Captain – Chapter 503 – Curse and Blade

Darkness filled every sight.

This light-extinguishing, mist-like yet not-quite-mist airflow not only brought coldness but also severely limited vision and blocked the spread of sound. Within it, Caine felt that even his sense of space and time had been lost.

As if he had returned to that grand dream once more.

Once again enveloped by boundless darkness, drifting endlessly in a sea where time and space were indistinguishable, not knowing when he might meet the girl again.

No, rather not knowing if there was any chance of reunion at all.

Familiar, unpleasant memories surged into his mind, and the first mate’s unease grew increasingly thick.

Although he didn’t understand how Captain Enzo could manipulate the darkness to cause such a sudden change in the situation, the young man at least knew that the opponent’s purpose in setting this trap was to control the captain, to isolate all possible external influences.

In other words, that man wanted a one-on-one confrontation.

This kind of situation wasn’t the first time Caine had experienced it.

In those past experiences, there had been information gaps caused by the girl’s trust or her desire to bear burdens alone, as well as mighty forces like gods or devils forcibly keeping everyone except her behind an invisible barrier.

Leaving without saying goodbye, the intimidating goddess statue, the irresistible power of the devil…

Time and again, the captain found herself in solitary circumstances, even life-threatening situations, while he could only stand helplessly and anxiously outside the invisible wall.

Unable to step in, let alone face the storms together with her.

This feeling was very unpleasant. No, rather, he could no longer endure it.

He didn’t want…

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He absolutely would not allow that dream to reappear, would not allow anyone to try to take the girl away again.

Absolutely not.

Thinking this, the young man forcibly calmed his rapid breathing.

Through the night curtain, he looked at his own hand, silently telling himself in his heart: calm down, Caine Howard, think more, there will always be a turning point.

Even that dream couldn’t stop you, so there’s even less reason to lose her in the real world. This night curtain can at most block vision and isolate sound; it cannot possibly affect fate, affect the…

Bond and threads between you and her.

So, what is that thread, and where is it now?

The first mate’s azure eyes wavered slightly, even dimming somewhat for no apparent reason. But this wasn’t a reflection of the darkness; it was more like storm clouds gradually surging from the edge of the sea and sky over that gentle ocean.

In the overturning, black city-like cloud sea, flickering lightning could be vaguely seen.

The darkness flowing around him, brushing the hem of his clothes, seemed to be affected by some force, becoming increasingly stagnant. The young man standing within it, although having made no movement since earlier, had a strange sense of etherealness.

Like a mirage that could dissipate at any moment, as if he were no longer in the night.

But had already followed fate far away.

“I am the cursed one.”

After an unknown length of time, Caine suddenly spoke softly.

As if suddenly understanding something, he lowered his hand, but not to his side; rather, he reached towards his waist and then grasped the rapier that had not been drawn for many days since it pierced the Black Emperor’s heart.

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“However, that curse… belongs exclusively to you.”

“My dear Captain.”

The moment these dream-like murmurs fell, a familiar sound abruptly appeared in the dead silent night curtain. It came from far to near, from faint to loud, until finally, it completely became the main theme here.

And that sound, once a deadly curse, now seemed to have become a war drum.

To send the devil’s disciple to the battlefield.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock…”

The pocket watch that had stopped, never to move again, now started moving once more!

At the same time, those slightly dim blue eyes rapidly brightened at an unimaginable speed. If you looked carefully, you could even see the blazing golden lightning flickering within, like barely extinguished magma.

Like gleaming devil’s eyes.

“Tock.”

Caine took a step forward, and after a moment, another step, then without stopping or hesitation, walked toward the lightless path ahead, plunging into the profound night curtain.

If someone stood at his original position, they would easily notice that on the back of his neck, a line of pale golden characters was glowing brightly, overflowing with an almost imperceptible light flow that even the deepest darkness could not erase.

That script was more ancient than the old calendar, symbolizing rules written by gods that cannot be shaken. But even so, the destined one could still see through its true meaning at a glance.

It was a name.

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Elizabeth Roy.

“Clang!”

The two snow-bright curved blades touched for who knows how many times, blooming with brilliant sparks, and unsurprisingly, Roy’s blade was miserably forced back again.

Retreating several steps in succession, the captain panted heavily. Her once-smooth cheek was somehow stained with dark gray, dirty dust.

But how could there be dust on this lonely island where not even a grain of sand could be found? What appeared to be dirt marks were actually bruises.

Proof of the fierce battle.

Of course, such marks wouldn’t only appear on her cheeks, but as she was now wearing her captain’s uniform, which covered her quite thoroughly, they couldn’t be seen.

Feeling the pain from various places and absently touching the bruise on her face, Roy grimaced, then glared hatefully at the man who was gradually approaching, showing no signs of having been through a hard fight except for slightly rapid breathing.

He even hatefully yawned!

“Look, little Roy, you’ve been crazy enough; shouldn’t you settle down a bit?”

The man met the captain’s devouring gaze, finished yawning, and said somewhat lazily: “I won’t really do anything to you. I’m just taking you back to see the old man. After that, I won’t interfere with whatever you want to do.”

“Be a bit more cooperative, won’t you?”

Knowing that “old man” referred to his title for the Great Captain, the girl, like a defiant little wildcat, assumed a defensive stance while gritting her teeth and muttering.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Hearing her word-by-word response, Enzo sighed helplessly, stepped forward with his curved blade, and with a smirk, exposed her thoughts: “Also, don’t count on that ghost ship. You won’t last until it arrives.”

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Hearing this, the captain’s already not-so-good complexion became even worse. She hatefully gritted her teeth, thinking that he had known about the Taranhof’s existence all along but deliberately waited until this moment to reveal it, simply toying with her.

And that old fellow hiding in Providence was just a peeping tom!

But hate aside, what could she do?

A monster with astonishing combat power, plus an old man with frighteningly strong scheming abilities—such an unreasonable combination might not be stopped even if the remaining legends were gathered together, let alone by her who could only fight alone?

After the previous exchanges and a brief assessment, Roy dejectedly realized that if the Great Captain had already calculated everything and Enzo thoroughly understood the situation, then aside from using the devil’s power, she had no chance of winning.

But the problem was that those magical powers simply wouldn’t listen to her.

Thinking of this, the captain even somewhat missed the times when she was cursed by her ancestor; at least then, those powers would occasionally respond to her call.

But…

Well, even if she might be captured and taken back, she still didn’t want to be controlled by the devil again.

Watching the man’s carelessly raise his blade, the captain had no leisure to consider these matters further and could only suppress her distracting thoughts and wholeheartedly prepare to counter the attack.

Staring unblinkingly at the approaching man, the girl’s dark golden pupils reflected the slightly dim but still chilling blade light. Just as she suddenly stepped forward, intending to change from defense to offense by catching him off guard, she abruptly froze.

The next moment, her eyes began to waver slightly, but this had nothing to do with emotions. Rather, it was because the darkness behind Captain Enzo was truly rippling!

Then, she saw that breaking through the mist, shining like the North Star…

The blade edge.