The two people who should never have met were now face-to-face right before my eyes.
Pandia-san radiated a singular, lethal bloodlust, as if she were staring down her mortal enemy. An Aura of Light emanated from her entire body; she looked as though she might explode with rage at any moment. It was the first time I had ever seen her—an Angel—display such raw emotion.
Hecate-sama, in contrast, was making dismissive gestures as if shooing away a bothersome insect. Although she looked displeased, she didn't possess the same overflowing fury as Pandia-san. Instead, she gazed at the Angel floating in the sky with cold, detached eyes.
Hecate—a mysterious woman in white who gave off an aura strikingly similar to the Little Witch. She was someone who not only knew Pandia-san was an Angel but was also the target of such intense killing intent. My questions about Hecate-sama’s true identity only continued to deepen.
However, this might be my chance to unravel her mysteries. At the very least, it seemed Pandia-san knew exactly who this woman in pure white was. As I turned my gaze toward Pandia-san with that thought in mind, a sense of foreboding washed over me.
"I sensed a repulsive presence clinging to my friend, Alraune-san. It was because of you, Hecate, wasn't it?"
"It is only natural that My presence should linger upon My child. Isn't that right, Alraune?"
—Wait, child?!
I didn't have any memory of becoming Hecate-sama's child!
"Um, Hecate-sama?"
In the corner of my vision, a flowing white line appeared. Pure white hair, just like the Little Witch's. It gave me the momentary illusion that Rufe was standing right beside me.
"All of the power flowing through this Alraune was born from Me. Do you not feel the presence of a lovely monster, so very much like My own?"
Hecate-sama cradled my face in her arms and gave me a gentle embrace, as if I truly were her own child. Of course, she didn't forget to stroke my head. As Hecate-sama patted me and called me a good girl, a strange emotion began to take root within me.
I felt... happy.
I could feel Hecate-sama's affection in every one of her actions. Just hearing her voice brought me a profound sense of peace. Every time she stroked my head, my monster instincts began to cheer. This favorable feeling toward her expanded until it filled my chest. I realized that my body and emotions as a monster were issuing a command to devote my entire being to her.
—At this rate, I’m in trouble.
A sweet temptation was coursing through my entire body. My human reason struggled to mount a desperate defense against the pull.
"Hecate! Get away from my friend!"
Pandia-san's Angel's Wings spread wide. Light began to concentrate at the tips of each feather.
"Glanzstrahl."
Destructive beams of light erupted from her six wings. It was a Light Magic that I, too, had used often during my time as Saint Iris. It seemed Angels used Light Magic just like Saints did, but to activate six of them simultaneously was a feat truly befitting of an Angel. She was effortlessly performing an act impossible for any ordinary Saint.
There was no doubt that the raw power of her Light Magic was superior to a Saint's. This was the Angel's Power. I gulped down the nectar that was my saliva, awestruck by a power that so thoroughly transcended humanity.
"It is a bit bright. I find it unpleasant."
The beams extending from Pandia-san converged perfectly on Hecate-sama's body. However, the light did not pierce her. Pandia-san's beams were definitely striking Hecate-sama's pure white skin, yet the Glanzstrahl that should have obliterated her simply vanished the moment it made contact.
"Did you just do something, Angel? I have not even been sunburned."
Glanzstrahl was a high-level Light Magic powerful enough to defeat even Bear-papa in a single blow. Despite taking six consecutive strikes of such magic directly, Hecate-sama remained completely unscathed. She continued to stroke my head with a nonchalant expression, as if nothing had happened.
—Wait, what is even happening right now?
It felt as though Pandia-san and Hecate-sama were fighting over me. I didn't know what to do or how to react, so I just stood there, frozen.
"Is this all an Angel is capable of? You are no match for Me."
"If you could be defeated by an attack of this level, I would not have to struggle so," Pandia-san countered.
"Then, though you are a dull opponent, I shall play with you until this body grows accustomed to this world. You shall serve as entertainment for Me, Angel."
"……How humiliating!"
—Stop, please don't fight over me!
I had once joked about wanting to say that line, but the reality was far more terrifying than the fantasy. I just wanted them to stop fighting—peacefully, quietly, and calmly...
