I am Alraune, a plant monster girl.
As my army of beautiful young girl Alraunes bloomed across the dragon’s body, Nina, the apprentice saint, arrived on the scene.
What was she doing here? The city should have been in chaos following the troll attack; I never expected her to come all the way to the forest. The fact that she had shown up at the Forest Sanctuary suggested she was here for a specific purpose.
Nina and her human companions stared at Dora-ko in sheer bewilderment.
"Why is that Alraune here?"
"What in the world is that dragon? There’s a woman growing out of it!"
The voices of the humans drifted over to me. Their shock was understandable. Between the Dryades growing from the dragon’s head and the multitude of tiny Alraunes blooming across its scales, the situation was surreal to say the least.
It seemed Nina’s arrival was unexpected for Dora-ko as well. She muttered irritably, her mood clearly souring.
"That human is an apprentice saint... Does that mean that other fellow failed too? The Three Spirit Beasts are nothing but a collection of useless fools—except for me, of course."
"You... certainly have... a lot of confidence... in your strength," I said.
"Naturally. I am a fusion of a spirit and a dragon. In terms of sheer biology, there are very few creatures in existence that can surpass me."
Water began to gush from Dora-ko’s body. The overflowing liquid shifted into the shape of blades, whistling through the air toward the Child Alraunes.
"First, let’s dispose of these annoying tiny Alraunes. Water Blade Rain (Wasserklinge)!"
The blades of water impaled my children. It seemed she was truly desperate to rid herself of the parasites. However, water magic of that level was useless against the Child Alraunes.
"My children, use your Kangaroo Pockets."
At my command, the Child Alraunes chirped back, "Mama!" and "Okay!"
They instantly grew water storage sacs—Kangaroo Pockets—on their vines. They absorbed the water blades as they struck, funneling the liquid directly into the sacs. Any nicks or tears in their vines were immediately mended by the super-regeneration of their recovery magic.
"Clever... but if stabbing you with water won't work, I'll just mow you down with something else!"
Dora-ko reached out and touched a nearby tree. Its branches twisted and warped, transforming into a massive scythe. It appeared she had used spirit magic to craft a physical weapon.
"You won't be able to absorb this!"
With a savage swing, Dora-ko’s scythe sliced a Child Alraune’s bulb clean in half. The human half of the child’s body fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
My child!
H-how dare she. To do that to my precious little one... It was unforgivable!
But my children aren't so easily killed. The severed bulb began to pulse, and in the blink of an eye, the Child Alraune had regenerated into her original form. Just like me, they could restore themselves indefinitely as long as their roots remained intact.
Deep inside the dragon, the parasitic roots of the dodder were continuing to spread. Unless Dora-ko found a way to purge the roots from her internal organs, the Child Alraunes would keep coming back forever.
"Gugh... I can't... put any strength into my body..." Dora-ko groaned.
The nutrients required for the Child Alraunes to regenerate were being siphoned directly from the dragon’s body. Every time she "defeated" one, she was only accelerating the drainage of her own stamina. Since they were absorbing her energy even while standing still, everything she did was ultimately futile.
"I-if it’s come to this, I have no choice... Ultra-high-pressure Water Cannon (Wasserschneidemesser)!"
To my astonishment, Dora-ko turned her water laser on herself. She intended to gouge out her own flesh to forcibly separate the Child Alraunes and their roots from her body.
A massive chunk of the dragon’s chest was carved away, falling to the forest floor along with one of the Child Alraunes. She was literally cutting her own flesh to sever the Alraune. I had to hand it to her; Dora-ko was determined.
At this rate, the precious food source for my children would be lost. As their mother, I had to protect their dinner. I was going to do my best for them!
As I renewed my resolve, Nina’s voice rang out from among the humans.
"Are you the Dryades of the Four Heavenly Kings?"
It seemed she had mistaken Dora-ko for Vergissmeinnicht. Given the dragon's appearance and overwhelming power, it was a logical assumption to make.
"Nina... that one is... just a subordinate... of the Four Heavenly Kings!" I called out.
"You resemble... an Alraune, but you aren't the one I know, are you? Who are you, exactly?"
N-Nina!
No, it's me!
When we last met, I had the appearance I possessed when I died as a Saint, so Nina recognized me instantly. But Nina was younger than me; she had never seen what I looked like when I was ten years old.
You’ve got to be kidding. I thought we had finally reached an understanding, and now we were back to square one? If only she hadn't been knocked out by that explosive bottle back then, I could have explained everything. This was so frustrating!
"There are small Alraunes growing all over that dragon, so you must be an ally of the Four Heavenly Kings too," Nina declared, leveling her magic staff like a bow. "As an apprentice saint, I will strike down you evil monsters!"
She prepared to fire a light magic arrow. I couldn't let us become enemies again.
"The dragon... tried to... kill the Alraunes. That Dryades... and I... are enemies."
"Now that you mention it..." Nina paused, her eyes shifting toward Dora-ko.
To a human, the logic was usually "Monster = Enemy," which made things difficult. Now that she understood I wasn't with the dragon, I had to find a way to make her realize I was Iris.
However, I couldn't simply say the name "Iris" aloud. Not with Dora-ko right there, and certainly not with the Little Witch potentially listening in. I had to send Nina a message that only she would understand. I used the words that had first convinced her of my identity.
"Nina... did you receive... the handkerchief... from the Corporal? I hope... it didn't... get dirty."
Nina froze. "Could you be...?"
"Nina... with your special eyes... you should be able to... see the truth."
With her ability to perceive the aura of light magic, she should have already known. The same aura that belonged to Iris was present within me. It was the exact same light she had seen in the Alraune she chose to trust before.
"Nina, believe in me!"
Our gazes met. Nina closed her eyes for a brief moment, then raised her magic staff high.
"Holger-san, we’re going to support the Alraune! Our enemies are that dragon and the Dryades!"
Nina shifted into a combat stance, aimed squarely at Dora-ko.
I did it! I finally reached her. Our struggle in the forest hadn't been in vain. Now, I finally had an ally. This was a joint front between Nina and me.
Come to think of it, this was the first time we had ever fought together. Back during my Saint era, Nina was so small; I never imagined a day would come where we would stand side-by-side as equals on the battlefield.
"Do you really think a few extra humans can stand against me?!" Dora-ko roared.
She clearly wasn't planning on backing down. Fine then. Let’s teach this modified Dryades a lesson.
Nina, lend me your strength. We’re going to show her the true power of a Saint!
The misunderstanding was cleared, and the time for our counterattack had finally arrived.
Next time: Battle for the Sanctuary - Part 4.