If they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes...
No one would have believed that only a few seconds earlier...
An earth-shattering collision had taken place here.
Another draw?
Mewtwo and WarGreymon looked at one another.
The fighting spirit burning in their eyes became even more intense.
There was no need to say anything about WarGreymon.
He was a pure battle fanatic.
A warrior seemingly born for combat.
And Mewtwo was hardly inferior in that regard.
After all...
It had been created by Team Rocket as a weapon meant to conquer the world.
Its very genes had been optimized for battle.
The two merely exchanged a glance.
No further communication was necessary.
Their figures instantly disappeared.
Then—
They reappeared several kilometers away.
The fierce battle resumed.
For the first time since the fighting had begun...
Mewtwo finally felt as though it had encountered a true equal.
Even while maintaining astonishing high-speed movement...
It continued exchanging attacks with WarGreymon without pause.
The restraint armor covering Mewtwo...
Could no longer withstand a battle of this intensity.
It had completely shattered.
Countless fragments of black alloy fell toward the ground like rain.
And after losing the armor...
Mewtwo's combat power didn't decrease.
It increased.
Under normal circumstances...
Wearing the restraint armor should have reduced Mewtwo's combat power.
After all, the armor had been specifically designed to restrain its strength and energy.
But in reality...
Once Mewtwo put on the restraint armor...
Its effective combat performance had actually increased considerably.
It almost seemed as though the armor wasn't suppressing Mewtwo at all...
But strengthening it.
However...
That wasn't actually the case.
Mewtwo was an artificially created Pokémon.
Its body contained cells and genetic material taken from numerous powerful Pokémon.
That was one of the fundamental reasons behind its extraordinary strength.
But because of this...
Mewtwo also possessed an extremely volatile temperament.
Under intense emotional stimulation, its power could easily become unstable...
Forcing it into a berserk state.
And once Mewtwo entered that state...
It would completely lose its reason.
That was why the restraint armor had been created.
Its purpose was to stabilize Mewtwo's power around a critical threshold.
To prevent it from going berserk.
And to stop it from losing its mind during battle.
That was also why Mewtwo had actually performed better after putting on the restraint armor.
The amount of power suppressed by the armor...
Was far less than the amount of combat effectiveness Mewtwo gained by remaining stable and rational.
The tradeoff ultimately made Mewtwo stronger in actual combat.
But now...
The armor restraining its power...
Had completely fallen away.
And the strength it had been suppressing...
Was no longer restrained.
Mewtwo's strongest state had finally appeared before everyone.
Whoosh—
Mewtwo suddenly vanished as though it had crossed through space itself.
The next instant...
It appeared directly behind WarGreymon.
Its three-fingered hand clenched into a fist.
Then Mewtwo drove the punch straight toward WarGreymon's back.
Ice-blue energy covered its fist.
Powerful and extraordinarily pure Ice-type energy surged around it.
Even though Ice wasn't one of Mewtwo's own types...
The strength of the attack remained astonishing.
There was no delay or loss whatsoever during the energy conversion.
It was almost as though Mewtwo had perfectly transformed its own elemental power into Ice-type energy.
Combining that energy with its terrifying physical strength and explosive force...
Mewtwo unleashed the punch.
Even WarGreymon...
Whose combat instincts were among the finest imaginable...
Was startled by the sudden change in rhythm.
The unexpected shift caused his movements to slow by the tiniest fraction.
But...
WarGreymon was a warrior by nature.
His ability in battle was exceptional.
There was no time for conscious thought.
His body reacted entirely on instinct.
WarGreymon forcefully twisted his waist...
Turning himself around to face the incoming attack.
Then...
At the very last possible instant...
He crossed both arms in front of himself.
CLANG!!
The collision rang out.
Mewtwo's bare fist...
Unexpectedly produced the sharp sound of metal striking metal when it slammed against WarGreymon's armor.
The heavy punch crashed directly into the Chrome Digizoid Battle Armor.
Thanks to the armor's extraordinary toughness and thickness...
A considerable amount of the force was dispersed.
Even so...
The impact still sent WarGreymon's heavy body flying more than ten meters backward.
But damage from an impact of that degree...
Was almost negligible to WarGreymon's powerful physique.
The real problem...
Was the intense Ice-type energy contained within Mewtwo's punch.
The instant that pure Ice-type energy touched the Chrome Digizoid Battle Armor...
It began spreading.
Terrifying cold rapidly invaded the surrounding area.
Within moments...
WarGreymon's alloy claws and nearly half of his forearms had been completely frozen.
The bone-chilling Ice-type power even began penetrating toward the flesh beneath his armor.
"Hmph!"
WarGreymon snorted coldly.
A trace of disdain appeared in his icy-blue dragon eyes.
Tiny flames rose from his mouth.
He breathed gently toward his arms.
The flames gathered into a thin stream of dragonfire...
And began burning fiercely across the frozen armor.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!!
Sharp cracking sounds rang out one after another.
The ice covering WarGreymon's arms and alloy claws began breaking apart under the intense heat.
Piece after piece collapsed.
Until eventually...
The ice transformed into pure energy vapor...
And slowly dispersed.
Within only a few breaths...
Every trace of the solid ice had disappeared.
WarGreymon lightly shook his hands.
After confirming that nothing felt wrong...
He raised his eyes once again.
And looked toward Mewtwo in the distance.
(End of Chapter)
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