Charles, looking rather disheveled, was scrambling around inside the giant ship. At that moment, he felt as if the vessel had come alive. Everything was working against him, and anything with the slightest hint of aggression wanted him dead. Now he finally understood why this place had no guards. He could sense things he couldn't see, their cold gazes fixed on him from all directions.
As Charles fled desperately for his life, he grew anxious. This can't go on… Whatever those things are, I have to shake them off.
After a sharp turn, Charles pulled the same trick again, leaping straight onto the wall. He stabbed his blade into the surface, hanging from the corner like a fly. Below, the various levitating fragments rounded the corner and continued down the hallway.
He waited until the fragments had completely vanished before jumping down, sweat beading on his forehead. "Damn, that fat bastard doesn't just keep bugs—does he keep ghosts, too?"
As soon as Charles finished speaking and turned around, his body instantly went rigid. Standing right in front of him was a little girl in a gothic black dress. Her silver hair, rosy-pink skin, and a tear-shaped mole above the corner of her eye made her seem especially cute. In this environment, however, running into such a little girl only sent a chill down Charles's spine.
Their eyes—one pair large, one small—met. Charles lunged instantly, pressing the Black Blade to her neck. When his hand clamped over the little girl's mouth, Charles relaxed slightly. She was warm. She was alive.
DRIP… DRIP… Her tears fell onto Charles's hand, her long eyelashes drooping pitifully.
"Alright, little one. Just tell me where your family keeps the sea chart, and I'll let you go."
Charles loosened his grip a bit, but the girl remained silent, her expression one of immense sadness.
After thinking for a second, Charles simply scooped her up and continued forward. Judging by her appearance, she was probably someone important to the "King." If he ran into those ghosts again, perhaps he could use her as a threat.
But before Charles had taken more than a couple of steps, the little girl began wiggling her small, leather-shoed feet, seeming to want down.
Charles loosened his arm, and the moment she touched the floor, the little girl bounded forward like a fawn. He followed her up two flights of stairs. The girl opened a door and rushed inside. Charles was about to follow but saw her pop right back out, holding a cluster of red fruits in the fold of her skirt.
Is she trying to bribe me with food so I'll let her go?
When Charles got a clear look at the red fruits, his pupils shrank to pinpoints. The fruit was unlike any known in the Abyss-Sea; instead, it looked exactly like Cherry Tomatoes.
Charles picked one up and asked the girl, "This… Do you eat these often?"
As he watched the little girl give a cute nod, Charles's heart trembled violently.
BANG! A loud crash and a human scream suddenly echoed from the lower deck.
The little girl paused to listen for a moment, then put a finger to her lips. She grabbed Charles's finger and quickly pulled him forward.
Where is this girl taking me? Staring at the back of her small head, Charles slipped the cherry tomato into his pocket and hunched over to follow her.
The ship was massive, a layered maze of rooms, and Charles was getting dizzy from all the twists and turns.
BOOM!! The wall in front of them suddenly shattered, and the blood-soaked "King" burst in. He was clutching a human head—Gerald's head!
The moment he saw it, Charles's expression became incredibly grim. Clearly, his ally's plan had not only failed, but time had run out far too quickly.
Just as Charles drew his weapon, preparing to fight to the death, the "King's" fat face twisted in terror. His bloated body collapsed to the floor, and he covered his face, wailing like a beast.
The little girl released Charles's finger and walked over. Her cherry-red lips, which had been silent until now, slowly parted, revealing shark-like serrated teeth. "Useless! What are you doing! Someone has broken in!"
A chandelier from above crashed down on the "King's" head. Then, a rusty steel bar from a crack in the wall snapped out, skewering the "King" straight through. His howls grew even louder.
Fucking hell! Charles spun around without a second's hesitation and bolted for his life. Against one, he might have stood a chance, but fighting both of them would be suicide.
With a gentle flick of her slender fingers, the girl pulled the steel bar from the "King's" body and levitated it in mid-air. She whipped it toward his head. THWACK! The King's left eye was knocked right out of its socket and dropped to the floor.
"Catch him! I want to eat him alive! If you let him get away, you can forget about eating anything this month!"
Charles sprinted down the corridor with everything he had. He never would have imagined that the little girl was an even more vicious character than the "King."
But he didn't have time to dwell on it, because the King's bugs, in all their various forms, were already chasing him from behind. Even though Charles was running with all his might, the bugs were rapidly gaining on him. Their speed was unbelievable, far surpassing his own, even at the peak of human limits.
CREAK… CREAK… Charles could already hear the clicking of their joints and the flexing of their mouthparts.
Just as the bugs arched their bodies to pounce, Charles's mind raced. His left hand shot to his chest, yanked out a rivet embedded in his flesh, and flung it at the nearby light sources.
PING! PING! PING! The hallway's light bulbs burst, plunging the area into total Darkness. The bugs were thrown into confusion, unsure of where to attack.
They couldn't see, but Charles, with his Dark Vision, could. He instantly whipped out his pistol and fired a rapid volley like a machine gun. The bugs' deformed heads exploded one after another, splattering green fluid everywhere.
Having escaped immediate danger, Charles didn't dare linger. The King was back, the mission had failed, and now he had to get out as fast as possible. Everywhere he went, Charles shot out the lights. In the Darkness, he actually felt safer as he frantically searched for an exit.
Slowly, a gentle song reached Charles's ears. The melody was beautiful, and he felt his bones grow lighter. But the situation quickly changed. He began to feel his hair lengthening, and bones started proliferating under his skin, forming new lumps.
Then things got even worse. A violent cramp seized his stomach. Charles shoved his fingers down his throat and retched. What he threw up wasn't his breakfast but constantly twitching brown plant vines, along with mushrooms that were endlessly withering and regrowing.
"Damn it!" As Charles staggered to his feet, the back of his hand began to itch. He raised it and saw dark green moss sprouting uncontrollably across his skin.
The song seemed to possess some kind of Magic Power, one that could bring anything back to life. Charles knew that if he didn't find a solution soon, his body would be completely disintegrated by the various things growing inside him.