Chapter 183 Death!

With their eyes peeled, they remained alert and watchful, ready for any sudden movements. Inwardly, Annabelle's frustration boiled over as she cursed under her breath, her thoughts racing with possibilities of what could be ahead.

As if on cue, a cacophony of boisterous laughter reverberated through the air, shattering the silence like a pane of glass, and causing Annabelle's heart to skip a beat. With lightning-fast reflexes, she snapped her head to the side to locate the source of the laughter.

To her surprise, the second in command of Prince Wyatt's crew was doubled over with laughter, completely unrestrained and unapologetic. He turned around and strode back towards the door with careless abandon, his attention elsewhere and oblivious to the view before him.

As she stood there, a shiver ran down her spine, and her heart pounded in her chest. She knew that she was witnessing a momentous experience, one that would be etched in her memory forever.

She would have liked to turn around and question Jerry, to demand an explanation for his weird behaviour. But she was too afraid to miss even a single detail of what was unfolding before her eyes.

Despite her intense focus on the fallen king Kanit, whose body was covered in small scars and who struggled to regain his footing, Jerry's words cut through the tension in the air like a knife. His unwavering confidence in his captain's abilities was both admirable and unsettling.

"You see what I told you, renowned king, or not, magical beast or man, my captain will always create a miracle!".

'Miracle' She repeated.

This time, as the word 'miracle' echoed in her mind, she felt a surge of emotion that she couldn't quite identify. It was as if the word held a deeper significance, a deeper meaning that she had yet to uncover.

Nevertheless, as she watched the scene unfold, another thought bounced around in her head.

Prince Wyatt was truly a dangerous man!

…....…..

Ag'na found his lips dry.

Truthfully, it had been an eternity since his mind had been rendered incapable of processing thoughts regarding any entity.

No, this entity was not divine in nature, but a mere mortal. This was a human whom he could not even fathom comparing to a god, as even they coveted the title of godhood.

However, amidst his mental fog, one entity managed to break through - his inheritor. It was a rat that he had discovered, and the irony of it all was not lost on him. Nevertheless, the stark reality that lay before him spoke volumes.

As much as his inheritor's master could not be considered a god, the audacity with which he defied the natural order of things by manipulating the fabric of time and reality to alter history was awe-inspiring. It made him wonder if perhaps, just maybe, this man - Captain Prince Wyatt, as he called himself - could be on the brink of achieving godlike status or was he already a go --

A sudden shiver rippled across his immaterial body, causing him to sigh in defeat.

Is this what he has been reduced to? A revered beast who once made an entire region tremble in fear has now been turned into an ancestor of a common rat, wondering if a mere human was a god.

Well, not that he was complaining, but when an almost unbelievable fact throws itself at your face, it would take some time for you to readjust and accept things are they were. And was especially true if one was a beast who has lived and built his life around his instinct and environment.

And as for the human.

"Haaaa…." Ag'na inwardly sighed.

There was no need to think about such trivial things now that he was in the middle of chaos. The least that he could do was make sure that his legacy survives before he leaves this world.

[ Master?] Bone's inner thoughts rang out to him.

Ag'na already knew what the simple-minded rat was about to ask, and so, he responded immediately [Don't worry, he is as good as dead. I told you that I have faced that human, before haven't I?]

[ Yes ] Bones replied in agreement.

[ Then you don't have to worry about a thing since I can tell that he is already out of magical energy to fuel his body for the rest of the battle, which is all thanks to your master ] Although he still found it difficult not to feel the weight of such words grinding in his ears, he could deal with it and found it mostly tolerable considering the calibre of person he was talking about.

[ And unless he brought with him those other two friends of which I am that he didn't, then you don't need to be afraid ] He continued. [The best that you could do now is to prepare for any sudden ambush and wait for your master to give the last order ].

[Altight ] Bones responded in affirmation. And the once noisy mindscape became silent once more.

Meanwhile, Ag'na watched the outside world, awaiting his inheritor's master's next course of action.

….......

"Cough! Cough!" I watched as fallen King Kanit coughed up a huge amount of blood that slowly sunk into the sea.

"Is this…. finally the end?" He asked rhetorically. Speaking to no one other but himself. "I see" His eyes stared at the sea in a daze as his blood slowly soiled the sea. "…It seems like this is truly the end".

My lips were sealed shut as my attention was locked on the fallen king who was still tirelessly trying to stand on his two feet. Normally, I would have chosen to say something by now, or irresistibly utter a snarky remark, but I didn't feel the need to do so except watch as the man finally decided to accept his own fate before it abruptly came to an end.

And before I realised that it was much worst for a man to accept his defeat beneath all his grief and despair as he watched everything he knows and cherishes come to end, it was already too late.

As such, I continued to keep my lips sealed and observe. Gradually, he raised his head and looked at me with a bloody painful smile arched across his face.

His eyes were locked on mine, and he spoke. "You are not saying anything? Aren't you supposed to mock and ridicule me about how you have defeated the king of the fallen Eser kingdom, and taken his wife as your trophy?".

I was silent.

"What" His voice thundered. Heaven knows that I didn't know where he got the strength to vent out like that in his beaten and miserable form. "Don't tell me that you are just keeping quiet for the sake of it and because you wanted to?". He then chortled "… Truly, Captain Wyatt, I have never seen another prince or pirate like you".

Silence.

Suddenly, he steeled his gaze land looked at me with unnatural morale seeping out from his being "So, just for the sake of it…. for the sake of my last dying moments before I take my final breath, aren't you going to at least try and give me a reasonable answer?".

The silence seemed to stretch on.

Fallen king Kanit saw this, and shook his head in defeat "I should h….".

"It's because I am not a lesser man" Finally, I responded.

And, I watched as his eyes widened and his lips moved as he lowered his head and mumbled out those words. "….not a lesser man" He repeated.

The words danced around his lips repeatedly a few times before he closed his eyes, and a deep long breath. "I see…" He exhaled and opened his eyes before he locked his gaze once more against mine.

But this time, I could see it clearly in his eyes. Understanding.

"At least, you have a conscience not to rub your victory in my face as my wife watches from afar" His gaze shifted, staring at someone behind me before he focused his attention back on me.

Meanwhile, I didn't bother looking back as there was no need to do so with my magical energy still sweeping violently across the atmosphere, I could tell those who were watching apart from those who aren't.

"But how does a man with a conscience still choose to drown himself in such vileness and depravity?" He questioned himself.

Maybe he had figured out that any response I gave him next wouldn't make sense to any other person but myself.

Again, he chortled "Maybe, I can find the answer to that question after death". He suddenly frowned "At least, I won't be dying at the hands of that snake".

Even without a name being attached to that statement, I didn't need to know who he was talking about considering that I was smart to put the clues from Ag'na's conversation with Bones and some of the sentences that king Kanit himself had leaked out.

"I'm done..." He didn't struggle anymore to get up and merely knelt firmly on his knees. "Go ahead". He voiced out to me, finally ready for death.

And so, I responded "Bones…".