Chapter 179: The Children's Current Situation
Date... unknown. Time... roughly 04:04 PM.
The Primordial Digital World. Deep within the oppressive, gothic architecture of Myotismon's Castle.
This desolate fortress, a place where visitors rarely dared to tread on ordinary days, now echoed with the hurried footsteps of several uninvited guests.
The rhythmic tapping of their shoes ceased abruptly. The goggled boy leading the vanguard thrust his hand forward, pointing an accusing finger at the imposing, shadowy silhouette lurking in the gloom ahead.
"Myotismon, right?" Taichi's voice rang out, sharp and unyielding against the cold stone walls. "The days of you opening portals whenever you feel like it are over!"
He took a firm stance, his jaw set. "Now, hand over the key!"
The entity concealed within the suffocating darkness remained completely silent. For a long, tense moment, the only sound was the heavy breathing of the Chosen Children. Then, the shadow shifted. Slowly, deliberately, it stepped out from the veil of obscurity and into the dim light.
"If you want it, come and take it yourself. You should know the rules," a calm, raspy voice echoed. "Though I would love to say that... unfortunately, I am not Myotismon."
As the dim light caught the figure's features, the tension in the air shattered into pure astonishment. The children's eyes widened in unison.
"You're—BlackAgumon?!"
"It has been a long time, kind children," the dark-scaled dinosaur greeted, dipping its head in a polite, measured nod.
BlackAgumon surveyed the group of human children who had successfully infiltrated the heart of Myotismon's stronghold. A flicker of surprise crossed its golden eyes, but it quickly smoothed into stoic composure.
Given their demonstrated growth and abilities, it wasn't entirely shocking that they had made it this far., with BlackGatomon currently absent from her post, the castle's defenses were left to a pair of utter simpletons—Monochromon, who was actually SkullGreymon, and Agumon, who was MetalGreymon. It was hardly a marvel that those two had completely failed to detect the children slipping past them.
Snapping its attention back to the present, BlackAgumon addressed the group. "You have come here searching for His Excellency Mizuki, have you not?"
"That's right." Taichi exchanged a quick, knowing glance with his companions before stepping closer to the dark reptile. "Mizuki is really something, sneaking off all by himself like that."
He let out a short breath. "Fortunately, with Piximon's help, we finally managed to track down this place."
Taichi stopped just a few paces away from BlackAgumon. He studied the Digimon intently. Though it shared the exact physical silhouette of his own partner, its aura and temperament were entirely alien—calm, formal, and steeped in quiet shadows. A searching light flickered in the boy's brown eyes.
Before Taichi could voice his thoughts, Izzy rushed forward, his laptop clutched tightly to his chest. "BlackAgumon, where exactly did Mizuki go?" the red-haired boy demanded, his tone urgent. "Why couldn't we extract any relevant data from the Digimon patrolling outside?"
"Ah. About that..." BlackAgumon let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh. It turned its heavy gaze toward the massive, imposing gate looming in the deepest recesses of the chamber. "That is because His Excellency Mizuki employed a rather clever method. He infiltrated this stronghold by disguising himself as a Digimon."
The dark reptile shook its head slowly. "However, by the time I realized something was amiss with his presence, it was already too late."
"Too late?" Taichi's brow furrowed, the playful edge dropping from his voice. "What exactly happened?"
"You should already be aware of the nature of that gate, correct?" BlackAgumon gestured toward the colossal stone archway swallowed by the gloom, recalling the children's earlier demands for a key. "That is the gateway used to travel between the Real World and the Digital World."
The children's eyes followed its claw.
"At that time, His Excellency Mizuki and Miss Belle triggered the gate through some unknown method," BlackAgumon explained, its tone laced with lingering bewilderment. "By the time I came to my senses and reached this chamber, they had already stepped inside."
"In other words... Mizuki and Belle returned to the Real World?" Taichi asked, nodding slowly as the pieces clicked into place.
"Judging by the empty state of this castle, Myotismon must have already fled to the Real World as well," Taichi concluded, his fists clenching at his sides. "In that case, we need to hurry back too! Although I don't think Myotismon can defeat Mizuki in a straight fight, we can't just sit back and leave everything to him."
A chorus of determined nods rippled through the group. Taichi's resolve naturally commanded the unanimous approval of the Chosen Children.
Yet, amidst the unified agreement, Izzy remained uncharacteristically quiet. A heavy shadow of worry lingered over his features.
