Captain – Chapter 684 – Gate of Chaos, Magnificent Being

The cold wind grew fiercer, snowflakes falling from the sky.

But in the dim firmament, there was a slender figure falling faster and lighter than those delicate crystals—fast as lightning, light as a raven’s feather.

Only that “lightness” didn’t refer to her descent, but that at this moment, in this place…

No “one” could detect her presence.

The Crown Prince might glimpse something from the changes in celestial phenomena, but the giant statue, moving purely on instinct with eyes only for that “delicious meal,” lacked such perception.

So it still extended its bone claw wrapped in chains and hanging an iron anchor toward the young man who seemed to have given up, missing its final chance to resist the ghost descending from heaven.

“Tap.”

After a light sound like a snowflake touching ground, black boots stopped atop the giant statue’s head covered in ruins.

So the mountain of bones suddenly froze.

Whether the extended giant claw, the pupil light that could no longer suppress greed and desire as it violently fluctuated, or its beast-like impulses—all stopped at this moment.

As if robbed of an instant of time.

A moment later, the calm ended.

The giant statue’s bone claw moved again, faster than before.

Only instead of grasping toward the young man who had turned around to look up at it, it swatted toward its own head.

The stagnant pupil light also returned to turbulence, but the violence and greed within had vanished, replaced by terror—the terror of a cornered beast seeing an approaching bullet.

Shocked, deafening roars rang out together.

But what responded wasn’t the faces on the ghostly ship’s inner walls, but another light sound, and a cold palm that had somehow gently covered its skull.

Gentle… yet utterly terrifying.

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“Crack, crack, crack, crack…”

After a series of bone joint collision sounds, that massive bone claw slowly halted in mid-air. Far from crushing that half-kneeling slender shadow, it couldn’t even touch its own head.

The air currents driven by the bone claw and the hoarse, grating roars all ceased at this moment.

Then, beneath that palm covering the giant statue’s head, there was slight movement—fine cracking sounds, with star-like radiance faintly flowing out.

Soon, the cracking sounds and starlight spread like wildfire across every part of the skeletal frame.

The skull, the giant claws, the giant captain’s uniform hanging like rags on its body…

And within its hollow eye sockets.

At some point, those ghostly lights symbolizing evil souls had been swallowed by the starlike radiance.

This was truly a tremendously shocking scene.

On the island formed by the warship, the Crown Prince was appreciating this sight.

Watching beams of bright but not blinding starlight emerge from the giant statue’s cavities, watching the cracks formed by star radiance climb across every inch of its body.

Until the brilliance reached its peak, and that mindless, violent monster began to silently collapse.

Like a toppling mountain, like a banished spirit.

This scene… was breathtakingly beautiful.

“I didn’t expect you would go this far.”

Clear praise fell from the sky. When the star-light cracks began spreading, the slender shadow atop the giant statue had already stood up, now walking down the tilting bone joints—those slanting, toppling collarbones and ribs looked exactly like stairs.

The steps leading to that highest hall in the royal city.

The air currents from the skeletal collapse made the already chaotic snowflakes even more disordered, and when that “corpse” completely sank into the bone sea, the newcomer had already climbed onto the island.

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The one who fell like a ghost and destroyed that giant statue in an instant was naturally Roy.

And after her praise fell and she stood on the island, the miserable howls from inside and outside the ghostly ship, along with the faint cannon fire and human voices from the outside world, finally drifted into the Crown Prince’s ears.

Then came the girl’s initial judgment.

“I originally thought that someone of your noble status would generally value their life highly.”

Hearing this, the young man calmly said “There are always exceptions,” his face showing no emotion, as if he wasn’t surprised that the giant captain had been defeated by her like this.

After all, such a thing was merely the tip of the iceberg of the ghostly ship’s power.

The ship of the dead’s true strength never lay here.

But in its life form that transcended rules and life and death, and that deepest chaos.

Without taking its vital core, these undead would never truly “die.”

Just like now, that giant statue’s remains, torn apart by starlight and swallowed by bones, was reassembling in the unseeable chaos, presumably soon to return again.

