Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic echoes reverberated throughout the frozen corridors of Impel Down.
"What's all this noise?!"
"Quiet down!"
Domino's long leg shot forward, striking the iron bars with enough force to produce another deafening clang.
She and Saint Roselith Seraphina had only just descended from the elevator connecting the lower levels when the commotion reached their ears.
The entire fifth level seemed unusually lively.
Groups of prisoners were shouting, laughing, and stirring up trouble simply to alleviate the endless boredom of imprisonment.
Unfortunately, Domino's warning had little effect.
The criminals merely laughed louder.
Many deliberately stared at the women passing through the prison corridors.
Some whistled.
Others cast vulgar looks at Domino's figure and made crude remarks without restraint.
Domino had long since grown accustomed to such behavior.
However, she couldn't help glancing toward Seraphina.
A trace of concern appeared in her eyes.
After all, despite her strength and status, Seraphina was still a young woman.
The environment of Impel Down was enough to make even hardened Marines uncomfortable.
Seeing Seraphina's brows slightly furrow, Domino immediately assumed she was displeased by the prisoners' behavior.
Unfortunately, that only encouraged the inmates further.
"Hey! Who's that beautiful Marine girl?"
"Where?! Let me see!"
"Hahaha! She looks like an angel!"
"I wonder how much fun she'd be!"
"Damn Marines!"
"All Marines deserve to die!"
"Throw her into a cell with us!"
The vulgar shouting spread from one prison block to another.
Some prisoners could clearly see Seraphina.
Others merely joined the chaos after hearing the commotion.
Catcalls, insults, laughter, and whistles echoed endlessly through the frozen prison.
Many of these men had not seen a woman in years.
Some had spent decades behind bars.
Others simply hated the Marines with every fiber of their being.
The result was complete disorder.
"Shut up!"
A thunderous roar suddenly exploded throughout the corridor.
The air trembled.
The prisoners instantly recognized the voice.
Chief Warden Magellan had arrived.
His enormous demonic figure strode into the corridor, radiating authority.
After learning that Seraphina had reached Level Five, he had rushed down as quickly as possible.
The last thing he wanted was an incident involving a distinguished guest under his supervision.
"Do you idiots want to die?!"
His crimson eyes swept across the prison cells.
Yet even then, a few reckless prisoners continued shouting.
Some even laughed openly.
A vein appeared on Magellan's forehead.
"Looks like you won't learn until I teach you."
The next moment, purple poison erupted from his body.
"Doku Doku no Mi Poison Dragon!"
A massive dragon composed entirely of venom lunged forward.
Before the prisoner could react, the poisonous beast crashed into him.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
A horrifying scream echoed through the prison.
The inmate collapsed instantly.
Purple poison spread across his body.
His skin darkened as agony consumed him.
"I possess both the authority and the power to execute prisoners who threaten prison security."
Magellan's voice was ice-cold.
"Do not test my patience."
"Help me!"
"Give me the antidote!"
"It hurts!"
"Somebody save me!"
The poisoned prisoner rolled across the floor in misery.
The other inmates immediately retreated toward the far side of their cell.
No one dared approach him.
No one wanted to be splashed by Magellan's poison.
The corridor instantly became silent.
"It's Magellan…"
"That monster…"
"Shut up, idiot!"
"Do you want us all killed?!"
The prisoners lowered their heads.
No one dared speak another vulgar word.
The authority of the Chief Warden was absolute.
Only after silence returned did the sound of footsteps once again become audible.
Then
"Yahahahaha!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"I knew it was you!"
"Saint Roselith Seraphina!"
At the far end of the corridor, a prisoner slowly raised his head.
It was Enel.
Although weakened by imprisonment and Kairoseki restraints, he immediately recognized her presence.
Even without Observation Haki, he would never forget the woman who had personally defeated him.
The woman who had dragged him from the sky and thrown him into this frozen hell.
His eyes burned with hatred.
"Seraphina!"
The chains binding him rattled violently.
He struggled against them despite knowing it was futile.
Seraphina calmly approached his cell.
Her expression remained unchanged.
"How are you adapting to prison life, Enel?"
