Waiting was a virtue.
And the moment of final harvest—was exhilarating.
Suddenly, countless cracks spread across the massive Barracks Module. The dark, solid walls began to retract, slowly transforming into a gigantic torch-like structure.
No—it wasn't like a torch.
It was a torch!
Its shape resembled an inverted pyramid atop a regular one—the lower triangle resting firmly on the deck, while the inverted upper half tapered downward. The hollowed base burned with a vast golden flame.
Looking closer,tiny motes of light swirled within the fire, glowing brighter with every rising chant.
"I shall purge the darkness within and sing praises in the light!"
"My Lord,"
"You are the master of radiance, the embodiment of thunder."
"I entrust all to You—transform me into a messenger, bearer of twin wings."
"I vow—the unjust shall burn in holy fire!"
"I vow—the greedy shall melt in blazing light!"
"I vow—the deceitful shall face thunder's judgment!"
"I vow—the oppressors deserve death!"
"Command the thunder, and let wrath shake the heavens!"
The overlapping hymns rose to a deafening peak, then quieted into low murmurs.
Ren stood dumbfounded. Just what the hell had he created this time?
Before he could think further, a glowing screen appeared.
[Angel of Glory]
Origin: ???
Type: War Unit
Description: A war construct synthesized from an immensely complex assortment of components. The fusion of the Red Queen Module and Crystal of the Angel of Glory has resulted in emergent intelligence.
This unit has developed rudimentary consciousness and absorbed the master's worldview, forming a nascent religious belief system consistent with the hymns heard during activation.
This belief may be subtly adjusted by the master, but cannot deviate drastically from its original creed.
Due to the diverse composition of its materials, the Angel of Glory possesses multiple evolutionary stages.
Infant Stage: Unable to leave the light source within the Torch. No abilities—requires absorption of Steel, Thunder, and Fire to advance to the Two-Winged Angel stage.
Two-Winged Angel Stage: Appearance: humanoid form clad in mechanical armor, bearing golden twin wings. This is the base form of the Angel of Glory, possessing numerous traits:
'Return to Glory', 'Enchanted Armor', 'Messenger of Light and Heat', 'Mind Link', 'Clairvoyance', 'Thunder-Fire Synergy', 'War Armament', 'Battlefield Vision'
Return to Glory: Born from light and heat, the Angel's death is a form of rebirth. Even when slain, as long as another Angel exists, its consciousness transfers back to the Torch and reincarnates. The more times it revives, the faster it grows, inheriting all prior combat experience and skills.
Enchanted Armor: A natural gift derived from Enchanting Systems, Heavy Exosuit Technology, and Iron Knights. Upon gathering sufficient energy, the Angel self-enchants—sharpness and strength for melee weapons, explosive resistance for armor, unlimited ammunition for ranged weapons, etc.
Messenger of Light and Heat: Derived from the Crystal of the Angel of Glory, Campfire Energy Source, and Romantic Turret: Pumpkin.Grants control over thermal energy—manipulating sunlight into burning spears, molding flames into various attacks, or modifying armor for stable flight.
Mind Link: A fusion of String Phone Without a String and Den Den Mushi technology combined with the Red Queen Algorithm. Enables long-range electromagnetic communication, tactical synchronization, and shared thoughts among Angels.
Clairvoyance: From the Omni-Vision Device. Angels possess innate x-ray and telescopic vision, unaffected by terrain or weather. When combined with the Red Queen's computation, this yields predictive countermeasures—If an enemy's speed doesn't surpass their reaction time, it will be anticipated and countered.
Thunder-Fire Synergy: From Magic Circle: Thunder Draw, Campfire Energy, and the Enchanting System. Allows the Angel to absorb thunder and flame to recharge itself, or repair its frame when supplied with metal.
War Armament: Sourced from Romantic Turret: Pumpkin and Divine Punishment Model-1. Once sufficiently charged, the Angel demands or seeks iron and resources to forge its own weapons—usually preferring Dials and Steel. Preferences may evolve as intelligence develops.
Battlefield Vision: Drawn from War Hawk Magic. In conjunction with Omni-Vision, the Angel scans the battlefield and shares an updated tactical map through the Mind Link.
A fully configured Two-Winged Angel's stats: All Attributes: C-
War Angel Stage: Evolved from a Two-Winged Angel through combat metamorphosis. Appearance: four wings, heavily armored body. Abilities from the previous stage are vastly amplified.
