The magical train rumbled softly as it sped along the tracks, the scenery outside the window rolling by in a blur of serene greens and blues.
Ace sat in his seat, his gaze unconsciously drawn to the woman sitting across from him.
Without the imposing, steel-clad air of the "Titania," Erza Scarlet was quietly gazing out the window.
The sunlight streaming through the glass cast a soft halo on her scarlet hair, making it glow with a gentle luster.
Her face was elegant and her eyes held a rare, guarded tranquility.
At this moment, she had shed her usual sternness, revealing a breathtaking beauty that was completely different from the terrifying "Fairy Tail Disciplinary Committee Member" everyone feared.
Feeling that the atmosphere was becoming a little too quiet—and realizing he was staring—Ace mustered his courage to break the ice.
"Erza... do you often take this train for missions?"
Hearing his voice, Erza pulled her gaze back from the distant hills and looked at Ace, nodding slowly.
"Yes. Many mission locations require long-distance transportation. Watching the scenery helps calm the mind before a battle."
Her voice wasn't as cold or commanding as usual, it carried a touch of peace, like a sword sheathed for a moment of rest.
"Yeah, the scenery really is beautiful," Ace agreed, sighing in relief.
It seemed the legendary Titania wasn't so unapproachable.
Encouraged, Ace managed to keep the conversation going.
They chatted about past missions and a few ridiculous stories from the guild—mostly involving Natsu's stupidity—and the atmosphere in the compartment became much more relaxed.
A few hours later, the train arrived at the small station near Harugeon Village.
Ace and Erza disembarked and walked along a dirt path toward the settlement.
However, the closer they got to their destination, the more they felt something was wrong.
It was too quiet.
A heavy air of desolation permeated the surroundings, pressing down on them.
The farmlands on either side of the road showed signs of being trampled and gnawed, crops ruined in the mud, but there wasn't a soul in sight.
Walking into the village proper, they found the doors and windows of every house shut tight, barricaded from the inside.
The streets were empty, as if it were an abandoned settlement.
"Erza, it looks like there's no one left in the village. How do we confirm the mission details? This seems different from what the request said," Ace asked while looking around with a puzzled expression.
He remembered they were supposed to meet the village chief to get the specifics.
Erza scanned the silent village, her hand already resting instinctively on the hilt of her sword, her expression shifting instantly to combat readiness.
"The request is to 'eliminate the Magical Beasts harming the village.' As long as we remove the source of the threat, the villagers will naturally come out of hiding. As for the payment," she glanced at Ace reassuringly, "the guild will settle it with the client after the mission is complete. Our primary objective right now is to secure the area."
Hearing Erza's calm, professional assessment, Ace nodded. "I understand."
He focused his mind, channeling his magic to the device in his pocket.
A Magic Circle flashed on the dusty road.
"Garurumon!"
"Renamon, at your service."
The majestic Garurumon and the tall fox Renamon appeared on either side of him.
Erza's sharp gaze swept over the two Digimon.
She had heard Natsu and Gray describing Garurumon, but this was the first time she had seen the golden, bipedal fox creature.
Including the terrifying skeletal dragon from the guild hall, Ace had now summoned three distinctly different beasts, none of which existed in any standard bestiary or encyclopedia she had ever read.
'Just how many secrets does this boy hold?' Erza's curiosity about Ace deepened significantly.
"Something's coming."
Garurumon's keen sense of smell was the first to detect the anomaly.
It lowered its body, hackles rising, and let out a low, vibrating warning growl.
Renamon also immediately shifted, assuming a fluid combat stance.
Rustle... Scritch...
A disturbing sound came from all corners of the village at once.
Immediately after, massive, rat-like Magical Beasts with red-glowing eyes and fur as coarse as iron needles swarmed out!
They poured from behind houses, burst from beneath porches, and erupted from holes in the ground.
Their numbers were overwhelming.
In an instant, the duo and the Digimons were completely surrounded in the central village square by a sea of gnashing teeth and red eyes.
"Quite a number of them," Erza judged calmly, her hand gripping her sword hilt tighter.
She was ready to requip at a moment's notice.
"Let's test them first," Ace said, his eyes narrowing. "Renamon, you take point! Feel free to show off your speed! Garurumon, you're on guard duty—watch the perimeter for any commanders or stronger presences. Intervene immediately if you smell anything unusual!"
Ace issued his commands quickly and clearly.
He needed to witness his new partner's strength firsthand, but he was also wary of hidden threats in this ghost town.
"Understood."
Before Renamon's calm voice had even faded, its figure had already vanished, transforming into a bolt of white lightning that shot proactively into the rat swarm!
