Captain – Chapter 591 – Auran Goddess

That skull face was unlike ordinary corpses—decayed and rotted—but rather extremely well-preserved, with a sacred pale golden radiance faintly flowing beneath its snow-white complexion.

Looking at it didn’t cause discomfort, but rather evoked a sense of… wonder at viewing a work of art.

In the center of its eye sockets, where the pale golden light flowed and revealed no emptiness, a weak point of pure white ghostly light flickered unsteadily, suspended and dancing.

Within it seemed to contain endless vicissitudes and sorrow.

The eye contact didn’t last long.

Soon, the skeleton soldier lowered its head again and touched the tip of its black boots with a damp cloth.

Understanding its intention, Roy’s raised eyebrows fell back as she stepped aside, and seeing the captain do so, the pirates behind her followed suit.

“Squeak, squeeeak…”

The sharp scraping sound rang out again. Under everyone’s gaze, the skeleton soldier pushed the damp cloth and crawled past them, soon disappearing around the next corner.

“Harmless.”

After a brief silence, Roy breathed a sigh of relief and made her assessment.

That skeleton soldier was clearly an original resident of the warship. Although she didn’t know why it—and others like it that might exist among the “old crew members”—could evade her perception, at least she detected no threat whatsoever.

It was as if they still lived in the past and bore no hostility toward these uninvited guests.

“Leave a few people behind to remind Lance and the others not to disturb these… elders while they work. Perhaps in the end, we’ll need their help.”

After giving orders and assigning several more people, the young woman led the crew members onward, climbing layer upon layer of companionways. Before long, they pushed open what appeared to be heavy wooden doors that were surprisingly light due to their construction or divine blessing, and stepped onto the deck.

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After dispersing the overwhelming eerie fog, that warm, salvation-like light had withdrawn, and torrential rain poured down, making distant scenery unclear.

But they could still vaguely see the Mermaid’s silhouette and feel the increasingly violent swells.

Time was running short.

Withdrawing her gaze from that direction, Roy looked around and discovered that because the giant ship was so enormously large, the deck was spacious enough to nearly equal a military drill ground.

At this moment, they stood at a position roughly center-forward toward the bow.

But even so, separated by the deep curtain of rain, without her exceptional eyesight, one probably couldn’t see from end to end. More importantly, for a ship of this scale…

The manpower she’d brought seemed far from sufficient.

At most they could get it moving, but as for firepower, they probably couldn’t utilize even half of it.

Oh, if they could get those skeleton soldiers they’d encountered along the way to lend a hand, perhaps they could fully operate it, but they seemed to have no communication ability.

They just went about their business on their own, paying no attention to these outsiders.

Thinking of those surprisingly numerous skeleton crew members who were maintaining and adjusting the giant ship, the young woman rubbed her temples and frowned slightly in distress.

Perhaps she should go take a look at that room.

She gazed forward, recalling the area she’d discovered earlier when her consciousness swept over the entire giant ship—an area she couldn’t explore—feeling that might be where the answer lay.

That room, which should be the captain’s quarters, was located among the stern superstructure behind her.

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Though thinking this way and planning to turn around and go there, a casual glance interrupted the captain’s movement and instead made her unconsciously walk several steps toward the bow.

At the very front of the giant ship’s bow, at the front line facing storms and dangers, a figurehead carved from ancient wood stood in quiet dignity, posed in prayer.

It was a woman of absolute beauty—no, perhaps calling her a goddess would be more appropriate.

Mother of humanity, origin of civilization, goddess of the sacred flame…

From ancient times to the present, in their world, she had far too many titles, but the most familiar to everyone present was still the Holy Church’s honorific for her.

Auran Goddess, Hestia.

Following the captain’s gaze, the pirates also looked forward, and though distant, they still clearly saw the divine statue, for she was like fire, burning gently in the rainy night.

Praying for them, praying for everyone.

In an instant, everyone felt warmth and affinity welling up from the bottom of their hearts. Even Anderson, a firm atheist who considered the Holy Church merely a “scam,” couldn’t help but exhale softly and unconsciously murmur.

“Well I’ll be damned—no, should I say my God? Today I’ve really had my eyes opened.”

Hearing this, Roy shot him a glance and reminded: “I think you should show more respect to the Goddess, even though she’s the Auran Goddess, not the Federation’s.”

“Not yours, not yours!” Alfie called out at just the right moment.

“That’s the Holy Church’s conspiracy. Does the Goddess know she’s been labeled as Auran? Besides, although the Holy Church is Auran’s state religion, there are plenty of believers in the Federation too.”

Seeing this, the ship’s doctor couldn’t help but retort.

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Shaking her head, Roy had no interest in continuing this debate about the Goddess’s allegiance. Just as she was about to end this argument with “You don’t believe in religion, yet now you’re concerned about it,” she was interrupted by exclamations before she could speak.

“What’s wrong?”

Turning around to look at the crowd that had scattered and retreated in some confusion, without needing anyone to explain, the captain also knew what the problem was. She raised an eyebrow and asked the ship’s doctor beside her.

“You… can see her too?”

Hugging the cat closer as if chilled, Anderson shuddered and complained in a low voice: “Only a blind person couldn’t see her. My God, how is it that you’re always entangled with these things?”

“First water ghosts, then skeletons, and now… a ghost has popped up?”

Yes, it was indeed a ghost.

What had appeared out of nowhere among the crowd, startling the pirates into scattering, was precisely a ghostly young woman in a gauze dress with phosphorescent light surrounding her. Only this time she seemed different.

Not only was her form more solid than usual, visible to mortal eyes, but she also seemed to have… gained the ability to merge with the present world and touch physical objects?

Watching the ghost slowly approach and extend her hand toward her, Roy speculated.

Ignoring the ship doctor’s deliberate switch to using “my God,” before the increasingly wide eyes of all the pirates, the captain also extended her hand and took hold of the ghost’s hand.

It was somewhat cold, like gently flowing cold mist that might dissipate at any moment.

But she had truly grasped it and could feel the weak pull transmitted by the ghostly girl, beginning to follow her steps toward that towering superstructure.

“You all arrange the watch stations and hurry to familiarize people with the sail and anchor arrangements.”

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“I’ll be back shortly.”

Watching the pair, one large and one small, gradually blurring and disappearing into the distance through the rain curtain, the group looked at each other in bewilderment. Though they felt uneasy, they still began carrying out the orders.

Soon, only the somewhat lonely ship’s doctor remained in the center of the spacious deck.

“Really, not even telling me what to do, at least find me a place to shelter from the rain?”

Muttering to himself, Anderson randomly found a mast and leaned against its base. The surprisingly thick crossbeams overhead couldn’t block all the slanting rain, but it was still much better than being completely exposed. Thinking this, he sighed lightly.

The captain and that ghost had gone to the superstructure—he certainly couldn’t go there. As for the ship’s interior, he’d encounter those skeletons everywhere, which was chilling just to think about.

In the end, he’d become a “drowned rat” with nowhere to go.

How pitiful and lamentable.

“Meow.”

While sighing and complaining about his situation in his heart, Anderson suddenly heard a flat, cold meow questioning him about where the Siren had gone.

“Her? Who knows, maybe in the lower hold? But this ship doesn’t need…”

The ship’s doctor shrugged, saying somewhat impatiently, but his words cut off abruptly halfway through.

He blinked and stiffly lowered his head, meeting a pair of deep, cold, lightless deep-sea blue eyes, then groaned in amazement.

“Oh, my God.”