Only an hour had passed since Golden Lion's prison break erupted.
Impel Down had already suffered catastrophic losses: Deputy warden Magellan, Deputy Chief Guard Dagama, Benson Dait, the deputy chief jailer of Beast Hell, had all fallen, while Shiryu of the Rain had been severely wounded.
However, Red Count did not continue killing the other chief jailers. Instead, he charged directly toward Scorching Hell.
A pirate was still a pirate. Red Count had no intention of wasting time here. If Marine reinforcements arrived, escaping would only become harder.
Though they sensed Red Count's movements, the chief jailers were powerless to stop him. Shiryu of the Rain, barely holding himself together, rejoined the battle.
As Red Count fled toward Scorching Hell, the other eight great pirates began harboring their own schemes.
Elsewhere, Golden Lion, Bullet, and Byrnndi, who were fighting to the death against Columbus, wore grim expressions as well.
Just then, Golden Lion unleashed a large-scale Lion's Roar Vacuum Blast, whipping up vast clouds of snow and dust as he shouted, "Attack together! Take down Columbus!"
Bullet and Byrnndi gave it everything they had.
Yet while Golden Lion attacked, he drifted toward the elevator shaft beneath the cover of dust and snow.
Seizing the moment, he rushed straight into the elevator, pressed both hands against it, and forcefully activated his ability, sending the elevator flying rapidly upward.
"Shiki! You bastard!" Byrnndi cursed furiously.
But neither he nor Bullet could fly. With Golden Lion and Red Count escaping one after another, the pressure on Columbus had greatly lessened, leaving the two of them no choice but to withstand the enraged Columbus head-on.
Byrnndi roared, "Ah! Momo 50x Speed!"
He hurled a fragment of an iron door. It instantly expanded more than tenfold before smashing toward Columbus's Devouring Giant at fifty times