"Mom?"
Although Elise had turned on the camera the instant little Ren appeared, the moment she heard that form of address, the corner of her mouth still couldn't help twitching.
Thinking about it carefully, this was already the fourth one, wasn't it?
Did she really look that much like a mother?
Est, Ais, Metatron: Yes!
Counting those previous three, this really was the fourth one, wasn't it? Seriously, enough already!
Just what part of her looked like a mother? Sure, a Saintess did need a somewhat gentle personality, but having a gentle personality didn't automatically make someone a mother, did it?
"What do you two think?"
At that moment, Elise suddenly whipped her head around and looked at Est and Ophis beside her.
The two little girls didn't quite understand what she meant, but the moment they remembered what Ren had just called Elise, they immediately caught on.
Both of them raised their hands to their chests at the same time, innocent, worldly-ignorant expressions appearing on their faces.
"Mom!"
"Forget it. Pretend I never asked."
However, after briefly grumbling about it, Elise also noticed the crucial point.
The Dark Elemental Lord should know who she was, right? Why was she calling Elise "Mom" now? She was practically acting like a newborn baby!
At that critical moment, a certain thought suddenly surfaced in Elise's mind.
Don't tell me this is one of those clichéd plot developments from novels again?
Whenever a dead character was revived through some method, they would temporarily lose their memories. In more severe cases, they might even lose all their memories and essentially become a completely different person.
And looking at little Ren now...
After hearing that childish "Mom," Elise felt Ren had probably retained some of her knowledge and memories, though perhaps not very much.
But regardless of whether little Ren had amnesia, what Elise needed to do wouldn't change. After all, this was a perfect opportunity to preserve a certain priceless treasure!
"Ren! Hurry over to Mommy!"
"Mm!"
After receiving Elise's response, the smile on Ren's face visibly brightened.
She spread her pitch-black wings and eagerly flew toward Elise, then, right in front of the other two little girls, threw herself directly into Elise's arms.
"Mom!"
The instant she dove into Elise's embrace, Ren buried her little head completely in Elise's Mariana Trench. Not only that, both her arms wrapped tightly around Elise with absolutely no intention of letting go.
"Good girl!"
Elise responded by hugging little Ren as well, though the experience still felt extremely unfamiliar to her.
She had been subjected to things like this before, but the commotion little Ren caused was far greater than anything those others had ever managed!
"All right, all right. Let go for now!"
After they remained like that for a while, Elise lifted the pitch-black little figure out of her embrace and began stroking her head.
"Why are you calling me Mom, little Ren?"
"Do you still remember what happened before?"
Since the Dark Elemental Lord had only just been revived, Elise intended to ask her directly just how much she still remembered.
Because the pure look in little Ren's eyes absolutely couldn't be faked!
It was completely different from that deep, seductive gaze she used to have. She really did seem to have turned into a little girl!
This change wasn't necessarily bad. Elise could raise little Ren as a new life and enjoy nurturing her in reality, but if she did that, then she really would become her mother!
Why had Elise gone through so much trouble to revive little Ren?
For fun!
Back then, Elise had experienced an inexplicable amount of amusement from little Ren! It was like being one of those viewers lying in bed watching videos with an indulgent auntie smile on their face...
If the old little Ren was truly gone, Elise would lose out on a lot of fun!
And at the same time, she would also be sad...
"Because I feel like you're the most important person to me! And the knowledge in my memories tells me that mothers can give birth to children."
"So you must be my mom!"
That answer was perfectly reasonable, and Elise didn't question it any further.
The Dark Elemental Lord really had lost her memories, but since she still possessed this so-called knowledge, she should be able to recover them eventually, right?
That would be wonderful!
Est, who stood nearby, reacted in much the same way. When Ren appeared, a faint smile surfaced on her face, as though she were welcoming this newcomer.
But her brows quickly furrowed, because she too noticed the crucial point!
Why had Elise revived Ren Ashdoll?
The answer to that question should be the same as why Elise had wanted Est!
They were both elementals!
And extremely powerful elementals at that, ones capable of transforming into weapons for Elise to wield!
