CH467 Kavakan, the Scorpion King

***

Alex turned his gaze toward Kavakan's battle.

'People think weretigers are nothing more than brutes,' he mused. 'But in reality, your kind has sharp instincts—and the intelligence to use them.'

'The Crystal Scorpion is an unfavourable prey for you, yes… but it isn't one you can't overcome if you use your head instead of relying solely on brute strength.

'Defeat this prey and show that weretigers are more than mindless powerhouses.'

'I have plans for you, Kavakan. Validate my judgment. Prove I was right about you.'

After their initial exchange, both Kavakan and the Crystal Scorpion grew cautious.

Instead of charging recklessly, the scorpion advanced only a few steps at a time, its massive claws spread wide. It moved deliberately, herding Kavakan and steadily narrowing his available space—trying to force him into its optimal striking range.

Kavakan, meanwhile, circled warily, searching for a safe angle—one that avoided both of the creature's primary weapons; its enormous pincers and its lethal rear stinger.

Naturally, the scorpion rotated in tandem, denying him that opening.

However, as the beast adjusted its position, Kavakan noticed several details.

'The crystal plates are tough,' he observed, 'but they are not uniform since they have to allow for movement.'

His gaze shifted to the joints where the limbs and tail met the main body.

'The armour there is duller,' he noted. 'Either the plates themselves are thinner… or there's a gap beneath them where the segments meet.'

His eyes dropped further—to the creature's legs.

'Those fine hairs along its feet… That must be how it senses vibrations. That's its sight, if I can destroy those, I can blind it.' He deduced.

Once more, Kavakan circled, probing for an opening.

Once more, the scorpion pivoted sharply on its axis to face him.

Either its claws were pointed squarely at him—or its stinger was angled just right to strike the moment he entered range.

'The claws are manageable,' Kavakan thought grimly. 'But that stinger… that's the real problem.'

He clenched his jaw, weighing his options based on what he had observed.

But before he could fully commit to a plan—

The Crystal Scorpion moved first.

As Kavakan continued circling the Crystal Scorpion, he suddenly realised something was wrong.

The scorpion didn't move to block him.

That deviation—however slight—caused a brief moment of hesitation. His feet stalled for just an instant.

The Crystal Scorpion seized that opening.

In a flash, its tail angled toward him—and lashed out.

'No, you don't!'

Kavakan instinctively moved to dodge. But to his shock, the stinger never came.

Instead—

The scorpion's claw slammed toward him.

'A feint? By a beast?!'

Fortunately, Kavakan's bestial instincts kicked in. He rolled beneath the massive pincer, slipping toward the creature's body.

Even as displaced air sheared over his head, Kavakan slashed upward at the scorpion's leg joint.

Clank!

Unfortunately, the axe failed to cut through even the noted duller crystal plating. Instead, the blade slid along the armour and became wedged between two plates at the joint.

Kavakan tugged instinctively, trying to free his weapon, but it wouldn't budge.

However, his tussling caused the blade to bite into the connective tissue beneath the plates.

Scree—!!

The Crystal Scorpion shrieked in pain.

The grating, metallic screech nearly made Kavakan abandon his axe and retreat.

'Not a chance.'

He grit his teeth and endured the sound.

With his free hand, Kavakan drove his second axe into the opposite side of the same joint—then twisted viciously.

"Argh—!!" The scorpion screeched in agony.

With brutal force, Kavakan tore and wrenched at the limb until it ripped free from the joint.

Blood splattered across his face.

'Good,' he grinned savagely as the warm fluid wetted his hair.

He lunged to go for another leg— but the scorpion thrashed wildly in agony.

Its pincers and stinger lashed out in all directions, forcing Kavakan to leap back to avoid being skewered.

He clicked his tongue.

[Lycanthropic Transformation]!

Kavakan's features broadened and elongated. His frame swelled as muscle surged beneath his skin, tiger-striped fur bursting forth as he shifted into his hybrid weretiger form.

The change triggered a sharp spike of danger in the Crystal Scorpion's instincts—snapping it out of its pain-fuelled frenzy.

Its stinger rose high—and struck.

[Call of the Wild]!

Now, faster and stronger Kavakan didn't dodge.

Rather, he charged.

As the stinger neared, Kavakan dove forward—straight toward the scorpion's body. The venomous tail missed him by a hair's breadth, close enough that he felt the heat of the corrosive venom rush past his side.

He rolled beneath the beast and came up at its rear.

Without hesitation, Kavakan buried one axe into the tail joint.

'Your tail is your deadliest weapon,' he thought grimly as he hooked the blade into the gap just as before.

'So let me take it from you!'

Once again, Kavakan twisted his axe within the joint.

Only this time—he was stronger.

Scree—!!

Ignoring the Crystal Scorpion's shrill screeches, Kavakan yanked savagely at the tail joint, determined to rip the stinger free.

