Chapter 56: Remorse Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago, the digital world -

2003 -

It was a leafy forest that stretched along the coastline.

By the time they stepped into the forest, the sun had begun to set to the west. The glowing evening sun pours into the forest through the gaps in the lush trees.

Although it is not very deep, this forest has an eerie atmosphere.

A few of them carefully wandered their eyes around as they stepped heavily. Occasionally, Digimon hiding in the grass looked at the humans with wary eyes.

"As long as you come to the Founding Village through the Confusion Forest, you will definitely be able to reunite with that child."

On the way through the forest, Kamijokai smiled heartily and encouraged the Arnoel couple to embark on a journey in search of their beloved son.

"yes, we haven't seen each other in months. I'm looking forward to seeing if Ryder will cry out with joy when he sees us. ”

Victor. Arnoor had an expectant expression on his face, and he was extremely excited to be reunited with his son soon.

"Still, I'm sure he won't cry as a boy. Ryder is my pride. ”

"Finally able to meet Ryder"

Laura, as his wife, was almost crying with joy.

"That's great, Victor."

Alex. Albarea was happy for her friend.

"Hehe, it's nice to spend a late Christmas in the digital world with your family."

And his wife, Emma, also showed a gentle smile.

Half a year ago, Mr. and Mrs. Arnoor's child, Ryder. Arnor strayed into the Digital World by accident, and in order to find his child, he established the Digital World Expedition. After months of painstaking exploration, they finally found a clue to Ryder.

According to a message from a kind Digimon, the human child is residing in the Founding Village on Document Island. It seems that he is still living with a Digimon that looks like a black cat. Those of you who received this valuable information immediately set off for Document Island. Now, we have finally reached our final destination.

"yes, there's nothing better than a family reunion."

Li Jianyu pushed his glasses and said with a smile.

"The hard work is finally over, I really want to go back and take a hot bath and rest."

"It's been five months since we came to the digital world"

Julia. Bin is writing down the day. Since coming to the digital world, she has been documenting the events of the day every day.

"Five months?"

Tomoshi Osawa pondered after knowing that he had left the human world for a long time.

"Is Chishi worried about Yabei and Masahiro?"

Kamijokai walked up to Tomoshi's side and greeted him.

"Before I left the human world, I hired a nanny to take care of those two little ghosts. Don't worry about their lives. ”

"Haha, I understand your feelings. In fact, I'm also wondering if Kaye and Sakura have grown well in the past few months. Kaye is a boy, but he's a crybaby. I hope that after having this sister, I can become a competent older brother. ”

When it comes to his family, the smile on Ah Hai's face is even more obvious.

"And Jen since I left, I think she's been lonely sometimes. However, Jane has always been a very strong person, and I am really happy to be able to be married to her. ”

“”

Hearing Ah Hai's words, Julia's face showed a lonely expression.

As for Chishi, his face was a little difficult to look at, and when Ah Hai mentioned his wife, he recalled the tragic situation at that time again. His wife, at that time

"Are you alright?"

Noticing that Zhishi's face was a little ugly, Ah Hai asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine."

"Well, let's continue on our way, and we must find a suitable place to rest after dark."

"yes"

With that, Zhishi silently continued to move forward alone.

Seeing the departure of the back of Yan Daze Tomoshi, Ah Hai sighed slightly.

"He's really an awkward person, but he's also a trustworthy companion."

Li Jianyu walked over and said with a smile.

"Ah Hai, only when I am with you, Mr. Osawa's words have obviously become more."

In everyone's impression, Tomoshi Osawa feels deeper and a little taciturn.

"Actually, it's not, I think Chishi seems to have lost his way."

Ah Hai's words became vague, and he whispered melancholy:

"Let me tell you privately, just half a year ago, his wife died."

"It's a ......"

Regarding this truth, Li Jianyu couldn't help but lose his voice.

"I didn't see anything on the surface, but he should have endured it very hard, even if it was his own children, he didn't know how to deal with it. Therefore, he took the initiative to participate in this exploration mission, and also took the initiative to accept the test in order to establish his confidence. ”

"I kind of understand Mr. Osawa's feelings, but apart from me and Miss Julia, I feel like you're really irresponsible parents."

Li Jianyu said these words with a sigh, because these people did not fulfill their responsibilities to take care of their children.

