[i]As soon as Ruby had released it from the headlock, the monster changed tactics. It was slippery, yes, but the paw pinning the thief's torso to the bone-littered ground was adorned with a set of gruesome claws, the longest of which was a full eight inches long and lethally sharp. The kick would hit it in the ribs, doing only about as much damage as one would expect an unarmed blow to a wild beast would do. Though it wouldn't give it pause, a bruise would later well up on the creature's flank. That would be the first bruise someone had inflicted upon it without a weapon in over four centuries. Upon feeling the squirming organism trying to squeeze out from its grasp, Shashous-Throth would unceremoniously draw back its left arm, intending to unzip her intestines with that extra-long claw. It would be no easy feat to stop the horror from slicing her open from diaphragm to pelvis, especially with it manipulating her positioning with that damnable tail. Even a layer of body armor fabric would be sheared apart by the skull-sharpened claw of Shashous-Throth. The inhuman laughter seething out of its dripping mouth echoed into the depths of the seemingly endless cavern, rebounding off of the walls and mingling with the countless variations to form a maddening crescendo of choking, unearthly howls.

If Ruby still tried to use the bo staff, the Magna Pater would once again extend its right arm to try and take away the girl's offense, this time trying to slash the crook of her left arm to sever the tendons. It was no fast attack, but deliberate and measured to make it exceedingly difficult for her to defend.[/i]