Skill B6C2

The Scorpion-like Grimm were small and fast. They weren't Deathstalkers, the Ancient Grimm we'd been taught about in Class, but rather something lesser, a stage below that. They moved on eight legs, with two pincers in addition, breaking the rule for arachnids and giving them an odd, shuffling gait. Their feet barely touched the floor before they rose once more, maybe to stop them fusing in the heat or sinking into the sand. Though they had the tails behind them, with wicked, barbed stingers on the back, they were stunted and small, unable to reach far beyond their own body length. Still, being hit with one would be a disaster.

At the last possible second, I charged forward. The Grimm didn't seem to expect it, but recovered and clacked its claws towards me. Ignoring those, I jumped in and slammed a foot down onto its head, pushing it into the sand. The tail twitched towards me but that had been the target from the start and I was ready for it. Crocea Mors caught it below the stinger, causing the object to flip back and blackish blood to spurt free. The Grimm chittered furiously, a sound not unlike several knives taken to a chalkboard.

The tail still continued its arc and snapped against my side, winding me slightly but no longer a realistic threat. The claws came up to try and dislodge me, but those were easily dealt with. A swift blow knocked them aside long enough for me to turn around on the beast's back and drive my sword down into the top of its head, right between the eyes. The beast spasmed violently as it died. I hopped off, landing in the soft sand as it thrashed and lashed out. I'd already moved on towards another.

Swaying to the side, I let the stinger go past, before I lopped up, taking it off again, this time at the base. A twist and a flick cut across its eyes, blinding it, and as it chittered back on eight legs, it bumped into one of its fellows, crawling up over its body without a second's pause. Since that blocked the other from hitting me with the stinger, I took the chance to step in and stab down into the new threat's brain, killing it in a single blow. The one I'd blinded didn't seem to realise, but with the new one in its death throes, it found itself stabbed in the back by the stinger.

Poison pumped, corroding it from the inside. The dying Grimm didn't even realise it had stabbed its fellow, but it clung on with all its legs, almost like it was hugging it to death. I could imagine people dying like that, caressed against the Grimm's body as acid was pumped into their bodies. It would be a slow and painful death for sure.

A quick glance told me the fight was wrapping up, and handily in our favour. I hadn't come up with the plan of fighting atop them, that being Blake and Pyrrha, but we'd all picked up on it once we realised how effective it was.