I’m an Alraune, a plant monster girl.
And now Nina and I are connected in both body and mind, the two of us becoming one.


The plan is for me, a former saint, to control Nina and cast an ultra-high-level light spell to dispel the miasma.
It might hurt a little, but bear with it, okay?


The dodder dug into Nina’s arm, and a blue flower bloomed from her skin.
At the same time, Nina’s body went limp, her hands and head losing all tension as she passed out.
A strange sensation ran through my mind, as if my consciousness were now flowing throughout Nina’s body.


It seems I’ve managed to successfully parasitize Nina.
Fusion complete!


I’m using the dodder and the blue forget-me-not to control Nina through a wired connection.
Since I’m going to be using advanced light magic, I’ll control her manually instead of using automatic control.


That said, Nina seems to still be conscious.
She’s probably fully aware of what’s happening, but I imagine it feels like her own body is being controlled by someone else.



Anyway, it’s been so long since I’ve had a human body!

I’ll try raising an arm.
Feels good.

Next, I’ll move my legs.

──Wait, hold on.
How do you walk again?
Now that I’m more used to the sensation of plant roots than human legs, the very concept of legs had completely vanished from my mind.


Let me try thinking about moving my legs as if they were roots… ahhh.
I can walk…!!


I’m actually a little overjoyed.
While I was playing around with Nina’s body like that, I noticed a strange fragrance drifting through the air.


As an Alraune, my sense of smell was weak.
But with Nina’s body, I could smell things as much as I wanted!

It was the first clear scent I had smelled in over a year.
And it was unbelievably rich and sweet.


The weird thing was, it seemed to be coming from right next to me.
That’s right, an almost absurdly sweet scent of flower nectar was wafting from the Alraune right beside me, myself.


────Wait, you’re kidding me, right?


Do I really smell this strong?
Aren’t I spreading way too much of this scent everywhere?

The entire area around my body smelled of nothing but cloyingly sweet nectar.

And for some reason, whenever I smell that nectar, it’s like electricity is shooting through Nina’s brain.
Something deep inside her body starts stirring, and it feels like she could start trembling at any moment.
If I let my concentration slip, the nectar might take over and become the only thing I can think about.

Maybe Nina’s body is especially sensitive to smells? How strange.



Just as I was finishing up my practice with controlling Nina through the blue flower, I heard Mr. Drink Station shout, “The miasma is coming!”

Oops. This isn’t the time to enjoy the feeling of being human again through Nina.



I sent light energy through the dodder and into Nina from my Alraune body.
Nina’s magical power began to increase.


When it comes to casting ultra-high-level light magic, there’s no such thing as having too much magical power.
I filled Nina with as much magic as her body could possibly withstand, then raised her staff.


The older Dryad sister, who had been watching us, spoke.


“I had the Spirit Beast disguised as that priest investigate how capable that little saint apprentice is. So I already know that no matter what kind of light magic that girl uses, it’ll be useless.”

“You won’t… know… unless you try.”


Given the chance, I tried responding to the older Dryad sister through Nina’s mouth.
But without thinking, I ended up speaking in the same way I do as an Alraune.
Habits are scary.
Especially since, with Nina’s body, I could talk perfectly fluently if I wanted to.


Having heard me speak many times before, the older Dryad sister reacted suspiciously.


“Hmm? That way of speaking just now…?”


Looks like she still hadn’t realized that I was controlling Nina.

If that’s the case, then this is the perfect opportunity!


All right, Nina.
It’s time for our first act together as one.
Let’s show the Spirit Princess of the Four Heavenly Kings what a saint is really capable of!


As I concentrated more and more power into the staff, a large ring of light formed around Nina.
The energy that leaked out from the ring was so intense it made even the air itself tremble.


Mr. Drink Station, who was nearby, shuddered, “What incredible magical power…”

Following that, I heard the older Dryad sister’s bewildered voice.


“Just what are you planning to do…?”

“Spirit Princess, allow me to show you—the true power of a saint.”


The ring of light vanished, as if it were disintegrating at the atomic level.
In that instant, everything around us was enveloped in a world of pure white light.


