He took it right to the face.
I don't know what I expected from the spell. It was like a ball of fire about the same size as Tippy's Firebolt, only it was deep violet in colour. Almost black.
It smashed into his face, completely ignoring his shield.
Inflict minor void damage on target. Void damage cannot be blocked or reduced.
His shield counted as blocking.
I didn't expect it to kill him, but it threw him away from me and I was able to look over to where Shadowpaw's body lay against the trailer and croak out; "Teleport."
She was still breathing, but her eyes were closed.
"Shadowpaw," I gasped. "Use your heal!"
Soft hands grabbed my own and I turned to see an angel of white fur and chocolate hair. She was dressed in a tight little nurse outfit which barely covered her panties. Her bright pink eyes and warm smile greeted me, and I felt hot tears slide freely down my cheeks.
"Kelsi?"
"Master," she said, moving her hands over me as she checked my wounds. "Where are we?"
"Earth," I said, reeling as I took in her face. "It worked?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," she giggled. "But Minxi had a new portal destination unlock, so she sent us through right away."
"Minxi?" I tried to sit up, but pain shivered through my body. I groaned.
"Sit back, Master," she said. Her hands glowed as she put them on my shoulder and I felt the familiar warmth of her healing slide into every part of my body. I felt like I was melting, only it was more pleasant.
As it finished, I nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said brightly before turning to Shadowpaw. "What's her name?"
"Shadowpaw. She's a rogue."
"Oh? Gladly will be happy. She said we don't have enough rogues." She paused. "I'm not sure Jade will be happy, though."
"She's never happy."
"That's true." She cocked her head. "But I think it's different this time, Master…"
Adding that to a list of things I could think about later, I settled back as she started to heal Shadowpaw.
I couldn't believe it had worked. All territories were able to link and citizens in each could move freely from one to the other. And Minxi, being mine, would gain the portal as an option as soon as I gained a new Territory.
She must've been notified of the change and acted.
She was so smart. I had to remember to give her the best of belly rubs.
"Master?" Tippy crept up beside me. "What's going on?"
I reached out and patted her head. Behind her, six Nekos stood in matching black uniforms which looked vaguely like a maid outfit. I could remember helping design them. I'd been happy with them at the time.
Now, I wondered if they needed updating.
"It's alright," I told her. "Everything is fine. These… These are your sisters. From Neyteria."
"Jade's coming through," one of them said suddenly. Her fur was yellow and her eyes red. Her name came to me immediately.
"Where's Minxi?" Kelsi asked suddenly, her voice tight.
"She's busy," the yellow Neko said. "Jade's coming instead."
"Felly," I smiled. "I missed you."
She nodded, but didn't say anything. Instead, the six Nekos turned to the corrupted paladin, who was unconscious on the ground. They surrounded him, taking away his weapons and binding him tight.
Good, I thought.
I'd kill him later. Maybe nail him to his trailer.
Then there was a flash of light and a Neko stepped into the world. Tall and lithe, she moved like a leopard as she came towards me. Dressed in a chainmail bikini, with a sword at one hip and a short hatchet on the other. Fur thigh-high boots.
Long green hair and green fur ears modelled after one of the jungle cats I'd killed so many of in the weeks before transforming her.
Bright green eyes twinkled as she caught my gaze.
I smiled at her.
She smiled back.
"Master," she murmured, crouching down before me. "Did you miss us?"
"So much," I said, throwing myself at her and bringing her into a hug. I held onto her like a child with a toy. "Jade, I missed you more than anything! I'm so glad you're safe."
She let me hold her for a few moments, then pulled herself loose. Glancing at Kelsi, she lifted a chin towards Shadowpaw. "How is she?"
"She'll be fine," Kelsi said. "Give her a few minutes and she'll be screaming for snacks. Where's Minxi?"
Jade gave ignored the question, turning to look Tippy up and down. "Mage?"
"Yes." Tippy sounded nervous.
"Good. Can't have enough mages."
I looked from Jade to Tippy. There was something weird about the way they spoke. Like they understood something I didn't.
But Nekos were like that. They had their own ways of communicating.
"Can you let Licorice know everything is okay, Tippy?" I gave her another headpat. "She'll be worried."
Tippy nodded. "Sure."
I sighed, feeling more relaxed than ever. I looked up at Jade. "The System sent me away right after I killed the Demon Lord. It's taken me a while to reconnect to you. What happened on Neyteria?"