"Needless to say, it's our job."

Ah Hai said embarrassedly.

At that moment, there was a thunderous buzz above the forest, followed by a strange wind, and the leaves fell to the ground.

"What's that sound?"

As soon as Laura asked, Alex, who sensed the abnormality, quickly blurted out.

"Everyone! Look at the sky! There's something on it! ”

Tall, dense trees blocked the view, and something red could be faintly seen flying in the sky. Then, the red thing started flying back again, rushing this way.

"Boom!"

Hearing the sound of a giant tree falling to the ground, an incredibly huge insect appeared in front of everyone's eyes. It has horns on its head and a red body that is dazzlingly bright. The deafening noise and the winds were all caused by the huge wings of the giant insects.

"Oh! Oh, my God! It's a staghorn insect monster! ”

Laura shouted.

The monster gritted its teeth as if it were trying its bloody mouth—opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and swooping down on everyone, howling triumphantly.

"Get down!!"

Ah Hai immediately reminded his companions loudly.

It was too late, it was too soon, and as soon as Zhishi, who was closest to the monster, lay down, he felt that he was only a millimeter away from death, and the sound of the Gugamon's double pincers hitting each other was like two big hammers hitting each other, shaking his eardrums with severe pain.

Tomoshi looked up and confirmed that the monster had flown away.

"You don't matter, do you?"

The teammates ran over and asked with concern.

"I'm fine"

Zhishi, who had just passed through the ghost gate, replied with a pale face.

"The monster is here again!"

Just as everyone thought the danger was over, Emma suddenly shouted. The giant worm rushed into the sky high and far, turned a U-shaped bend, and swooped down again.

"Let's get out of here! Find a place to hide! ”

As the leader of the expedition, Victor immediately gave the order, even if everyone had a pistol for self-defense. However, a pistol will not do any damage to the Digimon at all, and will only provoke it.

Buzz buzz

The giant insect attacked Ah Hai and the others again and again. Every time it swooped down, everyone immediately lay down, threw themselves into the grass, and escaped for their lives at the last moment.

Although they hadn't died for a while, they were still nervous. Once you lose your physical strength and stop, then you will definitely die in the belly of the worm.

"Look! There's a cave over there!! ”

After running for an unknown amount of time, Julia immediately noticed a cave not far away.

"Let's get out of there!"

There may be other dangerous Digimon in the cave, but the situation is so critical that everyone has to take a gamble and rush into it even if it's dangerous. So, everyone rushed into the cave with all their physical strength. Seeing that all the prey had fled into the cave, the giant insect angrily blocked the entrance to the cave, waiting for an opportunity.

"Whew"

Li Jianyu, who had been safe for a short time, leaned against the stone wall, panting heavily, and his legs were sore to death.

"I thought we were going to die."

"It's like this every time, there's no difference between Digimon and Bloodthirsty Beasts"

It's not the first time that you've been attacked and hunted by Digimon since you came to the Digital World, and you've spent almost every day in fear. With a look of disgust on his face, Tomoeki stared at the Digimon outside the cave.

"Okay, Tomo-shi, it's not good to complain all the time."

Ah Hai patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Everyone came to the Digimon after they came to the Digital World, and not all Digimon are aggressive. What's more, both Digimon and humans are good and bad. ”

“”

In the face of Ah Hai's comfort, Jishi just chose to remain silent.

"There seems to be a way in the cave, do we need to go deeper?"

Noticing that there seemed to be another path stretching in the depths, Laura asked for everyone's opinions.

"That Digimon probably won't leave the cave, so we'll need to find another way out."

Looking at the giant red worm blocking the entrance of the cave, Julia spoke calmly.

"But there's no guarantee of danger inside, so it's bad if you encounter an aggressive Digimon again."

Emma didn't agree with the idea of exploring the depths of the cave.

"Kamijokai, Tomoshi Osawa, you go with me to explore the depths of the cave."

After a brief moment of silence, Victor, as the captain, spoke.

"Alex, Li Jianyu, you stay and protect the safety of the ladies."

"I'm going with you too."

Not wanting her husband to leave her behind, Laura also wants to accompany him on his exploration.

"No, you stay. Laura, there may be danger in the depths of the cave, and I don't want you to have an accident. ”

"But"

"Laura, trust Victor."

