This was an emergency.
It was a crisis that felt like it could rival the time my comrades betrayed me back when I was a Saint.
As an Alraune, I was a female flower, and my entire upper body functioned as a pistil. Hovering over there was a monster that looked like a giant honeybee. His body was covered in pollen from a stamen. If the pollen clinging to that bee were to rub off on me, I would end up being pollinated.
In human terms, that was basically the same as getting pregnant. At this rate, that bee was going to violate me.
It was terrifying!
Plants were truly out of their minds, trying to leave behind offspring this easily. Was there no love in the process? Didn't they want to fall in love and choose a partner they actually liked?
Well, I knew the answer. Plants didn't do things like that. Nature was a harsh mistress. If a species couldn't leave behind offspring casually, it would face immediate extinction. However, I really wished I could have been an exception. I didn't need seeds or children. I wanted to remain a single flower forever.
If I were pollinated, I would surely turn into a fruit and eventually become seeds. Once that happened, it would likely be impossible to maintain my sense of self as I did now. In a way, it would be the end of my life as an Alraune—a fate equivalent to death.
Besides, being forced to accept the pollen of some nameless male flower from who-knows-where was no joke. I wasn't some cheap, common flower. I was an Alraune, after all!
Listen here, Mr. Nameless Male Flower. You should at least send a photo and a profile as an introduction, then come to pay your respects at the appropriate time. I might have allowed an arranged marriage interview, at the very least!
Alright, I needed to calm down.
Normally, once pollen from a stamen adhered to the stigma of a pistil, it traveled down through the inside of the pistil to fertilize the ovule. I wondered where my stigma was located. Was it my head? My hair? Since the pollen had to enter the interior of the pistil through the stigma to reach the ovule, did that mean it was my mouth?
Was my mouth the stigma?!
The idea of pollen getting in my mouth was bad; even from a visual standpoint, it was disturbing. Personally, I absolutely refused to let that happen. Though it would probably just look like I was inhaling it, so at least it wouldn't result in a truly bizarre image. In reality, the pollen would likely just get on my face.
Whether it was my face, my head, my hair, or my mouth, the horror remained the same. I wanted no part of it.
Regardless, I could not let that bee get anywhere near me. My chastity was at stake. I was firmly opposed to this! I didn't want to have to tell some little Alraune born from my seeds, "Your father is some random plant I’ve never met."
Actually, since I would become the seeds, I wouldn't even be able to say it if I wanted to. To protect my purity, I had to fight.
I concentrated every nerve in my body and slammed my vines toward the approaching bee monster. However, I couldn't land a hit. Being a bee, he was incredibly nimble.
Still, unlike a regular honeybee, this guy was a monster. Since he was roughly the size of a human, he made for a large target. Unfortunately, the same logic applied to me; I was also an easy target for him.
The bee suddenly bit right through one of my vines. I never expected to be bitten by a bee rather than stung. Between the pain, the frustration, and the looming threat to my virtue, nectar began to drip from my eyes instead of tears.
Seeing that nectar, the bee let out a strange, high-pitched cry, as if he had just been invigorated.
Hieee!
How terrifying. Please, don't come any closer!
"Take this!"
I fired my Poison Pollen. This was my ultimate weapon, the same one that had sent that perverted Perorist bear to the afterlife in a single hit.
However, it didn't work on him. As expected of a bee-type monster like the Zornbiene, he appeared to have a natural resistance to poison. How insolent.
Perhaps he was being cautious now, as the bee began to hover just outside the reach of my vines. With teary eyes, I gently stroked the bitten vine to soothe it.
Back when I was a Saint, I would have used Recovery Magic immediately in a situation like this. Come to think of it, I wondered if I could still use magic.
As a test, I tried to manifest a Light Arrow using Light Magic to shoot at the Zornbiene.
—There was no reaction.
The Light Magic failed to trigger. It seemed that standard magic was unavailable to me. I suppose that made sense; even if I was a monster now, I was still a plant.
Just as I assumed that meant Recovery Magic was also off the table, the vines responded to my internal magic. They began to sprout and grow rapidly, returning to the state they were in before the bee had bitten them.
What was this?
It was slightly different from the Recovery Magic I knew. Rather than the vines being "healed," it felt more like they were being forced to grow. It seemed that when I attempted to use Recovery Magic, it manifested as an effect that promoted rapid plant growth instead of traditional healing.
Technically, my specialty was Light Recovery Magic. Light was essential for plants, and it was one of my current primary needs. Perhaps that was why Light Recovery Magic was so compatible with my plant body.
To test my theory, I cast the magic on my other vines. They grew before my very eyes, reaching twice their original length. Not only that, but the number of vines doubled as well. It seemed I had truly gained the ability to induce rapid growth.
With this, I might actually be able to defeat him.
I lashed out at the hovering Zornbiene. He was still out of range, but I didn't stop. He let out a "Kiii" sound as if he were mocking me, but he shouldn't have let his guard down.
Using the same sensation as the Recovery Magic, I forced the vines to grow mid-strike. He couldn't react to the sudden extension, and my vine slammed into his wing.
As the Zornbiene lost his balance, I used my other reinforced vines to attack all at once. I slammed him into the ground and coiled around him, constricting with all my might. He put up a desperate resistance, let out a "Gyeeee" scream, biting at the vines and lashing out with his stinger. Though my vines were damaged, I didn't let go.
"This is the end!"
I used the vines to tear the Zornbiene's torso apart. This was the fate of anyone who tried to violate me. I had no mercy to spare.
I won...!
I actually did it! My purity was safe!
But my relief was short-lived. A roar like a fleet of approaching helicopters began to echo from the depths of the forest.
I vaguely remembered hearing that when a bee was about to die, it sent out a distress signal to its swarm. That must have been what that cry was earlier.
As the realization dawned on me, I stared blankly at the cruel reality before me. The sky had turned yellow. The horizon was entirely obscured by an army of bee monsters. Uncountable numbers of compound eyes were fixed intently on me.
What was I supposed to do?
I defeated the one bee who tried to force himself on me, and he responded by calling all his friends to do the same. And I was certain every single one of them was carrying pollen...
This was beyond an emergency. This was a total dead end. My purity was going to be defiled by bees, and I was going to be covered in the pollen of unknown male flowers.
It was over. There were too many of them.
I... I think I'm going to be pollinated...
Next time: It's my first time, so please be gentle with the pollination.