Shrouded Seascape

Sparkle looked extremely impatient, and it was Charles' first time seeing such an expression from her. Charles briefly felt like he was no longer familiar with Sparkle.

In his eyes, Sparkle had always been a curious and ignorant little girl. In fact, the last time he saw her, she was exactly like that—ignorant and curious about everything.

Sparkle pursed her red lips. She stepped forward and grabbed Charles' right hand. Then, Charles' surroundings peeled away. When the surroundings stabilized, Charles found himself in a large hall filled with many different machinery.

Anna was in her bloated and deformed true form. Her back was facing Charles and Sparkle as she used hundreds of tentacles to control a colossal machine made out of intricate brass gears.

"If you two have something to say to each other, then say it face to face. I'm not going to be passing on messages between you two from now on. And don't criticize me for my attitude; I just don't want to get involved with my parents' relationship issues!"

With that, a flash of light illuminated the hall, and Sparkle's figure vanished into thin air.

Anna had definitely noticed Sparkle and Charles' arrival, but she acted like she hadn't noticed and heard them as she continued controlling the massive machine in front of her.

It seemed that the machine was custom-made for her, as it perfectly suited her massive true form, which was almost ten meters tall.

Charles pondered briefly over his next course of action before walking up to Anna's side and taking a good look at the machine in front of her. Giant brass gears, pistons, and bearings were interconnected to form this massive structure.

Hot white steam was constantly being shuttled through the brass pipe, producing terrifying noises. The machine seemed to be made out of Gordon's analytical engine and several relics.

They were fused together, becoming a beautiful monstrous machine.

From time to time, there would be a burst of steam and a blackened mass of something would be pushed out of a nearby conveyor belt. Anna would roll it up with her tentacles and stuff it into her mouth.

"Our daughter has grown up," Charles said. He gently patted one of Anna's tentacles, which resembled pillars. The translucent slime enveloping the tentacles slid off the black scales and stuck to his hand.

"By the way, what does this machine do?" Charles asked.

He had just finished speaking when a huge tentacle descended from the sky, swooping toward him. Charles reacted swiftly, and hundreds of invisible tentacles sprouted from the ground, immobilizing the oncoming tentacle.

The massive and bloated, tentacled monster lowered her head and stared at Charles with her eyes the size of a small house.

Anna's ferocious mouth parted, and a harsh, discordant voice reverberated throughout the hall. "So you're still worried about the possibility that I'm taking advantage of Sparkle? What right do you have to worry about her?

"How many times have you seen her since she was born? Since you're so brave, then how about you just stay up there and explore until you die?"

Charles looked up at Anna, and his expression was calm as he said, "Can you transform into your human form? Let's talk properly."

"This is my original form! Why should I accommodate you and change into a human's appearance? If you don't want to see me in my original form, then you can get lost!" Anna roared, sounding really annoyed.

"You know that we don't have the luxury for any arguments, considering our current situation, right? Is our relationship issue more important than the Subterranean Sea? I hope you haven't forgotten, but if the Subterranean Sea becomes submerged, we're all going to die!"

"Ha!" Anna's figure shrank rapidly, transforming into a gorgeous figure. Her proud face sneered at Charles as she said, "So you're saying that I've become humanity's sinner just because I didn't respond to your call that one time?

"You're quite skilled at pushing the blame onto others."

"The Pope went up there and ambushed us! Lily was taken away by him! It could have been completely avoided if you had just responded to me!" Charles exclaimed.

"Whose fault is that? Is it my fault? It's your fault! It seems that you're under the impression that I'm a weapon at your beck and call. I never said that I'd be playing that role for you!

"If you really want to keep exploring that place and seek your own death, then go ahead. I don't care!" Anna replied, sounding agitated.

Then, she added, "Everything could have been avoided! If you had just stayed down here, none of that would have happened! There are so many explorers up there. So what if you're not there? Will there be a massive difference?

"It's all your fault; you have your crew's blood on your hands."

The voices of the two got louder and louder, and if there were someone else here, they'd assume that the two were arguing.

"But I have to be up there! I'm the leader of the explorers! I'm probably the best explorer throughout the entire Subterranean Sea! I have to stay up there so that everyone will bravely forge ahead!"

Anna seemed to find Charles' words to be quite laughable. "Fine, go ahead. I'm sure your subordinates have already told you about what I've been doing. Since you're going to stay up there, then everything down here is mine. What I do is none of your business. If you think you're strong enough, then stay here and stop me."

Anna's words made Charles' scalp go numb. He stared right into Anna's eyes and exclaimed, "You better not cross the line. Don't forget our identity!"

"What identity are you talking about? The Governor of Hope Island? Wrong! I'm a man-eating monster! I'm very certain about my own identity!"

"Why are you always like this? Can we talk properly for once?"

"Talk properly? It's you who's not talking properly here! This is all your fault! I've had enough of you! Do you really think that this is just a one-time mistake on your end? No! You've made the same mistakes again and again; I've simply gotten tired of it!"

Anna's fair skin cracked open, and she began emanating an unsettling aura.

Charles realized just then that this wasn't a great time for them to talk. At this rate, they'd end up fighting each other, so he took two steps backward and said, "Sparkle, take me back."

A radiant white light enveloped Charles, and he disappeared into thin air.

Seeing the empty space before her, Anna erupted in fury. Her writhing tentacles lashed out in all directions as she vented out her anger.

Meanwhile, Charles found himself on Annarles Island, and he saw Sparkle next to him. He reached out and stroked Sparkle's silky long hair. "What's wrong with Anna? How can she be so illogical?"

Sparkle revealed a helpless look as she said, "What logic are you talking about when you're dealing with a woman? When a woman is unhappy, you should just comfort her.

"Huh?"

Sparkle reached out and patted Charles on the shoulder before adding, "Mommy is just being stubborn. Don't you think that this issue will be resolved if you yield and promise her that it won't happen again?"

"Why is she being stubborn? We're dealing with matters that concern the future of the entire Subterranean Sea here. The seawater is slowly submerging everything! How can she be so petty and stubborn, considering our situation?"

A dumbfounded look spread across Sparkle's adorable face. "It's because she's your wife! She's neither your subordinate nor your enemy! Why have you been treating her as if she were your subordinate?"

Charles was immediately stunned by Sparkle's words. Really? Have I really been treating her like that?

Charles fell into deep contemplation, but he quickly emerged from it and stared at Sparkle.

"Did Anna do something like absorbing the power inside of you?"

"Of course she hasn't done anything like that. Our power stems from Edikth, and she can't absorb it at all!" Sparkle replied.

Charles was greatly taken aback, and then his heart became filled with overwhelming anger toward Swann.

How dare he lie to me?! Charles was furious, but he was relieved upon realizing that his assumption was actually just a misunderstanding. It turned out Anna was still the same old Anna. She hadn't changed at all.