One Piece: Elden Lord

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the icy hell of Level 5. The air immediately went sharply cold, their breath was visible in the freezing mist. But as they stepped onto the desolate ground, something was off.

Kai's eyes darted every which way his gaze dancing across the frost-covered stone walls and empty corridors, where he would expect terrifying wolves to swarm just outside these glassy viewports, came not. The level lay in uncanny quiet, no guards, no prisoners, not even howling of these ice beasts that once made this level the more treacherous.

Kai frowned, his disquiet mounting with each step. "This is weird," he muttered, tightening his grip on his Estoc. "Level 5 was swarming with wolves before. and a few guards maybe. Now there's nothing. No wolves, no traps, not even a single sound." 

He stopped and turned to face the group behind him. "Why is it so easy to reach Level 4 now? It's like everyone just. vanished."

Inazuma didn't falter once, his eyes set ahead of him as he cut the remaining icy blockages in their way with his scissors, making sure to render the path upwards smooth, and Ivankov strode confidently beside him, a dramatic chuckle escaping his lips. "Oh-hohoho! Darling Kai, this silence is to our advantage! Why question it? The way is clear, so we must press onwards!"

Kai looked a lot less convinced now. He looked around once more, his instincts gnawing at him. "I get that, but it doesn't sit right with me. Everything's too quiet, like. like something's missing." His gaze fell to the ground as memories of fighting his way through hordes of monsters in games, reaching a spot, and often finding some boss or ambush waiting flashed before his eyes. "It's almost as if they're herding us on purpose."

Ivankov dismissively waved his hand in its glove. "Kai, Dear, wasting our time on what could be behind us isn't going to help us save Ace boy. The path is open, and for the time being, fortune is smiling upon us. Look at it as a sign of good luck from above!"

Kai's jaw clenched. Something wasn't sitting right, but he couldn't place exactly what. His mind spun as he worked to remember what should have been going on just now. The prison layout, the guard patrol patterns, even where Magellan could be at right now. it was all hazy. He glanced at the group, then down the hallway once more, furrowing his brow.

"My mind's playing tricks on me, i can't remember what happens next" Kai said softly, a hint of worry tingeing his voice. "I forgot where Magellan's supposed to be now. I remember he's always traveling around, between levels and all-but shouldn't he have tried to stop us by now? Where is he? Where are his guards?"

An eyebrow shot up, but Ivankov never broke his brisk pace. "Magellan, that poisonous Warden, could be busy elsewhere, perhaps with the lovely chaos we created in Level 6. Or maybe he's waiting for us at the upper levels! But until he appears, we go forward."

Kai nodded slowly, and yet the feeling would not leave him. It wasn't in his nature to pass up an opportunity like this, one that let him squash escapees who were causing such a large-scale riot. That they hadn't met with resistance to this extent was one of the things that made his skin crawl. It was just too convenient. He looked over at Luffy, who pressed forward, eyes fixed on the Vivre Card as if it held the power of a guiding star. They had to keep moving, yet Kai knew he had to stay alert. Something was coming; he just couldn't figure out when. 

****

Some time ago.

Magellan sat at his desk in the cold, wet confines of a certain office on Level 1, shortly after handing Ace to the Marines, steam from boiling poison seeping from his body, filling the room in a faint purple mist. His eyes were closed, focused, the weight of his responsibilities leaning heavily on his broad shoulders. The peace was shattered when Hannyabal, the Vice Warden, burst in; a mix of panic and urgency was written across his face.

"Chief Warden Magellan!" Hannyabal exclaimed anxiously.

Magellan's eyes opened with a slow creak, and then the sharpness in them cut through the fog. "What is it, Hannyabal?" he spoke in deep, rumbling tones that seemed to boom across like distant thunder.

"The situation. it's bad," Hannyabal started, scratching his head nervously as one of the guards stepped forward to give the fuller report.

"Sir," he said to the guard on duty, "a group of Level 6 prisoners has escaped. They're being led by Ivankov, Straw Hat Luffy, and. uh, a new figure, the 'Bedroom Bandit.'"

Magellan's brow furrowed. "Straw Hat?" he muttered to himself, scratching his head in thought. "How was he even still alive? I thought i already dealt with him." His tone was filled with confusion; then, when he received the next part, that great irritation showed up in his voice. "And this 'Bedroom Bandit'? Why haven't I been informed about this person!?"

"My apologies, Chief Warden! , apparently he was a prisoner in level 2 and managed to cause a mess in the lower levels some time ago" the guard stuttered, bowing his head. "But there's more. The warlord Blackbeard is here and is also on the move to the lower levels, and Buggy the Clown is still stirring chaos in Level 2 with his riot."

Magellan's eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. For a silent moment, he sat amidst the sheer size of it all. 'Straw Hat. Blackbeard. Buggy. and this unknown Bedroom Bandit?' His mind worked at quick speed, putting together the fragments of this disaster that was scaling higher and higher.

Blackbeard. The mere utterance of his name would have sent his blood boiling. This new Warlord, a man whose ambition clearly surpassed such a title, now further stirred the pot by taking to the lower levels. 

