Ren was very familiar with Lucemon's power.
That terrifying holy aura could only belong to Lucemon.
Of course, while Kanase had traces of that aura, she wasn't affected by it, which meant she had only been exposed to it.
But the angelic power inside her was clearly Lucemon's doing.
At that moment, Ren understood what that creature had been up to recently.
No wonder it said it would "give him an angel army."
Ren now more or less understood Lucemon's intentions.
In the original story, Kanase was modified by her adoptive father Kanase Kensei into an artificial angel.
Those [Faux-Angels] evolved by devouring their own kind. The experiment reinforced the human body with magic, transforming it into a high-dimensional existence—a process similar to poison cultivation.
That was probably what caught Lucemon's interest.
"Well, looks like you noticed, Master. Long time no see. You've been causing quite a stir lately, my colleague!"
Lucemon's voice suddenly echoed in Ren's ear, making him pause.
So this creature never left Itogami Island—it had been hiding here doing research.
The "colleague" he mentioned should be Remilia and Flandre.
Looks like he had been observing those two girls closely.
"You used this world's artificial angel rituals to study how to reincarnate someone into an angel?"
Ren asked curiously. He was indeed interested.
He wasn't in a rush for the extra limited-time missions. If he completed them, great; if not, whatever.
Ideally he wanted to finish them quickly, but he spent most of his time helping Remilia and Flandre grow stronger or studying Primogenitor bloodline crystals.
Still, since Lucemon was being so diligent, he might as well see what he was doing.
"Not completely successful… so far only Kanon Kanase succeeded. And that's only because she has excellent spiritual medium potential…"
Ren nodded. Kanase's real identity was the princess of the Aldegia Kingdom. Their royal bloodline had the highest grade of spiritual-medium ability.
That was why she became the strongest among the faux angels.
"Because of her high spiritual-medium talent, she could adapt to the Heart of the Angel I created—"
"Heart of the Angel?"
"A device I made myself. That Kanase Kensei used something called a spiritual core, but its circuits didn't have enough output, so he tried increasing the number to raise the overall power. Within the limits of the human body's spiritual capacity, it increases the chance of spiritual evolution, becoming something closer to a god…"
"And you used that theory to create this Heart of the Angel?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. So this creature was basically a researcher too?
Were researchers nowadays all like this?
Ren thought about the researchers he knew, and his expression grew odd.
"You didn't copy the Heart of the Fallen Angel the system gave me, did you?"
"Who would copy that thing!? I named it because I felt like it!"
Lucemon sounded annoyed.
"I'm still improving it. When it's complete, I can give you an angel army—but of course I'll be the one leading it. How's that?"
"Do as you like. I don't mind."
His voice carried excitement.
Ren didn't say anything more. He knew Lucemon had ambitions, but he didn't care.
As long as he kept his ambitions in check, it wouldn't be a problem.
And of course Ren would never let himself become the Yggdrasil wanted to overthrow.
And he wasn't stupid enough to see him that way either.
"By the way, tell my colleague to be careful. Because of my behind-the-scenes adjustments, Kanase Kensei wants to test Kanase's strength. After one last ritual, her spiritual cores will fully activate and she'll evolve into a true angel. Her opponent will definitely be the soon-to-awaken Fourth Primogenitor… You handle it."
His words revealed a lot.
He wasn't working with Kensei; he just stole his theory and developed his own Heart of the Angel.
But—
"This is your doing, isn't it…? How would Kanase Kensei know Remilia is about to awaken as the Fourth Primogenitor? I highly suspect you leaked it!"
"Well… yes, that's kind of my fault. The Heart of the Angel can overwrite someone into an angel, but since it's based on this world's spiritual cores and supported by my power, it needs a perfect target to operate at full capacity. Initial overwrite blends into the body; final overwrite rewrites their race… so I need my colleague's help."
"You really love stirring up trouble…"
"What trouble? This benefits you too, doesn't it?"
Ren had no comeback. After all, he was getting an angel army out of this.
But since he could modify Kanase's body, that meant—
"You contacted her privately and even told her to come to my shop!"
"Of course. She knows she'll become an angel. And don't try to get back at me—I explained everything to her beforehand and she agreed!"
Lucemon seemed worried Ren might retaliate.
Ren found it funny. His panicked explanations made it feel more suspicious.
"She adopted a bunch of cats. I told her instead of secretly taking care of them alone, she should get someone to help feed them so she could visit often. So I sent her to you. And also to report what I've been working on, so you don't think I'm making more trouble."
His voice carried an odd warmth.
This prideful Demon King always revealed strange moments of gentleness.
Like how he treated Asia with unexpected softness.
Ren now suspected Lucemon, like Fou, had a soft spot for pure-hearted children.
"I didn't expect your first angel to be Kanase…"
"No. My first angel is Asia. I promised her. I'll keep improving the Heart of the Angel, increase its output, and help her adapt to it. I'll divide my authority into three parts and search the multiverse for three new Great Angels."
In the digital world, his power was inherited by three Great Angels.
And now, the same principle applied.
"But hearing this… your loyal three angels must be crying."
"Loyal, huh… maybe."
He laughed mysteriously and said no more.
His voice faded, and Ren rubbed his ear before turning his gaze back to Kanase.
Because of Lucemon's interference… had the story begun accelerating?
Still—not bad. He'd get an angel army early.