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This was truly an unexpected turn of events for Ian.
He could clearly feel his magic power flowing in a way he had never experienced before, and he felt as though it were analyzing some intricate structure. Under the influence of his magic, the raven's corpse was slowly stripped of all its secrets, as if shrouded in a faint glow that unraveled every piece of information about its very essence.
Yes.
Ian could sense his magic power delving deep into the raven's body in an almost miraculous way. Every feather, every bone, every drop of blood, even the structure of every single cell, was vividly etched into his mind. It felt as though he had completely unearthed the raven's physical composition at its very core.
As this analysis progressed, Ian's consciousness began to blur. He felt as if he were being drawn into a massive vortex, spiraling deeper and deeper. Everything around him grew hazy and unreal; only the raven's body and the magic power dissecting it remained truly tangible.
It was as if even memories were being drawn out of the raven's brain.
Though…
Only fragments.
Strange images flickered rapidly in Ian's mind: scenes of the raven weaving through a storm, moments of it perched quietly on a branch.
These visions spun past like a revolving lantern, leaving Ian barely able to process them all. The ominousness that even Merlin kept at arm's length was laid bare to him now; Ian felt he could see through the raven completely, its physical construction, its very life essence, everything revealed before his "eyes."
At that moment, Ian felt like a precision instrument, and his magic was the searchlight piercing through matter itself, allowing him to fully perceive the raven's existence.
He saw how the muscles within the raven's body supported its elegant flight posture, how its feathers aligned at precise angles to maximize flight efficiency…
And he even understood how those sharp, penetrating eyes captured prey from afar.
"Oh! No!"
Magic power that flows outward must eventually flow back in, and it was this returning tide of magic that triggered Ian's transformation. The raven's bodily structure and fragmented memories rushed into his body and soul, fusing with him. Before Merlin could even register what was happening, Ian cried out in shock as feathers began sprouting from his body.
"What the---?!" Merlin was equally startled.
"Transforming! I told you, I'm transforming!" Ian's exclamation was laced with pain.
And for a good reason.
His body was twisting and reshaping itself at an ever-increasing pace. A lesser student might have panicked in such a moment, but Ian was a Legendary Wizard who understood magic even better than the most obsessive scholar. And it was precisely because of this deep knowledge that amidst the fear, he immediately realized what was happening to him.
Animagus Transformation.
This was the pinnacle of Transfiguration, a branch of transformative magic at the very tip of the pyramid. In the entire twentieth century, only seven officially registered Animagi existed, and among them was Professor McGonagall herself, the Head of House.
Of course, there were also unregistered Animagi. However, the Ministry of Magic strictly controlled this practice, requiring that all Animagi and their animal forms be registered with the Office for the Improper Use of Magic. Under normal circumstances, mastering the Animagus transformation could take several years, allowing a witch or wizard to become the animal that best suited them.
In fact, before the Riddle incident, Ian had studied Professor McGonagall's notes extensively, hoping one day to master this magic.
He had even made all the necessary preparations, intending to complete the training under her supervision. Ian had never attempted the transformation prematurely, he knew well that experimenting without certainty could be fatal. After all, a botched Animagus attempt could leave a person trapped, unable to return to human form.
As a cautious man, Ian never imagined that he would be forced into such a transformation with no warning, skipping every intricate step of Animagus training entirely.
"Animagus?" Merlin exclaimed as he watched Ian collapse painfully to the floor, with black feathers sprouting from his body. It seemed Merlin had finally realized what was happening.
"I knew there was something wrong with that cursed bird's corpse!" Merlin muttered with suspicion and fear flashing across his face, and he felt as though Ian's transformation was some kind of hex laid upon the raven's remains.
He tried to help, but the moment his hand touched Ian's body, it was as if a cannonball had slammed into him. Merlin was hurled backward and crashed hard against the wall.
Before his eyes, an invisible force field seemed to shimmer around Ian. It wasn't his own magic or power, but rather something inherent to the creature he was becoming.
"A magical creature!"
Ian didn't know whether to be thrilled or to be terrified. He was keenly aware that he was brushing against the Animagus' first taboo, transforming into a magical creature was almost always accompanied by terrifying and unpredictable consequences.
Perhaps it was this that caused the searing pain. His spine twisted violently, sending unbearable jolts of agony through him. Magic power that had once lain dormant deep within his veins surged awake, slithering along his marrow like a berserk serpent.
Every nerve ending in his body screamed. Blood coursed beneath his skin, threatening to burst through its confines. His bones crackled softly as they rearranged themselves.
They were rebuilding his body.
Feathers sprouted rapidly across his skin, but the changes didn't stop there. Ian's muscles shrank and contracted, adjusting to a completely new form. His skin became hypersensitive, and every whisper of air movement brushed against him like a tangible sensation. His fingers lengthened and grew nimble, nails sharpening into talons, Like the claws of a raven.
Gradually, his shoulders compressed, reshaping into the strong, elegant wings of a raven. His face flattened, his mouth stretching and hardening into a sharp, pointed beak. The process was both agonizing and awe-inspiring, and Ian could feel every cell splitting and reorganizing. Each bone, each muscle fiber, each droplet of blood was no longer human.
During this process, Ian's vision underwent a drastic transformation. The world he saw was no longer the ordinary scene he was used to, it became sharper, more vivid.
He could see every crack and vein in the palace walls, and he could even see the tiniest motes of dust floating in the air. His hearing, too, had become unnaturally sharp; he could pick up faint sounds from far away.
He could even pinpoint the exact origin and direction of each sound. Even Merlin's breathing came to him in layered detail, and Merlin's heartbeat couldn't escape this extraordinary sense of hearing either.
"Oh, heavens! I've really turned into a bird!"
As the pain gradually faded, Ian was finally able to make a sound, though it came out as a strange, piercing cry, awkward and difficult to control.
Of course, Merlin, who had only just managed to peel himself off the wall, froze when he heard Ian's voice. His expression was even stranger than Ian's, as if struck by lightning.
"This is… a voice I could never forget!"
His pupils shrank to pinpoints, his face a mask of shock and horror as he stared at Ian, whose transformation was stabilizing. Under Merlin's wide-eyed gaze, Ian, now a raven, flapped his wings and shot toward the palace ceiling.
"Bang!"
A deafening crash rang out as the priceless palace ceiling was pierced straight through, and it was not because Ian had meant to, but simply because he had been trying to get used to this strange yet oddly familiar new body.
Who could have imagined it?
With just a single flap of his wings, his entire body, or rather, his entire avian form, exploded forward with terrifying speed, like a streak of light tearing through the air. Everything in his path crumbled like wet paper.
The once-impenetrable palace walls shattered under his immense force, with bricks and beams exploding outward in a storm of dust and debris.
(To Be Continued…)