James and Frey exchanged a strange look. It was the first time they had seen the Captain speak in such a tone.
The dim corridor grew quiet. Under the threat of the invisible leeches, the very air seemed to solidify.
Suddenly, Charles's shoulders began to tremble as he laughed, starting with a low chuckle that gradually grew louder.
Lily timidly poked her head out from the pile of mice. "Mr. Charles, what's wrong?"
Charles desperately tried to stifle his laughter and turned around. "PFFT. Sister Mouse, I just thought of a joke. Let me tell you. There was once a—"
Almost at the same moment he turned, the flying leech materialized on the wall to his left, its vicious mouthparts snapping toward the back of Charles's head.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, but it was too late to warn him.
Then, the unexpected happened. Charles's body bent as if it were boneless, neatly dodging the monster's bite.
His right hand, gripping the knife, surged with strength. The sharp blade plunged directly into the flying leech's abdomen. "Haha! Finally caught you! You can even phase through walls!"
With a spring-like leap, Charles jumped onto the leech's back, stabbing ferociously at its translucent surface with the Black Blade.
The flying leech twisted violently, but Charles, as if equipped with an internal gyroscope, couldn't be thrown off.
"Think you can shake me off? Not a chance!"
The wounded leech quickly retracted its head, turned, and forcefully spewed a pus-yellow fluid at Charles.
"I've had my fun. Goodbye, big bug!"
Charles reversed his grip on the knife's handle and twisted it forcefully, like turning a ship's helm. Accompanied by the sound of tearing leather, the blade and his hand slid from the leech's back down to its abdomen.
The gash, which stretched halfway across its body, nearly cut the leech in two.
The leech let out a huge roar as its mutilated body began to turn transparent in an attempt to flee.
But as Charles forced the hilt of the knife completely into the leech's body, the bloated beast plummeted to the ground.
The moment the leech hit the floor, Charles kicked forcefully off its skin. After a few flips in the air, he landed in a stylish pose like a king making his grand return. "Cool, right? Impressive, huh? Where's the applause!?"
After posing for a few seconds and realizing no one was paying attention, Charles turned to find his crew staring with wide eyes, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
"Ah, you guys really don't know how to play along. What are you still standing there for? Let's go."
The crowd snapped back to reality and started running, with Charles bringing up the rear.
As they neared the exit, the crew members kept glancing back at their captain.
Deep leaned down and glanced at the captain, who was humming a tune with one leg bouncing restlessly. He whispered to Second Officer Krona, "Should we take off the captain's mask? He seems... off."
Charles's foot swept out, and his white mask slammed right into Deep's face. "Hey! What was that, you brat? I can hear you! Who's going to protect you if I take this off?"
Deep gritted his teeth, his hands reaching for the wildly laughing mask, but Charles dodged as effortlessly as a loach. He then thrust the flask into Deep's hands and, grabbing his shoulders, gave him a firm push. "You all go on ahead. Wait for me on the ship."
Without waiting for a response, Charles leaned straight back and vanished into the darkness.
"Captain! Captain! Come back!"
"Mr. Charles, where are you going?"
Amidst their shouts, Charles, wearing the clown mask, walked farther and farther away into the gloom.
In the darkness, Charles muttered to himself. Since this place is for researching relics, there must be plenty of them. Haha, I'm going to make a fortune!
Humming a vaguely remembered song, Charles walked back into the area they had just left.
This time, he went from door to door, ramming them. Any that wouldn't budge, he simply blew open with dynamite.
Behind the first door was an oil lamp in a medieval style. Just as Charles picked it up to leave, his keen eyes noticed a logbook hanging on the wall.
Tsk, tsk. These guys were so thoughtful, they even left a manual.
Charles grabbed the logbook and rushed to the next room.
"Hahaha, I'm rich! I'm rich!"
Clutching a pile of relics in a makeshift sling made from his shirt, Charles darted gleefully from room to room, looking just like a farmer harvesting his crops.
Just as he placed a silver Tentacle Ring on his ring finger, a red glow suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Well, well, the little slug dares to show its face again? Looks like it's time to teach you a lesson you won't forget!" Holding the bundle under one arm, Charles strode confidently toward the doorway.
When he poked his head out of the room, he froze instantly. The monster before him wasn't alone—it was a dense swarm.
Crowded together, some emerged halfway from the ceiling, others halfway from the floor. In the distance, a cluster of them flickered with red light, resembling a wall wrapped in neon.
The moment Charles saw them, they saw him. The bodies of all the flying leeches twisted, and the red lights vanished in an instant.
Darkness once again shrouded the corridor. Staring into the empty blackness, Charles could already imagine the scene: swarms of invisible leeches flying up and closing in on him.
Without a second thought, he turned and bolted. He hadn't taken two steps before a monstrous maw materialized out of thin air right in front of him.
Charles couldn't stop in time, and the upper half of his body plunged into its mouth.
Summoning all his strength, Charles twisted his body and managed to pull free just before the mouth snapped shut. He had escaped, but his clothes were shredded into strips by the sharp teeth.
"Too close, too close," Charles muttered, his heart still pounding. He didn't dare to stop. Taking advantage of the leech's delayed reaction, he slipped past its slimy body and continued his escape.
But this leech was just the beginning. The invisible ones were even faster than Charles at full sprint. More and more flying leeches materialized to attack him.
At that moment, Charles became an acrobat. His extraordinarily agile body moved like a dancer on the edge of a blade, frantically weaving between life and death as he dodged each attack by a hair's breadth.
He had just dodged a spray of liquid from one group of leeches when another gaping maw appeared to his right. Charles stomped a foot down, barely managing to evade it.
Before he could even land, another mouth appeared. This time, helpless and unable to change direction in mid-air, Charles could only watch as he was sent flying straight into the monster's mouth.