I was an Alraune, a plant monster girl and a former Saint.
Before me stood Garda-fresvelg, the Golden Birdman and one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings. He was a monster who had devoured apprentice saints to steal the power of their Light Magic.
My anger felt like it was about to explode. This was perhaps the first time I had been this truly furious since becoming an Alraune.
The shock of learning that my former comrades from my days as a Saint had been eaten—their very souls and abilities harvested—hurt far more than the threat of being withered by herbicide. I could still see the faces of the apprentice saints I had grown up with at the Saint Cathedral. Many had supposedly died in the war against the Demon King’s Army, and some had simply vanished, their bodies never recovered.
Those girls had been devoured by the birdman standing right in front of me.
“Thus far, I have swallowed nine souls whole. The more apprentice saints I devour, the more my power swells.”
Nine people. Among them, I was certain there were girls I had known.
“In fact, I heard a new apprentice saint has recently arrived at the Tower City. I shall make her my commemorative tenth prey.”
The demon was already planning his next hunt.
I focused on my vines, manifesting a Teppou-uri Machine Gun. Before I could even process my next move, I unleashed a volley of poison seeds at the birdman.
Spopopopon!
“What is this? Seeds?”
The Golden Birdman’s feathers gleamed with a metallic luster, as hard as any ore. My thorny seeds failed to pierce his skin; instead, they were all deflected harmlessly into the air.
“Hmph. A mere flower spitting seeds? That wouldn't even cause me an itch.”
I gritted my teeth. It was frustrating. Even though he was the murderer of my comrades, my attacks wouldn't even land. If the seeds couldn't pierce his hide, I couldn't even attempt the Mistletoe Strategy I used to defeat Begia-Ad Adler.
As I struggled to rein in my surging emotions, the birdman’s entire body began to glow. A halo of light, a radiant crown, manifested around him.
“You seem to have a surplus of spirit. Very well, I shall personally deal with you. I believe in starting with the strongest first.”
As a former Saint, I knew exactly what Garda-fresvelg of the Radiant Crown was doing. He was charging up a high-tier Light Magic spell.
“Glanzstrahl!”
The Golden Birdman unleashed a massive beam of light. It was so blinding I wanted to shield my eyes, but the ray struck Laobubear—Bear-papa’s relative—head-on.
It happened in the blink of an eye. The ten-meter-tall Laobubear collapsed where he stood the moment the beam touched him. His entire body had been scorched pitch black. He was dead before he hit the ground.
I couldn't believe it. Bear-papa’s relative, a guardian of that caliber, was taken out in a single shot. This Light Magic was on a completely different level than I had imagined. This was the true power of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
He was incomparably stronger than the Minotaur I had fought previously. Even among the high-ranking members of the Demon Race I had faced as a Saint, he was in the top tier. He hadn't just been bragging about his stolen Light Magic.
While I stood there, stunned, the birdman turned to the Dark Fairy, Oin.
“Hmph. How trivial. Oin, will this suffice?”
“No, it won’t! The Alraune is still standing! Hurry up and finish off this loathsome flower!”
“Do not be so impatient. She is but a tiny Alraune. What could such a creature possibly do?”
I was certainly being looked down upon—literally and figuratively. Oin, who was still grounded like me, shouted up at the Four Heavenly King soaring in the sky.
“Lord Garda-fresvelg, you’re missing the point! It wasn't the Laobubear who defeated Begia-Ad Adler, it was this Alraune!”
“The Alraune? I find that difficult to believe.”
Just as I thought, he was underestimating me because I looked like a common plant monster. Granted, his Light Magic was terrifying. He had wiped out the Laobubear in a single strike, after all. However, I had my own experience defeating a Bear-papa. I wasn't going to roll over that easily.
But still... Light Magic felt like a total cheat code. If possible, I really would have preferred a physical brawl without any magic. I couldn't use magic at all anymore. I was just a plant, after all.
“Next is that little Alraune’s turn. Perish.”
Wait, hold on! If I took a beam of light that even a Bear-papa-level monster couldn't survive, I’d be vaporized instantly!
I didn't want to die yet. It was completely unfair to expect a one-year-old Alraune—physically only a week old—to fight a member of the Four Heavenly Kings alone. I had never even fought one of them one-on-one during my time as a Saint!
By any logical metric, there was no way I could win. I was just a little girl-flower. There was no way I could be a match for a Golden Birdman who ignored the laws of the world by using Light Magic as a demon. I wanted to run away immediately, but I couldn't.
Because I was a plant.
“Glanzstrahl!”
The same massive beam of light that had executed Bear-papa’s relative came screaming toward me. I prepared myself to be incinerated just like him. It had been a short life for a flower. If I got another chance at reincarnation, I hoped I'd at least be an animal that could walk. Or better yet, a human again.
As I stood there dazed, the malevolent light of death washed over me. It was impossible to dodge something moving at the speed of light. Before I could even think to raise a Vine Shield, the beam engulfed my entire body.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... Wait.
Something was wrong. The beam didn't hurt at all. In fact, I felt... energized?
“W-What is the meaning of this? Why is my Glanzstrahl ineffective...?”
The Golden Birdman was panicking. Suddenly, it clicked. It was a bit of a shock, but it seemed that Light Magic didn't actually work on me.
Because, you see, I was currently photosynthesizing.
If anything, the beam was healing me. The Glanzstrahl might have been a devastating high-tier spell to anyone else, but to me, it was just a snack.
Yes, photosynthesis was delicious. Thank you for the meal!