Emma comforts Laura.

"I agree with the captain."

Li Jianyu also agreed with the captain's arrangement.

"We'll take care of the ladies, so you can explore in peace."

Alex assured that he was confident that his friend would be fine.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be back soon."

Ah Hai stretched out his thumb, his expression full of confidence.

"Victor, you must come back as soon as possible."

Laura smiled reluctantly and parted ways with her husband briefly.

"Ah Hai!"

Just as the three of them were about to step into the depths of the cavern, Julia suddenly stopped Ahai.

"What's the matter? Julia. ”

Ah Hai wondered.

"Be careful not to push yourself too hard. If something happens to you, your family will be very sad."

"Thank you for your concern, Julia, it's just a little exploration, it's fine."

"Yes, too."

Julia also secretly scolded herself for worrying too much, she didn't expect that this time would be a parting.

―1―

It was pitch black in the depths of the cave, and nothing could be seen. Victor is holding an outdoor flashlight and cautiously moving forward in the cave with Ah Hai and Chishi.

Although there are several forks in the cave, in order to prevent getting lost, Tomoshi marks the stone wall at intervals.

The cavern was so big that it was hard to imagine from the narrow opening; Even the top of the rocky cave is quite high.

The three of them also walked unharmed for a while.

"I wonder where this cave leads?"

Ah Hai couldn't help but sigh.

Since the cavern was pitch black, it was not easy to feel the passage of time; However, they should have been walking in it for most of the day.

In addition, in order to save the use of props, the three of them only relied on a flashlight to move forward, and they could hardly see anything; Because of this, everyone's expressions are very solemn.

At this moment, the flow of air suddenly changed.

"It's getting cold in an instant."

Victor carefully shone around with the light of his flashlight. Soon, he noticed that at the end of the fork in the road on the right there was a room with a similar structure, which was very spacious.

"The wind seems to be pouring in from there"

"Then I'll go check the situation first, please wait a minute."

At this time, Chishi made a decision without authorization.

"I'll go in with you."

"No, I'll do it alone, Ah Hai."

Zhishi denied it, he understood that both of them were tired, but they were still strong.

"You and Captain Victor need to rest, and it's okay to leave it to me to check the cave."

"What a defeat for you"

Ah Hai smiled helplessly.

"Mr. Osawa, please be careful."

Victor chuckled.

Tomoshi took out his flashlight again and walked quickly into the fork in the road on the right. Looking at the surroundings, there was no way forward here, but the whole space was empty and empty.

The cold wind blew by, and at the same time, a terrible low roar followed.

Woohoo woo woo woo ......!

At this moment, an ominous sound approached. Chishi hurriedly shone the light of the flashlight in the direction of the sound.

A boar-like Digimon emerges from the light; Its feet, tail, and sideburns were wrapped in raging flames. The body is covered with strong muscles, and it must be more than two meters long.

It seems to be very annoyed that its peace is disturbed, and the wild boar keeps spewing rough air from its nose. Even if he was several meters away, Chishi could still feel the heat wave coming to his face.

Zhishi couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, he subconsciously took out the pistol for self-defense, and slowly retreated while aiming at the wild boar, hoping to escape from here before the wild boar got angry.

The boar didn't seem to want to let the group of people who disturbed it so easily, and it glared at the human in front of it, intending to get closer.

"Don't come here! Monster!! ”

Gritting his teeth, the frightened Chishi decisively aimed at the boar's head and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The bullet hit the boar's head and only exploded into a large string of sparks, and the boar's head was even harder than expected. But it was not pleasant, and although the bullet did not penetrate, the impact still shook the boar's movements.

Taking advantage of the boar's concussion, he continued to give the boar a few shots, but his bullets failed to penetrate the monster's skin.

"Damn it!"

The last one was depleted, and the boar was only a little foggy from the bullets. Seeing that the pistol was ineffective against it, Chishi immediately fled the place when the boar's movements stopped.

The boar shook its head and roared, a great roar that shook the entire burrow. Chishi's actions completely infuriated him. The furious boar also chased in the direction of his escape.

"Not good! Chishi is in danger! ”

Hearing the sound of gunfire and the roar of wild beasts, Hai and Victor hurried to the fork in the road, just in time to meet a terrified Tomoshi.

