Captain – Chapter 395 – The Greatest of the Great

The requiem stopped, the siren’s song ceased, the whirlpool stilled, the sudden wind disappeared, only the cold rain remained, continuing to fall, growing heavier.

When the emotions in his eyes all returned to desolation, Isaac seemed to age many years in an instant, wrinkles climbing across his face, his appearance more weathered.

This was not merely an impression.

From the moment the magic box and the key connected, the great power hidden within him, which had once made his life worse than death, began to gradually flow away.

Like an hourglass unsealed and flowing again, the time that had been imprisoned by boundless magic power started moving once more, stealing away his years bit by bit.

The “old pirate” was truly growing old.

Perhaps in just a moment, one of the world’s greatest figures would be swallowed by the abyss of time, dispersing without a trace like dust.

A sigh arose from nowhere.

Like an invisible butterfly, it floated from an unknown origin, fluttering and wandering above the Mermaid, finally settling gently by Roy’s ear.

That sigh contained too many emotions, complex and vast like the sea, hiding countless secrets, far beyond what ordinary people could understand.

But somehow, the young woman understood.

It was a lament for the endless flow of time, disappointment in her final choice, reluctance to part with an old friend, the loneliness of walking alone, sadness, guilt, weariness, tiredness, and…

Satisfaction.

True satisfaction.

In that moment, Roy felt a chill throughout her body, cold to the core. She used all her strength to turn her stiffened body around.

Then, she looked at the magic box.

By now, there were no gentle flowing lights or brilliant starry skies; everything had dimmed. Even the pure white wooden box and the goddess statue seemed to have lost their vitality, leaving only a withering dark gray.

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A dark gray symbolizing death.

Oh, no, at least on the wooden carving, the last radiance still remained.

At the corner of the goddess statue’s eye, starlight as fine as dust, brilliant and bright, was dissipating, like the final starlight before the eternal night fell.

It was a tear, a divine tear.

It had been imprisoned for hundreds and thousands of years, but even in the end, what awaited it was not freedom or release, but an abyss of despair too deep to see the bottom.

So, the heavy shackle had never at any moment fallen upon the devil; from beginning to end, it had only been used to imprison the divine tear.

Only when it completed its “mission” was it granted ridiculous mercy.

Then… what about her?

When she turned back and saw First Mate Isaac’s eyes, the captain had already understood everything, seeing the tragic truth.

She knew she had been deceived by him.

She knew everything was false.

She knew that from the beginning, her ancestor—no, that devil—had never trusted her, or rather, he simply didn’t need to trust her at all.

For a tool, a chess piece, why bother with feelings?

What a grand scheme it was.

After knowing the outcome, Roy looked back at her past life, at those magnificent scenes, unable to feel any trace of reality.

She could only see a shadow, suspended high above her head, deep as night.

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Now it seemed, perhaps it wasn’t just her.

Even her parents, those close to her, even Isaac and the Lady, were all dancers prepared by him for this grand play.

Countless fates intertwined, endless truths and falsehoods entangled, raising boundless storms, constructing a thousand-year chess game, finally creating this killing move.

However, what was incredibly unexpected was that this move was not aimed at the deity.

It was aimed at her.

With such deep schemes, such cold indifference, making countless great beings, including the deity, dance to his tune, Captain Edward truly deserved…

To be called the greatest of the great.

Finally, the divine tear was exhausted.

The goddess statue no longer radiated light, lifeless, but in the next moment, it suddenly began to rotate, slowly spinning as if dancing.

The octagonal box lid, which had remained motionless since the key approached and the requiem ceased, now began to rotate again.

And so there was music once more.

But that song was not like the requiem, gentle and soothing, lulling one to sleep; instead, it was profoundly melancholy and sorrowful, causing listeners to shed tears without reason.

It was a dirge of grief.

Roy did not cry, nor did she hear any weeping.

It was as if the sleeping song still lingered; the people and “ghosts” on the Mermaid and Death Silence still showed no movement, but this time it was not slumber.

It was true stagnation.

Along with the world.

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The warship no longer advanced, the wind and waves completely ceased, and even the heavy raindrops falling from the sky silently floated in mid-air.

With her eyelashes trembling slightly, Roy looked at the suspended raindrops before her and thought silently, if even you have stopped moving, then those “people” who were previously free from restraints must be the same, right?

Just leaving… me?

“Tap.”

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind.

Those footsteps were truly light and lasted only a moment, but when they reached the captain’s ears from afar, they still sounded like thunder.

In a world of complete silence, even the sound of a falling needle would be amplified a thousand times, let alone footsteps… his footsteps.

Although when she saw through everything, the young woman had considered that he might come and had prepared herself, it wasn’t until this moment, when she was about to face him again, that she realized she still wasn’t ready.

It seemed she would never be ready enough.

Or rather, any preparation was meaningless in his presence.

So, just like in the captain’s cabin on the Satin, after hesitating for more than three seconds, Roy finally turned around.

There’s nothing new under the sun, just like that devil standing there with nonchalance, just like the extremely malicious smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

“It wasn’t easy, truly not easy at all, wouldn’t you agree, child?”

Just like their first meeting on the lonely island, the devil wore a fitted old formal suit, without the triangular hat symbolizing the Pirate King’s identity, his slightly disheveled chestnut short hair somewhat dampened by the rain.

One could even vaguely see water droplets hanging from his hair strands, about to fall but not yet fallen.

But this wasn’t a good sign.

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Although it seemed the devil was affected by the mortal world, appearing somewhat bedraggled, similarly, it also meant he was gradually returning.

From a restricted spiritual form to his true self.

Now, facing the young woman with soaked clothes, looking as pitiful as a child who had fallen in a downpour, the devil opened his hands and asked with a smile.

As if waiting for her acknowledgment, or as if trying to dispel the gloom between them.

“Yes, it really wasn’t easy, ancestor.”

Roy responded in a low, soft voice, and after a moment, added: “You are truly remarkable, more remarkable than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Neither of these sentences was anything but sincere, without a trace of sarcasm.

To be besieged by the world, trapped in a seal, yet still able to plot and scheme for hundreds and thousands of years, finally surpassing the descendants of those great figures, surpassing the first mate who knew him best, even surpassing deities to achieve his grand ambition.

This was truly not easy, even something that could be called impossible.

But he had done it.

To find a glimmer of hope within the impossible was naturally remarkable, worthy of the name Captain Edward Roy, the true name of the devil.

Although in the child’s praise, there was not a hint of worship or admiration, rather a certain emptiness, the man was still satisfied.

Even devils love to hear praise, especially from the mouth of his most carefully crafted child, his most perfect creation.

“Then… can we talk, ancestor?”

Seeing this, the young woman spoke softly once more, like a child who had made a mistake, trying to find exoneration while the elder was still in a good mood.

Like searching for a straw named hope in a lightless sea.