Captain – Chapter 564 – A Way Out

Magnificent, solemn.

Looking at that warship that emerged from behind the curtain, as if sailing from the old calendar, Roy searched through her heart and could only find these two words that relatively matched it.

Although the scene in her eyes flashed by in an instant, although she had prepared herself before seeing it, when that castle-like towering, magnificent, brightly lit giant ship came into view, the girl still couldn’t suppress her shock, and felt that it should be exactly like this.

Only such a towering and powerful thing could contend with those mountain-like spectral beings.

That giant ship with ancient characters inscribed on its stern possessed a history more ancient than both ancient and modern Auran calendars, and was truly a divine creation.

Compared to it, the giant ships like the Tyrant left over from the Empire’s golden age were inferior even in scale alone, not to mention that it still possessed the majesty accumulated by time and divine grace, as if nothing could resist it.

What surprised Roy even more was that from what she had just seen, that warship was intact.

Rather than as she had guessed—first severely damaged by the specter, then worn down by wind, rain, and time into a shabby, miserable state—this indicated that the story was not simple.

It was not purely a confrontation and defeat, but should involve conspiracies hidden even deeper.

However, this had nothing to do with her for the time being.

The scene lasted an extremely short time, only a brief moment before it turned into a faint afterimage. Only after it completely vanished did Roy calm her mind and recover her vision.

As always, there was no longer any phantom on the half-broken figurehead.

But the information about that giant ship, and even its precise location, were firmly imprinted in the captain’s mind. From this moment on, as long as she wanted, she could “see” it.

As if some kind of… wonderful connection had been established.

As if destined by fate.

Withdrawing her gaze, Roy looked toward the direction where the giant ship was located. After a moment of silence, she turned around and said to the two bewildered men: “There should still be time.”

“What, Captain?”

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Hearing this, Ben exchanged glances with Wyatt and asked in confusion.

If the girl’s talk of “finding a ship” was already absurd enough, then her earlier behavior of talking to herself in front of that mermaid statue was even more like she had lost her mind.

Therefore, the bosun’s question seemed cautious, afraid of provoking her.

Knowing they couldn’t see the phantom, and that they were probably thinking whether they should find the ship’s doctor to examine her, Roy shrugged and didn’t bother to explain much.

She relaxed against the ship’s rail, folding her arms, with a mysterious smile at the corner of her mouth: “What? Of course I mean there’s still time to find that new ship.”

“Before the Mermaid completely falls apart.”

“Creak, creak…”

Boots stepped across the deck, and each step would cause unbearable sharp sounds, as if this already ancient warship could collapse at any moment.

This was not the Mermaid, but the paralyzed Taranhof, which had survived the giant serpent’s attack. Of course, its current state was already quite good compared to several days ago.

No holes could be seen on the deck or hull anymore—everywhere were patches of different colors.

Like an old garment covered with patches.

“Longfellow.”

Richi, whose complexion was as pale as usual and whose emotions were indifferent, stopped in front of the water ghost who was wielding a whip. After briefly surveying the repair situation and slightly furrowing his brow, he asked: “How much longer will it take to get this old ship moving again?”

“Soon, Captain, one more day at most.”

Longfellow turned around and said respectfully, though the whip in his hand never stopped, heavily lashing those who were slacking off: “But unfortunately, even if we ‘fix’ the power, our ship seems to be nearing the end of its life.”

Having lost the Lady’s protection, the Death Silence was now a thing of the past.

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This ship called the “Taranhof” was originally just an ordinary warship behind the times. That it could survive the specter’s assault was already a great fortune.

As long as it could move and not fall apart midway, the young man didn’t expect it to do more.

“Very good, keep working. As for this ship… we can just swap it for another one when the time comes.”

Richi nodded slightly and said indifferently.

As for whether the “swap” he mentioned meant buying or robbing, that remained unknown.

“Oh, and your new decoration is quite nice.”

