"This isn't good!"

  I kicked the door open in a panic.

  Please don’t splash me with shit.

  The pool of filth was gone, but the place was still a disaster—brown stains smeared the floor and walls.

  Hessien lay on the ground, covered in shit. His eyes were wide open, twitching.

  I kept my distance, blocking my nose with my arm. "Are you alive?"

  His gaze slowly shifted to me, but he said nothing.

  Ghomas didn’t even step inside. "Is he alive?" he asked from the doorway.

  I gave him a thumbs-up.

  Vacinay pinched her nose as she eyed Hessien. "You okay, buddy?"

  No response.

  Ah, damn. There was a shower nearby. Getting him cleaned was the priority.

  I moved toward the shower, but the walls were too high. I had to push myself up to get in.

  After scrambling over, I twisted the tap. Purple water gushed from the faucet.

  I jabbed a finger at Vacinay. "Get him over here."

  She cringed. "He's covered in shit, though..." With a sigh, she muttered, "Damn it."

  Grumbling, she lifted her red sleeveless shirt, revealing a black bra that barely kept her slightly above-average tits in place—only slightly above average. They had that Kim K look.

  I glanced down at my own unimpressive chest. The size was closer to a male bodybuilder’s pecs—on steroids.

  But! I didn’t care—because I wasn’t vain and was perfect in all ways.

  Anyway. She wrapped the shirt around her hand like a makeshift glove before dragging Hessien toward the shower.

  The moment he saw the running water, his eyes went wide with terror. He latched onto Vacinay’s leg, stopping her in her tracks.

  With his shit-covered hands.

  "Oh my god. Oh my god! What the hell!" she shrieked, jerking back—only to slip and crash onto the filthy floor.

  Yikes…

  She scrambled up, looking like she wanted to peel her own skin off. Then she turned on Hessien, scowling.

  "You’re lucky you’re already half-dead," she muttered before yanking him up and shoving him under the shower.

  The second the water hit him, he screamed. "Get me out of here! Everything in this bathroom is cursed with monster fluids!"

  He lunged at me, trying to use me as a shield.

  "Your hands!" I barely dodged in time.

  He stumbled out, still dripping.

  Okay. New plan.

  Since he was terrified of this place, I turned to the guards, who had been standing around doing absolutely nothing.

  "Is there a river nearby? A body of water or something?"

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Water looks blue because of the sky, right? Hopefully, that means it’ll actually be blue.

  One of the guards frowned. "I don’t know what a ‘river’ is, but there are springs."

  Ah. Right. Springs came from underground water. Close enough.

  "Good enough. Take us to the closest one."

  We left the city draped in large sheets to keep people from recognizing us.

  Why? Because Hessien reeked.

  I didn’t bother looking at the city’s infrastructure—my eyes stayed glued to the ground. Also, it was night.

  After an hour of walking under a guard’s escort, we entered a forest and finally reached a spring. Though, honestly, it looked more like a river, given the steady flow.

  Vacinay crouched, dipping a cautious finger into the water.

  "It’s purple too..." She sighed. "Honestly, I don’t care anymore. I just need to get this off me."

  Without hesitation, she dove in.

  For a few seconds, she disappeared beneath the surface before resurfacing, slicking her curly black hair back with one hand.

  "It’s deep," she noted, turning to Hessien. "There’s nothing weird in here. Come."

  Hessien shook his head stubbornly. "What if something shows up later?"

  "There’s nothing in here! Look at me."

  Still, he refused.

  "I’ll be right there with you."

  He wasn't budging.

  She opened her mouth to argue, then sighed and gave up.

  I watched her float around before asking, "Were you scared of the water in the shower too? You could’ve taken a bath in the bathroom."

  She shrugged. "Uh… kinda? Not really. I guess I thought that by doing this, I’d prove to Hessien’s dumbass that the water is safe."

  That made sense. Pretty nice of her, too.

  Obviously, I would’ve done the same—if she hadn’t. But... I sucked at swimming. And, if I was being real, the depth of this spring freaked me out a little.

  She’d been fine so far, so it was probably safe.

  A joke popped into my head.

  I snickered. "You know, Vacinay, there could be a tentacle monster in there."

  She turned her gaze onto me.

  “You know, I think you have some kind of weird anime-porn addiction.”

  “What?! How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”

  She swam to the shore and stepped out, water dripping from off skin. "I go into a body of water, try to convince Hessien there are no water monsters, and your second thought is, ‘Ghaha. Tentacle monster.’"

  …Okay. She had a point.

  “Whatever,” I muttered.

  She flashed a grin. "I’m just messing with you. But if one does show up, don’t worry—I’ll make sure it gets you first."

  "Not funny," I shot back.

  “It’s funny to me. Anyway, let’s plan an attack on Hessien and force him into the water.”

  Ghomas could help, but judging by how quiet he was and how far he stood from Hessien, I doubted he would be willing.

  Hessien noticed us moving toward him and, and as expected, he started running away. He raised his hand skyward, releasing a light mist. Even though the mist was thin, the darkness and it rendered him nearly invisible.

  “Ah... no.” Vacinay picked up a stone and hurled it where Hessien stood.

  “Ouch!” he screamed.

  That was fast. I was worried it might have seriously hurt him.

  “Shit! It hurts!” he wailed.

  We moved toward the source of the constant swearing. He rocked his right leg back and forth, wincing in pain. Just being near him reminded me of his awful stench.

  Vacinay and I grabbed him by the arms. He struggled, resisting in vain, then began calling for Ghomas.

  “Ghomas! Help me! Save me!”

  Did he really think we were going to kill him?

  Ghomas gave him a simple salute. “All the best.”

  “Traitor!” Hessien shouted.

  As we neared the spring, his struggles intensified, but it was already too late. We threw him in.

  “No—!” His protest was cut short by a loud splash.

  “Get me—” He barely got the words out before submerging, only to resurface moments later, thrashing wildly.

  Of course… this guy couldn’t swim.

  Vacinay groaned. “I thought he could swim! He said he could!”

  “Well, he lied. You know what to do.” I sat down.

  She shot me a glare before rushing in to save him.

  Then it hit me—wasn’t it dangerous to get too close to a drowning person? They could panic and drag you under. You were supposed to help from a distance—with a log or something to keep them afloat.

  “Ah!” Hessien latched onto Vacinay in a panic.

  Before she could react, he pulled her under.

  Ghomas was about to jump in, but I stopped him.

  “Make a clone. We can use it as a rope,” I instructed.

  “Got it!”

  He created a single clone and waded into the water, extending it toward Hessien. The desperate man tried to grab hold, but his frantic movements made it difficult.

  “Ghomas, make another clone to connect you to me,” I said.

  “Uh… right, right.” He complied quickly.

  As the clone split off from him, I deliberately looked away.

  “Help—” Hessien’s voice weakened.

  “You bitc—” Vacinay barely managed to surface before Hessien dragged her down again. In his panic, he was practically trying to drown her.

  Ghomas secured one clone’s leg for Hessien to grab and clinched the other to himself as a lifeline—I held that one to so Ghomas could get closer to Hessien without risking being pulled in.

  Hessien finally clutched the clone, allowing us to pull him ashore.

  A few seconds later, Vacinay surfaced, gasping and coughing up water. She dragged herself onto solid ground before collapsing, still choking on mouthfuls of water.

  I gave her a thumbs-up. “You're a real one. A true soldier. If I had a kid, I’d marry him off to you for your bravery.”

  “Whatever…” she muttered, catching her breath. Then she added, “I’m going to get that bastard back for nearly killing me.”