I’m an Alraune, a little plant monster girl.
And right now, I’m flying over the forest while being carried by the little witch, who’s transformed into a white bird.


I spotted a massive horde of trolls marching through the forest below.
There had to be well over a hundred of them.
The moment Kiri saw them, she cried out.


“Those trolls are definitely heading for the sanctuary! We have to get to Lady Dryad as quickly as possible!”


Following Kiri’s directions, the little witch flew over the forest.
Before long, we arrived directly above the sanctuary.

Peering down, I spotted a massive monster blocking the sanctuary’s entrance.
It was a blue dragon, easily the size of a two-story house.
It was enormous.

But what surprised me even more was that a cloned Dryad was growing out of the dragon’s head.
Only her upper body was visible, having been fused into the dragon from the waist up.
If I had to guess, she was probably one of the Three Spirit Beasts serving under the older Dryad sister.


Even though one of her subordinates is here, the older Dryad sister herself was nowhere to be seen.
Where did she go?


“Hey… Kiri… do you think… the older Dryad sister is inside… the sanctuary?”

“No way. I’m the only one who can pass through the sanctuary’s barrier. It’s so secure that even the other fairies can’t enter unless Lady Dryad opens the entrance for them from the inside.”

“Is there… any other way… inside?”

“You could force your way through if you spent enough time, but from the looks of it, I don’t see any signs that anyone’s tried.”


In that case, maybe she went to the town.
Considering the chaos we saw there, it was certainly possible.


Still, we couldn’t just leave the sanctuary’s entrance occupied like this. I think it’s time our Spirit Beast friend took her leave.


Compared to Trolly, the troll Dryad, this Dragon Dryad felt like she was on an entirely different level.
The last time I fought a dragon as an Alraune was against Fire Dragon-sama.
She probably isn’t as powerful as he was, but compared to almost every other monster, dragons were overwhelmingly superior.

This is going to be difficult if I stay in this little girl form.
I needed a power-up!


“Kiri… could you go get… that thing I asked you… to keep safe?”

“Leave it to me!”


I can’t just leave the Dragon Dryad blocking the sanctuary like this. I’ll have to deal with her somehow.
Until Kiri returns, I’ll just have to buy us some time.


“Little witch… I’m counting on you… to protect Kiri.”

“Alraune… be careful.”


I leapt down from the white bird.

Carrying Kiri, the little witch flew off somewhere.
They were going to retrieve something for me.
Please, come back as quickly as you can.


As soon as I hit the ground, I extended my roots into the earth.
Now I’m ready to fight!


“You are… aren’t you the Alraune? What are you doing here?”


The Dragon Dryad seemed to have noticed me.
Her name was kind of long, though.
Since she’s a Dragon Dryad, I’ll just call her Drago.


“I’m… this forest’s guard. I won’t… let you do… whatever you please!”

“From the looks of things, that fool back at the Demon King’s castle must’ve been defeated. Losing to an Alraune… what a disgrace to the Three Spirit Beasts.”


Three trolls appeared around Drago.
So she has some underlings with her too.

But then, those trolls did something unbelievable.
They began smashing a familiar-looking dead tree to pieces with their clubs.
I’d recognize that tree anywhere. It was my little junior, the Amazon Treant!
The Amazon Treant had fallen over, and it looks like she was on the verge of being destroyed.


“How dare you… hurt… my little junior…!”

“Oh? So this dead tree really was one of the Alraune’s companions. It tried to protect the sanctuary, so we took it down.”


She’d been protecting the sanctuary in my place.
You did a wonderful job, my little junior.
I can’t let her efforts go to waste. I have to save her!

Using eucalyptus to ignite my vines, I turned them into flaming vines.
Trolls are weak against fire, so one hit should be enough.
I was just about to strike the trolls with my flaming vines when Drago grinned, muttering something.


“Useless. Raincloud Creation—Regenwolke.”


A mass of blue magical power shot up into the sky from Drago’s body.
The rain that had already been falling suddenly became much heavier.
The downpour extinguished the flames on my vines.


“No way. Was that… magic… that summons… rain?”

“Correct. It’s composite magic, combining spirit magic, which controls nature, and this Aqua Dragon’s magic. I made sure to eliminate the trolls’ weakness in advance.”


It had been raining nonstop across this entire area since yesterday.
So Drago was the one causing it.
Being able to summon rain is pretty impressive.

But I wish she wouldn’t act so superior over something like that.
I’ve summoned rain before too.
After all, I am the forest’s very own rainmaking priestess!

