Five days went by after the incident with Lily. We had chosen not to tell anyone about it as we were both ashamed of acting before thinking and fearful of what the others would do if they ever found out.

Unfortunately for us, the after-effects of Anna’s healing magic incapacitated me for three days the moment I went to sleep. She tried to hide it by saying I overworked myself again, but it wasn’t too hard for everyone to connect the dots when they noticed my and Lily’s mutation rates accelerated at the same time.

Dr. Blake immediately scolded us for not consulting with him beforehand. I had it easy, since he left me off the hook by considering the pain I experienced to be more than enough punishment. Anna, however, got the worst of it since she was supposed to be a responsible adult. Her father mentioned she should have at least stopped to think what boosting a process painful enough to render most of its victims unconscious could mean. I was never told what her punishment was, although the look she gave me when I asked was enough to make me shudder.

Not everything was bad news, though. Thanks to our actions, we learned that healing magic worked by improving the target’s cellular activity rather than reversing a wound.

Lily was also alive and well. She was transforming like all of us and, despite the pain, Anna’s magic did make things faster for her. The image from the thermal camera now showed the shape of a person moving sluggishly inside a ‘cocoon’ roughly the size of an emu egg. I felt bad for her, though. At an estimated height of 15 centimetres, she had shrunk too much to have a normal life. Although my own changes didn’t make things easy for me either.

On that matter, my wings were over 70 centimetres in length, and my tail wasn’t far behind. Fingers were developing at the tip of my new limbs as well. The same skin membrane fully covered four of them, while the thumbs remained mostly free. The additional extensions growing from both of my wings’ shoulders were also longer, and developed their own articulations, which included an elbow and a single flexible hook at the tip.

According to Anna, these ‘modified fingers’ would eventually be long enough to connect with the smaller pair of hooks on my ankles. Proving their theory correct, these extensions would help by increasing the wings’ surface during flight, just like a bat’s tail and legs were connected to their wings to achieve the same.

The advantage of this mutation was that my limbs would remain independent from each other most of the time. Considering how much of an inconvenience my wings were when moving around, sitting and sleeping, I was thankful to hear my movements wouldn’t be limited any further.

My age regression was also progressing steadily, and I already looked and sounded like a ten-year-old. While my shorter stature was an inconvenience on its own, the way people began treating me was what really made me hate it.

Most stayed holed up inside the lab or patrolling the city in search of new patients, so they rarely interacted with me. However, it was the two nurses, named Clarice and Jackie, as well as everyone from the service staff that talked to me with the typical condescending tone adults used on children. I was thankful that they treated me like a person, but I still ended up distancing myself from them.

Dr. Blake and Anna still talked to me like an adult, which I appreciated. I just wished she didn’t tease me about it so much. Jack was a completely different story from everyone else. He didn’t show any signs of hostility, and yet, he seemed to avoid me more and more for some reason. I wondered if I did something to make him dislike me. Surely it couldn’t be that time I entered Lily’s room and collapsed.

Anyway, back to the changes. The horns Anna mentioned the other day also showed up. They were barely visible, and I only found them when I decided it had been far too long since my last shower. While I was assured that the nurses kept me clean when I was unconscious, it felt a lot better to have one.

Anna also told me that my race had finally received the official name of ‘Demon’. I wasn’t surprised at all. Sure, it was a fitting name given my appearance, but the fact that demons were seen as a source of evil worried me.

It was still early in the morning, and I was having breakfast with Dr. Blake and Anna. They were awfully quiet, making our meal somewhat boring. It had been the same ever since I woke up from my last black out. Looking around leisurely, I saw Jack run towards the reception desk and answer a ringing phone. With my mind going all over the place from boredom and us eating, I wondered how ghosts fed, if they did at all.

“Do ghosts ever eat?” I asked out of curiosity and to break the uncomfortable silence.

Dr. Blake answered. “It’s complicated. They have no physical body, so they can’t eat like us. They seem to absorb all sorts of energy instead. Sometimes you can feel the air around him become colder as he takes in the surrounding heat. It’s not a harmful amount, so don’t worry about it.”

I tilted my head, “If they don’t have a physical body, how can Jack wear clothes and grab things? I mean, he could even drive me here.”

