Captain – Chapter 400 – The End

The man transformed into starlight and scattered. The stagnant downpour returned, the sorrowful song ceased, the magic box faded, the curse gradually disappeared, and even the devil leaning against the railing began to blur.

“Oh, what a touching scene, wouldn’t you agree, Mango?”

Time began to flow again, the world and people were awakening, but couldn’t yet fully recover. Only the cat had remained awake from beginning to end.

Now, the devil stood beside it, gently stroking its wet fur while asking with a light laugh.

“Meow.”

The Siamese cat had been looking down at the deck the entire time, naturally witnessing every scene. Now hearing his question, it responded with a perfunctory meow.

As if saying, it’s nothing special.

Neither the rift between you, ancestor and descendant, nor the First Mate’s obsession was interesting—not as good as the fight scene earlier.

“Indeed, conspiracies and schemes, no matter how brilliant, become tiresome and make one’s blood run cold, like a venomous snake.”

The devil said with a smile, withdrawing his gaze from the young woman standing alone in the rain, turning his face to admire the siren instead.

“Love and hate, beauty and ugliness, in the end are merely passing dust. Even if they span a thousand years, they will eventually dissipate into nothingness.”

“If they cannot truly be eternal, then what meaning does any of this have?”

Like a philosopher, the devil shook his head while muttering to himself, but finally let out a sigh and said softly: “It’s really quite boring.”

It wasn’t clear whether he was referring to this event or to those beings who would eventually depart.

“Meow.”

The cat lazily meowed in agreement, apparently satisfied with the skilled stroking technique of its former “servant.”

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“Time is running short.”

After concluding his remarks, the devil turned his eyes to the Siamese cat, which was still tilting its head observing the young woman, and abruptly added this comment.

If it had been an ordinary person, even Roy, they probably wouldn’t have understood.

But the Siamese cat did.

Their “master-servant” relationship had lasted even longer than the time the devil and Isaac had spent together, dating back to his childhood.

Not counting the time on the ice-sealed ship, that was still over forty years.

This far exceeded the lifespan of feline creatures, and along with other peculiarities, was sufficient to prove its extraordinary nature.

A being that could accompany Captain Edward was certainly remarkable.

So it knew Edward was saying this incarnation was running out of time.

As the inscribed characters faded and the bond with Roy broke, he would gradually lose this anchor point, making it difficult to maintain physical form.

So… would it follow him?

“Meow.”

The cat meowed indifferently, saying since time was up, he should leave.

Leave and never return.

The hand stroking the cat stopped, seemingly somewhat unexpected. The devil slowly raised his eyebrows, but soon they lowered again.

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“I understand.”

After this response of indeterminate emotion, the devil gave the Siamese cat’s body a final pat, then turned and walked toward the stern.

The further he walked, the fainter and lonelier his figure became.

As if even devils can feel solitude.

By the time he reached the ship’s railing near the stern of the bridge, the devil had become as faint as a patch of mist, swaying with the wind and rain, about to dissipate at any moment.

But he finally stopped his steps and turned his head slightly.

“Is this… destiny abandoning me?”

“Meow.”

Hearing the complex emotions in the words from behind, the Siamese cat still didn’t look back, only elongating its call, meowing softly.

No, you no longer need to follow destiny.

You are destiny.

Whether the devil heard this call, or whether he was willing to accept this explanation, there was no further sound.

The fog dispersed, the devil departed.

Standing up and shaking vigorously to remove the rainwater from its fur, the cat, after a moment of silence, still turned to look in that direction.

“Meow.”

As if in farewell, the Siamese cat called almost inaudibly, its sapphire eyes swimming with various emotions—satisfaction, relief, reluctance, but in the end, they transformed into unfamiliarity.

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The most complete unfamiliarity.

Just as the devil had asked whether destiny had abandoned him, this cat called “Mango,” whose origins nobody knew, which had accompanied him from the very beginning, symbolized destiny.

Like the black cat from mythology, coming from hell, commanding the dead.

Only… the color was slightly wrong.

Well, mythology is ultimately mythology, stories invented by mortals, not to be fully trusted—for instance, there actually is no hell.

It was just a cat.

Unknown in origin, unknown in destination, fed some fish by that child named Edward, had its head petted, and then followed at his side.

Then, it received the name “Mango,” and he received everything.

But after experiencing such a long time, coldly observing so many events, it suddenly discovered that the child had become increasingly unfamiliar.

From that innocent youth with a passionate desire for exploration, transforming into a remarkable captain, a hero fighting against the Auran Empire.

Then into a devil, then into a deity.

What a magnificent, thrilling… and boring journey.

Just as the cat had meowed, a deity no longer needs destiny’s guidance, and it had grown tired of this life, which is why it let him go.

Leave this ship, this sea, this world, go to the shore you wish to reach.

That’s how it is, cats don’t lie.

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Thinking this, the Siamese cat withdrew its gaze, lazily curling up again, lying on the railing as if on flat ground. Just when it thought it would finally have peace and no more disturbances, another hand reached up to stroke it.

A slightly cool, soft hand with a hint of fine scales.

“Meow.”

Knowing it was the sea creature awakening, the Siamese cat struggled symbolically, but finding the young woman somewhat persistent and unable to shake her off, it acquiesced.

Perhaps she saw that it was also lonely.

With this, the grand play spanning ancient and modern times finally seemed to reach its conclusion.

The dark sea of clouds that had occupied the sky since approaching the Acherousian Lighthouse gradually dispersed after the devil’s departure.

The siren’s song had ceased, and the eternal night was no more.

The downpour gradually lessened, then stopped. The clouds scattered, the wind became gentle, thunder and lightning also passed, and the sky finally cleared, even revealing a brilliant starry sky.

Starlight poured down like water, like a light veil draped over the ship and people, not appearing desolate, but adding tenderness—though it was unknown whether among them was the gentle gaze of the now-departed First Mate.

“Captain?”

After a rustling of people getting up and slight moans of pain, a somewhat urgent, bewildered call approached with the sea breeze.

Rubbing her slightly stiff cheeks vigorously until they turned slightly red, with tears and rainwater no longer distinguishable, Roy turned around.

Looking at the sailor grimacing in pain and the still-stern-faced First Mate who was now completely puzzled, the young woman patted the corner of her clothes and smiled, saying: “Ah, you’ve woken up at just the right time.”

“Your captain has just finished the job.”