"Rudel-san, look out!!"
"I saw it!!"
I swung my sword at a creature that was half-monkey, half-cat coming from above. The creature was cut in half, and its guts and blood spilled out like a broken piñata. After lying motionless for a few seconds, the strange creature began to decompose and turn to ashes.
"With this one, I've got eight, and it's only been ten minutes since we entered here!!"
I said to Irisdina, who was behind me. We were both wearing leather clothes as armor and carried weapons. The reason is due to something that happened a few days ago.
◇◇◇
Once again, I was hosting a gathering for people to get to know Baron Bradford, but it turned out to be a disaster as always. But I didn't mind because there was a reason that made it special.
"Rudel-san, today's tea and snacks are very delicious ♡."
"I'm glad to hear that. I had to order them a week in advance because the order shop is always busy."
"I-I see... Is it okay if I eat all this?"
"Of course. After all, no one else comes besides you, so it's better for a girl to eat them than to have them rotting out in the open."
"I-I see. With your permission, I'll continue drinking tea... Umm, this rice cracker is very tasty!!"
Irisdina is the only one who comes here since I invited her after seven consecutive failures. It's very pleasant to have someone as sweet as her here, but that was the primary reason, and the secondary was...
(Now is the time!!) I said to myself.
When lifting a cookie to her mouth, Irisdina has the habit of closing her eyes to savor the sweetness. Unfortunately for her, she makes a movement where her body gives a slight jump, and I can observe how her large breasts, which look like twin billiard balls, jump joyfully.
In my mind, I lamented and asked for forgiveness for being a disgusting person. But in my heart, I engraved the sacred image of her and thanked all the forces of the universe for this miracle.
After finishing contemplating her splendid twin hills, I asked her how her meeting went.
"Irisdina, I don't want to intrude into your life, but could you tell me how your meeting with that girl went?"
"Eh? Umm, is that really important?"
"Forgive me if I made you uncomfortable. I just wanted to know if something I heard was true."
"Something you heard?"
"Yes. I wanted to know if it was true or not."
"Alright, what happened was..."
And so, Irisdina told me what happened in her meeting and what I had heard. Her face suddenly became mortified, and she dropped her tea onto the table.
"It can't be... something so terrible as that..."
"He's supposed to be her fiancé, right? There's no way a man would do something like that!!"
"You're right, but you forget they are not at our level. They are the sons of dukes, people who are in the line of succession to the throne if something happens to the royal family. People like us are insignificant to them."
"Even so, what he did is horrible! Don't you think?"
"It's exactly as you say, but there's nothing we can do, especially in a matter of a couple."
"..."
Irisdina became thoughtful after hearing what I told her. I changed the conversation to another point I also wanted to discuss with her.
"Irisdina, did you know that all first-years will have to take an adventurer skills test in one of the nearby dungeons?"
"Eh! Oh, umm, yes, I knew. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to team up with me? I spoke with several boys, and no one wants to join me. To not be alone, I thought of asking if you would add me to your team—"
"Yes, I do! I mean, I do want to team up with you since I don't have anyone else to go with. The boys in my class will be supporting a boy they say is very strong, while the girls will want to be part of the group that will be with the prince."
"I see. In that case, do you mind if I prepare the equipment for us?"
"T-That would be..."
"Ah, I'm not talking about things like taking your measurements and such. I'm talking about the combat equipment we'll use... Do you have any equipment, first of all?"
"I've never gone on an adventure to a dungeon before..."
"Eh!!? Then how did you manage to get in if commoners are supposed to get a scholarship for their achievements?"
"In my case, it's very different because I entered through another means. I can't tell you yet, sorry!"
"It doesn't matter. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. After all, I'm not an important person in your life, just a classmate."
"Yes..."
(I had secretly left more money in her pockets thanks to Ixion's optical camouflage, so she shouldn't worry.)
While Irisdina was looking at a flower ornament on the table, a memory came to my mind.
I was with the warehouse guys eating, and there was one of them who seemed very intellectual. He liked gardening and always talked to us about the beauty of flowers. His favorite was...
"The name Iris originates from a flower that, like those lilies there, means purity and kindness. And 'dina' means 'bow,' therefore, the name Irisdina means 'bow of beautiful flowers.' Very beautiful, truly."
