"You are going to give the Little Witch’s body back!"
Now that I had reconciled with Pandia-san, I had nothing left to fear. All that remained was to restore the Little Witch to her true self.
Seeing Pandia-san and me join hands, Hecate withdrew from my body.
"Despite being a monster, do you truly intend to defy me?"
"I may be a monster, but I still have a human heart!"
Even if I were fully consumed by my form as a plant monster, I would never forget that I was once a human being. I had lived in this world as a Saint. Even if I had ceased to be human to become an Alraune, I wanted to live in a way that would allow me to hold my head high and always be proud of having been the Saint of the Kingdom of Gardenia. That was the conviction I had carried with me every day as an Alraune.
"Will you not obey my word? I am the progenitor of all monsters—the Mother."
The Mother of Monsters? What could she mean? Hecate had certainly given birth to the Mandrake, but that alone wouldn't make her the "Mother of All Monsters."
"I command you. Kill that angel."
"I refuse. Pandia-san is my precious friend!"
When I answered with such finality, Pandia-san let out a choked, emotional breath. "Alraune-san..."
"You are my darling Alraune, so I do not wish to harm you. Therefore, I command you once more. Devote your strength to me."
Hecate brushed her hand against my cheek and whispered sweet words into my ear. Just that touch made something deep inside me ache, tempting me to agree with everything she said. My monstrous instincts were pleading with me to submit to her—or at least, they had been until a moment ago.
By absorbing Hecate’s dark magic and becoming a White Alraune, something within me had shifted. As the light and dark magic merged, I felt a sense of clarity. Perhaps that was why I no longer felt the need to address Hecate with any respectful honorifics in my heart.
She might have intended to dominate me completely by granting me her dark magic, but the result was quite the opposite. The dark power had been neutralized by the Saint's light that already resided within me. The two forces had blended together to grant me a new power that was neither light nor dark.
In my current state, I couldn't distinguish one from the other. The magic swirling inside me was chaotic, yet strangely tranquil. This was a new threshold, a higher state of existence.
"I am grateful for the power you bestowed upon me," I said. "However, I will not be your puppet."
"To think you could escape my control... You are just like Glühschwanz. How unpleasant."
So the Flame Dragon Lord didn't listen to her either. Conversely, that meant most other demons and monsters were likely under Hecate’s absolute control. She was like a king to them. But Hecate wasn't the Demon King. If so, then who was she?
"It cannot be helped. I may end up wearing out this vessel, but I cannot let this Alraune go. I have made my choice."
Dark magic began to overflow from Hecate. She still had power held in reserve.
"This vessel hasn't fully adapted to me yet. If I can descend into it a few more times, this body will be entirely mine. This is a body meant for me."
She was referring to the Little Witch’s body as if it were a mere object. I couldn't let her continue.
"What right do you have to steal Rufe's body?"
"Right? Of course I have the right," Hecate replied, as if stating the obvious. "I am the Goddess of Darkness. It was I who birthed the monsters, the Demon Race, and the Witches into this world."
"The Goddess of Darkness...?"
I had never heard of such a thing. As far as I knew, there was only one goddess: Lady Selene, the Goddess of Light. I had been raised to believe she was the only one. As a former Saint, I couldn't simply accept someone else as a goddess now. I found it easier to believe she was just some lunatic from the Demon Race.
Seeing my skeptical look, Pandia-san spoke words that left me stunned.
"What that white woman says is the truth."
"Is that... really true?"
"It is. Hecate is a goddess, just like Lady Selene. She is the Goddess of Darkness who rules over all beings of magic—the Demon Race, monsters, and Witches alike."
Hecate was a goddess. It was hard to believe, but if an angel like Pandia-san acknowledged it, it had to be true. Moreover, the existence of a Goddess of Darkness would explain Pandia-san’s behavior. If Hecate was the nemesis of Lady Selene, the protector of humanity, it made sense why Pandia-san had been so intent on killing her.
"It seems you finally believe me. Humans have a god, so why would you think the Demon Race doesn't have one as well? Your logic is incomprehensible."
Now that she mentioned it, she had a point. But I only felt that way because I had become an Alraune. If I were still a human Saint, I wouldn't have believed it even if an angel told me. The Church taught that the Demon Race, monsters, and Witches were inherently evil. I could never have imagined that such "evil" beings were championed by a goddess of their own. This was a direct challenge to the Church’s doctrine. If the Demon Race had a goddess, it suggested they were more like humans than we ever wanted to admit.
"That yellow rose you created earlier... it is undoubtedly the same as the sacred treasure Selene excelled at making. To think an Alraune would become capable of the works of a goddess... I am truly astonished."
"Wait just a moment."
Did Hecate just say "Selene"? And she said it so casually, as if they were old acquaintances.
"Does Lady Selene still actually exist in this world?"
"Vexingly, she is still alive. Just as I am."
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me.
"That angel has been speaking on the premise that Selene exists this entire time. Why are you only surprised now? You are a strange creature."
Celestial beings like gods and angels couldn't possibly understand my feelings. The god I had worshipped since birth was actually real. My mind was struggling to process the fact. Even if I had been granted light magic by Lady Selene, I hadn't received it in person. I had simply realized one day that I could use it. I had never seen her. While I believed she existed, I had no proof; she existed only within the realm of my faith.
To believe she exists is one thing, but to hear someone say, "I'm an old friend of Selene's," is something else entirely. No one in recorded history had ever seen Lady Selene; it was only natural to be shocked when someone who knew her suddenly appeared.
Come to think of it, I already had someone nearby who hinted at the truth: Pandia-san. If an angel from myth actually existed, why wouldn't the goddess? Almost certainly, Pandia-san knew Lady Selene as well. Myths said she resided on the top floor of the Goddess's Tower in the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light. It might actually be true!
Lady Selene wasn't just a figure from a legend—she was alive!
"In that case, I have even more reason to get Rufe back."
As a former Saint, I was far more familiar with the Goddess of Light than I was with Hecate. No matter if I had become a monster or not, I had no reason to kneel before a Goddess of Darkness.
"If I’m going to be an ally to anyone, it will be Rufe. Only her!"
"To think you would care so much for this little witch girl. She is nothing more than a tool for my use."
"Rufe isn't a tool... She is my precious family!"
"If you want to talk about family, then I have the stronger claim. This Witch is practically my own kin."
"...What are you talking about?"
Rufe’s only family was me. Or perhaps the Fairy Kiri and Amazoness Treant who lived with us in the forest. Since Rufe’s parents were gone, no one else had the right to call her family.
"By blood, this girl is something of a distant relative of mine."
A relative of the Goddess of Darkness? I couldn't believe it, but...
"You must have noticed it yourself. That she and I are alike."
My heart—or the place where it used to be—gave a phantom thud. They were alike. The snow-white hair, the facial features, the very aura they projected. They looked like sisters. And there was a third person who shared that resemblance: the Witch Queen, Kirke.
"I will reveal the secret. The reason she resembles me... is because Witches exist solely for my sake."
The reason for the existence of Witches—the answer to a question I had carried since my days as a Saint—was finally revealed.
"I am the one who gave birth to the Witch Queen Kirke. She is my daughter."
Next time: The Truth of Witches.