Defend your ally.

Space warps your peripheral as you step through one position in space to another. From your perspective, one moment you're behind your allies, and the next, you're inches from a bare chest and a very panicked young woman. Though from her perspective, she hardly was able to complete her sentence before a demon was in front of her--hand on her weapon, aiming its tip towards the sky. There's nothing else she can do but release the conjured crossbow and attempt escape. Your feet hit the water with a booming splash, rippling into a torrent of splashing water with the frantic movements of her own feet backwards.

"Conjure Short Sword!" calls out the woman, mustering up her mana with impressive speed. She pulls from thin air a weapon in similar length to yours, though of course the one she wields is made from magic. She grips the handle and aims the pulsing blue tip towards you, though she looks rather panicked. It seems you were incredibly underestimated.

Instead of striking with your own weapon, you redirect her thrust with the flat of your blade, catch her arm, and pivot around to drive your foot into her backside. Now from this angle, you can see there is in fact a drawing on her ass--two items crossing over, one a cane, the other a jagged dagger. She falls face-first into the river. She sword she conjured drops from her grip, whether on purpose or not--now just a glow partly buried in dirt and rocks.

"The Crookblade Bandits, huh?" you ask.

She looks up at you, snivelling. Then her eyes focus intently on your face. "You're--" Suddenly struck with fear, she activates her magic ring. You watch the trick before your eyes. It doesn't turn her invisible at all. Instead, she shapeshifts into a fish! It happens so quickly that it takes you completely off guard. It isn't easy to spot a fish darting through water, and it's even more challenging to catch it, especially when it's trying to get away. The bandit swims straight between your feet and back upstream.

Though she doesn't get far.

With yet another lightning-quick grab, Snow snatches the fleeing fish with one hand. It flails wildly.

Niki, right at the edge of the river, clenches her teeth. "Grrr. That chick thinks she can just get away with threatening Eva? Bring her over here. I have more than enough room for another snack."

As Snow walks the captured thief over to shore along with the others, she looks closely into her bulging fish eyes. "I don't think we need to do anything like that. If I had to guess, this isn't just a different shape she's taken. Like a druid, she's become a fish."

"Ooh. So that means," Eva says while creeping in closer. "She can't breathe." A terrifying grin stretches across her face.

"Was that a known bandit group or something?" Xiaoqing asks.

"I don't know about it, so I assume they aren't from Tivera. Though I guess I don't know all the gangs back home either," you answer.

Meanwhile, the fish's state of panic reaches its apex. As Eva said, the bandit in Snow's clutches can't breathe for long without being submerged in water.

Eva takes deep inhales, exasperatingly puffing out her chest as she does. "Aaahhh. This air feels so good~!"

Then in a flash, the fish drops to the ground and transforms fully back into a human woman, right next to the smouldering campfire. She gasps for oxygen, and looks up in terror at all who surround her, partly due to her life being in danger, but also once again, she's exposed to the world. "Y-You all really are monsters!"

"Hey! You started it," Eva snaps back.

The girl's eyes return to you once more. "I can't believe it... You. It's you."

"Me?" you ask. "I don't think I know you, sorry."

"I've seen your face, but we haven't met in person. You're the Demon King, Kyle Warren. No wonder I didn't stand a chance. Oh what horrendous luck! I go to shake down some adventurers, and of course it's the damn Demon King of Tivera. This is like some sort of twisted divine punishment."

"Those wanted posters... You know, a lot has happened since then."

"A lot more people are going with Hero King now," says Niki.

"... or Ero King," whispers Eva with a tiny smirk.

"I don't care what you call yourself. Can you help me?" she asks.

"Pardon me, but what do you mean by help? You just tried to rob us blind," you say. "We should be tying you up here for the next adventurers to find."

"No!" She gasps, sitting up to pull her legs up against her naked body. "N-Not that. It's just that... Well, you being the Demon King may be divine punishment for me, but it also might be divine intervention for us. Our leader loves Demon Kings, but I think she especially has an interest in you. I've seen it. Like that picture in her hut. Ah, I really messed this up. You're not gonna help us out after what I did."

"What help could bandits want?" asks Xiaoqing. "Besides stealing from trade caravans."

"It has nothing to do with us being bandits! There's something wrong with our leader."

You sigh and look to Niki. "Restrain her for a minute. We're gonna have a huddle."

"Aye aye!" Niki responds, plucking the girl from the ground.

The rest of you--Snow, Amara, Eva, Xiaoqing, and yourself--gather a short distance away and whisper to one another in a circle.

"Again, we've ended up in a weird situation," you say to them.

"I think we should keep her naked, tie her to the bridge, and let people who pass by get a real treat," says Eva.

"Th-That is a bit too much," Amara responds. "We are not the villains."

"Eva. Are you just projecting again?" you ask.

"No!" she shouts, breaking the entire point of the huddle for a moment. "I mean, no. But yeah you're right. Maybe that's too far."

"It's interesting that this bandit group seems to know of you, Kyle," says Snow. "I suppose your influence has spread beyond the boundaries of the Empire."

Xiaoqing looks to you. "In my opinion, we should at least hear her out. I'm not saying to forgive her for threatening us, but it sounds like something is genuinely wrong."

"I wish to help people in need," says Amara even softer than the rest. "I think if it were my mother, she would at least attempt to offer aid."

To be fair, several of the people at Castle Phoenix have tried to attack us in the past.

You nod, break the huddle, and then turn back to the two by the smoky remains of the flame. Though when you do, your eyebrow raises. It seems Niki definitely took your command to heart. They've moved closer to the emus, and to make sure she doesn't escape, the bandit has been bound by ropes, and not exactly in the way a sane person would expect. Around her chest, between her legs--from top to bottom, she'd been bound in bondage. Her face is flushed red, **** to no longer still be exposed, but in such an erotic manner, with absolutely no way now to cover herself up. She yanks, but it's far too tight. Her arms wiggle behind her back, though any attempt to escape is futile.

"... Uhm. What's uh, all this?" you ask.

"You said to restrain her," answers Niki.

"You sure do have intricate knowledge on how to tie ropes like that."

"Well yeah. I'm an adventurer."

"You cannot look me in the eyes and say you're being serious right now."

She stares at you. After a moment, colour starts to fill her cheeks. "... I'm s-serious," she mutters.