Surviving as the Captain of a Mad Cthulhu Deep Sea - Chapter 22

chapter 22

The Vampire

Chapter 22: Vampire

Chapter 22: Vampire

Towering spires, vibrant reliefs, and long, stained-glass windows.

Charles had no artistic eye, but he could tell the architecture was exceptionally refined, unlike the newly established Coral Island with its short history.

“Mr. Charles, what’s that? It looks delicious!”

Hearing Lily’s voice from his shoulder, Charles turned to where she was pointing.

Dozens of meters ahead, a bustling square teemed with people and barbecue stalls.

“Is this like the Subterranean Sea’s ‘Walkable Street’?”

Charles walked toward it.

After buying Lily a bag of oysters simmered in milk, Charles entered the lively square.

The place appeared to be a local market, with an endless stream of delicious food and performances that made Lily’s eyes widen in amazement.

As Charles casually walked to the edge of the square, a blind man with a grotesque face and sunglasses appeared before him. His skin and flesh seemed fused together, as if he had been severely burned. This terrifying face stood out starkly among the handsome and beautiful men and women surrounding him.

At the blind man’s feet lay a sign that read, “Oil Painting, 100 Echo Notes.”

Seeing the blind man’s tattered and worn cloak, Charles guessed that his business must be slow. But it was only natural. Who would buy a painting from a blind man?

The blind man huddled beside his easel, looking utterly pathetic amidst the lively atmosphere.

Just then, three young men walking arm in arm passed by and kicked over the easel. As they watched the blind man scramble on the ground, picking up his scattered belongings, the trio erupted in loud, heartless laughter.

Charles frowned slightly, noticing that everyone around was ignoring the situation, even avoiding looking.

“These islanders are not only strange, but truly callous.”

Kind-hearted Lily couldn’t stand it. She rushed forward with her White Mouse and helped the blind man tidy up his papers.

The blind man with the disfigured face, sensing someone was helping him, suddenly burst into tears.

“Why! Why must such misfortune befall me?!”

Charles walked over, paused for a moment, and said to the blind man, “Don’t cry. Draw me a portrait.”

The blind man, presented with a business opportunity, forgot his grief, sniffled, and quickly stood up.

“Sir, please have a seat here.”

He fumbled behind the easel and pulled out a folding chair.

Watching the blind man expertly mix paints, Charles felt a surge of curiosity. How could a blind man paint without seeing?

As Charles pondered this question, the blind man set down his palette and brought both hands to Charles’s face, feeling his features.

He paints by touching the bones of the skull?

The moment this thought crossed Charles’s mind, the Blind Painter had already picked up his brush and begun painting.

This piqued Charles’s curiosity. He was genuinely eager to see how skillful the blind man would prove to be.

After a few minutes, the Blind Painter stopped, removed the canvas from the easel, and politely handed it to Charles.

Thud!

The moment Charles saw the painting, his tense nerves kicked the folding chair over with his foot. He quickly took three steps back, his right hand instinctively reaching for the pistol holster at his waist.

The canvas depicted not Charles, but Anna, looking as if she were alive!

The sound of the falling chair immediately drew the Blind Painter’s attention. He turned toward the commotion, his face a mask of confusion, and began fumbling his way over.

“Sir, did I paint the picture wrong? Please don’t leave. I haven’t eaten anything for three days. Please give me just a little. Have mercy on me.”

Charles accepted the painting with a complicated expression, pulled a few hundred-Echo Notes from his pocket, and pressed them into the blind man’s hand.

A fleeting joy crossed the blind man’s grotesque face as he felt the texture of the money. He bowed deeply in Charles’s direction.

“Sir, thank you for showing mercy to a wretched soul like me. May the Matriarch’s blessings be with you.”

“Are you a mind reader?” Charles asked, holding the painting.

“No, no. These are just useless abilities I developed after losing my sight.”

The blind man humbly crouched in a corner, his face plastered with a fawning expression.

Charles slowly traced the contours of Anna’s face with his finger. A flood of fabricated memories surged through his mind.

Go Ji-myeong, I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?

Go Ji-myeong, stop playing games. I’m way more fun than any game.

It’s okay. Falling into the Subterranean Sea isn’t a big deal. As long as I’m by your side, we’ll definitely get out!

Charles’s expression twisted subtly, and with vein-swollen hands, he gripped the edge of the drawing paper, trying to tear it apart with all his might.

Lily leaped onto Charles’s shoulder.

“Mr. Charles, who is this woman? She’s stunning.”

While Charles was talking to the rat, the blind man tilted his chin and kept sniffing the air with his nose.

Finally deciding not to tear the painting, Charles slowly rolled it up, tucked it into his coat, and said with a hint of sadness, “Let’s go, Lily. Let’s go home.”

The blind man behind him raised his hand as if to call out to Charles, but hesitated and remained silent.

On the way back, Lily clearly sensed that Charles was somewhat dazed, and she immediately suspected it was related to the painting.

Could it be like in that play? That woman had a world-shattering love with Mr. Charles, and then cruelly abandoned him?

When Charles returned to the Bat Inn, three more envelopes were waiting at the door. This time, two deckhands and a cook had left.

Excluding the dead, nearly half of the Narwhal’s crew had already quit.

“What’s going on? Why are so many people resigning? Couldn’t they wait until we get back to Coral Island?”

Charles planned to write in his journal and then summon the crew to question them. This was too abnormal.

Charles lit an oil lamp, pulled out the painting from his pocket, stared at it for a long time, and then tucked it between the pages of his logbook.

He took a fountain pen from his chest and began writing in the logbook, but before he could write even a few words, another envelope was slipped under the door.

“If you’re going to leave the ship, tell me to my face!”

But there was no sign of anyone outside the door. With a grim expression, Charles walked over and tore open the letter.

