I will return

61

I closed my eyes for the last time, concentrating on my original body. The familiarity and power of the Daemon Ritus coursed through me, and I felt an electricity course through my veins as I opened my eyes again from my true form. Still, I couldn't miss the panicked look on N' Goo Tuana's face. His face paled when he saw that the Daemon Ritus was shining on my chest, and that, without waiting, I placed it right in the center, where it had always belonged.

"Oh, easy, N' Goo," I said softly. "This time he only has a little energy." I remembered the first time I used this artifact and the adrenaline I had felt while taking the souls. But this time, instead of getting lost in the madness, I felt complete control.

I began the transformation, slowly, almost with cold pleasure. My arms lengthened, my legs grew, and I felt the weight of new muscles forming in my chest. The little legs stretched out, transforming into giant hands with sharp claws, and a strong tail extended behind me. My head, meanwhile, elongated, taking on the shape of a powerful skull, almost like a tyrannosaurus.

Seeing my new height of more than two meters and my enormous skull, N' Goo Tuana backed up until he crashed into the ring, not even daring to say a word.

"Don't worry, this is just the number of souls I have collected in the past five days. "More than half the town is in the bathtub of my house now." I looked at him with amusement as realization and horror seeped into his eyes.

Wasting no time, I jumped into the ring, landing right in front of him. I looked at him for a second before kicking him with all the strength of my new legs. I saw him roll on the floor before stopping on the other side of the ring. He staggered as he tried to get up, stammering: "No... this... it can't be..."

"Of course it can be, N' Goo. It's not the same when you face someone your size." I pushed him with one hand, sending him to the other end of the ring.

I approached again, slowly, and saw him try to say something. "It's funny, N' Goo Tuana. You were the most loyal of all," I reminded him. "It was you who took out the souls, who made sure that the Daemon Ritus was in its place. "You notified me of every movement of the Mystery Inc guys." Again I pushed him to the ground, and this time he fell harder.

His voice was barely a whisper as he confessed: "I was afraid that... that you would steal my soul..."

I leaned toward him, with a sharp whisper. "I offered you a high position, N' Goo, but you turned it down. "I could have given you a continent of your own, but you decided to kick me into the ground when I was powerless instead of helping me."

This time I threw it against the audience's chairs. His body collided with the seats, and metal chairs scattered everywhere, the metallic sound echoing in the empty stadium.

I approached once more, the amusement fading as the thirst for revenge grew within me. "And now, it's time for you to pay for your betrayal," I said with an icy smile, opening the Daemon Ritus in front of him.

N' Goo Tuana let out a scream, his words drowned in terror. "Noooo!" It was his last word, a desperate wail before the Daemon Ritus began to absorb his soul, its energy fusing with my body, feeding every muscle, every fiber of my being.