[i]Shashous-Throth had learned that evading the ranger's arrows would require much more concentration than usual. Sometimes they blew up, sometimes they split into many, sometimes they moved faster than could be avoided. And so, instead of trying to keep track of the arrows, it would keep track of where its foe aimed. It would have initially tried to slip to the right, but as the aim followed it the monster would suddenly veer in the opposite direction by shoving off the ground as hard as it could. This form of evasion was far more difficult than what it was used to. It could easily keep track of aim, as it had devoured countless "heroes" by capturing their dominant arms mid-attack with its tail, yet archers didn't have to move nearly as much when lining up a target. The sonic arrow launched in the beginning of their fight had completely missed it. This time all three came very close to ending the creature's life. Only one missed entirely, one tore up its good arm as it was pushing off, and the third grazed its flank, the shockwave shattering two ribs. Had it been a few inches closer the last arrow might have caused severe internal damage, too much to be safely healed by auto cannibalism. The ribs were already too much of a risky proposition to devote valuable flesh and blood to fixing.

However... the fight might as well have been over. It had faked death to lure Crual in. It had studied his style to decide upon the most efficient way to catch him off guard. And it had anticipated just what would happen when it did. The ranger had been entirely justified in underestimating the Magna Pater's powers, but he had made a grave error in consideration of its intelligence. The mucous that it had slung into his face bore cytotoxic properties. Its primary effect was to cause wounds to rot, but one shouldn't forget that the venom of the spitting cobra was also cytotoxic. It destroyed eyesight. Though Crual had closed his eyes and tried to wipe off the goo, that would scarcely help. It was virtually inevitable that it would seep into his vision like how stinging shampoo does, when one smears it over shut eyes without water to help wash it away. What's more, him not knowing this would likely result in the ranger not being as cautious as one normally would when trying to rub away a bother in the peepers. Not that it would make a great difference. He may have been able to see through shut eyes, but it would be a mean feat to see at all with the oncoming threat of complete and permanent blindness.[/i]