This is from the Fire Spirit Ifreet’s perspective.
My name was Ifreet.
I was Ifreet, the Fire Spirit.
It had been six hundred years since I was first brought into this world. Back then, as a newborn who understood nothing of the ways of the world, I incinerated everything in my path simply to learn. As a fire spirit, burning things was my very reason for being. Forests, mountains, and human cities—I set them all ablaze.
Then, a human Hero came for me. He was strong—stronger even than a spirit like myself. I was on the verge of being slain when the Demon King’s Army saved me. My savior appeared human, but her true form was that of a colossal dragon commanding the frost. She was a being far beyond any spirit, possessing a power that was truly godlike. In that moment, I resolved to follow her for the rest of my life.
Humanity possessed an extraordinary strength six centuries ago. It was their golden age. Countless Heroes who had inherited the potent strength of the Goddess of Light were born, and they hunted the Demon Race like prey. It was a dark era for us. Even the Ice Dragon was deeply wounded by a Hero and entered a long slumber to restore her body.
The only reason the Demon King’s Army did not collapse entirely during that time was thanks to her younger brother, Glühschwanz-sama. Had he not been driven to a legendary rage by the loss of his comrades and turned the continent into a sea of fire, our forces would have surely vanished.
A long time had passed since then, but my loyalty remained with her. While many of my colleagues were desperate for a seat among the Four Heavenly Kings, I didn't care for such titles. My devotion belonged only to her. The subordinates of her brother said similar things; many of the Ancient Great Demon Race, whose ages approached a thousand years, had already retired from the front lines. I wondered if I could one day become a truly strong individual like them.
Finally, a chance to prove my devotion arrived. The Ice Dragon awoke from her eternal slumber and resolved to resume the invasion of the human world. Under her command, as the Prime Minister of the Demon King’s Army, I was appointed Commander of the Third Legion. To pave the way to the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Gardenia, I was entrusted with the crucial task of seizing the southern stronghold: Duke Edelweiss’s Territory.
Failure was not an option.
I tightened my grip on my subordinates and administered a drug to my subordinate, the Sphinx Kusukusu. It was an unprecedentedly powerful elixir provided by a fellow spirit, the Dryades Vergissmeinnicht, said to harbor a portion of the Goddess of Darkness’s power. Though the price was her life, she would obtain honorable military merit in exchange, so she surely would have been happy. Besides, she had the audacity to interrupt the Prime Minister’s words during a military council. She had angered me, and it was only natural that she should apologize with her death.
I sent Kusukusu into Edelweiss as a vanguard to cause an uproar with the Urn Golems. Between the scorched-earth tactics we had employed in advance and the raids by golems disguised as bandits, the merchants—and our hidden weapons—were welcomed into the city with open arms. We successfully managed to have the Urn Golems infiltrate the city without issue. All that remained was for Kusukusu to trigger them upon a signal from our collaborator, the Witch Queen’s subordinate. We would strike during the chaos.
I gathered the Third Legion on the outskirts of the city and waited. Finally, the moment arrived. One of my subordinates came rushing toward me.
"Ifreet-sama, we have the signal from Edelweiss! Kusukusu has activated the Urn Golems!"
"Good. Then we march. The Prime Minister’s orders are absolute. We shall bring down Edelweiss!"
By then, the city was surely in the throes of chaos. Hundreds of Urn Golems were rampaging and slaughtering the humans. No human could deal with such a massive, multi-point surprise attack. Even if a Hero were present, countless lives would be lost.
"The main force will continue the march! The detached force is to rush into the city through the secret passage!"
"Yes, sir!"
The biggest obstacle, the Grand Mage known as the Guardian of Edelweiss, was away at the Royal Capital. We had an overwhelming advantage in military strength. Victory was certain, but I took every precaution.
"The people of Edelweiss wouldn't dream that the Demon King’s Army would emerge from beneath their feet."
I utilized a hidden passage leading into the sewers that stretched beneath the city. We had spent a long time secretly digging that tunnel. I made a mental note to reward my subordinates from the Mole Demon Race later. The detached force would emerge in the heart of the city and strike from the rear while the main force acted as a diversion.
"The day is ours... Hahaha!"
"This is terrible, Ifreet-sama!"
"What is it now?"
"The hidden passage is choked with tree roots! We can’t get through!"
"Nonsense! My scouts checked it this morning and there wasn't a single root in sight!"
"But trees have appeared out of nowhere! Look, Ifreet-sama—Edelweiss has become a forest!"
"...A forest?"
I turned my gaze toward the city. For some reason, it was covered in lush greenery. Trees were growing even now, swallowing the buildings whole. I knew of no such strategy.
