Chapter 8: Hearts and Breasts
"Damn, what brothel did you walk out from?!" The bearded guy asked, "even our slutty Viola still has some decency left!"
He slapped the brunette's butt, to which she replied with a hiss before drawing her sword.
"Get out of here, girl. This innkeeper didn't pay the blackhearts for protection. It was his mistake," the stoneborn spit on the ground in disrespect, "therefore, he'll have to pay much more now."
"Wasn't I clear enough? I said to let the man go," Katrina freed her blade and took a step forward, "or I will force you to."
Another fit of laughter followed. The bearded man suddenly dropped the poor innkeeper down, right into the mud, and turned his attention towards Katrina. He apologized with sarcastic mannerisms and said that he'd like to spend some more time with her, clearly allured by the redhead's magnificent nakedness.
"Of course, my dear sir, take a step closer," Katrina sang in a playful tone.
The man scratched his beard and, despite his fellow criminals' warnings, moved a bit closer. This was a terrible mistake. As soon as he was in a hitting range, Katrina swung her sword at a lightning speed and delivered a masterful slash. The blood gushed from the wound, the bearded guy screamed in sheer anguish, and one of his hands fell to the ground, chopped off by a precise strike. As his comrades were gathering their thoughts, the crazed axeman tried to attack and swung his axe, but the slow and heavy weapon didn't reach Katrina's bare flesh. She evaded and slashed again, this time blood gushed out of the man's neck as he fell to his knees with gurgling sounds.
"I warned ya!" The redhead said in a satisfied tone, "anyone wants to repeat his fate?"
They answered with their actions, as both the stoneborn and a scantily clad brunette rushed towards Katrina with hate in their eyes. They tried to attack from both sides, but the girl ducked, forcing the brunette to hit her companion. The sword bounced off the stoneman's arm with a loud clang. His skin surely was something else. Yet, Katrina didn't hesitate and kicked the woman in the jaw at full force, spreading the mud all over her face. As the redhead got up, she saw the crossbow guy aiming at her. Before the bolts could hit, however, she changed position and forced the stoneborn to take one of the shots instead of her. He grunted in pain as one of the bolts pierced his shoulder and caused the dark blood to leak out.
"Hey, stop hitting me, you cretin!" He barked at his companion, who flinched in fear.
Katrina tried attacking again, but the stoneborn evaded. Then, the criminal gathered his strength and hit Katrina in the jaw with all his might. The redhead felt a salty taste spread in her mouth as she fell down on the road, nearly losing her sword. Before she could regroup, the stoneborn tackled her, forcing her to land into the mud face-first.
"Now-now, stop trying! I've got you now, hottie, and I'll do whatever the heck I'll please with ya!" He delivered a knee to Katrina's stomach, causing her to cough from the pain. Then, the man grabbed both of the nudie's arms and drove them to the ground with a sick smile.
"Hottie? You are totally right!" Katrina grinned with a trickle of blood leaving her mouth, and activated her magic.
The fireball she created with her hands hit the stoneborn right in the face, causing him to contort in unspeakable agony. The stonefolk were mostly fireproof, but more delicate parts of their bodies such as eyes and mouths were not, so Katrina had to catch him by surprise. The crossbowman fired again, but the redhead used the stoneman as a human shield once more, causing him to catch both bolts right into his buttocks.
Suddenly, the muscular, manly stoneborn changed. As he got up from Katrina's body, he screamed and ran away, desperately calling his mom in the meekest voice the girl ever heard. Katrina raised her brow for a second, who could've known that this curt and sullen man hid such a fickle personality? Perhaps, nobody in the past could pose a challenge to him. However, there wasn't much to celebrate, as other criminals kept coming at her.
"Beld! Help me to take them out! Beld?!" Katrina looked around, realizing that her blonde friend was nowhere to be seen.
"Freaking coward," she mumbled to herself as the crossbowman was readying his next shot.
The naked warrior jumped up to continue and saw a shining blade moving towards her. In the next second, her sword clashed with the brunette's one. The enemy tried to lunge again, but the redhead parried.
"Don't you think you are a tad overclothed?" Katrina smiled and quickly slashed in such a way that her sword only destroyed the girl's bra.
The top part of Viola's "armor" fell off, forcing her to cover her boobs with a shy sigh.
"Viola?! Keep fighting, come on, we have to hold it together!" The crossbowman shouted at the top of his lungs. He took some time to recharge and desperately needed cover.
