Seeing the dark cannon muzzle on the deck move towards her, Akasha suddenly panicked. She wanted to leave, but Charles beside her did not give her the chance.
He lifted his left hand, and his Tentacle Ring activated instantly, invisible tentacles firmly wrapping around the bat.
Although the bat freed itself in less than a second, that time was already enough.
"Boom!!"
In the blink of an eye, Charles saw that more than half of the giant bat's body had disappeared, flesh scattering in all directions, its fierce face filled with disbelief.
As Charles fell toward the sea surface, he suddenly saw a flash of white light in front of him. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed it; it was the mirror of the Bat Monster from just before.
With a splash, cold seawater enveloped Charles's entire body.
By the time he surfaced, he saw another half-human, half-bat monster clumsily running towards the harbor, clearly not intending to fight to the death to avenge its comrade.
"Coward! If you're tough, don't run!" Charles taunted from the water.
It seemed the death of a Duke indeed frightened the vampires; all the way until the crew could no longer see Dark Crystal Island, no bats came near.
The soaking wet Charles lay on the deck spread-eagled, completely exhausted at that moment. Though the mask could push his body to human limits, it could not dispel the fatigue, and he did not want to move a finger right now.
The crew, overjoyed with their miraculous survival, rushed over, grabbed him, and joyfully tossed him high in the air.
The next day, having recovered some of his strength, Charles opened his eyes. Ignoring his sore muscles, he stood up and walked towards the deck.
Seeing the First Officer's bandage while repairing the ship, he let out a small sigh.
This time the losses were a bit severe; two sailors and the Second Chief Engineer had died in the encounter with the giant butterfly; Dark Crystal Island cost them two more sailors and the assistant chef.
Add to that the battered and bruised Unicorne; their mission to explore new sea areas was a complete failure.
All that Charles had gained was a mirror and a blind Vampire.
Taking out that round mirror, Charles reflected his own image in it, finding the surface too hazy to see clearly.
With a thought, he took the mirror to the crew's rest area; if anyone on the ship likely understood the relic, it would undoubtedly be the only local onboard.
As soon as Charles stepped into the resting room, the smell of blood hit him; the blind vampire Audric was sucking on a bloody bandage, while James, the producer of the blood-soaked bandage, lay snoring in a hammock.
The throat of the blind artist continually writhed, with fresh red flesh buds intertwining, giving the impression it wouldn't be long before they healed.
Hearing familiar footsteps, Audric quickly got up, "Captain Charles, you've come."
Charles drew the Black Blade and placed it in James's hands; the Chief Engineer had been severely injured from the tough struggle with the Bat Monster.
But as the body grew larger, the skin, fat, and muscle all grew as well, and most of the injuries were external, without damaging the internal organs.
After touching the big man's forehead and finding no fever, Charles turned around and thrust the mirror into Audric's hands.
"This relic belonged to the Duke, and her ability to transform into a giant bat seems to be related to this. Do you know how to use it?"
The blind man's hands constantly felt the mirror. "This... this must be Duke Akasha's artifact, the Bat Mirror. It is said that by smearing blood on it, one can transform into a giant bat with formidable combat power."
Charles recalled the giant bat he had seen in the sky earlier. The thought of its powerful sonic abilities set his heart aflame with excitement. Yet, he didn't forget the downside of using the relic. "Does this thing have side effects?"
"Yes, using the mirror will aggravate a Vampire's Blood Thirst. If used frequently, one would eventually be dominated by this power and turned into a beast completely. Its previous owner, Viscount Lance, is now hanging upside-down on Dark Crystal Island."
Charles looked at the mirror in his hand and thought to himself, "The side effects seem quite severe. It seems that this relic can only be used in emergencies, not as freely as the clown's mask."
The blind Vampire suddenly thought of something and hurriedly held out the mirror, well aware of his own place.
At this moment, Audric's neck had healed as if nothing had happened, a remarkable healing ability that made Charles quite envious.
Taking the mirror and putting it in his pocket, Charles casually asked, "With such strong recovery abilities for you Vampires, what's with the scars on your face? Some special substance?"
Audric's terrifying face revealed a trace of lingering fear. "It was an accident."
"I and my companions robbed a pirate ship. We found a box in a hidden cargo hold, expecting some treasure, but to our astonishment, it contained captured sunlight!"
At the mention of sunlight, Charles's heart leaped almost to a stop. But he soon noticed something off about the Vampire's words.
"Are you sure? Sunlight? Sunlight that was stored in a box?"
"Yes, sunlight. The moment we saw the light, my kin turned to ashes instantly. I barely survived because I stood far away, but even so, I paid a terrible price."
As he said this, Audric took off his black sunglasses, revealing his bulging, egg-like eyes which, along with the red engorged blood vessels around them, looked exceptionally horrifying.
"Do you see? My eyes still hurt. Only the sunlight can cause such agony."
An increasingly anxious Charles paced back and forth in the cabin. His heart, not even shaken when chased by the Duchess Vampire yesterday, now felt unsettled.
"Maybe... maybe it was some other type of light weapon?"
He found it utterly absurd — sunlight capable of being contained in a box? Could something as intangible as light be captured?
Audric shook his head, "There were living pirates nearby when it happened. They showed no ill effects when we had our mishap. If it were some kind of weapon, they wouldn't have been unaffected."
Charles's heart raced, and his expression turned eager. This could be the key clue to getting back to the Earth's surface. "Where did those pirates get the sunlight from?"
"Not sure, but those pirates were from Chaotic City Sodoma. It's very likely they got it from there. Mr. Charles, do you need sunlight?"
"Chaotic City Sodoma..." Charles's face, now rarely showing a smile, patted Audric on the shoulder as he turned and walked away.
Regardless of whether the box truly contained genuine sunlight, Charles decided to check it out.
As the sound of footsteps grew distant, Audric sneakily took half a human corpse out of a nearby barrel. If Charles were here, he would immediately recognize that this corpse was the very Duchess he had battled.
The blind Vampire hugged the corpse and greedily began to gnaw on it. In the dimly lit cabin, the sounds of chewing mingled with snoring...