Scheming

Let us turn our attention back to the fourth level, Burning Hell.

At this moment, after the dust had settled, a circular crater had appeared within the prison, spreading across nearly the entire area around the passage. Its surface was smooth and dark purple, with wisps of purple smoke still curling upward, carrying a terrifying aura of destruction.

The scene was a complete mess, without a sound.

Thud!

A fallen wall brick was suddenly pushed aside, and Magellan's Satan-like body rose to its feet. His black uniform was badly damaged, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled.

Magellan swept his cold gaze around. After sensing Ye Qiong's location, he opened his mouth full of savage fangs and spat out clusters of poison balls, shooting them toward the ruins of the cells ahead.

Tap tap!

The cell ruins burst apart first as Ye Qiong shot out from within them. The poison balls landed on the rubble, coating it in a dim purple hue.

Ye Qiong stepped on the air, looking down at Magellan from above.

His shirt had long since been shredded by the force of the previous shockwave, exposing his bronzed, muscular upper body and perfectly sculpted abs.

"To withstand that attack just now, you are quite strong." Magellan's tone remained utterly emotionless, but then it suddenly shifted. "But that means I cannot let you leave this place! A dangerous world-class criminal like you should die here!"

Ye Qiong remained silent, suddenly finding it somewhat laughable.

On Ohara Island, those Marines and World Government officials from CP9 had said the same things.

"A demon like you should die on this island."

They had spoken with righteous conviction.

But who was truly the demon? Who stood atop the heights of justice, freely passing judgment on others?

"It is all just strength." Ye Qiong chuckled.

"What did you say?"

Magellan was puzzled.

"What is justice? Victory is justice! Everything is founded on strength. With strength, you can change everything—turn white into night, turn evil into justice!"

"Magellan, if one day I possess that kind of strength, I will imprison you somewhere even lonelier than Eternal Hell and let you experience what it means to be a world-class criminal!"

Ye Qiong's eyes grew colder, while his conviction became firmer.

"Wishful thinking!"

Magellan retorted in a steady, forceful voice.

Boom!

A thunderous sound came from the prison above, and Impel Down trembled slightly once more, just as it had before.

"This is..."

Ye Qiong's expression tightened. If he was not mistaken, that should have been White Snow's Red Spider Lily!

Red Spider Lily was a powerful offensive technique White Snow formed and unleashed by exhausting all of her Hell Black Flame. Though immensely powerful, it would leave her weakened afterward due to the depletion of her origin energy.

For White Snow to use that move regardless of the consequences, she must have encountered an opponent she could not resist.

"I have to end this quickly!"

Ye Qiong stared directly at Magellan before him.

"What? At a time like this, you still want to run for your life?"

Magellan's massive body drew closer as he pointed at Ye Qiong's shoulder.

"Hm?"

Ye Qiong turned to look and saw that his left shoulder and back were a bloody mess, the wound so deep that bone was visible.

When had that happened?!

As Ye Qiong thought back, a chill rose in his heart. He had not expected that, in the instant of Magellan's previous attack, a wisp of purple poison smoke that touched his body would possess such terrifying power.

Most crucially, he had sustained such a serious injury without even realizing it. Part of the poison had rapidly affected the nerves in his body.

It did not hurt or itch, yet the wound was severe enough to inspire inexplicable terror.

"My venom can destroy everything. Letting it touch you was your mistake!" Magellan said.

The scales of victory had already tipped in his favor.

"Is that so?" Ye Qiong smiled indifferently and raised a finger, pointing at Magellan's lower abdomen. A black dart was embedded there, buried beneath the surface, with blood trickling from the wound.

At the instant their ultimate attacks had collided and exploded, Magellan had not been the only one to strike.

"A weapon?" Magellan smiled dismissively. What could such an injury possibly do to him?

"Of course, it is not that simple."

Ye Qiong suddenly threw out another dart. It traced an arc through the air and fell into the passage leading to the fifth level.

"What are you doing?!"

Magellan frowned, feeling a sense of foreboding as he moved to stop him.

"Too late!" Ye Qiong extended his hand. A sphere of light appeared, then rapidly expanded. "R Swap!"

An invisible circular space swiftly enveloped the surrounding area.

Magellan's expression changed drastically. The next moment, his figure vanished, and a dart appeared where he had been standing.

"This is...!"

Magellan found the scene around him had instantly changed. By the time he reacted, he was already inside the passage leading to the fifth level of Hell.

He violently kicked off the air and used Geppo to stop his falling body.

"You tricked me?!"

Magellan was consumed by rage. He continuously kicked against the air, preparing to use Geppo to rush back up.

Ssh!

A sudden pain struck his lower abdomen. The dart's spatial cutting power erupted, making Geppo impossible to use, and his burly body stiffened as it fell downward.

"Fall all the way down to Level 6, Eternal Hell!"

Ye Qiong appeared above the passage, coldly watching Magellan with a basketball-sized sphere of light resting in his palm.

"R Bomb!!!"

The sphere of light abruptly shot downward, pursuing Magellan with terrifying force.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the rapidly approaching sphere of light, Magellan frantically stomped against the air in the opposite direction, charging straight down.

"That is more like it!"

Ye Qiong smiled as his body turned into a Silver Flash and disappeared.

Meanwhile, on the third level, Hunger Hell.

The enormous black pangolin carried Night Emperor and White Snow on its back as it fled madly!

It carved a passage through the ground layer by layer, while shattered stones flew backward from the cracked earth.

Shiryu of the Rain pursued closely behind them. His clothes and hair were scorched black, his cigar was gone, and he looked utterly miserable.

"Damn it! I will tear you all to pieces!"

His face was twisted with cruelty, cold light flashing in his eyes. The sword in his hand slashed without pause, releasing condensed sword energy that tore through the air as it pursued Crow King and the others.

"Crow King, we have to escape toward the passage above!" Night Emperor warned. One hand gripped a protrusion on Crow King's back, while the other held tightly onto the weakened White Snow.

"I know that too, but I cannot fly!" Crow King said helplessly as he frantically dodged the sword energy.

It truly could not fly. Without Ye Qiong's Space Cube or White Snow's Hell Black Flame, even staying airborne was a problem for its massive body!

"Die!!!"

Shiryu of the Rain swung his sword, sending several white streaks of sword energy tearing through the air—not at Crow King, but at White Snow on its back.

He hated White Snow for leaving him in such a miserable state!

"Watch out!" Crow King cried in alarm. Although its Observation Haki sensed the attack, it was too late to evade.

Ssh!

At the critical moment, Night Emperor extended his left hand. Armament Haki covered his fingers, and he unleashed black sword energy, blocking the white sword energy.

"You old bastard still have some strength left, huh!" Shiryu of the Rain gave Night Emperor a surprised glance, but his sword-energy assault only grew fiercer.

After blocking several more streaks of sword energy, Night Emperor's face turned pale, and he began coughing violently.

"Go to hell!"

Shiryu of the Rain's sword energy swept across the air, gleaming with chilling light as it moved to kill Night Emperor and White Snow.