Shrouded Seascape

Letting out a sigh, Anna lamented, "Why are you missing parts again? Say, will this even grow back?"

Then, she leaned in close and teasingly blew at the bloody hole where Charles' ear used to be.

Charles moved his head away slightly to put a small distance between himself and Anna. With a grave expression, he said, "When you return, immediately contact the acting governor of Annarles Island and have him lock down the passage to the surface. Thoroughly check anyone coming down from the surface. Margaret will have to use that route if she wants to descend back to the Subterranean Sea. Don't let her escape!"

Anna's face remained nonchalant as she replied, "You still have time to worry about that? Many of your crew are dead or injured. Aren't you going to see them?"

"I'm not a doctor; Linda can handle those. I'm serious, Anna. Dealing with Margaret is the most critical matter now. If you leave now, that's the fastest way to send the message to them."

"Then what if your bald ship doctor is close to dying, too? Seems like the little lass knows the strategy to take out the healer first despite not having played any mobile games before," Anna commented as she glanced toward the nearly wrecked Narwhale.

Charles' heart tightened at Anna's words. He quickly turned toward the explorers, whose gazes remained filled with wariness. "Anyone of you have a spare ship's doctor?"

Upon gathering the medics from the other exploration vessels, Charles rushed back to the deck of the Narwhale to find a ghastly scene. The deck was dyed a crimson red hue and littered with chunks of flesh and dents. In the midst of it all, a bloodied and battered Linda lay in Audric's embrace

"Quick!" A doctor dashed forward with his medical kit to start an emergency treatment immediately.

Charles crouched beside Linda, and his gaze landed on the ten-centimeter wound diagonally across her chest that was profusely oozing blood. It seemed to have been a sharp weapon's kiss.

He reached for her neck to feel for a pulse but could barely feel anything.

"Why did Linda come onto the deck? According to the protocols, shouldn't she be in the cabins to receive the wounded for treatment?"

A series of coughs broke the silence.

"It's my fault," Second Mate Charlie rasped, struggling to sit up, but his weakened state thwarted him, despite his chest wound being stitched up. "She came out to save me. She wouldn't have been ambushed by those invisible bastards if it hadn't been for me."

Charles rose to his feet and surveyed the surroundings. His crew members were either dead or grievously injured. The sight was so brutal that it made his eyes turn red.

At that moment, a doctor with a white beard stood up and announced in a solemn voice, "Governor Charles, I'm sorry, but we tried our best. There's nothing more we could do,"

A tremor coursed through Charles. Am I going to lose yet another crew member? How many has it been now?

"Is there really no other way?" Charles crouched down next to Linda once more, his voice tinged with desperation.

"The left ventricle of her heart is ruptured. It's a wonder she's alive even now. Surviving this long... it's nothing short of miraculous."

Charles' gaze shifted downward, and he looked at Linda's delicate features; she was so deathly pale, with the hue of her skin mirroring a bleached paper.

Memories of their interactions flickered through Charles' mind. Truth be told, they weren't really considered friends; their relationship had been strictly professional. However, profound sadness still struck Charles as he faced Linda's imminent death.

Soon, the sadness in him morphed into a billowing rage of fury toward the Fhtagn Covenant. He should have known that those deformed creatures wouldn't sit idly by as he searched for the darkness. This wouldn't be the end of it all; the earlier ambush was just the beginning.

Suddenly, out of everyone's expectation, Audric lowered his head, revealed his sharp fangs, and sank them into Linda's neck.

Linda's body instantly arched like a bow as a harsh inhale escaped her open mouth.

"You! What are you? The doctor beside widened his eyes in shock, but he was abruptly shoved aside by a steel hand.

"Don't just stand here; go save the others. You're not needed here anymore," Charles instructed.

As color slowly returned to Linda's face, fangs slowly emerged between her lips. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and were fixated on Charles' neck.

Charles immediately turned toward Lily and instructed with urgency, "Lily! Grab plasma packs from the storage cabin! Quick!"

Soon, a mischief of mice returned with bags of vacuum-packed plasma and placed them before Linda. Like a beast, she tore into each bag, taking one large gulp after another ferociously. Only upon reaching her ninth bag did she gradually slow down. Wiping away the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, Linda stood up steadily.

"How do you feel? Are you alright?" Charles asked excitedly; his ship's doctor was back! It didn't really matter to him that Linda was now a vampire; after all, being alive was better than being dead.

Linda stared at Charles in a daze for a few seconds before lifting her right index finger to her right eye corner. She plunged her finger in and with a swift tug, she extracted three long nails, adhered with red and white viscous fluids. The red was a grisly mix of blood and rust.

"Captain, the last follower of the Divine Light Order has vanished from this world. Perhaps, this religion should never have existed," Linda remarked as brain fluid leaked out from the inner corner of her eyes as though they were her tears.

Audric rushed up toward Linda and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"As long as you're alive As long as you're alive? Audric murmured repeatedly.

Audric wanted to help Linda back to her cabin to rest but the latter shook her head vigorously. Picking up her medical kit on the ground, she rushed toward the other injured crew members.

Watching her retreating figure, Charles sensed a profound shift within her mind. He then turned toward First Mate Bandages, who was walking toward him.

"Call off the exploration mission. We're heading back," Charles instructed.

Bandages nodded in affirmation and walked toward the cockpit that was now missing its shelter.

Meanwhile, five kilometers away on the semi-desert, Margaret stood atop "King." Her gaze was icy as she stared at 134.

Meanwhile, the mist figure cleared the vines from "King's" insectile form. "King" let out a howl of pain as a mass of bloodied roots was violently torn off from him.

134 appeared displeased as she whispered to her companions while casting malicious glances at Margaret. However, Margaret knew 134 wouldn't dare attack her right now. Mere childish antics wouldn't have allowed 134 to have complete control over Sottom for so many years.

Margaret turned and walked toward the center of the ship. The bloodied, mangled flesh parted to reveal the ship's original iron frame beneath the deck.

She slowly descended the stairs. Apart from her own bloody footprints, several other sets of footprints trailed behind hers. They were left behind by the invisible guards that were her brother's parting gift.

"Stop following me; go and tend to your wounds," Margaret commanded. With that, the multiple sets of bloody footsteps behind her ceased.

Margaret entered her cabin and shut the door behind her. Strands of hair stuck to the gaping wound on her face, each movement evoking a stinging pain. As the effect of the drug she had taken earlier faded, she was starting to feel the full impact of bruises and internal damage that Charles had inflicted on her.

Slumping against the door, she slid to the floor as waves of pain wracked her body. Involuntary tremors coursed through her body. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall but never falling.

After all, she was just a twenty-year-old girl. Her family tragedy forced her to feign a strong front, but it was all a facade. Deep down, she was still the same Margaret who was being protected by her family. More than the physical pain, it was the emotional anguish that overwhelmed her.

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