Est was the Sacred Sword in Elise's hands and had already accompanied her through three worlds.
If Ren became one too, wouldn't she be stealing Est's position?
Est still remembered what Metatron had once said to Gabriel: There's no place for you here anymore.
Was she seriously going to have to hear Ren say the same thing to her now?
Unacceptable!
At that thought, Est's expression turned visibly displeased, yet there was nothing she could do.
She knew perfectly well that for her big sister to remain safe throughout the infinite worlds, she needed greater strength. As the pinnacle of dark elementals, the Dark Elemental Lord undoubtedly possessed incomparably powerful strength!
That was exactly what her big sister needed!
Quietly extinguishing the flames of jealousy in her heart, Est slowly sighed and began trying to accept the facts!
What's more important, Sister being with someone else, or Big Sister's life?
For Est, who couldn't bear to be apart from Elise, Elise's life was naturally far more precious. No matter what happened, she never wanted Elise to die!
Est, you're already a mature, good girl!
You should help Big Sister Elise as much as possible!
After Est made up her mind, her furrowed brows finally began to relax.
In short, she had to help her big sister!
"Since Ren has successfully been revived, then Big Sister, shouldn't you form a contract with her now?"
Those sudden words instantly changed the atmosphere.
"Est?"
Even Elise looked at Est in surprise. The old Est wasn't someone who would proactively offer suggestions like this. Usually, she simply did whatever Elise told her to do, and even when she occasionally had opinions of her own, she rarely voiced them voluntarily.
Est had always remained quietly in the background. Although she possessed tremendous strength, she had never cared about fame in the slightest.
Whether in the world of Blade Dance of the Elementalers or after she began following Elise, that had always been the case.
And now... she was actually taking the initiative herself!
"Not bad. I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
"Est, you're amazing!"
And so, under little Ren's bewildered gaze, an elemental contract rapidly took shape upon her!
There was no need for chanting, nor was there any need to use any other power.
As Elise's contracted elemental, Est directly guided the contract to completion while neither side resisted.
From that moment onward, the revived Dark Elemental Lord, Ren Ashdoll, also became one of Elise's contracted elementals.
"And just like that, we've dragged you aboard our pirate sh... Ahem, brought you onto our team!"
"I'll be counting on you from now on!"
"Huh? Oh!"
Although she didn't really understand what had just happened, it probably wasn't anything bad, right?
Ren thought so...
...
After Ren was successfully revived, Elise took the three little girls back to Heaven. She still had one important matter to finish there.
During this time, Elise and Est also taught Ren quite a bit of useful knowledge.
Things like Elementalists, the Lord God Space, and the nature of their contracts.
Although Ren had lost her memories, she could still be considered both Elise's former partner and friend. Helping her was only natural.
"So that's how it is!"
"We actually had that kind of relationship..."
From what the two told her, Ren managed to identify the key information. Apparently, she had once saved the world together with them!
During their conversations, Ren could tell that they genuinely cared about her. Even though she couldn't see their feelings with her eyes, she could read them from their actions.
"In that case, I don't need to hold back!"
Even without recovering her memories, Ren still chose to stay with Elise and the others. If she got the chance in the future, perhaps she could even return to her original world and take a look around.
Of course, that would have to wait until after she recovered her memories.
If she couldn't even remember her homeland, then there would be little point in returning.
"I still have some things to handle for the time being. Est and Ophis will show you around Heaven and help you get familiar with things here. If anything comes up, you can come find me anytime!"
"Oh, right. While you're in Heaven, try not to use your wings too much. If you need to go somewhere, Est and the others will take you."
Unlike in the world of Blade Dance of the Elementalers, within the world of High School DxD, pitch-black wings represented only one thing: Fallen Angels, the form angels took after falling.
Ren wasn't a fallen angel, but her wings and those of a fallen angel could only be described as completely identical.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Elise had informed the four Archangels in advance and asked them to make preparations as soon as possible.
So until those preparations were complete, Ren could only remain with them to prevent others from misunderstanding.
As for Elise, she now needed to do something extremely important!
Heaven, Resurrection Spring.
This was one of the most important places in all of Heaven. At least ten powerful angels were permanently stationed here to ensure that no accidents ever occurred.
