Craving Cotton

The ship was quiet. Aside from the soft sound of broken waves occasionally lapping through the open windows, the only noises in the cabins came from the faint hum of the distant engine room and piping systems—the majority of people seemed to have left this area, and even those who remained were probably staying cautiously and quietly inside their rooms.

This silence could even give one the illusion of "safety." If not for the occasional faint scent of blood, a reckless and ignorant visitor would likely never imagine this place was a nest occupied by cultists.

But Lucretia knew that the ship's master had probably already noticed her "visit."

Because she could feel hostility spreading toward her throughout the ship, a powerful awareness repeatedly "scanning" every corridor and cabin here.

She raised the small "baton" in her hand and traced several symbols glowing with faint light through the air, temporarily cutting off the flow of her presence.

Rabbit Rabbi stood cautiously beside her. Though the doll's appearance was horrifying, it was now looking around nervously. After watching for quite some time, it finally could not help asking in a low voice, "Did the old master not come with you?"

Lucretia lowered her head and glanced at it. "Do you want to see him already?"

The rabbit immediately shuddered. "No, no, no! Rabbi was just curious. Rabbi doesn't want to..."

"Father will come later, but I need to help him 'clean up' this filthy place first." Lucretia found the rabbit's reaction amusing, but did not continue teasing it. "He needs some living Annihilation Cultists for some kind of... communication ritual. But if he descended here himself, there probably would not be any survivors left."

The rabbit doll listened with only partial understanding. After a while, it suddenly blurted out, "Oh, oh,