Thinking about its meaning, I kept looking at the table ornament. After a few seconds, I noticed something strange. Irisdina was looking down, but her face was red like a tomato. I asked her, a bit worried.
"Is something wrong? Does the tea or the cookies taste bad?"
Quickly raising her hands and shaking her head side to side, she said.
"N-No, I'm fine!! I'm really fine!! I mean it!!"
After saying that, she went back to drinking tea, but with her head still lowered. I continued eating, still wondering what happened.
◇
A few days passed since I spoke with Irisdina, and after getting organized and changing, we arrived at the dungeon. In February, this test is done to measure our abilities.
It's a very large place since it's underground. It looked like a mine because there were lamps with magical element every two meters and several soldiers around. I felt a bit uncomfortable seeing them with their spears and swords ready to cut.
After a few minutes walking the path indicated by a sign, we arrived at the predetermined place for the students. It was so spacious that, despite having two hundred students and some teachers, it still looked very roomy. A teacher was giving instructions, but I didn't pay attention.
I looked around at the boys and girls prepared to fight with equipment I didn't know if it was good or decent, but only two things caught my attention. The first was a girl with golden hair.
Just as Irisdina described her, that was her image. I kept looking at her because it was the first time I saw such an intense and beautiful color. But it seems Irisdina omitted something, and that was... enormous and splendid mountains.
Despite being covered by a leather and iron mesh, the voluminous size could be clearly appreciated. If Irisdina had bowling balls, this girl had a cannonball on each side. My hands made a gesture of thanks, and Irisdina noticed and asked me, a bit worried.
"Rudel-san, is something wrong? Do you feel sick or uncomfortable?"
"N-No, not at all!! It's just that I'm a little anxious since this will be the first time I enter a dungeon, hehe."
"Hmm...? Rudel-san, haven't you been on an adventure before?"
"Well, yes, but I never entered a dungeon. It was just an island, but there was nothing underground."
(I obviously lied. There was something underground, but I couldn't tell her what was there.)
I discreetly observed Irisdina's equipment. I was glad she didn't skimp on expenses since her equipment was the same as mine.
Leather gloves with metal plates on the knuckles, boots for walking on any type of surface, a leather mesh reinforced with iron, and several straps joined on the most visible parts to fill out the equipment. (What disgusting people who sell such mediocre equipment like this.)
But the two most notable things were the short skirt she had—she wore pants underneath, so she shouldn't worry about anything—and a cute headband she wore. (I felt like taking a picture of her.) Another detail of her equipment was a bag with several items inside, among them a spiked mace that stuck out was visible. I felt a bit mortified thinking she would have to get her hands dirty.
It was there that I decided within myself, (I will protect her and take care of defeating all the monsters that come!) Yes, that sounds best.
After the professor finished speaking, he said we should go in groups of ten. We were both a bit shocked since we didn't imagine going in a group when it was supposed to be a team. I looked around for an available group, and when the search seemed lost, a terrible opportunity appeared.
Precisely, there was a group missing two members, but the problem was the most prominent person in the group.
"What's going on, why aren't we moving forward already?! I want to kill magical beasts!"
"Klein-sama, it seems the professor wants us to have two more members to be able to proceed."
A boy with blonde hair, his left eye hidden by his hair, was shouting, while a man with the same hair color, but much taller, responded to him.
"Hah?? Find anyone who's free. After all, they'll be the rear guard and won't matter at all."
"Understood, young master... You two don't have a group, do you? Be fortunate; you have the opportunity to be part of the group of the heir of Duke Kingsfort's Household."
We were called by the tall guy. I stood in front of Irisdina so he wouldn't see her. After hearing what he did, I don't want her near him. (Is this what Lyle meant by not approaching or associating with him?)
I looked back to confirm with her, and she timidly accepted, and I told them we accepted. It was the worst decision I could have made.
◇
"Rudel-san, are you okay?"
*Panting*
"Yes, I still can't believe that after a few minutes of starting, those bastards ran off, leaving us behind."
Klein and his group saw a creature with an elephant's face and ostrich legs that chased them, and they ran out of there screaming. They forgot us, left to our fate, the miserable wretches.
As I swore to protect Irisdina, I was very tired. She made a face of discomfort and sadness watching me fight those things. I felt envy for the man who will become her husband.
"D-Don't worry, I'm really fine. More importantly, let's see what items that monster dropped."
