Inside the stone castle, watching the successfully evolved Armormon, Golemon felt a twinge of envy and resentment.
Was evolving into a Champion the same as evolving into an Ultimate? Even though it was the same "reward," the difference in the end result was too great.
No! I want to be an Ultimate too. If it's just about offering loyalty, I can do that too!
Driven by indignation, Golemon summoned its courage. Its legs buckled, and with a loud thud, its entire body crashed forward onto the floor, shattering several stones.
The sudden noise drew everyone's attention. Golemon lay prostrate on the ground and shouted to Aomori, "Lord HellKnightmon! I am also willing to serve you for all my lives! I beg you to give me another chance to evolve! I want to become an Ultimate-level Digimon too!"
Aomori's smile didn't waver. He nodded to Golemon. "Alright."
"R-really?" Golemon couldn't hide its joy, speaking with excitement.
"Of course. I was thinking, Centarumon evolved into an Ultimate while you only became a Champion; it is a bit unfair to you." Aomori left one thought unsaid: I also want to see if a Digimon can evolve twice in a row, and if there are any side effects.
"Yes, that's exactly it! Thank you, Lord HellKnightmon!" Golemon stood up, walked over to Akihiko Kayaba, and spread its arms wide. "Come! I am ready!"
Kayaba said nothing. He pulled out several more data strands and skillfully inserted them into its body.
"So hot! It burns!" Golemon began to howl again, but this time, its body actually caught fire.
Kayaba supplemented the data strands based on his experience. Amidst a burst of light, its body grew even larger, and a volcanic, fire-spouting rocky vent grew from its back.
Golemon had evolved into the Ultimate-level Volcamon.
Volcamon wore metal clothing and held a microphone. A surge of unending power welled up within it, giving it the feeling that it was omnipotent. This feeling grew stronger by the second until, in its eyes, the so-called HellKnightmon didn't seem like much at all.
"Hahahaha! This feels amazing! Truly amazing!" After laughing, Volcamon suddenly stared at the data cluster in Akihiko Kayaba's hand with greed in its eyes.
It licked its lips and said, "Don't waste the rest of that data. Give it all to me!"
Saying this, it reached out to grab the seemingly defenseless Akihiko Kayaba. "Hand it over!"
Standing nearby, Armormon's eyes turned cold. Just as it was about to intervene, it caught the calm expressions on the faces of Aomori and Absol. Its heart stirred, and it stayed its hand.
Facing a palm larger than his own body, Kayaba remained composed. He snapped his fingers, and complex, glowing fluorescent patterns suddenly appeared beneath his feet and above his head.
As Volcamon's palm lunged forward, chains erupted from the patterns, binding the confused Volcamon and suspending it in mid-air.
"What kind of trick is this?" The more Volcamon struggled, the tighter the chains became. That "omnipotent" power that had blinded it couldn't help it at all. Eventually, even moving an inch became a luxury.
Its burning heart gradually cooled down.
"It's programming," Kayaba said. "In this world, programming is omnipotent alchemy. It can also do this." He moved his fingers again, and a red fluorescent pattern appeared in front of Volcamon. A massive cannon glowing with red light rose from within it.
Seeing a cannon muzzle larger than its own body pointed at it, Volcamon panicked. Its sense of omnipotence had vanished, and reason returned to its body. It quickly begged for mercy, "I... I was momentarily confused! Please spare me, I won't do it again! Lord HellKnightmon, I have contributed to Ore Town! I am loyal to you!"
"Let it go. This is likely a side effect of consecutive evolution," Aomori said, walking over to Kayaba.
"Yes, yes! It was a side effect of evolution, not my true thoughts!" Volcamon said with a wailing face.
"Hmph." Kayaba waved his hand, and the chains and cannon dissipated.
Tumbling to the ground, Volcamon was immensely relieved to have kept its life. Then, a finger pressed against its forehead.
Aomori leaned down and whispered into Volcamon's ear, "I'll forgive you this time. But there won't be a next time. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes! I know, I understand!" Volcamon nodded frantically, the last trace of resentment in its heart vanishing. Such terror made it dare not harbor any double thoughts again.
Armormon, watching the pathetic Volcamon, lowered its head, its awe for Aomori deepening.
Aomori patted the bodies of the two Ultimate Digimon. "Alright, you two go outside. Tell the Digimon out there the good news about your evolution; let them be envious. However, I don't want any other Digimon to know the specific process of the evolution. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Volcamon and Armormon went outside, triggering waves of gasps and cheers. With such an incentive, their work enthusiasm was bound to soar.
Inside the stone castle, only Aomori and his team remained.
Having successfully evolved two Digimon to the Ultimate level, it confirmed that this method of "data feeding" was correct. As long as they avoided consecutive evolutions, they could likely prevent incidents like Volcamon's outburst.
The data fragments accumulated previously were nearly exhausted; there was only enough left to evolve one Rookie to Champion.
Aomori glanced at the dazed Salamon, thought about it, and decided against evolving it into Gatomon for now. Since they had gained two more Ultimates, their overall strength had increased significantly. They didn't need Salamon's combat power right away, so he would let it grow naturally.
Furthermore, Akihiko Kayaba was a significant combat asset. Aomori felt even more confident about the mission to face Myotismon in eight days.
"Kayaba, how is it?"
"I can currently maintain up to three programs at once. Dealing with an average Ultimate shouldn't be a problem," Kayaba said, flexing his fingers.
"That's quite good." Aomori nodded, then smiled. "Compared to being a swordsman, how does it feel to be a mage?"
"Average. I'm probably just used to having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Standing back and dealing damage is a bit boring."
"Heh, let me teach you. Program yourself a sword and shield, add a Healing Spell, and you can charge in and slash monsters just like in SAO."
"That probably won't work. This body doesn't have that kind of physical quality," Kayaba said, shaking his head.
"Can't you program yourself a stronger body?"
"I can't do that yet."
"Then there's no choice. Be a good turret mage," Aomori shrugged.
"Yes, I suppose so."
Ending that discussion, Aomori waved for Kayaba to get back to work. He took Absol and the others back to his room and released the still-sleeping Botamon.
One person and five creatures surrounded Botamon, watching its sleeping face.
Botamon: "Zzzzz..."