Its fighting style was completely different from Garurumon's head-on, brute-force approach.
Renamon was a master of ultimate speed, technique, and precision.
Facing the first giant rat that shrieked and pounced, Renamon didn't even use a named skill.
With a light, dance-like step, its body slid sideways like a phantom, dodging the dirty claw attack by a hair's breadth.
In the instant they passed each other, Renamon formed its claws into a rigid blade, wreathed in a faint purple demonic light.
Shk!
It stabbed with surgical precision into the nerve center of the giant rat's neck.
"Squeak!" With a short, cut-off cry, the giant rat fell to the ground, twitched once, and moved no more.
This single, fluid strike instantly enraged the swarm.
Five or six giant rats screeched and attacked simultaneously from different angles, sealing off all escape routes with their massive bodies.
"Fox Flash Attack!"
Renamon finally got serious.
Its figure seemed to merge with the sunlight, creating a series of dazzling white zigzag lines across the battlefield.
It moved so fast it left afterimages that confused the beasts.
Each flash appeared precisely in a giant rat's blind spot or at the exact moment an attack left them vulnerable.
"Wisteria Eight Fists!" Renamon delivered eight consecutive strikes imbued with penetrating demonic power in the span of a single breath!
Thud! Crack! Snap!
Each punch landed squarely on flesh, accurately hitting weak points like joints, eye sockets, and temples.
A series of sickening cracks echoed as the besieging rats were beaten until their bones broke.
They collapsed in a dizzy, whimpering heap without ever touching a single strand of Renamon's golden fur.
After a perfect finishing pose, Renamon paused briefly, its cold, aloof gaze sweeping over the agitated rat swarm.
Its fur, only slightly ruffled from the movement, carried a cruel yet elegant beauty.
Renamon once again became a white whirlwind, using the village square's old millstone and broken carts as footholds to leap and dodge.
Wherever it passed, giant rats fell.
It even ran vertically up the walls of the nearby houses to launch attacks from impossible angles, toying with the rat swarm as if they were slow children.
"Squeak squeak—!!"
The swarm's ferocity was completely ignited by the humiliation.
More giant rats surged forward, heedless of death, forming a black tide that vowed to swallow the white figure through sheer weight of numbers.
"Looks like it's time for a cleanup."
Renamon's eyes sharpened.
Facing the surging tide of rats, it no longer opted for close-quarters combat.
It leaped backward, soaring lightly into the air, hanging suspended above the square.
Clasping its claws together in front of its chest, it instantly condensed a powerful demonic energy, and a rotating purple halo appeared around its body.
"Fox Leaf Arrowhead!"
Following its cold shout, a strange phenomenon occurred!
The scattered dead leaves, broken branches, and even tiny pebbles on the ground seemed to be seized by an invisible force.
They all floated up, instantly infused with sharp, glowing purple energy.
The next moment, these ordinary objects transformed into thousands of razor-sharp projectiles.
Like an enraged swarm of hornets, they shot toward the black tide of rats with a piercing whistle!
Swish, swish, swish, swish—!
This was no longer a point-to-point attack of fists and feet, but indiscriminate area-of-effect destruction!
The demonic projectiles easily tore through the giant rats' coarse fur and penetrated deep into their flesh.
For a moment, the battlefield was filled with the muffled sound of blades sinking into meat, the dying shrieks of the giant rats, and the chaotic thudding of projectiles hitting the earth.
The rat swarm, which had been so menacing just moments before, was cut down in swathes like wheat before a scythe.
Their offensive collapsed in an instant.
In the center of the clearing, Renamon landed slowly.
This large-scale skill had clearly taken a considerable toll on its stamina.
But its posture remained upright, its sharp eyes scanning the remaining giant rats, which now huddled back, no longer daring to advance.
It stood there like a king declaring its territory.
Erza watched quietly from the side as a trace of genuine admiration flashing in her scarlet eyes.
'Speed, skill, precision, and the ability to clear the area at a critical moment... This fox-type Summoned Beast has extremely high combat proficiency.'
'It's skilled in both long-range and close-quarters combat, and its technique is likely close to the level of the guild's experienced members.'
'Ace's Summoned Beasts are truly not to be underestimated.'
Her assessment of the newcomer, Ace, couldn't help but rise another notch.
Ace was overjoyed to see Renamon's stunning performance, but as the dust settled, he exchanged a serious look with Garurumon.
They both sensed it.
Although these giant rats were ferocious, they lacked any unified command.
Their behavior was more like they were... afraid of something and had been forced to gather here.
The real threat had probably not yet appeared!