Witch Zanthia´s Little Shop of Horrors

Little Sun and Melchior had already faced each other two more times since that first confrontation. None of them had been favorable for the feline.

The level difference was now too great for the black cat's abilities to hurt the ghost as much as at the beginning. Melchior must have reached level 145 by now. Maybe more.

How powerful had he been during the time of the Teni Empire? At what level had he arrived? Little Sun did not know the answers to those questions but what he did know was that at this moment the horror was very strong. Maybe even too strong to be defeated by him.

The effect of the potions was completely over. Little Sun's healing spells were all in lockdown by overuse. Wounded and beaten, the battered cat continued running and running with its bleeding paws until finally he stopped.

Melchior was nowhere to be seen. He took the opportunity to hide in a corner of the corridor, behind a decorative statue. There, hidden, Solcito called the system interface, to check his status and options.

[SYSTEM: Support Logic for Horror Shops - Rating: Divine - Sys Version: version 7.0a]

[Manufacturer: hidden data - Serial number: 28- GID -803 - HS- 065 ]

[Reputation of the User: 32 - Reputation of the Store: minus 7]

[User Level: 88 Type of User: Inhabitant of the Store (Owner´s Familiar)]

[Type of Being: Feline / Unknown – Category: Legendary - Class: Magic familiar]

[Titles won: Protector of the of the Fateweaver´s Heiress- Witch Zhanthia's First Magical Familiar- Inhabitant of the Witch Zanthia's Little Shop of Horrors (Active) – Lord Cat - Black Heart Pet –King of All Felines]

[Statistics: only the most recently used statistics data are displayed. It is possible to see the complete list if the user so wishes.]

[Health 200. Mana 350. Attack 650. Defense 550. Speed 750.]

Appearance 50. Charisma 50. Intelligence 50. Will 40. Power 120. Constitution 30.]

[Daydream 40. Sleep 40. Intimidate 68. Convince 41. Chat 25. Hunt 70. Fight 80. ]

[Elements: only the most recently used statistics data are displayed. It is possible to see the complete list if the user so wishes.]

[Fire 100. Light 20.Darkness 20. Ice 20. Thunder 20. Earth 20. Holy 20. Unholy 20.]

[Special abilities: only the most recently used skills data are displayed. It is possible to see the complete list if the user so wishes.]

[Dimensional Dream Level 12: The cat can go through the portal to Dreamworld, while he is asleep, and remain there with his astral form. All the effects that suffer in a world, whether beneficial or harmful, will be reflected in the other. Warning: this intrinsic ability of the cat Little Sun is a consequence of having great innate talent and intelligence and cannot be evaluated correctly by the system]

[Familiar´s Duty Level 30: The cat can sense the killing instinct directed to his owner and use part of his spirit to protect her of all damage. The effect must be appropriate to the situation and the relative comparison between the level of the attacker and the level of the familiar. Warning: this innate ability of the cat Little Sun is a consequence of being appointed a magical familiar of the Fateweaver family and cannot be evaluated correctly by the system.]

[Divine Sun Level 50: The cat can feel, call, control and dominate all the fires and flames existing in the world. The effect must be appropriate to the situation and the relative comparison between the level of the attacker and the level of the cat. Warning: this innate ability of the cat Little Sun is a consequence of being a heir to the Sun Family and cannot be evaluated correctly by the system.]

[Fireball Level 20: The cat can throw fireballs that explode and cover with their flames a circle of one meter per level. Everything flammable has a high possibility of going into flames automatically.]

[Flame Clone Level 3: The cat can create a clone of itself composed of a set of flames. The clone has 25% of the cat's health but can attack with 2 skills selected by the cat. The clone lasts one hour every 5 levels and the cat can cancel its existence whenever it wishes.]

[Body Transformation Level 1: The cat can increase its size, weight and strength to reach the equivalent of the creature designated according to the skill level. At level 1 the designated creature is a swamp troll. The transformation lasts until the mana ends or the cat decides to end the transformation.]

[Mind over Matter Level 12: Restores health in exchange for an equivalent amount of mana. Instant effect. Number of uses: 4 per day. ]

[Heal Wounds Level 15: Recovers 5% health for every 2% of mana invested. Duration: Constant effect over 10 seconds per level. Number of uses: 1 per level.]