Her tone was so casual that Enel nearly exploded with rage.
"Thanks to you!"
His laughter sounded almost hysterical.
"One day I'll escape!"
"I'll find you!"
"I'll destroy everything you care about!"
"I'll make you regret ever crossing me!"
His voice echoed throughout Freezing Hell.
He looked like a wounded beast snarling at an enemy beyond its reach.
Swish!
Crack!
Swish!
Crack!
Before Seraphina could respond, Domino stepped forward.
The Kairoseki whip in her hand lashed across Enel's body.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The strikes continued relentlessly.
Forty-six lashes in total.
Each blow drained more of Enel's remaining strength.
By the end, he hung limply from his restraints.
Blood stained his torn clothing.
Yet even then, the former self-proclaimed god continued glaring at Seraphina.
"Seraphina…"
His voice was barely audible.
One eye had swollen shut.
"I'll crush that arrogance…"
"I'll crush that cold indifference…"
"Enough."
The single word cut through the corridor.
Instantly
A terrifying pressure descended.
BOOM!
Invisible force swept across Level Five like a tidal wave.
The atmosphere itself seemed to freeze.
Domino's hand trembled.
Several prison guards nearly collapsed.
Countless prisoners froze in terror.
Even Magellan narrowed his eyes.
There was no need to guess the source.
Everyone turned toward Seraphina.
The pressure radiating from her was unmistakable.
Haoshoku Haki.
The Haki of a Conqueror.
Yet unlike the violent bursts often displayed by pirates, Seraphina's presence resembled a vast glacier.
Silent.
Cold.
Majestic.
Overwhelming.
She wasn't targeting anyone specifically.
Instead, her will spread throughout the entire prison level.
Because the pressure was dispersed, most powerful individuals could withstand it.
However, weaker prisoners lost consciousness immediately.
Bodies collapsed throughout the prison.
One after another.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The sound echoed endlessly.
"He's seeking death."
Seraphina's expression remained calm.
From the moment she saw Enel, she had already understood his condition.
The man no longer feared death.
He feared dying meaninglessly.
He wanted a glorious end.
A death worthy of the image of "God" he still clung to.
That was why he kept provoking her.
That was why he refused to break.
Domino looked at her questioningly.
Seraphina merely shook her head.
"Leave him."
Then she turned her attention back to Enel.
For several moments, their gazes met.
One was filled with hatred.
The other contained only indifference.
Eventually, Seraphina lost interest.
"Let's go."
Without another word, she turned away.
The silver-haired girl slowly walked toward the elevator.
The prison.
The prisoners.
The suffering.
The despair.
Everything she had witnessed within Impel Down was merely another reflection of the darkness consuming the current era.
She had seen enough.
She would remember it all.
And one day, she would change it.
Behind her, Enel stared blankly at her departing figure.
The thing he could not forget was not her strength.
Nor her title.
Nor her status.
It was that overwhelming kingly aura.
That incomparably noble presence.
That absolute confidence.
For the first time in his life, he had encountered someone whose bearing surpassed even the image of "God" he had created for himself.
"Kill me!"
Enel suddenly screamed.
Using every ounce of strength he still possessed.
"Kill me now!"
His voice echoed through Freezing Hell.
"I'd rather die than rot away here!"
But nobody answered.
No one even turned around.
The corridor gradually fell silent once more.
Only Enel's ragged breathing remained.
Far below them…
At the deepest point of Impel Down.
Level Six.
Eternal Hell.
The prison reserved for history's most dangerous criminals.
The air was deathly still.
Massive chains forged from Kairoseki bound countless infamous prisoners whose names had been erased from public records.
Within one isolated chamber sat an enormous old man.
His body was shackled to a gigantic block of ice.
Years of starvation had reduced him to a grotesque figure.
At first glance, it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
Then
Crack.
A tiny fracture appeared across the ice.
Moments later, a low voice emerged from within the darkness.
"Did you feel that?"
The ancient prisoner slowly opened his eyes.
A terrifying glimmer appeared within them.
"That Haoshoku Haki…"
The voice drifted across the darkness toward another unseen cell.
For the first time in many years
Something within Eternal Hell had awakened.