When he saw the name “Dip” written on it, his face immediately darkened.

“Lily, come with me.”

Lily jumped onto Charles’s shoulder again, and the Brown Rats followed behind her like a living carpet.

“Mr. Charles, why are we going out again?”

“Something’s wrong. I think Dip’s in danger.”

“Hm?”

Lily’s eyes widened.

Charles unfolded the letter and shook it in front of her.

“This can’t possibly be from Dip! That kid can barely read, how could he write a resignation letter? Someone forged this!”

Recalling the previous strange incidents, Charles was certain one of his crew members was in trouble.

Most sailors simply left when they quit, and even those with good relationships, like Old John, would say goodbye in person. Resignation letters were extremely rare.

Moreover, the elegant handwriting was completely unlike that of a rough seaman.

He stepped into the street and said to Lily, who was perched on his shoulder,

“Scatter your mice and gather everyone you can find on The Narwhal.”

“Alright!”

At Lily’s squeak, the brown carpet on the ground instantly scattered.

“Captain, what’s going on?”

The crew of The Narwhal came running after the mice. Most were disheveled, smelled of alcohol, and had colorful lipstick stains on their collars.

“Does anyone know where Dip went last night?” Charles asked them.

Fred, the lean cook, spoke up immediately. “Captain, I do. Yesterday, that fellow was dragged off by the Second Mate. He said he was going to a place that would make a real man of him— somewhere a bit pricey. It’s not far from here.”

“Gather your gear and follow me!”

Could this be related to the local gangs? Charles immediately considered the possibility. Such establishments were usually controlled by specific factions.

But that didn’t make sense either. What gang would kidnap someone and then bother sending in a resignation letter? This was clearly an attempt to prevent anyone from noticing their disappearance.

Soon, an inn with a red curtain came into view. As they approached the door, the air vibrated with a heady perfume that stirred a man’s senses.

Crash!

Charles kicked the door open and charged inside, causing the couples embracing in the hall to turn their heads.

A burly man nearly two meters tall rose with a menacing expression, dozens of his subordinates behind him.

“Damn it! Who dares cause trouble in our territory!”

A short man was about to shout, but he was immediately slapped across the face by the burly man next to him, sending him flying.

The muscular, imposing man stepped forward and loomed over Charles. “I heard your crew was captured by these people.”

Charles met his gaze without flinching.

Surprisingly, the man remained calm in the face of Charles’s provocative behavior. “We don’t have two of your crew members. They might have gone elsewhere.”

Charles narrowed his eyes, his expression glacial. “Did I say there were two crew members?”

The man’s face stiffened. Realizing he’d been tricked, he dropped all pretense and swung his arm.

The thugs around them began driving the customers out, and before long, the hall that had been bustling just moments before fell deathly silent.

“I know you Sea Vampires are no pushovers, but you came this far, so you’ll stay here.”

The man spoke, sticking out his red tongue to lick his lips.

“May the Matriarch’s blessing be upon you. My name is Durand. How fortunate I am to have caught these humans this time.”

Hearing his hostile words, Charles didn’t hesitate. “Draw!” His revolver was drawn and aimed at Durand before him. The other sailors also drew their weapons.

The next instant, everyone in the room burst into laughter, as if Charles had told the most hilarious joke.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A bullet struck Durand’s body, and a crimson flower bloomed.

Before everyone’s astonished eyes, the horrific wound on Durand’s body rapidly healed, closing completely in mere seconds.

“They still don’t realize what they’ve encountered, these humans.”

Durand’s lips curled into a sinister smile, his pale face contorting into a grotesque grin.

Clack!

Two sharp fangs erupted from beneath his upper lip, and the whites of his eyes began to bleed, turning crimson.

“He’s a vampire.”

Charles’s eyes narrowed.

“Your blood is mine!”

Durand sprang off his feet and charged at Charles with lightning speed.

In an instant, he slammed into Charles, sending them crashing to the floor. The vampire’s fangs sank deep into Charles’s neck.

The moment he moved, the others around him stirred. Stripping off their disguises, they bared their fangs and lunged at the sailors.

Durand, who had been drinking blood, suddenly sensed something was wrong. The black-eyed creature before him wasn’t struggling at all, which was highly abnormal.

Could this thing have fainted from fear of me?

Just as the thought formed, a white, gleeful mask materialized on Charles’s face.

Whoosh!

A cold light flashed, and the Black Saber plunged deep into the vampire’s chest, sending him flying backward.

“I thought it would be something grand, but it’s just a vampire. How utterly pathetic to have these insignificant pests crawling out and making such a spectacle!”

“Kaaah!”

Behind them, James, now nearly four meters tall, roared as he grabbed a vampire and yanked it apart with brutal force, splitting it in two.

A swarm of rats surged forward with a tearing sound, engulfing another vampire. The creature continued to scream as it was completely buried by the horde.

The other sailors joined the attack. Though they had trembled before the Giant Butterfly, they were no longer afraid of mere vampires—not after having witnessed a god.

“You!”

Durand glared at the white mask before him, his eyes burning with rage. This was nothing like he had imagined.

His sharp claws left afterimages as they slashed desperately at Charles’s face.

Charles’ neck muscles tensed instantly as the smooth mask narrowly dodged the sharp claws.

“You seem to enjoy biting people? Have a taste of this!”

The blood-stained Black Saber was swiftly raised and then thrust downward with brutal force, piercing Durand’s mouth and exiting through the back of his skull.

Enraged, Durand tried to resist, but Charles shoved the hilt forward with all his might, splitting the monstrous face cleanly in two. In the next moment, he plunged the Black Saber straight into his heart.

The once-dominant creature convulsed on the floor before falling still.

Focusing on stitching up the mangled head, Charles backflipped into the air and joined the battle behind him.