Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Magellan’s Decision
"You damn scum! We should've tortured you all to death back then. We spared your worthless lives, and now you dare to rebel?!"
Sadi's furious voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Yo, chick, got quite the mouth on you, huh? Sounds like you've been in this place too long and started believing too much in your own strength!"
"The same overconfidence got Saldeath and Sphinx flattened—if you're lucky enough to survive, you should go check if they're still breathing!"
Rikuya casually walked to the front of the group, and the crowd of inmates immediately made way for him.
Hearing those words, Sadi's expression darkened. She already knew that for Rikuya to make it here, he must've taken down Saldeath and Sphinx. Her grip tightened on her trident.
Clearly, this man was no ordinary pirate.
"You think you can stop me?" Rikuya scoffed, then vanished with a flash—right beside Sadi.
She was caught completely off guard. Rikuya's speed was unreal—she couldn't even react.
Just as she instinctively tried to raise her trident to strike back—
BAM!
Rikuya's punch slammed directly into her face!
CRACK!
Bones snapped as Sadi flew like a rag doll and crashed into the wall with a sickening thud.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have defeated a powerful enemy and earned 10,000 Reputation Points.
Truth be told, Sadi did have some skill, which is why Rikuya received a whopping 10,000 reputation points for defeating her.
Back in the surveillance room, everyone watching was shaken—
Especially Magellan, who jumped to his feet in shock inside the Warden's Office.
Just a second ago, Rikuya had been standing across the arena—how did he suddenly appear next to Sadi?
And that punch... It was devastating. Sadi wasn't the strongest in the prison, but she definitely wasn't someone that could be taken down that easily.
Now, on the surveillance feed, Rikuya strolled slowly toward Sadi, grabbed her by her now disheveled hair, and looked directly at the camera embedded in the wall.
"Magellan… are you seriously gonna make me beat my way through the entire Impel Down? I've got a bit of a temper, and if I really lose it, there might not be anyone left alive in this place."
With that, Rikuya let go—
SPLAT! Sadi's face hit the cold, hard floor again.
Though these officers weren't easy to kill, taking such heavy injuries meant it would be extremely difficult for her to return to full combat strength, even with future treatment.
"Warden Magellan, you're in trouble now," said a man nearby, wearing an Egyptian pharaoh-style headpiece, his belly grotesquely bloated like a demon's.
"That guy's clearly provoking you. Once you lose, I'll be able to take your spot and become the warden, hehe—ah! I mean—no offense, Warden! I'm just worried you'll get beaten, and if that happens, our prison's finished!"
"Idiot! Hannyabal! You're the Deputy Warden. You should be figuring out how to stop the prisoners from escaping! If we all get defeated and the World Government blames us, you'll go down with me!"
"Yeah, but you're the warden, not me. Why should I take responsibility?" Hannyabal muttered under his breath.
Hannyabal was a man full of ambition. His greatest dream was to replace Magellan and become the next warden of Impel Down. Anytime something happened, he'd always look for a way to shift the blame onto Magellan.
Even now, with Rikuya having defeated multiple senior officers, Hannyabal was still acting indifferent.
"I order you to take a large force and head down to the third level to stop them immediately! If you refuse, I'll consider it insubordination!" Magellan bellowed.
Normally, Magellan couldn't be bothered to argue with Hannyabal. But with Impel Down on the brink of collapse, he was beyond furious at Hannyabal's nonsense.
Though Hannyabal wanted Magellan's position, he still feared the man's strength.
So the moment Magellan snapped, Hannyabal saluted awkwardly, then grabbed his trident and rushed off in a hurry.
As he left, a tall and slender woman with elegant poise stepped forward. She wore reddish-brown sunglasses, a tilted hat that covered her right eye, had long, wavy golden hair, and was dressed in a brown jacket and shorts, with a white shirt and black tie underneath, paired with crimson thigh-high boots and gloves.
"Warden, how about I go with Deputy Warden Hannyabal to confront those guys?" she offered.
This was Domino, the current Head Guard of Impel Down. After the former Head Guard Shiryu of the Rain was imprisoned on Level 6, Domino had taken his place.
"Domino, I've got a critical mission for you," Magellan said seriously. "One that may decide the fate of all Impel Down. You must be cautious."
"Eh? What mission?"
"Go down to Level 6. Monitor the Level 4 surveillance feed. If you see that I've been defeated… then release Shiryu of the Rain."
"What?! Release him? Warden, this is no small matter!"
Shiryu of the Rain had once been Head Guard of Impel Down and was on par with Magellan in strength.
It was thanks to these two titans that the prison had gained its reputation as an impenetrable fortress.
However, due to Shiryu's violent obsession with killing and his habit of executing prisoners indiscriminately, he had been sentenced to indefinite solitary confinement on Level 6.
Now Magellan was planning to let him out. That left Domino deeply conflicted.
"No matter what he's done, he's still one of us. He only ever killed prisoners. I believe at this moment, he'll make the right decision."