I’m an Alraune, a little plant monster girl.

And the one flying over there is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, Garuda Hræsvelgr of the Radiant Crown.


It seems his light magic doesn’t work on me at all.
If anything, it actually heals me.
Photosynthesis is delicious!


“Impossible… that my Glanzstrahl has no effect…”


The birdman looked completely shaken.
Well, I can’t really blame him.

An attack spell that took down Papa Bear’s relative in a single hit not working at all on a tiny little Alraune like me would definitely be a shock.


But you see, I feel amazing right now.
Getting to bask in this holy light and photosynthesize like this makes me really happy.

I’d like seconds, please.


“What am I supposed to do?”

“I-it hurts… the light attack… it’s scary… I-I’m going to die…”

“Could it be… it actually worked…?”


I decided to pretend I was hurt.
If I do that, maybe he’ll attack again.

Remember that story, “Manju Kowai¹?”
Well, for me, I’m scared of light magic.


“Y-yes… of course. There’s no way my light magic wouldn’t work. It must have been some kind of mistake.”


This overconfident, high-and-mighty birdman fell for my act.
He just couldn’t accept that his signature light magic didn’t work.


“Holy Rupture Beam—Glanzstrahl.”


Ahh… sunbathing feels so good.
Though it’s a bit too intense. My leaves might get scorched.
Or so I thought, but since it’s light magic, I guess I’m fine thanks to the resistance I had back when I was a saint.
Still, it’s really bright. I kind of want a pair of sunglasses.


“Y-you’re still alive…?”


The birdman was panting heavily.
He looked exhausted.


“Then I have no choice. I shall show you my ultimate technique.”


Suddenly, the air around us shifted.
Light began gathering around him.


A massive ring of light formed around Garuda Hræsvelgr of the Radiant Crown.
From it, energy spilled out. It was so intense it made the air itself tremble.


This is bad.
He’s about to use that.


“Little witch… Treant… and Kiri…quick… get away from here!”


Hearing my voice, and sensing the abnormal pressure, the fairy Kiri immediately reacted. She jumped onto the Treant and started giving orders.
Then the Treant, my little junior, forcefully scooped up the little witch.

The little witch struggled, reaching out toward me.


“W-wait, wait! Alraune is still—!”

“I’ll… be fine… Go.”

“But—!”

“I’ll be… okay.”

“Alraune…”


I gently stroked the reluctant little witch’s head with a vine.
Then, to get her moving, I gave the Treant a light tap.


Responding to my cue, the Treant took off into the depths of the forest, still carrying the little witch in her arms.
They kept running until they were far enough that I could barely see them.
That should be enough distance, right?
Either way, I can’t run. So here, for everyone’s sake, I’ll fight.


Now then, the problem is this Heavenly Stalker over here.
He’s about to unleash what could very well be called the ultimate offensive light spell.
As I am now, stuck in this small, childlike body… I might not be able to withstand it.


“Few upon this vast continent could endure this light magic and remain unscathed.”


The ring of light collapsed as if atomizing itself.
And in the next instant, everything was swallowed by a world of pure white.


“Divine Annihilation Halo—Heiligenschein!”


A portion of the forest began to collapse beneath the holy light.
From above, it would look like a massive circular halo of light had formed over this area.

Anything caught within that ring would be purified, as if broken down by the holy light itself.
That was the ultimate secret of light magic: Divine Annihilation Halo—Heiligenschein.


The ring of light slowly expanded, until at last it gently enveloped my entire body.
Trees and boulders around me dissolved like mist.
Even parts of the ground itself disappeared.



And soon… I too…


Yes… I too…


I…


…Huh. I’m not disappearing.

I’m actually feeling great.


If anything, I’ve photosynthesized a little too much. I’m completely full.
Not only did I not get erased, I absorbed the energy from Heiligenschein, along with the nutrients from everything it disintegrated around me.

Even though I’m a plant, I probably won’t need any sunlight for quite a while.


The blinding white world faded, and everything returned to normal. It seemed the light magic had finished
The only thing left standing on the ground was me.

Centered around me, for dozens of meters in every direction, all the trees and massive boulders had vanished.
It was like a hole had been carved out of the forest.


It was an incredibly powerful attack. But in the end, even that was nothing more than a snack to me.


“…Impossible. The only being who could withstand my Heiligenschein would be that saint from years ago… the one said to be among the strongest in history…”


Mr. Birdman, that saint… is probably me.
I’m actually right in front of you. Not that you’d believe it.

