The dust and smoke gradually faded. Hovering in midair, I gazed at the deep pit in the distance, where Oscar Knox lay motionless on the ground, as if unconscious. The Tabby Cat King floated nearby, stroking his whiskers and licking his charred paw.
It had been quite a while, and I still hadn’t seen Oscar Knox move, so I flew over to the Tabby Cat King.
"What’s going on? That thing isn’t Oscar Knox."
As soon as I approached, I saw the Tabby Cat King standing before Oscar Knox. I descended, watching as the Tabby Cat King scratched at the deformed head of Oscar Knox with his paw. The flames on his horns were gone. He looked almost identical to Oscar Knox, but he wasn’t—he was just a dead Ghost Ox Corpse.
Suddenly, the ox before us began to swell. The Tabby Cat King’s entire body shimmered with a green glow. In an instant, I felt a sharp pain—his claws had embedded themselves in my arm. He yanked me with him, moving at dizzying speed. When my vision cleared, we were far away. In the distance, a massive, semi-transparent orb hovered, rippling like water.
"What is that?"
The Tabby Cat King said nothing. Just as I spoke, the water-like orb dissipated and quickly vanished. I looked at my arm—his claws were still sunk deep into it, channeling ghostly energy into me. With a sharp sound, he pulled his claws free. Pain shot through my arm, but what caught my attention was the blood dripping out—it was purple, strangely unnatural.
I didn’t ask anything more. My body felt weak and my mind began to blur. Gradually, the blood flowing from my arm returned to its normal green color.
"What is it, really?"
The Tabby Cat King opened his mouth wide and, with a wet splat, spat out a streak of purple liquid onto the ground. It hissed and smoked, sending up curls of black vapor.
"Clever fellow, using Ghost Aura to cloud my vision. Heh, I almost fell for it. He must be hiding somewhere..."
As the Tabby Cat King spoke, he suddenly spun around and lashed out with a paw toward the right side.
With a resounding crash, a burst of purple light exploded. I stared wide-eyed as Oscar Knox crossed his arms and was sent flying backward. The Tabby Cat King let out a shrill howl and lunged forward, slashing rapidly at Oscar Knox with his claws.
Oscar Knox's appearance had completely changed. The horns atop his head burned with purple flames, and the fur covering his body now glowed with a faint red hue.
The air whistled as cracks split the ground. The Tabby Cat King attacked Oscar Knox in a relentless flurry, but Oscar Knox kept dodging, showing no intention of fighting back.
"Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. Escape is impossible. The moment you try to run, I’ll tear you open."
The Tabby Cat King laughed arrogantly, weaving around Oscar Knox and striking with his claws again and again. What puzzled me was how Oscar Knox managed to evade such swift, powerful attacks, though he seemed increasingly disoriented and in poor shape.
I must have been affected when I landed beside the corpse of that ghostly bull meant to confuse us. Now my senses are numb, leaving me uncomfortable, and my Ghost Aura is in disarray.
With a thunderous crash, the Tabby Cat King struck the ground with a paw, shattering it instantly. Oscar Knox leapt high, his body now blazing red, and with a sudden boom, he exploded in midair.
Flames shot out like meteors in every direction, erupting wherever they struck the ground. The fire rampaged wildly. I struggled to take flight as scorching currents surged from all sides—the Tabby Cat King had vanished without a trace.