The group spots a bug. And it's a really huge bug that needs to be killed with fire.
The beetle Scraper screeches at the sight of the battle-ready Zeke and Ryujin.
Ryujin just looks in awe of the creature. She has seen it countless of times, but never this close.
Suddenly, it dives towards the two, and it seems to look like steel as it closed in.
Zeke notices that it seemingly hardened itself by fusing all its joints and bendable areas, completely turning its body into a formidable fortress of steel.
"Look ou--" Zeke said as he pushes Ryujin out of the way, and he gets tackled full-force by the hardened enemy.
"GAH!"
The force of the attack sends him crashing towards a wall, and a massive pile of debris topple all over him.
"Zeke!" Ryujin exclaimed as she stood up.
The disfigured beetle then sets it's eyes on Ryujin as its body relaxes, and then lunges at her.
"Oh, shoo--" Ryujin exclaims as she pointed her guns at the creature. She then began firing her otherworldly icy guns at the enemy's limbs as she backs quickly. The enemy stops to harden itself once more as the icy, toxic bullets bounce off the creature.
It the relaxes once more as it darts toward Ryujin.
"This one... It's resistant to my bullets...! I won't be able to paralyze it!" Ryujin crosses her arms, bracing for impact as the beetle Scraper hardens and tackles her.
Surprisingly enough, Ryujin does not get knocked out. She gets dragged a few feet, but she was still standing.
Small parts of her armor seem to fall out due to the force of the enemy's tackle, but she was mostly okay.
"I can take the hits...!" Ryujin laughs nervously as she sees the beetle Scraper lunge at her once more.
"But.... I'm not sure if I can take another one...!" Ryujin added as she prepared herself for another blow.
Before it could harden and land another tackle, Ryujin sees Zeke emerge from behind, viciously swinging a fiery downward strike using his pipe wrench, and gave the enemy no time to harden itself.
"Firework Impact!"
The blow sends crackling, fiery shockwaves all around the beetles's exterior as it flattens to the ground instantly, and cracking a few parts of its carapace.
"Zeke, you're okay!" Ryujin said.
"Yeah. I'm used to getting flung around." Zeke replied as he chuckled. How about you?"
"Yes. This armor is surprisingly strong... but I don't know how long am I going to last. We have to do something about that hardening ability!"
The beetle Scraper soon slowly stands as it tries to gain footing. It was still dazed by Zeke's strike, and it wobbles in pain. It screeches again, readying it's pincers for battle.
"I've figured it out." Zeke said to Ryujin.
"Eh? Figured what out?" Ryujin asked.
"This bug's pattern of offense and defense." Zeke responded.
"Yeah? Let me hear it!" Ryujin replied.
"It can stiffen all its body parts to prevent it from taking damage, and it only relaxes it when it moves. So... catching it while it attacks is the best way to deal with it. That means you and I.... We have to deal the first strike!"
"Oh! Okay. And how do we do that?" Ryujin asked.
"I... have no idea, I'm still thinking of something up." Zeke replied.
"Hmm, how about.... maybe... you can try distracting it, and I'll find any opening it might show when it attacks you, and then I'll shoot it so it'll get paralyzed or weakened? Then, you can land the finishing blow, I think." Ryujin suggested. "I don't know, just a sudden suggestion?"
Zeke's eyes widen at her sudden suggestion. She was right. He's the only one who can tank the hits. And she was the only one capable of stunning the enemy since she had the guns.
Ryujin was known by her members as the smart one, after all. No wonder she was able to come up with such a brilliant plan in a short amount of time.
"W-wow... that's... a great idea! Let's do it then!" Zeke said.
Ryujin backs a bit as she prepared her guns. Zeke dived toward the enemy as he readied his Manifest and attacked the beetle Scraper wih fearsome slashes. And of course, just like what happened earlier, it hardens, significantly reducing the damage it takes. Zeke soon stops attacking as he sees the beetle Scraper angrily glare at him.
"Alright. I struck it, and its mad! Now I'll let it attack me!" Zeke said to himself a he left himself wide open.
"Come, hit me!" Zeke taunted.
The beetle Scraper proceeds to loosen it's body in preparation to retaliate. It then lunges towards Zeke.
"There it is... all loosened up!" Zeke said to himself as he turns to Ryujin. "Ryujin, now!"
Ryujin immediately shoots the enemy with a flurry of toxic bullets. It strikes multiple parts of the beetle Scraper's body as it screeches and writhes in pain. It begins to stagger, and soon, it freezes due to most of its body parts spasming due to the toxin.
"Boom, gotcha!" Ryujin said as she grins.
"Nice, Ryujin! Now... it's time for the finishing blow...!" Zeke exclaimed as he clenched tightly on his Manifest. "Phantasm, let's squash this bug!"
Zeke rushes in and slides underneath the beetle Scraper. He then places two rocket seals on it's abdomen, and grips a part of its fractured carapace as the rocket seals glow with power.
"Let's fly, you bastard." Zeke said as he tightens his grip on the creature.
The rocket seals burst hot streams of pressurized fire, rapidly launching them both into the cold, windy sky.
"They're going high up into the sky...!" Jihyo said as she looks up.
"What's he doing...?!" Hyungwon thought. "They're too fast! By the looks of it, his current position is now sixty feet off the ground, and counting! Is he planning to...?"
"Okay, this should be high enough..." Zeke said as he made the rocket seals on the beetle Scraper's abdomen disappear. They both soon plummet quickly toward the ground. The beetle Scraper flips over, revealing it's abdomen towards Zeke.
Zeke then generates a rocket seal on his Manifest. He slams his blade into the enemy's abdomen as it glows.
"Grrrgh! I'll send you splattering to the ground!" Zeke said as the seal bursts, sending them blitzing towards the ground at immense speed.