Thank you for the week off last week!
Once a crimson Alraune, I had transformed into one of pure white.
My once-vibrant red corolla now gleamed with a stainless, brilliant white. It looked just like a wedding dress. I found my heart fluttering a little as I imagined the wedding finery I never got to wear during my time as Saint Iris.
──White might not be so bad after all.
Besides, it was the same color as the Little Witch’s hair.
This change was all due to Hecate’s Dark Magic. As soon as night fell, the dark power had reacted, forcing my body to evolve. It was a power I had only just acquired, and I didn't yet fully understand what I was capable of doing with it.
It felt like I could do more than just reinforce my physical form, and I was eager to experiment. For instance, there was the Dark Spirit Magic used by the Big Sister Dryades I had fought before. That magic didn't just generate a miasma that rotted plants; it caused the effect to chain through any vegetation it touched. Now that I had this power, I realized that her technique had been a specialized fusion of Dark Magic and Spirit Magic.
That said, I had no intention of rotting the forest, nor could I bring myself to want to. Instead, I decided to try my own application of the concept.
"First," I said, "I’ll be taking that Angel’s Wings Embrace and nullifying it completely."
Dark Magic is weak against Light Magic, but the reverse can also be true. Because of that, no matter how much of an Angel she was, Pandia-san’s Light Magic no longer affected me. Whether it was magic from the age of myths or not, my Photosynthesis—now a hybrid of light and dark—absorbed it all.
To catch the incoming Angel’s Wings Embrace, I called upon a specific plant.
Thrumming with life, a massive stem shot up from the earth. It was far too gargantuan to be called a mere plant; it pierced through the canopy and bore a massive bud at its tip.
"Alraune-san, what exactly do you intend to do?" Pandia asked.
"I... just want to stop you, Pandia-san."
What was the best move here? It was to end this conflict without either Pandia-san or Hecate getting hurt. I didn't want to be Pandia-san’s enemy, but with Hecate here, I couldn't just stand by.
There was only one thing to do: I had to stop them both by force. As they say, both parties in a quarrel are at fault. I would show them I was strong enough to bring this to an end!
First: Pandia-san. I am not your enemy. This is a message from me to you, as a friend.
"That plant... there are thorns on the stem," Pandia noted warily. "As I thought, you mean to attack—"
"No, you’re wrong."
I knew the identity of the thorny stem well. It was a flower I could never forget.
"Could this be... a rose?"
The bud unfurled, and the flower bloomed. A giant rose was born in the heart of Alraune’s Forest.
The blossom, a proud and brilliant yellow, swallowed the light of Pandia-san’s Angel’s Wings Embrace. Strengthened by Dark Magic, the rose utilized my plant-based Photosynthesis to completely nullify and absorb the Light Magic. The aura of the spell filled the giant flower until it shone as brightly as the sun.
──Ah, photosynthesis... it was delicious.
"My Angel’s Wings Embrace vanished... but what is the meaning of this rose?"
"This flower is a present from me to you, Pandia-san."
Pandia-san had lost her composure because she was facing her arch-enemy, Hecate-sama. That was why my words weren't reaching her. I had to calm her heart first. That was the only way to settle this without anyone getting hurt.
"A yellow rose... what on earth is that supposed to signify?"
"Pandia-san, for someone as knowledgeable as you, do you really not know?"
Pandia-san, who had served as the Little Witch’s Tutor, possessed a wealth of information. She had to know the meaning. We were friends. There wasn't a single reason for us to fight. I needed her to remember that.
"A long time ago, I received a yellow rose like this from someone I thought was important to me."
In the past, the Hero—my fiancé—had given me a yellow rose. At the time, I was simply happy to receive a gift. But the Flower Language of the Yellow Rose included "Jealousy," "Fading Love," and "Parting." Our eventual breakup had likely been decided even back then.
However, the yellow rose carried another meaning as well.
"The Flower Language of the Yellow Rose is also──Friendship."
Pandia-san and I had become friends. An Angel and a monster. Even if our positions and races differed, there was no lie in that bond. I needed her to remember that I was not her enemy.
