Ch.90EP 3 Manticore

When raiding in games, there are often many retry situations.

When playing with inexperienced people, the probability increases. The same applies when users’ specs are low.

I had a feeling. That this Manticore couldn’t be defeated with our current capabilities.

“Aaaagh!”

I scream as I rise to my feet.

Broken bones find their original positions and torn skin mends itself.

But another attack sends me crashing to the ground again.

Boom!

An attack striking down from above.

The massive forepaw crushes my body with tremendous weight, driving me into the ground.

This was what the Manticore was like. A creature so powerful that even Charlotte, the strongest tank, could barely withstand it.

It hadn’t even shown its main attack patterns yet. All it had displayed were paw swipes, tail swings, and wing flaps.

The aftermath of those seemingly light attacks was anything but light.

Each time I crawled out with my regenerated body, the number of werewolf corpses increased exponentially.

The same was true for vampires. As both races rapidly diminished in number, my children were disappearing.

Blood forms not just a river but an ocean.

The blood shed by vampires and werewolves flows toward me and is absorbed.

Even though I don’t want to take in the blood of my kin, I have no choice.

To hold the Manticore back even a second longer, I need to absorb blood to rapidly regenerate my body.

Dozens, hundreds of memories mix together.

My brain begins to overload from receiving too many memories at once.

Capillaries burst from the pressure, causing bloody tears and nosebleeds.

And again, I absorb more blood to regenerate.

A vicious cycle.

I was a little girl, and also a boy. I existed as an adult man, then as an adult woman.

The memories of nearly hundreds of vampires began to consume my mind.

I could no longer say with certainty who I was before.

I swing my sword mindlessly.

Shadows extending from my body desperately try to hold the Manticore, but it’s all in vain.

They all fall away with the Manticore’s slight movement.

Through others’ memories, I reflect on my actions.

Those who couldn’t possibly know my circumstances or thoughts judge what they see and hear.

Some followed me sincerely.

However, most vampires were just following me reluctantly out of fear that their very existence would disappear.

Those who died by the Manticore’s hand deeply regretted their deaths.

If they had known this would happen, they would have attacked Charlotte instead.

“Report remaining numbers!”

I shout, shaking off the distracting thoughts filling my head.

In truth, I already knew without being told that about half of our forces had been wiped out.

We had sacrificed half of a thousand to reduce the Manticore’s health by just 20%.

It meant we absolutely could not defeat this creature.

“272 vampires remaining!!!”

“215 werewolves left, ma’am!!!”

Everyone must know. They must be thinking the same thing I am.

That this hunt has failed, that we need to retry.

But this world isn’t a game. It just borrowed a game’s background and some of its systems.

The dead don’t come back to life. We can’t restart a boss fight with the press of a button.

We need to give up. But if we give up now, what about the sacrifice of those who died fighting?

The memories absorbed into me begin to mix with my own as time passes.

The boundary between me and them is becoming blurred.

I asked myself a question.

What did I die for?

Another me answers. It was a meaningless sacrifice.

Crash!

Another forepaw attack from the Manticore.

I can’t withstand it. The sword I desperately raised is crushed along with my body into the ground.

The Manticore’s forepaw adds a rotating motion, grinding me left and right.

I’m torn apart, shattered, and regenerate repeatedly.

By the time the Manticore’s attack ended, I had finally returned to my original form.

New memories absorbed for recovery mix together.

“Retreat!!!”

That was the roar I let out when I crawled up from underground with my regenerated body.

At that scream-like sound, the werewolves and vampires moved as if they had been waiting for it.

This world isn’t a game. We couldn’t safely end the boss fight with the press of a button.

For everyone to escape the Manticore, someone had to stay behind and keep its attention until the end.

And I was the only one who could do that.

“Charlotte!!!”

I heard Aurel’s voice.

Despite being told to flee, she stubbornly remained.

I shouted at Aurel.

“Run away!”

Aurel hesitated for a moment, then nodded and moved away.

I couldn’t see Hwang-gu. Had she already escaped?

Feeling slightly disappointed, I glared at the Manticore.

The Manticore looked at me briefly, then shifted its gaze.

It probably meant I wasn’t threatening enough.

As if deciding to deal with the others who had been attacking it first, the Manticore spread its wings.

It stood over 10 meters tall. When it spread its wings, gray feathers covered the sky.

We lacked manpower. This creature couldn’t be defeated with just vampires and werewolves.

We needed the powerful ranged damage of the human race.

We had simply rushed in too quickly. Next time, next time for sure…

And to ensure there would be a next time, I had to keep this Manticore occupied.

