Skolpis... the evolution of a praying mantis.
Bast leapt back with a burst of strength leveraging her spear against the sickle blade appendages of the Skolpis, taking a proper look.
She's read about them from the Monster Codex her father had from his mercenary days, but this was her first time seeing one.
Silver blades, and a black body! It's body was segmented with cracks in the armor for movement, just like any bug... but way bigger.
It's carapace-exoskeleton reflected the light off its dark surface, and two smaller "arms" between is blade arms seemed to spin out and connect together faint blue-silver threads like spider-silk together.
'Armored body, blade arms, fast movement with 4 legs, sticky and damn hard to break silk, a monster of darkness and water, likes to live in damp and dark caves beneath the ground.'
The fuck is a Skolpis doing in the desert?!
It twitched it's head in a sudden jerking motion, insect like and disturbing.
[You... do not smell... like the rest.]
Bast blinked. Was it... talking?
[You smell... succulent.]
"Ah. So we aren't going to talk this out then."
Heat began to shimmer once again in the spear, this time truly meant to be an attack.
'Darkness and water, not only the opposites of my elements, but while light and darkness do counter one another, water is the undoubted weakness of fire!'
'If it uses water magic I can use light to counter, but it's dark will counter my light!'
Well. Here's hoping all those raining bouts with Kire, another water user, would pay off here.
Junior backed away to the gate, yet stayed there, an odd choice considering the fight or flight instinct should have sent him running.
Silence as a slow wind swirled some of the errant dust and loose sand formed from the rock...
Bast and the Skorpis stared each other down, one with heat sinking into the spears and producing shimmers in the air, but with no light or fire shown off.
Consolidated, concentrated power. Ready to explode.
Meanwhile the Skolpis crouched in its four legs, its arm flexibly bending in ways a mantis's could not, with some joints going to the full on reverse of what way you'd expect them to bend, allowing it to hold the blade out and towards the ground diagonally, with the curving edge towards Bast.
"BANG!"
Bast shot off again!
Heat and light exploded from the spear as she released it in an explosion as she thrust with all the strength of fire fusion!
A veil of water began to flow off the Skolpis's blade, and as it swung to meet the spear the energy began to release in Bast's explosion!
While it's eyes could not widen, a noticeable jerky-freeze occurred as it suddenly drove its 4 scuttling insect legs to throw itself out of the way!
Bast used the force of the explosion as it completely missed to throw herself back as the Skolpis scuttled in from the side, trying to slice open her stomach!
Bast landed in a backwards roll, coming up with the spear ready to impale the charging Skolpis.
Except it didn't keep charging, but the veil of water followed its blade like a ribbon as it slashed at empty space, and the veil shot out from the swing!
'Fuck!'
A pulse of light shot out from the spear, splitting the water blade and flying at the Skolpis, only for it to release a cloud of darkness that the shard of light sunk into, disappearing as they negated one another.
There was no respite as the Skolpis came right for her!
Fire magic filled her entire body as her skin began to glow from the inside, making it so her bones and veins were actually visible as dark shadows against the red light from within!
The Skolpis made a stutter step as it hesitated.
[What this?!] it exclaimed as it felt a wave of heat instantly dry the air around it, sucking the moisture off it's exoskeleton.
Darkness magic began to leak out form the cracks in the exoskeleton, but that just told Bast where the openings were!
One last time!
"BANG!"
Yet again, charge with fire fusion!
And as she reached it, the two blades cut towards her!
She grinned as one of her hands let go of the spear... and two lines of light suddenly shot out, wrapping around the blades and shooting across from one another, binding the blades and the Skolpis's legs together in a spiderweb of light!
Before it could use darkness to destroy the bindings, the spear thrust for the crack in its neck!
"Zah!" Blue silver silk shot out, creating a web-like barrier covering itself bound to the strong armored points of its body to prevent Bast from piercing a crack!
Bast's smile widened into one full of teeth.
'That's not my target!'
And the spear lifted slightly mid thrust...
And stabbed right into one of the multifaceted pitch black eyes!
The mandibles opened, the beginning of a screech!
"SKREH-BOOOOOOOOM!"
The explosion of flame ripping its head open from the inside out prevented it from finishing.
The now headless Skolpis slowly fell, its legs collapsing.
Bast jumped back just in case, unsure if this insectoid was the type to fake death and could survive without a head.
As it stayed twitching slightly but clearly dead, Bast relaxed a little.
'Right, the headless ones are the Bakaren, evolved cockroaches. Not Skolpis.'
She looked around and clicked her tongue, and Junior came over.
"How did a Skolpis get out here? I get they can come from grasslands, but the grass isn't tall enough back there... and nothing over here should attract them."
She thought more. "In fact, if a Skolpis was born in the grasslands despite the unfavorable conditions, wouldn't they head to the mountain streams and caves?"
She looked to Junior, who flicked an ear.
"Yeah, I dunno either."
'Well... might as well see if we can find any supplies. I haven't seen any blood or dead bodies though...'
Bast froze. "Oh fuck. Right, Skolpis venom liquifies their prey."