Finally, I was fighting side-by-side with Nina!
Ever since I became an Alraune, humans had targeted my life time and again. I had been set on fire and even hunted by mobs after being put on a wanted list. And yet, here I was, finally joining hands with a human to fight a common enemy.
There was no way I couldn't be thrilled!
To be honest, I never believed such a day would actually come. Being with Little Witch felt natural because she was like family, but to be acknowledged as an ally by another human was something else entirely. I might have turned into a monster, but perhaps it was still okay for me to be among humans.
Just the thought of it made me want to weep—I felt like my nectar was about to overflow.
Nina was an Apprentice Saint. I had become an Alraune, but I was a Former Saint. Broadly speaking, we were both basically saints. We were two saints. As fellow saints, we would get along and defeat the enemy together!
I had just transformed from a young girl into a teenage girl, so I intended to do my best as Cure Alraune, too! I wanted to tell Nina to transform and power up as well, but I remembered that normal humans didn't have that luxury. Since it was too dangerous to let Nina face Dora-ko in direct combat, I decided to have her focus on long-range attacks and support magic.
I could handle the physical combat on my own!
"Let's start by killing the little apprentice saint, shall we? Ultra-high-pressure Water Cannon (Wasserschneidemesser)!"
Dora-ko’s water laser shot toward Nina. Nina’s Light Magic definitely wouldn't be able to block an attack like that. I snagged Nina with my vines and yanked her up in a One-Line Fishing maneuver. Since I already had her, I wondered if I should just keep her suspended in the air. It seemed like the easiest way to keep her clear of Dora-ko’s laser attacks.
"Wait, stop that! Put me down already!"
Looking up, I saw Nina frantically trying to hold down her skirt, looking terribly embarrassed. I felt a bit sorry for her, so I lowered her to the ground beside me.
"Geez! I’m grateful for the help, but you could have at least put me down properly, Iri—"
"Wait," I said, silencing her by pressing a vine against her lips.
To prevent anyone else from overhearing, I leaned in and whispered softly into Nina’s ear.
"My... identity... is a secret. Understand... Nina?"
"...Why? You’re actually alive after all this time, and yet you want to hide it, Iri—ow!"
"Speaking... my name... is strictly... forbidden."
"I understand..."
While I was busy flicking Nina’s forehead with a vine, Dora-ko spoke up, sounding puzzled.
"You seem quite friendly with that apprentice saint, Alraune. A monster and a human joining hands—what on earth is the meaning of this?"
"Well... we tried to... kill each other... recently... and our hearts... connected."
I wasn't lying. As a result of that life-and-death struggle, our feelings had finally gotten through to each other and the misunderstanding had been cleared up. I just kept the fact that we were old acquaintances a secret.
Meanwhile, Dora-ko was struggling against the desperate resistance of the Child Alraunes. Except for the one she had knocked off with her laser earlier, the rest were still parasitizing her body. Between the parasites and the fact that she had injured herself trying to remove them, she looked like she was in a lot of pain.
Well then, it was about time to put her out of her misery.
"Nina... Light Magic... on the dragon!"
"Leave it to me! Light Bullet Explosion (Lichtsprengung)!"
An Orb of Light shot from Nina’s staff. When it struck the dragon’s body, the orb burst into a blinding explosion of light.
"An attack like this won't work on me!"
Please don't misunderstand, Dora-ko. That wasn't an attack meant for you; I was sending a cheer to the Child Alraunes. For plants, Light Magic functioned exactly like Recovery Magic. Look—having absorbed the light energy, the Child Alraunes were shouting in triumph.
"Power... is overflowing!" "I feel... so much better!" "I think... I can... get bigger." "Let's... grow up!"
The Child Alraunes simultaneously began to enlarge their bodies. Most of them grew until they had the appearance of six-year-old girls. As the Child Alraunes grew larger, the dragon’s body shriveled and shrank in proportion. To fuel their growth, the Dodder's Parasitic Roots had devoured the flesh inside the dragon's body.
The dragon's entire form was soon covered in yellow roots. Simultaneously, the roots of the dodder vines pierced through the dragon’s back from the inside. It seemed the interior of the beast was already hollowed out.
"Mama!" "I found... something thumping... inside!" "Is that... the heart?" "I wonder if... hearts... are tasty?"
Apparently, one of the Child Alraunes had grabbed the heart from within the body. Dora-ko screamed in pure, unadulterated terror.
"No way... You’re telling me an Aqua Dragon is being defeated by such tiny Alraunes...!?"
You underestimated my children. They don't just eat meat; they can even perform excavation work with their Parasitic Roots.
"Should we... eat it?" "I'll... eat it... too!" "A dragon’s... heart... is pretty big." "It’s so warm!" "Well then... let’s eat!"
