Chapter Seventy-Four: Escape and Transformation

“How is it possible? You actually managed to escape the Apemon so quickly?!” The Molecular Beast stared at the evolution key and the Sacred Plan Digivice now in Qin Fei’s hand, uneasy red lights flickering across its stiff mechanical face.

Ignoring the Molecular Beast’s astonishment, Lorretta Beast swung its blade and freed Suna from the experiment table.

“Thank you, Qin Fei, and all of you!” Suna cast a grateful look at Qin Fei before immediately trying to get up and rescue Tai and the others.

“How dare you ruin my plan!” The Molecular Beast roared, its anger barely contained.

“Suna, watch out!” Qin Fei’s instincts flared; he grabbed Suna and pulled her back just as a gaping, pitch-black hole opened at her feet. Suna, caught off guard, nearly fell in—if not for Qin Fei’s quick reaction, both might have been swallowed by the chasm.

They peered down into the darkness, where twisted pipes and cables writhed below. The grotesque, distorted shapes filled them with nausea and revulsion.

“Suna! Suna!” Bukamon struggled to rise.

“This is the center of the dark power controlling the Apemon network. Anything that falls in will be absorbed by the darkness—there is no chance of survival,” the Molecular Beast declared, a triumphant smile returning to its face as it watched the two dangling at the edge.

“If you don’t want her destroyed, give me the evolution key and the crest. Hand them over, and I’ll let you go.”

Qin Fei did not trust a word. The Molecular Beast’s deceit was still fresh in his mind.

“Lolo! Save Tai and the others first!” Qin Fei shouted abruptly, then decisively tossed both the evolution key and the Sacred Plan Digivice to Suna.

“Bukamon, digivolve!”

“Birdramon!”

A fiery red bird appeared above the black hole in an instant, clutching Qin Fei and Suna in its talons and saving them from a fatal fall.

Meanwhile, Lorretta Beast slashed open Tai’s prison, freeing him and his friends.

“This is bad!” The Molecular Beast stared blankly as the two soared away, a sense of doom creeping in.

“Tai! Izzy! Suna’s got the crest—let’s get out of here!” Qin Fei, clinging to Birdramon’s claws, frantically waved at those below.

Tai and Izzy didn’t understand his slang, but they knew he was urging them to escape.

“Agumon, digivolve! Greymon!”

“Kabuterimon, digivolve! MegaKabuterimon!”

Revitalized, Agumon and Tentomon successfully digivolved once more. Without waiting for the Molecular Beast’s next move, they charged straight at the wall through which they had entered.

A resounding crash echoed as the wall collapsed.

A shriek rang out—a scream of agony. The fallen wall must have crushed something dangerous, for beyond it lay high-voltage electric nets.

The group peered anxiously, then sighed in relief. It was only the Apemon, still lingering and now trapped under the rubble. Since it was him, there was no need for concern. Greymon reverted to Agumon and, together with Tai, clung to MegaKabuterimon’s insect leg. Lorretta Beast also leapt onto Birdramon’s leg.

In the blink of an eye, the two flying Digimon carried the children away to safety.

“I was careless,” the Molecular Beast muttered, attempting to widen the hole in the ground, but seeing the children already airborne, it realized the effort was futile and abandoned the attempt.

From the moment the children found this place ahead of schedule, the Molecular Beast had doubted its plan would succeed. But it had been too hasty—its strength had not recovered, its memory still lost, and its burning hatred for Apemon left it incapable of calm, careful planning.

“At last, I’ve found you, Molecular Beast. I didn’t expect you to secretly build a place like this underground.” Apemon’s body had quickly recovered—high-voltage nets were of little threat to a fully evolved Apemon. Yet his eyes, as they fixed on the Molecular Beast, were anything but friendly.

“Though those brats escaped again, you being here makes my search worthwhile.” Apemon bared his fangs, striding toward the Molecular Beast with cruel intent gleaming in his eyes. The resentment festering in his chest made him long to unleash his fury.

But the Molecular Beast seemed to ignore Apemon’s threat. The red glow in its mechanical eyes pulsed heavily and slowly; it had no intention of fleeing. Its enemy was right before it.

“Let’s go to hell together, Apemon!”

“What?” The resolute tone in the Molecular Beast’s voice made Apemon hesitate for a moment.

Before Apemon could react, the hole in the ground yawned wider, swallowing the entire floor and revealing a pitch-black abyss.

Apemon’s expression changed. He lunged onto the instrument table to avoid being dragged in. Just as he thought he was safe, the Molecular Beast’s mechanical arm suddenly elongated, seizing Apemon’s ankle as if intent on dragging him down as well.

“Let go! I’m not dying with you!” Apemon howled in terror, clinging desperately to the table to resist the Molecular Beast’s pull.

But the Molecular Beast shot Apemon a frenzied look, aimed its other hand at the writhing black cables below, and declared, “Implant bomb!”

Bomb drones rained down into the twisted cavern below.

“Where are you aiming? Has your logic circuit malfunctioned?” Apemon scoffed, both relieved and mocking as he watched the attack miss him.

“If you thought that was just an implant bomb, you’re wrong. It can reverse-amplify the dark power—it’s a computer virus…” The Molecular Beast offered a “helpful” explanation, as if savoring Apemon’s impending despair.

“So that means…” As the Molecular Beast had hoped, Apemon’s face twisted in sudden terror.

An irresistible force erupted from the heart of darkness, devouring everything nearby.

“You’re finished too, Apemon.” The Molecular Beast’s vengeful delight was evident, unmasked even by its mechanical voice.

“No… I won’t accept this! Damn it!” Apemon howled as the Molecular Beast was instantly consumed at his feet, his voice filled with rage and despair.

…

“What’s happening?”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. We’d better get out of here while we can!”

On the other side, the escaping children saw the anomalies unfolding inside the pyramid and the terrifying scene of everything being swallowed. They quickened their pace, running for their lives. None of them wanted to find out what would happen if they lingered.

At last, the children reached a patch of sand untouched by the chaos, anxiously watching the strange events in the distance. A dreadful black hole seemed to be devouring everything around the pyramid.

“Did something happen to Apemon?” Candlemon asked nervously.

Not only Candlemon—the other children were equally curious about what was happening inside.

“No, it’s probably even more dangerous now,” Qin Fei said, stroking the head of Blackdolumon, who had returned after their reunion, as if praising its good behavior outside.

“What a pity…” Lorretta Beast muttered enviously, watching the Digimon around the pyramid being sucked in—it was such a vast trove of data.

“Look! The pyramid!” Patamon exclaimed, sensing the thick, dark aura. He stared in alarm at the pyramid, now overflowing with terrifying energy.

“My goodness, what’s happening?” The children were stunned, at a loss as the pyramid was destroyed by the raging energy.

“…Something’s coming out!”

A bone-chilling laugh erupted from the ruins of the pyramid just as Qin Fei warned them.

Qin Fei knew the road back to reality he had hoped for was finally about to appear.