Chapter 247. Diving Again
"Captain... the... drawing... is... alive..."
Bandages' words sent a tingle down Charles' spine. Almost instinctively. he crumpled the paper in his hand and hurled it out of the porthole.
Crack!
The porthole's glass broke under the impact of Charles' throw; the crumpled paper and the broken shards flew away, but Charles caught a fleeting glimpse of a writhing black tentacle from the crumpled mass.
"Guys, quick! We have to leave this place! Now!" Charles yelled.
With a low bellow of her horn, the Narwhale swiftly moved away.
Tobba leaned his head out of the round porthole and lamented, "Why did you throw it away? It was just about to crawl out. You are so mean to have interrupted it."
There was a hint of pity in his eyes.
Bandages stood up and pulled Tobba back from the window to stop him from looking any longer.
That was a quick sketch I did in under a minute. How could it possibly move? Charles pondered; his face was dark and with a mix of confusion and disbelief.
He couldn't comprehend what had just transpired, but it made him realize one thing. He finally understood why no libraries in any of the islands had records or illustrations of the creatures underwater. Chart your course back to the origins of this substance at n0v^lbin
Logically speaking, humans would normally document their encounters with enemies to warn future generations and avoid repeating the same dangers.
He had been thinking that the people in this seascape harbored some sort of superstition toward those underwater entities.
However, the truth finally dawned upon him—the bizarre nature of these creatures was beyond human comprehension, and even simple documentation could invite deadly trouble.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Charles reiterated in his mind before he added one more rule to the list. Record no evil.
That night, Charles found himself suffering from insomnia. He could barely sleep. Each time he drifted off, he would be jolted awake by the sensation of being touched. In his half-sleepy state, he felt a surreptitious gaze watching him from outside the porthole.
"Enough, enough," Charles finally interjected. He got Feuerbach's underlying message now—he was reluctant to put his sharks in harm's way again.
"Get your sharks ready. There's no discussion on this."
Feuerbach was stunned into silence. After a few seconds, he could finally react and protested, "Captain, even after that, you still want my sharks to risk their lives?!"
Charles didn't even spare him a glance and turned away to make preparations for the dive. Feuerbach insisted on joining the Narwhale in the first place. Since he was here, he needed to be aware of the sacrifices he had to make.
Though reluctant, Feuerbach knew he had to obey the captain's orders. Grudgingly, he readied his sharks. At the same time, he didn't forget to hug them and complain about Charles' harshness.
Laesto handed Charles a round black herbal pill.
"You've taken this once. And since you've yet to recover, I advise you not to stay underwater for too long."
"I'll be quick. I'm just going to retrieve an item," Charles replied.
"And when you surface, remember to pause to avoid decompression sickness," Laesto reminded him once again.
"Understood." Charles' voice was muffled by his leather suit.
Laesto let out a scoff. "I've never trusted a single word you said. I think I should prepare the medication for your treatment first."
With that, he pivoted on his heel and limped toward the cabin.
"Tobba, which door is 319 in?" Charles turned to Tobba holding a bunch of colorful mice.
"Door 7. The last I saw it, it was behind Door 7."
Chewing on the bitter pill, Charles made his way to the ship's edge.
After the previous incident, the crew was evidently anxious about their captain's second dive. However, they could only silently support his endeavor since they couldn't render much assistance.
The icy waters enveloped Charles once again. He gave a thumbs-up to Lily perched on the ship's railing before diving into the ocean's depths under the guidance of the red sharks.
The sea was cold as usual, and darkness was the only color that painted Charles and Feuerbach's vision as they silently went straight down toward their destination.