Gray tried to yank his sword back, but the combination of bad angle and the sudden jerking from the gigantic eigh-legged monstrosity caused him to lose a grip on his jian. A series of reckless retaliatory reactions then followed in response to Fia's unadulterated blasting, and the only sane option to not get himself smacked by one of those nasty appendages, or get squashed to death by its gigantic rear, was to move away. 

And he did. It turned out that Engelbert thought the opposite.  

The leap was spectacular, and the strike was equally so. Engelbert's one-and-a-half-meter greatsword plunged deep into the spider's eye cluster, and he nailed it even deeper now with his iron fist--- unnecessarily so because the greatsword was now stuck in that thing, and it wasn't dead yet. 

Recoiled, likely by the pain or fear, it was quick to rely on its survival instinct. It rapidly turned around, haphazardly brandishing its front legs to scare away the potential attacker, and dislodged Gray's jian in such a wayward process. The masked Rezello was not quick enough to capitalize on the opening, for the spider had already started to flee and the distance was too far already. 


[i]"Ah great! Just what I need right now!" [/i]

Gray Flame immediately started his pursuit but then stopped the moment he saw Tillius launch his spear toward the retreating spider. It was too dark to ascertain whether the spear found its mark, but the plan was sound.

His diamond-shaped arrowhead shone in pale luster as he channeled for a power shot and unleashed it before the Arachnee could get too far. Even in the dark, its massive abdomen was certainly hard to miss.