Noticing the rigid set of his friend's shoulders, Taichi walked over and placed a hand on his arm. "Izzy, what's wrong?" he asked softly. "From the look on your face... did you figure something out? Is something not right?"
"I..." Izzy opened his mouth, the words hovering on the tip of his tongue. He intended to share the unsettling data he had been piecing together, but as his gaze swept over the rest of the group, he hesitated.
Compared to Taichi and Kari, the other companions were currently running high on adrenaline and lacked a certain degree of emotional composure. If he dropped his unverified theories about Mizuki's situation now, it might spark unnecessary panic.
'Regarding Mizuki's matters, the fewer people who know for now, the better,' Izzy decided internally.
Swallowing his initial words, Izzy smoothly pivoted the conversation. "Taichi, you must have noticed it too, right? That stone table over there."
"Yeah, what about it?" Taichi asked, easily following Izzy's lead.
While the rest of the children scattered to inspect the towering gate, Izzy guided Taichi and Kari toward a heavy, ancient stone pedestal situated directly in front of the archway.
"It looks like this stone table is designed to hold something specific," Taichi muttered, leaning over to examine the complex, geometric grooves carved deep into the weathered rock. He rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
BlackAgumon approached the trio, its heavy footsteps echoing softly. "This stone table is the mechanism used to open the gate."
It gestured to the carved indentations. "According to BlackGatomon, it seems Myotismon opened the portal to the Real World by placing a specific set of items on top of it."
"A tool to open the gate..." Taichi mused, looking up at the dark dinosaur with a curious glint in his eye. "So, did Mizuki find that kind of tool? Did he steal the key?"
BlackAgumon pondered the question for a moment before gently shaking its head. "No."
"In fact, shortly after His Excellency Mizuki arrived in this specific area, the gate simply... opened for him. Automatically." The Digimon's tail twitched, betraying a hint of unease. "This is precisely what I am worried about. Even though His Excellency Mizuki appeared entirely calm about the whole ordeal..."
"Opened automatically for Mizuki?" Taichi blinked, scratching the back of his head in sheer bewilderment. "What is that, some kind of VIP passage?"
Beside him, Kari let out a soft, melodic giggle. She didn't look the least bit surprised.
"Brother, have you forgotten?" she asked, her bright eyes curving into crescents. "Brother Mizuki has many special qualities. It seems perfectly normal that he can do things the rest of us can't."
"Well... that's true..." Taichi conceded. Recalling everything he knew about Mizuki—the bizarre powers, the impossible strategies, the sheer, unapologetic audacity of the guy—Taichi couldn't help but agree. A magic door opening just because Mizuki walked up to it honestly sounded exactly like something that would happen to him.
Meanwhile, Izzy had already seated himself cross-legged beside the stone pedestal. He flipped open his yellow laptop, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.
"Izzy, are you planning to analyze the stone table?" Taichi asked, crouching down beside him.
"Yeah. Since we don't have the actual key to open the gate, we can only start by examining the lock," Izzy replied, his eyes locked onto the screen.
As he spoke, a brilliant, pulsing purple light began to emanate from his chest. The Crest of Knowledge shone brightly, casting a warm, intellectual glow over the ancient stone.
"If we treat this stone table as a lock, then these specific grooves on the surface are the keyholes," Izzy explained, his fingers flying across the keys in a blur of motion. "By thoroughly analyzing the structural data of the keyholes, it wouldn't be impossible to reverse-engineer the exact 'shape' of the key."
"I see." Taichi grinned, clapping a hand firmly on his friend's shoulder. "In that case, I'll leave it to you, Izzy."
The two boys looked at each other. No further words were exchanged, but a deep, silent understanding passed between them.
Izzy knew perfectly well that Taichi had noticed his earlier hesitation. But by choosing not to press the issue, Taichi was leaving the decision entirely in Izzy's hands, offering him absolute, unreserved trust.
And Taichi felt exactly the same way. He believed with absolute certainty that Izzy would never do anything to endanger the group. If the resident genius was holding something back, there had to be a crucial, calculated reason for his reservation.
Standing a few steps away, Kari watched the silent exchange between the two boys. Her lips pursed slightly, and a fond, utterly helpless smile bloomed on her face.
'Big brother and Izzy really have such a great relationship,'she thought, her eyes softening.'I can't help but feel just a little bit jealous~'
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]