The scorpion attempted to retaliate, whipping its tail forward—but Kavakan was already within the weapon's blind spot. All the beast could do was fling corrosive venom wildly through the air in a desperate attempt to force him back.

It failed.

Kavakan dug in his heels.

'I can't back off now,' he thought fiercely. 'Tear for me!'

With a growl, he drove his second axe into the opposite end of the joint.

Then he pulled.

"ROAR!!"

Scree—!!

Lycanthrope and beast roared and screeched simultaneously as Kavakan tore the stinger free from the Crystal Scorpion's body.

SCREEE—!!!

Venom sprayed violently as the severed tail thrashed uselessly in the dirt.

Once more, Kavakan was forced to retreat as the scorpion entered a frenzy, its massive body convulsing in agony, pincers smashing into the ground with reckless abandon.

Then—

A baleful purplish aura erupted across the Crystal Scorpion's body.

"It's gone berserk!!" Aylora shouted.

Her warning was unnecessary.

Kavakan could see it—and more importantly, feel it.

A thick, noxious stench of Berserk Energy flooded the air, seeping into every movement the beast made. Its previously dull red eyes ignited into a violent, malignant crimson.

Worse still, Kavakan felt his own body tremble at the sight.

There was something deeply corrupt about that aura.

'I cannot let it touch me. Not even once.' Kavakan determined.

He adjusted his footing immediately.

Just as he was reassessing his options—aware that brute force grappling would no longer work due to risk of corruption by the beast's berserk energy coating—his eyes caught something strange.

Burn marks.

Scorching scars etched into the Crystal Scorpion's crystal carapace.

'The venom…!'

Realisation struck like lightning.

The beast's ultimate weapon was stronger than its own supreme defence.

The Crystal Scorpion had stopped thrashing.

Slowly, it turned to face Kavakan—hatred and fury radiating from every inch of its body.

But Kavakan didn't flinch.

Instead, he grinned.

He hooked his axes back onto his waist and raised his empty hands, curling his fingers in a clear, mocking beckon.

"Come on," he taunted.

"Come receive your death."

The Crystal Scorpion didn't understand his words— but its mocking intent was unmistakable.

With a furious screech, it charged like a raging bull.

Once again, Kavakan didn't retreat.

He lunged forward, rolling beneath the scorpion's massive pincer—slipping past death by a hair's breadth—and emerged at its rear.

There, he seized the severed stinger from the ground.

Swoosh!

The instant the Crystal Scorpion turned to face him, Kavakan lunged forward and drove the severed stinger straight into its open mouth.

SKREEE—!!!

The scorpion shrieked in agony as the residual corrosive venom flooded its insides, eating through its softer internal tissues from within.

The beast thrashed violently, its massive body smashing into the ground as blood and venom poured from the ruptured mouthparts and lower jaw.

Thump!

At last, the Crystal Scorpion collapsed, its movements sluggish and weak—drained by massive blood loss and internal corrosion.

Left alone, it would have died on its own.

But Kavakan had no intention of granting it such an ignoble end.

He strode toward the dying beast, eyes cold and resolute. After confirming it could no longer lift its pincers—much less retaliate—he drew both axes from his waist holster and aimed at the exposed underside.

'I will give you a befitting death,' he vowed inwardly.

Internal Energy surged through his arms, flooding into the blades.

[Whirlwind]!

Kavakan spun, his axes carving a horizontal vortex of force that tore upward through the scorpion's vulnerable underside.

Swoosh!

The front section of the Crystal Scorpion—its head and mouthparts—was cleaved clean off, blood spraying violently in all directions.

Kavakan had decapitated it.

'May your death find meaning by paving my path forward.' he silently offered.

ROAR!!!

A thunderous tiger's roar erupted from Kavakan's throat as he proclaimed his victory to all who could hear.

Then, his strength finally gave way.

He stepped back and dropped to one knee, chest heaving heavily In a brief moment of fatigue.

Tearing off the scorpion's leg and stinger had pushed him to his limits. The final Whirlwind strike had drained what little he had left.

As his breathing steadied, a dull pain flared along his sides.

He glanced down.

The fur above his ribs was scorched black, faint smoke still rising.

'So I didn't dodge it completely…'

The fur broke off, saving him from the corrosive impact of the venom.

He looked at his axes—his babies.

One was visibly warped, while the other bore fine, web-like cracks along the blade.

Neither would survive another serious fight without repair.

Kavakan sighed softly.

Releasing [Lycanthropic Transformation], his body shrank back into human form.

He turned toward Alex and the expedition party, raising his battered axes in triumph.

Then—

"What are you posing for? You're late."

Havel's lazy voice cut through the moment like a blade.

Kavakan froze.

Behind the faux-elf, Silver and Fen stood amidst the corpses of two armoured scorpions and three desert crabs, already finished.

Kavakan stared.

Then laughed hoarsely.

***

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