Ten days. Ten days Wilder had hidden within the swamp, and the time had taken its toll. Hunger gnawed at him, leaving him in a state of extreme weakness. His body had become gaunt, the raw physical power he possessed diminished to a fraction of what it once was.
But it had all been worth it. At least, so far, the plan had proceeded without a hitch. Everything was under his control, unfolding precisely as he'd envisioned.
"Nyehehehe… Now then, let's see how good your handiwork is, Eigg." His laughter echoed as the swamp shifted and coalesced, reforming his body.
In his hand, he held a crumpled object. Unfolding it, he revealed a lifelike mask, molded in the shape of a human face.
Wilder stared at the mask, a silent smile playing on his lips. He slowly, carefully, placed it over his own face, smoothing it meticulously until it adhered perfectly.
Though he couldn't see his reflection, Wilder could easily imagine his current appearance. He was now the very image of the Impel Down jailer he'd drowned in the "Maniacal Swamp!" on the Level 4 bridge, the one he'd targeted from the start, submerged alongside a few unfortunate prisoners.
Yes, the "Maniacal Swamp!" Wilder had unleashed ten days ago was all groundwork for this moment.
Every action, from targeting that specific jailer to drowning those particular prisoners, had been deliberate.
The jailer had been chosen for his similar build to Wilder. The prisoners were selected to create the illusion of a larger breakout.
The prisoners he'd seemingly released from the swamp were merely a smokescreen, a cover for the few he'd secretly kept alive.
Those vanished escapees were sacrifices from the very beginning. That's why the prison had spent ten fruitless days searching for them.
They hadn't escaped; they were dead, drowned in the "Maniacal Swamp!". Their deaths served to divert attention from Wilder himself.
He wasn't the only one who had escaped.
With so many prisoners missing, it was hardly surprising that Wilder hadn't been found either.
The focus of the search would shift from where Wilder was hiding to the assumption that he, along with several other inmates, had somehow managed to escape Impel Down entirely.
And so… for a vanished prisoner to remain inside Impel Down undetected, a new identity was essential.
Replacing that dead jailer, switching sides from evil to justice, and gaining a far greater degree of freedom – that was Wilder's ultimate objective.
Eigg was the key to this final, crucial step. The success of the entire plan hinged on him.
Fortunately, Eigg hadn't disappointed. He'd memorized the dead jailer's features after just one look at the corpse.
This subordinate, whom Wilder had barely given a second thought to initially, had finally earned his respect.
As for how Eigg had become a jailer in the first place? …This wasn't the first time Wilder had killed one.
From the moment he'd planned Eigg's "disappearance" from Impel Down, Wilder had set his sights on a particular jailer. This jailer, who often delivered meals, happened to resemble Eigg in both build and features.
Eigg's so-called "makeup skills" had become the perfect catalyst, the crucial element that would allow him to seamlessly infiltrate the jailer ranks.
Killing the jailer and taking his place, making "Eigg" vanish into the legend of the "Demon's Invitation."
The several times Wilder had entered Eigg's cell to talk were all for the purpose of turning him into his hidden pawn, planted within the jailer ranks. This would be invaluable to Wilder over the next four years.
Like now, for instance. Wilder hadn't initially anticipated needing Eigg's help so soon. He was even forced to admit that, without Eigg, this plan wouldn't even have been conceivable.
The secret code on the cell bars was a pre-arranged communication method. Each additional mark meant Wilder needed to contact him, something Eigg would see daily while delivering meals to the prisoners.
As for the issue of new prisoners potentially occupying that cell in the future, Wilder had already considered that. Making them disappear was the best solution.
A bloodthirsty grin spread across Wilder's face. His swamp-like body seeped into the cracks in the floor.
He was looking forward to his new life, his new identity.
From now on, Level 2 would serve merely as a communication point between him and Eigg. His new life would begin on Level 4, and below!
"Nyehehehe…" The sinister chuckle reverberated as Wilder's body descended into the Swamp Hell. This time, entering the swamp felt… different. Perhaps it was because this was the burial ground of those prisoners and the jailer… There was something more here now, of course, it would be different.
"Next… Vice, and… I hope you're still alive."
Wilder never hesitated to reward the fortunate. Take Yves, for example, who had miraculously survived this whole ordeal. If he was still alive, then Wilder was magnanimous enough to spare his life.
Of all those buried in the swamp, only Yves had still been clinging to life when he was initially released. So, all things considered, there were actually three successful escapees: Wilder, Vice, and the lucky Devil Fruit user, Yves.
"Glug!" The flowing swamp surged rapidly through the Swamp Hell, heading towards a specific location.
Before long, two figures, completely encased in mud, came into Wilder's view.
"Nyehehehe… Looks like you're alive after all."
The two mud-covered figures were Vice and Yves. Each had a straw-like tube protruding from their mouths, the other end of which passed through a hole in the stone wall, leading to the outside.
For ten days, they'd sustained themselves on nothing but air drawn through those two straws. Even Wilder had to inwardly marvel at their tenacity.
His swamp body gradually enveloped Vice and Yves. Wilder then began to move them towards the fissure leading to Level 4.
As for how he could transport two living beings through a crack less than a centimeter wide? The Bottomless Swamp made it possible.
In truth, the Bottomless Swamp treated living and non-living matter the same way. Anything that entered it sank as if into a vast ocean, unable to create even a ripple. However, at this stage, it seemed the "ocean" couldn't truly hold an infinite amount. The quantity and individual volume of what it could contain seemed to be limited to a certain point. Wilder hadn't yet tested the exact limits, but he could vaguely sense their existence.
He couldn't fully understand the underlying principles yet. If he could one day grasp them, he suspected he would understand the swamp's true nature.
Certain characteristics of the Swamp-Swamp Fruit were like a contradictory entity, both logical and illogical, full of conflict.
Wilder couldn't help but wonder: if he could one day understand the conflicts and contradictions within these characteristics, would it trigger a qualitative change in his Devil Fruit abilities? Something like… Awakening.