My eyes were on him once more. The ghost was holding the phone just fine. There had to be something physical to achieve that. It didn’t make sense otherwise.

Dr. Blake gave Anna a concerned look before he answered. “His clothes are part of his body. That suit is what he always wore at work, and it was the last thing he had on before he...”

“Before he was bedridden,” Anna finished his sentence with a gloomy tone as she played with the food on her plate. Her ears were low.

“Yes…” Dr. Blake cleared his throat. “Anyway, he cannot change his appearance now. All ghosts retain the last look they remember having. Out of all the races, they are the most mysterious. They perceive the world very differently, and they can interact directly with any object, yet nothing can touch them. We think they are unconsciously using a form of telekinesis, but we have no proof of it since none of them has ever moved anything without touching it.

“I believe, however, that this is merely a mental block that can be overcome with hard work and practice. It’s as if their subconscious held onto the idea of being human, just like your wings didn’t move until we stimulated them. Of course, poking him with a fork won’t work for us this time.”

“Speaking of the devil,” Anna interrupted.

Jack arrived and glanced at me briefly before turning to Dr. Blake. He spoke loud and clear so everyone nearby could hear him. “We have a problem, Doc. A carrier bomb was reported just now.”

Dr. Blake’s smile vanished from his face the moment he heard those words. “How many?”

“Fifteen. A dog was confirmed as the source. They’re being held at Spring Fountain Hospital,” Jack replied.

The doctor turned to the rest of the staff present at the cafeteria. “You heard him. Move on!”

A large group of assistants nodded and stood from their seats. Then they silently followed Jack to the parking garage. Dr. Blake excused himself and picked up his half-full tray and took it to his office, accompanied by two other individuals in lab coats. An old man and a woman I hadn’t seen before.

“A carrier bomb?” I asked Anna once everyone was gone.

“Just a term we came up with. As you already know, it’s harder to keep the virus from spreading because of the carriers. Because of this, hospitals were told to call us whenever a person is bitten or attacked by any animal so we can act on time. The problem comes when the wound is not serious enough, so people resort to first aid and stay home instead. That’s what happened with Lily in a way.

“A carrier bomb is what happens when such a person happens to be in a crowded place when the spores are released. We can control it for now since the number of people who become infected is still fairly small. However, if more and more people are exposed to situations like this, we won’t be able to keep the virus a secret much longer.”

So hospitals also know about this. I wonder if they are aware of what happens after as well.

“I don’t get it, though. What’s the point of keeping all of this a secret?”

That was what confused me the most. It was obvious that they would need to reveal it sooner or later. If they explained properly, I was sure most people would understand and even learn how to avoid it. It would even reduce the amount of victims.

Could it be that the government doesn’t want that?

“What they’re trying to avoid is mass panic. A person is smart; People are… well, not so much. I mean, just look at how scared you were when you first came here. Yes, I’m aware that my father could have handled it better, but he gave you the information and told you it would be safe. Believe it or not, we’ve already had trouble with two guys a few days before you arrived. Now imagine what would happen with a large group. ” She shook her head slowly.

I had to agree with her. It was true that I was scared and that, without Jack’s spell, I would have outright refused his invitation out of fear.

She continued. “As I told you before, we’re slowly trying to get us back into society. You know, tiny steps to be safe. That’s why your family is allowed to know about it. Sure, it’s still a risk to tell them. Even with the spell they might talk about this, but we think it’s better to make that gamble than having them think their daughter suddenly vanished. We aren’t trying to destroy families, quite the opposite, we want to help the victims so they can keep on having a good life.”

We finished eating in silence while I thought about what Anna told me. I wasn’t entirely convinced, but decided to drop the topic for the time being.

After breakfast, I helped Anna and the nurses arrange for the group’s arrival. It was mostly having the equipment ready and to prepare a few rooms to keep those who were infected isolated from the others. I also had to print 14 pamphlets about a fake disease that would be given to those who were released as clean. I only needed to press one button, but each piece took its sweet time to come out. That extra noisy printer was probably the oldest machine in the entire building, and it was probably the reason no one else wanted to do this task.