"Quick! Get out of here! Dangerous Digimon are attacking us! ”

When the two heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other. At this moment, the roar of the beast approached again.

Unable to care about it so much, the three of them took action first. They quickly turned around, spread their legs, and fled in the opposite direction of the cave entrance, and the other companions were at the entrance of the cave, and they must not be implicated.

In the cavern, the trio ran as they could, while the boar-like Digimon chased after them.

At this moment, the boar paused slightly, it stared at Zhishi tightly, its head lowered slightly, its body began to arch slightly, and its hind legs began to move the ground.

"Be careful!"

As soon as Victor's warning came out, I saw that the muscles of the wild boar tensed instantly, and then as if a spring pressed to the limit suddenly released, the seemingly huge and clumsy body rushed towards Zhishi, and the distance between the two fangs on the side of his mouth and him quickly narrowed-

At that moment, Zhishi's brain went blank. Ah Hai immediately flew up to Chishi and threw him to the side.

Dodged the boar's charge, and before it could stop, the boar's head hit the stone wall and fell into a coma.

"It's a frightening moment, are you okay?"

Ah Hai, who got up from the ground, patted the dust on his body and said with concern.

"I'm fine"

The frightened Shizhishi got up from the ground, a little overwhelmed.

Although the Digimon passed out in a coma, it is an indisputable fact that he survived. Until it's clear, no one can guarantee the presence of other aggressive Digimon in the depths of the cavern. After a quick thought in his head, Victor said in a deep voice.

"Before it wakes up, let's go back to the guys, and give up exploring today."

"Well, it's better to meet up with everyone as soon as possible. They must have been aware of the commotion just now, so it's not good to make everyone worry too much. ”

Ah Hai nodded in agreement.

As the three of them walked back according to the markings left on the stone wall, they passed the fork in the road again.

Boom - !!

The ground suddenly began to shake violently, and with a dull cracking sound, the pavement suddenly collapsed. A black hole appears at the feet of Ah Hai and Chishi.

"Ah Hai! Wisdom History! ”

Before he could catch the two, Victor watched as his teammates fell into a black hole

―2―

In the gloomy darkness, a ray of light suddenly shot out.

At this moment, Kamijokai opened his eyes slightly, and his consciousness slowly recovered when he realized that the faint light was coming from the glowing moss on the stone wall.

"Chishi, you're not hurt, are you?"

After pressing his head in pain like an explosion, Ah Hai greeted his companion with concern. But his concern was not answered by his friend. Turning his head suspiciously, he found his friend standing there with a blushing face.

“… Wisdom History? ”

"No, it can't be why it's here"

As if he had seen something extremely terrifying, Tomoshi involuntarily retreated step by step, and did not stop until his back hit the stone wall.

It was a dragon lying on the ground, with metal on its limbs and head. Obviously, his posture blends into the darkness, but he can make people feel the weight of the abnormality. It is this weight that stimulates the imagination. Pitch-black scales, flaming tongues, poisonous breaths - all of them make up a powerful being.

Before he knew it, a certain image began to revive in Chishi's mind, its claws tearing through his wife's chest, and its mouth devouring his wife's body. It was this guy who took his wife away from him, and he will never forget it.

Sensing the breath of someone else, the dragon slowly got to his feet. Ah Hai noticed that the dragon's whole body was scarred, its eyes seemed to have been hit hard, completely dented, and even the metal covering its head was cracked.

The dragon, with his eyes closed, looked around vigilantly, using his sense of hearing to determine the location of the other.

The dragon crawled towards Ah Hai first, keeping his mouth closed and trying not to make a sound. The dragon that lost his sight just sniffed his insensitive nose, and Ah Hai could feel the heat spewing from the dragon's nostrils and the foul stench in his mouth.

Patient with the disgusting smell, he also held his breath. Soon, the dragon, who didn't feel anything, snorted dissatisfiedly and turned his head to crawl to the other side.

"Whew"

The dragon finally left, and Ah Hairu breathed a sigh of relief.

"No!! Don't come here!! ”

Zhishi seemed to be stimulated by something, and took the lead in letting out this heart-rending scream. And this scream was like a fuse, and the dragon who heard the sound crawled towards Zhishi. Seeing the dragon getting closer and closer, even if he tried to escape, his feet seemed to be crucified to the ground. He was still screaming in horror.