Magellan's mind was racing as the scale of chaos finally hit him: 'A riot in Level 2, Blackbeard heading down, Straw Hat and his crew moving up, and now this 'Bedroom Bandit' thrown into the mix'? All spiraling out of control.

"This is a mess," Magellan muttered, with venom practically dripping from his words. His eyes flared with determination as he stood up, towering over both Hannyabal and the guard. 

"So be it," he growled, straightening up with a resolve that sent tension filling the room. He turned to the Den Den Mushi on his desk, immediately picking it up and issuing orders.

"Release Shiryu," Magellan ordered in a deadly calm that was almost loud enough to carry across the Den Den Mushi's line. "He'll deal with Blackbeard and his crew."

The guards on the other end of the line hesitated for only a moment. "Y-yes, Chief Warden. We'll release Shiryu immediately."

But he didn't stop there, and facing Hannyabal with a firm, unbending expression, he went on, "Hannyabal, take all available forces and block the escapees in Level 4. No matter what it takes, even if you have to kill them. Execute them." 

The thought made Hannyabal's face pale, but he nodded vigorously, knowing the gravity of the situation. "Understood, Chief Warden! I'll round up everyone and stop them at Level 4!"

Magellan's eyes narrowed as he concluded his orders. "I myself will take care of the riot on Level 2. Those prisoners won't take long to crush."

In that instant, when Hannyabal and the guard had hurried to fulfill his orders, for quite a while Magellan was in solitude, his mind cold and calculating. "They may try their best to escape, but in the end, they will have to go through me." He breathed deeply, at which his body exhaled an odious emission of poisonous fumes - a foreboding omen to his lethal powers.

"I'll be the last fence they'll cross if it comes to that," he muttered to himself-a determined gleam in his eye. "No one escapes Impel Down on my watch!" 

**** 

Kai and the others walked further down Level 4, the heat getting hotter at each step. The air was thick, stifling, as they hurried along through corridors of the Inferno Hell. Fire was everywhere around them, casting long shadows across the walls, but the group did not stop. Already they had freed a few notorious prisoners, among which was the companion of Crocodile, Mr. 1, adding to their growing ranks.

Kai looked back over his shoulder at the chaotic crowd of people now running with them; Ivankov, Luffy, Crocodile, Jinbei, and a mix of hardened criminals in their wake, each contributing to the tension of the moment. The number of dangerous people running with them felt almost surreal.

"We are like an army, can't wait to leave this hell hole!" Kai muttered, a strange realization dawning on him. Each figure at his back was a force to be reckoned with, together, they formed an unstoppable tide.

But near the end of Level 4, as they reached a wide bridge that spanned toward the entrance to the stairs that headed to Level 3, Kai's eyes went wide in shock.

An enormous force stood in their way, row upon row of the soldiers of Impel Down, armed to the teeth. The upfront of this army was the Vice Warden Hannyabal, his enormous battle axe slung across his shoulder, his features twisted in fierce determination.

"Of course, that's why everything was clear till now" Kai muttered, as he slowed his pace when reality set in. "I had to jinx it."

His eyes scanned the soldiers, but another sight altogether riveted his attention-a figure just to the right of Hannyabal. Among the soldiers, one woman was the most catchy of all, and she clutched a tightly coiled whip in her hand, Sadi, The way she stood and a sharpness in her gaze made Kai take a second look.

"Well, look at that," he thought with a wry smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Actually, the first time I've seen a real woman here." 

The soldiers shifted uneasily as their group approached, the heat emanating from the fires around them seeming to raise the tension of a standoff. For a brief instant, Kai locked eyes with the woman, a spark of curiosity flashing through him.

Hannyabal stood tall, his battleaxe held high, as if his voice was the boom of proclamation that shook the corridors of Level 4 in their blazing state.

"Scum of the sea! You shall not pass!" His words had the ring of conviction, a promise of a man who would stand against the tide. His figure was supported by the imposing force of soldiers. This was his stand-his duty.

But to Kai, this was something else entirely.

He stood at the front of the escapees, his eyes shining brightly as he took in the show. The great act of Hannyabal's resistance, the ranks of guards steeled for battle-it all felt so. melodramatic. Comical, almost. But deeper down, beneath Kai's chuckle, the intoxication of battle churned.

At this, the all-too-familiar ping of the system coursed through his mind as well.

[

Quest Alert: Survive this fight.

Rewards: 10K Runes, Ashes of War: Blood Tax, Cleanrot Knight's Sword. 

]

A manic grin spread across his face as he read the notification, his heart racing in anticipation. The blood coursed with excitement, eyes narrowing down on Hannyabal and the forces standing between him and freedom. He could practically taste the runes waiting for him, the spoils of the battle.

Kai's smile continued into a manic laugh, his voice booming in fervor to match the inferno around him while equipping both his estoc and Glintsone staff "OH NO YOU ARE NOT AN OBSTACLE, ALL I SEE IN FRONT OF ME IS RUNE LEVELS, COME AT ME MOBS!"

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If you wish to read up to 5 Chapters Ahead! or simply support me just because? then check out my patréon at

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