Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 667

Chapter 667: Chapter 664 “Goat Head Chapter 667: Chapter 664 “Goat Head Duncan watched the goat head in the wooden box, which, like a true wooden carving, met his gaze with no sign of life or reaction.

Duncan wasn't surprised–at the moment Alice clumsily brought the sealed wooden box to the deck, one that clearly had been carefully sealed and couldn't be opened, he had guessed that the box contained exactly what he was looking for.

After all, beauty in its simplicity often compensates for what's lacking upstairs with other qualities, like strength, optimism, or good fortune.

“Wow, a goat head!” Alice peered into the box and finally realized what she had inadvertently found, her eyes widening in surprise, “Is this the one from the Heretics? It looks exactly the same as the one on Homeloss!”

Duncan didn't say anything, but focused on observing the details of the “Skull of Dreams,” while Lucrescia squatted down next to him, poking the goat head in the box with her delicate “baton” and furrowing her pretty eyebrows slightly: “No reaction… There are no signs of a 'living' Trait, and it doesn't seem to emit any special aura?”

“Just like a piece of real wood,” Duncan nodded, reaching out to take the wooden carved goat head from the box, weighing it in his hands, “…It's actually this light.”

“You've never taken the goat head off its stand on Homeloss?” Lucrescia asked, surprised upon hearing this, “It seems to just sit on top of a table…”
“They're connected together, the goat head is a part of Homeloss as a whole,” Duncan immediately shook his head, “Even though its head can turn around, it can't be removed from the table.”

This was the first time Lucrescia heard of such detail, seeming to find it quite unbelievable. Alice, upon hearing the captain's words, suddenly had a thoughtful look, clapping her hands: “So that's why!”

Duncan immediately turned to her: “Hmm?”

“I was wondering why it resisted so much when I tried to move the First Mate's head from the table last time. It even muttered a bunch of things to me, although I don't remember what it said…”
Duncan was dumbfounded: “Why would you want to take the First Mate's head off the table?”

“I wanted to clean the table,” Alice stated matter-of-factly, “And I thought I could wash it in the sink too… But I couldn't remove it.”

Duncan: “…?”

He didn't even want to imagine that scene anymore–thank goodness the puppet didn't have that much strength! If it were Fenna, Saslouka might have died for the third time already…
Lucrescia suddenly noticed the expression on her father's face change rapidly.

“What's wrong?” she asked, concerned.

“…I don't think I've ever reminded others on the ship that the goat head is fixed on the table and cannot be removed.”

“Miss Fenna is a composed person, she probably wouldn't just go into your captain's quarters.”

Duncan looked puzzled: “Why would your first thought be of Fenna?”

Lucrescia paused for two seconds, giving Duncan a somewhat strange look: “Then who did you think of?”

Duncan thought for a moment, and decided it was better not to continue discussing this increasingly absurd topic–his attention returned to the “Skull of Dreams” before him.

“This must indeed be another fragment of Saslouka, otherwise those Heretics wouldn't have sealed it so cautiously. However, not every fragment has a complete sense of reason, not every 'goat head' does.”

As he spoke, he placed the black wooden carved goat head back into the box and sealed the lid once more–the anomaly 132 immediately leaped from the nearby deck, latched onto the box's lock, and clicked itself shut.

“I want to take this back to Homeloss first, to see what changes will occur when it's placed together with the goat head on the ship.”

“Ah, are we going back already?” Alice reacted, getting up to follow Duncan while curiously looking at the distant sea, “I thought we were going to follow this ship directly to that 'Mother Port' or something.”

Lucrescia answered her: “We are still far from the border, even at top speed this ship would take about a week to reach near the 'Veil'–there's no need for us to stay on this almost completely destroyed 'Ghost Ship' for such a long time.”

“Hmm,” Duncan nodded, adding, “During this time, we can take the survivors in the prison to the City-State, and if we have a chance, contact the Four Gods Church as well. They might be interested in a cult's den hidden in the mist at the border. Besides that, we still have the 'goat head' in this box… There's quite a lot to be done.”

“You can go back first, I'll take care of the aftermath here,” Lucrescia volunteered, “I have more experience with… 'Aftermath Management'.”

Duncan simply nodded in acknowledgment, without saying much more.