The black cat sighed disappointedly. There was nothing in his statistics that offered him an advantage. His best combat and healing abilities had already been used. The ghost was much stronger than him. Even if he had restored his health and his mana once again, he did not doubt that the result would be the same. No, this time he needed something different. A strategy.

If he could not win by brute force or fighting skills then he would do it with intelligence and wit. Little Sun tried to think as if it were Luna. He looked for all the variables, analyzed them one by one, then relate and correlate them looking for a crack in the system. Any kind of advantage would be fine.

But, alas, he could not find any useful answers. Damn system! Why didn't let this Lord Cat use the guards of the shop? Or at least the servants? With their assistance one time they had been able to reduce even the gruesome Horror from Outer Space which was a shocking level 250. It would be so easy to capture the ghost with the guards helping!

But he could not do it. There was no way to give them orders. Or was there? The cat spent the time thinking, full of doubts, until the time was over. He could sense Melchior approaching and decided to leave his now useless hiding place.

"At last I find you. This time is your end, pet. No, not pet but food. Yes, that's what I'll call you from now on. It's over, food! "

"You did not beat me yet, ghost! This Lord Cat is stronger and smarter than you think! In fact, you would do well to surrender now or I will not be responsible for what might happen to you. It's your last chance! "

"Ridiculous until the end! I hope your body and soul are as tasty as your words are imprudent!"

Suddenly, the feline raised his front claws. Incessant fireballs came out of each of them. The ghost tried to dodge them but they were too many. Besides, Little Sun rotated and turned on himself while firing them so the whole place had turned into a big circular bonfire.

With the burning of the flames, the face of the ghost was filled with blisters, the eyebrows burned and the claws burned him unbearably. Instinctively, the ghost backed into the darkness of the corridor to recover. The cat was now in the center of the fire but it did not seem to affect him at all.

The ghost casted an ice element spell and an aura of cold spread out across floor, ceiling and corridor walls. The stone that composed them began to freeze and a blue frost covered everything including some of the flames.

Immediately the fight of the two enemies began in the midst of fire and snow. On all sides where the embers fell, there was the squeak of the snow they burned.

The black cat felt on the back the sharp teeth that tore his flesh. It was a terrible cut. The ghost howled when his left eye melted completely after a fireball hit . Both sensed that the battle was coming to an end.

Little Sun extended the fire to form three large circles with it. Within the last one he curled up, preparing his last defense. The ghost moved slowly towards the circle of flames. The two auras clashed but the snow began to extinguish the flames more and more easily.

Very soon they found themselves face to face. The ghost gave a creepy laugh and threw a viscous hand with hooked nails at the cat. It went through him in a surprisingly easy way. The cat drop dead to the floor and vanished without a trace.

"A clone! Damn feline! My food fled again! "

Melchior was outraged. Because that piece that seemed so easy was giving him so many difficulties? He cast a divinatory spell and chased the cat once more, swearing it would be the last.

Meanwhile, at only a couple dimensions away from there, Little Sun ran and ran. This time he did it in a certain direction to reach a specific goal. Which was good because he had almost no health, no mana or will to fight. This was his last play.

Finally it reached a metallic place with reinforced doors. The cat made a spell and the doors opened. Two guardian statues were at the sides of the door but as always had happened throughout the fight they remained inactive. The system had disabled the defenses so there would be no interference.

The place had only three corridors. He chose the one in the center. In the distance you could feel the sound of the ghost approaching at full speed.

*ZOOM!*

*SWHOOSH!*

*ZOOM!*

*CLANG!*

Little Sun crashed against the door of a gigantic metal cage, too exhausted to stop. The cage was a combination of adamantium, mithril and reinforced steel. Invisible magical seals increased its resistance.

It seemed empty. However, there was something inside. A creature that, according to the inventory records, was level 180.

Another thing that was recorded as a marginal note in that same entry was that it had not been fed for more than a week. To top it off, it was the kind of creature that, even though it could not die of starvation and thirst, it was always hungry and thirsty. And before all else, being hungry put this monster in a specially terrible bad mood.

