Enki Town is near Desi Bay, close to the Sea, so Lex knew many shells.
Therefore.
Now, looking at the Sailor in front of him, he couldn't help but count: "Five-clawed conch, pearl oyster, helmet conch, clam, long-nosed conch, and even a jewel top shell?"
Yes.
Under the crimson moonlight, many shells grew on this Sailor's face, chest, arms, and other places. Those things clustered together, densely attached to the Sailor's body, and the Sailor himself seemed unaware of it, feeling nothing amiss.
Furthermore, besides being covered in shells, Lex also saw corals and large Sea cockroaches crawling between his body, with a few even drilling into his mouth and emerging from the corners of his eyes.
What happened to him?
What was going on?
Suddenly, Lex thought of a terrifying word: Pollution!
This Sailor in front of him seemed to be polluted by extraordinary power.
"Quick, get back on the ship!"
Lex made a decisive decision, telling the Sailor to leave the sinking and eerie sailboat.
The other Sailors didn't dare to be brave either, retreating one after another to the small boat.
As Lex walked back, he heard a weak voice repeatedly saying a single word: "Celeste, Celeste."
Raising his lantern, Lex looked in the direction of the voice. It was a middle-aged man. He seemed to be the Captain of this ship, wearing a boat-shaped hat and a double-breasted coat over a black jacket and white linen shirt.
He sat on the ground, completely distraught, his eyes unfocused, repeatedly muttering that word of unknown meaning.
Fortunately, there were no shells, no corals, and no segmented, large Sea cockroaches crawling all over his face.
"Who are you?"
Lex mustered his spirituality and shouted loudly.
The man trembled all over, then his eyes began to focus, and he looked up at Lex: "Who am I? I am Houston, I am the Captain. Yes, that's right, I am Captain Houston."
"Very good, Mr. Houston, what happened to you? How did your ship become like this? Were you attacked by pirates?" Lex continued to ask, but didn't expect him to answer completely.
The Captain narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured, "What happened? How did my ship become like this? I remember, we were going to the South Continent. Everything was normal today. Old Wake even said with such good weather, we might catch some trout."
"But in the afternoon, in the afternoon..."
Houston's eyes began to show fear. His teeth chattered as he said in broken sentences: "It came, it appeared. It came from the Sea, it emerged from the abyss. It took poor Old Wake and many, many others away."
"I know they'll never come back. They have to serve on that until their lives are gone, until they turn to dry bones, only then will it let them go."
"That's a devil, a devil from the Sea!"
The Captain suddenly lunged up. As he stood, Lex's heart immediately sank. The seemingly normal old Captain, but from his waist down, from beneath his long coat, what emerged were not legs, but dark red tentacles, writhing with mucus and with suckers like an octopus.
Lex immediately raised Blood Praise, aimed at Houston's head, and fired a shot.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, and the Captain's head was much more fragile than a normal person's, like a seemingly hard but actually fragile shell, a piece of which was easily blown off by the bullet.
His boat-shaped hat flew off, and from his hair, from Houston's blown-open head, segmented black Sea cockroaches crawled out. They crawled down the deck like a tide, then scattered in all directions.
These insects, with long antennae and multiple pairs of legs, made a hair-raising sound as they crawled in swarms.
Lex almost wanted to throw a fireball, but ultimately held back, only firing a few shots at the Sea cockroaches crawling towards him. After killing a few, the other insects didn't dare to run in his direction.
Looking back at the fallen Houston, looking into the gap in his head, his brain was almost hollowed out, which made Lex unable to understand how he was able to speak and think just now.
After all, his brain was gone!
The gunshot attracted Ken's attention on the Wavebreaker, and the Captain yelled across: "What happened!"
Lex turned back and shouted: "I'll tell you later, I'm coming back now."
He returned to the small boat, and a moment later, boarded the deck of the Wavebreaker, then fully recounted everything he had seen and heard.
"Celeste?"
Ken's face was not good, and he grabbed Lex, saying: "Are you sure that person said the word 'Celeste'?"
Lex nodded: "I don't think I misheard, Captain. What is Celeste?"
"A ship, a cursed ship."
Ken roared at the Sailors on the deck: "Go, prepare the cannons, and sink that ship for me. The people on board have been polluted and turned into monsters. Let them rest in peace."
After a flurry of activity from the Sailors, the roar of cannons sounded. Shells struck the opposing sailboat, sending splinters flying, completely destroying the ship's structure, and accelerating its descent into the Sea.
As the sailboat sank, the Sailor, still pulling the mast ropes, covered in coral and shells, continued his previous actions until his body was submerged in the seawater and disappeared.
In the Captain's Cabin.
Lex was playing with a model sailboat when he heard Ken say: "Roger, you must have heard of Celeste, right?"
The Boatswain nodded: "Anyone active on the Sea has probably heard the legend of Celeste."
"Legend has it that Celeste appears on the Sea periodically. This cursed ship constantly searches for its Captain. Until it finds its 'Captain', the ships it attacks, and the Sailors, crew, and even passengers on board will be enslaved by it."
"Those people will spend the rest of their lives on the ship, working day and night. But no matter how tiring the work, they will not die, because Celeste grants them vigorous vitality."
"They must stay on the ship for a hundred years before they can end their work, sink to the bottom of the Sea, and die peacefully."
Ken, puffing on a cigar, added: "Also, if Celeste finds its Captain, and the Captain is willing to free them, they can also leave."
Lex asked curiously: "Is it a ghost ship?"
"No, worse than that. The ship Celeste itself is a monster."
Ken leaned back in his high-backed chair: "From rumors collected from various places, the surface of Celeste is no different from an ordinary battleship. It has triple main guns, multiple cannon decks, masts, and sails. However, in certain places on this ship, flesh and blood tissue can be seen. It can enslave humans, and even other non-human creatures. Even undead and Zombie are among its slaves."
"Besides that..."