Captain – Chapter 546 – Will of the Night

The Ghost Scythe continued its journey.

Ever since Wyatt had spoken earlier, everything on this ship seemed to no longer bear the mark of the Night Curtain. The pirates still silently and stoically carried out orders, yet none spared that man another glance.

Even the responsibility of coordinating with the Mermaid had fallen to this First Mate.

No one objected, for this was a law unique to the Ghost Scythe, unknown to outsiders.

And because that man had not spoken.

He maintained silence from beginning to end.

About his first mate’s “usurpation of power,” about that sudden cannon fire, and about the specter that had now broken free from the Taranhof and was pursuing them—no, pursuing him.

He hadn’t said a word, like a stone sculpture.

“Report to the First Mate, the main mast and mizzen mast are undamaged, but the foremast is severely damaged and could snap at any moment.”

“First Mate, by our estimates, that thing will catch up to us in ten minutes at most.”

“Report to the First Mate, the cannons are almost…”

One report after another, though anxious, still came in orderly fashion to Wyatt’s ears, then transformed into orders from his mouth, transmitted and implemented one by one.

But as the inspection progressed, problems multiplied while their options dwindled.

It seemed… they would have to abandon ship.

This thought grew more resolute in the First Mate’s mind with each report.

In truth, he had anticipated such a situation long ago.

After all, though the Ghost Scythe claimed to be the strongest on the seas, it was actually just a well-equipped three-masted warship approaching imperial main battle vessel standards, not a legendary ghost ship.

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It lacked the Mermaid’s world-shaking speed, lacked the Death Silence’s diving and repair capabilities. It had only elite crew members and one powerful captain.

Enzo Leyne, and those who regarded him as their faith—they were the core of the Ghost Scythe.

As long as the core remained, even a fishing boat could bear the Ghost Scythe’s name.

Yet despite thinking this way, trying to use these words to convince himself to make the decision, abandoning ship—especially handing it over to the serpent’s maw—remained a difficult choice in Wyatt’s heart.

Because of sentiment, and because their past times, their lost lives, were all aboard this legendary warship.

Moreover, he had a vague foreboding.

Glancing toward the man standing with his back to everyone at the stern, the First Mate felt that this time, he and they had truly embarked on two completely opposite paths.

Growing ever more distant, like a scroll painted with all their past being sliced in two by a single blade.

Never to be pieced together again.

The giant serpent surged through the ocean, making terrifying wave-breaking sounds, accompanied by its heavy breathing and the radiance of those dozen “suns”—doomsday seemed truly approaching.

The time left for them to make a decision grew shorter and shorter.

His lips trembled slightly a few times as Wyatt stepped forward, coming close to that man, weighing his words, wanting to persuade him of something at this final moment.

But before he could speak, a sudden change occurred.

A low, menacing roar came from behind the Ghost Scythe, drawing everyone’s attention.

Wyatt was no exception.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze passing over Enzo’s shoulder toward the giant serpent that had been pursuing them, trying to destroy them, and then he saw an astonishing sight.

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That specter… had stopped.

Without any warning, without any explanation, it had simply stopped.

As if it had discovered a target more important than the Ghost Scythe, a threat more terrible than the man who constantly watched it, the giant serpent raised its head and roared.

The sea within those blue-green pupils surged with boundless waves, the reflected green radiance seeming to penetrate the thick black fog at the horizon’s edge.

Falling upon someone, never to look away again.

After an unknown time, the roaring ceased.

That specter’s pupils flickered for a moment, remained quiet for a while, then unhesitatingly changed direction, heading toward the approaching Mermaid—or rather, toward the direction it had been gazing.

As if to greet and devour that visitor from beyond the heavens.

To destroy that pirate’s treasure.

Watching this scene, everyone aboard the Ghost Scythe, including the First Mate, breathed a sigh of relief.

Though they didn’t know why the giant serpent was no longer pursuing them, and upon careful observation, it didn’t seem to be chasing the Mermaid either, this was still tremendously good news.

At least they were safe.

But just to be safe, they should still abandon ship and transfer.

The specter’s direction of travel still overlapped somewhat with theirs—no one knew whether it had truly spared them or was merely performing some deceptive charade.

But before Wyatt could speak, the figure in his peripheral vision suddenly moved.

The man who had stood motionless for so long, silent as a sculpture, reacted the moment he confirmed the giant serpent had changed targets, moving swiftly along the stern rail.

Seeing this, the First Mate’s heart, which had just settled, rose again.

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He quietly followed close behind the captain, accompanying him to the other side of the stern, watching him grip the rail tightly, watching him furrow his brow as he gazed at the specter in the distance.

Watching him slowly turn his head to look toward the distant sky shrouded in black fog.

Then remaining unchanged for a long time.

Wyatt likewise followed his gaze toward the horizon, seeing those flowing, churning black fog vortices, but… he couldn’t see the scene within.

So he, along with more crew members, couldn’t understand the captain’s current behavior.

Only that pair of youth on the Taranhof knew.

But even they couldn’t see as clearly as the man.

Because he had the boundless night as his eyes, able to reach where the darkness could extend.

And naturally able to reach… her.

Therefore, he saw that girl falling from heaven like a broken-winged angel, saw her serene sleeping face with delicate brows that still showed no gentleness.

She had failed, because she didn’t have that shield in her hands.

And the giant serpent was heading toward her.

If nothing was done, the moment she returned to the world would also be when she perished in the serpent’s belly.

It would be the moment when all hope, the path he had pursued for over ten years, would be completely severed.

He could not allow this to happen.

The faint hesitation in his eyes finally disappeared when he saw that “angel” returning from heaven, helplessly falling. In this brief moment, Enzo seemed to look back and see every step he had taken in this world.

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He saw the black ring that had fallen before his eyes with mud and sand on that desperate rainy night, saw that person he had met by chance but who had accompanied and taught him for so long.

He saw his regretful self upon hearing news of that person’s disappearance, and so much more…

Finally, all the images faded, leaving only one child.

His child.

Just like returning to many years ago, that night when he was trapped in the strange fog and broke through eternity, when he had knelt before that child and personally hung the crystal skull around his neck.

Before that, he had whispered something to himself…

“So you are the treasure I’ve been seeking.”

Speaking in a voice only he could hear, the Night Curtain captain’s lips somehow bore a faint smile, though different from his past frivolity and indifference.

It was light yet infinitely gentle, like autumn sunlight.

Only at this moment did he seem to truly understand that his regard and affection for that child wasn’t merely love extending to all associated, because of that person.

Perhaps it was more complex, but perhaps…

No reason was needed.

“Sweet dreams, Elizabeth. When you wake up, everything will be fine.”

“It will be fine.”

As if to strengthen his resolve, the man added softly after his gentle whisper.

Like comfort, yet more like farewell.