Chapter 81. Disappearance
The atmosphere was tense with a hint of foreboding, but the crew's morale remained rather stable. Their current circumstances were considered dreadful physically, but they paled in comparison to the other islands they had explored.
Perched on a rock, Charles communicated with Richard in his mind.
"Hope seems rather small here. This island doesn't seem to have sunlight."
"Duh! Can't you smell how stinky it is? Even if I were a plumber, I would never take on a repair job for this filthy place."
"Let's make a judgment again after we fully explore this place. There's an off chance that 'King' purposely disguised his resupply point to look like this."
"Hmm... If they have really been here, does that mean there are relics here too?"
"Stop fooling around. Haven't you learned your lesson the previous round?"
"When did I fool around? Wasn't it to increase our strength? Haven't we survived so far by relying on the power of relics?"
"Every relic has potent side effects. Simply possessing more relics doesn't correlate to more strength."
Just then, Dipp's voice interrupted the two's mental discourse. Both Charles and Richard simultaneously controlled their heads to turn in the young lad's direction and found him pulling out a cylindrical object from his backpack.
"Ah-ha! I brought this here. I thought I left it behind," Dipp announced as he held the object up high.
Under his colleagues' expectant gazes, Dipp continued with a sense of triumphant, "It's a new little gadget from the Albion Isles. Now, watch."
Dipp pressed a red button on the object, and instantly, a blinding beam of white light pierced through the fog ahead. "They call this a flashlight; it's a movable electric lamp. Haven't seen one, have ya? Captain, why are you laughing? Also, the beam's width can even be adjusted!"
As Dipp meddled with the flashlight's aperture, the brilliant beam converged into a glowing sword-like column.
Dipp's playful side emerged as he swung the flashlight around as though he was wielding a glowing lightsaber that could cut apart the fog.
As Charles watched the glowing light, the grin on his face was replaced with a look of contemplation. Perhaps the flashlight would really be of use. After all, it was better than fire torches in terms of durability and storage capacity.
Moreover, it could penetrate dense fog with stronger effectiveness. He made a mental note to include the gadget in the list of supplies to be procured for their next journey.
"AHHHHH!" A shrill squeak pierced the silence. It was Lily. She tightened her hold on Charles' neck.
"What's wrong?" Charles asked as he moved the white mouse to his front.
"O-o-over there. There's a face! When the light swept past, there was a face there."
Instantly, Charles kicked against the rock he was on and dashed toward the direction Lily pointed. The sound of bullets being loaded followed him as the crew members joined in the pursuit.
They speedily rushed through the fog and found the face Lily had mentioned. However, it wasn't a real person, but rather a drawing on a wall.
To be exact, it resembled more like a child's doodle than a portrait. Despite the artist's inadequate drawing skills, they managed to clearly convey their intent behind the drawing.
The drawing depicted a naked man clutching his neck in apparent agony. His pained expression, coupled with the rough brushstrokes, made the painting look even more sinister.
"Mr. Charles, who drew this??" Lily asked as she buried her tiny head into his collar.
"Rather than the doodle, I'm more interested in finding out who built this wall," Charles voiced out as his fingers brushed across the solid structure before him. The dense fog obscured his vision, forbidding him from making out the actual height and breadth of the wall.
He tried scratching it with his Dark Blade and found the wall to be substantially solid, with its hardness rivaling that of concrete.
What kind of person would arbitrarily construct such a wall in the middle of a foul-smelling marsh? Judging from the pale yellow hue, it doesn't resemble the style of the Foundation... Could it be "King"? Charles thought to himself.
"Let's go. We'll follow along the wall," Charles commanded and led his crew into motion once more.
As the illumination of their fire torches faded from the painting, the horrifying features of the man began to distort.
Immediately after, more appalling sketches surface from within the wall. Their mouths were stretched wide open in silent screams, and they gradually entangled with each other. Soon enough, they filled up the entire wall as the wall blended into the darkness.
Following the wall, Charles and his crew walked for close to two hours before they finally reached its end and arrived before a wide opening. The expanse beyond the opening was shrouded in fog, obscuring what lay within.
Fortunately, Charles had come prepared with some new toys. He pulled out a Mirrorbox from his backpack. After instructing Audric to fly to a safe distance and being assured that his vampire sailor was beyond the item's range, Charles opened the box.
Blinding sunlight burst forth and scattered the fog. Everyone was rendered speechless by the sight that was unveiled before them.
Beyond the opening, numerous walls intersected each other in the distance, creating an enormous labyrinth within the humid fog.
The walls were immensely tall and wide, as though the maze was constructed for giants measuring a hundred meters. Merely standing in its presence sent trembles coursing through their bodies.
The warm glow slowly faded, and the walls were shrouded in the fog once again.
After some time, an ear-piercing scratching sound echoed as Charles carved an arrow into the wall next to them with his Dark Blade.
"Let's move!" He strode forward into the fog.
The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The apparent danger was clear to all, and no one wanted to die here. As such, everyone was on extreme alert.
Although Charles and his crew had braced for the worst when they entered the labyrinth, they had not encountered any unusual situations despite venturing into the maze for quite some time.
However, the lack of any anomalies hinted at an impending danger that had yet to show its fangs. Charles really despised the suspense, and his nerves were strained taut.
Within the maze, there were no stones for the party to take any respite. Charles' feet gradually grew numb from the chilling water. Taking out his pocket watch, he discovered they had been navigating the labyrinth for nearly two hours.
Casting a glance at the murky waters that surrounded them, Charles etched another arrow onto the wall. He then turned to his crew members and said, "We'll explore another half an hour. If we still can’t find anything, we'll return to the ship for today to rest and then come again."
Hearing Charles' words, everyone, including Laesto, heaved a collective sigh of relief. This place was anything but pleasant.
As time trickled away, they were soon close to the half-hour mark. The Dark Blade in Charles' hand suddenly flew away and plunged into the water, leaving an afterimage in its trail.
Charles' feet immediately kicked off of the ground to propel him forward in the direction of his weapon. He grabbed the handle and pulled with all his might but found nothing at the end of the blade.
It wasn't Charles himself who initiated the series of actions, but Richard.
"What did you see?" Charles questioned his alter-ego in his mind.
"I noticed a sudden ripple on the water's surface and thought there was something in there. How strange... Am I seeing things?"
Charles poked around the water with the Dark Blade but found nothing apart from heaps of sludge.
He stood up and checked the time once more. "Let's move back. Half-hour up. We'll rest and come back later."
A burden seemed to be lifted off everyone's shoulders as they turned to depart. However, upon doing another headcount, a drip of cold sweat trickled down Charles' face.
"Everyone, wait!! Bandages is missing!"
1. I'm totally imagining star wars lightsabers here XD
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