Chapter 584: Wendy (3)
“It’s just as you thought. The Sea of Oblivion started being called by that name around thirty years ago. That’s also when Neverland was created.”
Curious, Oliver looked up from the sea chart and fixed his gaze on Hook.
The fact that Pan’s base, Neverland, was established thirty years ago seemed like it might be very useful information.
However, what was even more significant was Hook’s familiarity with these details.
Before Oliver could ask, Hook spoke first.
“By the way, I was also there when Pan created Neverland thirty years ago. Using countless children and islands as materials, Pan created his own small world… The Wendy is merely an imitation of that.”
Oliver immediately understood what Hook meant.
The Wendy was a massive galleon reanimated as a creature, composed of countless emotions, life force, magical energy, and Hook’s own memories, affection, and will as a sorcerer.
In essence, Neverland was fundamentally the same as the Wendy.
“The only difference is that the scale is as vast as the distance between the heavens and the earth.”
Hook pointed with his hook toward the center of a sea chart created three or four decades ago.
There, surrounded by several islands, was one large island.
Although it bore the mark of a colonial city under the United Kingdom, the name of the city had been erased.
“This island must be Neverland,” Hook said with a blend of conjecture and certainty.
“It certainly is bigger than a ship... but how are you so sure? Weren’t you only vaguely aware of Neverland’s location?”
“I’ve searched every other island in the area. By process of elimination, this is the only one left.”
Hook tapped the center of the Sea of Oblivion confidently with his hook.
Oliver was impressed.
“Oh… that’s remarkable. To have searched such a vast area, island by island.”
“With enough time, anyone could do it.”
It wasn’t humility, but genuine truth, though Oliver shook his head in disagreement.
“Still, it’s amazing. Searching for that long is easier said than done, and the Sea of Oblivion is a dangerous place, isn’t it?”
“My situation is different.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s true that the Sea of Oblivion is dangerous, but it’s not so perilous for me.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well… how should I put this? Lately, I’ve begun to suspect that Pan doesn’t intend to kill me.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Because I’m still alive,” Hook replied with conviction.
“It took me nearly ten years to escape from Neverland and stand on my own. And I’ve spent the subsequent twenty years searching for Neverland. Yet, here I am, still alive.”
“Maybe it’s due to your own strength, Captain Hook?”
“I acknowledge that the Wendy is powerful. I’m confident it could take on ten or twenty warships at once, and military mages are no different.”
Hook paused, then shook his head.
“However, that doesn’t mean it’s invincible. The number of creatures in the Sea of Oblivion would certainly be enough to overpower me, yet that’s never happened.”
“Never?”
“There were a few dangerous encounters, but nothing beyond that. After twenty years, that can’t just be a coincidence.”
Hook’s speculation gradually shifted into certainty, which then sparked a question.
“Twenty years of being hunted but not killed... Mr. Dave, do you have any idea why Pan would allow me to live?”
Rather than answering immediately, Oliver watched Hook’s emotions, which shone with sincerity and bitterness.
“Hmm… Well, I have a personal theory, but it’s not certain.”
“Let me be the judge. Please, tell me.”
Oliver opened his mouth, showing respect to the courteous Hook, who clearly held the answer in great importance.
“I believe it’s a type of condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. I don’t know all the details, but there are ways to enhance dark magic by imposing certain rules or restrictions on it. Like, say, something akin to the Fisherman’s Maw.”
“I know what that is. It’s Pan’s technique for amplifying dark magic by deceiving the target.”
Knowing Pan’s methods well, Hook immediately understood.
“So, you’re suggesting I’m one of those conditions?”
“Yes, I think you’re specifically a condition necessary to sustain Neverland. At least, that’s my belief… Didn’t you say, Mr. Hook, that Neverland seems like an island of dreams for children?”
“Yes. It’s a place where chocolate coins are buried everywhere, fairies live, mermaids sing, unicorns roam freely, and one can engage in battle games with the Red-Skinned Warlocks every day—a land of dreams and adventure… or at least, it appears that way.”
“I think it would take more than a mere abundance of materials to maintain such an island. So, by implementing certain conditions, the island has been sustained. For instance, if it’s an island for children, there could be a condition that an adult continuously searches for it as a contrasting element.”
Although his explanation was vague, Oliver felt increasingly confident.
Dark magic was like a picture; how it was designed could produce unexpected effects.
Dark magic items with surprising performance were one such example.
Moreover, the more immense and complex the dark magic, the greater the need for a mechanism to sustain it over time.
No matter how powerful the creature, a structure was crucial to prevent it from breaking free from the sorcerer’s control.
As if he shared Oliver’s thoughts, Hook pondered this possibility, then nodded slowly.
“That makes sense.”
“It’s still only a theory.”
“No, I thought carefully before saying it.”
He meant it.
