Ashes Of Deep Sea - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Alice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Duncan felt he could not forget this scene for his entire life. A beautifully decorated coffin rose and fell with the waves on the bizarre, boundless ocean. A goth doll, which seemed to be possessed by a mysterious power, sat upright in the coffin. As it rode the waves, it embraced a gigantic coffin cover in its arms.

The doll did not appear happy.

No matter how one looked at this, this was unnatural. For a moment, Duncan did not know whether he should be astonished that the cursed doll was moving or at her imposing manner as she held the coffin cover. He felt that this scene was in stark contrast to what he had imagined in the beginning. He had imagined many scenarios of how the other party got back onto his ship. However, he never imagined such a scene.

While Duncan was momentarily stunned, the doll had already approached the Lost Home.

Even though she used a coffin cover as an oar, her rowing speed was astonishing. She also had eerie agility and strength. Duncan carefully stuck his head out of the observation port. He saw the doll chuck the coffin cover back into the coffin. She then grabbed a piece of wood from the ship’s stern and rapidly climbed up. She moved nimbly and swiftly as though an invisible rope was guiding her. As for the heavy-looking coffin, it eerily floated up from the ocean. It floated beside the doll as though it was weightless.

Duncan hurriedly retreated into the ship before the doll noticed him.

As for the doll, she had not discovered that the captain of this ghost ship was observing her from the shadows. She climbed up the stern of the Lost Home in the blink of an eye and landed on the deck with a somersault. She then waved a finger in the air, and the floating coffin beside her firmly landed at her feet. She then looked around, seemingly checking her surroundings. After she confirmed that there was no one about, she quickly tidied up her wet clothes and began to climb into the coffin.

As she climbed into her coffin, she was blocked by a pirate sword suddenly appearing from the side. Next, she heard the rattling sound of a flintlock hammer being locked in place.

The doll instantly froze. She turned her head and saw a ghost captain wrapped in green flames standing beside her and staring at her. The ice-cold voice that seemed to come from deep within the Spirit World said, “Oh, I’ve caught you, doll.”

Before Duncan’s eyes, the doll trembled. She seemed to be in shock. She instinctively wanted to dodge to the side, but her movements were a bit off in her haste. Her upper body shook, and Duncan heard a crisp cracking sound coming from her neck.

Then, her head fell off.

The doll’s beautiful head fell off her body right before Duncan’s eyes. Her silver hair scattered in the ocean breeze and wrapped around her head as it rolled to Duncan’s feet. Her body remained beside the coffin in an escaping pose. She grabbed out at the air with one hand, as her head helplessly stared at Duncan and muttered, “Help…help…help.”

Duncan’s heart stopped beating. Although he suspected that his heart no longer existed after he was burnt by the ghost flame, witnessing the scene of the doll’s head still shook him. The ghost flame masked his astonished expression. The doll treated his momentary hesitation due to shock as some form of cold treatment. She did not notice that the terrifying Captain Duncan was even more nervous than she was. She repeated, saying, “Help…help…my head…has fallen off.”

Duncan finally reacted. He calmed his imaginary heart and tried his hardest to control his movements and voice. After observing the doll as calmly as he could for a while, he confirmed that although this cursed doll was bizarre in many ways, compared to her strange nature, she was more afraid of him as a ghost captain.

Duncan realized that he had to keep his cool when he understood this.

He still did not understand how this world worked. He was even less familiar with this cursed doll. Before he could completely control the situation, he relied the most on his identity as the terrifying Captain Duncan to guarantee his safety.

On the other hand, he could not just leave this doll alone. Although events had developed beyond his initial predictions, the doll had finally interacted with him.

He put away his flintlock gun but held his sword with his other hand. In close quarters, a flintlock gun with only one shot was clearly not as reliable as a sword. Moreover, the marksmanship he practiced in a hurry could not make him a seasoned marksman. He then used his free hand to grab the doll’s head that had fallen to the floor.

This sensation was too strange. Even though the other party was just a cursed doll, grabbing someone’s head made Duncan feel uncomfortable. The slight warmth from the head nearly made him throw it away.

This was too unnatural and strange.

In the end, he managed to suppress his discomfort. He calmly looked at the head and asked, “Do you need me to help you put your head back on?”

“I… I… I…”

“Alright, you can do it yourself,” Duncan said as he nodded. He then passed the head to the doll’s hand that was fumbling around.

He watched as the doll received her head skillfully and dexterously. She even tidied up her disheveled silver hair while she was at it. After adjusting the angle, she placed her head on her neck. With a crisp crack, the ball socket joint snapped into place.

The entire process went smoothly. This was clearly not the first time this had occurred.

Next, the doll’s somewhat stiff face suddenly loosened up. She blinked and let out a long sigh, “Phew, I survived.”

Duncan was speechless.

No matter how he looked at this scene, he felt he needed to quip. However, when he recalled his Captain Duncan persona and the fact that the many details about the doll were unknown, in the end, he could only nod expressionlessly at the doll, “Very well. Now, come with me. You have come aboard my ship many times. We need to talk.”

As he said this, the ghost flame that engulfed his body dissipated, and he returned to his original appearance.

He mastered the ability to actively switch into his astral form when he grabbed hold of the Lost Home’s helm. However, this was still something he had come in contact with in a hurry. He could not consider himself familiar with this ability for now, let alone use it as he pleased. Aside from steering the ship, he did not even know what other functions this ghost flame had. Just now, he had unleashed the ghost flame merely to leave an impression of strength on this strange, cursed doll and psyche himself up.

Now that his impression had already been established and the doll was very cooperative, it was unnecessary to continue maintaining the burning flame and expending his energy.

The cursed doll obediently stood up from the coffin. She then watched in astonishment as Duncan returned to his human form. Wide-eyed, she asked, “You…you are not a spirit?”

Duncan looked at her indifferently and answered, “I can become one when I need to.”

The doll held her head with one hand. There seemed to be a look of respect in her gaze.

Duncan did not know what had impressed her. However, from the looks of it, her head did not seem secure. It might have nearly fallen off again from her bewilderment.

He turned and walked towards the captain’s quarters. Through his real-time connection with the Lost Home, he could sense that the doll followed behind him obediently after hesitating for a second or two.

The beautiful but strange coffin floated close behind the doll as he expected. It seemed to follow her wherever she went.

After a short while, Duncan brought the cursed doll to the captain’s quarters.

Under the lingering gaze of the wooden goat head, the ghost captain and the cursed doll sat on opposite sides of the nautical table. Duncan sat in his black armchair. The doll sat across from him, treating her coffin as a seat. She sat gracefully on the wooden crate.

She was indeed elegant and dignified. When she sat down on the wooden crate quietly dressed in a gothic dress with her silver hair loose, she appeared very noble and beautiful, like a work of art that should be placed in a palace and guarded.

Unfortunately, when Duncan looked at her, he immediately recalled the scene of this doll riding the waves and her head falling off.

He sighed and returned to his cold, indifferent, and authoritative manner. He stared the doll in the eyes and asked, “Name?”

“Alice.”

“Race?”

“Doll.”

“Job?”

“Doll. Why are you asking these questions?”

Duncan thought about it and replied, “To establish some basic understanding.”