I opened the first one and read it out of curiosity while the rest came out. It included signs of infection, prevention methods, and numbers to call in case someone detected it. While the deadly consequences of the virus portrayed in it were a hoax, the rest of the details matched the characteristics of the MAV.

Once all of them were printed, I went back to the living quarters and helped them set up the rooms for the patients. It was unlikely all of them would be infected, but it was better to be ready. After that was done we went to check on the other two patients. Clarice and Jackie left us at that moment. They never helped with getting data from the patients. In fact, I didn’t remember ever seeing anyone in the same room whenever Anna needed to take data from the patients. It was something that I found odd, but Anna told me not to mind it. That those were their instructions.

Allison was our first visit as usual. She was 3.25 metres tall, and they believed she’d wake up within a week, although they weren’t exactly sure when. They had already dressed her with a white custom-made gown which was, ironically, a bit oversized for her. It helped in giving me an idea of how much bigger she would grow.

We finished recording Allison’s data and were heading to Lily’s room when the group arrived. Anna put her beanie on and asked me to continue without her while she helped the others. I nodded and went inside Lily’s room on my own. My task was simple enough, so I didn’t mind. All I needed to do was to make sure the equipment was working properly and write down any changes I could observe whilst looking at the screen for a few minutes.

As I walked to the table, I noticed the cocoon was no longer round. It had deflated like a balloon, and a small humanoid shape was slowly clawing her way out of it. I wanted to help her, but I was afraid I could hurt her in the process, so I silently stood there, watching her rebirth.

After five long minutes, a tiny person covered in slime emerged from the cocoon. She had shoulder-length lilac hair, and four transparent dragonfly wings of the same colour attached to her scaly looking back. They were quite wrinkled.

She seemed to be rather disoriented and tired as she looked around the room slowly. It was then that she spotted me, and I felt terrible when I saw her eyes widen and fill with terror. Her irises were so big I could barely see the scleras, and I could not spot any pupils at all. It was as if she had a pair of pale emeralds instead.

Letting loose a shrilling scream I deemed impossible for such a small person, Lily fell on her butt and scooted as far away from me as possible.

I remained motionless and in shock. Thanks to everyone’s support and the promise of magic and flight, I had been able to accept or ignore many of the changes in my body. Most of the staff viewed me as a kid, sure, but they still treated me like a person.

Her reaction was enough to bring me back to reality. I knew the size difference was probably an important factor; however, I also understood my overall appearance had as much influence on her. I was no longer a human being.

Lily stood up and cried. She desperately banged on the opposite wall of the incubator. “Help! Someone please help me!”

I held back my own tears forcing their way out whilst trying to look as non-threatening and friendly as I could. I spoke softly to her. “I’m not going to hurt you, Lily. Please calm down.”

She turned and yelled at me. “H-how do you know my name!? Wh-what do you want from me!?”

“I know I look like, well, this... but I can assure you, I won’t hurt you.”

“No! I’m not falling for it, you monster!”

“I’m not a monster!” I finally cried. “I’m just trying to help you!”

I took a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. “Just look at your wings if you don’t believe me. You’re a fairy, Lily!”

“No, I’m not!” Still, she reached for her back. “I don’t have any-” Lily yelped the moment her hand brushed one of her wings. She looked like a dog chasing its tail when she tried to see what touched her.

“Hang on. I’ll be right back,” I told her when an idea came to me. I walked over to my room to collect my phone.

Well, she doesn’t have much of a choice. She’s trapped in there.

When I returned, I noticed her wings were already expanding. Each of them now revealed a dark emerald stripe near the tips.

I showed her my phone before getting any closer, and she lowered her guard at the sight of the familiar device. It was something I considered both helpful and worrying.

“I’m going to activate the camera so you can see how you look, okay? Stand still.”

With Lily’s nod of approval, I turned the camera on and showed her the screen by placing the phone against the wall of the incubator. I backed off a little to give her more space. “You see? This is how you look now.”

She slowly approached it in wonder. “How did this happen?” her eyes widened as she realized she was nude. Covering herself, she glared at me and asked, “Where are my clothes?”

That made me giggle. “I don’t think they’ll fit,” I answered, shaking my head.

