Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 636: Nothing

"You're an imposter! You're not my captain!" Dipp shouted with a grave expression, and he moved to stand next to the green centipede.

"What makes you think I'm not Charles?"

Just then, he saw a faint smile playing on the monstrous maw of the green centipede before him. The creature used its twitching fingers to quickly scribble a line of text on the ground.

"No matter how well you try to imitate me or snatch everything of mine. There are some things that I possess that you'll never have. Because the real Charles would never harm Lily."

"That's right..." Bandages slowly emerged from the ground and stood next to the green centipede.

"Lily is Captain's most beloved pet. An imposter like you would never know how much the captain has sacrificed just to save her," Cook Planck added, rubbing his nose.

Gradually, the crew of the Narwhale distanced themselves from their supposed captain, leaving a large, empty space around him.

Seeing the Narwhale's crew actions, the others who had descended from the other airships followed suit. They whipped out various relics and weapons, pointing them at their former leader.

"Heh, heh, heh..." Swapped Charles let out a dry chuckle. With a flick of his right hand, he produced a thin cigarette and placed it between his lips.

Grabbing the tip between his two fingers, a spark of electricity lit the cigarette.

Nico suddenly froze at the sight. He reached into his own pocket and realized that his cigarettes were gone.

"Not bad, Charles. You actually set up a trap for me. Your intelligence has finally grown beyond just decoration!" Swapped Charles pulled Lily out of his coat pocket and nonchalantly threw her onto the ground.

The 1189-1 possessing Charles' memories knew clearly that it was pointless to try to threaten everyone with Lily. The power suppressed within Lily was a major hazard and could explode if he made a wrong move.

Fortunately for him, the little mouse couldn't quite control that power yet.

"We have foiled you and your allies' plan! You are all doomed!!!" Charles slashed three large exclamation marks into the ground with his sharp claws.

However, Swapped Charles slowly blew a smoke ring into the air. His visage showed not even a sign of panic.

"Foiled? What a joke! Do you think we have managed to survive for so many years in this place just purely relying on the ability to swap bodies? We're far more powerful than you can imagine."

The Narwhale crew was well acquainted with Charles' abilities, and their coordinated efforts compensated for any lack of individual strength. As the battle continued, both sides were evenly matched.

However, as the battle prolonged, the lightning arcs surrounding Charles' body were growing faint. Being incredibly potent, it also meant that evoking such powers was extremely energy-draining and, as a result, unsustainable.

During a brief lull in 1189-1's attack, Linda suddenly phased out from the ground right beneath Swapped Charles' feet. She thrust her arm straight into his abdomen.

Accompanied by a whoosh, transparent tentacles whipped toward Linda, but as soon as they came into contact with her body, they passed right through her and fell to the other side. It was as though her entire form was merely an illusion.

"Thanks! It's really not wise to destroy the captain's body, but that's not our goal anyway."

With that, Linda swiftly retracted her hand; she had grabbed the diary from Swapped Charles' pocket.

With the diary in hand, Linda disappeared into the ground again. A few seconds later, she re-emerged and the diary was placed into the hands of the real Charles.

Seeing this, 1189-1 panicked. It frantically rushed over, trying to reclaim the diary.

However, the other crew members threw out attacks relentlessly to stop its approach.

A smile appeared on Charles' monstrous face. He scrawled a line of text on the ground: "I don't have anything right now, but I still have my crew."

With that, Charles flipped open the diary and tapped on the portrait of Sparkle.

Seconds later, Anna's black scaly tentacle reached out from the page before her form climbed out.

The moment her gaze landed on the green centipede, she was taken aback. "Charles, what kind of mess have you gotten into this time?"

Immediately, she noticed something else and turned to look toward Charles' body.

"Two consciousnesses of Charles? Wait. No... let me see..." Anna muttered. Her elegant brows furrowed as she touched her chin with her delicate, pale fingers. Her bright eyes scanned the faces of the surrounding crowd, seemingly reading through everyone's memories.

At this sight, 1189-1 appeared terrified as panic surfaced on his face. He quickly turned and began to retreat, shouting, "Bring in the big guy. There's an emergency!"

Anna placed a hand over her mouth and let out a chuckle. Cradling Charles' green, deformed head, she planted a kiss on it and said, "Honey, your body has run away. Wait here, I'll get your body back for you. Don't worry, I'll be quick."