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince’s eyes held several shades of peculiarity as he looked at the girl, feeling that when asking him that question, weren’t you also in this skeletal hell?

As a descendant of Prince Deming, how low could your status in the west be?

Yet you still took the same risk to enter this game.

“We’re not the same.”

Sensing the emotion in the Crown Prince’s gaze, Roy smiled and shook her head at him, stepping forward several paces to pass him while saying: “You are the noble Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty.”

“As for me…”

Pausing in her words, the captain nimbly turned around, spreading her arms slightly and lowering her body.

“I’m just a pirate.”

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With her back to the curtain-like ghostly creature, the girl’s gesture looked very much like taking a bow—somewhat reserved and elegant, but more filled with lawless frivolity.

Straightening up from her bow, looking at the thoughtful young man, Roy didn’t forget to add: “But precisely because of this, I’ll be more skilled at handling this sort of thing than you.”

“So Your Highness the Crown Prince, please step back behind the scenes.”

“Watch this captain’s performance.”

And just as Roy’s words fell, the sound of beating wings came from the snowy horizon, a giant shadow breaking through the snow curtain and quickly landing on the island.

It was naturally Nidhogg, carrying a young man on its back.

“Tap.”

Seeing no hostile situation, Caine sheathed his curved blade and leaped down from the dragon’s back. After glancing at the Crown Prince’s poor condition, he quickly said to the girl: “Couldn’t resolve that thing.”

Before approaching the abyss, Roy had likewise arrived on the giant dragon, so she naturally knew the direction they had flown after she left, understanding the meaning of this brief statement.

After clarifying the situation earlier, they had temporarily separated. The girl fell into the abyss—first to explore the general situation within, and second because she sensed the Crown Prince’s condition.

Understanding he was near his limit, she came to rescue first.

While Nidhogg and Caine returned to the outer sea, both to confirm the battle situation wouldn’t spiral out of control and to attempt resolving the obsession the giant dragon had harbored since birth.

Naturally, to free its kindred.

And “that thing” in his statement naturally referred to that skeletal giant dragon.

But now it seemed it indeed wasn’t so easy.

Not surprised by this result, the girl glanced at the giant dragon, which had some filthy blood and black scales around its mouth, and after confirming it wasn’t seriously hurt, nodded to show she understood.

“I tried too. These guys are hard to kill, so don’t waste more effort on them.”

Looking past the human and dragon toward the bone sea that had calmed considerably due to her suppression, watching it raise “waves” again and return to chaos, the captain said calmly.

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She knew this was the giant statue, shattered into countless pieces, reassembling and crawling back.

“After I wake up that dead ghost and sever this ship’s vital core, they’ll naturally settle down.”

“As for now, you should take His Highness the Crown Prince and withdraw.”

Hearing the girl’s quite natural suggestion, Caine raised an eyebrow without moving, only replying: “Nidhogg can handle carrying people by itself.”

“Please, you know you can’t enter that door.”

At this, Roy sighed quietly, then said with feigned annoyance.

Just like that Crown Prince, the moment she stepped onto this island, she had already sensed that door and “seen” the magnificent figure seated beyond it.

Only that so-called door wasn’t a real portal, but a passage leading down into chaos.

That path, and the world beneath it, wasn’t much better than the Putrid Abyss or the legendary hell. Ordinary people simply couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure.

Unless one was near the other shore, or an eternal existence like evil spirits and giant dragons, none could approach.

Her first mate’s perception wasn’t as sharp as hers, or even the Crown Prince’s, but because he carried the devil lineage’s grace, he should feel that door and the person beyond it even more clearly.

He should naturally know that was originally prepared by Captain Edward for her alone. Even without any arrangements, no one could accompany her there.

The wounded Crown Prince couldn’t, Nidhogg who hadn’t reached life’s peak couldn’t, and Caine naturally couldn’t either. If so, going along with her would be meaningless.

At most, he could only…

Caine’s laughter-filled whisper interrupted the captain’s thoughts. She widened her eyes slightly, not knowing how to refute, because what he said was exactly what she was thinking.

“But at least, I can accompany you a bit further and leave when we reach the door.”

“Isn’t that right, Captain?”