Being uncared for and neglected whilst being sentient and alive but still small and immobile, yet quite intelligent enough to be able to witness and understand all of the goings on of its surroundings, conscious for literally every moment of everything Princess Bubblegum did, and then being left alone and neglected forevermore... All of that, plus the residue of their lingering interactions in the particles of the room were made fodder for this negative, malicious energy that further reddened the lemon gene.
Once it was of a great enough magnitude in its malice, it started to be able to attract its fodder with its malicious, vengeful pull. It was like a savage, bloodthirsty monster, that had a taste of its favorite food. Every single particle was another addition to its body, and with every one it drew into itself and consumed, it assimilated, until it was made literally of all of the dust within its space -- the sentimental residue of Princess Bubblegum and the lemon gene's interactions, as well as their feelings, lingering, however stale or fresh.
So, the Red Lemon, now large enough to be greater than the size of a lemon, glared with eyes of burning, sharp, blind malice. This burning heat would consume the more condensed particles -- like the solids immediately in the area -- in a searing heat that eroded their calories in the same way a full on flame did. It looked like the Red Lemon gazing at something and it turning to ash.
All of the energy of the burnt up calories were absorbed directly into the Red Lemon, and once it was capable of suspending itself with its own aura, it was off to do... Who knows what.