Right beneath both Imuru and Yosho's feet they felt a sudden, sharp pinch; terrifying pressure of something pushing up through the hard surface of the monster's skin. They leapt back just in time to see sharp, needle-like structures erupting where they had stood, a targeted attack.
Without a word, they broke into a sprint, scrambling and leaping to get off the creature, right down into the nearby broken formations. A pair of the Cryipiyd's eyes locked onto them, as fell, its pupils dilated.
"Objective?" Yosho inquired, down on one knee from the jarring landing.
Imuru locked eyes with her briefly, his gaze steady, before it shifted over to the towering Cryipiyd. Its massive pupils were slowly contracting, focusing on them with alien intent. A small, daring smirk creased Imuru's lips. He patted Yosho firmly on the shoulder and stepped forward, placing himself confidently between her and the creature.
"I'm sorry to break it to ya," He called out, his voice carrying a calm that came soothingly natural, "But you've got two options here. One, you play nice and we can all live in harmony. Two, you get checked by the Great Demon Lord." He spread his hands slightly. "Your choice."
Yosho watched on, completely awestruck, her breath catching in her throat.
Imuru unsheathed his blade with a soft, shiiing. "Yosho, if you don't mind, could you get yourself somewhere safe?"
She didn't need to hear another word. Springing to her feet, she gave a quick, deep bow. "Please be careful, Great Imuru," She said, then retracted in a blur of motion.
The Cryipiyd's eyes began to glow with a vibrant, piercing blue intensity, the pupils contracting to a single, blazing point.
"I guess," Imuru murmured, settling into a ready stance, his smirk turning wry, "that's a 'no' to harmony."
A sharp, high-frequency shuuuuun—the sound of particles gathering, echoed through the cavern as visible motes of blue light swarmed toward the Cryipiyd's focused eyes. In a quick, silent burst, a beam of concentrated energy lanced down at Imuru. He was already in motion, his instincts screaming, as the searing ray tracked him, ripping a line of violent blue explosions through the ground at his heels, shattering spikes and filling the air with steam and glittering shrapnel.
Imuru tried to pivot, to circle at blinding speed toward the creature's back, but despite its monolithic size, the Cryipiyd's rotated with shocking agility, determined to keep its fiery, unwavering gaze locked directly on him.
As it turned, Imuru found himself not behind it, but directly in the path of its other four eyes—now having all six of the creature's blazing gazes upon him, forcing him into a desperate, weaving dance through a crisscrossing grid of searing light.
As he executed a frantic, multi-backflip to evade a laser that vaporized the air where his head had been, a single, clear thought cut through the panic, "My training… With Le-va-none has really been coming in handy recently." He landed in a low crouch, boots scraping on broken fragments of crystals, as the volley of beams came to a sudden, humming end.
"Never thought I'd have to bring something this big down..." Imuru muttered, his eyes rapidly scanning the creature's frame. "I can't risk getting into a clash carelessly." He adjusted his grip around his sword, the gears in his mind turning. "A head on use of Belzora against those beams... A need to get behind it."
With a quick flash of his hand at the ground, Belzora erupted in a sudden flood of blue-ish purple flames. The creature reacted instantly, all six of its eyes blazing as it unleashed its deadly beams into the conflagration, smothering the flames in a torrent of blue energy.
As it fixed its gaze on the obscuring dust cloud, waiting for it to clear to locate Imuru. The ploy served its use, buying Imuru enough time to circle at full speed and come from behind, mid-air, poised to unleash a point-blank Belzora strike at a vulnerable, unseeing flank.
[[
[[-Perivállon Sense-]]
Unbeknownst to Imuru, this passive ability granted the creature 360° awareness without requiring direct sight. He had been spotted the moment he left that cloud of dust. Before his attack could manifest, several of the crystals on the Crystal's back shot out like a striking serpent, sharp and blindingly fast, forcing him to abort his strike mid-charge and twist aside, the lethal spikes grazing his shirt as he barely dodged.
Imuru landed soundly on the ground, a bit shaken by his second near death experience since he'd been down here. "The Bear could do that too… Hmph. Should've seen that coming."
Observing from a safe distance, Yosho watched the battle unfold with breathless awe. "Dear. To think I'd ever see a Cryipiyd in person..." She whispered, the words tinged with reverence. "Being with Great Imuru was indeed the perfect decision."
As her eyes tracked Imuru consistently evading the dazzling force of the Cryipiyd's beams, a note of cool, clinical pity entered her gaze.
"Though... It's a shame. With such behaviour, this beast won't live long."
Despite all of Imuru's relentless, weaving assaults, the Cryipiyd's beams were simply too fast and unpredictable, a chaotic grid of light that herded him back each time he tried to close the distance, and he slowly realized his options were running dangerously thin.