"... Sure. Um, oh!! Rudel-san, the creature you defeated dropped a very shiny gem!"
"Is that so? Well, you can keep it."
"But, Rudel-san, you were the one who defeated it!"
"Even so, I could only do it because you warned me in time. It's your reward."
"..."
"Y-Yes, Rudel-san, if you say so, I'll gladly accept."
Irisdina grabbed the strange shiny material that the creature dropped. Apparently, some monsters eat something, and it materializes inside them, creating a unique mineral that serves various uses.
I stood up and, after doing some stretches, lit another magical element torch, and we walked forward.
◇◇◇
While Rudel and Irisdina were acting like lovebirds somewhere in the dungeon, the protagonist's group was yawning with boredom. Among them, there was a person no one expected or counted on. That person was Erselica, who seemed to be screaming internally.
(Kyahh~, how exciting!! I never imagined I'd be in the same group as the prince, how exciting!!)
Erselica felt such great happiness that she screamed inside. To the other members of the group, she just seemed anxious, and they couldn't imagine the craziness going on inside her head.
While Erselica was lost in her internal madness, the three main characters were chatting calmly.
"Ahhh, I'm so bored; no monsters have appeared." Said Chlust.
"That's good, so we don't put the prince or the ladies in our group in danger." Frey responded to him.
"Hehe, it's certainly a little good that no magical beast appeared, but I feel a bit sad since I wanted to try my skills that I could only use in training practice."
The three main characters of the game chatted about trivial things in a place of extreme danger. It was then that Frey said something that made the prince react.
"Your Highness, I know you don't like the gossip of the rabble, but I think this might interest you." Frey said to the prince.
"Hmm? Are you talking about the strange rumor that says Klein hit Alicelotte? That is clearly a lie. I've known Klein since my childhood; I even treat him like a childhood friend, and I know he would never lay a hand on anyone."
"Is that so? Hmm, then I'll do what I can to debunk those falsehoods about Klein." Frey responded in a chivalrous tone.
Chlust also joined the conversation.
"Yeah, that's true. So, is that girl Alicelotte a liar who wants to make her fiancé look bad?"
"I can't assure anything since from my childhood I always saw Alicelotte as a girl very proud of being born into the aristocracy. I even heard from my mother, who was in charge of her training as a society woman, that Alicelotte made the maids do the work my mother assigned her." Spoke the prince.
"Woo~ that's the type of girl I detest the most. It wouldn't surprise me if she was the one behind the infidelity rumors and is covering them up. I now feel sorry for that Klein." Said Chlust, making a disgusted face at what he had just heard.
The three kept talking while Erselica behind them heard what they were saying and responded in her thoughts.
(So, Alicelotte finally made her move, huh? That girl is undoubtedly the worst.)
In the game, that girl was the worst kind of woman. Her designer, voice actress, and scriptwriter certainly planned her character well. That girl was a true slut in the game; she always had men around her, and several maids saw her enter with them into her room at night and not come out until the next morning.
Erselica laughed to herself as she walked.
(Klein was the most tragic character of all. He knew his fiancée was sleeping with several men, and yet he said he loved her with a pitiful face.)
(Truly, Klein is one of the best tragic characters with strong willpower. That's why many girls loved him and wanted him to be happy.)
(Fortunately, the prince discovers the slutty acts she did and even that she tormented Irisdina. She was undoubtedly a trash character, but she will never surpass the scum Rudel.)
(I can't wait for that special event to come and for Alicelotte to suffer for her sins!)
Erselica thought with a smile when she was hit from behind, reacting a bit clumsily.
"Eh, what's going on?" Said Erselica, confused.
"Your Highness, we're surrounded!" Exclaimed Frey.
"Obviously we are, are you an idiot, seaweed head?" Responded Chlust.
"You two, now is not the time to argue; we must protect the others!" Shouted the prince to his companions, who took an attack stance.
They were surrounded from the front and back by creatures shaped like giant hands, with snail-like eyes on the wrist and hairy crab legs.
Chlust made a terrifying smile and took out from his bag a weapon in the shape of a bat that turned into a spear with a trident edge.
Frey took out from the back of his shirt a one-handed Thompson pistol. Normally, students are forbidden from carrying firearms because they could hurt others, but he was the exception for a reason.
