A faint sense of unease began to settle in Magellan's mind.
Roya and his allies had stormed from Level 1 straight to Level 6 in under half an hour. Meanwhile, Magellan's key subordinates—Hannyabal and Sadi—had vanished. Domino, the coward, would rather clean toilets than fight. Only Saldeath dared to face the intruders, and he was now bound and being dragged behind like a dead dog.
Worst of all, Impel Down's communications system was completely down. Magellan had no intel on the intruders' abilities or tactics, which forced him to retreat to Level 6 and unleash two death-row inmates as buffers. If they won, great—but even if they didn't, he would at least learn something from observing the battle.
But once the fight began, Magellan realized he was utterly clueless.
Crocodile lost inexplicably. Shiryū got skewered by his own cigar in a way that defied reason. Despite observing everything and unleashing his Observation Haki to the max, he'd seen nothing meaningful—but he felt Shiryū's fear opening inside him. He roared, "Shiryū! Attack!"
Shiryū's eyes widened in panic. He spat blood and steadied himself, convincing himself, Even an ability that copies others' moves won't work on me! Unless he can copy my sword technique too!?
He charged, sword in hand, his pace measured and fierce—each step nearly two meters. He dragged the famed sword Thunderstorm (Ikazuchi U) behind, closing in.
"Here I come!" As onlookers braced themselves, he lunged—a single bound leaping those final three steps. His left hand slid to the hilt, and the blade flashed from its crimson scabbard like a black-and-white lightning strike—point aimed directly between Roya's legs. A fatal strike.
Shiryū's face twisted in savage delight. He'd pushed himself to the limit, fueled by terror and Magellan's pressure. He saw Roya split in two.
The Empress watched in horror, ready to ensnare Shiryū with her Devil Fruit powers—but it was too late.
Magellan cracked a dark smile. Truly the deadliest killer in the prison—this slash is packed with killing intent! Even I would struggle to counter it!
Suddenly, Roya moved. His wrist flicked as though wielding an invisible blade. Then, in a backhand motion, he parried upward. A sharp "cling!" rang out as infinite force struck Shiryū's blade—though he used both hands and every ounce of power, and his weapon was mere inches from its mark, Roya's invisible counter detached Thunderstorm from his grasp.
The blade spun uncontrollably and sliced back through Shiryū—cutting from his head through to his groin with such speed and precision that he had no time to react. His hat was sliced in twain, his uniform ripped apart—and only a hair prevented a fatal cut.
Shiryū collapsed, soiling himself. Roya sneered, "Pathetic! You only abuse prisoners with no means to fight back."
At that moment, the Empress's Devil Fruit power was barely starting to activate. Magellan's smile turned to sheer dread. Roya's invisible blade had struck with unmatched speed.
Stammering, the Empress muttered, "I—I'm ready to fight…"
From the shadows, Magellan's grin died. He finally understood—Roya's blade energy was terrifying: low in output but incredibly dense. In an instant, Magellan's years of experience delivered a chilling realization: Could he have neutralized Crocodile's giant desert sword by firing countless sand particles imbued with blade energy to disrupt it?! The precision control required was terrifying.
In panic, Magellan screamed, "Everyone—open fire!"
Toxic fluid surged upward, carving a passage to the ceiling. "Activate the Poison Conduit!"
His huge frame slithered through, reaching the ceiling. Instantly, a hail of prison bullets erupted. Within three meters, the overlapped streams of SeasStone pellets formed an impenetrable net—dense, relentless, and leaving no opening.
Magellan stared down anxiously—this was the total force he could muster. If his Stone-Net couldn't stop them, he'd have no choice but a do-or-die struggle—and maybe Hannyabal would get his turn.
Roya shook his head with a smile, glancing up at Magellan on the ceiling. He asked softly, "You gave up two floors for this much defense…is that all?"
With that, he swept his right hand in front of him. In an instant, an invisible barrier rippled out from his palm, spreading in every direction.
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