Shrouded Seascape

The voices were markedly different from the murmurs Charles had once been marred with; they were explosive, reminiscent of firecrackers, and they reached a crescendo wherein they exploded into a thunderous boom, which was followed by a loud, intense ringing in Charles' ears.

Charles gritted his teeth as he covered his ears with both hands to endure the stinging pain.

Bandages came next to him and held Charles with both hands. His mouth, covered with green moss, fluttered open and close, but Charles couldn't hear anything at all. The murmurs in his ears got louder and louder until it sounded like a roar.

"Ywaq gag qam, lwhuk h'iwn agthu!!"

A burning smell inundated Charles as the piercing ringing in his ears intensified.

The blood in his body began to flow faster, and Charles' breathing became ragged, as though his lungs couldn't capture enough air for him to breathe.

An unknown fury blossomed in Charles' heart; everything before him seemed to have been dyed red as his eyes became bloodshot. He cast his bloodshot eyes upon Bandages, and a crisp noise echoed as he clenched his fists.

The sudden urge to grab his First Mate by the neck and strangle him to death pervaded Charles' heart, and he instinctively knew that it was wrong. He closed his eyes and forcefully restrained the urge.

But when he came back to his senses, he was horrified to find that he was already squeezing Bandages' neck. In fact, he had squeezed Bandages' neck with such strength that the latter's neck had caved in.

"AAAH!" A tremor ran through Charles as he let go. He punched himself in the face repeatedly with his lone right fist and roared, "Quick! Bind me! Hurry up, and bind me!"

The Narwhale's animated ropes shot toward Charles and bound him before he could harm anyone else. The strange behavior of the Captain caught the crew members' attention. They cast wary gazes at Charles as he struggled against the animated ropes.

The Narwhale's relaxed atmosphere had vanished, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it was palpable.

Fortunately, Charles finally calmed down half an hour later. However, his fierce struggle had made him snap three animated ropes. He was sweating profusely like a fresh fish out of the sea.

Charles examined himself briefly and found that his pale skin now had a few dark red spots, but he ignored the changes to his body and looked around for Bandages. He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that his First Mate was fine.

He then plopped down on the floor.

"Cough, cough..." Charles started coughing and tasted blood in his mouth. He had been struggling and yelling at the top of his lungs over the past half an hour, so he had understandably injured his vocal cords.

There's definitely something wrong here. I guess it's not that easy to gain extraordinary abilities. Charles thought.

Linda walked up to Charles to check up on him. She shook her head just moments later and said, "Your mind has been corrupted once again, but it's not the same mind corruption caused by the chantings you've encountered before.

"I can't figure it out. I have to consult my teacher about this when we're back."

Charles nodded without saying anything. What happened earlier was far too terrifying. If Bandages did not have his outstanding regenerative abilities, he would have been strangled to death by his own Captain.

Charles didn't want to inadvertently harm any of his crew members. He had to find a way to control himself.

A pair of thick handcuffs and shackles were soon crafted using a part of the communication tubes. The crew shackled Charles and imprisoned him in the cargo hold. No one was allowed to approach him.

After the first incident, Charles proceeded to have several fits of rage that were more violent than the previous. Fortunately, Charles couldn't harm any of the crew members, as he had been imprisoned in the cargo hold.

Charles began to live the life of a prisoner aboard the Narwhale. Of course, he would be freed once they had returned to Hope Island.

Charles sat down and started writing in his diary when a blue Lily squeezed herself inside through the narrow crack in the door.

"Stay back! Get away from me!" Charles shouted, sounding hoarse. It was too dangerous for him to get close to Lily, and he was terrified of suddenly losing control and snapping Lily's neck in one swift motion.

"Mr. Charles! We're back home!" Lily cheerfully exclaimed.

***

Laesto Hermann opened his eyes slowly and stared blankly at the ceiling. It took him a while to realize that he had already retired; he was no longer the Doctor of the Narwhale.

His duty on board was over, and the new doctor was already good enough to replace him. At this point, all he could do was wait for Death to come and take him away.

Laesto had told everyone that he didn't really care about his life ending soon, but he had lied to them.

Laesto stayed in his bed for another half an hour before he picked up his mechanical watch and saw that it was already past four in the afternoon. He slowly got out of the bed and moved onto the wheelchair next to the bed.

His steel prosthetic limbs had been removed, as they were too bulky and heavy for his old body.

Laesto wheeled himself out of the door and headed to the nearest restaurant. The waiter seemed to be very familiar with him, so he went straight into the kitchen without even asking for Laesto's order.

Soon, a meal was served before Laesto: freshly picked crisp apples, plump sizzling sausages, buttered toast slices, and thick shipworm consommé. Overall, it was a sumptuous breakfast.

It was a shame, but Laesto was a doctor, and he was well aware that his feeble stomach couldn't possibly digest this much food. If he were to finish the meal, the meal could finish him as well. He tore a chunk of the toast and dipped it into the consommé before slowly stuffing it into his mouth.

He had little time left to spend in this world, but he had enough time to take things slowly. Laesto didn't finish his meal, and it took him an hour to finish half a slice of toast and half a bowl of soup. He then raised his hand to gesture to the waiter that he wanted to settle the bill.

"Mr. Laesto, you really don't have to pay. The Governor's Mansion will pay for your meals, as I've been telling you," the waiter said.

However, Laesto slammed two crisp green bills on the table as if he didn't hear the waiter before wheeling himself out with an expressionless face. He had money, but at this point, the money in his bank account had become nothing but a string of digits to him.

The streets of Hope Island seemed to have gotten livelier with the towering buildings around it. However, Laesto didn't pay any attention to the skyscrapers. He pushed his wheelchair until he reached the school gates two blocks away.

He was sitting in front of Hope Island's newly established school. The white school building was expansive, but it was clean and tidy. It was a refreshing sight to just about anyone, including Laesto.

Laesto stopped by the stand of a grilled squid vendor, seemingly waiting for something.

Ding! Dong! Ding!

The bells chimed, signifying the end of the class. Students then began to pour out of the school. The school gates opened, and a group of children rushed past Laesto. They had school bags on their backs and innocent smiles on their faces.

Some of the students had pocket money, and they rushed toward the grilled squid vendor with excited faces.

The lively voices of the children made Laesto smile. He enjoyed being around children; their youthful energy would always make him feel as though his withered self was regaining vitality.

Unfortunately, Laesto's scarred visage made him look extremely terrifying to the children. The children who had approached him so far had all burst into tears upon seeing his scary face.

"Charles has a few screws loose in his head, but he somehow managed to establish a pretty nice school," Laesto muttered. His aged finger tapped gently on his wheelchair.