Captain – Chapter 534

The young man burst through the “curtain of rain,” his footsteps never stopping, like the legendary hero who pressed forward without hesitation toward hell.

He just didn’t know that at the same time, that girl was also racing madly toward heaven. Otherwise, his steps toward embracing fate would have been even faster.

Though he ran at full speed, Cain still didn’t forget to note the environmental changes along the way.

So as not to lose his way during his escape.

After all, though his journey was said to be rushing toward hell and embracing a death trap, with his bond to the captain and the great power bestowed by the pocket watch, there might not be no possibility of survival.

Even if that possibility was infinitesimally small.

Due to sweat and water droplets flowing into his eyes, Cain blinked hard, looking at the increasingly dim and irregular corridor, and couldn’t help but feel some doubts stirring in his heart.

He had already forgotten how long he had been running.

But he remembered that starting not long ago, this path leading to the ocean floor had completely changed appearance. The materials of the cave walls and steps were no longer that mystical ice, but had become dark gray rock that had been corroded into pits and holes.

Having lost the natural luminescence of that strange ice, the corridor naturally became much dimmer, and due to the young man’s deeper penetration, it also showed a trend of falling into complete darkness.

Before long, visitors would be unable to see their hand in front of their face.

However, this wasn’t the most crucial point. What truly made the young man feel an eerie strangeness was that the deeper this corridor went, the more spacious and hollow it became.

On the stone walls all around, there gradually appeared fierce traces of destruction, which at first glance looked like tooth marks or claw marks left by some kind of beast.

But the problem was… they were far too large.

Terrifyingly large.

Reαԁ οո ΚаtRеaⅾiոgСafе

Even the smallest mark had a width far exceeding the height of an ordinary person. Reasoning backward from this, if the one who left these marks was truly some kind of creature, its size would be nearly mountainous.

Just like those petrified bones on Tomb Island.

Perhaps these were left by the devil’s minions.

Thinking silently, in the depths of the first mate’s ocean-blue eyes, lightning suddenly flashed, and in that instant, even his rapid, heavy breathing became much more gentle.

The pocket watch hadn’t moved, the great power hadn’t stirred.

But bearing the curse, he was still vastly different from the past. Whether in physique or thinking speed, he had made great progress, even vaguely knowing some instinctive information hidden in the depths of the devil lineage’s memories.

Hence when persuading the captain, he had been so well-founded, and now he had this speculation.

“Splash, splash…”

Even though he had completely fallen into darkness, there was still a faint light flickering in the young man’s eyes, allowing him to remain untroubled. But gradually, in this secluded corridor where only his footsteps and breathing could be heard, some strange sounds appeared.

This was…

His gaze flickered slightly. Having risen step by step from a lower military rank to naval commander, Cain had naturally seen many prisons and even personally captured quite a few enemy soldiers.

Therefore, he was very familiar with this kind of sound, almost immediately determining that it was the soft sound of swaying chains, and judging by that frequency, there were quite a few chains.

Combined with the current environment, the first mate could easily imagine a scene of chains submerged in seawater, swaying gently with the current, and then speculate that…

They were used to lock up certain people, or monsters.

The ones who left those previous marks?

Rеаⅾ οո KatReαԁіnɡСafe

His thoughts flew, gradually approaching the truth.

Although Cain wasn’t like the captain, possessing divine descendant bloodline and unable to produce that strange stress response, moreover, at this time he was still separated from that strange entity by quite a distance.

But relying on fragmentary clues, he still determined limited but important information.

For instance, that strange spirit was bound by chains yet completely motionless.

This meant it was very likely still sleeping.

Then…

When would it awaken?

As he continued forward, his footsteps became much lighter, and he could faintly hear echoes. Although Cain couldn’t see too far in the darkness, he could discern that he had already exited the corridor and arrived at a place resembling a cavern.

“Splash, splash…”

There was a faint light ahead, and besides the chain sounds that had become clearer and more distinct, there were also sounds of flowing water that seemed close at hand, coming from not far ahead.

At this point, there were no more steps ahead of the young man.

It seemed he was about to arrive.

Thinking this, Cain slowed his pace, calming his breathing while cautiously moving forward. Before long, he confirmed the source of the faint light he had seen earlier.

It was a roughly arched cave entrance.

Rеаⅾ oո KаtRеαԁinɡСafе

Only the sides were extremely irregular, covered with broken and chaotic “wounds” like the stone walls he had passed, as if they had been gnawed out by a giant mouth.

This made the first mate more certain of his speculation.

This door, the cavern behind it, and the latter half of the corridor should all have been carved out by that strange spirit. He just didn’t understand what kind of creature could extend its head, or sharp claws, deep into the door and even deeper, narrower interior areas.

If it was truly as large as he imagined, this cavern simply couldn’t contain it.

When approaching the cave entrance, Cain briefly stopped, took several deep breaths, confirmed that his condition and stamina had recovered enough to face enemies, then continued forward.

He walked toward that giant door, stepped into the faint light, looking just like a mortal spirit trespassing into forbidden territory.

In mythology, this generally didn’t end well.

Arriving at the cave entrance, the young man discovered he seemed to be on the mountainside of a tall mountain, so he supported himself against the damp stone wall with one hand while gazing into the distance.

What met his eyes was a treacherous world.

No one could imagine that at the deepest part of the ocean floor, there would be such a boundless piece of land, covered with dark strange rocks and peculiar peaks, with the middle split in half by a deep, endless rift valley.

The Abyss of Decay…

Looking at that rift valley with sharp sides like countless protruding fangs, where twisted, ghostly green airflows could vaguely be seen between the walls, the young man pressed his lips together and silently recited.

That was the bottomless abyss that led directly to hell, mentioned by Enzo and Vivian.

Once fallen into it, any life would perish.

Even time would be rewritten.

Rеаԁ on KаtRеaⅾіոɡCafе

Withdrawing his gaze from that terrifying yet strangely alluring fissure, the first mate looked up, finding the source of the faint light and also seeing those chains.

The reason this underwater world wasn’t filled with seawater was because on the dome above, there was a semi-transparent thin wall like the ghost bridge blocking it, and chains of metal extended from the wall surface as a base, reaching up into the ocean.

And those rays of light seemed to come from that magnificent blue full moon in the sky.

Moonlight penetrated the lightless sea, passed through the ghostly wall, and finally illuminated this secret place.

Magical beyond explanation.

However, in those mythological stories, things that defied common sense were everywhere—mountain-like monsters, transcendent deities, or wondrous objects like cornucopias.

Compared to these, though the scene before his eyes was shocking enough, it was still within acceptable range.

We’re here, but where is the thing?

Not dwelling on the strange scenery for too long, Cain quickly came back to his senses, his gaze withdrawing from the starry dome and refocusing on the ground, sweeping over that ruins-like landscape.

Then, he saw that road.

That rugged path extending from the lower side of the “mountain range” where he stood, connecting to that horizontal rift valley. At the end of the road, near the legendary Abyss of Decay, a stone platform that looked tiny and delicate from afar stood quietly.

The young man couldn’t see clearly what was on the stone platform, but he knew Aegis was there.

Because when the devil made his moves, they were always direct and clear…

And deadly.