Chapter 192: Human Chimera

For the next few days, as the boys slowly begin to grow up, they channeled most of their time in training and building their strategies further. More cards were being made, More illusions that weaponized the senses, including one such illusion that can be brought to Reality, Viruses that impact the body further, a Gravity spell to hold down his opposition whenever he could, More seals to utilize as a defense in the case Barrier isn't an option, whether it would be a seal or a direct attack, a tower that can be brought out of thin air to act as a sparring location, weapons to further wield and mix against the opponent, a way to copy his spells so that he can cast twice of such a spell without feeling its detriments, rituals that can either summon the monster on its own or provide a large amount of energy to fuel his magic further, A spell that utilizes Evolution in the same manner as how Fusion works, and more monsters to use alongside his abilities: Adam, Eve, Seimei, Atlantis, Shangri, Chimera, Alibaba, Alice, Puzzlmina, Runesmith, Genomix, Numeros. Monsters of varying shapes, sizes, and designs that feels out of place, creatures that felt like they belonged in a different world. The others, meanwhile, would take ideas from Harvard's upgraded self and utilize it for their own style of magic.

With Harvard's Codex Machina being able to augment the cards, Zazel would be quick in copying such a style of learning in order to create new sigils for himself: Glasya-Labolas, Aym, Furfur, Malthus, Seir, Kimaris, Beleth. He'd even augment his sigils to function in the same manner as Harvard's fighting style for at least two of his sigils, recognizing them as potential strategies while having him go full offense with the new units, He'd constantly summon each of the demons and fight them by himself, being met with their effects so he would know how to personally work with each one, from Aym casting Misfortune upon the opponent, to Malthus and Furfur weaponizing Earth and Lightning respectively, to even Glasya, which channeled his anger and morphed him into an animal-like monster the longer he remained in such an emotion. He would often turn towards Solomon and Stolas to assist him in learning more about such demons, with Stolas recollecting what such princes and dukes were during their rule, to Solomon knowing their technical abilities so they can use in the battlefield.

Solomon would take advantage of how Harvard channels his energy freely towards his new style of magic, slowly but surely giving his shadow a physical shape, allowing him to finally cast his preferred style: Shadow Magic. As he does so, however, Shady would begin to have a conscious while being in this magic, being more and more active as time went on. From taunts and teases to dramatic dances and poses whenever he tries to slip his way back towards the monuments, Solomon was given a bigger headache as a result, constantly chasing after him and trying to bring him back into the chambers in order to perfect his new style, using himself as a test subject to see how much his shadow can do, from putting his hand into such a shadow, resulting in his discovery of a bottomless well before him, to having it change shape with a thought, allowing him to be used in a utility sense.

Stolas, lastly, focused all his time and effort in keeping his physical build, using Harvard's reckless fighting skills as a base to master his own. His speed would be going faster and faster, his punches and kicks being turned whenever possible to employ further damage, and his efficiency in working out such a body to become a finely tuned weapon was going so well, physical changes were visible to the Stellar Magician. His muscles were somehow more toned, even gaining a Six pack around his abdomen, and his grip was enough to break stone with barely any effort. The boys all gathered together and worked on their speed above all else, using their game with the sun to make sure they can react faster than anything else Malak would be capable of throwing. Their progress was almost staggering to see, as in just a few days, they already became stronger than they could've ever thought. The boys would be relaxing down in the resting chambers, drinking their cold glasses of water to refresh themselves, winding down after their few days worth. Amidst such relaxation, Solomon would realize something. "Hey, Harvard. How exactly does Fusion work, again?" he would ask.

Harvard, giving him a side glance, would sit up. "Simple! It lets me use two monsters and fuse them together to make a bigger one. Sometimes it even lets me fuse them into my spells and weapons, like what Stolas said."

"Any Monster?"

"Any Monster!"

"Including.....Yourself?" The moment that Solomon brought up such an idea, Harvard paused himself almost immediately. Stolas and Zazel nearly choked at their drink when they recognized what potential the Card Magician had, staring towards him in confusion. The boy, now sixteen, quickly took advantage of that concept, rushing towards the arena and having his spells prepared to cast. It was a theory he wanted to figure out for himself. He'd set the seal and have the Star they used to train be lowered, letting it's high power serve as a cost to summon one of his monsters: Inti.

"Ok, NOW I'm actually getting a bit excited! Let's see what happens, eh?" The Boy would state, casting Fusion upon himself, targeting Inti as its component. As he did so, the monster would swiftly start to morph, becoming into the mass of energy it was once before, letting out a howling roar before slipping into the card and beginning its procedure. Immediately, Harvard would feel the strain course across him, his body cracking apart while his muscles tense and swell. He could feel the heat spreading into his veins, his monster desperately trying to escape. "GAH!! Ughh....Gwuh....GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" He'd scream, feeling such power breaking him apart, his body changing.

"HARVARD! You alright!?" Zazel would ask, swooping in to try and help his friend.

"Someone get the card out of him! He's getting himself killed!!" Stolas would add, with him and Solomon both following along and the latter trying to extract such a spell using the commandments. The mere touch from such binds were useless, incinerating right as they made contact.

"Shoot, Shoot, SHOOT! ITS NOT WORKING!! C'mon, Deep Breaths, Man...Deep-" Solomon would state, his words cut off when he saw Harvard's eyes. They were more draconic. The fusion is working.

Harvard would get up slowly, the spell taking into effect surprisingly well, before he would have everything collapse. "Guh....GYah.....WRRRRRRRRRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

KA-BOOM!!!

A Mass of light erupted from him, a beam that broke through the entire roof of the cavern, penetrating and turning any stonework on contact into mere ash. The pillar that stands tall would shift into a monstrous dragon, roaring in the same manner, deafening everyone with its mighty cry alongside with being blinded by such brightness. When the light finally subsided, the result left behind was an absolute sight. The boy, once human, now became something much more. His body became more toned, his skin glistening along with the new golden, ancient armor acting as his new garbs. His bone-like wings transformed into a golden, sun-like version of itself, the symbol of the sun being made when closed together. His eyes sporting the very star itself, his hair splitting apart from its usual puffy self, flowing freely because of such a chasm being torn open, providing such breath to cool his temperature, his arms and hands sporting the Dragon's face as his very claws and markings, and his very jaws being sharpened in order to rip apart anything it wishes.

He has became something more. "Oh that's so cooooooooooool...." Stolas would admit, watching this form in its luminescent beauty.