As he ran, vaulting over shattered crystals, his thoughts began to race. "Okay, returning back to idea one. Can I blast him with Belzora? Of course, easier—"
He came to an abrupt halt, a beam crushing the ground just a few meters in front of him, almost sending him off his feet. Slipping back into a frantic run, the near-miss sparked a connection. "Wait, I don't have to meet it head-on. I could maneuver Belzora around its beams."
A sharp determined smirk cut across his face as he dodged another volley. "And now," He panted, eyes locking onto the creature, "I think I have a plan."
Braving it out, Imuru stood in full view of all the creature, standing vulnerable, sheathing his blade. He spread his arms, asking it to unleash all it had at him.
The Cryipiyd groaned, pupils dilated for a split second, before contacting, eyes glowing vibrantly once again, the air in the surrounding area intensely humming.
Imuru stretched his arms out wide, before the heels of his palms together. Between his hands, the air shimmered and warped, a visible heat haze hovering.
With a single, focused word that cut through the quiet, he unleashed it.
"Belzora."
The flames came flooding out not as a mere blast, but as a raging, living stream of chaos. The sheer initial force of unleashing such concentrated power erupted backwards as well, breaking the ground apart as pieces came out like shattered pottery. What earth that was beneath this force, the earth and stone was left as a molten slag.
The Cryipiyd reacted instantly, all six of its eyes firing vibrant blue beams in a converging web to meet the oncoming inferno in a hand-on clash. The beams edged closer together, and Imuru saw his opening, and with a surge of confidence, Belzora broke apart, the one central stream, splitting into multiple, serpentine tongues of flame that slipped around the beams.
The Cryipiyd's response was swift with unnatural perception. In the subsequent moment, a forest of crystal spikes flared up across its entire body, covering itself in makeshift armour.
Imuru wasn't given the chance to have a proper line of thought, as the Cryipiyd's beams collided with Imuru in a concussive blast of searing blue energy.
Yosho nearly rocketed out from her hiding place, her body tensing like a coiled spring, but she forced herself to hold back, her expression hardening into a stern mask of faith and restraint.
The Cryipiyd's multifaceted eyes dilated, scanning the scene. Where Imuru had once stood was now only a massive, smoldering crater. Slowly, ominously its gaze began to drift across the cavern towards Yosho's location, and it took a single, ground-shaking heavy step in her direction.
Before it could take another, the creature suddenly let out a deep, grinding groan. Its eyes darted about in rapid, frantic succession, a flicker of primal panic disrupting its alien calm.
Shiiing—THWUNK.
The sound came six times, almost as one, the clean slice of a blade through air, followed instantly by the wet cleaving of flesh. The Cryipiyd tried to lurch forward, but its movement caused it to collapse. Its massive legs, cleanly severed from the knee joint, gave way, sending it crashing to the ground.
Eyes scanning the area, Yosho knew who it was… Bug where was he. The answer to her question came in the form of Belzora bursting through the creature's underbelly, then swirling itself out, then around, consuming the Cryipiyd in a matter of seconds… leaving the vacant space where it once laid bleeding out, eerily empty.
The ground then erupted, Imuru launching himself triumphantly to the surface. Yosho let out the breath she held, her grinning from ear to ear. Not waiting for a second longer, she was on foot, down to the Great Demon Lord.
Imuru sighed, brushing off himself. "Attack Duplicate, huh? That came in handy. Kinda felt unfair back there…"
"Great Imuru!" Yosho exclaimed. "How did you… You're okay?"
"Yep," Imuru replied simply with an easy going smile playing on his face. He glanced over at the crater where he was supposedly hit… The Cryipiyd's beams indeed made contact, but he countered with Belzora Aura, bursting from his body; it intercepted the beams, possessing nullifier properties.
"And now my training with Mr. Eld-onone came in handy… I had to get creative fighting that centipede," Imuru reflected, feeling a sense of nostalgia… towards Eld-onone… Le-va-none… Looking back it was a strangely short, yet peaceful life.
This was what he wanted was it not?
"How did you escape?" Yosho inquired, beaming with a thirst of curiosity that must be quenched.
Imuru scratched his head shyly. "Well, I have to admit I got lucky. I had a bit of training that came in handy here. And, since I couldn't sneak on the Cryipiyd, above ground…" He locked eyes with Yosho.
"You went under," Yosho said, finishing Imuru's sentence. "Using its own attack against it right when it thought it had you. Dear, you really are a brilliant Lord."
"I almost fear for my job," Yosho said sarcastically, letting out a nervous laughter, with Imuru ever so shaken by such statements, joining her.
Imuru took one last glance at his surroundings. "That's enough of this place for one day… I hope that was the most serious threat down here. Hopefully I made Roll's job a little bit easier."