Chapter 546: Adam Appears, What the hell is Eden!
After hearing Ryuunosuke's words, a smile finally returned to Merlin's face.
If that was the only requirement, then things became much simpler.
"Understood, Captain!"
As soon as Merlin spoke, she raised her hand and pulled back the magic wrapped around Charlotte Linlin.
The moment that limitless power withdrew, Linlin's eyes rolled back and she slipped into a coma again, her body going limp like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"Come on," Ryuunosuke said. "We are moving."
He flicked his wrist, and in the next instant, all three of them vanished from the room.
When the world snapped back into place, they were on a nearby island. Ryuunosuke placed Charlotte Linlin down on the ground without ceremony, like setting down a heavy burden.
Merlin stepped forward, her gaze sharpening.
"Captain, I am starting."
"The Wheel of Eternity!"
A violent surge of magic exploded from her palms.
The space around them rippled and shook as if the island itself had been dropped into boiling water.
Then, a cyan soul was yanked out of Charlotte Linlin's body, dragged into the air by Merlin's power.
"Ah!"
Linlin's body arched so hard it looked like it might snap. A hoarse, horrific scream tore out of her throat.
This was not pain of flesh.
This was pain that tore at the soul itself.
"It is fine," Ryuunosuke said, calm as stone. "Let her scream."
Merlin's lips curled upward.
"Since the captain said we do not need a host body, it is even easier."
Her smile turned sharp, almost wicked.
"Do not be greedy for what was never yours."
"Whether you choose to keep devouring other people's souls, or let me consume yours instead, the choice is yours."
The cyan soul hovering above Linlin was still clinging to Linlin's soul essence, trying to tear away a portion for itself.
Its fusion with Linlin was not deep enough yet, which was why it was still desperate, still trying to steal.
But after hearing Merlin's words, it froze.
Then it made its decision.
It abandoned the fusion instantly.
Even the parts that were only halfway merged were discarded without hesitation, as if cutting off its own flesh to survive.
And in the next moment, a figure appeared on the island.
"Captain Ryuunosuke?"
A lazy, relaxed voice drifted over like a breeze that did not belong in a battlefield.
"Are you the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the so called strongest of the new era, the one who suppresses the seas?"
At the same time, the soul before them began to shift and condense, slowly forming a body of its own.
A fair skinned man appeared.
He looked young, almost boyish, with features so clean and delicate that they felt unreal.
"Adam?"
Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed.
He recognized that face immediately.
He had seen it before, in the illusion created by Lilith's projection.
That tree was Adam's true form in this world, or at least the shape he used to manifest.
But why was Adam here like this?
In this way?
Adam smiled as if they were meeting at a banquet instead of beside a torn soul.
"Since it might be a little rude, allow me to introduce myself."
"Adam, Son of God."
"Nice to meet you. Please take good care of me."
It was an embarrassingly corny introduction, and Ryuunosuke had no idea where he had learned it.
But one thing was certain.
This man was Adam.
And as Adam spoke, Ryuunosuke noticed something else.
Adam's body was absorbing something from the surroundings.
The trees on the island began to wither, their leaves turning yellow in seconds, their life drained away as if the island itself was being sucked dry.
In exchange, Adam's form stopped looking like a half formed soul.
It became solid.
Real.
A physical body.
And once that body fully took shape, a heavy, terrifying aura spilled out and pressed down on everyone present.
Merlin's expression tightened.
"Captain… we released a huge one."
"What do we do? Fight?"
Even with limitless magic, she could feel the danger.
When Merlin faced danger, she had always believed in one solution.
Erase it.
Ryuunosuke raised a hand.
"Do not rush into battle."
Adam waved the apple in his hand as if he were amused.
"I went through all that trouble to come see you, not to fight you."
"Captain Ryuunosuke, may we talk?"
He somehow produced an apple from nowhere, took a small bite, and chewed slowly.
Even that simple action looked strangely pleasing, like he was built to be admired.
It was ridiculous to describe a man like that, yet Ryuunosuke could not deny the feeling.
"Talk?" Ryuunosuke asked.
He watched Adam without blinking.
"And what exactly do you want to talk about?"
"Are you preparing to abandon this planet and leave?"
Ryuunosuke lowered himself and sat on the ground, showing his attitude clearly.
He was listening.
But he was not bowing.
Adam laughed softly.
"Leave?"
"I cannot."
"It is not that I do not want to. It is that I cannot."
"My existence is my mission."
"To create a perfect world."
"And this is the world that chose me."
As he spoke, Adam leaned back lazily.
A tree rose behind him without any warning, as if the island itself was offering him a throne.
He rested against the trunk like he owned it.
"Perfect?" Ryuunosuke said.
His tone carried clear disbelief.
"What even is perfection?"
In a world where people existed, how could perfection ever exist?
No matter how advanced a civilization became, no matter how terrifying its power was, wherever humans gathered, conflict followed.
Desire never ended.
The heart was a pit that could never be filled.
Adam's voice remained calm, almost gentle.
"To let everyone live the life they want."
"Resources, relationships, happiness."
"If all those conditions are satisfied, then this world becomes the Garden of Eden."
He spoke slowly, deliberately, as if he were not negotiating, but preaching.
Ryuunosuke's eyes sharpened, his expression turning colder.
"Eden?"
He let out a short breath that sounded like a scoff.
"That is a joke."
If Eden was truly that wonderful, then why did the myth end with Adam tasting the forbidden fruit and being cast out?
And even worse, his lover was said to be carved from his own body.
Just thinking about it made Ryuunosuke feel a flash of disgust.
"So," Ryuunosuke said, voice sharp with sarcasm, "you want to turn this world into your personal property."
"You want to build a perfect set of rules, and force everyone to live inside your perfect dream."
For the first time, Adam's calm cracked.
His expression changed, and his eyes tightened like Ryuunosuke had struck something sensitive.
"How did you know?" Adam asked, genuinely incredulous.
It was not a casual question.
It sounded like shock.
Like that answer had taken him a very long time to reach.
Ryuunosuke paused.
"Uh…"
He looked oddly embarrassed.
It was hard to say why.
The last person he remembered with that kind of dream was Obito, and the end of that road had been a disaster.
Even Kaguya had managed to trigger Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the result had not exactly been a happy ending.
"Well," Ryuunosuke said, scratching at the awkwardness with his words, "I was guessing."
Adam stared at him for a moment.
Then his smile returned, brighter than before.
"The fact that you can guess that already proves you are intelligent."
"It proves you have awareness."
"So, Captain Ryuunosuke, you are willing to help me, right?"
His eyes carried expectation.
Because that was why Adam had come.
Even with immense power, he could not act freely.
Especially with another adversary lurking in the shadows.
The Evictors were starting to become insufficient on the high seas.
So Adam needed a different path.
And in his eyes, Ryuunosuke was the most suitable choice.
Just then, a voice entered Ryuunosuke's ears.
Familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time.
"Captain Ryuunosuke… do you mind if I join this conversation?"
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