Bonus Chapter [4] - 640 Power Stones
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Rigel slept for several hours, although he woke up dozens of times while sleeping.
He was practicing the Fiendfire, over and over and over again.
He could feel the rage he felt when he saw that ship burning inside him, it made the Fiendfire even more powerful, but also uncontrollable.
For a moment, Rigel even considered burning all of Europe and America, but the thought vanished as quickly as it had come, he couldn't take out his frustration on ordinary people, especially since there were far more innocent people than evil ones among those he would burn.
Apart from the flora and fauna, which had nothing to do with it.
In the end, it was just an extremist thought that would make his "mother" proud.
Rigel used the Fiendfire Spell to release all that desire, channel it into the spell, and then let the coffin heal him gradually.
He did this several times, until he finally felt that he was well again.
He would never forget what he had seen, but now he could accept that while human kindness can be admirable, evil also knows no bounds.
Emerging from the coffin, Rigel sighed, seeing Dalma lying on his bed.
His lips trembled. "Jormun..."
The ship trembled slightly, until the head of a wooden snake emerged from the wall.
"Master, you didn't look well. She promised not to come near, and I can assure you I didn't let her near the coffin." Jormun said quickly, his snake-like tongue slithering through the air.
"Don't blame the wooden spirit." Dalma smiled, rising with those passionate movements returning to her. "I just felt you needed company at that moment."
Rigel scoffed, wiping himself with his wand, before gesturing towards the bed where the woman lay, the bed cleaned and made itself.
Rigel ignored Dalma and was ready to leave, but Dalma hugged him from behind, and with her size, Rigel rested his head on her breasts.
Dalma chuckled lightly. "Are you sure you're okay to go out, Captain Black?"
Rigel frowned, his irritation growing. "Let go of me."
Instead of letting go, Dalma hugged him tighter, this time her voice was softer. "There's no shame in crying, Rigel, it shows that humanity isn't lost after all."
Rigel took a deep breath, waving his wand, and Diabolus appeared, growing rapidly, ready to drag Dalma away.
However, Dalma seemed to have expected this, laughing, she fled from the room, not forgetting to wink at him before closing the door. "We've already arrived at our destination an hour ago, I suggest you hurry."
Rigel watched her leave with a frown, his irritation evident, he didn't need her to tell him something he already knew.
"Jormun, don't let her in next time, no matter what she says." Rigel said to the snake, who seemed sad for a moment, making Rigel sigh and continue. "But thank you for your concern."
Jormun seemed to perk up again, hissing a promise, and he quickly went away.
Rigel sighed, straightened his clothes, placing the Triton sword and the legendary flintlock at his waist, along with the wand in the sheath on his wrist, then he left, looking around.
The group of pirates looked at him, winking. Rigel saw many emotions there, but beneath it all lay a newly earned respect.
Although pirates could hardly be considered honorable, at least they weren't hypocritical, they did what they wanted, how they wanted, and when they wanted, for good or for evil. A pirate was free until the noose was tied around his neck.
Especially William and Clemens, their gazes revealed a much closer feeling now.
Will never wanted to be a pirate, and Rigel's methods didn't exactly inspire a sense of closeness, but after what happened a few hours ago, he seemed to have a better overall understanding of who Rigel really is.
Clemens, on the other hand, wept bitterly while helping on the slave ship, his eyes were still red, but he looked at Rigel with something beyond scientific curiosity now, but with true loyalty.
Jack jumped from somewhere, landing on Rigel's shoulder, snuggling against him a little, almost as if he wanted to comfort him.
However, Rigel frowned, noticing the lingering smell of food on the monkey, and its fur covered in crumbs. He sighed and cleaned it with a spell, he was used to it by now.
Ignoring the crew's gaze, he approached the bow, looking at the land devoid of civilization ahead. He frowned, it seemed like a dense forest region.
Opening the compass, he confirmed that was where it was pointing.
"There's a Quilombo over there, hidden a few kilometers deep in the forest." Dalma said, looking curiously towards the coast. "You can let me take them, they won't receive you, as sad as that is."
Rigel didn't care, he wouldn't trust a white man if he were part of the resistance either.
He wasn't offended, instead, he looked up, checking the time of day by the sun's position, and said, "Take them, we'll wait until nightfall."
Saying this, he walked away, no longer interested in it, but he paused for a moment, thinking about the conditions of those people, and said. "The clothes available aren't enough to cover so many people, but it should be enough for the women and children."
He said nothing more than that, but his meaning was clear, even after Rigel left, the crew still looked at his back, each with their own thoughts.
"You heard him." Dalma said to the crew, who quickly began to move. On the slave ship, Dalma could speak their language, so she translated for them what was happening and where they were taking him.
The former slaves were surprised for a moment, even grateful.
"Nganga." One of them spoke, and the others quickly followed suit, looking at Dalma with excitement and admiration.
"Nganga?" Pintel asked Ragetti, who shrugged, he didn't know what it was.
Dalma turned to the pirates and spoke. "Nganga is a priestess-physician, a spiritual healer."
She quickly turned back to the people, speaking in their language. "You don't have to thank me, it was our 'leader' who ordered you to be saved, the boy who cleaned you up, he asked me to help."
The group was shocked for a moment, remembering the witch boy who had cleansed them, but the animation quickly faded.
There was gratitude, but also distance, the hatred for what they had endured would not be so easily shaken. On a ship where black meant comrade and white meant oppressor, most of this group could not truly thank Rigel sincerely.
People are complicated, the line between right and wrong is often blurred, an act of kindness from someone you hate can often be more painful than welcome.
Rigel really helped them, but his skin color is the same as the men who killed their families, raped their wives, took away their dignity, tortured them, and forced them to live in hell on earth.
Even so, a few, those who saw beyond the hatred, still remembered it, whether it would culminate in something or be forgotten in the river of history, was a mystery.
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A/N: I feel I needed to write this note based on the previous chapters.
When I start a chapter generally talking about the story, it's one thing, when the point of view follows Rigel's thoughts, it's another.
In the first case, I usually make it clear that I did my research and there may be errors, even when some information doesn't match up, I can apologize for that. But when Rigel is thinking, that's Rigel thinking.
Don't treat fiction like a history lesson. Rigel is human, he makes mistakes. He worked as a construction worker before transmigrating and lived in isolation afterward.
Don't expect him to know everything, that he doesn't have his own ideas, his own prejudices, and that he doesn't make his own mistakes.
The previous chapters and those that followed, when focused on Rigel's thoughts, are based on what Rigel believes, not on facts.