["The bandits? Were they strong?"]
Niall sighed.
"More than bandits should be. If I'm being honest, the only one's that can really take them on are Lyla and myself. Nora and Kyra could fight them, but they would eventually be overwhelmed. It isn't something I'd like to imagine."
["As they are bandits, I would assume that they were given quite a bit of leeway in their activities. Especially being commanded by the Church's officials."]
Niall's ears perked up as he heard voices approaching him. The loudest seemed terrified.
"Wh-where is she?! I can't... not again!"
"Calm down! She should be here somewhere!"
"I smell her."
The hurried feet came closer, leaving Niall only enough time to sit up and shout.
"Stay back!"
His efforts were fruitless as the three tread too close. Under their feet, an Aura Trap lit up with a vibrant green. While the three girls were stunned by the shining light, Niall dug his fingers into the ground. Three small tornadoes surrounded them a countless blades of wind shredded the area they stepped on. Their screams left Niall's blood cold as he launched to his feet. By the time he reached them, the blades of wind had faded along with the protective tornadoes.
"Uh... oh."
Niall was stunned into silence, his face turning scarlet. The three girls were perfectly fine, aside from the shredded clothing they wore. Their skin peeked from between the cloth, leaving little to his imagination as he oggled the girls.
"Stop staring you pervert!"
Nora was the first to react, however Kyra and Lyla were confused by her reaction.
"Nora... did you forget?"
The muscular girl was bright red as she attempted to hold the torn cloth over her extremities.
"Bite me!"
Kyra glanced at Lyla who obliged, taking a quick nibble on the toned forearm of Nora. She shrieked, releasing her clothes and holding the barely bitten arm.
"I wasn't serious!"
Niall wiped his nose, worried blood may spurt out at any time.
'I know it only happens in anime and manga, but this world is adapted from a dating sim game!'
["Dear sweet and innocent Aveline, if you play your cards right... keep in mind what you can do with these girls later on. Maybe you can be the one to bite Nora's muscles. Or even... oops."]
Niall's persona fell away as Aveline grabbed her nose. A small trail of red began to slip between her fingers while her face was a blazing scarlet. Kyra had a worried look on her face, while Lyla quickly approached her. The foxkin sniffed and suddenly had a tiny smirk. Taking this chance, she closed in on Aveline's ear.
"Keep your naughty thoughts more hidden. I can smell what you want, but I don't mind sharing you with them."
The mischievous twinkle in her eyes faded as she stepped around Aveline, pressing her breasts against her arm as she did.
"Aveline..."
Kyra finally approached in time for Aveline to throw spare clothing at her. Their supplies and extra clothing, as well as food and money were placed in a storage space created with Aveline's Dark Magic. She had slipped her free hand into the space to give everyone safe clothing. She went to approach Nora last, muttering as she passed by the disappointed Kyra.
"Good thing I turned off those other traps. Kyra's body... ugh... stop thinking you horny little... ugh!"
The maid felt her face grow warm at her words, but a sudden voice brought her back to her senses.
"We got three women! Get those bitches! Kill the man!"
Niall had returned in place of Aveline as soon as he reached Nora. He looked across the smoldering plains to see a few archers ready to fire.
'Shit. If I dodge now, Nora won't have time to react.'
Shoving both hands into the rift of Dark Magic, a pair of steel gauntlets emerged adorning his arms. Without a moment's hesitation, the gauntlets were used as a shield. Metal clashed against metal as a small flurry of arrows began to snap against the solid gauntlets.
"Guh... damn!"
Niall looked down, one arrow protruding from his waist. He took his chance to peer around the gauntlets, seeing more bandits had arrived. Easily, forty men stood across the flat landscape. More than half were wielding bows, while half of that were firing once more. This time, however, Niall chose offence. He swung his hand in an open palm slap toward the air, channeling Wind Aura into the gauntlet. Just as he was about to release the blast, an arrow slipped around and pierced his elbow. The pain took him by surprise as he lost control of the attack, blasting himself backwards.
["Aveline! What happened to being able to deal with them?! Are you alright?"]
Unable to think straight, Niall's mind was attempting to find the fastest way to protect the girls. Sitting up, his eyes caught sight of something that left him rooted. Nora had her spear shoved through three men, attempting to skewer a fourth. Lyla had a feral look on her face as she flicked blood from her extended claws. Neither of these had Niall's attention. His eyes were glued to the radiantly glowing six over Kyra's head as she practically oozed rage. Her pair of blades coated in flames as she broke the bandits apart. The number had already been dropped to single digits by the time Niall heard Kyra's voice.
"If anyone hurts them ever again... your blood will be set in fire!"
Her golden eyes were filled with rage as she lopped the last bandits arms off, his bow falling to the ground. When she turned back to Niall, her face brightened in an instant. She sprinted, flames flowing from her rapid footsteps. She stopped herself, quickly going into nurse mode at the sight of the two arrows. Niall's head was swirling as he still saw the six.
["Oh... is this why she was removed from the game as a conquest? Or did you just make this girl insane about you?"]
-
"Sir! We are ready to fire on the woman with twin swords! Waiting for command!"
Standing away from the slaughter, the leader of the bandits had an annoyed sneer on his face.
"I woulda liked making her break under me, but she is dangerous. Fire at will, make sure she falls first."
His sneer turned into a sinister smile as six magically loaded cannons, aimed directly at Kyra's back, fired simultaneously.
---
Thank you,
Anna Haig!