The Demon King's Army that had intended to strike my home of Edelweiss was already annihilated.
Even so, I couldn't simply allow the enemy leader to leave without a word.
With that thought, I focused my awareness, but a strange sense of dissonance washed over me.
What is... this?
It was as if someone were watching me... but there was no one else nearby. Perhaps it was just my imagination.
Shaking off the feeling, I fixed my gaze on the opponent before me once more.
The enemy was the Fire Spirit, Ifreet.
I believe he had introduced himself as Ifreet-san.
In this world, spirits were exalted beings. Much like Lady Dryades, who lived in the Dryades' Forest, they wielded enough power to rule over entire regions for centuries.
They were celestial existences far beyond the reach of ordinary demons or monsters—beings both feared and revered by humanity.
When a spirit capable of manipulating the forces of nature became your enemy, you had no choice but to despair. He was an opponent who commanded such awe, and yet, something had been strange for a while now.
Ifreet-san, an entity meant to be above the clouds, was trembling as he looked at me.
The Fire Spirit, who should naturally be the one inspiring terror, seemed to be harboring fear toward me instead.
I’m not particularly scary, you know?
I’m just a flower.
"There—" As I extended a vine toward him, Ifreet-san whipped up a Flame Vortex.
"D-Don't come near me!"
Against a spirit's fire, my body—being a plant—shouldn't have stood a chance.
However, my vines did not burn.
"You... you're a plant, aren't you?! Why won't you burn!"
"Ordinary... flames... do not... work... on me."
Having absorbed fire-resistant plants and grown beyond even Lady Dryades, ordinary flames were useless against me. Unless it was a fire user on the level of the Flame Dragon Lord, they wouldn't be able to stand against me.
"As expected of the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune, the one who defeated the Four Heavenly Kings... However, I have faced many enemies who were immune to mere fire."
The flames coating Ifreet-san's body shifted to a brilliant blue.
Simultaneously, the temperature of the surrounding area skyrocketed. I could hear the sound of the very rocks scorching.
"I hold you in high regard for having slain several of the Four Heavenly Kings... Therefore, I shall skip the formalities and unleash my full strength at once—Jinflame!"
At that moment, the wasteland was engulfed in blue fire.
An inferno raged around Ifreet-san, and a massive heatwave assaulted my body.
"...No way!"
My leaves were burning!
This wasn't just any fire. Its intensity rivaled the flames of the Flame Dragon Lord himself!
"These blue flames can melt even the Absolute Ice of the Ice Dragon-sama! With this, I shall incinerate you down to your very roots!"
The spirit's flames surged toward me.
I grew a Gajumaru to use as a shield, but the tree was reduced to cinders in an instant.
—This guy might be stronger than I thought!
Compared to the Beast Ogre Mantiger I had fought recently, he was clearly on another level. In fact, I suspected this Fire Spirit might be even more powerful than the Four Heavenly Kings I had defeated so far.
His power was truly comparable to the Flame Dragon Lord’s fire.
Because of that, my body was consumed by the flames. Even though I had acquired fire-resistant properties, fire remained one of my primary weaknesses. Plants are plants; even if they are difficult to ignite, they will eventually burn.
However, there are things only a plant can do.
I focused my awareness on the roots remaining deep within the earth, using the sensation of Light Recovery Magic to force a sprout to grow rapidly.
"I'm back."
"Wh-at!? The Alraune was resurrected?! Even though I burned her completely!!"
"Just... burning... my body... will not... kill me. As long as... even a few... roots remain... I can... regenerate... as many times... as I wish."
"A... Are you a monster...!?"
Ifreet-san's voice shook with shock. Even so, his fighting spirit had not flickered. He was a Fire Spirit, after all.
But more than that—
I looked away from Ifreet-san and turned toward the north.
"I feel... someone's gaze... from far away..."
By burning away, I had sprouted anew and opened a bud. Perhaps it was because I had vanished and reappeared, but in that moment of transition, I finally noticed it—a persistent, sticky gaze watching me.
It felt as though someone were looking down on me from high up in the sky.
I initially thought it might be the Witch Queen who had been here moments ago, but this felt different. This presence felt like something even greater than her.
Of those I knew who surpassed the Witch Queen, there was Pandia-san the Angel, the Flame Dragon Lord, or the Goddess of Darkness Hecate.
It seemed that "something" equal to or greater than them was observing me.
