Real theory: the monster bodies of the elders are some kind of projection and not their true physical forms.
Funnier theory: punching somebody so hard they're left with physical holes missing from their body is in line with cartoon logic, so it works. When Nika's cartoon logic field gets too far away, their body snaps back to the real world where being full of holes is extremely bad for your health.
Real theory: the monster bodies of the elders are some kind of projection and not their true physical forms.
Funnier theory: punching somebody so hard they're left with physical holes missing from their body is in line with cartoon logic, so it works. When Nika's cartoon logic field gets too far away, their body snaps back to the real world where being full of holes is extremely bad for your health.
Their weakness being getting yeeted would be funny