Chapter 97. Imprisoned
After an unknown amount of time, Charles slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he did upon coming around was to scan his surroundings with vigilance.
The humanoid creature had disappeared, and he was now in a different location. He seemed to be held captive in a cell that was barely ten square meters in size. The room was bare, apart from the heavy iron door in the distance.
Everything had been confiscated from him; his wallet, relics, and clothes were all gone. He was stark naked.
Charles even noticed the blood was subtly seeping out where his prosthetic limb connected to his body. It appeared that someone had tried to detach his prosthetic limb while he was unconscious but had ultimately failed to do so.
With all this information, Charles rapidly pieced together and assessed his current circumstances. His conclusion was that those bizarre creatures had taken him captive.
Though he was reluctant to admit the fact, he found a glimmer of hope in the situation. His captors had only imprisoned him instead of killing him. That meant they were open to communication.
After thinking some things through, Charles stood up and called out in his empty room, "Anyone here? What do you want? Where are my crew members?"
However, the room remained silent. There was no response, apart from his own breathing sounds that surrounded him.
Charles approached the heavy iron door and peered through the narrow gaps between its bars. There seemed to be another cell directly opposite him.
Just as Charles was about to call out to inquire about the identity of the person being held in the other cell, a grotesque face suddenly obstructed his view. The creature gazed into the cell with yellow, cross-shaped pupils.
The iron bars formed only a small, confined square, so Charles couldn't make out the creature's full appearance. However, his instinct was alerting him that this creature was likely allied with the monster that had pretended to be Laesto.
"Perhaps there is a misunderstanding between us. I have no ill intentions, I want to talk with you," Charles explained to the pair of eyes with a slow but clear articulation.
Clank!
A sheet of iron blocked Charles' vision completely. Whatever this entity was, it had no intention of communicating with Charles.
Staring at the iron door before him, which was not particularly thick, Charles raised his prosthetic limb only to lower it again. In all honesty, if he were intent on escaping, a door like this wouldn’t be enough to contain him.
But in this uncertain situation, where friends and foes were indistinguishable, acting rashly could potentially unleash a storm of trouble.
Leaning against the wall, Charles slowly sank down into a seated position. He could only wait now.
Six hours later, a window at the foot of the door opened, and a metal tray measuring half a meter in diameter slid through. On it lay a gruesome and unidentifiable mass of flesh and blood.
Charles wasn't sure if this was meant to be his meal or something else. However, looking at the appearance of the fleshy lump, he would rather starve than eat that abomination.
An hour later, another metal tray glided into his cell, carrying a different offering. This time, it held dead fish. Judging from the vividness in the fish's eyes, Charles could tell that these creatures were freshly caught and had been alive just a short while ago.
He surmised that the creatures had changed his food after realizing that he hadn't touched the first tray. From this detail, he got more information. Since they knew he was not eating, then his cell was definitely under surveillance.
Facing the dead fish, Charles remained unmoving.
Very soon, the next tray slid through the window.
This time, when Charles saw what lay upon this tray, he was taken aback by shock. It held half a human face, below which a set of lungs were connected to a trachea.
He dashed over and picked up the human face. He instantly recognized the man. He was Chef Frey's sous chef, a crew member of the Narwhale.
Rage bubbled within Charles. Not only had they killed his crew member, but they even presented his remains to him, the captain, as food! Charles wanted nothing more than to dash out and immediately slaughter every single monstrous entity outside his cell door.
However, he knew that he couldn't be so reckless. Doing that was akin to committing suicide. He needed to endure and wait patiently. Only by enduring and waiting could he find an opportunity to save his remaining crew and bring them out of this wretched place.
Gritting his teeth, Charles picked up the dead fish on the tray beside him and took a forceful bite. His eyes were fixed on the door as they burned with hatred.
After Charles was done eating the fish, no more peculiar trays were sent in.
Not long after, a skeletal arm reached in to remove the plates. While the entity was clearing the plates, Charles tried to communicate with the creatures outside, but his attempt was in vain. They still showed no willingness to have a conversation.
Charles' first day of imprisonment passed just like that.
Throughout the day, Charles also noticed other details. His sharp hearing allowed him to discern the monsters' shift changes outside his door. They seemed to change shifts every twelve hours.
From this, Charles could conclude that the monsters were highly sociable beings. However, this wasn't good news to him. If these creatures lived in groups, God knew how many of them were lurking beyond his cell. Escape would then be an insurmountable challenge.
However, no matter the difficulty, Charles had no thoughts of giving up on his plan to escape.
The next day, as soon as the sound of footsteps faded, Charles swiftly grabbed a fish bone he had prepared earlier and flicked it across the expanse and into the cell across from him.
"Hey, I'm Charles. Respond if you hear me? Who's being confined there?" Charles called out.
He received an immediate response from the cell opposite. A semi-transparent tentacle resembling that of a jellyfish oozing with green slime extended from the cell across and reached out toward Charles. It crossed the distance between the two cells and arrived in Charles' cell.
Charles stared at the tentacle before him. After a brief moment of hesitation, he placed his prosthetic limb on it.
However, the moment he came into contact with the tentacle, the tentacle split open and transferred into a gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth. It bit down on Charles' prosthetic arm and yanked forcefully.
The tentacle was extremely strong, its strength comparable to that of several grown men combined. It had tugged so hard that Charles' entire body was pressed against the door.
The chainsaw of Charles' prosthetic arm was instantly activated, and the semi-transparent tentacle was cleaved apart. A bestial roar sounded from the cell across as the severed appendage desperately retreated.
Holding the still-writhing fragment of a tentacle in his hand, another thought entered Charles' mind. They were not the only species being held captive in this dreadful place.
Soon, the grotesque creatures guarding the cells returned. Charles didn't dare to make any rash actions. He had to seek the perfect opportunity.
On the third day, the iron door was pushed open. However, Charles wasn't presented with fish this time. Rather, several malformed creatures entered. Observing their appearance, Charles was certain that they were of the same species as the one he had encountered before.
He didn't manage to get a good look earlier, but now, he could finally see the creatures’ appearances in detail.
Their fish-like eyes contained cross-shaped yellow pupils, and their melting faces were adorned with soft, elongated lips that measured at least twenty centimeters long.
Their flesh appeared to be a mess of flesh intermingled with blood. It was as if their skin had been forcefully ripped off, turned inside out, and worn once more.
Despite their horrifying appearance, each of them was draped in a filthy leather robe.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Charles questioned with clear caution.
The monsters' elongated lips trembled swiftly, emitting sounds reminiscent of radio static as channels switched.
It appeared as though they were attempting to communicate with Charles, but unfortunately, their language was unintelligible to him.
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