“Thinking back, it doesn’t make sense that I managed to escape from Neverland in the first place. Yes, Neverland was unstable in its early days, and Belle helped me, but still, it’s strange.”
At the mention of “Belle,” a fairy peeked out from Hook’s chest.
“For the longest time, I believed it was thanks to Belle and sheer luck that I escaped Neverland, but now I wonder if Pan deliberately let me go. All to keep Neverland stable.”
Hook was accepting Oliver’s theory as fact.
And Oliver thought it was likely as well.
The instability Neverland experienced when it was first created, Hook’s timely escape, and Pan’s decision to leave him alone despite his continued search for the island—these things were difficult to explain otherwise.
Yet Oliver was left with a difficult question.
How could Pan be so sure that Hook would continue searching for Neverland?
Wasn’t that uncertain?
Out of the thirty years Hook had been away, ten were spent acquiring his own ship, while the remaining twenty were spent scouring the Sea of Oblivion.
Even Oliver found this an impressive feat.
Ordinary people might give up in the first ten years, exhausted by the challenge.
Most would.
But Hook was still searching for Neverland.
Whether as a dark sorcerer or a pirate, he was accomplished enough to live any life he desired.
Oliver grew intensely curious as to why.
“Captain Hook… I hope you don’t mind my asking, but may I ask a personal question?”
“…Go ahead.”
“May I ask why you continue to search for Neverland? It doesn’t seem to be out of mere personal ambition.”
Oliver recalled the selfless desire that had surfaced in Hook during their negotiation.
Hook fell silent upon hearing the question.
“Oh… if I was being insensitive, I apologize. I was just eager to gather information. If it’s difficult for you to answer—”
“I was asked to.”
Hook cut him off.
“Asked to?”
“Yes, by Wendy.”
Neverland’s Wendy, the Wendy of Hook’s ship, and now, this Wendy once again.
Unable to resist, Oliver asked,
“Just what exactly is this ‘Wendy’?”
It seemed Hook was no longer inclined to keep it a secret, as he began to speak.
At that moment—
“Captain! We’re entering the Sea of Oblivion!”
One of Hook’s sailors, bound to the Wendy, reported in fluent tones, just as the unpredictable wind and currents began to shake the ship.
A characteristic of the Sea of Oblivion. Hook took the wheel and ended the conversation.
“We’ll have to save this discussion for later.”
“Yes, of course. I should get ready myself.”
Oliver pulled out his Greedy Pouch, took out the corpse puppets Bathory and Durans, and placed Child First and Second inside each.
As soon as they entered, Bathory and Durans sprang to life.
Oliver spoke to the Children inside them.
“Guard the ship.”
“Got it.”
“Aaah…”
Each Child responded as they stretched and prepared.
...
“From here on, the cannibal ghouls and the human-faced birds will attack simultaneously!”
Several hours had passed since they entered the Sea of Oblivion.
As they weaved through islands swept by wild winds and currents, Hook shouted a warning.
Just as he said, from a small island with a cluster of ramshackle huts, a group of cannibal ghouls suddenly appeared, shooting spears and arrows toward them.
Meanwhile, from an opposing island, human-faced birds with female faces, bird bodies, and insect wings soared high into the air, aiming to dive down upon the Wendy.
Screeeeeeech!!
They attacked from both the sides and above, a highly threatening formation. But Oliver, already prepared, extracted emotions and created a large barrier that blanketed the Wendy, blocking all the incoming projectiles and the human-faced birds.
Thunk, thunk!
The arrows and spears ricocheted off the dark barrier, and the human-faced birds halted, unable to breach it.
Right at that moment, Oliver called out,
“First, Second.”
In response to Oliver’s summons, the dark barrier dissipated, and the corpse puppets Bathory and Durans sprang into action.
The first to move was Bathory, inhabited by First.
With red bat wings crafted from blood on its back, First flew directly into the sky.
[Blood Blade]
With a sweep of Bathory’s wings, a torrent of blood morphed into bats, slashing through dozens of the human-faced birds above.
It was as if a butcher’s cleaver had split meat in one swift stroke.
Not stopping there, First conjured a massive scythe from the blood and cut down the remaining human-faced birds, sending them plummeting into the sea below.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!”
Second, meanwhile, in the body of Durans, began to move as well.
Using Durans’ specialty of bodily modification, Second transformed one arm into a hybrid of sniper rifle and machine gun, firing a hail of lead bullets.
It seemed Second had drawn inspiration from gun manuals purchased with his salary, demonstrating newfound firepower that was unparalleled.
Ratatatatatata—!
The lead bullets not only tore through the cannibal ghouls but even caused them to explode.
The vast majority of bullets hit their mark, overwhelming the ghouls' projectile barrage.
Power, accuracy, and rapid fire—Durans, with Second inside, completely overpowered the swarm of cannibal ghouls. Furthermore—
“Uga! Uga! Uga!”
“Uga-cha-cha! Uga-cha!!”