"Your Highness, stay behind me!" Shouted Frey while aiming his weapon in his right hand at a monster coming towards Liam. He pulled the trigger, and the monster writhed in pain and turned to ashes.
Erselica screamed in her mind. (That was a 'Bullet of Origin'! Wow, I never expected him to use a future skill at such an early age.)
The bullet Frey fired was called that because, upon contact with a living being, it distributed at high speed a poison that quickly killed its target, returning it to the origin from where it was born—nothingness.
Chlust looked at him jealously and imbued the weapon in his hands with a strange red glow, making the sharp tips grow longer and turn red, causing the spear to be two meters tall.
"Alright then, show me your skills!! Eat this, uriaahh!"
With a battle cry, he lunged at the enemies and cut them like paper, leaving only ashes at his side. Erselica was stupefied.
(Ooohh! That's the Red Spear! He was supposed to master it in the event of the Forest King's assassination!)
The two boys fought hard against the creatures while the prince watched.
Then one of them dodged both and headed towards the prince. The students watched in horror what was happening when suddenly...
"You forget that I'm not a weakling." Spoke the prince in a low voice, who put one hand behind while drawing an entirely white sword from its leather sheath. He placed it correctly in his center and moved the same hand three times like a wave.
The creature didn't know how or why, but it was cut into three parts, immediately turning to ashes and dropping a precious mineral.
"You forget that I am a young master of fencing and I don't need more than three strikes or two hands to finish off a simple enemy."
With a smile, the prince smiled at the boys in front, who also smiled, forming a formation of three consisting of Chlust at the front, Liam in the middle, and Frey in the rear. This was originally the combat formation in the game, and Erselica was in a wet dream while watching them.
Tears came out of her eyes at such beauty, but she didn't notice she was ignoring the combat behind.
The other students concentrated on the rear fights while Erselica watched the feast in front. One of the boys was pushed by a monster and ran towards Erselica, who wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. When she realized what was happening, it already seemed too late for her—or so it was supposed to be.
Suddenly, a boy penetrated the creature from behind and, from its lower part, cut upwards, making a chilling sound. The creature disappeared and dropped a mineral, and Erselica stared at the boy as he spoke to her.
"If you're not going to do anything, it's better not to come. Many of us here earned our scholarships through sacrifice and sweat."
"S-Sorry..." Said Erselica in a low voice.
(It can't be, he was here and I never noticed him!)
Erselica was astonished at the boy in worn clothes, short chestnut hair, and sapphire green eyes. His name was Fritz, and he was not only a commoner but also one of the characters who helped the prince get to know the academy, the life of commoners, and to stop Rudel and his obscene acts towards commoner girls.
Fritz was also one of the few who could be the fourth member of the prince's team. Klein also occupied that spot, but sometimes he wasn't available, and Fritz replaced him.
He was also a lover of justice, so he never forgave Rudel for his misdeeds.
Erselica was left with her mouth open at such a cast of characters gathered.
(Wow. I mean, incredible. If everyone is here, it means that event is near and will be the downfall of that person.) In her mind, Erselica said horrible things while the others fought hard.
◇
We had walked for several minutes and were happy.
Irisdina was smiling with happiness since she had in her bag a large quantity of precious minerals she had found by defeating monsters or digging in the ground.
Unlike her, I had few in my bag since I had given them to her with many excuses.
We were walking along a path with arrows indicating the exit to the safe zone where the other groups and teachers were. Suddenly, we arrived at a large section of the dungeon that looked like the inside of a stadium.
There were no lights, guides, or anything. The place was only illuminated by the flashlight I had. Irisdina spoke to me.
"Rudel-san, this place is very dark. I'm afraid something will appear and attack us from the darkness!" Irisdina spoke nervously while with one hand she held her bag and with the other her mace.
"Don't worry. Maybe those fools from our former group broke them for fun. More people are supposed to pass through here."
"If that's how you say..."
I spoke to Irisdina to calm her down, but it was there that peace was mistaken.
Suddenly, something fell from the sky, hitting the ground very hard where it landed.
We were startled by that sound. I pointed the flashlight where we heard it. We could see, horrified, the body of a creature whose guts were almost completely devoured.
Quickly, I directed the flashlight upward and observed a monstrous creature hanging from the ceiling with its fingers embedded in the rock.
