Chapter 53: The Living People Inside the Ship

A disheveled Charles frantically dashed about the colossal vessel, feeling as if the ship had come to life. Everything seemed to be against him, and every aggressive thing wanted him dead. Now, he finally understood why there was no one guarding this place.

He felt the presence of things unseen, coldly observing him from all around.

As Charles ran for his life in sheer desperation, he thought, "This won't do; no matter what these things are, I must shake them off."

After a sharp turn, Charles repeated his old trick, scurrying up the wall and, using his knife, hung like a fly in the corner of the wall.

The various floating fragments turned the corner, moving along the corridor straight ahead.

Only when those fragments had completely disappeared, and sweat had begun to form on his forehead, did Charles leap down. "Damn it, that fat bastard not only breeds insects, but also ghosts?"

Charles had barely turned around when his body instantly stiffened—in front of him stood a little girl in a gothic-style black dress.

Her silver hair and rosy skin, along with a teardrop mole above the corner of her eye, made her exceptionally cute. But encountering such a lolita in these circumstances only sent shivers down Charles's spine.

Their eyes, large and small, met, and Charles immediately charged forward, with Black Blade resting against her neck.

As he covered the little girl's mouth with his hand, Charles's heart relaxed slightly—it was warm; she was alive.

"Drip, drip," her tears fell onto Charles's hand, her long eyelashes drooping, making her look especially pitiful.

"Little sister, come on, just tell me where your family's sea chart is kept, and I'll let you go," Charles said, loosening his grip slightly.

The little girl remained silent, her expression deeply sad.

After a brief moment of thought, Charles hugged her and continued forward. Considering the girl's appearance, she must be someone important to "King". If they encountered those ghostly presences again, perhaps he could use her to threaten them.

Charles had only taken a few steps when the little girl began to shake her small feet in leather shoes, as if wanting to get down.

Charles loosened his grip, and the girl, like a little deer, hopped down and walked ahead.

Following her through two sets of stairs, the little girl opened a door and rushed in. Just as Charles was about to follow, he saw the girl come back out, her small dress holding some red fruit.

Was she trying to bribe him with food, to make him let her go?

When Charles got a clear view of the red fruit, his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The fruit was unlike any found in Earth Sea; rather, it resembled cherry tomatoes exactly.

Charles picked one up and asked the girl, "This thing... do you eat this often?"

Watching the girl cutely nod her head, Charles's heart gave a fierce shudder,

"Bang!" A loud noise and human screams suddenly came from the lower deck.

The little girl listened to the noise for a moment, then put her finger to her lips and, pulling on Charles's hand, started running quickly towards the front.

Where is this girl taking me? Watching the back of her head, Charles put the cherry tomato in his pocket, his body hunched as he followed her.

The ship was huge, its rooms layered upon one another; Charles felt almost dizzy from the turns and twists.

"Boom!" The wall in front of him suddenly burst open, and the blood-drenched "King" barged in, holding a person's head in his hand—it was Gerald's head!

The sight of Gerald's head made Charles's face turn extremely unsightly; evidently, his ally's plan had not only failed but had also precipitated too much too soon.

Just as Charles drew his weapon, ready for a fight to the death, "King's" chubby face showed fear. His bloated body collapsed to the ground, hands covering his face, emitting cries like a wild beast.

The little girl let go of Charles's finger and walked over; her cherry mouth, which had never spoken before, slowly opened to reveal shark-like serrated teeth. "You useless thing! What are you doing! Someone has broken in!!"

The chandelier from above crashed onto "King's" head, followed by a rusted rebar that sprung from a crevice in the wall, skewering "King" clean through. "King's" cries intensified.

"Damn it!" Charles turned and bolted, sprinting down the corridor. One might be manageable, but fighting two was outright suicidal.

With a delicate flick of her fingers, the girl pulled the rebar from "King's" body, floating it in midair, and whipped it towards his head with a "whoosh." "King's" left eye was torn out and fell to the ground.

"Catch him! I want to eat him alive! If he escapes, you won't eat anything this month!"

Charles ran frantically down the hallway, never expecting the little girl to be an even more ruthless character than "King."

But he didn't have time to ponder that for long, as "King's" variously shaped bugs had already started to pursue from behind.

Despite Charles giving it his all, the bugs were rapidly closing in. They were much faster than him, even at the human body's physical limit.

"Squeak, squeak," Charles could already hear them twisting their joints and extending their mouthparts.

As all the bugs coiled to spring, Charles's mind raced. He pulled a rivet embedded in his flesh from his chest and swiftly shot it at the lights around him.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The light bulbs in the corridor shattered upon impact, plunging everything into darkness. The bugs were thrown into disarray, uncertain where to strike.

Blind to their surroundings, but not Charles with his Dark Vision, he instantly drew his gun and fired rapidly, mechanical gun-like. The deformed heads of the bugs burst open, green bug fluid splattering everywhere.

Having escaped the immediate threat, Charles did not dare linger. With "King" back and their mission a failure, he needed to leave as soon as possible.

At each junction, Charles shot out the lights, feeling safer in the shadows as he rapidly searched for an exit.

Gradually, Charles heard a soft song near his ears, beautiful and light. It made him feel as if his bones had lightened.

But the situation quickly changed. He felt his hair growing longer and bones protruding beneath his skin, bulging out in lumps.

More distressingly, a sudden intense cramp struck his stomach. Charles inserted his finger into his throat and lightly retched, vomiting immediately.

What emerged from his stomach wasn't his morning meal but wriggling brown plant tendrils and mushrooms that wilted and regrew incessantly.

"Damn!" Charles staggered to his feet, then felt an itch on the back of his hand. Lifting it, he saw dark green moss growing rapidly.

The song seemed to possess a Magic Power capable of restoring life. Charles knew if he didn't find a solution, the various things growing inside him would completely disintegrate his body.