Captain – Chapter 685 – Hidden Game Behind the Door

Because he understood her, Caine guessed Roy’s thoughts.

And precisely because she understood him, the girl knew she probably couldn’t “deceive” him into leaving this time.

Aside from his counter-“bluff” in the Death Silence Triangle, this was perhaps the first time he had seen through her? Though this time, there wasn’t actually any falsehood in her words.

That door truly existed, and he indeed couldn’t enter—at most he could only stop at the threshold.

But even so, accompanying her on this journey posed little risk, with the only threat coming from the path itself.

With her there on the way in, there would naturally be no problems. And even if the young man had to return alone in the end, with his curved blade for protection and the giant dragon for support, presumably he could safely escape this ship.

But despite this, Roy still didn’t want him to come, because she knew he would definitely want to do more.

And that would multiply the danger exponentially.

“Captain, didn’t you say not long ago that you wanted me to accompany you for one last bout of madness?”

“Then this is that path, isn’t it?”

But no matter how unwilling she was, hearing Caine’s seemingly questioning but actually fact-stating words, the girl was finally persuaded, because that was exactly right.

Because not counting this journey, the final appointment she had to keep lay on that nameless island.

Between her and that Pirate King.

And that meeting would stir up grievances spanning millennia, and would trigger…

A true divine war.

In such strife, let alone him—even if that night curtain over the Western Seas still existed, even if the Lady didn’t spare her appearance, they probably couldn’t influence much.

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So this was the final adventure, and he naturally wanted to accompany her.

Human nature, beyond reproach.

So the sound of beating wings arose as Nidhogg carried the wounded Crown Prince into the sky, breaking through the snow curtain as it flew away. Roy and her companion didn’t instruct it to return immediately.

They only told it to watch the situation and lend a hand when the Goddess Hestia needed it.

The dragon not returning naturally meant the first mate wouldn’t turn back to the deck and return to the present world after walking the path leading to chaos, but would wait until the final moment.

Wait for her triumphant return, or to drown together in the abyss.

Not very rational, but romantic enough.

After sending away the dragon and Crown Prince, the two no longer delayed, heading toward the ghostly mist.

The sensations they experienced were no different from when the Crown Prince had ventured in earlier—the present world constantly blurring and receding while that old time became increasingly real.

Finally, snowflakes no longer fell from the sky, and the bone sea’s tidal sounds, which had become incredibly violent due to the giant statue’s reassembly and return to the world, were completely replaced by tranquility.

In the complete stillness, only footsteps and breathing could be heard.

And perhaps because the visitors either carried devil’s blood or bore that lineage’s grace, that young man who had once blocked the Crown Prince’s steps didn’t immediately appear.

Instead, when the two walked side by side across the warship’s deck and came to the open wooden door, preparing to descend the gangway into the corridor black as if it had swallowed all light, he emerged from the chaotically churning mist behind them.

Only this time he wasn’t alone—shadowy figures filled the entire deck.

But no pressure or sense of crisis came.

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Not a trace.

“Child, this is a meeting the captain arranged for you alone. Outsiders cannot enter.”

Among the forest of figures, that gentleman-like young man stepped forward from the crowd, standing less than ten meters from the pair, speaking to the girl in flat tones.

Looking at that face she still had an impression of—or rather, one firmly embedded in her mind due to a certain profound memory—Roy frowned slightly but wasn’t surprised.

This person was precisely the bosun she had once seen in that old time aboard the Satin, an undoubted legendary figure among pirates—Lucius Lane.

And the people behind him were naturally crew members of the Satin whom she had met and even drank and made merry with at that time, though one person and one cat were missing.

Missing were Isaac the first mate, who couldn’t be counted as a devil’s devotee, and the Siamese cat Mango.

Besides those two… they were also among the few lucky ones on that legendary pirate ship who had escaped the cruel fate of being merged into chaos.

No, actually they couldn’t be called lucky either.

Thinking this, Roy’s frown gradually relaxed, though the emotion in her eyes dimmed considerably.

Because she knew that though the people before her weren’t like those on the Satin—mere warm memories or phantoms—but actual forms, they could no longer be considered themselves.

They were merely puppets with memories intact.

Just the shells of pitiful people.

And her emotions faded for two reasons: first, she knew there was no need to direct feelings toward them because it was meaningless; second, she sensed from them…

A familiar aura—an unmistakably vivid scent of death.

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So vivid that with just one “glance,” she recognized it as coming from that black blade, from the Nethergate Dagger that could break all curses and eternal life.

So you hid it here, so…

That’s how it is.

Sensing the death aura emanating from among the figures, identical to the short dagger held by the ancestor in that human leader’s memory world, the captain lowered her eyelids and thought silently. All the confusion before coming here now had answers.

Just like where the curse-breaking blade was, just like how that devil…

Had actually manipulated her father.

But this deduction wasn’t good—more despairing and powerless than the worst situation she had imagined.

Because if that were so, everything was already beyond redemption.

“Bosun Lucius, you know he can’t enter that door. Even if he could influence things, it would be extremely limited, not enough to exceed our ancestor’s tolerance. Don’t block us unnecessarily.”

Knowing further deliberation was useless, Roy suppressed her emotions and looked at him calmly.

Even as a puppet, a legend was still a legend. Just as Caine could still sense that invincible might when facing that figure from the old days.

Stemming from power, and also from will.

So despite losing emotions and most subjectivity, Lucius could still instantly determine that the girl’s words were true, and after glancing at Caine, he nodded slightly.

He indeed couldn’t enter that door, and that Pirate King indeed wouldn’t care about having one more person on this path that was practically laid bare before Roy with no obstruction.

Because many things were already predetermined. Even the Goddess of Fate couldn’t change them.

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Unless it was the instigator who created all this.

“Then good luck to you, child.”

After making his decision, the figures who had only appeared because of the young man beside Roy began retreating, blurring, disappearing one by one into the mist.

That bosun was naturally the last to leave, bidding her farewell before withdrawing.

But looking at his eyes devoid of any fluctuation, feeling the supreme indifference in his tone, Roy couldn’t quite tell whether the one speaking to her was him…

Or her long-unseen ancestor.

Whether due to this awkward feeling or the unwillingness in her heart, the captain looked directly into his eyes and asked, not knowing whom she was addressing: “What awaits me behind that door?”

Even the Crown Prince, who had no connection to the devil’s lineage, could sense the magnificent being behind the door. The girl naturally couldn’t be unaware, so she wasn’t asking about this.

She wasn’t asking about the person, but about the game.

A killing game, or what?

At this, Lucius’s form stiffened. After a moment, emotion finally seemed to appear in his pupils—cold, mocking, even a sly curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

At this moment, he had naturally transformed into another person, becoming the one Roy had meant to question.

And before his form moved again and the ghostly mist at his side churned and overturned to completely swallow him, the bosun—or rather, the person hidden within him—finally spoke.

“That’s a surprise, my dear child. I guarantee it will be countless times more interesting…”

“Than a death battle.”