Ch.89EP 3 Manticore

The vampires joined without much issue.

Though their expressions showed a lot of discontent, what could they do?

Those without power had no choice but to follow me.

I had already shown what happens to those who refuse to follow.

No one would dare voice their complaints openly.

The werewolves were the same. They followed me with their mouths firmly shut.

“Let’s move out!”

Our advance began in Seoul and continued all the way to Goseong.

The journey took about two hours.

Everyone looked exhausted after running without rest.

I generously allowed everyone to take a break.

The sun would rise soon anyway. To conduct the raid comfortably, we needed to wait until morning had passed.

The werewolves and vampires began to disperse while keeping an eye on me.

Just to be safe, I released Aurel’s sparrows and my children to watch for anyone trying to escape.

“It’s a huge lion…”

From the rooftop of a tall building.

I observed the manticore alongside the small girls.

As Aurel had said, the manticore had the form of a massive lion.

It stood about 10 meters tall with grayish wings folded behind its back.

Its long tail was tipped with threatening spikes.

It looked very similar to the manticore described in ancient myths.

Considering Blood Carnival’s game genre, this boss shouldn’t have appeared.

I recalled my hazy memories. It must have been around this time.

When the game called Blood Carnival started to fall apart.

“Grrrr…”

Hwang-gu burned with hostility as she looked at the huge lion.

She couldn’t stand seeing a dog larger than herself.

I vigorously rubbed Hwang-gu’s chin.

“Yuri.”

“Hmm?”

“How many points do you have right now?”

“Umm…”

Yuri looked into space at my question.

She answered with an inexplicable smile.

“A whole lot!”

“Can you distribute potions to everyone participating in the raid?”

“That would be difficult.”

“Then give as many as you can.”

“Okay.”

Yuri nodded at my words and poured out various buff potions.

I sat down on the floor with the children and began counting and sorting the potions by type.

Yuri had given me about 300 potions.

There were slight differences by type, but it meant about 300 people could participate in the raid with buff effects.

“That’s good enough.”

Time passed quickly and morning arrived.

Some had chosen to escape in this situation, but thanks to Hwang-gu and Aurel’s efforts, we caught them all.

They all became my subordinates.

In a room shrouded in darkness.

Only a small window allowed sunlight to enter.

I looked out the window while embracing Aurel and Hwang-gu.

Suddenly, Aurel, who was nuzzling her face against my cheek, asked a question.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

What was I thinking about?

I tilted my head at Aurel’s question.

Right, I was thinking about the manticore. What changes would come if we defeated the manticore?

When we defeated Fenrir, the item shop, Blood Fruit, and Underground Ruins appeared.

When we defeated the Gorgon, neutral zones, a mysterious altar, and random boxes appeared.

All changes had one thing in common. They made this world better in some way.

The manticore would surely be similar.

The more effort I put in, the better the world becomes.

I swallowed my inner thoughts and turned my gaze.

“Nothing much.”

Aurel, who had been watching me closely, began to cling more aggressively.

Her hands caressing my body became increasingly sticky, and the breath from her small mouth grew rougher.

I naturally accepted Aurel.

Aurel, who had been sitting beside me, changed her position and sat on my lap.

We exchanged gazes while facing each other.

What burned in Aurel’s eyes was sticky lust.

Aurel liked this position the most. It was easy to feel each other’s warmth and kiss at any time.

Aurel smiled with immense happiness as she gently closed her eyes.

Her face slowly approached mine.

Her face tilted slightly as our lips overlapped.

Our lips parted, mixing breath and saliva.

As our soft tongues entwined, a new intruder approached from inside the mouth.

It was Hwang-gu.

It had been a year since I accepted Aurel’s feelings and our bodies intertwined.

Hwang-gu naturally developed a similar relationship with Aurel.

The two girls always stayed close to me, so the three of us kissing simultaneously was a natural progression.

“Mmm…”

As the three soft tongues began to mix, the temperature in the room heated up intensely.

***

After the sun set and night fell.

I led the two limp girls out of the room.

I wanted to cool our heated skin in the cold night breeze.

“Haaah…”

“Heeeh…”

The hateful sun was nowhere to be seen.

A perfect night.

I looked up at the sky and licked my finger.

The faint lingering peach scent scattered in the night breeze.