Little Sun gulped and opened the door of the cage. He did not closed it. The cat walked into the cage, stumbling and exhausted. A figure suddenly became visible in the shadows. It was standing in the center of the cage, waiting anxiously but in turn perfectly still. It was of a creature of medium stature and size and indeterminate gender.

It seemed more insubstantial than solid, as if it were made of shadows. However, the notches in the metal floor indicated that it weighed much more than what corresponded to its height and that, in addition, its solidity should be equally extraordinary. The strength of this creature was a challenge for every living creature. No, not only that, it was probably also a challenge for every dead creature.

The horror looked at the cat in the same way that street cats usually look at mice but did not make any threatening gesture. It just stared. A faint reddish light glimmered in his eyes for a moment before fade out. The monster said only one word.

"Hungry."

The black cat nodded and muttered a few words in a voice so low that no one could have heard it but the creature seemed to understand them and retreated into the shadows with a smile. A sinister smile full of teeth. The smile was the last thing to disappear in the shadows, like a twisted and monstrous Cheshire cat but a million times more dangerous.

Then there was only Little Sun standing there. He started walking but to him each step was difficult. It seemed to take a huge effort just to make one more meter. The indentations on the floor of the cage that were in the places where the creature usually stopped were joined by other marks, traces of pawprints made of feline blood.

At that moment the ghost entered the room. He stopped at the entrance to the cage that appeared to be empty, except for his prey. He took a few moments to enjoy the end of the hunt. The feline worked its way to the center of the cage and threw himself on the cold metal floor.

He waited there, leaning back, with his whole body forward, the once proud members now fallen and without strength. He rested his head on his paws. Everything indicated that he had resigned himself to his fate. At last the prey gave up the fight.

The ghost entered the cage slowly, savoring the end of the game. But as he moved deeper and deeper into that oppressive place he began to feel that something had happened. An unexpected change in the situation that he did not quite understand.

Where did this sudden sense of danger come from? Surely not the cat. No, the cat had already surrendered. Now it only remained to devour him and consume his soul slowly. The ghost stopped doubting and advanced towards Little Sun with the urgency of hunger.

Suddenly, Melchior abruptly left the state of joy he enjoyed so far on this very easy and pleasant hunting because he suddenly discovered himself in front of the Ardsheall. It was not further away than about four meters, standing just in front of the cat lying in the center of the cage. The creature exuded an incredibly powerful presence to be just an insubstantial shadow.

When had it got there? The ghost could not understand it. He would have sworn that the cage was empty except for the cat. And yet…

The monster named Ardsheall was staring at him. The cat was lying there, at his feet, his body covered with wounds and moaning quietly in pain but the creature did not even pay attention to him.

On the other hand, it did looked at Melchior, with a sinister smile. It was staring at him and for a moment the ghost held that look. It was a serious mistake.

The wise men and women always said that the eyes are the doors of the soul. The Ardsheall did not have a soul of its own but it's eyes were equally a door. A portal that overlooked the abyss where the lost souls of all the beings that had consumed remained.

To the disembodied Melchior his nonexistent knees trembled. Nothing threatening was discovered in that shadow. It just watched, fixed and seriously; but he had recognized the aura of a predator in that glare. In addition there was something else that he also knew very well.

Hunger.

The tide had changed. Until now the cat had been the prey and he had been the hunter. But not anymore.

Now the ghost represented the expected food, and at its sight, in the tongue of the Ardsheall, the papillae were excited and the saliva slipped away. The creature opened an enormous mouth full of fangs. He licked with anticipatory delight.

The ancient ruler of the Teni Empire knew then that the monster was wondering what the sensations of taste would be like to chew on that disembodied being in front of him. But it was a meaningless question because, whatever the taste the ghost's flesh might have had while he was still alive, they both knew with certainty the taste his soul had at this precise moment.

The taste of fear.

Melchior was followed by trembling his nonexistent knees, suffocated by the oppressive atmosphere in the cage and the aura of the powerful predator in front of him.

The Ardsheall advanced slowly but implacably. A faint red light glimmered in his watery eyes. It was very happy. After many days of anxious waiting, one of its caretakers had finally deigned to bring it some food.