What the hell is going on? Could these guys be controlled by something from the Earth's surface?
Charles flapped his wings forcefully, shooting up two to three hundred meters in an instant before angling toward the distant amphibious steamboats. As he drew closer, he could clearly see the people's faces and the octopus-tentacle tattoos on their cheeks. In an instant, the puzzle in his mind was solved. It was the Futan Sect's revenge. They had unknowingly planted so many traitors in their ranks.
Just then, he saw the deck guns on the steamboats begin to swivel and point straight at him.
Charles shot higher, trying to escape their firing range, but before he could gain much altitude, a razor-sharp Bone Flute materialized out of thin air, piercing the membrane of his wing. Transparent tentacles sprouted from Charles's body in an attempt to pull the Bone Flute out, but the flute slipped away on its own, leaving ghostly afterimages as it darted toward his chest.
