The cave where Tenma and the angel were trapped easily echoed.
The only clue they had so far was a spring that reflected the moonlight. Therefore, the sky would be clear.
Tenma approached the spring to get a better look, seeing that on the other side there was a rocky wall. In fact, looking up, everything was surrounded by a one-sided rocky wall. They were trapped in a pit.
But how had they arrived?
["Maybe I can fly out. I can't touch anything in this dimensional plane, but maybe I can..."]
But before the angel could finish his sentence, Tenma submerged underwater, observing what was below.
He would open his eyes carefully, taking a quick look. Then, he would resurface, catching his breath.
"There's something down there."
The angel looked confused at the canine, but suddenly the cave began to shake violently, causing Tenma to stumble and fall to the ground.
From the spring, a large head followed by a long neck emerged, with bluish reptilian scales and a dragon's head.
Just by sticking its neck and head out of the water, it already measured over 2 meters. This monster crouched down a bit, looking at the canine, who retreated somewhat fearfully.
It would stick its head into the cave, getting closer and closer to Tenma, who tried to prevent the monster from devouring him in one bite, escaping as best he could.
But the monster stopped, and opened its mouth.
"Are you okay? Oh my goooood, you have no idea how worried I was. Just a little puppy like you, along with your little friend over there. Are you okay...? Look, I brought you food. Fishes, do you like fishes, huh? They're mammals, right?"
The dog froze completely blank.
"What.....?"
The monster dropped a large amount of fish from its mouth, as well as a whale.
The dog remained frozen, still blank.
"Huh......?"
The angel, by his side, seemed equally confused.
["Is she talking... to you? Can we understand her?"]
Tenma would be silent for a moment, swallowing some saliva. He would stand up carefully, and look at the monster, still not approaching her or her fish.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to gain more confidence.
"Can you... understand me?" —He asked, considering that no one else could understand him.
"Of course, I can understand you! Like, hiiiieeeeee? The Novales River monster? Like, me. Doesn't the name sound incredible? —the monster spoke with great naturalness, though in a strange way—. The strongest monster in the whole country that everyone tries to kill, but nobody can because it's super super super OP? OP, you know what that is, right?"
Tenma had never heard anyone talk like that unless it was on TV or the internet.
And seeing it with a female voice with a conceited tone annoyed him a little. Despite that, he still feared the monster.
"No one has been able to understand me until now... I mean, how can you understand me? Are you a reincarnation?"
"A what? Hey hey hey hey, Do... Do you believe in those legends? Pffffffff:..! Reincarnated ones don't exist!"
The monster would pull its head out of the cave, bursting into laughter, leaving the little dog feeling uncomfortable.
"Such good jokes... And why doesn't your little friend say anything? What, is he dead?" —She asked, wiping her tears.
"Yes... he's dead."
Both would fall into total silence, looking at the squirrel's corpse lying on one side.
["She's just been babbling nonsense and hasn't answered any of our questions. I don't feel safe. Tenma, if we don't get rid of her, we won't be able to escape."]
"Ma'am... Monster?"
"Call me Beth, short for Elizabeth... I'm sorry about your friend, I thought I brought both of you here with utmost care. Seriously, seriously..."
The dog would lower his head, looking at the monster in front of him.
He was starting to feel sympathy for her, despite her terrifying size.
"Mrs. Beth... I want... to get out of here."
"No, no, no, no. No way. I've seen in your memories, and with all you've suffered, it would be better for you to live here, with me. I'll take care of you, you would be my pet! How about that? You wouldn't have anything to worry about ever."
The angel would open his eyes, looking at the dog.
["Tell her no. Listen, Tenma, we need to get out of here."]
"I know..."
"Listen... I don't want to be anyone's pet right now. I just want to get out and be free. Could you understand, please?"
Hoping that the monster in front of him would understand, he would lower his ears trying to appear as friendly as possible.
But it didn't have the desired effect.
"Yes... uhhh, that's not going to be possible."
"I want to find a way to revive my friend."
"Oh. Was that it? Even I can do that."
The monster would pull its large paw out of the water, shaking the cave again. It would touch the squirrel with a claw very carefully.
"Revivus."
A ray of light blinded the darkness of the cave for a moment, and the eyes of the angel and Tenma as well. After a while, they would be amazed, seeing the squirrel's body taking a breath.
The monster would withdraw its paw, hiding under the water again. She smiled at both of them, finally saying.
"So, there's no need to escape from here anymore, right?"