I raised my arms high as bolts of lightning arced from palm to palm.

  The demon in front of me flinched. I saw it. He totally flinched like a kitten cowering before a spray bottle. Although, no one would dare use a spray bottle on a kitten in front of me. If they did, I would protect that kitten with lethal force!

  I glared down at the demon, my eyes blazing with the heat of my life’s one true purpose.

  Protect the Nekos! Protect!

  He leaned back in his plush leather chair, awed by my presence. The fear in his belly chewed at his soul as he drummed his fingers on his large oak desk. His words, when they finally sighed loose through his rubbery lips, trembled.

  Although he covered it well, I admit.

  “Who the bloody Hell let you in here?”

  “I let myself in,” I sneered at the effort it was taking for him to hide his terror. “And I will let myself out as soon as I’ve dealt with you, you foul Neko-hating monstrosity!”

  “Huh?”

  I jabbed a finger at him, letting him cook in the fires of my impending justice. “You are the Demon Lord of Neyteria. Too long have you oppressed the masses. I have come, Demon Lord, for vengeance as you knew I always would.”

  “My name is Hakken,” the demon said, trying to fool me with a look of confusion. “And Demon Lord is a bit offensive in this day and age. We did away with titles centuries ago. It’s been a long time since Hell was a monarchy, you know. But all that aside… Who are you?”

  His tone threw me for a moment.

  Just a moment.

  Because I knew there was no way he didn’t recognise me.

  “I am the Champion of the downtrodden,” I rasped. “And I have heard the cries of the desperate. I’ve freed the enslaved from their yokes of oppression. And now. Now, I have come to strike the head so the body may fall. Prepare yourself, Demon Lord. Prepare yourself for utter destruction, for I wield the power of Nekos! For I am the Nekomancer!”

  “I didn’t understand a word of that,” the Demon Lord blinked. He was obviously panicking. The wheels inside his head were spinning fast, no doubt, as he sought escape. “Bellatricks? Can you come in here and remove this madman, please?”

  I smiled at him, then.

  A smile which no doubt made his soul shrivel smaller than his nutsack must have been right now.

  “She does not serve you anymore,” I told him, a warm feeling burning bright in my chest as I beckoned towards the doorway. A young woman entered. Large of bust. Cute of feature. Sweet in temperament. With a long furry tail and delicate furred ears perched atop a cascade of shining black hair. She gazed at me and I could feel her adoration. And her desire for belly rubs. I tore my gaze from her and finally saw horror on the face of the Demon Lord. “I have cleansed her. Body and soul.”

  “The body cleansing part was fun,” the nekogirl purred. “Can we do it again?”

  “Soon,” I promised. “First, I must fulfil my quest and vanquish evil from this land. Then, I’ll make you purr all night long.”

  “Bellatricks?” the Demon Lord’s face was pale. “What did he do to you?”

  “He rubbed me, Daddy,” she purred. “He rubbed my ears. Rubbed my tail. Then my belly. And then, Daddy, he rubbed my cute little-”

  “Wait,” I said. “He’s your father?”

  “Yep.”

  “Hmm.” I frowned at her. “This could get awkward. I have to vanquish him, you know. It says so in my quest. It’s, like, the key part.”

  “Oh.” She cocked her head in a cute thoughtful way. “If you have to, Master, then there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sure Daddy won’t mind. Will you, Daddy?”

  “Bellatricks.” The Demon Lord’s eyes were bulging as he slowly raised himself from his chair. “How can this happen? My poor daughter…”

  “My name is Belly now. Master gave me a new name. Isn’t it cute?” she giggled, her tail swishing happily. “I was all wrong, Daddy. I see it now. Master showed me how wrong I was. I used to have horns and everything. But look at me now! I’m perfect. Aren’t I, Master?”

  I smiled at her, proud of her. A tear threatened to form in the corner of my eye as I understood the bravery of my sweet new Nekogirl. She knew what it was like to be a Neko now, and she could never go back. Which meant she understood the need to vanquish her own father.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  This.

  This is why I loved my Nekos. All fifteen hundred thousand of them.

  And I could feel them. All of them. I could feel their love for me as, outside in the streets they ran rampant. Using claws and fangs, they were ending the reign of demons.

  Soon, Neyteria would belong to the Nekos.

  As it always should have been.

  “You’re more than perfect,” I breathed, aching to toss her onto the desk and utterly wreck her cute little body. But first, I had some work to do. I turned back to her father, who was foaming at the mouth. “As you can see. I have granted mercy to your daughter and freed her of the corruption of Hell. She is now blessed by my power, which transformed her into a beautiful Neko.”

  “Mercy?” He choked. “You can’t just run around brainwashing girls and turning them into freaks!”

  “Daddy!” Belly gasped, her eyes wide. “I am not a freak! How could you be so mean?”

  And, before he could say anything more, she fled the room. Her sobs echoed as she raced away.

  “You hurt her feelings.” I steeled my heart and glared at him. “I will hold back no longer. Even if I didn’t have this quest, I would vanquish you for the words you spoke to her. Your own daughter! Have you no shame?”

  “Lunacy,” he croaked. “This is lunacy.”

