Rumble…
The massive gate groaned under its own weight, grinding open from the center. As the two halves parted, the snow heaped at the threshold spiraled up into the air.
A damp, putrid stench burst out from the darkness inside, thick with rot and stagnant humidity. It hit Magellan like a fist.
He instinctively held his breath. His muscles tightened. A cold line of dread slid down his spine.
"C-Chief Guard Wayne… are we really going in there?" he stammered, teeth chattering despite himself. He tried to keep his voice steady, but his breathing had already gone heavy.
Darren glanced at him and chuckled. "Relax. They're all locked up."
Magellan stared warily into the black beyond the gate. A dense, ink-dark haze filled the space so completely it swallowed the light—and only made the fear worse.
"W-what if they break out?"
"Wouldn't that be perfect?" Darren grinned.
Magellan froze.
Before he could find words, Darren stepped through the gate without hesitation.
Watching that confident figure vanish into the darkness, Magellan suddenly caught himself.
Wait—why am I this nervous?
Sure, Eternal Hell held some of the most vicious criminals on the sea… but if we're talking danger, how could any of them compare to Darren-sensei?
The thought steadied his breath immediately.
Magellan hurried after him.
---
Drip… drip…
Water fell from mossy stone. The dim lamplight stretched Darren's shadow into long, warped shapes that crawled along the corridor.
Thud… thud… thud…
Their footsteps echoed—heavy, measured—through the damp cold.
The instant Darren descended the last steps and entered the sixth sublevel—Eternal Hell—
ROAR!!
"Hahaha! Fresh meat!"
"What's with that outfit, kid? You look ridiculous!"
"That doesn't look like a Marine!"
"Hey! What's with the mask!?"
"Hahaha! Drag Garp down here! I want another real fight!"
…
Manic laughter, filthy insults, roaring rage—everything erupted at once, coming from every direction.
Killing intent slammed into the air in overlapping waves, colliding and tangling until it formed gusts so violent they snapped Darren's black cloak behind him.
Magellan's pupils shrank. He nearly lost his footing.
The pressure alone felt like a hand around his throat. Breath turned shallow. Cold sweat seeped out across his forehead.
And then he saw it.
One by one, pairs of eerie green eyes ignited inside the cells—slow, predatory lights in the dark. Those feral gazes swept over him and Darren like they were livestock.
In that instant, Magellan felt like a lamb penned in the middle of hungry beasts.
Then—
A hand, knuckles sharp and defined, tapped his shoulder lightly.
Magellan went rigid.
And everything vanished.
For a heartbeat, the world fell into absolute silence.
Then—
BOOM!!
A vast, crushing aura exploded from Darren and surged outward in all directions. In an instant, it flooded Eternal Hell from end to end.
Crimson-black lightning tore into existence, snapping and writhing through the air. The shockwave made the stone beneath their feet tremble.
"What… is this…?"
"AAAAAGH!!"
"I—I can't move!"
"Damn brat—Conqueror's Haki!!"
"How is that possible?!"
…
The pressure was like an invisible giant hand descending from the heavens, smashing every hungry stare back into the dark.
Agonized cries burst from hundreds of cells.
The crimson-black lightning coiled and lashed, almost tangible, wrapping around each cage as if binding them in place.
Only then did Magellan truly see the prisoners.
Men in ragged black-and-white stripes clutching their heads, doubled over. Some retched. Some collapsed and howled against the floor. Others dropped to one knee, bodies shaking, faces twisted in pain.
Darren-sensei's Conqueror's Haki had crushed them—every last one.
Magellan's mind reeled. He turned toward Darren again.
The black cloak snapped in the wind. The bat-helmeted figure held a lit cigar between his teeth, arms spread wide, a reckless, feral grin splitting his face.
It burned itself into Magellan's memory—an image he would never forget.
One man, alone, suppressing all of Eternal Hell.
"He's… overwhelmingly strong…"
For a fleeting moment, regret flickered through Magellan. If I'd joined the North Blue Fleet… would I have stood beside him?
The thought vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by something firmer—something bright and stubborn in his eyes.
Darren-sensei was right.
To uphold justice, they were already fighting side by side.
But then the air changed.
A bolt of dark purple lightning speared out from the deepest cell, cutting through the corridor like a sharpened arrow. It slammed straight into Darren.
BOOM!
The clash detonated. Two massive storms collided, tearing the air into a screaming gale as crimson-black and violet power ground against each other.
The stalemate lasted only a heartbeat.
With eerie synchronicity, both forces withdrew—leaving behind drifting sparks of crimson and purple that crackled in the gloom like embers suspended in midair.
As the supernatural pressure receded, ragged breathing swept through the block.
Prisoners gulped air, eyes fixed on Darren with the kind of fear that crawled deep into the bones.
"Little brat… throwing your Conqueror's Haki around like that isn't a good habit."
The voice was sharp and raspy, slicing through the oppressive silence.
Light and shadow shifted. From the deepest cell in Eternal Hell, a figure slowly stepped into view.
A tall, lean man of indeterminate age. White hair braided into two long plaits that fell over his shoulders. Crimson brows arched above piercing eyes. A golden chain pierced his lip and ran up to his ear. A sinister smile played at the corner of his mouth.
He wore the same drab prison uniform as the others, yet somehow it sat on him with swagger—almost elegance, like a gentleman slumming it for amusement.
"Could it be… Zephyr taught you that?"
To be continued...