This continues from the Little Witch’s POV.
Memories of the past resurfaced.
This was a story from shortly after I had been turned into a witch.
Newly transformed, I lived in the rural outskirts of the Empire, hiding myself away from humanity. Then, one day, I met a bird.
The bird seemed to have been bullied and wounded by larger birds. Its life was being targeted by its own kind. In a way, it reminded me of myself.
Only a few days prior, I had been chased by humans—who should have been my fellow kin—and had arrows shot at me simply because I was a witch. The graze I’d received then had yet to heal.
Feeling a sense of kinship, I decided to spend the night nursing the bird back to health.
The next morning, the bird flew off into the vast sky without sparing me a second thought. It seemed its injury hadn’t been that serious after all. That, too, was very much like me.
However, I couldn’t fly as freely as a bird. I had been branded a witch and shot at simply because the villagers had spotted me playing with Levitation Magic.
If only I could become a bird, I thought, I could escape this stifling human society...
As I focused intensely on that image of a bird, my body began to warp and shift. Before I knew it, I had become a small white bird.
That was the first time I ever used Transformation Magic.
The memories of the past receded, pulling me back to reality.
The Demon Maid was plummeting into a chasm in the ice. A long, slender snake was wound around her arm, supporting her weight.
Where did a snake come from?
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I realized the snake was growing from my own arm.
Strangely, despite having used Transformation Magic, my body remained human. Yet, my right arm had transformed into a white snake. I recognized this snake; it was identical to the one that had bitten my arm in the forest. I hadn't known if it was venomous back then, but I remembered healing the wound by drinking Alraune’s Saint Nectar to detoxify my system.
In that moment, I understood.
Just as my desire to fly had first turned me into a bird, my desperate wish to reach out and save the Demon Maid had transformed my arm into a snake. But unlike that first time, I hadn't changed entirely. Why was only a part of me animalistic?
Right now, I was neither fully human nor fully snake. Only my arm had changed. It was just like Alraune, with her human upper body and floral lower half.
Come to think of it, Groa had told me back in the Witch’s Village that the Witch Queen could use Transformation Magic to alter only specific parts of her body. The Witch Queen had cat-ears, so perhaps those were a result of partial transformation as well? She used to laugh and claim she was born with them, but with her, you never knew what the truth was.
Regardless, it seemed I had gained the same ability as the Witch Queen. I wasn't thrilled about sharing a magic style with her, but it had allowed me to save Alraune’s friend. If I had let the Demon Maid fall, Alraune might have hated me for letting her friend die. The thought made me immensely relieved.
Clutching the bucket containing Alraune and Kiri in my left hand while the snake of my right arm held the Demon Maid, I fled the collapsing Ice Castle.
However, in the split second I had focused on the rescue, I failed to notice the icy debris plummeting toward my head. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to dodge. Alraune and I would both be crushed.
I have to fly... even faster...!
The moment the thought took hold, my Transformation Magic triggered again. Large white wings sprouted from my back. They looked remarkably like the wings of the Golden Birdman, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who had attacked Alraune. The color was white instead of gold, but there was no mistaking them. I remembered them vividly because Kiri and I had plucked his feathers ourselves.
Since I had transformed into a bird many times before, I knew exactly how to move them. Flapping the two great wings, I soared out of the castle. The surge in speed allowed us to escape the crumbling structure just in time.
I was relieved, but I couldn't help but notice Alraune, Kiri, and the Demon Maid staring at me in shock. It was hardly surprising, given that I now had massive bird wings and a snake for a right arm. It was a bit embarrassing.
Their gazes, however, were quickly pulled back to the castle.
To my astonishment, the Ice Castle had reshaped itself into a gargantuan, bipedal, humanoid mass of ice. It seemed I wasn't the only one capable of transformation; I never dreamed a building could do such a thing.
Seeing the moving fortress, Kiri screamed. "No way... why is there a Golem in a place like this!?"
