Xutep Grunts

The Xutep Grunts are the primary enemies in Egyptian Epidemic, a Hidden Nightmare introduced in Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitation.

Appearance
The Xutep Grunts are humanoid in shape, being insectoid with segmented limbs and legs. They have two horns, wear head armour with a single gem on it, and have long cloaks covering their bodies. Underneath are wings. They come in four variants: The Emerald, The Ruby, The Sapphire and the Amber. They carry different types of weapons, such as bow and arrows, battle-axes, spears, and swords.

In Frenzy Mode, their eyes glow their respective colour (Green for Emerald, Red for Ruby, Blue for Sapphire and Yellow for Amber).

Personality
The Xutep are highly intelligent and organized. They take a huge disliking to intruders in their city and will do anything to protect their city from threats. They are endlessly loyal to Zumarud who is endlessly loyal to Malak. The Xutep have a huge pride in themselves, worshipping their Pharaoh and the Pharaohess.

Powers
The Xutep can fly using their wings, and can lift things far larger than themselves. They also wield special magic and can use this to manifest weapons. They also possess supreme night vision.

Behaviour
The Xutep Grunts patrol the maze in search of the player, and immediately chase them upon spotting them. They will fly at the same speed as the player's running speed and thus speed boost is required to outrun them. The Xutep can hear the player's movements, and will head towards any sound produced by destroying red barriers, getting caught in traps or Bierce's comments.

Additionally, all four of the Xutep Grunts' gemstone variants does something different from one another:


 * Emerald (Green): Emerald Xuteps serve as spotlights throughout the level, and the player will almost certainly be spotted by one if they are not cautious around them. Their eyes produce a bright green flashlight-like beam that allows the player to see where they are looking. These Xuteps scout the environment from above buildings and pillars, waiting for anything to pass through their watchful gaze. After detecting a victim, the Emerald Xuteps will jump or teleport from their hiding places and by concentrating high amounts of energy from its crystals, the Emerald Xutep can fire a long-range beam of toxic energy at its enemies. The direction of the attack is based on predictions of the future location of the player. If the player attempts to use the Blow Dart ability against the Emerald Xuteps, a dangerously thick plume of green fog will begin to emerge from their bodies momentarily, damaging the player if they stand close. They are considered to be the fastest of all types as they run at the same speed as the player. They can hear the sound made by the player's tablet when they activate their powers from a great distance and instantly search for the location where the sound is coming from. However, they cannot fly due to their damaged wings and will instead crawl across floors, walls and ceilings with their many limbs. They are also nearsighted, which means they can only detect the player's location and start a chase if they are a little near them.
 * Ruby (Red): Ruby Xuteps possess quieter movements than the other counterparts, although they can make strategies to surround the player. Collecting Soul Shards will still alert Ruby Xuteps to the player's location, and they can also see the player from further away, giving them an edge in searching and recognizing the player's position. They sometimes trample the ground to create fiery shockwaves in the surrounding area, knocking the player away from them, and also dropping glowing red skull projectiles floating in the air. If the player touched these skulls, then their location will instantaneously be revealed to all enemies, and slightly boost their speed. When the player collects about 20 or 30 soul shards, they will automatically transform into a Royal Guard. This form is slightly faster and can breathe a stream of large flame particles every second quickly and continuously, as well as spitting out a explosive fireball projectile. The extent of the fire is very limited, but it can cause serious damage at close range. They are completely unaffected by Primal Fear and have the slowest speed of all Xutep variants, however.
 * Sapphire (Blue): Sapphire Xuteps will frequently use their teleportation ability to caught the player off-guard. They can easily detect light sources from very long distances. So hiding in the dark is a good choice when dealing with them. Maintaining eye contact against them will increase their damage output and cooldown of their teleportations the longer they're currently stared at, as well as their likelihood for them to whistle, which will not only attract other enemies towards the player's presence but will also make them very aggressive. Sometimes, they may form a concentrated ball of thunderous energy and will relentlessly chase the player until they hit the player or the ball goes out. The Sapphire Xuteps will then have a cooldown period before they form another ball of energy. While they’re considered to be the weakest as they’re the most susceptible to the effects of Primal Fear and Telepathy, they’re also the most intelligent type.
 * Amber (Yellow): Amber Xuteps will burrow underground and travel underground. When underground, the player cannot attack them. Debris will be thrown up from the ground and a rumbling sound will tell the player where the Xutep currently is. While above ground, the Amber Xuteps would constantly create a sticky, damaging puddle of honey underneath themselves all while jumping around in random directions, totally ignoring the player's presence. The puddle will disappear only after they get destroyed. When they get destroyed, they will immediately explode, spraying honey everywhere and temporarily obscure the player's eyesight within their blast radius.

Trivia

 * The Xutep have a small inspiration from the Qu in All Tomorrows
 * The Xutep's designs are based off the character designs in Hollow Knight. This applies to the Grunts, their Pharaoh and their Pharaohess.
 * The Xuteps are the first enemies that do not always have red eyes in Frenzy Mode.
 * The Xutep are Hermaphrodites, meaning they possess both male and female reproductive organs.
 * The Xutep seem to be Dragonflies.
 * The Xuteps first appeared 100,000 years ago, but it was not until 10,000 years ago that they set up their civilization