Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 489: The Entire Crew Returns

Crowds gathered on the docks of Hope Island. The place bustled with activities, with the voices of the islanders forming a cacophony of excitement and curiosity.

Speculation circulated on the reason so the Governor's late return and also what had transpired in the outside world.

As usual, the power holders of the island stood at the forefront of the crowd. Among them, Leonardo turned to glance at James standing by his side.

"Regardless of what you think, I'm glad that the Governor is back," Leonardo said with a pleased smile on his face. Apart from the slight tremor of the corner of his lips, his feigned calmness was perfect.

James returned him an icy stare. "Are you afraid that I'll disclose what you said to the Captain? Rest assured, I definitely will."

Anxiety raced in Leonardo's heart as he tried to justify his actions. "Everything I mentioned before was under the assumption that the Governor had tragically passed on! Now that he's returned alive, I will definitely not proceed with my plan. And remember, all I wanted was for the stability of Hope Island."

James couldn't be bothered to listen to Leonardo's words any longer. He strode toward the Narwhale and the rest quickly followed suit.

They ascended the gangplank to the deck, but the sight that greeted them wiped off the excitement on James' face.

The Narwhale was in disarray. Puddles of water strewn across the deck and the anchor was coated in a thick layer of rust. Even all the ropes were missing. It seemed like there hadn't been any crew on shift for deck maintenance.

Most importantly, there was not a single soul to be seen either on the deck or at the bridge. It was as though the entire ship had become a ghost vessel aimlessly drifting at sea.

"What's going on?! Where did everyone go?" James roared in panic and swiftly darted toward the cabin door.

Sensing something amiss, the vigilant navy personnel quickly loaded their firearms in preparation for any potential threats.

As soon as James opened the cabin door, a shadow lunged at him from the end of the corridor with a ghostly howl. The seven to eight gun barrels behind him were lifted and aimed at the unknown entity. Their owners were about to pull the trigger when James' shout halted their actions. "Hold fire! He's not an enemy!"

With that James extended his arms and embraced the figure that had pounded on him. It was Dipp, the Narwhale's boatswain.

Dipp seemed to have turned totally deranged. He parted his monstrous mouth and sank his sharp teeth into James' sturdy shoulder. His eyes flashed with malevolence as he tore into James' flesh.

Dipp's clothes were torn and tattered. He even had several deep rope markings on his body, and many of his scales had been visibly scraped off.

"Dipp! It's me!" James held Dipp by the shoulders and shook him harshly. "What happened? Where's the Captain?"

However, James' question went unanswered; Dipp was beyond any reason.

Just as their focus was on Dipp, they failed to notice a black, scaly tentacle slithering out from the dark corridor.

Fortunately, one of the sharp navy personnel spotted the anomaly. Alarmed and in fright, he raised his rifle and shouted, "Monster! Incoming!"

The others swiftly reacted, and a series of gunfire rang out as bullets flew toward the creature lurking in the shadows.

Swoosh!

A grotesque monster with eyes bearing green cross-shaped pupils appeared in front of the bullets, effortlessly shielding the creature with black tentacles from the bullet rain.

Seeing that their bullets dealt no damage, the sailors holding rifles quickly stepped back to allow those with relics to step forward.

"James? Does this mean I'm finally home?" An extremely weary voice sounded from within the darkness, and the tense standoff eased.

A figure squeezed through the corridor that was obstructed by the monstrous mass of flesh.

It was Charles, who appeared exceedingly haggard and worn out. The hanging dark circles under his eyes suggested that he hadn't slept in a long while. His gaze held a mix of indescribable emotions, and a heavy, oppressive, and weary air surrounded him.

A little mouse with golden fur was perched on his shoulder. She excitedly extended her tiny paws to wave at James.

"Big guy! Long time no see! Did you miss me? Wow! Your belly seems to have gotten a lot bigger!"

"Li Lily!" James' eyes widened in shock at the sight before him that transcended human logic. His deceased friend resurrected and was alive and kicking.

Slightly hunched, Charles glanced over his shoulder at the dark corridor behind him. Bitterness painted his countenance.

With heavy steps, he dragged himself out of the cabin. Upon reaching the deck, he turned to gaze at the bright coastline in the distance.

Without the darkness as the shade, the sea appeared an inky green and was stunningly beautiful. Yet, such beauty was fatal to the denizens of the Subterranean Sea.

Just then, James rushed out with a hand clutching his injured shoulder. Unable to contain his astonishment, he asked, "Captain what in the world happened? How did Dipp end up like this, and where are the others?"

Charles turned to look at his former subordinate. He exhaustedly raised a hand and patted James on his uninjured shoulder.

"The rest are in the hold. Could you take care of that for me? I'm tired; I need a good rest."

With that, Charles brought Lily with him and headed toward the rope ladder nearby.

James watched his captain's receding figure with a dazed expression. It dawned on him that his captain seemed to have changed a lot from this voyage.

"Wanna know what happened? You could ask me," a female voice sounded from behind James.

Turning around, James's gaze landed on a monstrous creature that resembled a starfish. It then swiftly shrank and morphed into a stunningly beautiful and alluring woman.

It was Anna, and James knew exactly who she was.

Anna slowly approached James. Lifting her fair right hand to brush back her long hair, she said, "We visited a place that had something that could drive people mad. Charles had me go over to help stabilize the crew's sanity and cognition.

"It should have been an easy task, but you know how unpredictable the Subterranean Sea can be. We never thought that a Divinity lives there and we ended up confronting it head-on."

"What?! A Divinity attacked you?!" James' pupils shrank to pinpoints in shock.

Having been interrupted, a flicker of annoyance crossed Anna's visage. "Wait, let me finish. The Divinity attacked Charles. And you know, given my relationship with him, there was no way I could idly stand by. I rushed to his side to help him immediately."

James' eyes widened in confusion. He pointed toward Dipp, who had already been subdued by the navy soldiers. "And what does that have to do with Dipp going mad?"

Anna shrugged and replied in a helpless tone, "Well, I can't be in two places at once. Since I went to save Charles, I don't have the capacity to maintain the crew's sanity and cognition, so"

Anna's words trailed off but the underlying meaning was as clear as day. James immediately rushed to the lowest cabin hold of the Narwhale.

Bursting through the door with a forceful push, James saw the entire crew bound tightly with ropes and sprawled across the floor.

Lying next to a wall, Conor seemed to have recognized James. His lips formed a silly grin as he asked between chuckles, "James? Hehehe. What brings you to my humble abode? Why did you tie me up?"

Visibly trembling, James slowly made his way among the crew members, his gaze wavering as his eyes swept over each and every one of them.

They had all gone mad. Every member of the Narwhale's crew, except for Captain Charles, had lost their sanity.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

I'm happy that Lily is back, but at the same time, this is going to be a hard ordeal to recover from