"Those aren't the Urn Golems. What are those trees?"
"We don't know, sir! But because of them, every hidden passage has been blocked!"
"Then cut through them!"
"They are incredibly sturdy... and anyone who gets close is snatched up by the branches. The detached force has been completely wiped out!"
"Impossible...!"
It would be a short while before I learned the truth of those trees, but that was the moment my plan began to fall apart. Shortly after, the Witch Queen betrayed us. A white-haired witch with cat ears—I, a veteran executive of the Demon King's Army, could never mistake that face, which looked like the living image of the Goddess of Darkness. She used a Great Magic that summoned a cataclysmic storm, decimating my Legion.
Why had she attacked us? Whatever the reason, the invasion was a total failure. The only survivors were myself and a few of the Mole Demon Race who had managed to hide underground.
"To think it would come to this..."
Even so, I could not retreat. I would bring down Edelweiss alone if I had to! With that resolve, I crawled out from the earth.
And there, I met it. A plant possessing an extraordinary, overwhelming strength.
The woman was no human. She had a massive, bulbous base with a gaping maw and crimson petals. Her lower body was a plant, but her upper half was that of a human woman—a beauty so striking that even I, a spirit, was taken aback. A small flower bloomed atop her head. Her hair was white rather than the typical green, but I recognized her from the reports.
"That appearance... that presence... You are the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune!"
"I am... indeed an Alraune. But who... might you be?"
"My name is Ifreet! I am the great Commander of the Third Legion of the Demon King’s Army!"
I shouted with all my might, but my body wouldn't stop trembling. I knew the rumors. She was a monster who had defeated three of the Four Heavenly Kings in the span of a few years. Even the Witch Queen had fallen to her. But the rumors hadn't done her justice; her presence was far more suffocating in person.
My premonition was correct. The surviving Mole Demons were instantly devoured by a mysterious plant with two massive leaves.
"Next... is your... turn."
Fear gripped me, but I was a Fire Spirit of six centuries. Only a handful of beings in the world were stronger than me. Besides, she was a plant, and I commanded the flames. I had the advantage. I decided to unleash my full power from the start.
"I hold you in high regard for slaying the other Kings... so I shall dispense with the formalities and show you my true power at once! Jinflame!"
My heatwave scorched her leaves. Yes, it was working!
"These blue flames can melt even the Absolute Ice of the Ice Dragon! I’ll burn you down to your very roots!"
The Alraune was incinerated. Just as I thought, fire was her natural enemy. But a moment later, she sprouted back up from the earth.
"I am back."
"What?! You survived?! I turned you to ash!"
"Simply burning... my body... will not kill me. As long as even a little bit... of my roots... remains... I can regenerate... as many times as I want."
"You... monster!"
Then I simply had to burn every last root. I moved to strike, but she was looking away, staring intently toward the north as if I weren't even there. I couldn't stand her arrogance.
"If you'll just regenerate, then I'll burn the earth itself!"
I unleashed everything I had, scorching the ground until I was certain nothing remained. Surely, she was gone now.
"I am back. See... no matter how many times... you do it... it is useless."
Again, she returned. Perhaps the roots were deeper than I thought. Fine—I would blow the entire area away and incinerate the very soil! I summoned pillars of fire, enveloping the land in a purgatory of heat. Even roots buried deep in the earth should have been reduced to cinders.
Yet, she returned once more.
"I told you... it was useless... didn't I?"
"How?! I burnt everything! There is nothing left for you to grow from!"
"It means... my roots... are not just... limited to this spot."
The next moment, the impossible happened. Sprouts erupted from the wasteland, transforming the charred earth into a lush, green prairie. She spoke words I couldn't fathom.
"Wherever... this prairie... exists... all of it... is connected... to my roots."
The greenery stretched all the way to the horizon. Her roots existed in every inch of the land I could see.
"You mean... unless I burn this entire continent... you will not die?!"
"That would... be the case."
She was a monster. A true monster. I never stood a chance. This Alraune existed on a plane far higher than any spirit. I should never have stood against her.
But regret came too late. Vines snared my limbs, binding me tight. I was a Fire Spirit—I should have been able to burn through them instantly, yet the plants held. Not only would they not burn, but they began to drain my very essence. I had no strength left to resist. My life force was being sucked dry.
"Gua... ah..."
"It seems... you no longer... have the energy... to speak."
She dragged my weakened body toward her. The massive mouth of her bulbous base opened wide, and I saw a thick, viscous fluid churning inside. Digestive fluid. That gaping maw was the last thing I saw.
"Now then... I shall partake."
Next: Who are you, looking at me?