Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 87. Arm

Charles mustered all the strength he could to push James out of the hole. But James remained stuck.

"Move!" Charles bellowed and leaped into the air. He then landed on James' feet with tremendous force. The sound of ripping flesh reverberated through the air as James' flesh tore away at the waist, and the man was propelled through the narrow hole.

Charles immediately followed right after, but just as soon as he appeared on the other side of the hole, the exit suddenly closed, trapping Charles' left arm within the labyrinth.

Gritting his teeth, Charles kicked against the wall and pulled with all his might, but he couldn't dislodge his arm. James floated next to him and grabbed him by the waist, pulling hard as well.

Charles smacked him once and pointed to the water's surface. However, the large man shook his head and continued to tug with more force.

The water around them churned more violently. Charles could feel that the island was sinking even faster now. As the water pressure built on them, growing increasingly unbearable, Charles knew that he had to make the decision now, or he and James would die under the water's weight.

With gut-wrenching resolve, Charles took out his Dark Blade and slashed across the edge of the exit. Scarlet blood instantly spurted out of his severed arm, but their descent had fortunately halted.

Charles subconsciously looked downward into the dark waters. To his astonishment, not one but dozens of islands were sinking at the same speed.

And beneath them all, Charles could vaguely make out a mass of writhing darkness. It was so huge that the island they had been trapped on was the size of a finger compared to it.

No. Wait. Could that island perhaps be its index finger?

A sudden realization struck Charles. All the islands were part of the same entity. They were all parts of that looming mass of darkness.

A massive blood-red eye suddenly appeared in the midst of the writhing mass. Immediately afterward, a second eye and then a third eye appeared.

The chanting echoed in Charles' ears once more, and Charles quickly shut his eyes. He focused and used all his remaining strength to swim up the surface with James next to him.

On the deck, the soaked and shivering crew watched anxiously.

Their captain and chief engineer had yet to surface.

Lily ran frantically down the railings and back up again as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What if something happened to Mr. Charles? What am I supposed to do? Where can I go? No! Mr. Charles will be fine! He's so powerful! He'll be fine!"

Just when Lily was about to burst into tears, she suddenly noticed the figures of Charles and James supporting each other as they floated to the surface. A sense of relief washed over her, and she almost wanted to jump into the waters to welcome them.

The duo ascended the soft ladder and finally returned to the deck with pale faces.

"Captain, your hand—" The crew members instantly noticed Charles' missing left arm.

Staring at his crew members' concerned faces, Charles parted his lips, wanting to offer assurance. However, before he could speak, a torrent of bright red blood spurted from his mouth.

At the same moment, James dropped onto one knee and mirrored the same symptom.

The unexpected scene caught everyone by surprise and momentarily froze them to their spot. Almost a second later, they called for Laesto in a frantic haste.

Laesto speedily examined both Charles and James. After what seemed like an eternity, he let out a breath of relief. "They're fine. It was decompression sickness from ascending too quickly from the depths. You there, carry them to the medical room I prepared. I need to treat them."

Within the sterile white medical room, Laesto administered an assortment of bitter potions to the pair. Feeling as if his lungs were weighed down by stones earlier, Charles felt like his breathing had eased a little after treatment. James, lying in the bed next to him, had the same sentiments.

Staring at Charles' empty left sleeve, an expression of guilt and pain crept onto James' face.

"Captain, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me—"

"There's no need for you to apologize. I gave you the relic and expected you to use it. You did nothing wrong," Charles interrupted, his voice firm but gentle.

Looking at his now missing limb, a thought crossed Charles' mind. Was a man's life more valuable? Or was his own limb more valuable? Very soon, Charles found the answer. If he wanted to achieve his goal, he could never do it alone. He needed a crew that would brave the storms with him.

The sacrifice of his arm was a small price to pay if it meant saving James and getting back up to the surface world. The thought of having to personally deliver the news of James' death to his wife was unbearable to Charles.

Charles knew that he had made the right choice.

"It's nothing, it's just an arm. At least you didn't lose the love of your life," Richard teased in Charles' mind.

Charles shook his head and closed his eyes. He wanted to rest, and his brain felt weary. But before he could fall asleep, Laesto flung open the door of the medical room with a loud bang and stormed in. He went up to Charles with an annoyed look.

"Did you see something again? Why has your mental contamination worsened?"

"I accidentally caught a glimpse," Charles confessed. "The island seemed like a limb of something much larger."

"As a captain, don't you know the rules of the Subterranean Sea? Let your gaze wander around some more, and you will be dead soon!" Laesto's voice dripped with disdain as he handed over a cup of bubbling black liquid.

Receiving the cup, Charles tilted his head back and downed the contents. A metallic taste instantly filled his mouth, but it was effective in slightly alleviating the symptoms in his head.

With his mental state a little better, Charles wasn't in a rush to rest any longer. He placed the metal cup on the wooden table beside and said to Laesto, "Can you get the First Mate to come over? I have some questions for him."

There were various pieces of evidence that pointed to a strange and unsettling fact: Bandages seemed familiar with this ominous place.

Not only did he know where the exit was, but he even knew how to deal with the Torments. Moreover, he had immunity against the labyrinth and could prevent himself from being drawn into the walls.

But then, an illogical contradiction presented itself. If Bandages knew that the place was dangerous, why hadn't he warned everyone beforehand?

If his intention was to send everyone to the island to trap them, why had he gone through such great pains to rescue them, then?

Silently, Bandages soon appeared at the doorway. In response to Charles' questions, Bandages shook his head and slowly answered, "I... I don't know... I think I've been here before...And even stayed for a long time inside...Only when I saw you all trapped in the walls... then I remembered..."

"Can you remember how you didn’t get pulled into the walls? And there's something else I find strange. It happened as well back on the first island. Those creatures that devour memories had you in their grasp. Why did they let you go?"

This time, Bandages finally had an answer. He unwound the bandages from his back to reveal a complex tattoo of dark purple text arranged in a twisting, arcane pattern on top of his other ink-blank tattoos.

The characters seemed to writhe and pulsate as if they were alive. Charles felt dizziness washing over him despite only staring at the strange tattoo for a brief moment

"I think...it's this that protected me...Don't ask me... where it's from... I don't remember..."

Charles had no intention of probing further as well. Bandages probably wouldn't have any answers and would only say that he couldn’t remember.

"Say, would the other tattoos on him hold any other clues?" Richard wondered.

Charles' gaze returned to the black tattoos that covered Bandages' entire body.