Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 695

Jenkins wasn't foolish enough to ask what the pair were doing inside. He just offered an awkward smile, quickly sidestepped the equally flushed Hathaway and Miss Mikhail, and slipped out the door alone.

Clearly, this was no longer a suitable time to invite them to the hot spring. Jenkins would have to go with only his cat for company.

He walked a few steps through the snow and rounded a large rockery formed from a pile of massive boulders. Behind it lay the spring. The story went that the spring had originally been quite small, but the villa's staff had expanded it to its current, usable size and lined the perimeter with smooth pebbles as decoration.

The water wasn't particularly hot, and no steam rose from its surface, but in this weather, a soak would still be wonderfully comforting.

Jenkins knew the ladies had been unable to bathe properly during their stay. Though they never complained, he was sure it bothered them. They had probably considered using the hot spring, but with men so close by, they would never choose a moment .

"Chocolate, want a bath?"

Jenkins crouched, cupped a hand in the water, and asked the question with a playful grin.

Chocolate’s fur instantly stood on end. The cat poked its head out from his collar, ready to wrestle. During their playful tussle, it squirmed completely free and tried to scramble onto Jenkins's shoulder to gain the high ground.

The kitten let out a pitiful yowl and sank beneath the surface, not reappearing.

Jenkins had always known his cat detested water, but he’d assumed Chocolate could swim and simply disliked getting its handsome coat wet. Now, seeing it fail to surface, he panicked. Without a second thought for his clothes, he plunged right into the spring.

The spring was shallower than he’d expected; Chocolate must have sunk to the bottom simply because it was so small. Read full story at NovєlFіre.net

The water was murky, forcing Jenkins to bend over and grope around for his cat. Just then, he heard Chocolate’s cry again, this time from the center of the spring.

He shouted again, not stopping to wonder how the cat had moved so quickly. Wading deeper, he took a sharp breath and plunged his head beneath the surface.

Visibility was poor underwater. It took Jenkins a moment to spot the cat struggling pitifully on the bottom, its small right hind paw snagged on something.

"Hmm? Are there weeds in a hot spring?"

The center of the spring, near its source, was deeper than the edges. To prevent accidents, the builders had enclosed the source with a low wooden barrier, but the planks were short enough to step over easily.

He pushed aside his confusion and dove, tracing his hand down Chocolate's body until he reached its paw and felt the object wrapped around it.

It wasn't a weed as he'd guessed; it probably wasn't a plant at all. It felt slick and slimy to the touch, and when he rolled it between his fingers, he could feel a thin, hard rod at its core.

"Go on, Chocolate! Get out of here."

He easily unwound the strange substance from the cat's paw and gave it a gentle push upward. Sure enough, Chocolate used the momentum to paddle frantically toward the surface.

Jenkins was about to surface as well, but his curiosity about the object got the better of him. He gave it a hard tug, trying to bring it up with him, but the thing was so slick he couldn't get a proper grip.

"What in the world is this thing?"

Chocolate had probably made it to the bank by now, so Jenkins had nothing left to worry about. He let himself sink completely underwater, grabbed the object with both hands, and wrapped it once around his right wrist so he wouldn't lose his grip. Then he yanked again, hard.

He still couldn't pull it free, but he felt it give a little. Jenkins guessed it was wedged in a crevice between the stones on the spring floor. He broke the surface for a quick gasp of air, secured the strange, strap-like object to his wrist once more, and with a silent grunt, gave it one last mighty heave.

With his immense strength, the object finally tore free from the stones. It was much longer than Jenkins had anticipated, and it took considerable effort to drag it completely clear of the spring floor.

Just as he was about to surface for a better look, the thing in his hands suddenly writhed like a snake. He instinctively let go, but he felt a long band snake swiftly around his leg, while the other end tightened around his wrist.

"Have I run into A-06-02-3339, the [Death of the Drowned]?"

The thought struck him with astonishment. He suddenly felt all his strength drain away, and at the same time, a massive surge of spirit flooded into his body from an external source.

He collapsed motionless underwater as the oxygen in his lungs rapidly depleted. It all happened in less than thirty seconds, yet Jenkins already found himself in a precarious predicament.

"Chocolate, go get Hathaway!"

He cried out in his mind, praying his cat was smart enough to understand, but he couldn't see it standing by the edge of the spring, staring up at the sky.

With his [Undying Man] ability, he knew he wouldn't drown, but the sensation of water flooding his lungs was absolutely agonizing. In stark contrast, the immense tide of spirit pouring into his body felt exquisitely pleasant.

Just then, a pale hand reached into the water, grabbed him, and yanked him forcefully to the surface.

He felt like a pig trussed up for slaughter, but he was still immensely grateful to his rescuer.

"Is that really... Miss Bevanna?"

He immediately suspected he was hallucinating, a side effect of hovering on the brink of death.

"It's been a while, Jenkins."

The woman's voice and appearance were exactly as he remembered. This was no hallucination.

Perhaps deeming the posture of simply 'hauling' him out a bit undignified, she shifted her grip to carry him properly before walking back to the bank. She gave the transparent band wrapped around him a sharp tug, but to her surprise, it didn't budge an inch.

"What are you doing here?"

He shifted on the ground, pushing himself into a sitting position. Though his hands and feet were bound, his body could otherwise move freely. But he was soaked to the bone, and the moment the snowy wind from the bank hit him, he began to shiver violently.

"According to the plan, you were all supposed to be back in the town at the foot of the mountain this morning to catch the steam train to Nolan. But our church contacts in town never saw you. When the news reached Nolan, I worried you'd found trouble again, so I came straight here."

She answered him while frowning in thought, her eyes fixed on the inexplicable band that bound him.