I was Alraune, a plant monster girl.
The one currently being gnawed on by my Venus Flytrap was the Poison Fairy of the Demon King’s Army.
After listening to the Poison Fairy’s bitter excuses, I felt something approaching—something radiating a strange, familiar aura. It was a presence that felt just like my own: the Light Magic of a Saint.
I wondered what on earth could be coming our way.
"Mama—" "Praise us, praise us!" "We worked so hard!"
The Child Alraunes parasitizing the giant eagle monster, Begia-Ad Adler, were calling out to me.
That was right; my own children were more important than some mysterious presence! I had to do something about the little ones still growing out of that Giant Eagle.
Despite my frantic worrying, the children responded with smiles.
"Mama, there’s no soil here." "We used up all our nutrients, so we’re at our limit." "That’s why we’re coming home to Mama."
I realized then what was happening.
It seemed we had managed to pull off the Mistletoe Strategy through sheer force of will. I had assumed they were preying on the actual mistletoe plants without me noticing, but that wasn't the case. Because they weren't true parasites, the Child Alraunes couldn't absorb nutrients from the eagle indefinitely.
If they stayed attached to the bird, they wouldn't last much longer. Furthermore, despite having only just germinated, they had spent nearly all the energy I’d given them during the battle.
Rather than simply withering away, they intended to revert into seeds and return to me, just like in my previous experiment. My clones gave me a thumbs-up. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie.
They were prepared for this.
Nectar welled in my eyes like tears as I bore witness to my children’s final, heroic moments. The tiny Alraunes bit into their male flowers one after another, beginning the process of self-pollination. Their bellies swelled in unison, and they transformed into fruit, then finally into seeds.
I carefully gathered each seed with my vines and consumed them all through my lower mouth.
Welcome back inside me, I thought. It was a Maternal Regression.
the moment I swallowed them, the memories of the Child Alraunes’ experiences flooded into my mind. I marveled at the intensity of the battle in the sky as I offered them my silent praise.
You all did so well. Thank you for fighting in my place.
From now on, we would continue our lives together as one. I was alone, and yet I was no longer alone. I lived on alongside my many children.
As I wept over my reunion with the Child Alraunes, the Poison Fairy—still trapped in the Venus Flytrap’s maw—muttered dejectedly.
"Enjoy your little victory while you can. If you think you’ve won, you’re dead wrong."
"How... is it... wrong?" I asked.
"The reinforcement I summoned wasn't just Begia-Ad Adler. I had an even bigger shot on standby near this forest."
So, that mysterious Saint-like presence really was a reinforcement for the Demon King’s Army. Still, even if some "big shot" was coming, I was confident I wouldn't lose. I had more than enough combat experience to handle myself.
Besides, while I had been busy defeating Begia-Ad Adler, my companions had returned. Little Witch, Fairy Kiri, and my younger sister-figure, Amazoness Treant, were all back. With everyone together, I didn't fear any enemy.
The Poison Fairy smirked and pointed toward the sky.
"See? Your guest of honor has arrived."
Suddenly, the world flashed with brilliant light. It felt as if silent lightning had struck the clearing.
I had felt this before. It happened while I was being carried by the White Bird during our move from the East Forest to the West. We had been attacked by the Giant Eagle, but a sudden flash in the sky had chased the monster away. This was the same light.
A moment later, a glowing Birdman appeared in the air. He was a member of the Demon Race, a hybrid of bird and human. The golden figure descended slowly toward the ground.
Seeing him, the Poison Fairy cried out in triumph.
"This is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army—Lord Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown!"
The title "Four Heavenly Kings" didn't shock me nearly as much as the Birdman himself did. I recognized the light he emitted. It was the exact same radiance as the Light Magic used by a Saint. It was so divine that an ordinary Apprentice Saint wouldn't even be able to perceive its true nature.
He was a demon. A commander of the Demon King’s Army. Yet, he possessed the holy power of a Saint. The revelation left me reeling.
The golden Birdman hovered in midair and spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.
"I brought down a human fort only the other day, and now I am reduced to plant hunting in a forest? It seems I have been quite underestimated."
Garda-fresvelg stood about three meters tall. He had the head of a giant eagle, but his body was a mix of avian and human features. Four wings grew from his back—two on each side—and his entire body was covered in feathers that shimmered with a dazzling golden hue.
Most notably, he was cloaked in a Saint’s Aura of Light. Every single feather pulsed with the unmistakable presence of Light Magic.
"That's... impossible..."
By all rights, Light Magic could only be wielded by human women chosen by the Goddess. I had never heard of a demon using it. And yet, this man undoubtedly harbored that holy power within his body. He was a paradox—a demon who was also a master of Light Magic.
Before I could stop myself, I spoke.
"How... can you... use... Light Magic?"
"……Hmm. You there, Alraune. How is it that you recognize my Light Magic?"
My heart skipped a beat—or at least, I felt the phantom sensation of the heart I’d lost when I became a plant.
I had slipped up.
For a Forest Alraune to ask a Heavenly King why he could use Light Magic before he had even revealed it was completely unnatural. It implied that a mere plant monster had seen through a power he was still keeping hidden.
In my past life, I had been hailed as the strongest Saint in history. Because of that, sensing the presence of Light Magic was second nature to me.
The Birdman looked down at me with a piercing gaze.
"Normally, Light Magic is the exclusive domain of human Saints. There are no demons capable of using it other than myself. Why then, did a mere Forest Alraune see through my power?"
This was bad. An Alraune born and raised in the woods shouldn't know a thing about Light Magic, let alone identify it at a glance. My mistake had drawn his suspicion directly toward me.
"Now that I look at you," he continued, "I feel as though I have seen that Alraune’s face somewhere before."
He recognized me? My current face was identical to how I had looked as a child in my previous life. However, I didn't remember a flashy, golden Birdman like him. I certainly wouldn't have forgotten someone so conspicuous.
"It may be my imagination, but your face resembles a human Saint I once observed in secret a few years ago..."
I went cold. This Heavenly King had actually seen my face back when I was a Saint?
"But that Saint is supposed to be dead. And yet... if one were to age your face by several years, the resemblance would be striking..."
Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown stared at me, his eyes searching. My vines trembled. He was on the very edge of uncovering my true identity.
"Alraune... just who are you?"