Shrouded Seascape

Charles stood up abruptly, forcing the sacrificial ritual to come to a halt once again, even though it was about to be completed.

Everyone cast their dissatisfied gazes at Charles.

"Captain, this is the third time. Can you stop interrupting the ritual? If you don't want to go first, then why don't you wait for the next round?" Linda said, staring at Charles with furrowed brows.

"Next round of what? Next round of killing ourselves? Everyone, get up! Now!" Charles roared, yanking up the crew members seated in the magic circle.

"Have you all gone mad? How come we went up? First Mate! Make the Narwhale descend—at flank speed! We're in uncharted territory in the skies above the darkness. Every second we spend here is akin to gambling with our lives!"

Bandages turned around and ran toward the bridge. However, right as he was about to take his third step toward the bridge, he came to a halt and retracted his foot. Then, he turned around and joined the other crew members to stare in confusion at Charles.

Everyone onboard soon gathered around Charles, and his heart sank upon seeing their bewildered expressions.

"Captain, why should we go down? The sacrificial ritual isn't over yet," Nico asked.

"Sacrificial ritual? We don't know any damned sacrificial ritual!" Charles roared and grabbed the black spike lodged in his neck. He gave it a slight twist, and blood immediately seeped out of the wound.

The sharp pain cleared Charles' mind, and he discovered a strange pattern through his firsthand experience and observations just now—extreme pain would allow them to recover their sanity.

The crew became even more confused at Charles' words, and they started whispering among themselves.

"Hey... don't you think the captain is acting a bit strange? I mean, this was his order."

"Yeah, he's being weird. It looks like he's being controlled by something."

"We have to catch him and proceed with the sacrificial ritual."

"It's fine if we kill him. We just have to drag him into the middle of the magic circle afterward."

Hearing the crew speak such evil words in a casual tone of voice made Charles gnash his teeth. He swept his gaze across the familiar yet unfamiliar people before him.

They've been brainwashed! 005-3 has brainwashed them like how they brainwashed the Foundation! Just as Charles reached that conclusion, two gunshots echoed, and two brass bullets struck his chest. The bullets were flattened upon collision with Charles, and they looked like brass beans as they fell to the ground with a loud clink.

The moment the shots were fired, everyone hastily grabbed their weapons before charging frantically at Charles.

"Don't use hot weapons! The captain's body is exceedingly tough! Use relics that with a strong penetrative power, or just attack his soul!" Dipp exclaimed, kindly reminding the others as his figure dispersed into a mist.

A dozen invisible tentacles sprouted, forming a writhing wall that blocked Dipp.

Just then, Charles' ears twitched. He twisted to the right, narrowly avoiding a hand brushing past the black spike lodged in his neck.

If the hand had managed to pull out the black spike, Charles would have instantly become incapacitated. He could have died on the spot, too.

The pudgy hand belonged to Planck, and his eyes were full of regret upon missing his target.

In response, Charles raised his foot and kicked Planck squarely in his round belly, sending him flying into the distance. Invisible tentacles riddled with white electric arcs rose and wrapped around everyone.

Charles wasn't willing to fight his crew, as there was a risk of killing them accidentally, which would be tragic. Thus, he transformed into a bat monster and jumped into the nearby darkness.

Charles dared not fly too far away. After a quick survey of the Narwhale, he landed on the Narwhale's gas bag. His landing stirred up specks of darkness on the gas bag's surface.

They've been brainwashed, which means that there's a problem with their consciousness and memories. This shouldn't be that difficult to resolve, Charles thought. He pulled out his diary and flipped to the second to last page.

"Sparkle, bring Mommy here, quick! Hurry!" Charles urged.

A white light flashed, and Anna's graceful figure appeared before Charles. It seemed that Anna had yet to move on from their previous quarrel, and she stared at Charles wordlessly with a dissatisfied expression.

"This isn't the time to sulk! My crew has been brainwashed! Hurry up and treat them. This is a dangerous place, and we have to get out of here fast!" Charles exclaimed.

"Heh, men." Anna pushed Charles aside and walked toward the edge of the gas bag. She looked down at the Narwhale's deck and saw that it was lively down below. The crew had already located Charles, and they were using any means to climb up and reach him.

"Memory modification? Personality reconstruction? Maybe cognitive displacement? Hmm, let me see... let me see..." Anna's eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned everyone's minds.

Meanwhile, Charles' two vampire crew members transformed into their bat forms and flew toward the gas bag.

Fortunately, Anna was done with her scan, and she turned slowly to face Charles.

However, Charles' heart sank upon seeing his beloved's gaze. Anna's eyes were emitting a bewildered light. There was something wrong with her! Despite being a monster capable of altering memories herself, Anna still ended up getting affected like everyone else!

"Sparkle, send Mommy home right away!" Charles exclaimed.

There was a flash of white light, and Anna's figure vanished into thin air.

Charles' back was drenched in cold sweat. He could still manage even if all crew members had been brainwashed, but if Anna were to stay here in a brainwashed state along with his crew… Charles found it too terrifying of a scenario.

Charles shot his grappling hook, piercing one of Audric's wings. Then, he flung Audric into the darkness next to the Narwhale. The vampire Audric screamed, but the light in his eyes flickered, changing from excitement into confusion.

He was no longer brainwashed. Before he could say a word, however, Audric was engulfed by the darkness next to the ship.

Charles pinched the black spike in his neck and gave it a gentle twist. He groaned in pain. The pain was just too much, especially when the black spike was amplifying it three times.

However, it was necessary; he had to be always in pain to ensure that he wouldn't be brainwashed. Time was of the essence. Unfortunately, even Anna was brainwashed, so Charles had no choice but to resolve the issue by himself.

It's too dangerous to subject them to extreme pain. They might die, and it only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause of this issue.

I need to find a solution that will end this brainwashing once and for all.

Something must be influencing them, and they will not recover their sanity until that "something" has been dealt with.

When Charles reached that conclusion, he immediately stared at the colossal black figure in the distance. The hazy black figure was standing motionless like a mountain, seemingly indifferent to everything happening on the Narwhale.

Is this His doing? It must be! The Foundation has encountered Him before, and they fell victim to Him. Upon realizing what was going on, Charles looked down at the Narwhale's gas bag beneath him.

Sniffler lunged at him just then, but Charles effortlessly avoided the attack and kicked the former away. Immediately afterward, Charles raised his chainsaw and swung it toward the tough gas bag.

The fastest way to widen the distance between the Narwhale and 005-3 was to descend by drastically reducing the Narwhale's lift.

The Narwhale's gas bag looked like a massive, singular gas bag from the outside, but the gas bag actually contained quite a few gas-filled cells. The gas bag was designed to be more resistant to attacks.

Fortunately, its design was perfect for Charles' plan.

Hisss!

A hissing sound reminiscent of a leaking tire pervaded the air as the gas-filled cells on the upper part of the Narwhale's gas bag began to deflate.