Leaning back slightly to dodge the gray crab embedded in the monster’s face that stretched out its pincers trying to pinch him, the young man gave an insincere compliment, then turned and walked toward the side rail.

Vivian was waiting quietly there.

With arms crossed and resting on the ship’s rail, Richi looked at the sea surface disturbed by the gradually increasing cold rain and said to the girl beside him: “Soon, one more day and we can ‘fix’ it.”

“Then what? Where do you plan to go?”

Whether because her mind was captured by that undulating, pitch-black abyssal sea, Vivian seemed somewhat absent-minded, asking him without any discernible emotion.

Departure had become inevitable, but after escaping this dead zone, where would their next destination be?

Or rather, where else could they go?

The present world would never accept them, and the small house at the far northern end was already empty of “people.” These wandering souls of the sea seemed to have nowhere left to go.

But this was still not the reason for the girl’s bewilderment.

What truly left her at a loss was that the path the Lady had pointed out for her before leaving had been so abruptly severed, buried by thick fog.

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Yes, although Vivian clearly felt that Roy had returned from the heavens to the present world, the problem was that the giant serpent had already pursued her. How could she survive?

Even that night curtain that had once moved her and made the girl believe it could touch the Lady’s hem when divine power still remained, had been torn apart by that specter.

In this world where divine grace no longer existed, who else could stop it?

“Don’t be so pessimistic.”

Richi raised his eyes, looking toward the direction where the Mermaid had disappeared several days ago, and said with a smile: “Whether that thing can catch up to her is still unknown.”

“Moreover, there’s going to be a storm soon.”

No ship could catch up to the Mermaid in a storm, and that specter was no exception.

Understanding the young man’s implication, Vivian responded lightly, but her worry didn’t diminish, because ever since the giant serpent appeared, she had already sensed something amiss.

She felt that things weren’t so simple.

“As for where to go, I think… how about we first visit Providence.”

Mentioning that place name, Richi’s tone became much lighter: “Although I don’t believe this is all that old man’s arrangement, even if I did believe it, I wouldn’t have the right to question it.”

“But in any case, he owes us an explanation.”

Even not counting him who had died and been resurrected, both legendary figures of the islands had nearly or possibly died in this conspiracy. No matter what, that person had to give a response.

Even if he was the Great Captain.

“After that, regardless of whether I’m satisfied with the answer, I won’t stay there anymore.”

As he spoke, Richi’s gaze dimmed slightly, as if he had grown weary of the long journey ahead, but soon regained his spirit and turned his face slightly to observe the silent girl: “When the time comes, I’ll go wherever you want to go, or…”

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“We’ll go find a way to break the curse. I think there’s no absolute dead end in this world.”

“If we wander around everywhere, maybe we’ll find a turning point.”

Seeing the girl slightly stunned before responding again, and her mood seeming better than before, Richi smiled and straightened up, looking into the distance: “But for now, let’s hope she can survive.”

“Rather than like that guy, who until now hasn’t shown any sign of movement.”

Hearing his slightly melancholic tone, Vivian’s eyes also showed some sentiment, knowing he was talking about that young man who had once been at odds with him and had taken his position.

That new first mate of Captain Roy.

Since entering the fog, no matter how the situation rose and fell, that young man had never appeared, and what this meant, even the dullest water ghost could guess.

After saying this, Richi didn’t speak again, standing silently like the girl, thinking about their experiences along the way while waiting for the repair work to be completed.

With someone for company, such waiting wasn’t torturous, but rather had the feeling of peaceful times.

However, this atmosphere didn’t last long.

“Boom!”

Without warning, the sea surface not far ahead began to churn violently, bubbling with countless air bubbles. Before they could react, water suddenly erupted.

A surge of waves rose high, reaching the height of the ship’s rail before scattering in all directions.

After the spray fell and the water mist dispersed, Richi and the others, along with the water ghosts who had reacted and looked up one after another, discovered that under that dim sky…

A majestic giant shadow had appeared.