Back when I was a saint, I could nullify an attack like that without trouble.
I was practically a prodigy of light magic.


As for why it doesn’t work on me now…
Is it because I’m a plant, so I just photosynthesize it?
Or maybe it’s because I used to be a saint, so I have resistance to light magic?
It’s probably both.



“E-even if my light magic proves ineffective, an Alraune’s attacks cannot touch me. For if I hold the skies, my victory remains absolute.”


That’s right, Mr. Heavenly King.
Even if light magic doesn’t work on me, I’m still just a little plant monster girl.
There’s a world of difference between us when it comes to combat ability.


But you see, right now, energy is coursing through my body like never before.
I’ve never felt this strong since becoming an Alraune.
In this “bonus-stage,” it feels like I could do anything.


Through photosynthesis, I can use light recovery magic.
With that, I have the power to rapidly grow plants.


Up until now, I’ve only used that ability on parts of my body, like vines, man-eaters, and squirting cucumbers.
But in truth, I can make my main body grow too. Bulbs, flower crown—everything.
I just couldn’t before because I didn’t have enough nutrients.


But now? I’m overflowing with energy.
So I’m going to do it.
I’m going to force my entire body to grow.

Until I’m strong enough to defeat him.



I converted the light magic given to me by Garuda Hræsvelgr of the Radiant Crown into nutrients through photosynthesis.
Then, all at once, my body began to grow.


First, my roots began to spread, thickening as they extended.
In response, my bulb swelled larger, and my leaves burst forth in lush abundance.
My red flower crown bloomed magnificently, like a cherry blossom in full blossom.


At the same time, my human half, the pistil, began to grow as well.
My small, childlike body transformed into that of a young woman.

…Ah, my chest is getting tight.
The moment I thought that, my expanding bust caused my vine bra to snap apart.

‘I’d always wanted to experience something like this at least once,’ I thought to myself, silently admiring my ever-growing chest. Bigger… even bigger.


But, this won’t do.
There are gentlemen up in the sky staring right at me.
At this rate, I’ll never be able to get married!

With quick movements, I covered myself again with a vine bra.
It’s only natural for a lady of the forest to act this way.


By then, my growth had already come to a stop.
My appearance now matched when I died as a saint.
In other words, I had returned to how I looked before I was burned by Fire Dragon-sama.
I’ve grown a lot.


I’m not a little girl anymore!


From above, I heard the Heavenly King mutter in disbelief.


“Impossible… Th-this has to be wrong. Not only is this Alraune unaffected by light magic, but she even looks exactly like that Saint…!”


Oh, come to think of it, Garuda Hræsvelgr did say he knew me from my days as a saint.
And since it’s just me and this Heavenly Stalker here… maybe I’ll ask something a bit more direct.


“You… know… the saint?”

“Of course. My ultimate goal was to devour Saint Iris and take her power. I’d been observing her countless times since before I even became one of the Four Heavenly Kings, all in preparation for the day I defeated and devoured her.


So he was actually a fan of mine.
I never imagined I’d have a fan even among the Demon King’s army.

And not just any fan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings was obsessed with me, and his ultimate goal was to eat me. I’m honestly still struggling to process how perverted that is.


Well then, my dear stalker.
If you liked her enough to follow her around like that, then being defeated by that very saint would be a dream come true, right?

After all, you always intended to face her one day, didn’t you?
Congratulations. Your dream just came true.

For the sake of such a dreamy gentleman, I suppose I’ll lend a hand.
Also, please kindly forget that moment earlier when my vine bra snapped and I was completely exposed, okay?


Now then, Garuda Hræsvelgr of the Radiant Crown, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
I—Iris, the former saint, now reborn as a plant monster girl, an Alraune—will be your opponent.

Though, I don’t know if your ultimate goal of devouring the saint will truly come to pass.


After all…
I wonder which one of us will end up being devoured?

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading.

Next Time: Alraune Symphony


TL’s Note:

1: “Manju Kowai” or “Manju is scary” (Manju is a bun filled with paste inside) is a classical story. It follows a group of young men sharing their greatest fears. One of those men says he is scared of Manjus, of which the others attempted to prank him by leaving a pile of Manjus in his room. But when they check up on him later, they discover the man wasn’t afraid of Manjus at all and only said that to get his favorite snack for free.