Impel Down, aboveground Level One.
The sounds of battle were close at hand, yet they were not especially intense. They soon came to an end amid a burst of miserable screams.
The deep corridors of Impel Down immediately fell silent, leaving only faint, intermittent panting.
Kuzan's heart sank. He understood:
For the battle to end so quickly meant it had been a completely one-sided slaughter.
And whether the guards or the prisoners had been crushed could be determined with only a slight calculation of the current balance of power within Impel Down.
Garen also recognized the severity of the situation, but rather than feeling grim, he was somewhat excited.
This great prison of Impel Down had the exact same design philosophy as a tower-climbing dungeon in an RPG game.
From the first level to the sixth, the monsters' levels, strength, and rewards for killing them increased layer by layer. It was practically an experience pool built specifically for players to level up.
All Garen had to do was fight his way in from the first level, kill monsters and level up, grow stronger after leveling up, then head down to the next level once he was stronger.
By the time he fought his way to the sixth level through this continuous cycle of positive feedback, those heinous criminals who had once inspired fear would likely become insignificant experience packs before the now-leveled-up Garen.
With that mindset, Garen was even more eager to suppress the riot than Kuzan, a Navy Admiral.
Following the increasingly distinct sounds of breathing, Garen advanced deeper with his greatsword in hand and soon arrived before a tightly shut gate.
The enemies were behind the gate, their breathing clearly audible.
By the design of this Impel Down dungeon, the enemies on aboveground Level One should have been