“Divine Annihilation Halo—Heiligenschein”


The ring of divine light expanded outward.
If viewed from the sky, the entire area would most certainly be covered by a gigantic circular halo of light
Anything caught within that ring was purified by waves of sacred light, broken down into nothingness.


The swirling miasma was purified by the halo of light in the blink of an eye.

The air that had been contaminated by the older Dryad sister’s Todesgiftwald became clean again.


And the halo is still expanding!

A portion of the Forest of Dryades, which had been transformed into a forest of death spewing poison everywhere, vanished in the light.
The baby Alraunes that had become one with the forest were sent to the heavens along with it.
By completely erasing the contaminated portion of it, the forest returned back to normal.

My children… I promise I’ll definitely avenge you, so rest in peace.


Now, my target is the Spirit Princess relaxing comfortably inside her safe zone!


My Heiligenschein collided violently with the barrier created by the Hero’s Helmet.
The two masses of light energy crashed against each other, sending out shockwaves like scattering sparks.


“No way. The helmet is cracking…!”


The older Dryad sister’s panicked voice rang out.

──CRACK!

And with that, the barrier protecting her shattered apart.


We did it!
The light magic Nina and I cast together broke through the barrier of the Hero’s Helmet!

Hehe. What do you think about that, Lady Feagismeinnicht?
Did you enjoy the ultimate light magic spell, Heiligenschein?


Perhaps that technique looks familiar to you.
The golden birdman from the Four Heavenly Kings used it before, but it was originally my technique.
He probably saw me use it while he was stalking me and decided to copy it.


But the timing couldn’t have been worse, for just after I thought that, Heiligenschein came to an end as well.

What a shame. I was so close to finishing her off.
But now’s my chance.
I need to press my advantage!


“Holy Rupture Beam—Glanzstrahl!”


A massive beam of light shot out from Nina.
The huntsman spider tried to leap out of the way, but against light magic moving at such high speed, avoiding it wouldn’t be easy.


And sure enough, the huntsman spider was pierced straight through by my Glanzstrahl.
Though its back remained intact, it fell to the ground with a heavy thud together with the older Dryad sister’s true body, the ancient tree.

Without a second wasted, the older Dryad sister took out an egg from the ancient tree and said, “I’ve still got plenty of legs to spare,” before hatching a baby spider from it.


She’s trying to parasitize another monster again.
I won’t let that happen!


But the instant I tried to move, Nina suddenly coughed up blood.
The human body I was controlling became heavy all of a sudden.


N-Ninaaaaaaaaa!!


Is she okay?
Maybe Nina’s body couldn’t withstand my power any longer.
I pushed her too hard.


“Spirit Magic: Forced Life Manipulation—Diktator.“


While Nina and I were dealing with our unexpected problem, the older Dryad sister took the opportunity to grow the spider.


“I was wondering what would happen when my Todesgiftwald was defeated and my barrier was broken, but too bad for you. Now I can move around freely again.”


Are you sure you should be leisurely watching us like that?
You’re still pretty shaken up, aren’t you?
Looks like my light magic damaged your ears too.

After all, you haven’t even noticed the blaring noise approaching from the sky.


Two fangs descended upon the still-growing huntsman spider from the sky .


Countless shadows appeared overhead.
The moment I saw them, I nearly cried out, ‘Could those be… no way…?!’
But if I made a sound, the older Dryad sister would notice them, so I somehow managed to swallow my surprise.


But it’s not like I could be blamed for being shocked.
After all, some old friends of mine were floating up there.


The huntsman spider that the Dryad had been planning to parasitize was snatched by a giant bee monster.


“When did these guys get here?!” the older Dryad sister cried as she looked up.


Calling them “these guys” is rather rude, don’t you think.
Since the ones up there are my precious friends.

With the scent of my nectar drifting so far, I thought they might come help me again, just like they did before.
Anyway, I’m just so happy to see them again.


Up there were the bees, my female knights, and Lady Butterfly and her companions.


The familiar faces of the Forest Club had all gathered together once again.

***

Author’s Note:

For the first time in forever, the Forest Club is back!

Next Time: Alraune vs. Dryad (Part Six)