Chapter 215. Mr. Tree
Charles and his crew were presented with the sight of a group of seven or eight men with different appearances lounging idly on the hard stone slabs of the pier.
They were engrossed in their own activities. Some were drinking, while others were playing cards. However, they all shared one thing in common—there was a contented and relaxed smile on their faces.
Judging from their attire, they were probably seafarers, yet strangely, there wasn't a single boat in sight.
Audric took a step forward and sniffed the air. "Captain, they're definitely human. I can smell it. But something's off about their mental state. There might be something wrong with this island."
Even without his vampire sailor's reminder, Charles had also noticed the odd behavior. Typically, those living in the harbor district were poor and hustled daily in order to survive. If they were to spend their days lazing around, they would have died from starvation long ago.
"Stay alert, everyone. Don't let your guard down. No matter what's the issue with the inhabitants here, we'll proceed with our usual procedure of exploring unknown islands," Charles instructed.
The crew nodded in affirmation and brandished their weapons. They were veterans of many voyages and displayed not a hint of panic despite the peculiar scene before them.
No matter how odd the inhabitants were, they were still humans. They couldn't be more dangerous than those creatures on unexplored islands, could they?
"Hey! Are you here to see Mr. Tree?" a man with a long beard shouted out cheerfully as he picked at his toes.
Before Charles could respond, the man continued, "Head to the center of the island. That big tree there, that's it. It'll help you."
Charles' brows furrowed together, and he cast a wary glance at the man before he continued on his way with his crew in tow.
As soon as they left the dock area, they noticed more people sitting along the streets. Their behavior was similar to those they encountered earlier but on a much larger and... expressive scale.
Perched on Charles' shoulder, Lily's eyes widened in surprise, and her jaw dropped as she stared at the intertwined naked bodies engaged in lewd acts. Charles quickly grasped her and placed her into his coat pocket.
I hope the Prophet was not lying about having resolved the dangers here. This place doesn't seem safe, no matter how I look at it. Charles thought as he led his crew ahead with caution.
They followed along the spacious street toward the center of the island. As they walked past the infrastructure with varying appearances, the crew stared at their strange surroundings in astonishment.
Just like the shops at the dock, the buildings further inland felt completely out of place, too.
The island's layout followed no urban planning logic. There was no common construction material for the buildings; neither was there any noticeable pattern to the arrangement of various shop types. They even spotted a bar sandwiched between two restrooms.
There were buildings made of wood and some of stone. Charles also saw one particularly striking villa made of gray-white coral rock. It stood out to him as he had only seen such architecture on the Coral Archipelago, where they had abundant coral rock for construction.
The further inland they ventured, the behavior of the islanders gradually appeared more normal. They were trading, working, and dining like normal people. However, they wore the same serene smiles on their faces. And their eerily similar relaxed smiles sent a chill down everyone's spines.
Fortunately, the island's inhabitants paid no attention to the vigilant crew. They continued with their own activities.
After walking for half a day, Charles and his group finally arrived at the island's heart. Diverging from the norm of other islands that typically housed a Governor's Mansion in the middle of the island, a colossal moss-covered elephant tree towered over thirty meters tall here.
Just as Charles was feeling hesitant about approaching the tree, an elderly man who was reading a newspaper in a rocking chair by the side spoke, "Looking for Mr. Tree? Go ahead, hug it. Mr. Tree will fulfill all your requests."
"Hug it?" Charles asked as a puzzled look appeared on his face. "Did all of you hug it before?"
"Of course. Why else would you come here?"
Looking at the man's contented smile, Charles' heart skipped a beat. It seemed that this giant tree was the key to breaking the Divinity's Curses. However, his instincts screamed a stark warning of danger.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Charles instructed his crew to tie a rope around his waist and to pull him away from the tree immediately if anything unusual were to happen. To prevent any sort of mind control that might cause him to attack his own comrades, Charles even handed all his relics to his crew.
After making sure all preparations were complete, Charles turned his gaze back onto the tree. He took a deep breath and wrapped his hands around the mossy trunk of the gigantic tree.
The delicate chime of a bell resonated next to his ears. Then, a voice sounded from the leaf canopy.
"Request?"
Realizing that the giant tree was capable of communication, Charles was slightly relieved. However, it did not mean that the tree was not dangerous. Still, it soothed the unease in him just a little.
"I need to break the Divinity's Curses on me. I was told you could help," Charles said.
"Okay."
The next second, Charles felt his perception changing, and his surroundings dramatically transformed. It was different from the malignant visual hallucinations caused by the curse; rather, it was a fundamental change in vision, as if his eyes had suddenly received an upgrade and had evolved.
Currently, Charles could see his own body, every inch of his skin, and the flesh and blood beneath it. Then, he saw some kind of non-matter floating out of his body. It was a boiling mass of black substance interspersed with threads.
The bizarre matter began to peel away from his body and drifted far away.
Charles pivoted to watch where the unknown matter floated toward, and he realized that there were no limits to his sight; he could see thousands of kilometers away.
Then, his vision halted thousands of kilometers away when he saw something chilling.
It was a spindle-shaped mass of flesh, but he struggled to find the words to describe it. It didn't seem to be entirely solid and appeared to be shrouded under a watercolor filter.
Yellow eyes of various sizes covered the entirety of the trembling mass of flesh. Between these eyes, distorted mouths dripping with black viscous fluid jostled and roared incessantly.
Suddenly, one of the eyes on the thing turned and met Charles' gaze. That yellow iris was hauntingly familiar... A memory struck him—it was the Divinity he had encountered upon arriving in this strange world!
The instant the eye landed on him, Charles felt his body liquefy into water. In unimaginable agony, his liquified form dispersed and spread across the ground.
Charles wanted to avert his gaze, but he couldn't even manage a blink. A change was happening in his consciousness, and his mind was flooded with incessant, indescribable whispers.
Just as he felt like his sanity was at its breaking point, a beam of soft white light shot at him. His nearly shattered consciousness rapidly turned into a blur.
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