Captain – Chapter 467 – The Price

Like time flowing backwards, as if everything was happening again.

Under deafening thunder, in torrential rain, the young man with eyes like dying magma, holding the crystal skull, once again set foot on the nameless island, rushing along the path guided by the flowing light.

Through dense forests, avoiding dead trees, he finally arrived once more at that man-made clearing.

Before the throne of the Pirate King.

But some things were different.

This time there was no reckless touch, no flash of a blade cutting through empty air, no self-narration from the devil. After a lightning bolt that seemed to tear the horizon, the scene in the clearing suddenly changed.

On the marble ground, the water in the drainage channels turned into molten gold, flowing back to the base of the throne. The stone shell covering the true throne crumbled, restoring it to its original form.

In that throne inlaid with brilliant gems and engraved with gold patterns, the devil sat quietly.

As if he had been waiting for him for a full thousand years.

Seeing this sight, the captain’s entire body trembled uncontrollably, not from fear or the visible tragic future and past, but from anger accumulated throughout the journey.

He breathed heavily, stepped to the throne in a few strides, grabbed the man’s collar without explanation, the intense light in his pupils seeming to materialize into fire that would reduce the devil before him to ashes.

If faced with such a situation, an ordinary person would have been crushed by the primal fear from the source of life itself. Forget resistance; even their will would shatter like broken glass.

But the problem was, he too was a devil.

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“You know very well, child, this isn’t my fault.”

Facing the pressure coming like a tide, the man remained calm as usual, speaking gently as if soothing a child.

Hearing this, Roy was silent for a long time. The hand gripping his collar had almost torn the old fabric, but no matter how unwilling he was to admit it, he knew the devil wasn’t lying.

As the widely circulated principle goes, the higher one stands, the farther one’s vision extends.

At this moment, he was “awake,” a devil in another sense. In this dream belonging solely to him, he was omniscient and omnipotent, even surpassing the man before him.

Precisely because of this, he knew the man wasn’t lying. Here, the other could do nothing.

He could only be considered… a passerby.

The collar loosened. The devil watched the young man lower his hand and step back half a pace, asking softly: “Elizabeth, at this point, do you still think I came to deceive you?”

Knowing he had more to say, Roy pressed her lips together without responding.

“You’ve already seen the scenery along this path, and that divine stairway you walked on when you approached the Satin was this forbidden path, the final journey leading to the other shore.”

“Wanting to gain limitless power, to see the other side of the world, yet losing nothing—such thinking is naive. You should know that things always have duality.”

“The reverse side of bloodlines and blessings are original sin and curses.”

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Leaning back in the throne, the devil laughed frivolously and said: “Why the long face? Child, you should know that for a lowly human to ascend in one step, to stand shoulder to shoulder with deities, is something countless people dream of. And what must be sacrificed…”

“Merely some insignificant emotions, and this is already a great blessing.”

“What more do you want?”

Expressionlessly making a “tch” sound, Roy looked directly into the devil’s eyes and coldly asked: “Ancestor, for a cold-blooded creature like you, apart from your own survival and path forward, what is important? You can easily abandon even those you love.”

So-called true feelings, at the moment he decided to leave, had already vanished to nothing.

No matter how nicely he put it, wasn’t he just talking to himself?

To the girl’s last sentence, which made no attempt to hide her malice and was like a poisoned dagger, the man merely smiled indifferently, making no rebuttal. Perhaps he couldn’t be bothered to argue with a child.

Or perhaps, he truly didn’t care about her.

What in this world was worth his cherishing?

Wealth, love, or worship and faith—all were things easily obtained, in his eyes they were simply… not worth mentioning.

Everything was like a play; as long as it brought some comfort during occasional reminiscence, it was enough.

“And also, you say you didn’t come to deceive me. Isn’t that blatant lying?”

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Unable to stand his detestable smile, the captain snorted coldly, exposing his lie: “You talk a good game about abandoning emotions, forgetting everything in exchange for near-divine power, but I don’t see you turning into an ice block, wearing a poker face all day.”

“Yes, everything has two sides, but don’t forget another saying: nothing is absolute.”

Roy stepped back several paces, creating distance from the person in the throne, while laughing coldly: “Even a forbidden path shouldn’t be walled on all sides with no turning point. You’re just gambling.”

“Gambling that I won’t find that turning point, aren’t you?”

Applause emanated from the throne, echoing amid the downpour, the sound faint yet perfectly clear.

“Spot on. Worthy of being my most perfect child.”

At this moment, even someone as arrogant as Captain Edward couldn’t help but show some admiration. His brilliant eyes surged with vigilance, looking at the captain as if at his most troublesome enemy.

“You’re right. Regarding the price, this path is indeed not perfect. It has flaws, cracks; there will always be somewhere that cannot suppress the so-called radiance of humanity.”

“But there’s a prerequisite.”

Shaking his head slightly, the devil’s gaze toward the young man carried a hint of regret: “That is, you must know what you’re looking for, and where the true key to breaking the impasse lies.”

“Unfortunately, you have no guide.”

Slowly sitting upright, the man rhythmically tapped the armrest with his slender fingers, smiling contentedly: “Which means you’ll never know what you need to find. No matter how long you wander in this dream, you’re just wasting time.”

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“Of course, you have other choices.”

The hand that had been playing piano-like paused. The devil held up one finger to Roy, smiling as he said: “To be precise, two paths, two paths of no return. The first is to stop.”

“Not to continue forward on this forbidden path, to completely discard the call from the depths of your bloodline. This way, you will naturally wake up, remember everything, and return to the ordinary.”

“And the second.”

The devil added another finger, smiling more brilliantly: “Is to go on regardless, to abandon all emotions, to become my… ‘kind.’ After that, you will naturally understand my actions, understand my pursuits, and no longer care about worldly matters.”

“So, no matter which you choose, I win.”

Withdrawing his fingers, the man crossed them in front of him, his smile gradually disappearing, replaced by solemnity and gravity: “So, what will you choose, child?”

Though asking this, clearly the devil also knew he wouldn’t get an answer. This question, along with the young man’s changing eyes and emotions, was just a catalyst.

A catalyst that would push the wheel of fate rolling forward, no longer able to be delayed.

In that instant, light and shadow changed, time flowed, and scenes from their first meeting appeared again. The process was so fast it was almost just a blink of an eye, and they had already arrived at the final words.

“The content of the curse is… to make your name become real.”