Understanding her discomfort, another idea occurred to me. I looked around the room and spotted a few tools on top of a desk. Among those tools, I found a pair of scissors, which I used to cut out two pieces of clothing from an unused gown I got from one drawer.

I explained her situation while I worked on the fabric to make an improvised mini dress that would accommodate her wings and a towel for her to clean herself from the remaining cocoon’s slime. “As for how it happened, you were bitten by a dragonfly and infected with the virus it carried. You’ve been unconscious for two weeks and became a fairy. Don’t ask me the specifics, though.”

I walked up to the incubator again, realizing my mistake when she yelped and fell on her butt once more. I couldn’t blame her; I did it without warning.

“I know all of this is hard to believe, but you’ll have to trust me on this. I’m going to remove the incubator's lid now, okay?”

She nodded nervously in response. I grabbed one chair in the room and placed it next to the table so I could reach the top of the incubator. Then, I removed the lid carefully and placed my hand with the poorly cut garments at the bottom of the box. My palm was facing up as an invitation for her.

“Go ahead, I promise I won’t harm you. My name is Nora, by the way.”

Lily hesitated at first. The position was getting uncomfortable for my arm, but she eventually cleaned herself and wore the dress before climbing on. Slowly, I pulled her out of the incubator and put the lid back in place. Finally, I grabbed my phone and took her with me.

Once in my room, I placed Lily on top of my table so she had space to move around without feeling trapped. By this moment, her wings had fully expanded. They were beautiful.

Lily stood still and looked around. After examining the room in silence, most likely taking in how big everything was, she bent slightly forward and scrunched her face.

I frowned at her strange behaviour and got closer to see if anything was wrong with her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m a fairy now, right? I want to fly, but I can’t move my wings.”

I sighed in relief. I thought it was something serious at first. I recalled Dr. Blake’s words as I told her, “Your mind still thinks you’re human. We have to stimulate your wings first. I had the same problem until Dr. Blake poked mine with a fork. I don’t think it would be a good idea to do the same thing to you, but I’m sure he will come up with something.”

Lily tilted her head to one side. “Who’s Dr. Blake?”

“Oh, he’s the man in charge of this place. You’ll meet him soon enough.”

“Then, what is this place? Where’s Ash- I mean, my parents?”

I sat down, making sure the backrest of the chair was facing the table because of my wings. Then, I crossed my arms on top of it to be more comfortable. “We’re in an investigation center within the forest near Eredel City. Your parents are probably at home waiting for you to wake up. I’m sure they’ll be glad to see you again.”

She looked down at herself. Smiling bitterly, she muttered, “I hope so.”

It was a strange reaction, but then again, she was probably nervous. I did have moments like that every now and then. The conversation continued with her asking questions about my appearance. She was quite friendly and a bit more trusting as long as I didn’t make sudden movements. I told her about magic, and that my appearance was the result of me getting bitten by a bat. She was surprised when she realized I was five years older than her. Despite our size difference, she could tell my body was definitely not that of an adult.

It was amazing how fast she adapted to the situation as a whole, though. Her size didn’t seem to bother her that much anymore. We even began joking around and talking about what we’d do when we could finally fly. After a few minutes into it, we heard a scream coming from the hallway. It was Anna’s.

Walking out of my room, I followed her wailing over to Lily’s room. As I entered, Anna was kneeling on the floor, crying as she held the empty cocoon in her hands. I realized I forgot to leave a note or something to explain what happened. Her ears twitched, letting me know she heard me as I walked in.

“She’s gone...” She muttered without moving.

“Don’t worry, Anna. She’s safe and in my room.”

She turned to look at me. Her eyes were wide open as she stood up to glare at me in silence. Suddenly, she slapped me. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again! I thought she was dead!”

“I’m sorry.” Tears formed in my eyes as I held my stinging cheek. “I know I should have told you, but you were busy, and I was so distracted trying to calm Lily down that I forgot to leave a note.”

Anna stared at me for a few moments before her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with one hand. She pulled me into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Nora! I don’t know what came over me.”

It hurt, but I wasn’t going to hold a grudge for it. It was partially my fault, after all.

Seeing that I still kept a hand to my cheek, she raised her glowing hand and moved it towards me. Realizing what was coming, I darted away frantically. This made me slam into Dr. Blake, who was just walking into the room. He simply raised an eyebrow.

