My apologies, the update is late! m( )m
The moment the Mandrake's scream rang out, I was already soaring through the air.
Perhaps that was why I had such a clear view of the chaos unfolding inside the Great Tent.
"ONGYAAAAAA!!"
As the Mandrake's wail echoed, every single person inside the tent collapsed, lost to unconsciousness.
The beastmen who had been mid-drink slumped headfirst onto their tables, while the girls of the Beast-ear race who were serving food crumbled to the floor.
Even the Little Witch sat down heavily, slipping into a stupor with a quiet... thud.
The Mandrake’s voice had knocked them all out cold.
Only three of us in that space remained conscious.
Myself—a plant monster; the princess of the Beast-ear race, Katze-san, who was wearing earplugs; and the last one was, surprisingly, the Beast Ogre Mantiger.
Mantiger, who had been seconds away from devouring Kiri after marinating her in Saint Nectar, was now a mask of agony. Blood dripped from his mouth.
For a terrifying heartbeat, I thought he had already eaten her, but I could still see Kiri’s figure clutched in his hand.
Mantiger opened his mouth wide and let out a roar to force himself back into focus.
In doing so, he revealed his mangled, torn tongue.
"GUAAAAA!!"
"Wait... did you bite off your own tongue!?"
I had wondered how he stayed awake despite the Mandrake's cry, but I never expected he would go so far as to mutilate himself just to maintain consciousness.
Even for an enemy, his sheer tenacity was impressive.
However, having bitten off his tongue, he should have collapsed from blood loss at any moment.
Despite that, Mantiger tried to shove the nectar-slicked Kiri into his maw.
"Zei... Midu..."
He was going to eat her!
I couldn't just stand by and watch.
"Make it in time!"
"GUAA!?"
A split second before Mantiger’s fangs could close around her, my vine snatched Kiri away.
"I made it!"
Coated in slimy nectar, Kiri's body slid through Mantiger's grip as my vine yanked her clear.
Having successfully reclaimed Kiri, I used my vines to touch down safely on the ground.
"Kiri, are you okay!?"
"............"
It seemed she had also been knocked out by the Mandrake's scream.
Still, Kiri being useless in a fight was par for the course, so I didn't let it get to me. After all, she was being eaten by a frog when we first met. I was quite used to rescuing her.
With Kiri secured as planned, I turned my attention back to the Beast Ogre.
He was busy licking the Saint Nectar that had stained his hand.
"Haa... Haa... As expected, the recovery power of Saint Nectar is incredible..."
The tongue he had just bitten off was already healed!
I see; he had used the nectar to mend his wounds. That explained why he was so intent on eating Kiri while she was soaked in the stuff.
Mantiger glared at me with a murderous look in his eyes.
Being the brother of Beast King Marticoras, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he looked remarkably like his sibling.
He belonged to the demon race known as Manticores. His eyes were a deep, dark ultramarine, and his hide was the color of fresh blood. He had the form of a humanoid lion with black, bat-like wings on his back and a sharp stinger protruding from the tip of his scorpion-like tail.
Seeing him up close, he was the spitting image of Marticoras. The only real difference was that Mantiger had a much more rugged, savage face. He looked every bit the brutal monster he was.
"Hey, you... that potted plant... and Katze, sneaking around by the wall. Are you the ones behind this?"
"Nya-nyah!?"
Katze-san was in the middle of reaching out to save her captured kin. These were the same girls who were about to be served as food for the beastmen.
It was clear now. The reason Katze-san had stolen the Mandrake from us was to incapacitate the beastmen and reclaim her people.
As if on cue, more members of the Beast-ear race, led by Siam-san, began pouring into the Great Tent from outside. They had waited for the beastmen to gather for the banquet to wipe them out in one fell swoop with the Mandrake.
This was a full-scale uprising. For their friends and their freedom, they had finally stood up.
"Nyaa will no longer obey you, nya!"
"That's right, nya!" "We're tired of being treated like slaves, nya!" "Give back our friends, nya!" "It's a coup, nya!"
Following Katze-san's lead, the Beast-ear girls charged at Mantiger. They intended to take the weakened Beast Ogre down right here.
"For mere inferior Beast-ears to turn against a beastman... you've got some nerve!"
"Nnya!" "He's too strong, nya!" "Wait, why isn't he unconscious, nya!?"
The armed girls were swept aside by a single lash of Mantiger’s scorpion tail. Those who remained were kicked away one after another.
"Weak. So weak! As I thought, the Beast-ear race is only fit for service—"
"Don't count us out yet, nyan!"
A white-haired Beast-ear girl circled behind Mantiger. It was Siam-san, the one who had originally stolen the Mandrake.