But right now, the Resurrection Spring was completely deserted.
For what she was about to do, Elise had already arranged matters with the staff here beforehand. No one would come disturb them while they were making mistakes.
Back when the Resurrection Spring had first been created, Elise had already said that it was flawed and had never truly been completed.
So during this period, Elise had continuously studied the knowledge left behind by the God of the Bible so she could complete the missing parts of this reincarnation pool and thoroughly perfect this special Sacred Gear.
Now, the time had finally come to test its effects!
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The instant Elise finished speaking, quite a bit of movement came from the pool. Upon closer inspection, countless bubbles had appeared in the center of the water, and several dark silhouettes could even be seen beneath the surface...
Splash—
As one figure after another completely emerged from the water, Elise finally turned her gaze toward them.
Angels!
And most of them were fairly young angels!
Heaven's Resurrection Spring possessed Divine Power capable of reviving angels. No matter when or where an Angel died, the Resurrection Spring would produce exactly the kind of disturbance they had just witnessed.
This was also an ability Elise had specifically established to ensure that the Angel population remained stable.
He no longer needed any of these things at all, so she might as well give that person a little extra income on the side, right?
Even without Elise taking over, this work would continue forever.
However, aside from that, the so-called Resurrection Spring had gained another special effect!
This newly added special effect was powerful enough to change the very name of the Sacred Gear!
Angel Reincarnation Pool!
That was the Resurrection Spring's new name!
To test this special ability, Elise had personally gone to the Church and selected a promising candidate to bring up to Heaven.
Surely everyone already had a good idea who she had brought, right?
"My Lord, it is my honor to serve you!"
"I will definitely carry out the task you have entrusted to me!"
The little golden-haired nun had been brought directly from the ground to Heaven by Elise and was now staring at the God of the Bible with shining eyes.
Asia Argento.
One of the members of the original protagonist group, holder of the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing. It was said that she also had a certain degree of connection to the system, which was why Michael had expelled her from the Church.
But things were completely different now!
Elise had transformed into the God of the Bible and directly taken control of Heaven. She had even brought the fallen angels and devils under her control. She no longer needed to worry about information leaking out like in the original story.
"Asia!"
Asia, who had already been feeling nervous and unsure of what to do, became especially excited when she suddenly heard God call her name. She never expected the Lord to actually remember her name!
"Yes, I'm right here, my Lord!"
Asia slowly lowered her head and assumed a posture of prayer, something she had faithfully done every day.
For followers of the Biblical God, what the Lord represented went without saying!
He was the true supreme being!
"Asia Argento, nun of the Church..."
Elise stepped forward and slowly approached Asia, who was kneeling on the ground, gazing down at her from above.
At this moment, Asia was incomparably nervous.
Simply being able to see angels had already astonished her.
But this time was completely different. The one she had met was no longer another Angel, but the Lord Himself!
She truly couldn't imagine what kind of matter would cause the Lord to personally visit the Church and take her away.
"Ever since you joined the Church, you have offered devout prayers every day. I have heard every one of them."
"So, lost lamb, you no longer need to wander in confusion..."
Elise reached out and placed her hand atop Asia's head.
"In the name of God—"
"Asia Argento, from this day forward, you shall become one of the angels!"
"May you forever retain this sincere heart and use it to aid all those in this world who have fallen into suffering."
Before Elise had even finished speaking, Asia was already dumbfounded, tears of excitement welling at the corners of her eyes.
The Lord said... He wants me to become a new Angel?
What an incredible honor!
For every devout believer, entering Heaven after death was already a source of incomparable happiness. Becoming an Angel was even more unimaginable!
"Thank you for your blessing!"
At that moment, a stream of golden light passed directly from Elise's hand into Asia's body, completely enveloping her.
Under the influence of this mysterious energy, Asia's feet gradually left the ground. She rapidly drifted toward the center of the pool before quickly sinking beneath the water...
But soon, familiar bubbles began rising from the bottom of the pool. Along with them appeared a figure identical to Asia, but there was one difference...
A pair of pure white feathered wings now spread from her back!