Captain – Chapter 549 – Turning Back For Him

There was no negotiation, only gazes.

Facing two existences from different eras with different temperaments and all other aspects, yet equally great, Enzo gave completely opposite responses.

He raised his hand and fired a shot, shattering the raven’s body and erasing the devil’s vision.

From this moment, that one completely lost his eyes for gazing upon the present world.

But the true master of this world still towered above the firmament, overlooking everything happening in his territory.

Enzo knew this, had known it from the beginning.

He knew that since Roy and the other had sailed into the fog and disappeared on the vast sea, that one sitting in the islands had cast his lazy, indifferent gaze upon him.

And then never looked away.

Due to his earlier judgment and the boundless wariness he harbored toward that elder, Enzo had not planned to acknowledge him, wanting to avoid being influenced by his will.

Therefore, despite knowing the other was watching him, despite being about to face the giant serpent and approach the story’s end, the man had not looked up to glance in that direction.

Because compared to anyone else in the present world, no one understood that one’s terrifying nature better than he did.

Whether from history books or holy scriptures, the age of gods had ended, but that didn’t mean there were no longer people who transcended nature in this world.

The Pirate King trapped in the Cursed Sea, undying for a thousand years, and the bloodline he left behind—those called the devil’s descendants—were the greatest proof.

There were also the remnant writings left by the gods before their departure, and the descendants of those great ones, all testifying to this point. Even he himself was one of them.

Like that unawakened girl, he was among those closest to the pinnacle of natural law.

Yet even so, when facing the Great Captain, Enzo felt that all he could rely on was courage and madness. Beyond that, even the magic brought by the black ring could not help him find a trace of hope in that shadow.

Even though that one was already very old and, for unknown reasons, already showed signs of decline.

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This was why Enzo was unwilling to look up.

He was confident he could remain undisturbed from thousands of miles away, but he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

But worldly affairs were always unpredictable.

Perhaps even Captain Edward hadn’t expected that the word “negotiation” he spoke through Carlos would pierce the man’s heart like a sharp blade.

Cutting open cracks in those curtain-like suspicions, no longer able to hide the light.

From the raven speaking to Enzo shooting, to the dark gray square stone rippling to create images thousands of miles away—this seemingly lengthy process was actually completed within a few sentences.

And in this brief interval, the man confirmed certain things.

Then he looked up and met that gaze.

Due to wariness, respect, or more reasons, Enzo rarely made eye contact with that one, so when he saw those pupils that seemed forever calm and waveless, he suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar.

But that strangeness and distance quickly faded.

Because the man discovered with surprise that those ink-dark pupils became vivid in an extremely short time, like dawn spreading across a previously lightless sea.

Those were countless emotions, those were lines of fate too complex to unravel.

But at least within them, Enzo felt warmth.

This was somewhat awkward, because this was an emotion he and Roy and many others cultivated by that one had never felt from him before.

Apology, kindness, encouragement…

The accumulated emotions were too many to distinguish.

But if one had to say, “parental affection” might be the most fitting description.

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Like an old lion king standing at the peak of the new world, powerful yet aged, looking at the newcomers and silently saying: This is my world…

And will ultimately be yours.

So the man knew he might have wronged him.

The guess hidden in his heart, which he had thought impossible, was picked up again, then gradually became firm, swallowing all conspiracies and calculations like a tide.

So… this is what you were thinking.

Enzo thought silently.

He squinted slightly, his heart no longer clouded. On his face dampened by the cool light rain, a faint smile bloomed—fleeting yet full of pride and madness.

At this moment, the two greatest pirates on this sea, in this age…

Their hearts returned to the same place.

Only no one, not even the devil, captured this heartfelt understanding swept away by the sea wind.

The next moment, the gaze ended without reason.

The look cast from heaven was withdrawn.

The man on the Ghost Scythe also turned his sight back to the specter that had already passed the warship and was moving away.

Just as Enzo had thought, attracted by the girl returning to the present world—or rather, the “delicious meal”—the giant serpent hadn’t spared the warship a glance, even though there was a threat worthy of its attention and two auras had appeared that should have made it wary.

One belonged to that despicable pirate, the other was very unfamiliar—should be a “newborn.” They were powerful, but equally, both were far, far too distant.

Too distant to make it turn its head.

Of course, the one worthy of its attention, that night-like man, after his warship was previously damaged, shouldn’t have the courage to obstruct its forward steps anymore.

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He knew its purpose and should be sensible. Just, it didn’t know…

Why was he the only one left on that ship?

The Old Calendar specter was nearly divine, so its thinking speed was unimaginably fast. Questions like this only appeared for an instant in each of its nine heads.

Then sank into the sea of thought, no longer noticed.

The giant serpent kept its head raised. Though its blue-green pupils couldn’t penetrate the black fog at the horizon’s edge, they never left the girl who was drawing ever closer and becoming more enticing.

Devour her, devour her…

Its complex thoughts, in the end, were reduced to the infinite repetition of these two words.

Revenge against the gods, that pirate, and this world; destroy all vitality and reverse the age—all of this seemed about to begin with that girl’s “sacrifice” as the grandest opening.

Truly… exquisite beyond measure.

“Crack.”

A light sound suddenly arose, of unknown origin.

It was lighter than the pattering rain, lighter than the suppressed breathing of crew members on the Mermaid. Logically, even if the giant serpent’s hearing could capture it, it shouldn’t pay attention or even be wary of such a subtle sound.

But surprisingly, after that sound arose, the specter truly paused.

With a mountain-like body, even the slightest movement would be magnified countless times.

So in the eyes of everyone on the sea, the giant serpent seemed frozen by time, pausing strangely for an instant, while the sea surface beneath it suddenly exploded with waves.

Yes, it heard that sound.

But not through hearing or environmental perception, rather because…

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That light sound came from its own body.

It was the lament of one of its bones.

Like being bitten by an insect—not painful, but the itching sensation couldn’t be dispelled. What made it even more annoyed and uneasy was that the sound didn’t stop.

But was becoming more frequent.

“Crack, crack…”

Like ceramic shattering, like wall paint peeling.

In an instant, it seemed countless threads, countless fine yet sharp chains, had stretched across the specter’s front—no, had directly sealed off its surroundings.

Binding and cutting its body, even ignoring those armor-like scales.

Gradually, the giant serpent began to bleed. Golden liquid, like small streams, silently flowed from the gaps between its fine scales, looking extremely tragic yet beautiful.

Though after that pause it tried to continue forward, it didn’t swim far before ultimately stopping, because instinct told it it couldn’t advance further.

That danger following close behind, omnipresent, was already enough to threaten its life.

So it stopped trying, turned around, forcibly broke those ethereal, black silk-like threads, and all its blue-green pupils shone toward that severely damaged warship, locking firmly onto that man.

The sea in its pupils reflected that person’s appearance, his indifferent expression, and the night that danced wildly around him, spreading like ink drops in water.

Unlike when battling the Taranhof, this time…

It turned back all its heads.

For him alone.