“W-What are you doing!?” I yelled at Anna as I hid behind him.

“What do you think? I’m going to heal you, silly. I’m sure it hurts.”

“Not as much as it will if you touch me with that!”

She froze, and the glow faded instantly.

Dr. Blake laughed loudly. “You have to be more careful, Anna. You don’t want to go through that again so soon, do you?”

She gulped audibly and shook her head.

Seriously, what did he do!?

After explaining the situation, we went back to my room. Lily was sitting at the edge of the table, swinging her legs back and forth whilst humming. I couldn’t understand how the height didn’t bother her.

Once introductions were done, they asked her if anything hurt or felt weird, aside from the obvious stuff, of course. She told us she felt tickling down her throat whenever she spoke, but that it seemed to be getting better the more she talked to us. Everything else was fine as far as she could tell.

Having confirmed that she was well enough, Dr. Blake looked at Anna. “Why don’t you call Lily’s parents and let them know their daughter is awake?”

I was genuinely happy for Lily when Anna told us they would be coming in a few hours. Oddly enough, she seemed indifferent to the news.

While we waited for Jack to bring her parents, Dr. Blake explained her situation with more detail. He also tried to help her with the numbness of her wings by gently applying pressure on them. After a few unsuccessful tries, he grabbed a thin needle and pricked the base of her wings with care. Lily winced at the slight pain and finally moved them. Surprisingly, after that small push, she flapped them fast enough to hover over the table effortlessly. She then moved around to test maneuverability and speed for a few minutes until she got bored and landed. It was clear she could do it by instinct since she made it look so easy. I hoped the same went for me when the time came.

Dr. Blake spent most of the remaining time taking notes, photos, and measurements. While doing that, we learned that she could hear us normally and with no distortion despite her size. The same went for how we heard her voice, which was something I hadn’t noticed until then.

He also informed Lily about the secrecy of the virus and told her she wasn’t allowed to return home with her family due to the amount of people that worked in her mansion, but that her parents could visit once a week.

Lily agreed almost instantly and then practised flying some more until Dr. Blake’s phone rang. It turned out to be Jack, who called to let us know they would arrive within five minutes. Hearing that, Anna placed her hand facing up on the table. Lily hesitated briefly before climbing up. I remained on my seat and watched them leave.

Lily noticed this and asked, “Are you not coming, Nora?”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea when I look like, well, this.” I replied, showcasing myself with both hands to remind her of my appearance.

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Dr. Blake commented. “From what Jack told us, her parents are quite reasonable and accepting. Additionally, because of Lily’s particular case, they’ll be visiting frequently, so they need to get used to seeing you anyway. I don’t see why you should stay if you don’t want to.”

Convinced by his words, and a bit curious about meeting such accepting parents, I stood up and followed them to the main hall. When she finally saw the couple enter the building, she jumped and flew towards them. I felt my heart skip a beat when her mother screamed. At first, I thought it had been because of me. That changed immediately when her father tried to swat her with his hand, barely missing. Bewildered by their behaviour, I dashed towards Lily, which triggered another scream from her mother. If she hadn’t seen me, now I was sure she had.

The man stood in front of his wife in a protective stance, but I merely glared at them as I snatched one confused and upset fairy. Using my wings for extra impulse, I lept backwards.

What the hell?! Why did they react that way? Are they crazy!?

Once I was at a safe distance, my wings went wide open and I continued my glare. I also growled at them, like a beast threatening its attacker after getting cornered.

Wait, what?

“Monster! Demon!” The woman yelled whilst grabbing her husband’s shoulder. She hid behind him for protection.

I snapped out of my trance when I heard her words. It was as if my instincts had taken over my body for a moment. Anna ran beside me and grasped my shoulder. I looked at my hands and saw Lily crying. We were both relieved to see she wasn’t hurt.

“Mother! Father! It’s me, Lily!”

“Liar!” her mother shouted back. “There is no way that bug can be my daughter! Where is she!?”

Did she just smile!?

It was brief, yet I could have sworn she did. Looking around, no one else seemed to notice.

Lily flinched and cried even louder in response. “Mother, please!”