If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’ll just have to take Drago down first.
Preemptive strike!
Go, poisonous thorn whip!


“That’s useless too. Ultra-High-Pressure Water Cannon—Wasserschneidemesser!”


A beam of water, resembling a laser, shot from the dragon’s mouth.
My thorns were sliced cleanly into tiny pieces in an instant.

I see. The ultra-high-pressure water had cut straight through them.
I thought all water-based attacks would be harmless against me because I was a plant. I never imagined water could be used like this.


“Are plant attacks really this pathetic? There’s no way a mere flower could ever stand a chance against a dragon.”

“Then… how about… this?”


I released a cloud of poisonous pollen.
But because of the heavy rain, it vanished before it could reach Drago.
This rain is getting in the way!
Water is delicious, but I would really appreciate it if it held back a little right now.

Still, this was all within my expectations.
That attack was actually just a distraction.
From beneath the ground, I extended poisonous thorns towards Drago.
I had secretly dug through the soil and hidden them beneath her feet.

The poisonous thorns whipped up, wrapping themselves around Drago.
It doesn’t matter how powerful a dragon is, there’s no way she can remain unharmed against my poison!


“Your poison is useless too. Lady Feagismeinnicht modified our body so that poison no longer works on us.”


──N-No way…


“Alraunes can’t leave the ground, can they? Then why don’t you get out and enjoy some fresh air for a change?”


Drago yanked hard on the poisonous thorns.
Dragged along by the vines, my roots were pulled and popped right out of the ground.


“Aahhhh…”


My body was flung into the air.
When I was an adult Alraune, I had enough strength to compete with Papa Bear.
With the roots of my little girl form, however, I became so light that I was pulled from the earth like an ordinary weed.


“Ultra-High-Pressure Water Cannon—Wasserschneidemesser!”

“Gyaaaaah!”


Drago’s water laser blasted a hole through my bulb.
My digestive fluids were leaking out of my body.


As I hit the ground heavily, Drago fired another water laser at me.
This time, half of my flower crown was sliced away.
Ugh, how dare she damage my beautiful red petals!


While I was trying to stick my roots back into the ground, another water laser came flying at me.
I quickly formed a shield out of vines, but it was useless.
The attack pierced straight through them, leaving a round hole in the chest of my human half.
My severed vine bra fell to the ground.


I looked down at the gaping hole in my chest.
Yellow nectar seeped from the wound left by the high-pressure water.


──It’s not blood.


That’s right. I’m not human anymore.
I’m a plant monster, so even if a hole is blown through my body, I won’t bleed.


“In the end, you’re nothing more than a plant. You never stood a chance against a dragon.”


She was right. The difference in our raw offensive power was overwhelming.
Out of all the enemies I had faced so far, she was probably the second strongest, only behind Fire Dragon-sama.


“Shall we finish this? Double Ultra-High-Pressure Water Cannon—Zweifach Wasserschneidemesser!”


I created another shield of vines, but it was blown away in an instant.
I felt something slice through the stomach of my human half and the lower part of my bulb.


“No… way…”


My body was sliced apart horizontally by two water lasers.

Split into separate sections, my body collapsed onto the ground.
Leaving only the bottom of my bulb intact, I had been cut into three pieces.
I had been killed.


The last thing I heard was Drago’s ear-grating laughter.


“Ahahahahaha!”



My vision faded.
Then my hearing disappeared as well.
But strangely enough, I was still conscious.

I thought I was dead, but I’m still alive.
It’s not over yet…!

I cast recovery magic on what remained of my body.
Using light magic and the moisture I had absorbed from the heavy rain, I forced my body to grow rapidly and regenerate.


The chlorophyll in my body began to surge with life.


My bisected bulb regenerated, and from it, my pistil, the human part of my body, grew back.
My crimson flower crown and fresh green leaves returned as well, fully healed.
I had successfully restored myself to my original little Alraune form!


“That can’t be… we completely severed your body. What’s with that regenerative ability…?”


Drago stared at me in disbelief.
For the first time, I could tell that Drago was genuinely shaken. There was even a hint of awe in the way she looked at me.


You see, Ms. Drago.
Plants can grow back as long as their roots remain.
That remains true, no matter how small the plant is.

The plants you looked down upon can do things that aren’t bound by the common sense of animals.
Even though you’re a spirit, it seems fusing with a dragon has made you forget even that.

In that case, let me remind you.


Just what kind of beings “plant monsters” truly are.

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.

Next Time: The Battle for the Sanctuary (Part Two)