—If it had been the old me, I likely wouldn't have even noticed.
I could sense it now because I had grown and obtained power that surpassed even spirits. It might also have been because I had absorbed a fragment of divine power during my battle with the Goddess of Darkness Hecate.
As the current White Alraune, I had grasped a sliver of the power of the gods. Thanks to that, I could sense it, however vaguely.
—Who on earth could it be?
I didn't know how they were monitoring me from such a distance, but that gaze was undoubtedly fixed on me. That meant it was possible I had only just noticed it now, and this presence had been observing me for some time...
The thought made me feel a chill of fear.
Just who was this?
To the north lay the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Gardenia. Was it coming from there, or perhaps from even further away?
Beyond the Royal Capital, across the sea, sat the Holy Capital of the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light. That was the headquarters of the Church that worshipped the Goddess of Light Selene, a place where the Goddess’s Tower stretched toward the heavens.
Come to think of it, I had received a letter from Nina—the new 'Saint of Yellow Wings'—saying she was staying in the Holy Capital. I wondered if she was doing well.
"Could it be... this gaze is coming from the Holy Capital? But who could..."
"You! You're quite bold to be looking away in the middle of a fight!"
I returned my attention to the Fire Spirit.
Compared to this mysterious presence, the spirit before me was nothing more than a powerful fighter. Yes, he was just a strong spirit. Compared to god-like existences like the Flame Dragon Lord or Hecate, a mere spirit didn't frighten me at all.
I felt as though the owner of that mysterious gaze existed on a plane that transcended the framework of the everyday.
As evidence of that, Ifreet-san didn't seem to have noticed the gaze at all.
"If you say you regenerate because of your roots, then I shall burn those roots beneath the earth to ash!"
Blue flames assaulted my body again.
However, my consciousness remained focused on that distant, mysterious observation. It felt like it was coming from an incredibly high vantage point.
The Holy Capital had a tower that reached the heavens. If someone in that tower possessed the ability to see long distances, could they see this place from hundreds of kilometers away?
Normally, it would be impossible. But I knew from experience that things that were not "normal"—god-like powers—existed in this world. If it were an angel or a goddess, it wouldn't be impossible.
Ah... my body was burned away again.
Well then, I just had to extend sprouts from my roots and regenerate.
"I'm back. You see... no matter... how many times... you try... it is... useless."
"W-Why!? I burned the roots for certain! Why can you still regenerate!?"
"True... those roots... burned. But... not... all of them."
"Are you saying your roots extend even deeper!? Then I shall simply burn the entire underground with my inferno!"
"That... is also... useless."
Ifreet-san sent pillars of fire erupting from the ground. Soil erupted as everything was incinerated. Even so, I regenerated my body from a different spot.
"I... told you... it was... useless."
"W-What is this?! I burned the entire area, even the depths of the earth! Why do you keep coming back!?"
"It means... my roots... are not... limited... to this... spot."
"What do you mean?"
He really was a slow-witted Fire Spirit.
But I am the Former Saint Plant Monster. Since he didn't understand, I decided to teach him kindly.
"Now... please... look. Here... is a land... ravaged... by the storm. Only... the plants... have been... blown away. There are... no tricks... or gimmicks."
"W-What are you saying...?"
"Look... if I... snap... my fingers—"
Coinciding with my signal, yellowish-green sprouts burst from the earth. In an instant, the wasteland was returned to a meadow overflowing with greenery.
"Every place... where this... meadow... exists... is connected... by my roots."
"I-Impossible! Every place where this meadow exists?! This greenery continues all the way to the horizon!"
"So... that... is how... it is."
Ifreet-san stared at me as if he were looking at something beyond human comprehension.
"In other words... you're saying that unless I burn every single root in this entire, vast meadow, you won't die!?"
"That... would be... correct."
To be precise, my roots continued far beyond this meadow. They stretched all the way back to the Alraune's Forest. One could say that my roots now extended through nearly the entire Southern Kingdom of Gardenia.
If you wanted to kill me, you would have to reduce the very earth of this region to ash.
—You with the mysterious gaze.
Is this what you wanted to know? Is this why you're monitoring me?
"Hey... person... with the mysterious gaze... who... are you... exactly?"
I whispered the question while looking toward the north.
However, the only response was the wind rustling the new grass. No one answered me.
Next time: The end of the Edelweiss Invasion Force.