"Bang!"

  "Chief Guard Buck!"

  "Warden Ian, what is..."

  Ten mier, the heavy iron door swung open as several prison guards rushed in. They found a visibly disheveled and breathless Warden Ian and a bloodied Chief Guard Buck sprawled on the ground. The guards stared at the se in shock, taking in the room's disarray, which suggested a fierce battle had just taken pce.

  "This man ignored my warnings and tinued his reckless abuse of prisoners, letting his po to his head. He thought he could act however he pleased, even attempting to challenge my authority. I had to teach him a lesson," said the 'Blood Prison' Ian coldly, his face hardening as he straightened his slightly torn warden’s uniform.

  "Take him to Level Six, the Eternal Hell," he ordered. "He'll stay there until he learns some discipline. And nobody is to approach him without my permission. I’ll report this to Marine HQ shortly."

  "Uh... yes, sir!"

  …

  In a hastily structed cell on Level 5.5, the real 'Blood Prison' Ian, once-feared warden of Impel Down, was now bound tightly with seastone shackles that immobilized his limbs, fastening him to the wall. Still unscious from the tranquilizer iion, he showed no signs of waking up soon.

  "Although he’s a bit old, as the warden of Impel Down, his abilities are quite formidable," Gerd smiled, pleased with the situation. "I checked, and he likely has about twenty years of life left... with his strength, he’d make an excellent addition at the 'Queen' level."

  "While he may not match Lucifer in strength, he’d still be formidable," she tinued.

  Typically, only a soul from a powerful Devil Fruit user could reach this level of power. However, with the aid of Ryan’s Munch-Munch Fruit abilities, advanced angel robots made from shape-memory alloys and enhanced with plex on systems could el powerful bat instincts from these souls, vastly enhang their effectiveness.

  Tahese special Homies more systematically, Gerd had rahem acc to a chess hierarchy: Pawn, Knight, Bishop, Rook, Queen, and King. The highest-tier Homies, such as those created from her own soul and endowed with unique funs, were cssified as "King-level."

  Advanced Homies like the six-winged fallen angel Lucifer, created from the soul of ander Howard of the Holy Knights, could seamlessly wield haki and had bat power far exceeding that of a Marine Vice Admiral, though not quite reag the strength of a Marine Admiral. These were cssified as "Queen-level."

  As for Ian, the Impel Down warden who had fully awakened his Paramecia-type Citrus-Citrus Fruit powers, his strength was formidable, nearing that of a Marine Admiral. With such a powerful soul, a Homie made from it would retain siderable bat instinct, easily able to wield haki effectively. Provided with a strong enough body, it could surpass evee Marine Vice Admirals in bat prowess.

  While it wouldn’t quite reach the strength of Lucifer, Gerd deemed this level of Homie strong enough to also be designated as "Queen-level."

  Chief Guard Buck, though slightly less formidable than Ian, was still strohan an average Marine Vice Admiral. A Homie crafted from his soul, while uo wield haki, would still retain robust bat instincts. Coupled with a specialized bat shell and on system, it would match the strength of a typical Marine Vice Admiral, earning it the "Rook-level" cssification.

  Souls with power levels rangiween standard ae Marine Vice Admiral would fall uhe "Bishop" tier wheo create Homies that, paired with angel robots, could rival typical Marine Rear Admirals in strength.

  Souls equivalent to Marine odores or Captains would be ranked as "Knight-level." Homies of this css would offer bat performance akin to that of elite Marine officers or odores.

  Below this level, while distins could still be made based oive strength, they were all collectively categorized as "Pawn-level" soldiers. These standard angel robots were formidable at the highest levels of the Pawn css, easily matg ordinary Marine Lieutenants or Captains in strength.

  Meanwhile, Homies made from readily avaible materials such as trees, wax, or stone weren’t quite as powerful as the angel robots but were far more cost-effective and practical to produce.

  When the Fallen Angel Pirates’ stist, Ryan, finishes digesting the Pluton blueprints and even mao manufacture a groundbreaking ser on, it will allow him to create even more powerful angelic robots. At that point, these high-level Homies might rea entirely new level of strength. For now, however, there's o bother with expendable Homies such as bullets, arrows, or rocket shells.

  “You there,” El called out, pointing to a few seledividuals who had ged into guard uniforms and radiated powerful auras. “Put on the masks Sally prepared, disguise yourselves as prison staff, and follow her orders as the ‘warden’ to take over the surveilnd unications rooms.”

  These chosen were prisoners with retively records and a sense of gratitude who had passed El’s careful evaluation and proven themselves trustworthy. Although still g in strength, they held potential and would be suffit as ordinary members of the Fallen Angel Pirates.

  Meanwhile, other prisoners with hidden agendas or thoughts of betrayal—those who’d even tried to exploit their escape by selling information about El, a Lunarian, to the Wover—had been promptly dealt with by Gerd, who took their souls and threw their bodies to the wolves on Level 5.5.

  “Yes, El-sama!” The selected prisoners, who had been granted freedom and a ce to join the Fallen Angel Pirates, were full of excitement and gratitude. They gazed at El with deep reverence, hardly able to tain their admiration. Here was a renowned figure they'd only heard about from newly arrived prisoners—a “Fallen Angel” who had destroyed Navy fortresses, attacked the Celestial Dragons, and even beheaded a Marine Admiral. For prisoners with no hope of freedom, joining his ranks felt like a stroke of unimaginable luck.

  “Uthan, take them to Sally and start the operation.”

  True to El's and, it didn’t take long before the personnel in the surveilnd unication rooms had been quietly reassigned. By order of the “Blood Prison” Warden Ian, they were moved to different floors, repced by the new Fallen Angel recruits. The warden also issued an order to transfer all Devil Fruit users from Levels 1 to 4 into the fifth level, the Freezing Hell, for trated tai, as punishment for their unruly behavior.

  Despite being bewildered by the warden’s sudden orders, none of the staff dared questiohority of the prison’s top figure, especially given that he had retly beaten the unruly Chief Guard Buearly to death, throwing him into the Eternal Hell on Level Six.

  The staff hurried to ply, bringing every Devil Fruit user to the fifth level's freezing cells. Even the inal prisoners on this level were simirly reanized for mass tai.

  “g—”

  With a gust of icy wind, the final group of prisoners was secured in the frozen cells, and the iron gates of the fifth level were locked tight. From a hidden passage, Moss, Ryan, and Gerd emerged with smiles.

  “Damn it…”

  “We’re going to freeze to death…”

  “Let us out of here!”

  “Please, I’d rather be ba the Wild Beast Hell!”

  “Curse that damned ‘Blood Prison’ warden! He’s about to retire, yet he’s still tormenting us…”

  “Wait... is that…?”

  “Gulp! Am I seeing things?”

  “Are they… ghosts?”

  The shivering prisoners cursed Warden Ian for his seemingly senseless order to torment them in the Freezing Hell. But as they spotted Moss, Barry, and Gerd appear in their ominous forms, they stared in disbelief.

  Gerd, wearing a Shinigami’s mask and a flowing cloak that gave her the appearance of a haunting spirit from the underworld, ughed menagly. “Such fine souls... Well the’s begin!”

  “Life... or death?”

  Bleam