Longinus stared upward, his face dark.
He did not give chase.
Once Jin escaped the narrow confines of Impel Down and rose into the open sky,
the heavens themselves would become his battlefield—
and Longinus had no intention of fighting the ancient pteranodon on its own turf.
A stabbing pain crawled up his nerves.
He lowered his eyes.
His right palm—
a gaping hole bored straight through it.
The wound was grotesque, almost punched entirely open by Jin's beak after being accelerated by the Momo Momo no Mi.
But blood-energy from the Seven-Star Sword slowly surged through his body.
At the edge of the wound, tender flesh squirmed and wriggled, knitting itself back together.
It was disgusting—
but the regeneration was astonishingly fast.
Longinus stopped it.
He severed his connection to the Seven-Star Sword without hesitation.
"If I heal completely… how will my 'contribution' look convincing?"
"And my body's recovery factor is a trump card. Best not reveal it."
Having thought it through, he let himself collapse to the floor.
One knee bent, short of breath, sweat dripping from his chin, right hand resting weakly on his thigh.
Moments later, a wild, frantic aura descended from above—
followed by two figures drenched in blood.
"Wh… What kind of battle could destroy the entire Blazing Hell like this…?"
Magellan, stepping through the air, nearly doubted his own memories.
The zone he remembered as Level 4 was now nothing more than shattered ruin.
"Mmh… such a thick, intoxicating scent of blood."
Shiliew licked the corner of his lips with a twisted smile.
"Judging by the smell alone—
at least a thousand corpses.
If I'm not wrong… every pirate from Level 4 and most who escaped Level 5 died right here."
"That's… unfortunate."
A weak voice came from the rubble.
"I couldn't stop a few from escaping while I was fighting Jin. I wonder if the guards managed to catch them…"
The three froze.
They hadn't sensed Longinus's presence at all.
Had he… really been reduced to this state?
Yarvis flashed down instantly, his mountain-like frame casting Longinus into shadow.
"Major Longinus, are you alright?"
"I'm fine… Only pity I couldn't stop Jin and Waldo. They slipped away at the final moment."
Longinus clenched his injured fist, voice filled with unwillingness.
Magellan and the others looked awkward.
If they hadn't let Waldo escape earlier, Longinus would never have ended up like this.
"Wait—Longinus, your hand!"
Magellan exclaimed.
"A small wound." Longinus waved dismissively—
but "carelessly" exposed the hole in his palm even more clearly.
"That's from Jin's transformed state?" Yarvis muttered, grim.
"For you to be injured like this… I truly underestimated that traitor."
"Not quite." Longinus shook his head.
"That was after Jin had Waldo accelerate him with the Momo Momo no Mi.
His strength alone is roughly on par with mine."
His tone was calm, but the danger was easy to imagine.
A berserk ancient Zoan, enhanced by tenfold acceleration—
combined with the level's total devastation—
painted a vivid picture of a battle where life and death were separated by a hair's breadth.
"Longinus-brother, you killed a thousand rioting inmates by yourself, and even held Jin at bay for so long…"
Magellan said bitterly,
"while the three of us couldn't even fully suppress Infinite Hell.
We even let Redfield and Waldo escape to give you trouble.
Compared to you, we're the ones who are useless!"
Shiliew and Yarvis's jaws twitched.
It's your self-blame—stop dragging us into it!
But they couldn't deny Longinus's contributions today.
"You're selling yourself short," Longinus replied gently.
"Suppressing Infinite Hell is something else entirely.
No one expects ordinary prisoners to compare to those monsters."
His words soothed Yarvis—
and simultaneously filled the Warden with deep despair.
During his tenure:
— Golden Lion escaped, shattering Impel Down's legend.
— Now his Head Jailer had defected.
— A world-famous pirate, the Red Count, had escaped.
— The World Destroyer had escaped.
As for the handful of no-name pirates Longinus mentioned?
Yarvis barely cared anymore.
He had caused too big a disaster.
No matter how much the Government valued him, he would never remain Warden after this.
Yet Yarvis's resolve was firm.
He quickly calmed himself.
"This was my negligence.
I never expected Jin would go this far.
I will report everything to the Government myself.
As for you three—
your achievements today will be fully recorded."
"Warden Yarvis, you…"
Magellan hesitated.
"After today, the position of Warden will fall to you."
Yarvis said with weary certainty.
"You don't need to worry.
Normally, I'll stay as Deputy Warden for a few more years.
During that time, I'll assist you in managing the prison."
"And Shiliew—
you'll take the position of Chief Jailer.
You'll do far better than Han… wait."
"…Where is Hannyabal?"
"He was helping suppress the riots on the upper floors," Longinus answered casually.
"Haven't seen him since Jin defected."
"Oh?" Yarvis nodded.
"At least he did something useful this time."
Then Yarvis turned solemnly toward Longinus.
"And you, Major Longinus…
without you, the pirates of these two levels would have flooded out.
The damage to the seas might have surpassed even a Redfield-level escape."
"Even if I won't remain Warden long,
your contribution today—
I will report it to Marine HQ and the Government myself."
Longinus let out a quiet sigh.
You truly can't fool honest men.
A man like Yarvis—
sold by Longinus, yet still counting coins for Longinus—
almost made him feel embarrassed to keep exploiting him.
"All right," he thought,
"I'll compensate him later.
Once I have influence in the Marines…
I'll bring him into Marine HQ.
Better for him too—
the Headquarters is far more humane than this dark prison."
With a gentle smile that sent chills down Yarvis's spine,
Longinus spoke with heartfelt gratitude:
"Warden Yarvis…
thank you."
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