It turns out the saying is true—people really do see their lives flash before their eyes when they are on the verge of death.
But as I relived my life in those final moments, some unfamiliar memories somehow got mixed in. It was quite a shock. Apparently, in my previous life, I was a Japanese high school student.
It happened during our journey to defeat the Demon King. We were moving through the forest when the disaster struck without warning.
A betrayal from my own companions.
It was in exchange for a sudden backstab and a severed left arm that I finally remembered being a reincarnated soul. I suppose you could call it a stroke of divine providence. Even in such a desperate situation, it seemed God hadn't completely abandoned me.
I allowed myself a moment of hope, thinking I might escape this crisis with some sort of "cheat" ability. But that hope was short-lived; nothing happened. I didn't awaken to any hidden power, nor did an oracle from a goddess descend to save me. I was still just me. The only real change was that the influx of someone else's memories had slightly altered my perspective.
Honestly, it felt a bit unfair. If I was going to find out I was a reincarnated person, I should have at least received some kind of bonus perk. Given that my life was on the line, surely I deserved a little luck.
After all, the Hero—who was supposed to be my ally—and my junior, the Apprentice Saint, had suddenly branded me a traitor and attacked. Seeing as they had already lopped off my arm, they were clearly playing for keeps.
I had no memory of ever betraying them, nor did I understand why they looked at me with such hostility. However, I wasn't just some helpless girl. Even without a cheat ability, I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
I was a Saint. My job was to heal wounds sustained in battle.
I activated my Super Recovery Magic, regenerating my severed left arm just as I always did. Even among the various Saints in the service of the kingdom, I was the only one capable of regrowing lost limbs in an instant.
But my opponents were one step ahead. The moment my arm grew back, my balance failed me. I looked down to see that my legs had been severed; the sight and the agonizing pain hit me almost simultaneously.
"No matter how great a Saint you are, even you can't regenerate an arm and both legs at the same time, can you?"
The Apprentice Saint junior didn't seem to care that I was screaming. She looked down at me with a mocking, contemptuous sneer. Then, she used a scythe of wind magic to sever my right arm. Blood gushed everywhere. If only this were a dream, how happy I would be.
What on earth had I done to deserve this? I had supported the Kingdom of Gardenia since I was a child. I had traveled with them, protecting my companions so we could defeat the Demon King. And yet, here I was, betrayed and murdered by the very people I had kept alive.
The Hero looked down at me with pure disgust. He was the second prince of the Kingdom of Gardenia, my childhood friend, and my fiancé. The gentle eyes that used to smile at me were nowhere to be found. Why? How could he do this? I wanted him to say something—anything. I wanted him to save me.
But my silent plea went unanswered as the Apprentice Saint stepped on my head.
"Serves you right. But the real show is about to begin, Iris-senpai."
As she called my name, something wrapped around the left arm I had just regenerated. It was a vine. A plant vine thicker than a rope began to drag me across the ground with brute force.
"This is a fitting end for the woman who bewitched the Hero and the kingdom. Once that thing eats you, even your bones will be digested."
A monstrous flower lay in wait at the end of the vine. It looked like a giant carnivorous plant. It opened its massive, hideous maw, ready to pull me inside. If I was eaten by that, there would be no coming back.
"Don't worry. I’ll be the one taking care of the Hero from now on. He was so intense last night that he wouldn't even let me sleep, you know."
I see. Not only was I being betrayed, but my childhood friend and fiancé had been stolen from me as well. It was all so pathetic. What a miserable way to go.
"And with that, please do us a favor and die right here, Senpai."
Droplets traced paths down my cheeks. I couldn't stop the tears. What did I ever do? I hadn't done anything wrong. I hadn't betrayed the Hero or the kingdom. It was all a frame-up.
"He... lp... me..."
I reached out, trying to resist the vine, but my right arm only swiped through empty air. My arm was still gone, severed at the shoulder by my junior.
My body was dragged into the darkness. Ignoring my final plea, the flower monster swallowed me whole.
Inside the cramped space of its body, a slimy liquid coated me from head to toe. My clothes began to dissolve, and my skin burned with a searing pain. I was being melted by digestive juices. Being chewed to death would have been bad, but being dissolved was just as awful.
I mobilized every drop of my remaining mana, constantly casting recovery magic over my entire body. I tried to use Super Recovery Magic to grow my right arm back so I could claw my way out, but it was no use. I couldn't move.
Trying to out-heal digestive juices was a losing battle. Eventually, my mana would run dry, my bones would melt, and I would become nothing more than fertilizer for a monster.
In the end, even though I realized I had been reincarnated from Japan, nothing changed. No divine gifts, no cheat skills—nothing. I almost wanted to curse the fact that I’d remembered my past life at all.
Having a past life meant I had already died once before. Dying was terrifying. I didn't want to go through it again. I wanted to live. I wanted to survive and lead a peaceful life this time. A life where I wasn't betrayed by my friends, and where I didn't die while I was still a student. A life of peace...
—I refuse to give up!
Squeezing out the last of my strength, I poured everything into my recovery magic. I could feel my cells dividing at an unprecedented rate, reconstructing my flesh. I felt something strange and unrecognizable mixing into my body, but suddenly, the pain vanished. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't budge. I couldn't move my arms or my legs. I couldn't hear anything, and I couldn't smell a thing.
All I knew was that I was curled into a ball, and something thin and soft was gently enveloping my entire body.
I have no idea how much time passed. Then, it happened.
Despite having no sensation in my legs, my body sat up naturally. The thing surrounding me spread wide, opening like a fan.
I opened my eyes. Deep green trees filled my vision.
That’s right... I was attacked by those two in the forest. Despite those horrific injuries, I hadn't died. I was still alive! I really was the kingdom's greatest Saint!
But this was no time to celebrate. It was great that I survived, but I had to get away from here immediately. Wait, that’s strange. I couldn't walk. My legs wouldn't respond at all.
As I looked down, I caught sight of my own chest. I was completely naked. It made sense since the digestive juices had melted my clothes, but it was still embarrassing.
However, a sight far more bizarre than my own nudity caught my eye, making my embarrassment vanish instantly.
I was standing inside a flower large enough to hold a person. More specifically, I was growing out of the center of a massive corolla. From the waist up, I was a human woman. My lower body, however, was a giant flower.
I looked exactly like an Alraune—a plant-type monster I’d seen in the monster encyclopedia.
Wait... this feeling...
I reached out and stroked the red petals. I didn't just feel the texture of the flower on my fingers; I felt the sensation of being touched on the petals themselves.
I understood then. I didn't want to believe it, but the reality was unavoidable. This flower was now a part of my body.
So, that was how it was.
I was betrayed by my comrades, had my arm cut off, remembered a past life, lost my legs, lost my other arm, had my fiancé stolen by my junior, and was swallowed by a monster. It had been a chaotic, horrific series of events, but that chapter of my life was over.
It seemed I had given up being human to become a plant monster.