As evening arrived, werewolves and vampires began to appear.

I nodded at this promising sight.

Before starting the manticore raid, I distributed buff potions primarily to vampires capable of ranged attacks.

It was an unavoidable choice for efficiently tackling the boss.

I led everyone toward the manticore.

The werewolves and vampires showed obvious signs of tension.

Stiff faces and rigid movements.

But that tension would soon dissolve.

When the life-or-death battle begins, their monstrous instincts would awaken and their bodies would start moving naturally.

Aurel and Hwang-gu, who had been enveloped in mild afterglow, rushed to my side as their bodies returned to normal.

Nearby werewolves tilted their heads and sniffed curiously.

Now the real battle begins.

I drew a snow-white sword from the shadows and called forth Mulbitbaram, Prix, and Firin.

The three girls, suddenly summoned, were holding blunt crayons.

All three had progressed significantly in mental erosion, but they still retained their previous memories.

I couldn’t give detailed orders while facing the manticore, so I planned to entrust them with commanding.

“Prix, Firin, and Mulbitbaram. You know what to do, right?”

The three girls nodded with stern expressions at my question.

Each girl approached members of her clan.

The vampires easily accepted their clan leaders’ transformed appearances, but the werewolves still looked uncertain.

Some even approached to sniff them.

Despite having confirmed everything when they first joined.

The transformation of Mulbitbaram from a large woman to a small girl must have been quite shocking.

“Let’s go!”

I shouted vigorously and charged toward the manticore.

At that moment, the manticore, which had been staring into empty space, turned its head.

A light wind burst forth from that simple movement.

[GROOOOAR!]

The manticore’s roar erupted simultaneously.

My legs nearly gave out from just one roar.

I gritted my teeth and leaped toward its head.

Swoosh!

The manticore had only roared without making any other movements.

Thanks to that, I was able to plunge my sword into its head.

Thunk!

The snow-white sword wrapped in shadows penetrated the manticore’s forehead.

However, the sword’s momentum stopped midway.

It had pierced the skin but couldn’t cut through the bone beneath.

At that moment, the manticore’s enormous eyes began to look at me.

Emotionless, bland eyes.

I found these eyes terribly chilling.

A created being without even a soul.

A mere puppet moving according to a god’s will.

Somehow, I felt its situation was similar to mine.

I shook off this feeling and shouted almost convulsively.

“Attack!”

As soon as my signal ended, brilliant lights poured down from all directions.

The vampires specialized in ranged attacks had begun their assault first.

Following them, werewolves began to charge.

The werewolves, using partial beast transformation, clung to the manticore’s body and mercilessly tore at its skin.

[GROOOOAR!]

The manticore, which hadn’t reacted to my attack, finally began to respond.

It swung its long tail extending from behind its rear like a whip.

CRASH!

With a sound like thunder striking, the road flipped over.

Nearly ten werewolves were smashed into bloody pulps and thrown off by a single swing of the tail.

The manticore’s attack didn’t end there.

It suddenly raised its front legs.

Its gaze was directed precisely at me.

It seemed to want to shake off the nuisance clinging to its face.

Whoosh!

The manticore’s massive front paw came flying.

I ran with all my might across the creature’s face.

The front paw I barely avoided brushed slightly against my back as it passed.

“Ugh…”

If it had hit me properly, my bones would have been shattered and I’d have been smashed into the ground.

I gripped my sword tightly and ran toward the manticore’s eye.

“Haaah!”

The movement of a massive shadow extended with my charge.

At that moment, snow-white girls poured out and covered the manticore’s face.

“Kill it!”

-It’s a lion!

-Wooaah!

As soon as my order ended, the children scattered in all directions and unleashed attacks on the manticore’s face.

Some even crawled into its large nostrils.

The manticore’s expression instantly contorted.

I tensed up, preparing for another front paw attack, but the manticore chose a different method.

It slightly spread its front and hind legs to brace itself.

Without any warning, it smashed its head into the ground.

BOOM!

“Guh… gack…”

Sand poured into my widely opened mouth, opened from pain.

The manticore’s attack was simple but effective.

I moved my bloodied vision around to check on the children’s condition.

Crushed flesh and snow-white hair turning red with blood.

About 50 children died instantly from this single attack.