THE BATTLE WITH THE SCORPION MEN
"We could have done that outside before we reached this mountain, what is the purpose of coming down here?" Iviar asked again.
"Yes, Oriese, why did you bring us down here?" Iras asked me.
"You insisted on joining me on my mission. My mission from the Supreme Conjurer is here in this temple", I replied to him.
"Be prepared for battle, the bloody stones are waking up", Sara shouted out to us.
Soon, the stones on the Aqrabuamelu statues around us cracked and peeled, revealing living scorpion men inside. Our presence in the temple awakened them. They were the guardians of this temple.
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Suddenly, a magical force field was summoned before us. Iras conjured a magical dome to cover and protect all of us.
"Rawwwrrrrrr"
The Aqrabuamelus were mad with fervor. We disturbed their sacred temple, and we would not leave this place alive if they had their way.
Suddenly, the scorpion men leaped into the air before spinning their tail into our magical force field causing a massive shock into our protective dome.
We could feel the reverberations from the shock of the scorpion's tail thrust but luckily, Iras magical dome protected us from harm.
"You wanted to kill scorpion men, here is your chance", Ratatouille told Iviar.
"About bloody time", Iviar screamed as he leaped out of our protective circle, transforming his body into a Human Thing.
With his body covered by conjured rocks and matters, Iviar rushed toward one of the Aqrabuamelu, slamming its body with his powerful fist.
Iviar's magic was in the conjuring of matter, rocks or stones and his specialty was armoring himself like a rock titan before slamming on his enemies.
"My shield is breaking up", Iras warned us suddenly.
Although Iras' shield was strong, it couldn't withstand the relentless assaults from these scorpion men who were much stronger than those who swarmed around the periphery of the mountain.
"Idiot, lift them up. These scorpions don't fly", Sara shouted to Anitor.
Anitor realized what he needed to do immediately and lifted everybody into the air with his conjured air carpet.
However, the scorpions, despite unable to fly, were able to launch their bodies like projectiles high into the air, continuing their strike on Iras's shields.
"What are you waiting for go down there and help", Sara screamed to us.
So, those of us who could fight leaped out from the air carpet leaving only Anitor, Epius, Eless, Iras, Illiwyn and Ratatouille in the air. Iras quickly strengthened the shields over themselves as the rest of us fought below.
"Hi," Ratatouille said to them.
"Aren't you going down there to help them?" Eless asked Ratatouille.
"Oh… dirty fighting is not my job", he replied to them.
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Out of nowhere, Meera summoned mystical mirrors, shattering them into countless shards that transformed into projectiles, piercing one of the scorpion men and inflicting wounds.
"Mirrors of Envy."
Chash swiftly followed up with a magical freeze on the injured scorpion man, seamlessly transitioning to a scorching blast. The abrupt shift from icy to fiery onslaught subjected the creature to immense stress, causing it to collapse to the ground.
"Wrath of Ice and Fire."
Cassandra descended upon the wounded foe, slashing its major arteries with a cursed magical blade, ensuring the wounds bled incessantly.
"Blades of Zavalla"
While the group focused on one scorpion man, their counterparts attempted to intervene.
However, a cascade of flames rained down from the sky as Eless unleashed a fire shower, slowing the scorpion men's response to aid their fallen comrade.
"Storms of Meteor Vengeance."
Despite Eless's fiery storm, some scorpion men pressed on to rescue their ally.
Suddenly, a swarm of buzzing insects, conjured by Epius, the mechanical conjurer, assaulted the would-be rescuers, biting their faces and gouging out their eyes. These were the magical mechanics summoned by Epius' unique magic that could control magical devices to his bidding.
"Buzzing Hornet Swarm."
Anitor, observing from the air, wasn't idle either. He provided strategic insight and assistance during the intense battle.
A potent thrust shattered Iviar's stone armor, but before the scorpion man's tail sting could strike, Anitor lifted Iviar into the air. Taking advantage of the gravitational pull, the scorpion man rushed towards the airborne Iviar.
However, magical golden chains suddenly restrained the approaching scorpion man, preventing it from reaching the air carpet.
"Chains of Greed and Restraints."
The chains were Ratatouille's magic who despite not wanting to dirty his hands in battle was involved nevertheless in our fight.
Iviar was safely returned to the air carpet, where Illiwyn promptly applied her healing magic to the team's tank. Iviar's stalwart defense bought the group precious time to counter the scorpion men's assaults.
Through coordinated efforts, the team achieved their first kill.
The scorpion man engaged by Cassandra, Chash, and Meera turned to stone upon death, and Chash sealed his fate with another fiery blast, disintegrating the petrified foe.
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"Where is that loudmouth girl Sara and that Oriese go? They brought us here to fight and they disappeared when the fight started", Iviar complained as Illiwyn attended to his wounds.
"Yes, I don't see Oriese and Sara anywhere", Iras said to them.
"Don't worry about them, they are on the mission. You guys just focus on distracting the scorpion men", Ratatouille told them.
"Are you kidding me? We are the Control Freaks. The boy brought us here as a distraction", Iviar complained to Ratatouille angrily.
"You people wanted to come so desperately on our mission despite our many attempts to decline, you got a part of the action, what are you complaining about?" Ratatouille replied to them.
"Storms of Meteor Vengeance" "Buzzing Hornet Swarm"
Eless and Epius continued firing their magic on the scorpion men below to take the heat off the three who were fighting below while Anitor tried to help as much as possible, throwing away enemies who got too close or saving our friends when they were in trouble using his gravity magic, from the vantage in the sky.
Soon, the trio on the ground killed another Aqrabuamelu, another scorpion monster.