimate Digimon inhaled sharply; he had realized that this was a list of the Chosen Children Lucifer had picked to fight alongside the Viruses. Or at least, the top six were the Virus Writer’s picks. There were no names under “Partner” for the last six, but it seemed that Lucifer was about to fill in the names.
The Murmuxmon smiled as he read the partner names. He had met each of these Digimon right before he was taken to Lucifer’s office. They were all at Baby-level still, but were training with the higher-level Digimon at the castle. He turned the computer back around and left the room, the smile still lingering on his face.
Azazel’s POV
As hard as it was for me to accept the fact, I was actually much happier at Virus Castle than I could ever remember being before my fall. I was finally surrounded by others who agreed with me. There was dark thought, however, that still lurked in the back of my mind. I would never be able to forget the last time I saw Jophielle. I decided that the memory of losing her and Raguel’s heartless betrayal would be the things to motivate me to stop the PURGE.
Time passed quickly after I met Lucifer and the Virus Digimon. The young Chosen Digimon evolved quickly, reaching the Adult level in what seemed like no time. Of course, not everything was going so smoothly.
Every time Lucifer seemed to crack the DigitalPURGE, something in the program changed, and he had to start over. Even worse was the fact that every time the PURGE changed, it grew stronger and could perform different tasks. It wasn’t long before almost all of the Ultimate-level Digimon in the Virus Territory were gone. At one point, the only ones left were those of us at the castle. That soon changed, too.
Dis was the first to go, and Rosiel followed. Not long after that, Alexiel evolved to Cherubimon Aku and was destroyed. Ramses and Akasha evolved too, to Pharaohmon and LadyVenomVamdemon. The former, as well as Santiago, were soon gone as well. Lucifer managed to save their data and began to work on a program he called a “splicer,” which he claimed would allow him to insert the data into other data.
At that point, only Barbello, Akasha, Tres, and I were left at Ultimate level. Akasha took the job of training all six Chosen Digimon herself, and they were all at Perfect level in a short time.
No POV
Azazel was once again in Lucifer’s office. The Writer had called him there to ask him about one of his most painful memories, the last meeting with YHWH when he was infused with the virus.
“YHWH told you that he’d destroyed Jophielle and Raziel so they could ‘serve their purpose,’ right?” Lucifer asked.
“That’s true,” the Digimon replied with a nod. “He also said that he had to keep Michael alive for his purpose.”
“Aaaah, I get it now. YHWH designed a splicer, too. Only he destroyed the Digimon he was going to use himself. He’s planning on splicing Jophielle and Raziel with two of the humans he’s brought here. Michael is a partner Digimon, so that explains why he wasn’t destroyed or corrupted.” The Writer typed something on his laptop and turned the screen so Azazel could see. “I know you’ve seen this list before – yes, the memory is stored in your data – but this is an updated version.”
The screen still had the list of Chosen Children, locations, and partners, but a fourth column, “Splice,” was now present. Three of the bottom six names now had an entry in the “Partner” column, and seven of the twelve total had something typed under “Splice.”
“As you can see, Michael was partnered with a girl who YHWH spliced with Jophielle’s data. This other girl got Raziel’s data, and her partner’s called Metatron. The boy YHWH summoned doesn’t have spliced data… and after I managed to scan his partner, Lailah, I determined that he’s the one that should be on our side. See, Lailah’s a Plotmon now, but her data contains a natural virus that causes a Dark Evolution to BlackTailmon, which is usually followed by LadyDevimon and Lilithmon. It’s actually the same progression Barbello went through.”
“Does this boy know that?” the Murmuxmon asked. “If his partner were to evolve, it could mean the end of both of them…”
Lucifer shook his head. “That kid doesn’t know, but Lailah does. I’m sure she’ll do everything she can to keep herself at Child level, thus keeping her attribute Data and keeping the virus hidden. Now, on to our humans… Five of the six have been matched to one of our departed friends base on personality traits. This one girl, though, doesn’t match anyone who’s been destroyed yet… but she would be a perfect match for Akasha.”
