Time flowed like a white steed flashing past a crevice. In the blink of an eye, the morning had faded, and noon had arrived.
By the swamp spring, wisps of steam slowly rose into the air.
Jurgen was soaking within the spring, allowing the warm water to wash over his body, he wished to cleanse himself of the pain and lingering thoughts brought about by yesterday's harrowing ordeal.
Not far away, Arrow leaned against the edge of the pool, a towel draped over his face as he leisurely rested with his eyes closed.
The surroundings were tranquil. However, that tranquility did not last for long.
"WHO WAS IT?!"
A nearly hysterical roar suddenly shattered the silence.
Nyugen came stumbling out of the changing shed, his eyes wide and bloodshot like a maddened beast as he pointed at everyone present. "Which bastard took my towel?!"
He abruptly turned his head, his gaze locking onto Arrow. "Was it you, Arrowlius?!"
Arrow could not even be bothered to raise an eyelid. By now, he had long since run out of energy to deal with this troublesome fellow.
For reasons unknown, Nyugen had seemingly designated him as a rival and had been picking fights with him at every opportunity.
Unfortunately, Arrow had absolutely no interest in entertaining him.
"You—!" Being ignored only fueled Nyugen's rage further, his eyes almost spitting fire. Yet before he could continue, a plump figure came stumbling out of the changing shed.
A towel that was clearly too small for him was wrapped around his waist, barely concealing the layers of fat. It was none other than Bubble.
"Ahhh—!" With a miserable cry, his foot slipped.
Splash!
His entire body crashed into the hot spring. A tremendous wave of water surged into the air.
The rippling waves swept across the pool, completely engulfing Jurgen and even sending the towel covering Arrow's face flying.
Seeing this, Nyugen was initially stunned. Then, his brows slowly knitted together.
His eyes locked onto the towel around Bubble's waist, and even his voice began to tremble. "Th-That… that's my towel?"
Crackle
Strands of yellow lightning burst from his palm, emitting a scalp-numbing hum.
Bubble's entire body stiffened. Cold sweat immediately covered his forehead.
Then, he forced out a smile uglier than a grimace.
"Th-That… I can explain…"
The mad-dog-like Nyugen paid no heed to any explanation.
In the next instant, he leapt high into the air and hurled himself toward the hot spring. Crackling arcs of lightning coiled around his body, and the blinding radiance of thunder caused everyone's expressions to change drastically.
Seeing this, Jurgen's pupils contracted violently, and panic immediately flooded his heart.
"Dammit! You idiot!" He cursed loudly and desperately swam toward the shore, trying to escape the impending catastrophe.
On the other side, Arrow had just draped the towel back over his face. Hearing the commotion, he ultimately could not resist lifting a corner to take a glance and he instantly regretted it.
The calmness in his eyes vanished at once. His pupils shrank into pin sizes, and alarm bells rang wildly within his mind.
He jolted upright and hurriedly scrambled toward the shore. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Boom!
Nyugen crashed heavily into the water, sending a great spray soaring into the air.
At the same time, a violent current of lightning spread madly through the spring, sweeping across the entire swamp pool in the blink of an eye.
"AAAAH—!"
Loud, miserable scream immediately echoed through the surroundings.
Jurgen did not even have time to escape before the current swallowed him whole.
Arrow was even more unfortunate. He was but a single step away from the shore, yet the rampant lightning still caught up to him.
Under the violent convulsions, even his trousers slipped down slightly, exposing half of a pale, gleaming buttock.
At the same moment, three skeletal flashes of white light simultaneously appeared within the pool.
The entire hot spring fell into a deathly silence.
A moment later, three pitch-black figures slowly floated to the surface, wisps of electricity still occasionally dancing across their bodies with faint zzzt sounds.
As for the culprit behind all of this -- he leisurely poked his head out of the water.
Every strand of his hair stood upright, yet his face was filled with pride. His eyes even shone with an unruly and triumphant light, as though he had just won some magnificent battle.
...
A long while later.
The three finally crawled out of the pool and collapsed upon the shore, their bodies still trembling uncontrollably. The lingering numbness had yet to fade.
Jurgen leaned against the wooden wall on the other side, his arms wrapped around himself. His teeth lightly chattered, and every so often, his body would twitch.
Clearly, this unprovoked disaster had left behind no small shadow in his heart.
"You bastard!" Having finally recovered, Arrow let out an angry roar and pounced straight at Nyugen.
The two instantly became entangled in a brawl.
One chased while the other fled. At times they plunged into the water, and at others they sent great waves splashing into the air. In the blink of an eye, the entire hot spring had once again descended into utter chaos.
As for Bubble...
he still floated upon the water like a plump balloon, rising and falling with the ripples, seemingly yet to recover from the shock.
As for Jurgen... he remained seated where he was, not wishing to move even a finger.
At this moment, a shadow suddenly descended from above.
Jurgen slowly raised his head, his expression numb. What entered his vision was a tall figure.
The figure wore a faint smile upon his face, and was standing on top the fence with the sunlight at his back.
It was none other than, Lord Nemesio.
He lowered his head and looked at Jurgen, the corners of his lips curling upward ever so slightly. "Long time no see, Jurgen Einzelberlt."