What Acel did not realize was how much pressure his actions were placing on Magellan.
He had chosen this method to push his strength to its peak, defeat Teach quickly, and at the same time drain the stamina of the prisoners. In theory, exhausting them would also weaken them.
In practice, it created chaos.
The rapid loss of stamina was immediately noticed by every conscious prisoner. Alarm spread through them like wildfire.
They had planned to conserve their strength in case of unexpected turns.
Now, they could no longer afford to wait. Acel was siphoning their stamina away. If they delayed any longer, they would collapse before even reaching the exit.
On the first level, the more perceptive criminals exchanged glances and gave subtle nods. A silent agreement formed.
Magellan stood before the Gate, blocking the only exit. The two sides had been locked in stalemate. But now the prisoners moved in unison, unleashing their hidden techniques and Devil Fruit powers without reservation.
The power of the Venom-Venom Fruit was formidable.
But these were monsters from the Infinite Hell.
Magellan was already straining against their combined assault. Under the renewed offensive, his breathing grew heavy. Sweat mixed with poison as attacks rained down one after another.
Originally, the prisoners had intended to drag the fight out until Magellan collapsed from exhaustion.
Now they abandoned that plan.
They had to break through immediately.
Magellan's entire body was cloaked in venom. Several attacks slipped through his defenses in quick succession. His Busoshoku Haki was not his strength, especially compared to these veterans of carnage.
The pressure mounted.
He gritted his teeth, confused by the sudden shift. He could feel the massive battle raging below. Warden Acel was still locked in combat.
"Come quickly, Warden!" Magellan roared inwardly.
A fist coated in Busoshoku Haki hurtled toward his head. He narrowly dodged and retaliated by directing a torrent of poison forward.
Two fists were no match for four hands.
And this was far more than four.
The moment his focus wavered, more blows crashed into him. Even with his poisonous defenses, he could not evade everything.
Nearby, Shi in his human-beast form manipulated cutting gusts of wind, launching wind blades that dispersed Magellan's poisonous gas. In such a confined space, unchecked venom would cripple even the prisoners' combat effectiveness.
Magellan had already poisoned more than half of the criminals from the Infinite Hell. Many had collapsed, temporarily incapacitated.
But he himself was reaching his limit.
"I will not let any of you pass."
Blood seeped from his wounds, mixing with venom and staining his uniform in a grotesque pattern.
Then something shifted.
A powerful resolve surged within him. A bottleneck shattered.
Magellan felt it instantly.
His Venom-Venom Fruit had awakened.
The purple poison that once defined him deepened into something far more terrifying. Crimson venom began to pour from his body.
It spread across the passage like a rising tide.
The air itself seemed to rot.
The criminals felt it immediately. Compared to the earlier poison, this crimson venom was death incarnate.
"Even if I kill you all, I will bear the consequences," Magellan said hoarsely, eyes blazing. "But Impel Down will not allow a single criminal to escape."
Until now, he had upheld the prison's code. Even severely poisoned inmates could survive if treated with the proper antidote.
That restraint vanished.
The reputation of Impel Down as an unbreakable fortress could not fall on his watch. If these devils returned to the sea, countless innocents would suffer.
Better that they die here.
The crimson venom surged and condensed into a towering skeletal giant over twenty meters tall. This was the embodiment of his awakened power.
Anything it touched would corrode.
Anyone it grazed would be infected beyond salvation.
There was no antidote.
Several fallen prisoners were brushed by the crimson poison. Instantly, the toxin spread through their bodies. Flesh blackened and dissolved. Their screams echoed through the corridor before fading into silence.
A chill ran through the remaining criminals.
"How stubborn," one muttered grimly.
"Finish him now!"
Among those still standing were Byrnndi World and Werewolf Mutou, both monsters in their own right.
Even they hesitated before this move.
"Do not hold back," Mutou growled. "If you do not use it, we all die here."
He turned toward an elderly man in a prison uniform standing behind them.
The old man nodded slowly. "In my current state, I can restrain him for less than a second."
"That is enough," World said calmly. "Someone else will move."
They launched their attacks.
"Moro Thirty Times Cannon!"
"Moro Fifty Times Speed!"
"Greedy Wolf's Grip!"
"Hurricane Blade!"
Magellan prepared to counter.
At that instant, the old man extended a trembling finger.
"Pause."
A blue beam shot from his palm and struck Magellan.
The world froze for him.
His body locked in place. The flowing venom halted mid-motion. Time itself seemed suspended.
His consciousness remained clear.
The old man possessed the Time-Time Fruit, a rare and dangerous ability that allowed him to momentarily halt another's time. Its duration was extremely short, but in battle, even a fraction of a second could decide everything.
That was why he had been imprisoned in the Infinite Hell.
In that frozen instant, a figure flashed forward.
It was Patrick Redfield, restored close to his prime after replenishing himself with supplies from Level Four.
In his hands were Seastone shackles.
He snapped them onto Magellan's wrists.
Time resumed.
"No!" Magellan roared.
But it was too late.
The moment the Seastone locked in place, his Devil Fruit power vanished. The crimson skeletal giant collapsed instantly. The venom dissipated.
The poison afflicting the fallen prisoners disappeared as well.
Magellan's eyes widened as the combined attacks struck him head-on.
Byrnndi World's enlarged cannonball slammed into his body. He offered no resistance, unable to muster any power.
He was blasted backward into the Gate of Justice.
The combined force of multiple monsters shattered the massive gate in a single explosive impact.
Blinding light poured in.
Many prisoners shielded their eyes. They had not seen true sunlight in years.
They smelled the sea.
Freedom.
One by one, they stepped outside.
No one spared Magellan a second glance.
Warships lined the shore, unmanned. The Marines and jailers had already fallen within Impel Down.
"Let us open the Gate of Justice and leave," Mutou said with a rare smile. "I never thought I would walk out of this hell."
"We are free!"
Even those who had collapsed earlier staggered to their feet once the poison faded.
There had only ever been a little over two hundred prisoners in the Infinite Hell. After casualties, those who remained were few in number.
But together, they were a force that could shake the world.
Below, the true battle raged on.
With his enhanced state, Acel's assault grew increasingly ferocious. Backed by his Devil Fruit, he fought as if blessed with invincibility, infinite stamina, and unending vitality.
Teach finally stopped holding back.
He activated his Observation Haki to its limit and coated himself fully in Busoshoku Haki.
Acel now surpassed him in raw speed and strength.
But Teach's Haki remained superior, both in refinement and depth.
He narrowly avoided a devastating punch. Even so, he had already taken several direct hits. Observation Haki was not omnipotent. The future was fluid. Knowing an outcome did not always mean one could avoid it.
Despite the pain, Teach smiled.
He sensed the situation above.
Magellan had fallen.
Teach was not surprised. If anything, he was impressed the man had lasted so long.
The prisoners he had released had escaped.
What they would do next remained uncertain.
But Teach very much wanted to see Acel's expression when he realized.
"Warden," Teach called out lightly, retreating dozens of meters. "Did you forget something important?"
Acel frowned.
Then his expression changed.
A chill crept into his heart.
Two hours.
Their battle had lasted two full hours.
Through his ability, he sensed the light spots representing the prisoners. They were receding.
Leaving Impel Down.
The unbreakable fortress had been breached.
The criminals of the Infinite Hell had returned to the sea.
Magellan was defeated.
Acel felt a flicker of worry for the junior he valued highly.
For the first time, regret surfaced.
He should have supported Magellan immediately.
Instead, he had chosen to focus entirely on Teach.