Chapter 532: Magellan's Resolution |
This gigantic Venomous Monster had a grotesque demonic face. After its appearance, it looked down on Ian with its hollow eyes, giving off a chilling feeling.
However, Ian, after a brief glance at the Venomous Demon, lost interest and instead spoke to Magellan, “You know, your poison is useless against me! What you’re doing has no meaning at all. Instead, you’ll die faster due to the strenuous movement!”
“I know…” Magellan was panting heavily. Using the power of the Devil Fruit would consume a significant amount of his stamina. Under normal circumstances with an undamaged body, this stamina consumption wouldn’t be much of a concern. However, Magellan had been severely injured, and continuing to use the powerful Devil Fruit ability made him visibly tired.
“But I still can’t let you rescue the criminals from the prison!” Magellan gritted his teeth. “Maybe to you, the Impel Down is no different from hell, but do you know, without Impel Down imprisoning these criminals, how could people in the world live in peace?”
“I admit that the prison has its positive aspects!” Ian sarcastically remarked. “What you said is true to some extent. But, likewise, do you know how many people in this prison were unjustly framed by the World Government? The prisoners transferred from the Judicial Island, have they really undergone a fair trial? Do you know that, ‘judicial corruption is the greatest corruption.’ Can you really guarantee that every prisoner here deserves their punishment?”
“…” Magellan fell silent. He couldn’t answer Ian’s question.
After so many years in Impel Down, he had witnessed numerous similar situations, so he was well aware that what Ian said was true.
Shaking his head, Magellan replied, “Perhaps you have a point, but as I’ve said before, overseeing Impel Down is my duty. Regardless of the reasons behind your intrusion, I must bring you to justice. Individuals like you are too dangerous. Even if I can’t stop you, I have ways to prevent you from achieving your goals.”
“What do you mean!?” Ian became alert upon hearing Magellan’s words.
A thunderous noise echoed, accompanied by a sense of shaking, as if the entire fourth level of the prison had been shaken by the Venom Demon’s punch. The wall struck by the Venom Demon immediately formed a large hole, sinking into it considerably.
“Oh no!” Ian was alarmed. He had initially thought Magellan summoned the Venom Demon for a last stand, but he never expected Magellan’s true intention was to break through the wall!
Keep in mind that this was Impel Down’s fourth level, situated in the middle of the prison and already deep into the sea. While it might not have been apparent within the prison, once the wall was breached, seawater would rush in madly due to the immense external water pressure. With the continuous inflow of seawater, it wouldn’t take long for the entire Impel Down to be flooded, and everyone inside would drown!
This is what Magellan meant by “executing all prisoners!”
Ian had previously considered how to deal with Magellan. In his view, a Railgun shot could render Magellan helpless, but Ian dared not use it, fearing the Railgun’s power might punch through the prison.
Now, although Ian hadn’t used the Railgun, Magellan had already set his sights on the seawater outside.
“Flame-Killing Black Dragon Wave!” After realizing this, Ian directly attacked the Venom Demon. A roaring black fire dragon erupted, and the intense heat burned the Venom Demon to ashes, releasing toxic gas into the air.
Ian no longer had time to consider the consequences…
After the Venom Demon disappeared, Ian quickly opened his Flame Wings and flew towards the large hole created by the Venom Demon, examining it closely.
Upon inspection, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately! That punch did not completely break through the wall!
Perhaps when Impel Down was originally constructed, they considered the powerful external water pressure. The walls of Impel Down were exceptionally thick, and the Venom Demon’s punch had only penetrated about half of the wall’s thickness, leaving the other half intact.
However, Ian also noticed that the poison left by the Venom Demon’s fist was still corroding the stone of the wall…
Ian turned back, looking at Magellan with some astonishment. Too ruthless! This guy also had a Devil Fruit power. Once the prison was flooded, he would die too. Was he willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of duty?
“What… what’s going on!?” a voice came, and Ian turned to see Brook and Franky. They were carrying a large package containing the gas masks they had collected earlier. Clearly, they had been trying to save people and had not witnessed the previous scene.
“Franky! Use your flames to burn away this poison!” Ian ordered him.
“Oh! Alright!” Franky instantly realized the severity of the situation, hastily dropping the package and running over. He leaped to the edge of the large hole, puffed up his cheeks, and spewed flames at the toxic liquid.
If they didn’t quickly stop this corrosion, the remaining wall would become increasingly weak. Unable to withstand the external water pressure, the wall would eventually rupture. Ian’s flames had a temperature too high, and he feared that using them himself might melt the wall. Hence, he had Franky handle it since his flames weren’t as potent.
Ian, with a grim expression, flew back to the bridge and addressed Magellan, “It seems you’re determined to go down a dark path. If that’s the case, I’ll help you.”
After speaking, Ian’s figure suddenly vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was at Magellan’s chest, thrusting his right hand into Magellan’s chest!
Magellan, who had just exerted all his strength controlling the Venom Demon, had depleted a significant amount of his stamina. Coupled with the bleeding abdominal wound, he felt a bit dizzy. So, when facing Ian’s strike, he couldn’t dodge, taking a direct hit!
Once Ian withdrew his hand, a faint blue light orb appeared in his palm!
“Go to hell!” Ian forcefully crushed the soul orb of Magellan in his hand!
Splat! With Ian’s action, Magellan spurted blood into the sky and then collapsed with a thunderous crash. Already heavily injured, losing a tenth of his life force to Ian made it impossible for Magellan to endure any longer!
Descending from mid-air, Ian squatted down, seemingly checking if Magellan was dead, and then pressed his hand on Magellan’s body.
Simultaneously, a voice rang out from behind Ian, saying, “You’re indeed amazing! Magellan is beyond saving now, right?”
Standing up without looking back, Ian said, “Shiryu… Enough chit-chat. Hurry up, save my people, and then head to the sixth level! We don’t know how long the walls here can hold!”
Shiryu returned, holding an antidote he found in Magellan’s office. Although he was eager to check Magellan’s condition and see if Ian had killed him, Ian’s tone dissuaded him. He temporarily abandoned the idea and handed the antidote to Brook.
Meanwhile, Ian conjured another tornado, dispersing the lingering toxic gas in the air.
Franky had already burned away the remaining poison. He jumped down to assist Brook but didn’t participate in the rescue efforts. Instead, he picked up the gas masks and headed toward the row of cells on the fourth level. Many prisoners here, affected by Ian and Magellan’s battle, had inhaled the poison. Currently unconscious, there weren’t enough antidotes for all of them. Therefore, using gas masks to help them breathe for a while became the best method to save their lives. As Magellan’s poison induced hallucinations rather than lethality, providing them with gas masks might help them gradually regain consciousness.
Using a key, Franky unlocked the cells, entering one by one to place gas masks on the faces of the fallen prisoners. However, when he entered one particular cell and was about to put a mask on a bald inmate, the inmate suddenly opened his eyes. He reached out, catching Franky’s gas mask, and calmly said, “I can do it myself.”
“Alright!” Franky curiously glanced at the bald inmate, impressed by his resilience, but didn’t say anything. He moved on to the next cell.
As for the bald inmate, he put on the gas mask, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Through the glass in the eye area of the mask, he silently stared at Magellan’s motionless body opposite his cell.
From his vantage point, he could perfectly see the abdominal wound where Magellan had been stabbed by Shiryu. At this moment, a faint glow emanated from that wound.
Just like the radiance from the light film on Ian’s body before…
“Hmph!” Under the gas mask, the bald inmate let out a small, disdainful snort. “Crocodile, it seems you’ve indeed found a partner worth cooperating with…”
