Holy crap!
A cat just spoke!
Faced with this absurd scene, Lacy was completely stunned. But a moment later, he realized something even more nonsensical: compared to a speaking cat, the fact that this black cat had been disguised as Marco was far more ridiculous.
Lacy instinctively pulled the Heart of Soul-Devouring toward his chest, his Chaos energy surging again. His crimson eyes fixed on the black cat. "Who are you? Why could you bypass my perception?"
Director Meow stood up slowly, her pitch-black tail lightly brushing over the blood-colored runes on the ground. The glowing runes instantly grew dim the moment her tail passed over them, leaving not a trace of radiance.
She licked her paw, looking entirely unimpressed. "Little one, you're mistaken. Unless I choose to show myself, you don't have the strength to perceive my existence."
As she finished speaking, a faint golden halo emanated from her body. The glow seemed weak, yet it carried a suffocating pressure that instantly enveloped the entire plaza. The blood-red patterns of the sacrificial array, which had been pulsing frantically, froze like stagnant water. Even the pulsing frequency of the Heart of Soul-Devouring in Lacy's arms slowed down.
Lacy's body stiffened, and a dull pain shot through his chest. His Chaos energy felt as if it were being suppressed by an invisible giant hand, making it difficult to flow. He realized then that this seemingly harmless black cat possessed a power far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Lacy's voice carried an undetectable tremor. He took two steps back instinctively, the dark red energy in his palms churning wildly, yet it remained unable to break through the invisible pressure. "Are you... a lapdog of the Inquisition? Or the Governor's hound?"
Director Meow sneered, a cold light flashing in her mismatched eyes. Her black form suddenly blurred, appearing instantly in front of Lacy at a speed that left only an afterimage. Lacy's pupils shrank. He raised his hands to block, condensing a shield of Chaos energy to stop the sudden assault.
But his movements were like a snail's in front of Director Meow. She merely raised a small paw and gave a light tap. The seemingly solid Chaos shield shattered like fragile glass without a hint of resistance.
Then, the paw struck Lacy's chest.
Though the tap looked gentle, it felt as heavy as a thousand tons. Lacy spat out a large mouthful of blood and flew backward like a broken kite, slamming hard into the statue's pedestal with a dull thud.
"Cough... cough..." Lacy scrambled to his feet, blood flowing continuously from the corner of his mouth. His face was as pale as paper. "You black cat... what exactly are you? This kind of power... it's impossible for a regular psychic..."
At this moment, Lacy could not accept what was happening. He had expended countless efforts, even massacring his own family and collaborating with Tzeentch worshippers to prepare this ritual. In the end, he was being crushed by a seemingly ordinary black cat, without even the right to strike back.
The more he thought, the more aggrieved he felt. The fury and resentment in his chest erupted like a volcano. He glared at Director Meow with bloodshot eyes. He refused to be crushed by a cat.
Resolved, Lacy lowered his head and bit hard into the Heart of Soul-Devouring. The moment he bit down, the entire heart melted and vanished into his mouth.
A blinding green light erupted, intertwining with the dark red Chaos energy around him. It formed a bizarre dual-colored cocoon of light that completely encased him. The stagnant sacrificial array on the ground was triggered by this dual energy, lighting up with a blood-colored glow once more. The dimmed runes pulsed frantically, and the stench of rot and Chaos in the air surged again.
Seeing Lacy wrapped in the cocoon, Director Meow's tail stood upright. She said excitedly, "Oh, now this looks like a proper fight."
This boiling wave of Chaos energy was felt not only by Director Meow but also by Byrne and Marco at the southern edge of the plaza. The cocoon writhed for a moment before exploding.
The violent shockwave of energy scattered in all directions, blowing away the ruins around the plaza. Shards of stone flew out, carrying a Chaos aura that corroded everything. When the cocoon vanished, Lacy's figure reappeared.
By now, Lacy no longer looked human. His frame had surged to over three meters tall, and his skin had turned a grotesque blue-black. His surface was covered in intertwined dark red and deep green patterns that writhed like living things, oozing thick black fluid with every movement.
His head was twisted and deformed, his handsome face replaced by hideous markings. His hands had become thick and malformed, with three-inch-long black claws growing from his fingertips. A pair of tattered bone wings had erupted from his back.
To deal with the black cat, Lacy had forcibly absorbed the incomplete Heart of Soul-Devouring. Even so, it granted him a massive boost in power.
The mutated Lacy let out a frantic laugh, his voice raspy and violent. The dual-colored energy around him was like a boiling tide, rolling and surging. He waved a hand, sending a thick beam of energy crashing toward Director Meow.
"Die, black cat!"
Director Meow didn't move. She simply lifted a paw, and a golden shield of light condensed in front of her.
Boom!
The dual-colored energy beam slammed into the golden shield. The violent Chaos force exploded instantly, kicking up dust and black debris. The blinding light illuminated the entire abandoned plaza, and even the air was distorted and shaken by the aftershock of the collision, emitting a piercing screech.
Byrne and Marco instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. Even from several hundred meters away, they could feel the massive energy impact. The ground beneath their feet trembled.
However, when the dust settled, the light shield Director Meow had casually summoned remained perfectly intact. She didn't even glance at the settling dust, continuing to lick her paw slowly. Her mismatched eyes were full of playfulness, as if Lacy's full-power strike were nothing more than a child's prank.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The mutated Lacy let out a maddened roar. His eyes, a mix of crimson and green, were wide with disbelief. He had forcibly absorbed the Heart of Soul-Devouring and endured the agonizing pain of energy backlash to obtain this surging power, yet he was still unable to land a single blow on this black cat.
Refusing to give up, Lacy blurred and appeared in front of Director Meow. Both claws swung out, carrying violent Chaos energy as he lunged at her. The claws tore through the air with a soul-rending whistle, the blue-black tips gleaming with a dual-colored chill as they aimed straight for the cat's small body.
Lacy's eyes were filled with madness. He had bet everything. The agonizing pain in his meridians and the burning sensation from the Chaos backlash were all channeled into a mountain of hatred.
But this obsession, in the face of an absolute gap in strength, was ultimately in vain.