Silence. Deathly silence hung over Level 6, as though no prisoners were held there at all.
Yet the occasional rustle from the cells made it clear that plenty of prisoners were locked inside.
Infinite Hell, the sixth level of Impel Down, held only legendary pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million Beli.
"Where are you... Ace! I'm here to save you, Ace!"
Luffy's voice echoed through the vast prison block. In the silence, no one answered him.
"Come on, no need to shout. Can you tell us where he is?"
Ivankov smiled as he spoke to the prison guard slung over his shoulder.
"I... I refuse!"
The prison guard was terrified, but he still refused to give them the answer they wanted.
"Leave him to me!"
Jiang Lin yanked the prison guard from Ivankov's shoulder and pressed a hand to his cheek.
"Talk. If you don't, your brain might stop working."
Hard stone formed beneath Jiang Lin's palm, then spread across the prison guard's body.
As his limbs and head grew stiff, the prison guard finally broke and told them where Ace had been held.
"Thanks."
With a quiet word of thanks, Jiang Lin rushed in the direction the prison guard had indicated.
"Ace!"
Luffy's voice rang out all along the way. It fell silent only when they reached a dark cell.
"Damn it! We're too late!"
Jiang Lin stared at the cell, which was clearly emptier than it should have been, and slammed his hand against its door.
"Straw Hat Luffy! And that mysterious man! Are you the two Boa Hancock mentioned? Hurry after them! Ace was just taken to the elevator. You can still catch up!"
Inside a cell in their prison block, a Fish-Man with two pointed tusks and Seastone shackles stared at Luffy's straw hat and spoke excitedly.
"Knight of the Sea Jinbe! Thank you!"
The moment Jiang Lin learned from the Fish-Man that Ace had only just been moved, he raced toward the elevator without wasting a second.
"They've already gone?"
At the empty elevator entrance, Jiang Lin turned angrily toward the upper part of the wall to his left.
"Beep..."
A Surveillance Den Den Mushi on the wall slowly turned its eyes toward them.
"Whoosh!"
Under its gaze, Jiang Lin formed an Ice Spear in one hand and hurled it, instantly freezing the Den Den Mushi to the wall.
"Do it! Seal off the elevator!"
In the monitoring room, Hannyabal saw the surveillance feed go dead and immediately ordered the prison guard beside him to activate the elevator's trap.
"Can we go up this way?"
Luffy stepped past Jiang Lin and approached the elevator shaft. He had barely poked his head through the doorway when, with a whoosh, a platform studded with thick spikes plummeted from above.
"Watch out!"
Jiang Lin heard it, spun around, and yanked Luffy out of the shaft.
"That was close!"
Shaken, Luffy ran both hands over his neck. If Jiang Lin had been any slower, it would have been crushed flat.
After saving Luffy, Jiang Lin stepped up to the shaft and looked inside. Its walls were smooth and bare, with nothing left to climb.
Clang!
Not long after the elevator was disabled, a harsh crash rang out nearby.
"This is bad!"
Jiang Lin was about to investigate when a cloud of pale green mist swept in from the distance, rushing toward them.
"No choice! Luffy, we're going up this way!"
Jiang Lin saw the mist and turned to call Luffy and the others back into the elevator, only to see Luffy shout and charge straight toward it.
Luffy had taken only a few steps into the mist before the Knockout Gas dropped him to the floor.
"Miss Ivankov, take care of Luffy! I'm going to save Ace!"
As the Knockout Gas spread toward them, Jiang Lin placed both hands against the elevator shaft's walls. Brilliant white ice burst from his palms and spread around him and beneath his feet.
Ice Elevator!
A thick slab of ice lifted Jiang Lin and sent him hurtling upward.
Ace, hold on!
Anxiety filled Jiang Lin's face. He wanted to save Ace here, because he knew what kind of enemies they would face if Ace was taken to Marineford.
The Fleet Admiral, the Three Admirals, the Hero, and the Shichibukai—not one of them would be easy to deal with.
Saving Ace here was clearly their best chance.
The ice elevator shot upward and soon reached the top floor of Impel Down.
A piercing clatter sounded above Jiang Lin. Driven by its machinery, the dark iron door rapidly descended.
Screech!
The shrill scrape of sliding ice rang through the elevator shaft.
Jiang Lin accelerated again and made it onto Impel Down's top floor just before the first-floor elevator door closed completely.
"Give up your pointless resistance!"
Magellan's voice carried through the elevator door. Before it shut, a figure burst out of the shaft and into view, answering the hope in Ace's eyes.
"It's you!"
"D!"
Aokiji and Magellan stared at the figure rushing out of the elevator, their eyes widening.
Jiang Lin's arrival posed a tremendous threat to the escort mission. Neither knew the limits of his power—or whether he could take Ace away.
"Luffy!"
Pinned firmly to the floor by Magellan, Ace stared toward the elevator door, now obscured by icy vapor, and shouted in excitement. He desperately hoped Luffy had come. But when he saw Marine Admiral Aokiji standing nearby, he desperately hoped it wasn't Luffy.
"Chief Warden Magellan! Treating Ace like that is... pretty rude!"
Jiang Lin's furious voice came through the icy vapor. Then his figure surged out on an Ice Path. He grabbed Magellan by the neck and drove him forward, stopping only when he had slammed him high against the wall.
"Do you have a death wish?"
Endless fury burned in Jiang Lin's eyes. Gray-white patches of stone spread from his right hand around Magellan's neck and raced across his body.
"D!"
Held aloft in Jiang Lin's powerful right arm, Magellan could barely move. He looked down into Jiang Lin's eyes, shock and intense fear mingling in his own.
"I'll be your opponent!"
Aokiji moved in at once to help Magellan. Four Ice Spears flew from his side, streaking toward Jiang Lin's back.
"Stay right there!"
Jiang Lin's furious voice rang out. An invisible wave burst from his body and knocked out every prison guard nearby.
"Conqueror's Haki!"
As Magellan looked at Jiang Lin, the wariness in his eyes deepened.
"That won't work!"
A Marine Admiral would not fall to a single burst of Conqueror's Haki. Aokiji planted both hands on the ground, sending a surge of cold air straight at Jiang Lin.
"You... really... piss me off, Aokiji!"
Jiang Lin spun around furiously, keeping Magellan in the grip of his right arm and using him as a shield.
"Whoosh!"
Seeing Magellan in its path, Aokiji controlled the cold air, splitting it into two streams before it reached him. The streams swept around them and struck the wall behind Jiang Lin.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Ice formed with a harsh crackle behind Jiang Lin. The biting cold made even Magellan, held in front of him, shiver.
"Who... who are you?"
Ace rose from the floor, still on one knee, and stared in confusion at Jiang Lin through the icy vapor.
"D. Jiang Lin! I'm Luffy's crewmate!"
Jiang Lin stepped out of the icy haze with Magellan in his grip and smiled at Ace.