“You’re not suggesting… You wouldn’t.” Azazel clenched a fist. “You’re not destroying Akasha the way YHWH did Jophielle,” he growled.
“Never said I was,” the Writer said with a shrug. “I’m just saying that she’d be the best match. I’ve already told her that, and she actually said she’d sacrifice herself if she had to.”
The Digimon didn’t respond right away. Finally he asked, “What’s the point of splicing these humans with Digimon data, anyway?”
“Think of it as Jogress. Or, more accurately, I guess it’s basically the same as the Chosen Children who became Legendary Warriors by Spirit Evolution. That ring a bell?”
“This… This program would allow the children to become Digimon?” Azazel asked in disbelief. “You can make something like that?”
“Of course,” Lucifer said with a smile. “After examining the twenty Spirits of the Legendary Warriors, I made something that basically copied what they do. Of course, this ‘splice evolution’ would require a ton of energy, so it can only be activated if the partner Digimon is at Perfect level or higher, and a Crest is needed. They’ll all be able to choose between Perfect and Ultimate level, and they can evolve and devolve as needed, kind of like Slide Evolution, so –”
At that moment, a flashing alert appeared on the laptop screen. Both Writer and Digimon gasped and left the room quickly after reading the message.
Azazel’s POV
That warning signaled the first invasion by the Vaccines, led by none other than Raguel. The troops swept through nearly every Virus settlement, wiping out any Digimon above Adult level.
Those of us able to fight met the troops at the ruins of Primary Village. There was no way I could not have possibly been prepared for what happened there…
No POV
A large full moon shone brightly over what was left of Primary Village. The Virus Digimon stood at the forest’s edge anxiously waiting for the Vaccines to come. Akasha stood at the front of the group with Azazel hovering close to her head.
Akasha’s evolution had been an odd one. No one had ever heard of a LadyVenomVamdemon before, and she almost seemed to be a combination of both her male counterpart and a Vamdemon’s other Ultimate form, BelialVamdemon. None of Akasha’s intelligence had been lost when she evolved, but she still had strength to match a VenomVamdemon’s and truly looked the part of a female subspecies. She still retained all of her compassion as well, and her sense of justice was greater than ever before.
“I see them coming,” she said softly, her golden eyes trained on the horizon. “Mostly Angemon and HolyAngemon, with a few Angewomon and some dragon types. In front are a Dominimon, a SlashAngemon, and a Seraphimon.”
“Raguel, Rafuel, and Akrasiel. And I think I see Joel, the leader of the dragon soldiers,” Azazel said sadly. “YHWH’s top generals. He really means business if all four of them are here.”
The large demon beast Digimon glanced sideways at the much smaller demon lord. “Do you mind if I take care of Raguel personally? Or do you want to destroy him, for Jophielle?”
“I...” the Murmuxmon began. He was cut off as seven bright orbs of light shot past him. “Agh… that was Akrasiel’s attack…”
One of the orbs grazed Akasha’s cheek. Although it did no damage, she snarled, eyes glowing with iridescent light. “Venom Infusion,” she growled as multicoloured beams erupted from her eyes. The blasts took out nearly half of the angelic army.
A voice Azazel hadn’t heard for months soon rang out across the clearing. “So this is the company you keep now, you devil? Nothing but disgusting demons and a mindless abomination.”
“Raguel, how… How can you say that? This is Akasha… our dear friend who took all our blame and fell so that we could remain at Holy Angel Castle,” Azazel called, flying halfway across the field.
The Dominimon general flew to meet him. “You could be right about that … Doesn’t matter. Even if that Digimon was once Akasha, she’s not anymore,” he said softly. “She’d be better off dead than in that form. We’ll fix that for her.” He produced a device bearing the DigitalPURGE emblem and pointed it at Akasha. With the press of a button, the device shot a laser-like beam across the field, hitting the large Digimon in the chest. “This is a new version of the PURGE that can be used to target one specific Virus. This program acts more slowly than the normal version, so she won’t be destroyed right away.”
