"God… the real… God!"
Enel's voice was no longer hoarse and arrogant. It trembled with rapture, like a pilgrim who had wandered the desert for decades and, on the verge of death, finally witnessed a miracle.
He lay prostrate at Kael's feet, his entire body shaking violently from sheer excitement.
"I was wrong! I dared to be arrogant in front of the True God! I… I, a counterfeit who stole the name of divinity, actually tried to challenge Your holy radiance!"
Enel lifted his head, tears streaming down his face, yet he wore an unburdened, crazed smile, as if he had finally been set free.
"Please deliver divine punishment! Reduce me to ash with Your thunder! To die by the True God's hand is the highest honor for a sinner like me!"
As he spoke, he began slamming his head into the ground again and again, thudding loudly, as if only self harm could express the tidal wave of emotion inside him.
"…"
Kael's brain crashed. Tesoro's jaw almost hit the floor.
Uncle Tom even forgot to drink from the cup in his hand.
Three people, six eyes, all staring blankly at Enel, who was crying, laughing, and kowtowing on the ground. For a moment, none of them knew how to react.
Inside Kael's head, ten thousand alpacas were stampeding.
No, seriously, what is this?
This is not how the script goes.
By normal logic, this guy was supposed to be scared senseless, drop to his knees and beg, crying, "I was wrong, I'll never do it again," and then Kael would magnanimously say, "Fine. Be a good little generator and I'll spare you."
So why is he a fanatic now?
And not just any fanatic, but a full-on "punish me harder" type?
I just wanted you to work for me and generate electricity! I'm not trying to recruit followers and start a religion!
Kael's mouth twitched uncontrollably. His temples throbbed hard enough to hurt.
He would rather fight the Five Elders again than deal with whatever this was.
"Uh… you should get up first." Kael tried to find words.
"No! The sinner Enel has no right to stand before receiving the True God's forgiveness!" Enel refused instantly, then started banging his head even harder.
"…"
Kael inhaled deeply, feeling his blood pressure spike.
He glanced at Tesoro, who was equally petrified, and signaled with his eyes: This is your mess. Figure it out.
Tesoro jerked, snapping back to himself. He stared at Enel, utterly baffled.
On Skypiea, this guy had been all "I'm the strongest under heaven." How did one look from Lord Kael turn him into this?
Tesoro forced himself forward, cleared his throat, and said, "Ahem. Enel. Lord Kael told you to get up, so get up. Stop embarrassing yourself."
Enel whipped his head around and stared at Tesoro with a look that mixed contempt, pity, and superiority.
"Silence, mortal! What would you understand?" he barked. "A fool like you, incapable of comprehending the brilliance of divinity, has no right to comment on my faith! All you do is defile this world with your filthy gold!"
Tesoro: "???"
What the hell did I do? I'm trying to help you out and you insult me?
Seeing the two about to start again, Kael finally ran out of patience.
"Enough."
One low word.
Enel went dead silent instantly, burying his head back against the floor. His body trembled even harder, like a pet waiting for punishment after misbehaving.
Kael rubbed his aching brow and felt, as always, that none of the people under him were ever normal.
He sighed and decided to cut through it.
"Fine, fine. No punishment. I forgive you. Now get up."
Enel shook, then slowly raised his head, his eyes overflowing with disbelieving tears.
"R-really? Great Supreme God… You… You truly forgive a wretched false god like me?"
"Yes." Kael nodded flatly. "My patience is limited. I'll count to three."
"Y-yes! Yes! I'm getting up!"
Enel scrambled to his feet in a panic and stood respectfully off to the side, hands lowered, head bowed, not daring to even glance at Kael.
That obedient posture was the complete opposite of his earlier arrogance.
"From today on," Kael pointed at him, "you live here. You have exactly one job: cooperate with Uncle Tom and provide power for the Ark. Do well and you'll be rewarded. Do poorly…"
Kael's gaze turned cold.
"Yes! Supreme God! Your will is my everything!" Enel straightened his chest and shouted, face glowing with the honor of serving the Supreme God. "I will offer all my thunder so that Your divine chariot becomes the holy light that cleaves the darkness and judges all sin in this world!"
Kael: "…"
Whatever. Just end me. I'm tired.
He waved weakly. "Uncle Tom, he's yours. Use him however you want. If he breaks, that's on me."
With that, Kael turned around and left, not wanting to see Enel's fanatical face for even one more second.
Tesoro gave Uncle Tom a sympathetic look and hurried after Kael.
At the cell entrance, only Tom and Enel remained, staring at each other.
Tom looked at this "generator" who had been screaming about killing everyone one second ago and had turned into a loyal believer the next, scratched his head, and felt like the world was getting harder and harder to understand.
Kids these days. The stuff they get up to is wild.
Enel, meanwhile, stepped forward eagerly, wearing the smugness of a "divine apostle."
"Hey, old man. You're the shipwright the Supreme God mentioned, right? Hurry and take me to see the Supreme God's chariot! I can feel it calling for my thunder!"
…
A few days later, Kael's villa had gained a bizarre new piece of scenery.
Enel followed Kael around like a shadow, calling him "Supreme God" every other breath, his eyes so fervent it made people's skin crawl.
Calderon would have to admit defeat.
Everyone else in the villa felt uncomfortable around him.
Mihawk chose to ignore him completely. Crocodile wore a face that clearly said, what the hell is this?
Robin found it interesting. She even took out a small notebook and recorded Enel's words and actions, calling it "research into the formation and development of emerging religions."
As for Enel, aside from his feverish worship of Kael, he still treated everyone else with that same lofty arrogance.
In his view, other than the great Supreme God Lord Kael, everyone else was merely mortals bathing in divine grace, while Enel, the closest apostle to the Supreme God, held an exalted status.
That day, he went to find Tesoro, who was having afternoon tea with Stella in the garden.
"Hey. You glittery one." Enel crossed his arms and pointed his chin at Tesoro.
Tesoro did not even look up. He focused on dropping sugar cubes into Stella's tea.
"Spit it out."
"You dare speak so rudely to a divine apostle!" Enel bristled, but held it back. "I came for a matter of great importance to the Supreme God's dignity!"
"Talk."
Enel cleared his throat and adopted a sacred tone. "Since the Supreme God has descended here, this place is the new divine kingdom! But look at it. So crude. How can it possibly display the Supreme God's boundless radiance?"
The more he spoke, the more worked up he became. "Therefore! I have decided! I will forge a pure gold statue worthy of His identity, so that all people may gaze upon the Supreme God's glory!"
He thrust out a hand at Tesoro.
"Hand over your ill gotten wealth, your filthy gold, all of it, as the foundation for the holy statue! This is your only chance to cleanse your sins and bathe in divine grace!"
Tesoro's hand, mid-sugar-cube, stopped.
He slowly lifted his head, looked at Enel, and smiled a very gentle, very murderous smile.
"Get lost."