It wasn't a spider, but its body had an eight shape. The back looked like a wasp hive; the front had a torso that looked like that of a buffalo; four arms on each side that looked like insect legs but had scaly skin, and the feet were like those of a chimpanzee, its fingers clinging to the solid rock.
The most terrifying thing wasn't just its body or its frightful black color, but its head, which had the humanoid shape of a bald man, without ears—only large holes that seemed to be its eardrums—and its sockets had no eyes, nor any impression that there ever were. The most disgusting thing was that from its mouth came a pair of red pincers and yellow teeth in the shape of shark fangs.
Even though the creature didn't seem to have a sense of sight, it gave the impression of looking exclusively at me. Suddenly, it let go of the ceiling and swung to the front of the cave, and from that same place, it took a much larger jump towards the direction where I was.
I gave my lamp to Irisdina and pushed her away from where the creature would attack. After miraculously dodging that attack, I stared at the creature that slowly turned around.
"Shit!! What the hell is that thing? It's different from the monsters I've seen before, and for some reason, it seems to see only me. It's good that it doesn't attack her, but even so, I can't let it get close!"
"Rudel-san, I'll throw some smoke grenades so we can escape!!" Said Irisdina in a frightened tone but concerned for Rudel's life.
"It won't work. This thing doesn't seem to see, but it still managed to jump from one place to another at great speed."
"Irisdina, I'll defeat it alone. Keep pointing the flashlight at that thing for as long as possible!!" I shouted to Irisdina, who nodded and pointed the flashlight at the strange creature.
Then I took out the weapon I had used until now. It was a sword, but its shape was longer and wavy. It was what they called a katana, and it was completely black and sharp.
Assuming a combat stance, with one foot forward and one back, with both hands pointing the weapon horizontally towards the creature, which seemed to smile at me.
Quickly, I lunged at the creature, and it responded by using two of its legs to try to grab me.
But it doesn't work since I have experience dodging fast enemies.
It does the same movement again, and this time it grabs my arm.
Irisdina screamed.
"Rudel-san!!"
The creature pulled my arm with force and, with a yank, tore it off.
"Gyaaaah!!" I screamed.
"Rudel-san!!" Exclaimed Irisdina in a heart-wrenching scream.
That's what we saw, but it wasn't so. The creature withdrew, and when it tried to eat my arm, it only tasted the fabric. I was still screaming when I noticed my arm was still there.
(Did it tear off only the fabric and leave the flesh and bone intact!? I hate that what Ixion said happened.)
(I was thanking Ixion, annoyed.)
Ixion fixed and modified all the equipment since it couldn't accompany me because the low density of the earth would cause its systems to fail.
After dodging more attacks, I moved my long sword from top to bottom, slamming it against one of its legs, which I cut a bit, leaving its leg with a large open wound.
The creature retreats and takes distance, observing me with its non-existent sockets. The creature opens its disgusting mouth, which emanated a putrid stench, and fired a kind of missile made of excrement, rotten flesh, and minerals—a projectile powerful enough to leave a large crater where it landed, but I dodged it.
"What the hell was that? And moreover, this annoying pest... I must end this as quickly as possible since I'm very tired and won't last much longer."
"It seems I'll have to use this."
I clicked my teeth and with my left hand pressed a button at the base of the katana, which was a gift from Ixion.
The katana, suddenly—or rather, its edge—began to spin and vibrate, turning blue-white. The sound was so loud that it made Irisdina tremble; she had never heard anything like it.
With the katana that looked like a chainsaw, I wielded the weapon towards the creature, which let out a horrible scream.
"Jiiiiiooouuuh!"
The creature lunges at me, opening its mouth, and I, in an almost samurai style, lunged the katana horizontally, impacting the creature's maw.
"Eat this, you wretch!!"
I shouted with all my might while my arms strongly pushed the katana embedded in the creature, making a clean cut from the mouth to the lower part.
After cutting the creature, it falls in two parts to the ground, its guts visible. After a few seconds of ceasing to move, the creature began to turn to ashes and dropped a mineral in the shape of a black cube that drastically changed to purple.
"Rudel-san, I was so scared!!" Irisdina screamed and dropped the lamp on the floor while clinging to me.
I watched her crying and patted her head to calm her down.
After removing her head from my chest, she wiped her tears, and while doing so, she could see that I had been injured on the side of my left arm, from which the fabric of the equipment had been torn.