He knew as a “witch” who had wandered the Endless Sea for a century, Lucrescia's experiences were far beyond the ordinary. City-States struck by disaster, stranded exploration teams, cursed ships, and the Heretics' kidnapped and sacrificed victims–all these were already part of the “experience” she had dealt with.

She knew how to settle those survivors who were on the brink of collapse, both physically and mentally.

“Then Alice and I will head back to the Homeloss first,” Duncan nodded at Lucresia, then patted the railing beside him, “This ship will return to the home port on its own, you don't need to worry about it. After you finish dealing with things here, leave that 'artificial beacon' on board so I can monitor the ship's status at any time and return here when the time is right.”

Lucresia lowered her head, “I understand.”

The crackling sound of flames leaping started from nowhere on the deck, and when she lifted her head again, a revolving door of flame had already appeared before her eyes.

Alice, carrying a large wooden box (along with her trophies), was the first to walk into the revolving flames; soon after Duncan waved towards them, his body burning with Spectral Flame transformed into a streak of fire and vanished within the doorway.

Where Duncan had stood, a wisp of residual flame was still burning calmly in midair, gradually shrinking and dimming until it turned into a magic object the size of a palm and dropped onto the deck.

That was the “Sea Witch's” handmade artificial beacon.

Lucresia stepped forward to pick the “beacon” up from the deck.

It was a small puppet – carved from a piece of wood from the railing of the Homeloss. Duncan's strand of hair was stuffed inside it, and it was crudely carved in Duncan's likeness; wearing an old captain's uniform, a grim captain's hat, and sporting a majestic beard.

The overall design of the puppet was somewhat exaggerated, but tastefully so.

Lucresia had spent an entire night making this puppet–For a witch who had crafted an entire “Servant Legion,” such a task was not complicated. This marvel of magic could house a trace of her father's power–Although tiny, it was sufficient to replace a human vessel, allowing the father to open a flame portal near the beacon without increasing the number of “incarnations.”

Her father was reluctant to occupy more bodies to create “incarnations”–Lucresia considered it a good thing, and she was happy to use her expertise to help alleviate the “inconveniences of life” that came with it.

On the deck, the remaining flames of the fiery doorway slowly faded away.

Holding the puppet that resembled Duncan, Lucresia held it up to inspect it in the sunlight and suddenly glanced around like a thief.

Of course, there was no one else here.

So Miss “Witch” withdrew her gaze, moved to a corner, hesitated, and then poked the puppet's head with her finger.

The puppet had no reaction.

She reached out again, poking the puppet's beard and the exaggerated captain's hat – she began to laugh, her face gradually becoming more cheerful.

Suddenly, the puppet raised its head and let out a resigned voice, “Is this amusing to you?”

Lucresia: “…”

After a moment, Rabi, who was coming out of the cabin to report to his mistress, heard a scream like none other, resounding across the whole deck.

The clanging of metal breaking the calm on the deck of the Homeloss.

Duncan looked somewhat helplessly at Alice, who was walking back and forth on deck with her “trophies”, “Give me the box – you can take your 'trophies' to the kitchen first.”

“Oh!”

The puppet happily agreed with a sound and handed the wooden box containing the “Skull of Dreams” to Duncan, itself heading to the kitchen accompanied by a clattering noise.

The cacophony of kitchen knives, spatulas, and ladles gradually faded away.

Duncan, holding the wooden box with the “Skull of Dreams,” watched Alice's joyful departure and, sensing the signals from the artificial beacon in some distant, unknown sea, revealed a subtle and helpless expression on his face. Shaking his head he sighed,
“…Well, as long as she's happy.”

Turning around, he walked toward the stern deck and as he reached the captain's room door, he immediately met the gaze of the goat-headed figure.

It seemed that the goat head had turned its gaze towards the door before he even opened it–now those Obsidian-carved eyes depicted depth, and for the first time, the typically chatty “First Mate” did not start with its headache-inducing ritualistic greeting. Its gaze was fixed on the wooden box in Duncan's hands as if it had a premonition about what was inside.

“It looks like you've sensed it,” Duncan approached the navigational desk, placing the large wooden box on it, “I've brought you a gift.”

Chapter end

Report