"I am not an ally to monsters, nor am I an enemy to humans. I just... want to live quietly in the forest. So please, Pandia-san. Listen to me!"
I extended a vine toward her, and from its tip, I produced a single, smaller rose.
"Pandia-san, you are my precious friend. No matter what happens or what our roles are, I don't want you to forget that."
The friends I had made since becoming an Alraune could be counted on one hand. Not many people were eccentric enough to want to befriend a monster. But Pandia-san had. I still remembered how she stood up to the Flame Dragon Lord at the party to protect me.
Using force against someone like her felt wrong. With my current power, I might have been able to fight an Angel on equal terms, but doing so would have severed our connection. I absolutely hated the thought of that.
I was not like the Hero who had abandoned me. No matter what, I would never hurt someone I cherished!
"This rose is a gift. Please, take it."
A rose was a jarring sight on a battlefield. Perhaps that was why Pandia-san’s fighting spirit finally ebbed away.
"It is true that the yellow rose signifies friendship... I never imagined the day would come when I would receive such a gift."
Pandia-san’s eyes wavered as she stared at the flower. "Alraune-san... you haven't actually sided with Hecate, have you?"
"Of course not."
"...I never thought I, an Angel, would ever have someone I could call a friend. I never imagined I would find someone other than my Master whom I wished to cherish so dearly."
Pandia-san drifted down to the ground. The rage had left her face, replaced by the expression of the Pandia-san I knew.
"If my Master finds out I spared a monster because we were friends, I might be scolded," she said with a soft, genuine smile. She held the yellow rose I had given her. "Furthermore, this is no ordinary rose. It looks like a plant, but it is composed entirely of Light Magic... and it contains a volume of mana equivalent to a high-ranking Saint."
That made sense. I had funneled all the light absorbed from her spell into that tiny blossom. I had created it with Light Magic and stabilized the form with Dark Magic. I had brought a truly strange plant into existence.
"It is almost like a Goddess’s Sacred Treasure. I did not think anyone other than Selene-sama could do such a thing..."
Creating physical objects from Light Magic was a feat reserved for the divine. According to legend, items like the Hero's Helmet or the Goddess's Feather Robe were all crafted by Goddess Selene. No one else should have been able to do it.
And yet, I had. It wasn't my usual trick of imbuing an existing plant with light; I had created the plant itself out of pure light. That was why it glowed with the signature yellow hue of Light Magic.
I never dreamed that the light I was granted as Saint Iris would be enhanced by Hecate’s darkness. Light and Dark—I thought they were polar opposites, but within my body, they had merged and reacted, allowing me to achieve the impossible.
"This power... is it perhaps even greater than Nemea’s?"
Nemea was the name of the First Saint. I suppose it wasn't surprising that an Angel like Pandia-san would be familiar with a legendary figure from a millennium ago.
"In the last thousand years, only one Saint was said to rival the First Saint Nemea. Alraune-san... I think I finally understand who you really are."
──Saint Iris.
She knew. I was certain of it.
"We can save that conversation for another time. Alraune-san, I will trust your word. But tell me, why do you shield Hecate?"
"Her appearance is different, but this body belongs to Rufe."
"Rufe-san?"
"It seems Hecate-sama took over her body. If this form is destroyed, then Rufe dies too..."
"I see. So that was it."
Pandia-san knew I cared for the Little Witch like family. That explanation was enough to settle her doubts.
"You should have just told me that from the beginning."
I felt a bit sheepish. "I’m sorry. I only just realized it myself a moment ago."
"Well then. Now it’s your turn."
I turned my gaze to Hecate, who lay limp in my arms. She was the source of all this chaos. I didn't care if she was the "Ally of All Monsters" or not; she was going to take responsibility for this.
"Give Rufe’s body back!"
The story of Iris receiving a yellow rose from the Hero was mentioned way back in Chapter 97, "A Lily Bloomed." It’s been so long, I’m sure many of you might have forgotten...!
Next time: Hecate’s true identity.