Impel Down, Control Room
A group of individuals responsible for surveillance sat before a massive monitoring screen linked through the den den mushi's. Their gaze remained unwavering, meticulously observing every movement on the screen.
The control room's screen was divided into numerous smaller screens, each dedicated to monitoring distinct areas. Impel Down's entire complex was meticulously surveilled, leaving no blind spots for any potential escape.
Hannyabal sauntered into the control room, sipping tea, and reclined leisurely in a chair. While he claimed it was an inspection, his true intent was to indulge in some laziness.
"Today's tea is quite good," Hannyabal muttered, gently tilting the teacup and scanning the screens one by one.
Yet, as he surveyed the screens, he nearly spilled his tea upon making an unexpected discovery.
In a corner of the surveillance footage, a long, dimly lit corridor gradually shrouded in darkness appeared. The faint light provided limited visibility, casting a shadowy atmosphere.
Suddenly, the screen depicted the arrival of a girl in a white dress, her long black hair cascading. She seemed to have appeared out of thin air, as if teleporting into the corridor.
However, before Hannyabal could fully comprehend the situation, the image flickered, and when his attention refocused, the girl had vanished.
"Dammit, did you see that? It seems there was a girl there," Hannyabal exclaimed, unable to remain seated as he leaned closer to the screen, hoping to witness another appearance.
"No, Vice Warden," one of the attendants replied, prompting Hannyabal to cease his inquiries and direct his attention back to the screen.
Soon, another of the smaller monitors in a distant corner exhibited the same flickering phenomenon. The screen's image appeared to distort briefly.
Once the distortion ceased, a young girl emerged once more. However, this time, it was Hanako.
This particular screen showcased the entrance to the bathroom on the fourth level of Blazing Hell. Hanako's blood-stained attire and downcast head were clearly visible before she abruptly leaped out of the bathroom.
In contrast to the girl in white, Hanako exuded an even more ominous presence, her red skirt saturated with thick, dripping blood.
The screen flickered once more.
"I should get some rest. I might be overworking myself lately," Hannyabal mumbled, scratching his head as he set aside his tea and rose from his chair.
He had decided to return to his quarters for some much-needed sleep.
Meanwhile, on the sixth level, Eternal Hell
Lucas observed Avalo's gruesome demise, and his internal system issued a notification.
[Ping! Hannyabal is scared, fear points +3]
"Heh, what an unexpected delight," Lucas remarked, inspiration suddenly striking him as he began pondering. "Hospitals, Prisons, cemeteries, old houses, schools—among them all, there is one that reigns supreme."
Muttering these words, Lucas instinctively cast his gaze toward the sixth level, clearly conveying his intentions.
"I wonder what will transpire if rumors were to circulate that Impel Down, the world's most formidable prison, is haunted and infested with vengeful spirits," Lucas said with a grin.
Summoning Hanako and Sadako with his thoughts, two ethereal figures materialized out of thin air, hovering by Lucas's side, attentive to his every word.
Suddenly, a series of notifications echoed in Lucas's mind.
[Ping! Ace is scared, fear point +5]
[Ping! Jinbei is scared, fear point +5]
[Ping! The prisoners of Eternal Hell are scared....]
The pirates in the neighboring cell had evidently witnessed the interaction between Lucas, Sadako and Hanako.
Among them were Jinbei and Ace!
Furrowing their brows, they could distinctly sense a dramatic drop in the ambient temperature.
Two eerie apparitions leaning toward Lucas, faces obscured, as if ghosts intent on tormenting their victim.
Two days later
With Lucas setting his plan into motion, Impel Down's staff and inmates began to report sightings of apparitions.
On the second level, Wild Beast Hell
Within a cell, an obese prisoner eagerly beckoned a patrolling jailer, gripping the cell bars with urgency.
"Move me to another cell, damn it! Something's not right in here!"
A bestial roar was made from the beast following the jailer, he looked at the prisoner, frowned and shot the inmate a stern look, tapping the bars with an iron rod as a warning.
"What's the matter?"
The jailer asked impatiently, urging the obese prisoner to step back.
"Ghosts! There are ghosts in here."
The obese inmate's face contorted with fear, and he timidly retreated, his corpulent cheeks quivering. Whether it was the jailer or the ghost that had terrified him more, he could not discern.
"At night, when I was trying to sleep... I saw a ghostly girl wandering into the cell. She moved with a peculiar gait, and blood dripped from her body. She turned her head... and stared at me."
The obese prisoner concluded his harrowing account, his trembling voice falling silent, for he was too traumatized to elaborate further.
The jailer's expression twisted with discomfort. He had initially intended to reprimand the prisoner, asserting that ghosts did not exist in reality. Moreover, Impel Down, as the world's most secure prison, was particularly unlikely to be haunted by apparitions.
However, upon the cusp of delivering this rebuke, the jailer faltered. He could not find it within himself to utter such words. Why? Because he, too, had witnessed the spectral girl.
One night, the jailer had risen from his bed to visit the restroom. There, from one of the stalls, he had heard the eerie laughter of a girl accompanied by another voice.
"Would you like to play with Hanako?"
Subconsciously, he had directed his gaze upward to the source of the voice.
Perched atop the toilet was a little girl with an unsettling smile and vacant eyes, her twisted form contorted as she peered down at him.
In that moment, the jailer had been overcome by goosebumps, and in his terror, he had involuntarily split his excretion in two as he hastily fled the bathroom, escaping from the nightmare that had confronted him.