Yamanaka Shinno's cheek twitched as he looked at the trait system interface.
For a second, he thought he'd accidentally activated the Mountain of Morality trait without realizing it.
"Angel Keisha, since the Demonic God seems to enjoy looking at legs, why don't you just show him yours? Hm? Doesn't Earth have a profession called 'public relations'? If you want the deal to go through, you've got to work the PR first."
Kexi's voice came through on the encrypted comms channel at just the right moment.
Clearly, with the sudden appearance of the Demonic God, she and Keisha had been sticking together.
"Kexi, that's cultural rot," Keisha sighed helplessly.
She had long given up trying to understand her sister, who seemed physically incapable of going a day without stirring up mischief.
"Rot? Maybe when justice reigns supreme, yes. But when you're dealing with a situation where Party A and Party B aren't equals, finding a roundabout way to reach your goal? That's just life's wisdom," Kexi replied, sounding completely unbothered.
She didn't see anything wrong with what she'd said.
Though neither of them had shown weakness in front of this Demonic God, they knew full well that their powers weren't even on the same level.
What fairness is there in a conversation between a god and an ant?
In the universe, how often does strength rob and devour the weak? Too many times to count. Justice and order only exist within the reach of the civilizations they protect. What constraints could they possibly place on a mysterious and powerful being from an unknown dimension?
Negotiating morality and justice with someone like him?
You'd be better off trying to flirt.
After all, every living being has emotional needs.
That's what drives life forward.
"The Database tells me that what we're dealing with isn't some evil god who thrives on exploitation and slavery. Don't let baseless suspicion color your view of a civilization's primary deity who approaches us with kindness."
Keisha's voice came through again.
One flattering label after another was practically being slapped on Shinno's head like stickers.
Yamanaka Shinno couldn't help but chuckle at the sisters' back-and-forth.
He understood perfectly: their disagreement was real, sure, but it was also a well-rehearsed act put on just for him.
The reason?
The imbalance of power.
Beyond appeals to emotion and morality, the two of them had nothing else left to negotiate with.
"Alright, alright," Shinno said, cutting them off mid-performance. "Here, I'll give Yan a little something to keep you two busy."
He raised his hand and pulled out a replica of the Suspended Ring from the Primordial Cosmic Realm, tossing it over to Angel Yan.
At the same time, he transmitted the theoretical framework for Kamar-Taj's spatial traversal magic directly into the angelic dark energy comms network, courtesy of the Primordial Engine.
Magic, after all—once a portal to a world is opened—was bound to be mastered by angels eventually.
This was the Marvel universe, after all. It wasn't like there was only one or two people who knew how to wield magic.
Once the angels used their internal engines and scanned it with the Eye of Insight...
Well, it wouldn't be him peeping on the angels anymore. It'd be the angels peeping on him.
...
"Phew... hard to comprehend."
Kexi exhaled deeply as she read through the data in the dark energy network.
They'd gambled—and they'd won.
This Demonic God really did hold a deep fondness for angels.
With the support of the Celestial Computation Cluster, she was able to process all the theoretical data on spatial traversal magic in under two seconds.
But without any magical foundation, trying to understand this entirely new power system—so different from dark energy—was like reading gibberish.
How did the Suspended Ring even work?
How did you 'communicate with magic through the heart'?
And how could just thinking about the place and person you wanted to go to, drawing a circle, and bam—you were there—even across dimensions?
It was all so... idealistic.
"Yan, once you've made progress, report back," Keisha said with a soft sigh of relief.
She gave the order to Yan, then ended the call with Shinno and closed the dark energy comms.
She and Kexi still needed to deliberate on how they'd handle their future interactions with this enigmatic being.
"Yes, Queen Keisha."
Angel Yan's eyes gleamed with a faint white glow as she studied the ring in her hand—its material strange, covered in intricate etchings. Even with the computational power of Keisha's sacred knowledge database behind her, she estimated it would take over a year to fully analyze.
She glanced up at Yamanaka Shinno.
Then she slid the ring onto her middle and index fingers, lifting her hand and making a few gestures with her dark energy.
Tiny sparks flickered to life midair—not enough to surprise her, just enough to confirm that the knowledge she'd received was real.
But she still couldn't seem to channel the kind of heart-linked magic the theory described...
She tried again, making the same gestures.
Still no breakthrough.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
Noticing Shinno's calm, observing gaze, she suddenly remembered Kexi's earlier words.
Adjusting her mindset, she lifted her foot gently, arms spread slightly to the sides, and twirled elegantly.
She took a half-step back with her right foot, pinched the hem of her skirt, and offered a graceful curtsy.
"My lord, compared to Queen Keisha... how do I measure up?"
"Each has their own charm. You're beautiful, too."
Yamanaka Shinno answered honestly, noting her slightly provocative yet subtly shy expression.
Holy yet seductive, pure yet alluring.
Tsk...
Northern Galaxy beauties—famous for a reason.
"Earth's fashion sense is quite unique... and it does suit the angelic aesthetic," Yan said, casting her gaze down at the planet below.
Her eyes sparkled with feigned contemplation, giving Shinno all the room in the world to let his imagination wander.
"You're using this as a test for your officers? Honestly, what officer wouldn't fail this kind of test?"
...
Shinno couldn't help but laugh aloud at her implication.
An angel's looks were already off the charts—no outfit could change that.
Not to mention... watching someone change outfits wasn't exactly the height of entertainment.
"Sigh... I guess I'm more like Queen Keisha after all."
Angel Yan let out a soft sigh, raising both hands in resignation.
Having grown up at Keisha's side, she had always held a pure and beautiful belief in love.
Unless the other person was someone she truly recognized as her ideal...
Then using her appearance to please others—what she'd just done—was already the limit of what she could bear.
Going further would violate her beliefs about love.
She was just about to stash the strange ring—which couldn't be stored in her sub-dimensional space—into a gap in her waist armor when the Demonic God suddenly spoke up.
"Clear your mind. Shut off your perception of dark energy. Forget you're an angel. Stay mentally focused. Now start thinking... A-Chase? Don't rely on your internal engine's computational support. Shut it down. Focus... more... good. Now start visualizing the person in detail..."
Shinno spoke with a slight smile.
Angels.
The most beautiful faces and bodies. Kind hearts. Ageless appearances. Long lives.
They held a sincere love for romance and compassion for all life. They fought for justice, without hesitation, until their last breath.
The universe may be dark...
But for most civilizations, angels were the light.
They upheld natural law, protected weak civilizations, maintained fairness and logic, and opposed abuse and destruction under the guise of justice.
Yamanaka Shinno couldn't do what they did—sacrificing themselves in the name of righteousness.
But that didn't stop him from admiring them.
They were truly beautiful, and...
A little adorably dumb, don't you think?