“Uga-kak! Uga-kak!!”
When the ghouls, using each other as shields, attempted to close in, Second swiftly revealed a sawed-off shotgun hidden within the body and fired, knocking them down.
Bang! Bang!
With just two corpse puppets, they managed to subdue hundreds of creatures.
In the meantime, Hook and his crew performed their roles.
Hook’s crew, keeping watch for any additional creatures, adjusted the sails and rowed, maintaining the Wendy’s maximum speed.
Hook, meanwhile, took control of the helm, keeping the ship steady as he dealt with the incoming fish-like humanoids approaching head-on.
“Time to cook you up nicely.”
Hook pressed a button on the helm.
Clack.
As he pressed it, a gap opened in the Wendy’s front lower hull, from which a searing flame erupted, roasting the approaching fish-men completely.
A massive wave of fire stretched before them, and the Wendy sliced through it like the Red Sea, slipping between the island packed with cannibal ghouls and the one inhabited by human-faced birds.
“We’re through the Trap Island. This’ll speed up our journey,” Hook said, glancing at Bathory, who had landed, Durans, who’d held off hundreds of ghouls, and Oliver.
Indeed, the Trap Island was a shortcut, but with its treacherous terrain, turbulent currents, and countless creatures, it was usually an avoided route.
However, thanks to Oliver, First, and Second, they’d been able to pass through, saving a considerable amount of time.
“If we continue this way, we should reach the center of the Sea of Oblivion.”
“Hmm… May I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“You said you identified the island of Neverland by process of elimination, but haven’t actually seen it yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Then was my visit a particularly lucky coincidence?”
Oliver raised a reasonable question.
Hook had claimed that over the past twenty years, he had personally searched every corner of the Sea of Oblivion, except for one—an island in the central part of the Sea of Oblivion, which he suspected to be Neverland.
Only one candidate remained. But Oliver couldn’t help but wonder why Hook hadn’t visited it sooner; it was possible to have done so before he arrived.
Hook pointed straight ahead.
“Because I couldn’t get past that.”
Following Hook’s finger, Oliver saw it.
A dense fog hung in the distance. It wasn’t just any ordinary mist; it was thick with a potent mixture of resentment, jealousy, and hatred, like a swarm of spectral beings.
“...That’s no ordinary mist,” Oliver said, feeling the weight of hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of emotions.
Even the Wendy’s crew and the Children inside the corpse puppets shuddered in response to the overwhelming aura.
“It’s a barrier circling the heart of the Sea of Oblivion, preventing entry to Neverland. Although I found the island believed to be Neverland, I couldn’t reach it because I couldn’t get through that fog. Even when I try to sail straight through, I somehow end up back outside.”
“Is it some kind of spatial magic?”
“No, the thick fog blinds all sight and sense of direction, pushing you back outside.”
Oliver, activating his dark sorcerer’s vision, examined the fog before him.
There was indeed no trace of spatial magic.
It was simply the dense accumulation of grievances, resentment, and attachment to life from those who had perished in the Sea of Oblivion.
‘Perhaps… if I really put in the effort?’
As Oliver pondered, he asked Hook,
“So, you must have some idea of how to get through if you’ve come this far, right?”
“Only in theory.”
Hook pulled out a peculiar compass.
At first glance, it looked like a normal compass, but as he lifted the lid, its true nature became clear.
The compass was encrusted with tiny eyeballs like a cluster of clamshells, with a finger pointing instead of a needle.
“A compass of the heart. As you can see, it’s a dark magic item. It’s the only guide through that fog.”
“Does it point the way to Neverland?”
“Not quite; it points toward whatever it is the holder most desires.”
“Oh… but why didn’t it get you through the fog?”
At Oliver’s question, the Wendy had already entered the fog.
Some of the intense emotions within the mist condensed, forming ghostly figures.
Whoooosh...
Hook replied.
“Because I can’t fully use this compass.”
As if to illustrate his point, the compass’s finger suddenly began to spin wildly.
Though visibility in the fog was limited to only a few steps, the compass remained sharply visible.
Swish!
Hook tossed the compass to Oliver without warning, who caught it just in time.
“That’s why I brought you along, Mr. Dave. Think about your friend. If your intentions are pure and sincere, the compass will respond.”
Following Hook’s instruction, Oliver held the compass and thought of Jane.
After a moment, the finger that had been spinning aimlessly stopped, pointing left.
“It’s genuine, unlike mine,” Hook observed calmly, steering the wheel as the Wendy creaked and turned.
“So, Captain Hook… you weren’t sincere?”
Seeing Hook’s expression, Oliver asked. After all, Hook was earnest in his search for Neverland.
“Apparently not. My search for Neverland… it’s simply because Wendy asked me to.”
“Who exactly is Wendy?”
The conversation had come full circle, and Hook answered.
“She’s the girl who sang me my first lullaby.”