"Meow-kay."
"Good, then." Kanase Kensei nodded with an expressionless face, turning to leave the laboratory.
Pure white walls, a marble bed carved with sacred texts, and numerous medical electronic instruments surrounding it.
This was the laboratory where an angel was about to be created.
Kanon Neco-Arc let out a yawn, flopping down onto the marble bed with a soft thump.
"Well then, let's begin."
Standing outside the lab, Kanase Kensei gazed through the heavily reinforced glass and spoke softly.
"Test Subject XDA-7, awakening level rising."
A harsh mechanical tone immediately echoed through the laboratory. Kanon Neco-Arc, annoyed, dug at her ears, then pulled a quilt out of thin air and draped it over herself.
"Blood pressure and pulse increasing, body temperature rising. Begin recitation."
Solemn music scattered over the leisurely Kanon Neco-Arc.
A multi-part canon repeated under the overlay of countless melodies.
Accompanied by the noble strains of a pipe organ, a hymn woven from mechanical sounds began to play. As if responding to this song, the inscriptions on the bed glowed with a faint light.
Yet within this solemn hymn, there was a particularly jarring melody—a soft snoring.
Though anyone could hear the dissonance, it drew no notice from Kanase Kensei beyond the glass.
He merely watched the scene inside emotionlessly, even beginning to nod as if in approval.
Crooked, clumsily drawn magical patterns—clearly her own handiwork—glowed with a pure white light on Kanon Neco-Arc's body, causing her very being to transform.
Yet she continued sleeping as if feeling nothing, bathed in the holy radiance.
As if having a pleasant dream, the corners of the cat girl's mouth lifted slightly. After a while, the hymn gradually faded, and the laboratory returned to silence.
"A great success."
A satisfied smile curled on Kanase Kensei's lips.
"Ready for sale?" Beatrice stepped closer, eyeing the being inside the room.
"No."
"Why not?"
"The power isn't sufficient yet," Kanase Kensei replied flatly. "The current output isn't enough to entice those nations. A further ritual is required."
"What ritual?"
"The Gu Vessel Contest."
"Huh?" Beatrice blinked in confusion. She had heard the term before.
In that mysterious ancient Eastern country, raising gu was an ancient form of sorcery.
It involved sealing many poisonous insects in a container, forcing them to kill each other—the sole survivor would become the gu.
But what connection could this somewhat eerie witchcraft have with a sacred angel?
"All humans possess the same spiritual energy core," Kanase Kensei explained quietly, as if sensing her confusion. "But very few can activate and utilize it. Even among first-class psychics, being able to utilize thirty percent is considered top-tier."
He adjusted his glasses.
"If the circuit's output is insufficient, then we simply increase the number."
"By making the Faux Angels fight and kill each other, seizing the spiritual cores from others and absorbing them into their own bodies, their spiritual rank can evolve without overloading the capacity of the human physique."
"I see." Beatrice nodded in understanding. "In that case, how do you plan to control these... monsters?"
A good weapon, of course, needed to be controllable.
"Control? It might be possible in the early stages, but attempting to control them later would be pure delusion." A mocking smile appeared on Kanase Kensei's face.
"Even if they are counterfeits, these Faux Angels are still messengers of God. Once those reaching later stages are unleashed, they are no different from natural disasters. Don't think you can manipulate them like tools."
"...I don't recall you mentioning this before." Beatrice raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at him with displeasure.
"No need to worry. We'll sell them as bombs."
"Bombs?"
"An awakened Faux Angel will follow its instincts to engage the enemy. Once its mission is accomplished, it ascends to heaven." Kanase Kensei narrowed his eyes. "Literally ascending to the skies."
"Is that so? Tch... Well, I suppose they can still be sold that way."
Beatrice roughly pushed back her hair and muttered, then glanced again at the girl lying on the bed. "Your daughter is about to start fighting for her life. How does that make you feel?"
A ferocious grin spread across her face, as if mocking a certain father.
"..."
A flicker of anger suddenly surfaced in Kanase Kensei's otherwise emotionless eyes. "If you're here to spout such nonsense, you can leave now."
"Perish the thought." Beatrice shrugged exaggeratedly. "Just here to remind you—better produce results before the company goes under. No one on Itogami Island is willing to fund you anymore as it is."
"The Fifth Primogenitor's security forces..." Kanase Kensei murmured lowly.
Their capabilities had been demonstrated during the recent invasion.
The familiars that descended from the sky were like toys in their hands.
"As long as nothing goes wrong, we should be able to—"
Before he could finish, the laboratory, where the experiment had long stopped, suddenly lit up with light once more.
Boom—
A clear singing voice rang out alongside the explosion.
Within the blinding radiance, as if a believer ascending to heaven, Kanon Neco-Arc held her hands slightly open at her sides, a pair of pure white wings gently fluttering behind her.
"What is this?!"
In the dust-choked corridor, Beatrice yelled at Kanase Kensei.
Because of the recent terrorist attack on Itogami Island, there was a major crackdown underway. A commotion this big would be impossible to overlook.
"This wasn't supposed to happen according to my theory!" Kanase Kensei waved his hands frantically, trying to gain some visibility through the dust.
"Theory is just theory."
A cheerful girl's voice sounded behind him. For some reason, he detected a thread of excitement in it.
Space distorted, and a golden-haired girl appeared in the previously empty corridor behind him.
"Theory can't be divorced from practice," Arcueid said with keen interest, turning her gaze toward Kanon Neco-Arc.
Let's see how Kanon Neco-Arc was doing now.
This Kanon Neco-Arc had willingly volunteered to personally experience the Faux Angel ritual.
A piercing white light cut through the dust obscuring their vision, revealing Kanon Neco-Arc's faintly visible form.
"It's all over."
Beatrice's expression grew darker as she looked at the black-haired girl beside Arcueid.
Minamiya Natsuki, besides her titles "Witch of the Void" and "Demon Killer," had another identity that made companies like theirs pale.
She was the police.
Getting caught red-handed by the police conducting illegal human experiments—it was truly all over!
She frantically patted Kanase Kensei beside her. "Are the angels usable now? They should at least let us escape, right?"
But the answer she hoped for didn't come. Kanase Kensei simply stood there in a daze, his eyes fixed intently on the angel within the dust.
"Who... is she?"
Amidst the thick haze, Kanon Neco-Arc opened her eyes, filled with noble grace.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.