"Alraune-san, I am truly sorry. I may end up hurting you, but this is all for the sake of protecting the human world."
Pandia-san raised both hands. Suddenly, a massive pillar of light descended from the heavens.
—No way, not this magic!
I recognized it instantly. To be precise, I knew its name from my studies. It was from a forbidden book of the Church that only a Saint was permitted to read. In that tome of divine legends, there was a myth of salvation regarding a spell an Angel had once used—a paranormal magic that only an Angel could wield. It was said that through this great magic, which could alter the very terrain, the Angel had protected the people from the monster armies.
"As the Angel of the Goddess who guards humanity, I cannot back down here."
An Aura of Light concentrated in Pandia-san's wings. In the blink of an eye, they grew into colossal wings of light that completely shrouded the sky. Each individual wing was as large as Tower City. They looked down upon us, vast enough to swallow a massive portion of Alraune's Forest in their shadow.
"Umarmung Engel."
I was captivated by the divinely shining, giant wings.
—A-Amazing!
A legendary Light Magic that had only existed in myth was being manifested right before my eyes. As a former Saint, there was no way I wouldn't be moved by this. Moreover, I had once possessed power as a Saint that was called the strongest in history. That was precisely why my yearning for the Goddess and her Angels was deeper than anyone else's.
I considered Pandia-san a friend, but I was losing confidence in whether I could maintain that perspective. That was how deeply my heart had been pierced by this angelic miracle. I couldn't help but admire it. I was pulled back from the monster-leaning mental state Hecate-sama had induced, returning to my identity as Saint Iris.
"This is the light of an Angel... How... beautiful...!"
If I hadn't died as a Saint, would I have been able to use this magic? If I had trained for years and years, could I have reached this height? My body as a Saint no longer existed. Even if the current me tried to use Light Magic, I could only make plants grow. That was why this was so agonizing; I could never resolve this longing.
If I could return to being a Saint, I surely would have tried to reproduce this angelic technique. If I do say so myself, I had been an exceptional Saint. Saint Iris had possessed that much extraordinary power. After all, it was that very power that allowed me to live on as a monster even after my human life ended.
The giant wings of light covering the sky began to move. Softly, the wings contracted as if to gently envelop the earth. Then, a portion of the forest burst apart.
"M-My forest!"
Trees, uprooted along with the earth, disintegrated into dust in mid-air. The six wings of light were purifying the forest, erasing its very existence. Because I was a former Saint, my plant body could negate Light Magic, but that only applied to my main form. It seemed I couldn't protect the forest connected to me from a spell of this scale.
—Wait, I might actually be in trouble too.
Even the strongest Light Magic a human could use—Heiligenschein, wielded by Corona Garuda-Hraesvelgr of the Four Heavenly Kings—had no effect on me. But the Angel's magic unfolding before my eyes easily transcended that. Even with this plant body, I had no confidence that I could endure it. Such was the overwhelming pressure filling the sky.
"The Angel's magic Glüh mentioned before? I remember it now."
Hecate-sama's expression, which had been displeased until now, changed suddenly. She chuckled, as if she had seen something amusing.
"The lower world is indeed worthwhile. To think I can witness such a spectacle... Very well, I shall deal with it."
Hecate-sama hugged my head, holding me strongly yet gently, as if protecting her own child.
"For it would be intolerable if My lovely child were to be damaged."
Hecate-sama snapped her fingers.
That was all.
With just that, the dazzling, light-filled sky returned to normal.
"Schwarzes Loch—if you intend to wound Me, it seems an Angel is a bit insufficient."
The moment she snapped her fingers, a tiny black dot appeared above Hecate-sama's head. Incredibly, everything was swallowed by that void—all of the giant wings of Pandia-san's Umarmung Engel. A mythological Light Magic that only an Angel could handle had been erased in an instant.
This was likely Dark Magic—the polar opposite of Light Magic, usable only by the Demon Race. But I had never seen Dark Magic like this. it far exceeded any known spell. It was a Power of the Divine Realm, reminiscent of the magic used by the Flame Dragon Lord.
"Hecate-sama... just who are you?"
"I told you, did I not? I am the Ally of All Monsters."
Hecate-sama's true identity remained a mystery I was still unable to fathom.
Next time: Hecate's Blessing.