For example:
Enchanted Armor becomes micro-layered, each plate individually enchanted for explosion resistance and defense.
Messenger of Light and Heat extends to lightning control.
War Armament manifests as a massive railgun powered by thunder itself.
Within the Mind Link, War Angels are unquestioned commanders. Even without orders, they can develop tactics through shared experience.
A rare elite unit—only battle-hardened Two-Winged Angels may ascend. At full power, War Angel stats: Strength: C++ | Agility: C++ | Constitution: B-
Energy Cost: Continuous Energy Supply Required.
Ren fell silent after reading the long description. He never really standardized his attribute scales, but used comparison as a rough guide.
A D-rank power corresponded to pirates worth tens of millions in bounty—like Arlong or Don Krieg—the kind who could lift a house with one hand.
C-rank represented supernovas with bounties in the hundreds of millions—like Bonney when not even going all out, or weaker Vice Admirals such as Smoker. That was roughly Ren's level back on Darwin Island.
B-rank?
That was monsters like strong Vice Admirals—Onigumo, or the giant warriors from Little Garden.
Even if Four-Winged War Angels were rare, their B–level bodies were absurdly strong.
A regular Two-Winged Angel, already C– across the board, was terrifying. If one fought Bonney, the winner was uncertain. But a Four-Winged War Angel could easily crush her. Especially with that railgun—Was that what he thought it was?
Still…those numbers referred to full-configuration stats, likely with every trait unlocked. Even so, it was terrifying enough.
After all—the Barracks' capacity was five hundred!
Ren gazed at the Torch. A faint connection told him it housed all Angels, each capable of dormancy in low-power mode.
For now, he just needed to supply iron, thunder, and fire. Fortunately—he had all three.
The Iron-Farm had been running for ages. The Iron Knights had minimal losses; all excess was stored inside Chester.
Speaking of which, Chester had evolved into Moonlight Chester, now with twelve slots and an anti-weight feature—perfect as the Enlightenment's cargo hold.
Thunder? A single thunderstorm would do.
Fire? He had Nojiko, didn't he?
At Ren's command, the Enlightenment began producing the first Angel of Glory en route to the rescue mission.
Iron blocks poured continuously into the Torch, its bottomless capacity devouring everything. Nojiko ignited her flames, channeling power from the Pseudo–Dragon Talisman. Though only partial in strength, when combined with the Flame Crown and air as fuel, the resulting blaze was immense.
The only problem was lightning—rare in normal weather. Nami released a dark sphere to simulate it, but its quantity still fell short.
Still, it was enough to birth one complete Angel of Glory.
A mote of light sank into molten iron, shaping a crude body that swelled rapidly. Just as it threatened to lose form, the flames within the Torch began tempering it,and thunder cracked down mercilessly, blasting away impurities in bursts of sparks.
Gradually, the Angel of Glory took shape.
Five minutes later, the fire and thunder receded. From the Torch stepped a red-hot shell, the molten glow fading to reveal silvery-gray armor still radiating heat.
It looked human—like someone clad in a mechanical exosuit.
It blinked in confusion for a moment, then seemed to understand. Golden mechanical wings spread open, vents releasing cool jets that extinguished the lingering flames on deck.
Then it knelt before Ren.
"My Lord, Unit 001 stands ready to fight for Glory!"
That speech pattern—Ren twitched. Why does this feel exactly like when I wore the Armor of Glory?
He coughed lightly, fist to mouth. "Good. For now, there's no enemy—but your time will come soon."
"Understood. I shall prepare immediately."
Unit 001 bowed respectfully, then vanished back into the Torch. Everyone stared for a long while—no one could tell where it went.
"An internal dimension?" Ren muttered, rubbing his chin. It was probably enhancing its gear and enchantments—just born, after all. Its mind was complete, almost as if it inherently understood the world.
Perhaps due to the Red Queen's influence? After all—it was artificial intelligence.
"What is that thing?" Nami asked, eyes wide. The others crowded in, equally curious.
A giant box turning into a torch, birthing a humanoid from molten metal—it was beyond imagination.
Zoro asked bluntly, "So… is that one of our crewmates?"
Ren thought for a moment. "Strictly speaking, they're our war weapons." Then he corrected himself: "But they possess intelligence, and a form of faith shaped by my ideals. You can think of them as extensions of the Enlightenment—my loyal forces."
