Chapter 189: Strange Magic

It took a few hours before she would wake up once more, wind being blown at her face to cool her down, relaxed on a hammock for maximum comfort. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she'd see would be the children, to which she'd flinch back, arms raised, trying to defend herself, before noticing one of them has their head back. "Wh- How did- What did you- What the- Who-" She was struggling to find the right words, and surprisingly, most of the children looked at her as if she's seen a ghost, unaware of the trauma they gave her by accident. 

Pygmalis would enter the area once more, carrying a glass of water to give Fiona some relief, as well as a few sets of black paint, to which after offering such water, she'd have her hands coated in that very color. "Hohohoho~! My, My! You were out like a light for a while. Thirty minutes, at most. You feeling better, my dear?" She would ask, to which Fiona would try calm herself.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright. What...What exactly HAPPENED while I was gone?? Why was he still alive after missing his HEAD!?" She'd ask, pointing towards Harvard after taking a sip, her shock still apparent.

The boys couldn't help but laugh a bit, while they would watch the Old Woman paint a few stick figures: One with a Beak, another with Devil Horns, a Third with puffy hair, and a fourth with spikey hair. "This whole ordeal feels like one big story, Hmm? I believe if I showed you what's going on, you'd understand it better. You know what to do, my little ones!" Pygmalis would command, having the stick figures play out their interaction, right where they were studying their own styles of magic. The one with Puffy Hair was deep in focus, his energy being visible to see. The one with Spikey Hair and the one with Devil Horns worked together to see what they can do with their new style of magic, taking notice of the energy wafting around them. They could see the lines within the stick figure's body began to twitch and spasm, veins being more visible and traced across the entire outline. When they tapped his shoulder, the one with Puffy Hair snapped back to reality and didn't notice what was going on. A cry was made to signal them to get their meals for the day, but as the boys walked out of the area, the one with Puffy Hair accidentally tripped over.

As he tripped, his head was somehow detached, bouncing on the floor like a ball, rolling across it, unaware of what occurred. The result was mass hysteria, panic on all sides, with the one that possessed a Beak being desperate in trying to put the head back on the body, fearing he lost his life. The one with Puffy Hair began to complain, somehow showing his life still being active. As the group got together to find out what was going on, the one with Puffy Hair decided to play a game with his friends, having his body chase them around like a zombie. Despite how macabre it was, they all joined in, and for the remainder of the time, they were having fun, before being spotted by Fiona herself. As the play came to a close, Fiona's eyes widened at the knowledge of it all. "So wait, You BOTCHED your own magic!?" She would ask.

"And I got something cooler as a result! Solomon figured out too that it was Monster Magic! The same one that lets me summon my own friends! I can do basically ANYTHING with my body now! Watch!" Harvard would state in pride, demonstrating by having the bones in his arms elongated, his hands sharpening to claws, and his teeth being more jagged. He returns back to his normal shape and demonstrates again by having his ribcage moved to his back and sprout out, spreading wide to be like wings, and even flying with them. He'd do one more demonstration by removing his eyes, to which he'd regrow a new pair as a result. "I'm like an immortal Swiss army knife, now!" He'd state in joy, much to the horror of Fiona.

". . . .This is gonna haunt my dreams..." Was the only thing she was able to say in response.

Solomon would take out a book regarding such beasts and look through its pages. "From what I gathered, Harvard's got a weird blend of monsters inside him. When, y'now, the whole twitching thing was happening? He was looking very similar to the Nuckelavee we had to deal with. Safe to say that's probably one of his components with how he can just rip himself apart with no sign of injury." He'd explain.

"And the other monsters...???"

"That's the part I'm still trying to figure out. It's KINDA looking like he's also a Changeling." Solomon would show the group the book itself, specifically towards the page of such a subject: A Changeling being a creature that is usually a replacement for a child through other creatures. Differences would be their uncanny insight and knowledge on certain subject matters, a grisly appearance due to their body changing, hence its name, and having a ravenous appetite, capable of eating many courses of foods without stopping or taking weight into account. They're usually synonymous with being an offspring of a demon. "While I don't think he has the insight part, he DOES have the changing appearance bit. Pretty sure he can even change his voice to someone else's by tampering with his own throat."

"You're kidding.." As soon as Fiona questioned such a choice, Harvard would demonstrate by having his fingers interact with his throat, stroking it up and down to change his sound.

"Nope! It's real!" Harvard would state, perfectly mimicking Fiona's voice on the first try. Fiona couldn't help but be awestruck and terrified of this change.

"Why is that even a THING HERE!? WHO ALLOWED THAT STYLE OF MAGIC TO EXIST!?" She'd scream, unable to shake off that fear embedded in her heart, the pit of her stomach weighing heavily on her. She could feel herself going faint again, but she thankfully reaches for the glass again and take a big gulp. "So....when learning about....THAT.....What exactly are you kids gonna do with it?" The boys looked towards one another as she asked such a question, with Harvard shifting his voice back to normal and answering proudly.

"Easy!" He'd began. "We're gonna train even harder! I know just how to do it too! C'mon!" He'd have his friends be led back towards the room, with Stolas preparing a star within his palm. Fiona and Pygmalis followed suit slowly, with the latter watching over the former in the case she feels dizzy.