As Sieg strode forward seemingly about to have a nervous breakdown. I started moving, hoping that he could keep it together for our plan. Despite my confidence in him, I couldn't blame him for feeling that way. The creature before us was a nightmare brought to life. The grandpappy of the roaches we had fought before, and if our plan didn't work, Sieg and I were doomed. With that in mind, I made my way to the entrance of the creature's lair.
Sieg stepped forward and used his ultimate skill, the burning hammer thing, also known as the Providence of Hephaestus. I had high hopes that it would be enough to keep Sieg alive and distract Paparoach, long enough for us to execute our plan. Paparoach seemed initially dazzled by the brilliance of Sieg's attack, likely unaccustomed to light sources after living in the cave for so long. I hoped that its wariness of the light would last, but unfortunately, the creature quickly reacted. With one of its scythe blades, it sent a wave of dark energy towards Sieg.
Shit shit shit, this is not good, I thought as I watched the battle unfold. In a moment, Paparoach had revealed two crucial pieces of information to me: it could use powers similar to my own, and it possessed some level of intelligence. The shadow wave attack it had just launched at Sieg, though fended off by his hammer, was clearly a probing move. The strain had brought Sieg to his knees and his hammer had dimmed significantly, indicating that I needed to act fast.
Thankfully, our plan was still on track. Sieg's distraction had given me enough time to move around the edge of the chamber and position myself behind the Paparoach. You may be wondering how a person wielding a giant glowing object could possibly sneak up on a creature with so many eyes, but the answer was simple: Sieg's mask. The mask, while often criticized by the Masters in Arkinosis, proved to be the perfect tool for this operation. In the hands of an ascender, the mask's ability to make the wearer unnoticeable was incredibly potent. In fact, when there was a big enough distraction, like a foolish blacksmith with a burning hammer, I was practically invisible.
The plan was for Sieg to distract Paparoach while I snuck up behind it and finished it off with a slash of golden light. Everything was going as planned as I approached the creature's backside. I raised my sword high, remembering the sensation from before and began to bring my sword back to cleave Paparoach in half. Unfortunately, Paparoach was more intelligent and faster than we anticipated. As I charged my attack, it was able to sense the power building behind it. In the seconds before I struck, Paparoach was able to move enough to throw off my aim. My intended bisecting slice only cut off the back third of its body. It was a devastating attack, but if you know anything about cockroaches, you know that this did not take it out of the fight. Furthermore, now Paparoach was pissed.
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As Paparoach rounded on me, its numerous red eyes staring into mine, I felt a sense of dread wash over me. The creature's cutesy name did nothing to downplay the horrific reality of it. Its jet black exoskeleton and flowing icore seemed to reinforce the inevitability of my doom. My arms felt like jelly from my previous attack. I had infused everything I could into that first attack and I knew I was in trouble. Barely able to lift my sword in front of me, I braced myself for the creature's next move.
With a soul-rending screech of anger, Paparoach erupted into a flurry of motion. Its many scythes began firing little blades of darkness at a steady rate. I barely dodged the first salvo, stumbling as the creature advanced on me. Despite losing many of its back legs, it was still able to move quickly and its repetition of powerful attacks were not aimed at me, but rather to cut off my escape. Paparoach wanted to trap me and personally devour me.
As my back hit the wall, I realized its plan and marshaled my strength for one final advance forward. I knew it was a desperate move, but it was my only chance of survival. I charged forward, sword held high, ready to give everything I had in one final strike.
Paparoach expected this, intercepting my glowing sword with two of his scythes that pulsed with darkness. Using the scythes in an X pattern, similar to scissors, he was able to dislodge the blade from my hands and it clattered to the ground at my feet. Without a godly weapon in hand and utterly exhausted, I looked up into Paparoach's undulating mandibles knowing that my life was at its end. I had so much that I regretted - I would never see my sister again, Verethragna would never truly ascend, I would never be able to move past what had happened during the incident, and poor Sieg would never become a master blacksmith. But wait a minute, where was Sieg?
As that thought flashed through my mind, a figure came into my vision. He was rushing up to Paparoach. The figure was covered in black goo, but it could only be one person. As Sieg reached Paparoach, seconds before I would have become a bloody mist, he hefted his hammer and brought it down on Paparoach's head. On the swing down, the hammer burned with a brilliance that I had yet to see from Sieg. The blow dislodged a few of the horrific mandibles and set the left side of Paparoach's head ablaze. With a cry of pain, Paparoach was able to send Sieg flying with the back end of one of his scythes, but it was too little too late. Paparoach's moment of distraction gave me the time to reach down for my blade and quickly drive it into his skull. With a final flash of golden light, I fried his brain, finally ending the existence that had menaced these caves for likely numerous generations.