"Rudel-san, there's a lot of blood coming out!!" Shouted Irisdina. I told her to calm down.
"I'll be fine; there are creams for this— Ouch!!"
After pretending to be fine, I complained about the strong pain the wound caused me. Irisdina, seeing me suffer, bit her lips and then stopped to speak.
"Rudel-san, I'm so sorry."
"Eh? What are you talking about? It's not your fault I'm like this."
"It's not that, but something else... Do you remember you asked me how I got in here without having experience as an adventurer before? Well, this is why."
After finishing speaking, Irisdina approached my arm to place both hands on the wound. Suddenly, a white light more radiant than the flashlight, which illuminated the entire cave, went out after shining for a few seconds.
I could feel how the pain disappeared along with the blood and the wound.
"What was that!! Hey, Irisdina, what did you just do?" I asked, amazed at what had happened.
"Once when I was a child, I fell, and my leg hurt so much that I tried to close the wound, and suddenly a light came out and healed it. A few years later, an old man passing through my village saw me heal some animals, and he said it was Light Magic, a rarity that hadn't been seen in decades."
"I'm sorry for not telling you. I was scared that... maybe Rudel-san would hate me for being a commoner who possesses magical power?"
◇◇◇
Nobles possessing magical power is normal in this world, but for a commoner to have magical power was something inconceivable and unforgivable. Upon discovering in the game that Irisdina possessed magical power, the protagonist distanced himself from her for having lied to him, only to forgive her several events later. But what did Rudel think when he found out?
◇◇◇
"That... is incredible!!" I shouted at an Irisdina who seemed about to cry.
"I don't understand why you hid it, but isn't it amazing that you're not only the smartest girl in the entire academy and the best cook, but you also possess magical power, and of the healing type, it seems. If I were you, I'd be proud to possess so many talents!"
(But Light Magic? I feel like I've heard that before somewhere.) I thought about that enigma.
At my honest words, Irisdina shed tears, which made me scared.
"Sorry, did I say something weird or that bothered you?"
"It's not that... it's just that it's the first time someone has congratulated me after discovering I possess magical power and didn't criticize or insult me for it."
Tears welled up in Irisdina's eyes, and I tried to calm her down.
"What!!? Someone made fun of you?! Tell me who it is, and I'll beat them up when we get out of here!"
My face turned into that of a demon, and she told me it didn't matter while wiping her tears.
"Rudel-san, that doesn't matter anymore. It makes me happy to know you're still the same kind person as always after learning my secret. Thank you very much."
Irisdina gave me a smile with her eyes closed, and suddenly I grabbed my chest, wondering, (What was that?)
"We should go since at any moment more of those things could appear." I spoke, and Irisdina nodded.
She picked up the fallen lamp, and I headed to grab the mineral the creature dropped while indicating to Irisdina that it was time to leave there.
◇◇◇
Rudel didn't turn back to see an Irisdina who was watching his figure from behind with warm, moist eyes while murmuring to herself.
"You truly are the best thing that could have happened to me in my life."
◇
Upon arriving at the meeting place, we heard a commotion coming from the center. Still behind me, Irisdina asked me what was happening, and I responded that I would go find out.
What I saw there was a slightly lost fight.
"Your Highness, I swear I'm not lying to you!!"
"Alicelotte, please. Klein told me those rumors are false, but he did shout at you because you had crossed the line."
The two people in question were the Duke's daughter, Alicelotte, and Prince Liam.
I didn't understand what was happening, but I heard some boys murmuring something.
"Hey, is it true that she was scolded by her fiancé for being unfaithful?"
"I don't know, but if the prince says it, it must be true."
"Truly, that girl is the worst."
Terrible voices came from the surroundings, and Alicelotte could hear them. After a while, she turned around and slowly left there. After not being seen by anyone, she shed a few tears and ran away from the place.
◇◇◇
In the distance, someone among the shadows was laughing maliciously.
"I told you not to get in my way. Sow."
Rudel remained pensive after seeing her leave and returned to where Irisdina was, telling her it was nothing.
◇◇◇
After defeating the strange creature, at the bottom of a floating island, there was a black stain that grew larger and splattered like boiling water.
The stain grew darker and darker to the point where it seemed tentacles were coming out of it.
After a few underwater blows, several bubbles came out, which burst in a strange sequence that could be interpreted in the human language as...
"Rudel... bastard... mistake."