Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

If the Pirate King had been blown up or injured, that would have still been within Hughes' expectations—nothing more than an issue of adjusting the explosive yield.

But *completely unharmed*?

Could it be cognitive interference?

No, impossible. Cognitive interference only existed in one's own creations. Otherwise, those monsters wouldn't recognize bullets either, yet they still left behind corpses all over the place.

This was already beyond Hughes' understanding.

『Monica, do you know why this happened?』

『I don't know. If it were me, I'd definitely be injured by that bomb. I even felt the shockwave just now. The effect was seriously overwhelming.』

During the explosion, Monica had been in the seawater, much closer than Castel, so the blast impact on her had been far stronger.

And yet, the Pirate King remained completely unscathed.

She understood the extraordinary world far better than he did. Maybe she could give him some advice. Perhaps it was time to help her find a body.

Last time, Richard had mentioned that Chloe was already dead. Unless a new body was found, she wouldn't be able to stay in the chrysalis for long.

An empty shell...

When Richard had mentioned this, Hughes suddenly remembered something. He had once conducted an experiment with Chloe in the church, trying to use the special nature of the **Chrysalis** to purify the pollution inside her. At that time, Chloe had suddenly lost control. If it hadn't been for the restorative power of the **Symbiotic Contract**, his arm might not have been saved.

When he had pulled his hand out, a word had suddenly flashed through his mind—**"shell"**.

This left a deep impression on Hughes. He remembered it clearly, but had never understood why that word had come to mind.

Later, it suddenly occurred to him—could this be another ability granted by the Symbiotic Contract?

Hughes casually picked up a pen from the table.

**[Steel] [Gray Goose Feather]**

These were the materials making up the quill. Whatever he touched, a corresponding list of materials would appear in his mind.

At first glance, it seemed like a powerful ability. But in practice, it wasn't quite as useful.

For example, when Hughes touched the outer skin of an airship—something created by the extraordinary abilities of the Moths Chasing Fire—the analysis result was: **[???]**

Nothing at all.

In other words, he could only analyze things he understood.

That was a bit awkward. He had tried touching many things, like the core furnace of Castel, but only managed to decipher a few runes he had seen before. The rest were all unknown.

He had originally thought that the biggest use of this ability was to analyze metal components—just a little help for materials science. But when he recalled that memory—

Back then, he had successfully analyzed Chloe's body as a **"shell"**.

That meant that when Chloe had lost control, her body was indeed a **shell**, matching Richard's description. The true soul of the Moths Chasing Fire was actually inside the chrysalis. Once control was lost, the body and soul were completely separated.

So, as long as he found something that appeared as a **"shell"** when he touched it, Chloe could inhabit it.

After greeting the Moths Chasing Fire guards, Hughes opened his diary. He skillfully used a small knife to slice open the back of his hand and, before the Contract's healing kicked in, began to write on the diary with his own blood.

**[Chloe?]**

〖Since I'm still alive, you must not have used the chrysalis, right?〗

**[Yes. Something unexpected happened on Monica's side. In short, the seawater has already receded.]**

〖The seawater receded? Then killing the monster from the Pirate King's Court shouldn't be too difficult anymore, right? So why are you still coming to me? I advise you not to entertain any other ideas. I'm already dead. Don't try to revive me.〗

Her writing paused for a moment, then gradually reappeared on the diary.

〖Hughes, Castel still has a long road ahead. Forget me. My story has already ended.〗

Hughes let out a soft sigh and moved the pen across the paper:

**[Not yet. I still need your help—the bomb seems to have no effect on that monster. It came out of the explosion completely unharmed.]**

〖Unharmed?〗

Chloe's handwriting grew heavier. Hughes could feel her surprise between the lines.

〖Tell me everything that happened. Don't leave out any details.〗

Hughes nodded and began writing with the quill, documenting in meticulous detail everything that had happened between Castel and Monica over the past couple of days.

The quill brushed across the paper with a faint rustling sound.

**[...That's how it is. Although we didn't use the chrysalis, Monica still managed to lower the sea level. The monster is no longer a threat to us, but for now, we have no way to kill the Pirate King.]**

〖I see... I see... So that's the truth. We're actually inside the Sea Temple. No wonder the Candlelight Emblem's Keeper Council didn't respond at all. And that Empress just died like that. What a bitter irony... The Empire has lost its sea passage.〗

〖Ugh, this is a mess. I've never been good at analyzing situations.〗

The writing paused.

〖In any case, if I'm not mistaken, it's already crossed the line and become a forbidden existence. No wonder even the Heretical God I summoned with my life had no effect on it.〗

**[So now it can't be killed with a bomb?]**

〖Not just bombs—it can't be harmed by anything now. Even if you throw it into magma, it won't be hurt in the slightest.〗

Hughes' hand trembled.

**[Then it's unbeatable? Are we supposed to just run away?]**

〖Not necessarily. I do have a solution... but the cost might be a bit high.〗

A steep cost?

Even when Chloe had asked him to use the chrysalis, she hadn't said it came at a high cost. That meant this time it *really* was steep. Likely something Castel couldn't afford.

Hughes sighed: **[Then I'd better think of another way.]**

This time he really was troubled. The Pirate King was immune to physical attacks?

Then what could they use to fight?

On Hughes' side, there was only Monica, who had mysteriously gained the Sea God's soul. But she didn't actually receive any of the Sea God's powers. Monica had told him that controlling seawater was already her limit.

But the Pirate King had absorbed all the pollution from the Storm Ocean. There was no way to contend with that!

Wait a minute—pollution?

Suddenly, Hughes' eyes lit up. He didn't know much about the extraordinary world, but when it came to **pollution**, he was an expert!

For example, he could purify pollution just by making contact. Even his blood had that effect.

Purifying all of the Storm Ocean's pollution sounded outrageous, but Hughes had even purified a Heretical God—so maybe it wasn't impossible.

However, that wasn't what he was thinking about now.

A rather crazy idea suddenly popped into his head:

"If it's pollution... then can it be used?"

"Like—"

"Burning it?"