studiobondurri Chapter 792: A Different Funeral
Chapter 792: A Different Funeral
Chapter 792: A Different Funeral
The crew of the Narwhale had already gathered at the cemetery on Hope Island. All of them were dressed in somber dark clothes as they stood quietly before the open grave. A coffin lay within; another comrade had left them.
The coffin belonged to Tobba, though his body wasn't in there. His remains, alongside SITE 2, had been swallowed by the inky black sea.
Inside the coffin was a set of Tobba's old clothes and an assortment of odd trinkets—that seemed like trash to everyone else—he had collected.
A faint sound caught Dipp's attention. He turned toward the entrance and called out, "Captain, you're here!"
The other crew members turned their heads toward the entrance. Charles, dressed completely in black and supported by Anna, slowly approached them.
Charles' gaze swept over each familiar face before settling on the expressionless face of his first mate.
"Let me preside over the ceremony," Charles said.
Bandages, also dressed in black, nodded in silence before handing the prayer scroll in his hands to Charles.
Charles gently pushed Anna's hand away and limped toward the coffin.
He positioned himself at the head of the grave and was just about to speak when a sharp, furious, female voice interrupted.
"Scram! You're the one who got 177 killed! You have no right to preside over his funeral!"
The voice belonged to 134. Tears were streaming down her young face as she entered the cemetery while clutching a small stone box to her chest. Following behind her was the portly "King" in a wheelchair and the green centipede with a long tail.
Charles didn't want to cause a scene, not here, not now. Holding the prayer scroll between two fingers, he sent it twirling through the air toward 134.
The next moment, "King's" skin cracked open and a deformed insect burst forth and leaped onto the prayer scroll in the air, tearing it into shreds. Bits of paper fluttered down like broken leaves in the wind.
"This is Tobba's funeral," Charles said in a low voice. "If you want to throw a tantrum, pick a more appropriate time and place!"
Even though Charles hadn't raised his volume, 134 didn't dare to not listen and heed his words. Charles was no longer the same Charles who had infiltrated Sottom to steal maps a couple of years ago. Now, their roles had long been reversed with Charles wielding more strength than her.
134's lips parted, but eventually, she closed them again without saying a word. She silently walked toward the coffin, stood on tiptoes, and placed the stone box gently atop the coffin.
She then opened the box and placed a hand in to press a button. The item within emitted a green glow—it was an old tablet that belonged to the previous generation of the Foundation.
134 tapped a few more times on the surface and to Charles’ surprise, an all-too-familiar face appeared on the screen.
"Captain, do you have dementia? Did you forget what I just told you earlier? Go get Red Romance here!"
Charles was speechless. But as per the deceased's own request for his funeral, Charles eventually agreed to Tobba's series of demands.
Soon, a plush red carpet was laid out on the obsidian floor of the cemetery. Tables were brought in and piled high with food, wine, and cigarettes that anyone could take at their discretion.
Charles grabbed a bottle of wine and took a heart swig as he glanced over to look at the so-called Red Romance.
Red Romance was a group that comprised four voluptuous women. Scantily clad, they stood atop Tobba's coffin as they sang risque tunes with sexually explicit lyrics while swaying their bodies seductively to the beat.
Charles wasn't shocked in the slightest. After all, he had spent plenty of time in the dockside bars during his earlier days in the Subterranean Sea. Singers there were usually this brazen. In fact, there would even be those who were willing to pay extra for "private concerts" after they were done with their performance slot.
Tobba's demands had dramatically shifted the once somber and serious mood of the funeral to becoming downright festive. The grief in everyone was almost completely washed away and by the end, the atmosphere seemed to have grown a little too lively for a funeral.
"Oh yeah, Kasha! Shake those hips a little more! Yeah! That's it! That's what I'm talking about!" Tobba's face on the screen was flushed with excitement as he danced along with Red Romance.
"Honestly, this isn't too bad," Dipp remarked as he sidled up to Charles with a square glass of whiskey in his hand. "If I die, I want to do this for my funeral too."
Charles raised the bottle in his hand and filled Dipp's glass to the brim. "Deep Dwellers are immortal. I'm afraid that day will never come."
Dipp shrugged. "It's okay; I have it all thought out. Once my wife dies, I will just kill myself too. No way am I sticking around like the first mate." Clearly, Dipp was rather calm about death, even if he was talking about his own.
Charles clinked his bottle against the rim of Dipp's glass before turning to look at Tobba on the screen. Tobba was still partying and in high spirits.
"Sure. When that time comes, pick a spot here too. The more, the merrier," Charles remarked.
Just then, Tobba's voice boomed from the tablet once more. However, he wasn't talking to Charles; his instructions were directed at the live band.
"Louder! I need louder music! Give me the wildest music ever!"
The conductor instinctively glanced toward Charles as a gesture of seeking approval. Upon seeing Charles nod slightly, he immediately signaled his fellow musicians before he took a deep breath. Then, he pressed his trumpet to his lips, and a high-energy, fast-paced tune exploded into the air and reverberated through the cemetery.
Cosyjuhye's Thoughts
Tobba????