Impel Down—six layers of Hell, each layer packed with an unbelievable number of criminals.
And these weren't petty thieves.
Everyone who ended up here had been a walking calamity long before being dragged through the Gates of Justice.
Managing this many lunatics in one place?
A nightmare.
Magellan could crush the entire prison by himself if he had to.
After all, with the Doku Doku no Mi in a sealed environment like Impel Down, his power was practically doubled.
But there was one tiny problem—
Magellan couldn't withstand his own poison.
Age: 41.
Residence: Level 4, the Blazing Hell.
Daily routine: Ten hours of diarrhea to avoid poisoning himself to death.
After subtracting meals and sleep…
Magellan's actual daily working time: less than four hours.
Which was exactly why the prison needed other jailers to carry the load.
In the past, his deputy—Shiryu of the Rain—had been a capable helper.
Shiryu stood alongside Magellan as one of the two "Iron Walls" of Impel Down.
But over the past few years…
Shiryu had gotten increasingly out of control.
Magellan had caught him slaughtering prisoners again and again.
Yes—Impel Down was full of death-row criminals, but that didn't mean a jailer could just kill them whenever he was bored.
Magellan confronted him repeatedly.
Shiryu ignored him repeatedly.
So now…
The warden spent his days on the toilet,
The deputy spent his days committing murder,
And the remaining workload was dumped on the other chief jailers and countless guards.
And right at this delicate moment—
Sadi-chan had been attacked by the Jailer Beasts.
Well… "attacked" wasn't the perfect word.
From what Magellan knew, Sadi-chan had been overseeing the Jailer Beasts, when one of them gave her a "small act of resistance."
And that "small" resistance nearly killed her.
Given her current strength, handling the cold-blooded, half-mindless beasts was beyond her.
While Sadi-chan recovered, Magellan had planned to reassign the job.
Candidates included:
Hannyabal
Hannyabal
…and Hannyabal.
But now that Ian had volunteered to take over the Jailer Beasts…
Magellan hesitated.
For one, he wasn't sure about Ian's strength.
Sadi-chan was a young girl—but Ian was only one year older!
If Sadi-chan got easily injured, wouldn't Ian suffer the same?
Magellan didn't need more people ending up hospitalized.
For another—
Ian had only been here a week.
Even if he'd performed amazingly, even if he trained the Blue Gorillas like they were obedient puppies, even if the Crimson Hell was running smoother than ever…
A week was still a week.
After a long moment of thought, Magellan gave his final verdict.
"Ian," Magellan said gravely,
"From this moment on, you'll manage both the Crimson Hell and the Beast Hell."
"As for the lower floors—don't—ah!? Stomach! Again—!"
Before he even finished, Magellan clutched his rear and bolted into a restroom.
Ian could only sigh and return to Level 1.
A promotion—but not a full promotion.
His ideal scenario had been to take command of all the jailer forces—from the Blue Gorillas in Level 2 all the way down to the Jailer Beasts of Level 4.
Instead, he'd only secured management of Beast Hell.
"Hopefully the Beast Hell guards are stronger than the water monkeys…"
Back in his office on Level 1, Ian didn't rush to descend.
Instead, he summoned the System Treasure Chests he'd collected.
A sweep through the Crimson Hell:
Eight Bronze Chests, one Silver Chest.
He checked his abilities.
The single Silver Chest—he invested into Tekkai (Iron Body).
The eight Bronze Chests—he divided among Geppo, Rankyaku, Shigan, and Swordsmanship.
After the upgrades, his abilities were—
Tekkai: ★★★☆
Geppo: ★★★
Rankyaku: ★★★
Shigan: ★★★
Swordsmanship: ★★
Every single one of the Six Powers he'd learned?
Now at three stars or above.
Even swordsmanship—something he'd nearly given up—had reached two stars.
Once he practiced a bit, all these abilities would rise rapidly in practical mastery.
Ian was about to mold a few clay clones for training when—
A furious voice exploded outside the door.
"IAN!!"
BAM BAM BAM BAM!!
Hannyabal was slapping the door like he wanted to break it off its hinges.
"Ian! You dared go looking for Magellan—
YOU DARE OPEN THE DOOR!?"
Ian flicked his right hand.
His arm elongated into pale clay, reached out, and pulled the door open.
Hannyabal, who had been preparing to crash through the door, stumbled forward and rolled into the office like a very round, very distraught boulder.
"Ahem!!"
He scrambled upright, trying desperately to regain the dignity of a Chief Jailer.
"Ian!! You—you went and defected to Magellan!?"
"Ah?"
Ian blinked, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"My informant already told me everything!"
Hannyabal lunged up to the desk, slamming both hands onto it, glaring dramatically.
"You went to Magellan's office!
You two schemed together for a long time!"
"Are you planning to join forces with Magellan to overthrow my rule!?"
There were… too many wrong things in that sentence.
Ian had no idea which part to address first.
But his silence turned out to be a big mistake.
Seeing Ian not immediately deny it, Hannyabal flared up—
And then flared up again.
"Ian!! You—you are the one man I, Hannyabal-sama, acknowledge—!"
"Stop! Stop right there!"
Before the chief jailer could burst into tears and roll on the floor, Ian raised a hand.
"I went to the Warden," Ian said calmly,
"to ask for a promotion."
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