I shook my head in confusion. I saw Dr. Blake’s fist clenching, and I looked at his face. It was the first time I’d seen him that angry. Not even when we were scolded did he look like that. Even so, he regained his composure. Somewhat. “I believe my assistant was clear enough when he told you there was a possibility that your daughter would change drastically.” His left hand went into his pocket as he spoke. It moved briefly before coming back out. We understand it is hard to take in. Not even we expected her to transform like this, but trust me when I say this little girl is your daughter.”

“Do you really expect us to believe that someone can suddenly shrink like that!? That bug doesn’t even look like her,” the father yelled.

As I got distracted with their exchange, Lily escaped from my hand and flew back to them. I tried chasing after her, but Anna held me back.

“Don’t! We can’t hurt them. We need Jack,” she whispered.

“They’ll kill her!” I yelled back. Her hold on me weakened.

None of this made any sense to me. I couldn’t help thinking about my own parents.

What if they act the same way when they see me?

No. They wouldn’t…

Would they?

Lily’s father stepped forward and prepared to smack her with his hand. Once again, she barely dodged him and remained hovering out of his reach, still trying to convince him it was really her. He refused to listen and readied for another strike.

My instincts kicked in once more, and by the time I noticed, I was already chomping his arm as hard as I could. He screamed in pain and began punching my head repeatedly until I let go. I turned to Lily and apologized as I used my wings to jump higher than I thought possible to snatch her again.

I went back to Anna and kept growling as I observed the blood gushing out of the man’s arm. Lily squirmed, trying to get free. She wasn’t thinking clearly. I was concerned about my behaviour too, but her safety was my priority at the moment.

The woman tried to stop her husband’s bleeding without success. She glared at me again, and I realized that my presence was probably making things more difficult because of my appearance. It was too late to do anything, though.

The man then pointed to his wound, and yelled at Dr. Blake, “Look at what your beast did to me!”

I snarled at him in response. Anna held me tighter this time.

What’s happening to me!?

I was fully aware, yet I didn't have any control of my own body. The woman kept barking, accusing us of killing her daughter, even though she was right in front of her. Their denial during this whole situation was ridiculous.

This mess lasted a few more seconds before Jack appeared, somehow got behind them without being noticed and placed his hands on their heads. He muttered something, and both of them fell unconscious on the floor. I was dumbfounded. Lily took this chance to free herself once more.

She landed on top of her mother’s face and cuddled to her while sobbing. They were harmless at this point, so I finally regained enough control to stop myself and let her have her way.

Anna also left my side and walked over to the man to begin healing his arm. I understood it was necessary to keep things secret, but it still felt wrong to see her help such a person. That said, it was my first time seeing her magic working as it should instead of being used for torture.

The bite marks were deeper and messier than I expected, and it was taking her a while to heal him properly. I noticed his other hand was bleeding as well, probably from hitting one of my horns. I reached my throbbing head with one hand and confirmed neither was broken.

I was finally able to relax, and it was at that moment that a huge wave of pain assaulted me, forcing me to my knees. It was so intense; I was certain that the moment I collapsed, I wouldn’t be waking up for a long time.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked, panting heavily.

To my surprise, the one who answered me was Jack himself. He was placing his hand on the man’s head once more. “I’m going to alter their memories so they really think their daughter died.”

Anna looked up at him in disbelief. “You can do that!?”

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head with his free hand, his sight never leaving Lily’s father. “I’m not sure, yet. The spell isn’t very reliable, and I need a base to make it work. It’s thanks to all the things they said that I can try to alter their memories to make them think a beast really killed their daughter. Hopefully, I can also hide any memories of this place and the virus. Can you stop healing his wounds when he’s no longer at risk? It will be a problem if he is unharmed when they wake up. At least the wound doesn’t look like something a person would do.”

His comment hurt a little, but I felt grateful at the same time.

Anna nodded and looked at the woman’s face. “What about Lily?”

She had fallen asleep, curled against her mother’s cheek. My heart melted at the scene. She still loved them regardless of what they did and said to her. Dr. Blake picked her up and cradled her in his hand gently.

“For now, she’ll have to stay with us.”

That was the last thing I heard before my sight went hazy, and I collapsed on the floor.