Chapter 521. Old Sign
The ritual held by the twelve octopus heads was reaching its final phase. The palpable tension over the seascape was at its thickest, the atmosphere so suffocating that it felt as though monumental effort was needed just to breathe. Everyone present felt a stifling lump blocking their airways.
Dipp's muscles were tensed up as he watched the undulating mass of eyes in the water, wavering with the waves like bunches of seaweed. His heart steeled with a firm resolve: if any danger arose, he would directly put himself in the way to shield the captain from it.
"Stay put; don't cause any trouble now. That's the best help you can offer," Charles remarked as he firmly pulled Dipp back. The latter had subconsciously stepped forward.
"But Captain! I can help! I'm strong, too!" Dipp protested.
Charles ignored Dipp and turned his gaze back onto the sight beyond the airship's window.
"If anything dangerous happens later, take Sparkle with you and get out," Charles instructed Anna.
Grabbing his hand tightly in response, Anna flashed a reassuring smile and nodded. "Sure."
Charles looked at Anna's smile and parted his lips, wanting to say something. However, he decided to stay silent and closed his lips helplessly.
Just then, the dense cluster of eyeballs in the water began to converge into a cube-like mist that swirled around with the waves. At certain angles, the mist resembled a die and a Rubik's cube at others.
A single look was enough to make onlookers feel nauseous.
"Charles, the Old Sign has been summoned. It's time to declare the new rules that you want," Anna whispered into Charles' ear as the enigmatic mist continued to churn ominously below.
Picking up the black microphone hanging on the dashboard, Charles' voice boomed through the airship's loudspeakers. "Shall I do the honors of reciting the final phase?"
The twelve octopus heads turned toward the airship in unison, the same disturbing smile appearing on their faces.
"No, let us take care of this," Octett declared. Then, he and the other eleven octopus heads raised their hands collectively.
Their voices, thick as though there was a lump of phlegm in their throats, reverberated across the sea. "All Praise the 'One' beyond the door! In the name of the 'One Who Is to Come'! We implore upon the progenitor of the Sign. In exchange for Gao Zhiming—"
The moment the perfectly pronounced Chinese characters rolled off the tentacled mouths, Charles and Anna's pupils shrank to needle points.
Although they had no idea what the octopus heads were planning to say next, nor how they came to know of Charles' real name, it was evident that their intent was not to heal the crew.
Instantly, Charles bellowed into the microphone with all his might, "All ships and airships! Target the twelve ahead; fire at will!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The roar of cannonfire drowned out the subsequent chanting and columns of water obscured them from sight.
Utilizing telegraphic communication, the dozens of Hope Island's naval ships swiftly adjusted their course and began bombarding the encirclement of Fhtagnist ships around them.
At the same time, hundreds of black, viscous tentacles extended from beneath the waters, accompanying the Deep Dwellers and the Fhtagnists in their counterattack.
The tension between both forces had climbed to its peak and was about to erupt into a deathly showdown. Just then, a black ring abruptly expanded from the location of the Old Sign and both Charles and Octett's voices boomed across the sky.
"Stop!"
The roaring of gunfire and projectiles ceased instantly as everyone froze in place. The palpable tension in the area was stifling, as though they were swinging a fist through empty air with all their might.
"Charles! Why are we stopping?" Anna asked; she had already fully reverted to her monstrous form.
Before Charles could reply, Octett's voice boomed outside once more. "Governor Charles, come out. Hurry and come over here."
Charles hastily dropped the black microphone in his hand and sprinted toward the airship's exit. However, it wasn't out of his own will.
"Wait!! Anna, stop me quickly! They're controlling my body!"
No one could have anticipated the turn of events. When the last of Charles' words fell, he had already reached the metal gangway outside.
Resistance filled his eyes as he peered down at the murky waters below.
However, his feet lifted off the floor and he leaped toward the sea.
"Sparkle! Bring your father back!"
The next moment, a grotesque mass of writhing tentacles mingled with green viscous eyeballs appeared beside Charles.
Just as Sparkle's tentacles reached out to grab Charles, filthy bubbles frothed in the murky water around them as Octett and the other octopus heads manifested nearby.
With a synchronized wave of their tentacles, Sparkle's body began to rapidly decompose, emitting a foul stench as her body parts disintegrated. Her tentacles and eyeballs regenerated swiftly, and in a brief moment, they were as good as new.
Despite her speedy regeneration, Charles had been snatched away by Octett and was placed atop a massive octopus' head.
For the first time, visible fury burned in the hundreds of eyes on Sparkle. She was about to give chase but froze in place upon seeing a golden dagger being pressed against Charles' throat.
"Stay still unless you want your father dead," Octett threatened.
A hint of triumph glimmered in his eyes as he turned to face Charles, whose face was painted with apparent anger.
"Governor Charles, we felt that it's more convenient to control you directly with the Old Sign than to cure your crew and have you disclose the location of the Great One as though you were doing us a favor. After all, the price to pay just to summon an entity like that for a single time is rather exorbitant," Octet explained.
Charles turned his gaze onto Octett without any expression. "Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to control me?"
"It's unavoidable. You're Edikth's Chosen One and even have a special Dioite watching over you. ordinary means no longer have an effect on you," Octett responded. "However, under the rules of the Old Sign, things are different. I can control you to do anything. And from now on, you will become one of my tentacles for eternity."
Fuck! Charles cursed in his mind. Anxiety bubbled in him; he hadn't anticipated this move from his adversaries.
"What are you going to do next?" Charles asked.
"Don't worry. We will make full use of you. Firstly, we'll extract the information we want from you. Then, we'll use your life to threaten your men on Hope Island to offer enough human population in exchange for your return," Octett began, his voice dripping with malice.
"Of course. We will ultimately betray our word. We will imprison you in the Divinity's Land and torment you. When you finally lose the will to live, we will then sacrifice you to our Great One. This is payback for your years of fighting against us," Octett concluded with a sinister smirk.
Charles' hands trembled slightly, but he forced himself to regain his composure. Now, his body couldn't even express anger without the octopus head's permission.
"Now, let us start with the first step. What exactly happened between you and the Pope?" Octett asked.
As Charles began to recount the event, Octett came to learn about the events that transpired. He even pulled out a piece of parchment from his purple robe and coiled a tentacle around a pen to record everything down.
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