He briefly explained their traits.
Vivi, still the newest aboard, gasped softly. "You've… practically created life."
Ren laughed, flicking her forehead. "If I were a Creator God, I'd already be storming Mary Geoise."
Vivi yelped in protest, while everyone else chuckled. Having fought alongside them, she now blended in easily—Ren's teasing came naturally.
Nojiko only asked whether Angels needed food. Upon learning they didn't, she simply nodded and went back to work.
Robin arrived just then, studying Ren intently.
"What?" he asked. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No," Robin smiled faintly. "I just didn't expect you to be that kind of person."
"…Huh?"
"You said it yourself—these Angels' creeds are built on your worldview. Meaning you're exactly the one they're singing praise to, aren't you?"
Robin covered her mouth, laughing softly.
Ren shrugged. "Who knows."
He wasn't about to admit it openly—not when he still intended to milk the Revolutionary Army someday.
With that, the creation of the Angel of Glory was complete. Next came mass production.
Haredas, who had been observing quietly, seemed inspired and joined in. Without a Weather Ship, he instead used materials from Nami's Weather Plantation.
Ren invoked Thunderstorm Magic alongside Haredas's techniques, calling down bolts of lightning and waves of fire that melted steel into shape after shape.
One by one, new Angels emerged.Meanwhile, Unit 001 reappeared—its form now far more refined.
Soft radiant wings shimmered like woven light, with metallic tips glowing faintly violet—Nami instantly recognized Channeling and Riptide enchantments.
The armor gleamed gold-gray, sculpted like a knight's suit of power, flowing downward into three white metal-cloth battle skirts. Beneath them—thick greaves and heavy boots, all etched with subtle runes.
Faint purple auras of enchantment flickered across its plates—explosive resistance and defense layers intertwined in dozens of circuits.
In its hands: a Chainsaw Sword, spinning with light-powered serrated edges that tore through air with a buzz. Each segment was separately enchanted—Knockback, Strength, Sharpness—forming a compound enchantment across components.
Noticing Nami's gaze, 001 turned its head and raised an arm. The gauntlet glowed with layered enchantments—Strength variants woven together. Still, compared to a War Angel's thousand-fold composite enchantments, it only had about a hundred—but impressive enough.
Wow, that looks amazing, Nami thought. Then another question crossed her mind: Do they even have… genders?
She didn't notice 001 still watching her—its thought-core quietly running the Red Queen's algorithms.
Moments later, it stepped aside to the Torch, stealing some fire and lightning,reforging parts of its armor—subtly reshaping its heavy, rigid frame into softer curves.
At that instant,the next forming Angel inside the Torch paused—its frame shifting as well.
"Learning… not imitation," Ren murmured from the third deck, eyes narrowing. Though surprised, he didn't intervene.
Because he was connected to their Mind Link—and could hear the mental chatter.
"Our Lord admires her silhouette."
"She is favored."
"I want one too."
"Unclear. Learning!"
"Then learn!"
Their cognitive ability was… remarkable.
Ren smiled faintly. "Looks like the foundation of my army is shaping up nicely."
Still, production was slow. "One Angel per hour," he muttered, scanning the Barracks interface. "And each still needs time to forge weapons and armor—never mind war armaments. At this rate, I'll have maybe twelve ready for battle."
The iron reserves were visibly dropping, and the consumption of fire and thunder was enormous. But with his capabilities, sustaining five hundred full-scale shouldn't be a problem eventually.
"Next," Ren said, eyes narrowing, "let's test their combat ability."
With Andre the turncoat's guidance, locating the Sky Pirates' main base would be easy. Their target: a major stronghold on Beist Island. Four hundred defenders, twenty Divine Punishment Model-1 cannons, and various Dial-based weapons—even Flash Rifles, apparently.
Perfect.
The perfect proving ground for his Angels of Glory.
If his calculations were right, the total investment was over a billion Beli. He didn't expect miracles—just power equivalent to pirates worth hundreds of millions. Even if the first battle went poorly, it would be acceptable—after all, Angels of Glory were beings that grew through death.
And as for cost-effectiveness—a single Pacifista cost as much as a battleship—ten billion Beli each—yet their power barely reached a few hundred million levels.
Compared to that, his Angels were a bargain.
(End of Chapter)