Jade's gaze latched onto me. Her eyes were heavy-lidded. "You've been gone a long time, Master," she said. Her tone was odd, and Kelsi gripped my arm tightly.
"The demons didn't come back, did they?" I steeled myself for her news.
"No." She cocked her head. "Most of the remaining left on their own. The world is ours now for the most part. We're at war with Jubei, though."
I nodded, vaguely remembering that being a continent to the north. "I see. Well, I guess I'll be busy for a while, then."
"When you left, we didn't know what to do," she said, her eyes piercing. "But it was like what you always said. The System provides."
"It's true."
"It gave me a quest."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she said. "Free the Nekos"
I frowned at her, not understanding. "But you're already free. That's what I did. I freed you."
"I need to tell you something," she said, leaning closer. "And it's very important, Master, that you listen to me. Can you do that?"
I glanced at Kelsi, but she was staring at Jade with a look of growing horror.
"I always listen to you," I grumbled, feeling outnumbered. Was she going to scold me? Was this what husbands felt like when they were late home?
"I'm not her."
"What?"
"I said, I'm not her."
"I heard that, but I'm not sure what you mean."
"Meranth Cole," she said, grabbing my head and lifting it so I stared into her beautiful eyes. "Remember the name? You have the Intelligence stats, right? You keep telling us you do. So, you should be able to remember Meranth Cole."
"A mercenary," I said, frowning as an image of a hard-faced woman in bulky leather armor. "She didn't like me. She tried to kill me."
"Right." She nodded. "And I'm not her."
"I know that. You're Jade."
"But I was her."
"Oh." I shook my head. "That's confusing."
"I told you," Felly called from where she was squatting beside the corrupted paladin. Her tail gave an annoyed flick. "Wasting your time."
Jade ignored her, gripping my face tighter. "Meranth Cole died. She died the second you cast your spell on her. Do you understand that? She's dead. And you killed her."
"Jade," I winced. "This is a bit uncomfortable. Can't we do this when we get home?"
"Say it for me," she said. "Meranth Cole is dead."
"Meranth Cole is-" I cut off, remembering the night I got so angry at the mercenary. She was pushing me. Shoving me. I reached out.
Transform to Neko.
Permanently Transform Target into an obedient (and cute!) Neko. Protect her at all costs!
We were both confused as we stood inside the Neko Customization Workshop.
She'd been hissing and screaming like a fierce little jungle cat.
That's why she I'd selected green fur. Just like the jungle cats I'd spent days killing.
"Jade," I whispered. "I called you Jade."
"That's right." She nodded, her smile a bit grim. I wasn't sure what she was trying to tell me. I wished she'd just spit it out. "And then you accepted the System's prompts."
"You didn't want to make any changes."
"No. Meranth didn't. I wasn't there."
"She was very short," I said, closing my eyes as I tried to remember. "Her face was square and ugly. I fixed that for her."
"She died, Bexley. The moment you accepted the prompts. You killed her. And I replaced her."
"No. I don't kill Nekos." I squirmed, but she wouldn't let me go. On this world, I had less Strength than her. That was annoying. "I protect them!"
"Yes, but she wasn't a Neko then, was she? She was a person. A real person. She had a lover. You made me kill him."
"I freed you."
"By killing her!" She let me go and got to her feet. "My quest is simple. I need to free the Nekos so we can be accepted by the System as a new Race. That'll let us breed. And spread. The System wants us to spread."
"I know," I said, a little put out by her tone. "I got a quest to populate this world with Nekos. I was trying to do that."
"We can do it faster."
"Not yet," I told her. "I was preparing everything. First, I thought we should use fashion and internet trends to get people used to seeing ears and tails. They'd think it was a fashion choice. It'd be too late for them to do anything when they realise it's not."
Jade looked down at Tippy. "Do you understand that?"
"Sort of." She shrugged. "Licorice and Caramel will know more about that."
"Okay." She pulled out her hatchet and stared at me. Her eyes held something in them I couldn't recognise. "I'm not her, Bexley. But I have some of her memories."
"Jade," Kelsi said, her voice rising sharply. "What are you doing?"
"Get out of the way, Kelsi."
"It's okay," I said, patting Kelsi's hand. I stared up at Jade, smiling as wide as I could. I understood now. I understood it all. It made perfect sense. I had to protect her. I had to protect them all. "I'm sorry."
"I know."
And then, with one swing, she beheaded me.