“No…” the Murmuxmon gasped. He whirled to see that Akasha had fallen to one knee, a look of immense pain on her face. “How could you, Raguel?” He turned to face the dominion again. “She was your friend too! Have you forgotten, or are you too corrupted by power to remember? You claimed I was corrupting the angelic Digimon, but it’s obvious that YHWH’s ideas are the culprit.”
“Lord YHWH isn’t corrupting us,” Raguel laughed. “He’s simply opened our eyes and shown us that your kind shouldn’t be allowed to live. All the Digimon at our castle who deviated have been expelled, destroyed, or remedied. Well… I supposed I should really say ‘almost all.’ There’s someone here who’d like to see you again, since you did make a promise to him.” The angel pointed to a figure at the front of the dragon Digimon on the ground. Standing next to the WarGreymon general Joel was a Paildramon.
Azazel gaped at the Digimon. “There’s no way…” He descended to the ground level, landed, and walked to the line of dragons. The entire troop tensed, but their leader held up a hand to signal that they were not to attack, then shoved the Paildramon a few feet forward. The Jogressed Perfect Digimon’s eyes widened and he began to tremble as the demon lord put a hand on his shoulder.
“Roark, you’ve grown quite a bit. I haven’t seen you since you were a Chibimon,” the Murmuxmon said softly. “Do you remember me?”
“You’re… L-lord Azazel…” the Paildramon said in disbelief. “You took care of us when we were Baby level… and then you left because Lord Raguel discovered that you were a Virus. But I never believed him. I knew you were really a HolyAngemon, but in order to stay at the castle, I had to pretend to give in to their brainwashing. Several of the others were destroyed, but one Botamon managed to escape.” He pointed across the field. “That SkullGreymon. Do you remember Samyaza? He evolved to BlackAgumon and ran away.”
Azazel turned to follow Roark’s finger. “I hadn’t seen him. I’ve been at the Virus Castle since I came here… but you’re right. It is him.”
The Perfect Digimon was about to reply, but was interrupted by Raguel, who had landed behind him. “Well, even though you were cast out from the castle, it looks like we were unable to completely fix this corruption, demon. I suppose I should deal with this heretic right away.”
“You wouldn’t,” the Ultimate Virus breathed with a look of horror painted on his face. “You can’t be that heartless.”
“I’m not being heartless. I’m only doing what has to be done for our world’s sake. Without the Viruses and those who sympathize with them, there will be no beings left to endanger our world,” Raguel replied coldly. “Now, traitor… Any last words before you are deleted?”
“Lord Azazel, I’m sorry we had to meet again this way,” Roark said sadly. “I was hoping I’d see you again after the PURGE was destroyed like you promised, and that you’d be restored to your original form, but it looks like that won’t be the case. Please, you have to find some way to stop YHWH, for all of us who died for standing in his way –“ He was cut off as the Dominimon’s Final Excalibur hit him. As his body began to dematerialize, he whispered, “I’ve always believed in you. Goodbye, Lord Azazel.”
As the last of the Paildramon’s data vanished, the Murmuxmon clenched his fists. “You… you monster,” he growled with tears in his eyes. “Why are you doing this to me? Time after time, you’ve taken those I’ve cared about. This is unforgivable.” He raised his hand, palm flat to the sky, and took a large leap backwards.
“Oh, you’re going to destroy me?” the dominion asked simply. “I don’t think you have the ability to do that. You never struck me as someone who could destroy another Digimon. Go ahead, try to kill me. You won’t be able to bring yourself to do it.”
Azazel glared at his former friend. “I can… and I will. Ge… Gehenna Flame!” A giant black fireball materialized on the Virus’s hand. “This is for everyone who has perished in the name of your ‘god!’”
The fireball left the Murmuxmon’s hand and engulfed most of the Vaccine army. Most of the scenery, as well as the weaker Digimon, disappeared instantly. When the dust from the obliterated buildings cleared, not even a fourth of the original army remained.