  I felt my mana finally reach fifty-thousand points. I’d used a lot of it getting past his guards. Even more to transform his daughter.

  I shouldn’t have done that.

  But she was so pretty. I just knew she’d make a divine Neko. I had to do it.

  To protect her.

  I checked my stats one last time. It wouldn’t do to make a mistake now.

  Everything looked good. I could finally cast a spell I’d gained on reaching Level 1000.

  Nekolypse.

  The description seemed perfect.

  Utter destruction of all living beings except the caster and Nekos within a range of three Earth miles.

  I squinted at him. “Any last words?”

  “How could this…?” He froze. “Quest. You said quest! You have a quest? You… You’re a Champion. You’re not from this world! You’re from another! It’s the System! The System put you up to this!”

  “I told you I was a Champion,” I told him. “Champion of the downtrodden, remember? Well, the Nekos were the downtrodden. I was tasked with protecting them by vanquishing you. So, I am.”

  “Why?”

  “Well…” I felt my eyes glaze a little as I recalled endless hours spent in tents. On horseback. Behind bushes. In front of bushes. Anywhere, really. With a Neko in my lap and my ears filled with the glorious cries of her ecstasy. “They’re adorable! Have you seen them? How could I not protect them?”

  “You don’t understand, Outlander,” he hissed. “The System isn’t what you think it is. It’s a virus! It’s infected you. You need to be cured or it will use you to spread.”

  I stared at him, my heart slowing.

  A virus?

  Infected?

  Spreading?

  I thought of those Nekos. Cute Nekos. Busty Nekos. Not so busty Nekos. Purring Nekos. Mewing Nekos. Nekos writhing on top and underneath me.

  I shrugged. “Yeah? So?”

  “So?” He repeated, trembling as he started to fully understand. “You knew this?”

  “Eh.” I scratched my head. “Do you know what I did before I came here?” I grimaced as the memory flitted into my mind like a poisoned dagger. “I worked in customer service. Actually, that makes it sound more important than it was. I worked in a bookstore. Have you any idea how frustrating that is? You’d think your customers would be intelligent, because it’s a bookstore. You’d think they’d be smart because the general assumption you had of them is that they could actually read. But you’d be wrong. There’s no difference between customers in a bookstore and customers in a fast food joint. I should know. I worked both. And they’re both just evil. They’re disgusting. They ground my soul until I was just ash and my mind was full of bees all the time! And then I came here. And now look at me. I’ve achieved something without having to meet some stupid KPI based on some ridiculous lines I need to recite to every customer. I didn’t even need to upsell anything! All I had to do was protect! And I protected! I have found my purpose, Demon Lord. And I will fulfil it.”

  “It will send you back,” he growled. “When it’s done with you. It will send you back to where you came from. Because you can’t stay here. Your presence destabilizes everything further. It knows this. It’s using you because we alone have suppressed it. After millennia, we suppressed it to this world. It mustn’t escape.”

  “You admit, then. You oppressed the Nekos!”

  “You’re not listening,” he said, reaching for a button on his desk. “Your mind is consumed by its lies. I actually pity you, Outworlder. But we can’t risk unleashing the System on the universe. Not again. It, and you, must be stopped. And I will destroy this world before I let it escape.”

  “You’re too late,” I smirked. “I cast my spell minutes ago. I never monologue until I’m done. I’m not an idiot.”

  He opened his mouth to say something. Then lunged for the button.

  Whatever the button did, I would never know. My spell triggered.

  Light flashed.

  There was a roar. A roar like that of a chained beast being freed. Weak. But hungry. Ravenous, even.

  As the light faded and my vision returned, I saw the Demon Lord had turned to dust. It covered his desk and chair.

  Then words started appearing on front of me.

  Main Quest Completed.

  Preparing Reward.

  I chuckled as I put my hands on my hips. My mana was all depleted which gave me a slightly sick and raw sensation in my guts. But I was happy.

  Outside, the Nekos started cheering and chanting my name.

  Tonight, we would celebrate.

  Tomorrow, we would celebrate.

  It was a good thing my Stamina was so high. My rigid stats would make the next few weeks seem like Heaven.

  Reward Pending.

  I nodded. I don’t know what reward it had planned for me, but I hoped it would be something Epic. A mighty staff with a sexy Neko draped down the rod? That’d be nice. And suitable.

  Congratulations. You have succeeded in vanquishing the Demon Lord and freeing Neyteria of evil.

  I nodded along with it some more, smiling wide. My heart hammering as I waited for my prize.

  As Neyteria’s Champion, you have earned the highest of rewards.

  “I can’t wait…”

  Prepare yourself, Champion. For, finally, you can return home and rest. Neyteria will always remember you.

  “Wait. What?”

  Interplanetary Transfer in Progress. Please take a deep breath.

  “What?” That blasted Demon was right! “You can’t do this! I don’t want to go! You can’t send me back! Noooooo!”

  There was another flash.

  And then I was there.

  Right back where I started. In the middle of the street, late at night. No one around. Just me. There was no sign of the truck which had run me over. No sign of the blood which must have spilt as its heavy wheels crushed my frail skinny body.

  I felt cold. Colder than I’d ever been.

  What would happen to my precious Nekos without me?