By the time Loa and Dalmatian returned to the beach, the sun had set completely. Stars glittered like diamonds in the clear night sky, and bright moonlight reflected off the calm sea, making it hard to tell where the sky ended and the earth began.
Now and then, a breeze rippled the water. The shattered moonlight looked like a broken white jade bowl, a sight that stirred a pang of regret.
Amid that beautiful night scene, a thoroughly out-of-place racket broke the silence.
"Time for a feast!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
The main course tonight was the Sea King Loa and Vice Admiral Dalmatian had caught. Who knew why this island had an inland lake? And living in it was a Sea King that couldn't escape!
It had probably swum in when it was small through a passage connecting the lakebed to the sea. Now that it had grown into a ten-meter-tall monster, it could no longer get back out.
If it had stayed quietly at the bottom of the lake, Loa wouldn't have put it on the menu. But of all the things it could have done, it had taken an interest in their prey!
That just wouldn't do!
If you want to eat what's mine, then sorry—I'm eating you!
And since the creature was an octopus-like Sea King, Loa could freeze it without a second thought. He didn't have to worry that freezing it would prevent the blood from draining and make it hard to eat.
The cooks from several warships gathered and cut the enormous octopus into countless pieces. They made soup, grilled and steamed it, minced it for octopus balls, sliced it for teppanyaki, and roasted whole tentacles over the fire.
They pulled out every trick they knew, turning it into dish after delicious dish!
The Marines were deeply