“Die!!!”

With a scream-like battle cry, I charged toward it.

Shadow wings turned into sharp blades, tearing into the Manticore’s fur.

A fierce battle with the Manticore continued.

When stepped on, I was crushed into the ground.

I barely managed to raise my crumpled body and clung to it stubbornly.

Potions in my shadow rapidly depleted as the widely spread shadows absorbed all the blood flowing around.

How much time passed like this?

Suddenly I realized my body’s regeneration was slowing down.

It was because my shadow had absorbed all the blood in the area.

Potions alone weren’t enough to fully withstand the Manticore’s attacks.

Thud!

Another attack came.

Because my twisted legs hadn’t regenerated, I couldn’t even dodge.

A powerful tail attack burst my stomach and sent my body flying backward.

Crash! Boom!

My body hit the ground, bounced up, and spun through the air.

The spinning view made me dizzy and nauseous.

I looked at the Manticore through eyes bloodied by flowing blood.

It wasn’t looking elsewhere. It was staring only at me while slowly approaching.

It meant all the vampires and werewolves had successfully escaped its detection range.

Now I just needed to extract myself as well.

But I couldn’t.

My body was regenerating quickly, but the Manticore was approaching even faster.

By the time my broken bones found their places and burst skin regenerated…

A red shadow suddenly darted out.

“Woof!”

The red shadow was Hwang-gu.

As soon as I spotted Hwang-gu, I embraced her large neck.

Immediately after, Hwang-gu began running.

With each powerful stride of her hind legs, the distance from the Manticore increased.

[Roaaaar!]

Like a lion roaring after losing its prey, the Manticore howled while looking at Hwang-gu and me.

Seeing its wings spread behind its back, it seemed to be planning to fly after us.

I quickly mounted Hwang-gu’s back and used my shadow to bind myself to her.

“Huff huff!”

Tap-tap-tap!

Hwang-gu ran hard. She even showed the composure to occasionally look back to check the Manticore’s speed.

At that moment.

Flap!

The Manticore began flapping its wings.

A storm erupted from its massive gray wings.

The enormous body that took flight came at us with unbelievable speed.

“Faster, faster!”

I shouted while tightly embracing Hwang-gu’s neck.

Hwang-gu responded with a low howl and summoned lightning over her body.

Crackle!

Hwang-gu’s speed momentarily decreased. This narrowed the distance with the Manticore instantly, but Hwang-gu had slowed down to gather strength in her legs.

Bang!

The moment she kicked off the ground, the surrounding scenery stretched into lines.

Hwang-gu’s dash, accompanied by massive lightning, instantly reduced the Manticore to a dot in the distance.

Boom! Crash! Crash!

In this state, Hwang-gu could only run straight.

Unable to change direction, she simply smashed through everything in her path.

After running for quite some time, Hwang-gu collapsed to the ground as if her legs had given out.

“Huff… huff…”

Hwang-gu lay sprawled on the ground, catching her breath.

Her head was turned back, looking at the path she had come from.

She seemed to be checking if we had successfully evaded the Manticore.

The Manticore was nowhere to be seen.

Though the Manticore was fast, it couldn’t match Hwang-gu’s speed.

Flap-flap—Hwang-gu’s tail rotated rapidly.

Her eyes looked up at me intensely, as if wanting praise.

I noticed what she wanted, but I didn’t have a taste for outdoor intimacy.

Besides, Hwang-gu was currently in wolf form.

“No… when we get back…”

“Whine…”

“You’re in wolf form…”

Hwang-gu began to move weakly.

She seemed to be trying to return to her original form, but ultimately remained sprawled on the ground.

It seemed she had used all her strength in the recent dash and didn’t have enough left to return to human form.

“Whiiine…”

I got off Hwang-gu’s back and looked around.

I didn’t know exactly where we were, but I couldn’t sense any human presence.

“If it’s just a kiss…”

At my answer, Hwang-gu’s eyes lit up and she flicked her tongue.

The large wolf’s tongue began cleaning her nose and mouth.

I swallowed dryly before approaching Hwang-gu.

“Mmph!”

Suddenly, a massive tongue invaded.

I couldn’t help but be startled by the movement ruthlessly exploring my mouth.

Wolves really do have long tongues.

Hwang-gu’s long tongue explored my mouth and pushed all the way to my throat.

“Kack…”

This was too much.

I coughed lightly and moved away from Hwang-gu.

Hwang-gu flicked her tongue regretfully.

I wiped my mouth and turned my head away.