Shrouded Seascape

"You're an imposter! You're not my captain!" Dipp shouted with a grave expression, and he moved to stand next to the green centipede.

"What makes you think I'm not Charles?"

Just then, he saw a faint smile playing on the monstrous maw of the green centipede before him. The creature used its twitching fingers to quickly scribble a line of text on the ground.

"No matter how well you try to imitate me or snatch everything of mine. There are some things that I possess that you'll never have. Because the real Charles would never harm Lily."

"That's right…" Bandages slowly emerged from the ground and stood next to the green centipede.

"Lily is Captain's most beloved pet. An imposter like you would never know how much the captain has sacrificed just to save her," Cook Planck added, rubbing his nose.

Gradually, the crew of the Narwhale distanced themselves from their supposed captain, leaving a large, empty space around him.

Seeing the Narwhale's crew actions, the others who had descended from the other airships followed suit. They whipped out various relics and weapons, pointing them at their former leader.

"Heh, heh, heh..." Swapped Charles let out a dry chuckle. With a flick of his right hand, he produced a thin cigarette and placed it between his lips.

Nico suddenly froze at the sight. He reached into his own pocket and realized that his cigarettes were gone.

"Not bad, Charles. You actually set up a trap for me. Your intelligence has finally grown beyond just decoration!" Swapped Charles pulled Lily out of his coat pocket and nonchalantly threw her onto the ground.

The 1189-1 possessing Charles' memories knew clearly that it was pointless to try to threaten everyone with Lily. The power suppressed within Lily was a major hazard and could explode if he made a wrong move.

Fortunately for him, the little mouse couldn't quite control that power yet.

"We have foiled you and your allies' plan! You are all doomed!!!" Charles slashed three large exclamation marks into the ground with his sharp claws.

However, Swapped Charles slowly blew a smoke ring into the air. His visage showed not even a sign of panic.

"Foiled? What a joke! Do you think we have managed to survive for so many years in this place just purely relying on the ability to swap bodies? We're far more powerful than you can imagine."

As he spoke, footsteps echoed from a distance and soon grew closer. The previously swapped humans trailed after a swarm of green centipedes and appeared from behind Swapped Charles.

"Turn off all the lights! They need visual and tactile contact to swap bodies!!" Charles swiftly shared the intel he had learned.

With a flurry of clicks, the light beams from the flashlights were extinguished, plunging the tunnel into darkness once again.

However, the darkness didn't last long as gunfire and grenade explosions intermittently lit up the space. Chaos erupted as the two sides clashed in a heated battle.

A figure dashed into the center of the battlefield. "Bring it on! Let's test out the true power of Captain Charles!"

With a flash of white light, his body crackled with electricity as he jumped into the throng. His transparent tentacles extended from his hands and turned into lightning whips.

Snap!

With each lash, anyone who came into contact with the whip convulsed violently as smoke emitted from their forms.

"Look at this! Quick! Your power might not be very useful for exploration, but it's so efficient for killing!" Swapped Charles' voice carried a hint of madness.

Suddenly, two sharp black spikes flew through the air with a swoosh and pierced through the transparent tentacles protecting Swapped Charles.

Before he could taunt his attacker, a sudden sense of suffocation hit him. A cloud of blue mist was blocking his airway. It was one of Dipp's abilities, and the mist continued to plunge deeper into his throat.

When he finally managed to manipulate his tentacles to push Dipp out of his windpipe, black vines started sprouting out of the ground and continued to wrap around him.

The plants appeared to be highly resistant to electricity, and he couldn't easily set them on fire with his lightning ability. He could only use his transparent tentacles to fend them off.

Just then, a flash of green darted past him, and a sharp black spike pierced his abdomen.

"Hahaha! Interesting! Bring it on! Kill me! If I die, your body will then be utterly useless. You'll be doomed to be trapped in that deformed monster's body forever!" Some of Charles' madness seemed to have rubbed off 1189-1, as he appeared indifferent to the prospect of death.

Hearing those words, everyone halted their attacks for a split second. 1189-1 immediately took this perfect opportunity to counterattack.

"Everyone, display your true strength! The captain had made his stand! It doesn't matter if he can't get his body back. It's just a vessel, after all!" Dipp's voice resonated through the battlefield, turning the tide of the situation once again.

The Narwhale crew was well acquainted with Charles' abilities, and their coordinated efforts compensated for any lack of individual strength. As the battle continued, both sides were evenly matched.

However, as the battle prolonged, the lightning arcs surrounding Charles' body were growing faint. Being incredibly potent, it also meant that evoking such powers was extremely energy-draining and, as a result, unsustainable.

During a brief lull in 1189-1's attack, Linda suddenly phased out from the ground right beneath Swapped Charles' feet. She thrust her arm straight into his abdomen.

Accompanied by a whoosh, transparent tentacles whipped toward Linda, but as soon as they came into contact with her body, they passed right through her and fell to the other side. It was as though her entire form was merely an illusion.

"Thanks! It's really not wise to destroy the captain's body, but that's not our goal anyway."

With that, Linda swiftly retracted her hand; she had grabbed the diary from Swapped Charles' pocket.

With the diary in hand, Linda disappeared into the ground again. A few seconds later, she re-emerged and the diary was placed into the hands of the real Charles.

Seeing this, 1189-1 panicked. It frantically rushed over, trying to reclaim the diary.

However, the other crew members threw out attacks relentlessly to stop its approach.

A smile appeared on Charles' monstrous face. He scrawled a line of text on the ground: "I don't have anything right now, but I still have my crew."

With that, Charles flipped open the diary and tapped on the portrait of Sparkle.

Seconds later, Anna's black scaly tentacle reached out from the page before her form climbed out.

The moment her gaze landed on the green centipede, she was taken aback. "Charles, what kind of mess have you gotten into this time?"

Immediately, she noticed something else and turned to look toward Charles' body.

"Two consciousnesses of Charles? Wait. No… let me see…" Anna muttered. Her elegant brows furrowed as she touched her chin with her delicate, pale fingers. Her bright eyes scanned the faces of the surrounding crowd, seemingly reading through everyone's memories.

At this sight, 1189-1 appeared terrified as panic surfaced on his face. He quickly turned and began to retreat, shouting, "Bring in the big guy. There's an emergency!"

Anna placed a hand over her mouth and let out a chuckle. Cradling Charles' green, deformed head, she planted a kiss on it and said, "Honey, your body has run away. Wait here, I'll get your body back for you. Don't worry, I'll be quick."