Showing off her skill as an elite Thief, she launched a surprise attack from his blind spot, driving a knife toward his throat.
"Now die, nyan!"
"Hah. You're the naive one!"
The knife she thrust into his neck shattered with a sickening crack.
"N-No way..."
"A common knife can't even scratch my hide!"
"Nnya!?"
Siam-san was skewered by the scorpion tail and dropped like a broken doll right in front of me.
Watching this, Katze-san whispered in utter despair.
"No... Siam... everyone’s been defeated, nya............"
The Beast-ear girls must have known the gap in their strength. After all, Mantiger was the brother of a Four Heavenly King. His power was easily on that same level.
But they knew that if they stayed silent, their people would eventually be devoured. That was why they had fought with their lives on the line.
They just hadn't accounted for the fact that he wouldn't pass out, nor that he would use Saint Nectar to heal himself instantly.
I reached out and let Siam-san drink some of my nectar. This should at least keep her from dying.
"Katze! You’re going to pay for the crime of making me angry!"
"Hii!?"
"Killing you isn't enough. I'll rip your limbs off while you're still breathing, and then I'll swallow you whole!"
The atrocities of the Beast Ogre Mantiger, a monster who had devoured the populations of entire conquered nations, had once plunged the continent into terror. He was not a demon I could leave to his own devices.
If I let him reach Edelweiss—the home of Saint Iris—the town would be destroyed. Everyone I loved would be eaten by this monster.
I had to stop him here. No matter what.
I leveled my vines at Mantiger as he stalked toward Katze-san.
"Beast Ogre Mantiger-san. I will be your opponent."
"Hah! For a piddling little plant monster to stand against the great Beast Ogre Mantiger-sama... you've got some nerve!"
Mantiger turned his attention toward me. Good. This would keep the Beast-ear girls out of his reach.
"I've still got a bone to pick with you for stealing that fairy. Hand her over, now!"
"Kiri is my precious family. I have no intention of letting a creature like you eat her."
"Then die!"
His scorpion tail lashed out, aiming to pierce my pot.
But before it could land, I used Plant Generation to sprout a Gajumaru, its wood hardening instantly to crush the stinger in its grip.
"What!? A tree... harder than my own tail!?"
The constriction of the Gajumaru—the infamous Strangler Tree—was a pressure that even Mantiger’s durable body couldn't withstand.
I was only a half-spirit when I fought Beast King Marticoras, but now I wielded power that surpassed even the spirits. Compared to the likes of Witch Queen Kirke or the Goddess of Darkness Hecate, a monster like him wasn't scary at all.
I used the Gajumaru to bind Mantiger tightly where he stood.
"To have more strength than me... it's impossible... Who are you!?"
It seemed he still hadn't realized my true identity. Since he asked so nicely, I decided to introduce myself properly.
I used a vine to grasp my corolla and performed a graceful curtsy.
"I am Alraune. Simply an Alraune from the forest."
"An Alraune? Wait... don't tell me... you're that one? The Crimson Flower Princess of Alraune's Forest who supposedly took down Marticoras...?"
"Beast King Marticoras-san and I became... quite close, in our own way."
"Lies! I heard the Crimson Flower Princess was a massive, towering plant!"
"As a plant, I can manipulate my size at will."
As long as I have nutrients, I can grow instantly. And if I return to a seed, I can become small again. It was a trick only an Alraune could pull off.
"I could show you my true size, but honestly, for someone of your caliber, this form is more than sufficient."
"Guh... Don't you dare talk down to me, you weed!!"
Mantiger opened his maw wide, condensing an immense amount of magical power within his throat. I recognized this move; I had seen it during the battle with Marticoras.
"Beast King's Roar—Wahnsinn Start!! I'll erase you from existence!"
A massive surge of energy was about to be unleashed.
The Beast-ear girls were still unconscious on the floor of the tent. Behind me, the Little Witch was still out cold. If he fired a blast that large in here, the collateral damage would be devastating.
I had to jam it.
As Mantiger opened his mouth to the limit, I fired my Teppou-uri Machine Gun straight down his throat.
"Tiny seeds like that won't do a damn thing!"
"Tiny seeds? No, you've got it all wrong."
A series of massive, thorny seeds slammed into the back of his throat. These were large, jagged things that even lions were said to fear.
"Gwah—what is this...!?"
"That is the Lion-killer."
One after another, the seeds were sucked into his gullet. Since you're such a glutton, Mantiger-san, and you're so eager to eat fairies and girls, you can have these instead.
Please, enjoy my gift.
I’m sure they'll provide a flavor perfectly suited for your final meal.
After all, these aren't just any Lion-killers.
Next time: The Manticore-killer Fruit.