Chapter 56

The four of us ran towards the source of the screaming. When we get there I am delighted that I am in fact blind. The outline alone of this spirit is nightmare fuel. It looks like a cross between an enormous Arachne and a centipede. A nearly 8ft tall upper torso with six human like arms except the fingertips are spiked like pincers. It has a flat chest and no hair on its head which is the only saving grace. Keep monsters scary, adding a pretty face and massive tits wouldn't make this any better. In fact, I'm really glad I don't have to deal with this ungodly abomination having J cups. Past the masculine torso, there is an insect body. Instead of the expected spherical bulbous spider body, there is instead a nearly 100 feet long centipede body. However, extending from the body are dozens of single jointed 10 feet tall spider legs.

As we all get near enough to finally see the monster we all take a full stop absorbing its horror. As we stand shocked I notice the creature has been grabbing people and cocooning them in what I assume is some kind of webbing then placing the captured people on to it's back.

"Sokka get everyone out of the forest. Fireballs are safer than more of these. Katara back me and Aang up make sure it doesn't get past either of us and if you see an opportunity try to ice it in place. Aang you learn how to spirit bend from Pakku yet?"

"He showed me the form, but it's not like we had a chance to practice the real thing"

"Well better than nothing. One of us needs to distract it and the other needs to climb on it's back and free its captives. Then both us try to spirit bend"

"I'll get the people you distract it" Aang shouts back to me already flying off to try to save the people leaving just me so I start running toward it. Sokka and Katara had run off ahead of us as soon as I delegated what they had to do. Not a lot of time to strategize with a monster stealing people right in front of us. As I approach I need to figure a way to distract and trap it in place. I haven't tried it before but I should be able to blood bend especially after that dream. So I get close and try to bend its blood. Good news I've made an excellent distraction as I'm the closest person on the ground near it. The bad news spirits don't have blood to bend. The creature finishes wrapping his current victim and begins charging me. I have to run away in circles weaving through the trees making sure I don't get too close or too far from the camp. Don't want it to get near the civilians, but also don't want to get any other spirits involved.

Running through the trees I take a few more attempts to slow it down. First, I create a large, flat, circular, disk of ice and launch it at the legs hoping to cut some off. Only the ice disk shatterers on impact. Then I stop for a moment and concentrate on extending the snow it is stepping on to cover its leg then I freeze it. I get several legs frozen halfway up to the joint only for them to keep on chasing me breaking through the ice like it wasn't there. Stopping that time to freeze its legs let it get very close to me. It got close enough to take swipes at me with its several front legs. Now onto plan D, I draw my sword and as I dodge out of the way, I swing at the legs. Valyrian Steel 2, Ice Demons 0. With substantial use of strength my sword slices right through most of the creature's front legs. It recoiled in pain and surprising letting out an ear-piercing chittering. Then I make my move I rush its right side slicing through any of its legs I can. More and more of its legs try to stab out at me. The creature turns and coils trying to avoid me, but I dance through the jutting legs. I bob and weave always keeping myself within slicing distance. I heave and hack more and more through the monster's legs. It tries to flee, but Aang hasn't finished freeing the captives. I chase it cutting it down. It doesn't get far, soon after the chase begins the monster feels the imbalance from all the lost legs. It slows down to keep its balance. Which is only an opportunity for me. Soon it is irreparably unbalanced and can't hold itself up anymore collapsing onto its right side.

It can't stand, but it's still dragging itself trying to get away. The drop in speed is the opportunity Aang needed to finally get all of the captives away safely. He nods toward me and we split up to opposite sides of the beast. I start by copying Aang's movements. Two long thin strands of water appear circling up and around the creature. The water starts to glow a golden color and the creature begins to glow, writhe, and screech. The glow travels up the water and the creature and soon both are completely consumed by a glowing light. Then it all evaporated into dust and particles leaving no trace it had ever been there. The legs I had cut off had also disappeared, however, the webbing cocooning people persisted as the only physical proof of its existence. I think spirit bending like that is actually a type of energy bending because the feeling I got when the water started glowing felt like when the lion turtle gave me information but in reverse. The lion turtle made it seem like pressure on me and that felt like me putting pressure on it. Now with the creature now gone Aang and I split up and cut open the cocoons freeing the captives.