Raguel, now flanked by Rafuel, Akrasiel, and Joel, stood foremost among the remaining creatures. “I told you, you can’t kill me,” the Dominimon said, his mouth twisted in a cruel smile. “You sent that blast right over my head. You missed on purpose. Pathetic. Although I have to say I’m impressed that you destroyed so many of our soldiers. It’s of no consequence, though. There are plenty more Digimon ready to take their places.”
“You aren’t fazed at all…” Azazel said in disbelief. “Barely any of your army remains, and you didn’t even flinch. You soulless…”
“Speaking of soulless things, you have your own problems to worry about, demon,” the dominion said. He paused to signal to the other generals. The SlashAngemon, Seraphimon, and WarGreymon nodded, then turned to gather what remained of their troops. “Our work here is done… Although, I would love to stay to see your face when your beloved friend is destroyed. She probably doesn’t have much time left now, you know.”
“Raguel… What happened to the Digimon I met long ago, who cared about the Viruses almost as much as Akasha, Jophielle, and I did?” the demon lord asked. “Why are you doing this to us?”
The Dominimon had already started to walk away, but stopped. He spoke without turning around. “That Digimon no longer exists. He died when the one he loved more than anything fell and became something that shouldn’t be allowed to exist.” Raguel looked over his shoulder to glare at the Murmuxmon. “All that’s left is the desire to make your life a living hell for causing all of this.”
With that, the angel took to the skies, leaving the demon with tears in his eyes. “My friend, you’ve made a terrible mistake…. And now she’ll be gone, just like everyone else.”
Azazel’s POV
By the time Lucifer reached Primary Village, there was nothing he could do for Akasha. The PURGE antivirus was particularly strong, and by the time he had a program to stop it written, too much damage had already been done. Just like that, my closest remaining friend was gone. That meant the one being Raguel loved more than any other was gone, too.
When we had all been at Holy Angel Castle together, Akasha had been our undisputed leader, and we all had great respect for her. Her charm had captivated Raguel, and he had fallen in love with that little Darcmon. Of course, this would have been forbidden even if YHWH wasn’t in charge. Angels cannot love each other that way, even in the legends of the Real World, and so it was with angelic Digimon.
One day, Akasha decided to take matters into her own hands and confront YHWH herself. I don’t know the exact details of that meeting, but I know it basically ended the same way mine had. Akasha was infected with the corruption virus and cast out of the castle. She made her way to the Virus Territory, where she met Tres and went with him to Virus Castle…
As her data began to fragment, Lucifer collected it in a device marked with the Digital Hazard. The last set of Splice Data was ready.
--
A few years passed before the splicer program was ready. In the meantime, all of the Chosen Digimon but one stayed at the castle. The other, a Vamdemon called Marius, along with his “little brother” Desmodus (they hatched from the same Digitama, which was very unusual), who hadn’t evolved from the Pagumon stage, relocated to Infinity Mountain and became the guardians of the Virus Baby Digimon, much like I had been to the little Digimon at Holy Angel Castle.
Barbello became the guardian of Virus Digitama. Lucifer wrote a program that allowed all Virus Digitama to materialize within Virus Castle instead of at Primary Village, which made her job much easier. She soon came to be thought of as a mother to the Viruses.
Tres returned to a place called Starshine Village, where he ran a traveler’s shop that specialized in map-making. He was soon the only Digimon above Adult-level there, and could no longer leave the village for fear of being destroyed. From that point on, all footwork was done by the Impmon that worked for him.
Once Lucifer finished the splicer and was ready to call the Chosen Children from the Real World to ours, I left Virus Castle. I found another castle farther south that the local Digimon called Demon Castle. I learned that it had been called home by many Demon throughout the history of the Digital World. The last Digimon to rule there had been Dis. I decided to make that castle my home and open as a place of refuge to all Digimon in the southern half of the Virus Territory. I soon found a stone engraved with a strange heart-shaped symbol in one of the walls, and when Lucifer came to check it out, he announced that it was a Crest.
After he left to return to Virus Castle, it wasn’t long before I met someone I hadn’t talked to for a long time.