"Don't come here!!"

"Run!"

Ah Hai, who didn't understand why his friend suddenly became abnormal, reminded him loudly that he was worried about him, but it didn't have any effect.

I couldn't care about it so much, when Ah Hai ran towards his friend. His body suddenly felt a chill, and he rolled on the ground unconsciously. At that moment, the dragon's flicked tail passed right above its head.

The disparity between the existence of the two sides is too great, as long as they are slightly rubbed by the tail, they will definitely die immediately. But instead of giving up, Ah Hai yelled at the dragon, hoping to attract its attention.

"Hey! This way! I am here!! ”

But the dragon completely ignored Ah Hai, and still crawled towards the frightened Zhishi.

"No, no"

Zhishi slowly slid to the ground with his back against the stone wall, his body trembling violently, and he kept muttering to himself.

"Come here! Your prey is here! ”

Roaring as if to hide his fear, Ah Gao fired his gun, aiming it at the dragon's injured eye.

Don't be afraid! Be sure to calm down!

So, he sank, held his breath, raised his gun, aimed, and fired!

"Bang!"

"Roar!"

There was a sharp pain in his eyes, and the dragon let out a roar. This shot immediately attracted the dragon's attention, and it crawled in the direction of Ah Hai.

"Cheer up! Wisdom History! ”

Ah Hai, who had gradually overcome his fear and was familiar with its habits, kept his distance from the dragon and continued to shoot at the dragon's wounds, shouting at his friends. As terrifying as the dragon appears to be, it has nothing to fear after being badly injured, slow moving, and losing sight.

Even if the bullet doesn't hurt the dragon, it can at least attract its attention, and when it finds the right opportunity, it can run away with its companions. The place where the two fell was not without other intersections, but Tomo-shi's situation was too worrying for Ah Hai to leave him and run away alone.

"It's useless!! We're all going to be killed by that guy!! ”

The trembling Chishi is already a little delirious...

"We're not going to die! Sober me up! ”

Shouting at his friend, Ah Hai hurried to change the magazine, then aimed at the dragon and continued to shoot.

"Roar!!"

Ignoring the sharp pain of the wound, the enraged dragon suddenly sped up and pressed straight at Ah Hai.

(Are you going to die?) ）

This thought crossed my mind - in fact, it was indeed true. Faced with the dragon's outstretched scarlet claws grasping at him, in shock, his body reacted before his brain. At the last moment, Ah Hai jumped backwards, sharp claws slashing at his chest menacingly.

The dragon's claws slashed through its chest along with its clothes, spurting a large amount of blood from its chest, and gouging out a piece of its flesh. If I hadn't dodged in time just now, I'm afraid my body would have been torn in half by my claws.

"Uh-huh!"

Ah Hai screamed in pain.

"Ah Hai!"

Hearing his friend's screams, Jishi came to his senses.

"Hmm"

Ah Hai** staggered, and the severe pain made him lose consciousness. In the blurring vision, the dragon impatiently swept its claws at him again. His body kept tumbling, and when he stopped, he didn't react again, but blood continued to spill from the hideous wounds, staining the ground red.

The dragon didn't pay any more attention to him, but turned around and crawled towards Chishi. It opened its mouth slightly, disgusting saliva dripping from its mouth, and a greedy expression appeared on its face.

Will die! Will die! Definitely going to die!

Tomoshi, whose sanity was completely shattered, only wanted to escape from here, his heart was beating very fast, and his legs were shaking with despair.

He subconsciously looked at Ah Hai who was lying in a pool of blood, if he carried out emergency bandaging treatment, he would definitely be saved. But is there really any salvation? In the face of the dragon, I can't do anything now.

Don't want to die! The dragon is getting closer!!

Even so—he chose to run away. When the dragon opened his mouth, Chishi let out a silent cry and his expression distorted. Out of a great fear of death. He stepped away, leaving his dying friend alone and running away.

Half a year ago, in order to survive, he left his wife alone and ran away. And now, he has made the same choice.

(I'm sorry for the !! ）

After the fear, all that remains is the guilt of the friend, and this guilt turns into guilt.

Ah Hai must have died, if he hadn't collapsed at that time, if he hadn't been greedy, if he hadn't left his companions

Because of his own ugliness, everything is irreparable.