Captain – Chapter 394 – Right and Wrong, True and False

It was indeed too late.

In the moment when the sword couldn’t be withdrawn and Vivian turned back in bewilderment, Roy had already knelt down on one knee and pressed her hand upon the approaching magic box.

If the captain had hesitated at the final moment like the “old pirate,” needing to discern the fleeting thoughts in her heart, perhaps there might have been a turning point.

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t.

Captain Roy would never change her mind because of someone else’s words, whether it was First Mate Isaac or her ancestor.

With golden eyes reflecting the shimmering patterns on the magic box that seemed so real, the young woman released the curved blade in her hand, letting it slide away with the wind and rain, then immediately drew out the goddess statue from her waist without any hesitation.

As if sensing the arrival of the key, the magic box finally began to change.

The wave patterns engraved on the box lid began to rotate like a whirlpool, with lightning and stormy weather faintly visible within. Meanwhile, the octagonal box lid gradually separated along the patterns as it rotated.

In just a moment, a pitch-black abyss appeared in the center of the lid.

That bottomless abyss seemed to possess a strange magical power, firmly capturing one’s gaze, causing people to fall into it unconsciously.

But the scene within was not terrifying.

Threads of light danced gently within, and at their source was a brilliant, bright starry sky, as if silently telling the origin of the world, the source of all living beings, which was…

Another sea, named Rules.

The starlight was so gentle, so abundant, it almost overshadowed the flames in the captain’s eyes—no, it should be said that it enveloped them, as gently as an embrace.

At this moment, she seemed to return to the iceberg.

Once again stepping onto that seemingly endless divine path, but this time, she was not greeted by cold winds and snow, but by a colorful world.

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There were the four seasons, wind and frost, rain and snow, joy and sorrow, sweetness and bitterness, no different from the real world, no different from what mortals experience.

And so she understood that this was how the path walked by deities appeared.

They too would rejoice, and also feel sorrow, having feelings for everything in the world, rarely transgressing constraints, completely different from devils.

Just as the holy book said, God loves all people.

At least more than devils do.

This was not some bewitching persuasion, nor was it the deity’s will at work, but rather the truth revealed by the magic box, more real than anything else.

Suddenly, thunder roared, startling the dazed young woman.

From the moment the magic box began to change, Roy’s mind had fallen into that sea of stars until she comprehended the true nature of divinity and was called back to the present world by the thunder. It seemed like a very long time had passed, but in reality, it was only a fleeting moment.

And that thunder was not the end, but only the beginning.

After that, as if sensing the approach of the final moment, the requiem played by the magic box gradually faded, replaced by endless thunder.

Lightning tore through the night, intense electric light spreading like a tide, illuminating the eternal night of the far north as bright as day, just like the scene on the box lid.

If someone could look down from the sky and see the whole picture, they would be surprised to discover that the world on the box lid was actually this very world.

At this time, around the Mermaid, the sea surface illuminated by lightning was twisting and roaring, forming an endless whirlpool.

That was true heavenly might, more magnificent than what the devil’s methods could create.

The center of that whirlpool was the Mermaid.

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The center of the Mermaid was Roy.

Everything was as if ordained by fate.

At the center of that whirlpool of fate, time seemed to stand still, sound seemed to disappear, and the captain could only hear her own gradually slowing breath and heartbeat, watching the goddess statue slowly approaching the magic box.

She would not, as the devil had said, draw the short blade to pierce through that shackle.

Abandoning the devil, granting him eternal sleep, this had always been the young woman’s determination. Despite everything she had experienced, it had never changed.

That kinship, that warmth, those promises that came from the devil’s mouth, from beginning to end, were never within her consideration.

In fact, Edward had guessed one thing wrong.

Among the three questions Roy asked, the most important was indeed the third, but the least important was how to help him escape the seal.

After all… she would never choose that.

As for the reason, her reason for not willing to help him was actually very simple—it was those blood feuds hidden beneath the warmth, impossible to wash away.

He said he had never manipulated her fate.

But could he evade responsibility for her father’s departure, never to return, which led to countless tragedies? Could he pretend it had nothing to do with him?

Moreover, he had lied when she raised the question about her father.

A tremendous lie.

And this was just one of the irreconcilable reasons between her and her ancestor.

Others, like the revenge she promised Caine, her concern for the Great Captain’s safety, her disapproval of his extermination of the siren race, the hardships she had endured along the way—these were simply too numerous to count.

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Oh, come to think of it, that devil had indeed treated her quite well, saving her life several times, but was that really because of love and care?

Probably not.

It was only because she was his most perfect child, the most important tool to escape the eternal prison, so she couldn’t die easily.

That was all.

Since you are unwilling to let go, then leave, depart from my world.

This was the last thought in the young woman’s mind before her racing thoughts stopped.

After that, the wooden carving finally touched the magic box, falling into the abyss at the center of the whirlpool, falling onto that starry sky, like a door and a lock.

Just as the “old pirate” had said, when she reached the final moment, she would naturally know what to do, know how to open it.

The change produced in the magic box by the key was the way to open it.

This was also what Roy instinctively sensed.

But such an ending could not be considered good.

The captain was unwilling to side with the devil, nor did she have the transcendent dagger mentioned by Isaac, nor had she been granted power by the Lady. So these two paths were naturally impassable, and she could only choose the last one.

That was to open the magic box, allowing the great power to return to the deity.

This way, Captain Edward would lose his magical power, returning to mortality, and might even be eroded into ashes by the flowing of time.

And the Lady would once again become a lofty, transcendent being.

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But even so, she probably wouldn’t do anything to harm Roy.

This was what Roy was willing to believe, and at least could guarantee, after knowing the true nature of divinity through the starry sky in the magic box.

After all, I’ve made amends for my errors, haven’t I?

After completing everything, Roy released the magic box, rising as it floated, but still keeping her head slightly lowered, her eyes full of weariness.

She thought self-mockingly, her body gradually relaxing, feeling that it was finally over.

However…

The sounds around were returning, the rain still falling rapidly, the thunder now less frequent, but no human voices could be heard.

None at all.

Roy turned around somewhat bewilderedly, casting her gaze toward the man who was gradually stopping, no longer moving forward, who should have been overjoyed.

Then, she saw his eyes.

Those brown eyes that had always been gentle were now filled with various emotions—disbelief, confusion, relief, anguish, but in the end, only desolation remained.

A desolation like despair.

“Meow.”

A cat’s meow came from somewhere.

Still relaxed and languid, but with more appreciation, as if satisfied with this performance.