The mass of ice was far larger than the Goddess’s Tower in Tower City. It was clearly one of the golems mentioned in mythology. That meant the Golem itself had been disguised as part of the Ice Castle. I hadn't suspected a thing.
A single Harpy sat upon the giant Frost Golem’s shoulder.
"As I suspected, a mere collapse wasn't enough to kill you. You truly are a troublesome lot."
I knew it. That Harpy—the Nectar Transporter—was an enemy after all! She had talked about wanting to freeze Alraune earlier, and I’d found her suspicious from the start.
The yellow Harpy looked down at us and issued a command to the Golem.
"The castle's destruction failed to finish the job. As planned, it is time for the Modified Frost Golem prepared by His Excellency the Prime Minister to take the stage. With this, my dream shall finally be realized."
Chilling air billowed from the Frost Golem’s body. It became so cold I felt as if my very internal organs were beginning to freeze.
As I shivered in mid-air, the Harpy’s voice rang out. "Frost Golem, freeze the Crimson Flower Princess and her companions."
Freeze the little Alraune? I won’t let you!
But before I could react, the little Alraune cried out, "Little Witch, run!"
She used a vine to shove me away. Thanks to her, I escaped the Frost Golem’s reach, but the Bucket Alraune slipped from my grasp. The Golem’s massive hand snapped shut, crushing her.
"The little Alraune... she’s been killed...!"
But then I saw her, encased in ice within the Golem's massive fist.
T-thank goodness. I thought she had been flattened. If she was only frozen, Alraune could use her Heat Generation to melt her way out.
I watched with bated breath, but as the seconds ticked by, the ice showed no sign of melting. What was going on?
The Harpy’s voice cut through my panic, cold and merciless.
"Do you honestly think the Crimson Flower Princess can melt that ice? Perhaps she could against an ordinary frost, but this is no mundane ice. This Golem is an ancient weapon said to be crafted by the Goddess herself; its body cannot be damaged so easily."
The little Alraune had been defeated in an instant. I hadn't expected her to be taken down so effortlessly. This Golem was more than just a giant.
But Harpy... you’re making one mistake.
The little Alraune you just caught isn't the Alraune you think she is.
Which meant Alraune hadn't lost yet. In fact, the real fight was only just beginning. It was time to execute the plan Alraune had prepared in advance!
I dove toward the ground and called out to Kiri. "Where is the plant!?"
"That white tree on the right!" Kiri pointed.
I spotted it—a single, pure-white tree standing unnaturally amidst the Snowy Castle Town. I flew toward the landmark and hugged the trunk tight, sending the signal.
By touching this tree, the message would surely reach the forest. This was no mere tree; it was a part of Alraune’s body, a medium connected directly to the roots of her main form.
The sound of flapping wings approached from above. The Harpy had left the Golem’s shoulder and flown down toward us.
"I don't know what you're trying to achieve, but it's futile. The Crimson Flower Princess is already frozen, and you lack the power to defeat this Frost Golem."
"Harpy," I said, looking up at her with absolute confidence. "You’ve got it all wrong. Alraune hasn't been frozen."
Suddenly, a tiny sprout emerged from the trunk of the white tree. It grew at an impossible speed, producing a red bud that bloomed into a small flower. I breathed a sigh of relief; my signal had reached the forest.
What emerged from that sprout was a small Alraune.
However, she was different from the one who had been in the bucket. In truth, the one in the bucket had been a "child Alraune"—an offspring Alraune had created to serve as my guardian.
But this Alraune, emerging from the ground now, was different. She was an incredible flower capable of stretching her consciousness and her roots this far across the world. And while she might look like the other "children," to me, she was the one and only.
She was the strong Alraune who was like a sister to me.
And that concludes the Ice Castle visit from the Little Witch’s POV.
The reason she called Alraune "little Alraune" was because it wasn't the main body, but a guardian child.
Next time: The tea party venue has become a Golem.