In the next instant, the dragon flopped over sideways. It seemed they had seized the heart with their Parasitic Roots and devoured it. My little Alraunes were such wonderful daughters; they could even perform a Heart Catch.
It appeared the dragon that served as her body had died. The rain-summoning magic broke, and the downpour finally stopped.
"However, it doesn't matter yet. Even if the Aqua Dragon dies, as long as I am alive, the body will continue to move!"
Despite Dora-ko's boast, the dragon’s body showed no sign of moving.
"What's the meaning of this? Why won't the body move!?"
It seemed the Child Alraunes had absorbed all the dragon’s muscle mass with their Dodder's Parasitic Roots, eating every last bit. Because of that, the dragon was physically incapable of movement.
"N-No... If I can't move, then what am I supposed to..."
Dora-ko looked completely haggard. It seemed she wanted to flee, but with the dragon that served as her body reduced to nothing but skin, there was nothing she could do. Having relied entirely on the dragon until now, Dora-ko seemed to have forgotten the fundamental reality of being a plant—that they were originally unable to move.
I understood the feeling of being unable to move freely all too well. Ever since I reincarnated as an Alraune, I had been constantly troubled by that immobility. It was a physical handicap that every plant faced. Perhaps now Dora-ko would finally come to understand the heart of a plant.
For example, if a part of your body started burning, a plant has no way to escape the flames.
It seemed the Child Alraunes knew exactly what to do. All at once, they began Self-pollination. When they pollinated as a group, they used the Eucalyptus Ability to ignite their bodies. Then, using the Banksia ability, they transformed into seeds and escaped into the ground.
"S-Stop it! Nooooooo!"
Dora-ko began to burn along with the dragon's body. It was your loss for underestimating the power of plants and putting too much faith in the dragon's strength.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me! Triple Ultra-high-pressure Water Cannon (Dreifachwasserschneidemesser)!"
A mass of water generated at the dragon’s mouth. However, the sphere was never fired as a laser. With the dragon dead, she was no longer able to channel Water Magic.
As a tree spirit, a Dryades’ weakness was fire. If she couldn't even extinguish the flames, let alone attack with water magic, she was finished. Once the tree that served as her main body burned away, her life was destined to wither.
"I, a Fusion of Spirit and Dragon, defeated by a mere plant monster...!"
Plants can, at times, surpass even dragons. As a Clone Dryades, you adopted the fighting style of the dragon you fused with rather than that of a spirit, so you failed to realize the true potential of plants. It’s a shame, especially since your mother, Vergissmeinnicht, is a Dryades.
Dora-ko of the Three Spirit Beasts vanished into the flames.
"Next... it’s the... Trolls’... turn."
Now that Dora-ko was dealt with, I turned my attention to the surrounding Trolls. If I used the fire already burning to attack them with Flame Vines, I could finish them in a single blow.
"Wait! Please don't kill the Trolls!"
Nina suddenly stepped in front of me. She spread her arms wide, acting as a shield for the Trolls.
"Those Trolls were surely humans once. They were turned into Trolls by those strange flowers and seeds!"
—Strange seeds?
I wondered if she meant the Seeds of Evolution that the Poison Fairy used. So, the Big Sister Dryades had turned humans into Trolls using those seeds. I see; that explained how so many Trolls had suddenly appeared in the city.
"It’s still possible to turn them back into humans. So please don't kill them—let’s save them!"
"But... how... exactly?"
"It’ll be fine as long as we have Saint Nectar!"
—Saint Nectar?
"Now, hurry up and produce the Saint Nectar!"
Wait, hold on a second, Nina. What is Saint Nectar? I didn't know anything that sounded so divine. I highly doubted it, but she couldn't possibly mean my nectar, could she? I’d never produced anything "holy" in my life.
"Hurry with the Saint Nectar... and while you're at it, I want to drink some too!"
What did she mean she wanted to drink it "incidentally"? Besides, she was drooling, and her eyes had gone completely flat and vacant; she was acting very strange. What had come over her all of a sudden?
She looked exactly like that Nectar-crazed Perverted Bear-san. She wouldn't actually start licking me, right?
"If we have Saint Nectar, everyone will be saved! With the Saint Nectar blessed by the Goddess, everything can be resolved!"
I didn't know a thing about anything that amazing. After all, my nectar was just something I produced from my mouth—it was kind of embarrassing, not holy.
Will someone please tell me? Just what on earth is Saint Nectar?!
Little Witch hadn't mentioned the name "Saint Nectar" while they were in the forest. Consequently, this was the first time our protagonist had heard the term.
Next time: The True Worth of Saint Nectar.