"My head is throbbing"
It feels like elephants are jumping rope inside my skull. After the pain little settled, I scanned my surroundings. I seem to be in some kind of infirmary.
'Morning, Nox.' Nikola was eating an apple, half of his face covered in bandages.
'Nikola, what happened to your face?'
'Let's just say an experiment went south. It's no big deal. What happened to you was much more serious. The nurses didn't even know what to do with you.'
'I don't know. I was just practicing magic with Alice, and suddenly, I passed out.'
'Anyway, here, eat an apple.' He tossed one toward me.
'Thanks. My head is killing me.' As I ran my hand through my hair, I felt a strange hardness. 'Nikola, is there a mirror around here?'
'There should be a hand mirror over there. Hang on.' A moment later, Nikola handed it to me.
A small, sharp, black protrusion was emerging from the spot on my forehead where the pain was most intense. 'What is going on? Since when did I become a unicorn?'
Nikola touched the black growth and immediately pulled his hand back. 'It's sharp. Hmm... unicorn horns are usually white, but wait a second.'
He moved toward his bed and began rummaging through books in his bag. I struggled out of bed and followed him. At the head of his bed, bloody bandages and porcelain shards floated in a basin of crimson water.
'Ha! Found it. I was curious because of your black hair, so I'd been checking some books in the library.'
He held an ancient, thick, brown leather-bound book up to my eyes. Do demons truly exist? Or are they just a myth? The mystery of the Arthurian Mythos?
'If I remember correctly, it was page seventy-three.'
Nikola flipped to a page and handed it to me. There was an illustration of a character—short, with long black hair. She looked sweet and beautiful enough to make any princess jealous, but the most striking detail was the two long black horns on her forehead.
'When I saw the drawing, I thought of you. Both your face and your hair color match it perfectly.'
The book's description read: In ancient times, demons lived to slaughter humans. They were creatures that did not hesitate to use even the dead for their own ends. They lured adventurers with their appearance and turned them into eternal thralls.
It was hard to believe this sweet drawing was the monster described. But why was my horn starting to grow now?
SLAM!
'Nikola!' The person who burst in was Elandor, breathless. He was more agitated than usual, and the bags under his eyes had deepened.
'Dad, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong, don't worry.'
'You idiot! Why are you performing dangerous experiments alone? What if something happened to you?'
'The mixture turned out more volatile than I expected. I'll just be more careful next time.'
'Do not continue that experiment alone ever again!'
'The testing phase of the mixture is over anyway. The next step is just small adjustments on the shell and the prototype.'
'Nikola... just be careful.' Elandor's finger hovered in the air for a few seconds before he collapsed where he stood.
'Nox, help me. Let's put my stupid father in an empty bed.' We moved Elandor to a bed without much trouble.
SLAM!
'Nox, you're awake!' Alice burst in, dropping the things she was carrying. 'Nox, my darling, you scared me!' She rushed to Nox and hugged him tightly.
'Shut up, you old hag,' Elandor muttered, lounging on the bed with his hand on his cheek.
'Who are you calling an old hag? I haven't even hit a hundred yet!'
'Are you showing off just because you're an elf, you hag?'
Alice held Nox's face. 'Don't listen to him, Nox. I'm not an old hag, okay?'
Does this really matter right now? Personally, I think Alice looks quite young. 'I think you look quite beautiful, Alice.'
'Haha, what a sweet child I have.' She began stroking Nox's face.
'Ow!'
'That hurt. What was that sharp thing?' Alice leaned in closer. 'Nox, I think you're growing a horn.'
'I guess the demon blood inside me is starting to wake up more.'
'Interesting... I suddenly feel like experimenting on you. I wonder if it has any effect on the core, or if you can use the same abilities as demons? Is the horn bone or some other material?' Alice was lost in thought.
'Fifty years and you haven't changed a bit, have you, Alice?'
'As if you've changed much, Elandor.'
'Come on, Dad, Prof. Alice... isn't Nox more important right now? Look, he's clearly growing a horn,' Nikola said, looking at Nox with concern.
'Actually, I agree with Alice,' Elandor added. 'I've never heard of a Cursed One growing a horn. I want to run some tests too.'
Alice hugged Nox tightly. 'No! Nox is my child. He's my subject. I'm not giving him to anyone else.'
'Oh, come on, be a little sharing. I didn't stop you from experimenting on Nikola back then. "Is the hybrid seeing magic normally? Gofil this, Gofil that..."'
'Wait, you guys experimented on me back then?' Nikola snapped.
'Nikola, don't be mad at your father. Being a researcher to the core requires this. Wouldn't you do the same?'
Nikola moved away from his father and closer to Alice. 'The experimenting isn't the problem. Why don't I know the results of those experiments?'
'Nikola, do you really care that much about the results?'
'Yes! You know how long I've been trying to use magic.'
'Fine, calm down. The records should still be in the archives.'
'Right then, I'm off to the archives!'
'Wait! They don't let anyone in without a professor!'
Despite his bandages, Nikola bolted out of the room, with Alice chasing after him.
'Nox, I'm going to get some sleep too, or I'll pass out again. See you later.'
After Elandor left, I started reading the book Nikola had left behind. In my opinion, it still looks like a unicorn horn."