Alruna

The Alruna is a pair of whip weapons that first appeared in the second game, Bayonetta 2 that can be equipped to both the hands and feet. They serve as a successor to Kulshedra from the first game but, unlike it, Alruna can be equipped to both hands and feet simultaneously. Its name and backstory are shared for Bayonetta and Jeanne alike.

In Game Description
"'A whip containing the soul of a demon who shares the same name as a flower that blooms in Inferno. Laced with thorns, it slithers as if it were alive." "Those who can hear the crack of the whip can feel Alraune whisper its curse in their ears.'"

How to Obtain
Upon defeating the demon Alraune in order to rescue Jeanne's soul, Rodin intervenes before Bayonetta can issue her killing blow. He proceeds to seal the demon inside the weapon's shell and gives them to Bayonetta shortly after. An alternate pair can be later bought at the Gates of Hell to allow use on both hands and feet.

Unique Traits
Like Kulshedra before it, Alruna functions as a whip weapon, though it is generally much more effective in this regard than Kulshedra was in the first game. It is unique among Bayonetta's arsenal in that it has great range with no damage fall off, and also usually hits all enemies in broad 270-to-360 degree sweeps, making it an excellent choice for crowd control. It should be noted that it tends to do more damage when equipped to the feet slot.

Bullet Climax: Bayonetta will spin the weapons out around her in a huge circle, striking everything around her several times for relatively high damage.

Charge Modifier: Alruna will attempt to wrap around one or two enemies, pull them up into the air, and then slam them down into the ground either directly in front of, or behind, Bayonetta. This attack deals very high damage, especially if two enemies have been grabbed, as they will slam into each other. While in Witch Time this Charge Modifier can be used against nearly any enemy in the game, even bosses. Using this modifier is key to dealing with significant damage with Alruna.

Stiletto & Heel Slide: Like Kulshedra, Alruna doesn't dash Bayonetta towards her target, instead she will project a spiral vine towards the target, hitting it and everything on the way to it several times. Heel Slide tends to do more damage than its Stiletto counterpart.

Wicked Weaves & Umbran Climax: In place of typical Wicked Weaves, Alruna's attacks become empowered, growing in size and strength to crush and bash enemies. In Umbran Climax, the Alruna summons Baal for its feet finishers, who will use her spiked tongue like a whip in big sweeping arcs. When equipped to the hands, Alruna summons Hydra which acts in a similar manner by swinging her multiple limbs around Bayonetta and causing massive damage.

Trivia

 * Alruna is a reference to the German novel, from Hanns Heinz Ewers, Alraune, whose main character is the product of an experiment involving the artificial insemination of a prostitute with semen from a hanged man, a substance that is believed to grow the mandragora plant. The plant is said to scream when uprooted, killing anyone who hears it, and was majorly used by witches and practitioners of magic in the Middle Ages, not unlike the crystallized compound found in the series for item creation. This connection is further enforced by the vine motif that is apparent when the weapon is in used and during its Wicked Weaves as well as the name of the demon that creates the weapon's power.
 * The Alruna were some of the first new weapons teased for Bayonetta 2 in the first development trailer shown in 2013.