"How dare you destroy my exquisite armor?!" Viola grunted and tried attacking again, but Katrina's trusted blade parried once more.
The redhead moved fast and grabbed her enemy's panties with a free hand. With a sound of ripping fabric Viola's undies were destroyed, part of them remained in the warrior's hand.
"You... You..." Viola was clearly mad, her cheeks all rosy from shame and anger, but Katrina replied by simply kicking her butt with all her strength and sending her flying into the mud.
The naked warrior ducked again as the bolts flew above her head. Her stomach and jaw were in horrible pain, but she did her best to suck it up and keep going. Too bad she didn't bring Sophia here, that priestess would've been very useful. But maybe it was for the best, as the blonde didn't have Katrina's reflexes and could get hurt.
For some reason, Sophia's fate specifically concerned the redhead a lot, must've been that feeling of partnership they developed last night. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by yet another slash. The brunette came back, all grey from the dirt and entirely naked save for her gloves and boots. There was some sort of primordial anger in her eyes, she wasn't going to run.
"Sorry, I gave you a chance!" Katrina masterfully dodged the next attack and swung her own sword.
The blade quickly went through Viola's tender body. In the next second, the bloodied brunette slowly fell down with a somber deathrattle. Fighting naked was an art, Katrina thought, not everyone could do it properly. Now that this trio was gone, the redhead was about to turn her attention toward the crossbowman, but something prevented her. It felt like shackles suddenly appeared on the redhead's hands and ankles, forcing her to stay still. She looked down at her nude body and realized that these body parts were surrounded by odd purple circles. Magic, no doubt about it. But who could cast it here?
Katrina looked around and froze in surprise as she saw the fifth member of the gang. It was a large man with a balding head and an ugly face, didn't look like he posed any threat whatsoever. But what he was holding on a leash wasn't a dog. It wasn't an animal at all, but a human girl! She was clad in a dirty, ripped magic robe, her skin was pale and her eyes were murky from the craze. There was mud all over her because she was walking on all fours. The leash itself turned out to be a chain that ended with a metal collar on the girl's neck.
"Good girl," the fatso said and pulled the chain, "now do one more!"
The crazed mage student gruntled and roared. Her arms twitched in a violent outburst, and suddenly the circle around Katrina's sword arm became a lot heavier, forcing her to lower the limb.
"What are you doing to her, you sick bastard?!" The redhead shouted at him.
"Nothing too bad," the man smirked, "just using her abilities for myself. Found her near our camp one day, she was all crazy, mumbled insane shit, had these creepy, demonic seizures... Other folks were afraid, but not me. I like to take the opportunity when I see it. Maybe, when I'm done with you, I'll get you the same collar!"
"Try it, you lowlife!" Katrina spit out some blood with contempt, "but I think that by the time I'm done with you, you'll actually wish to have the same fate as your enslaved mage."
A tough situation. She now had to kill that bald man without hurting the poor mage student. Besides, there was still that crossbowman to deal with. Katrina furrowed her brow and decided that enough was enough. Fighting the chaining magic, the redhead activated the flames and lit herself on fire along with everything around her. Luckily, she was far enough from the inn to keep it safe, but the broken haycart and a couple of dead trees still had to be sacrificed. Katrina was good at understanding the fire and how it moved, so she wouldn't allow it to consume everything. But the criminals didn't know that about her.
"What in tarnation is she doing?!" The crossbowman's hands became shaky and he dropped his next pair of bolts.
The fatso pulled the chain very tight, causing the poor girl to cough and forcing her to cast the spell again. Before she did that, however, Katrina used her free leg and tossed the haycart's flaming wheel right at the hooded shooter. He barely evaded, but his dark hood caught fire. With screams and panic, the man dropped his crossbows and fell on the road, rolling around to extinguish the hungry flame. A fast fireball would've been better here, but the nude warrior didn't feel like risking a massive wildfire over these scumbags.
Suddenly, Katrina felt her second arm get heavier due to the chaining spell. It was hard to keep them, so the redhead opted to drop her weapon and stand on all fours. She was feeling very goofy, standing like an animal in the mud with her majestic naked butt up in the air. However, the pure confidence in her piercing gaze made her look as threatening and serious as ever. She leaped forward akin to a feral predator who has locked sights on its hopeless prey. The crazy mage cast again, forcing Katrina to drop down to her knees as if bowing down to the ugly man. However, at the last second, she managed to grab the chain. With her hands lit on fire, Katrina made the metal very hot and forced the man to drop the chain.
