Dusk stood a long, quiet and nerve chilling time. Waiting for the giant centipede demon to make a move. After a while it became quite clear, that he was not going to be making the first move. He was smart, first move was always the most careful to pick, the enemy had a whole number of things they could counter with on a first move, with then enemy not knowing any of their tricks, it would be easy for him to land a counter attack successfully. With these demons, the first, if not dealt with could also be the last.

Jeremy was standing now, forcing himself to frown at the centipede, which was silhouetted against the ground, not being able to be seen easily by them at all. The suspense was killing them both, but as the demon seemed intent on having the second move, Dusk made the first. He took off running to the right, grabbing his clutched spell book in his left arm as he began making a hand sign and a chant. There was a sound from the centipede and Dusk made a violent jerk forward before falling face first into the ground, a root from the ground having lunged up from underground and coiling itself around his leg. As he flipped himself over another sound from the demon and several more roots shot up, binding the entire fox from head to toe.

The book fell to his side, landing on an open page. Dusk strained to reach it as Nybbas laughed.

"Was that it!? Ahahahaha! Either Apirus is more of an idiot than I thought or you got very lucky with him. That was just sad." Dusk growled and then, as the centipede closed in, quickly uttered a word, and the roots vanished. Before Nybbas could respond Dusk flew up, landing on his hands and kicking his left foot up as hard as he could at the jaw of the centipede. He gasped when his foot only met air, and he looked to see that the monster had simply dodged at the last possible second. His reflexes were that fast? Being the size and weight he was? Fine, well the fox still had some other things up his sleeve. Still on his hands he flipped up and on the other side of the monster and with a lightning fats blow, struck it's back with as much force he could throw behind it.

A second later his foot and leg were met with a massive pain as he slowly slid of the back of it and quickly got back up, jumping away from the thing and landing near Jeremy again. He frowned, his shell, his entire back, was as hard as steel. His foot and leg were throbbing with pain to prove it.

Even with a spell helping him. The large shelled insect faced him again, making something that Dusk thought of as a sigh.

"And right back where we were." Dusk made an annoyed sigh, great, he was somewhat fast as well as having a strong defense. Jeremy, who had only watched until then, spoke up as he figured the fighting was over until another strategy came to Dusk's mind.

"...What now?"

"(Sigh). I don't know okay? I can't think that quickly." Jeremy backed off, as Dusk watched the centipede, closing his eyes and trying to think of a strategy he started putting things together. "He's something else. He can control different forms of nature, he has a whole set of dangerous puppet spells, and he's a strategic genius. On top of that...he has quick reflexes and ha an almost impenetrable outer shell." Dusk frowned, sighing and re opening his eyes. "It's not going to be nearly as easy as it was with Apirus. Nybbas may not be a physical fighter at all, but he has everything Apirus didn't. Which makes him altogether stronger." Nybbas seemed to be doing something while the fox had had his eyes closed, as he seemed to be injecting his front two legs into the ground, and waiting as he watched Dusk and Jeremy's puzzled faces.

"Well now...'Dusk' was it?" The fox didn't answer. "...Right. You've seen my powers as they can be used over people, but have you seen my real, creative power? The one...that has given me my sub nick name a 'puppet master'?" Dusk frowned, internally dreading what was going to happen now. The creature seemed to embed his front two out of a thousand legs into the earth harder, and then there was a small rumbling. Dusk looked around, trying to locate the sound, as Jeremy blinked and looked confused.

"What's happening?...What's he doing?" Dusk watched the monster, as the shaking all at once stopped. Both foxes blinked with confusion, as Dusk didn't have a clue what he was doing, not being familiar with puppet spells at all, and Jeremy clueless all together.

"There...there made." Dusk gasped as there was an explosion of earth and two things came flying out of the two holes that were created by it. Dusk went slightly slack jaw, as did Jeremy. As they store at the two things in front of them with slight amazement. Nybbas chuckled, apparently the reaction they had was the same every had. "Behold...my dear foxes..." Two wooden dummies. Each identical to the other one. About Dusk's height, both of them were composed of five large smooth light brown logs that were made by being screwed together so they didn't fall apart. Both had the same sets of arms and legs which were pieces of metal and wood that ended in a flat piece of wood, aka "hand" or "leg". "...The puppet control spell."

--

Dusk's heart, along with his hopes of winning sank slightly, as he took a deep gulp. Puppets? He could actually make puppets out of wood...from underground? If those things were as powerful as he had heard, and what scripture had said about his "puppets" then his hopes of winning were screwed if he didn't get into his immortal form and fast. Jeremy was much more surprised at the well made figures that now stood silently on their own.

"Surprised? So are most of the mortals who see this ability of mine."

"Heh...going to hide behind your toys?"

"Not at all fox. As you can see, I am not at all good at close up fighting like Apirus was more adapted to. I am, however, good in all other categories of fighting. I have enhanced mind, spells, defense and offense using medium to long range attacks. Even if you get close, you cannot put a scratch on my surface. This is why, they sent me after you beat Apirus out of this realm." Dusk frowned, his mind still trying to think of a strategy, but he was getting nowhere fast. "Now then...please, let's stop the pointless chatting. I think it's about time to end this." Dusk grunted, leaning up and taking a stance, as did the puppets.

"Same thing Apirus said when he first started me."

"Hehehehe...of course he did..." The centipede leaned forward, and both the wooden puppets rose their hands.