NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72: Manticore
Wade darted forward, his sword flashing as he closed the gap between himself and the skeletal manticore.
The thing's bones rattled as it moved, its wings spreading wide and its tail arcing back like a whip ready to strike.
The moment Wade came into range, the tail lashed down.
He sidestepped, the stinger striking the stone and leaving a sizzling crater.
A hiss filled the air. The venom was corrosive, eating into the column's surface.
"Alright, no touching that," Wade muttered, darting left and slashing at its ribs.
The strike hit true, but his blade scraped across bone, barely leaving a mark.
The manticore turned its skull toward him and exhaled.
A cloud of green mist burst forth, rolling toward him like living poison.
"Not good!" Wade jumped back and threw up Basic Ward, but the moment the mist touched the barrier, it sizzled.
The ward flickered like a flame caught in the wind. The mist was eating through it, devouring the mana holding the spell together.
"Poison that eats mana? You've got to be kidding me!" he spat, retreating as fast as he could.
The manticore lunged through the fading mist, its claws raking across the floor.
Wade barely avoided the swipe, feeling the gust of displaced air whip against his cheek.
His Fireburst spell shot forward in retaliation, engulfing the beast in orange flame.
But the fire danced harmlessly across the bone, leaving little more than black scorch marks.
He grit his teeth. "So much for that."
The tail lashed again, faster this time, and he barely managed to teleport aside, reappearing a few feet away just as the stinger ripped through where he'd been.
His heart hammered in his chest. One mistake here and he was finished.
He exhaled and activated Focus Sight.
The world slowed, and his breathing steadied.
The faint glow of mana outlined the manticore's movements.
He could ripples of light in its tail as it drew back, signifying the shift of its weight before a strike, and as he studied it, the twitch of its wings before it moved.
"Got you."
The stinger came again, this time faster than before, a blur of green and bone, but Wade was already moving.
He sidestepped, grabbed the stinger as it passed, and yanked hard, pulling himself closer to the beast.
With a roar, he drove his sword up, striking into the joint of its ribcage.
The sword bit deep, and for the first time, the manticore recoiled in pain.
It screamed, that same rattling, thunderous clatter, and leapt back, its wings spreading.
With a heavy beat, it lifted into the air.
Wade watched, his eyes narrowing.
"Don't even think about—"
The manticore's tail began to glow, and then it swung it downward, releasing a spray of venom.
The droplets hit the platform, sizzling violently, each one burning through the stone.
Wade threw himself to the side, but one droplet hit his pauldron. It hissed but held, the loot standing up to the damage.
"Alright. Definitely not touching that again."
The manticore dived.
Wade saw it coming. The wings pulled in tight, the body dropping like a meteor, and forced himself to stay calm.
He could see every movement, every angle, every death waiting for him if he mistimed his step.
When the beast was almost upon him, Wade vanished.
He reappeared several meters away, the Chain Step burning through a chunk of his mana as the manticore's claws slammed into the spot where he'd been standing.
The force shattered the stone tile, sending cracks spreading in all directions.
He stumbled, panting, his blood rushing through his veins.
The manticore turned its skull towards him again, venom dripping from its fangs, the green mist thickening around its body.
"That… would've killed me," Wade muttered, tightening his grip on his sword.
He squared his shoulders, straightening into a stance.
The manticore began prowling opposite him, its hollow eyes burning with faint green fire.
Its tail twitched again, the venom dripping steadily and sizzling when it hit the floor.
The mist thickened even more, curling around the beast like a living shroud.
"Alright," Wade muttered, rolling his neck, "no fire, no getting close, and don't touch the poison. Easy."
The manticore's jaw opened, and another plume of toxic vapor hissed from its maw.
Wade darted aside, Chain Step flickering to life as he blinked out of the poison's path.
He reappeared behind the creature, swinging his sword at its hind leg.
The strike bit in, but not deep enough.
The beast spun faster than he expected.
Its stinger lashed forward, and he barely raised a shield in time.
The barrier flared as the stinger slammed into it, venom splashing against the magic and rebounding in glowing droplets.
They hit the manticore's own leg, hissing loudly, smoke curling upward.
The creature let out a bony, metallic screech and stumbled sideways, half its limb eaten through by its own poison.
Wade blinked. 'That worked?'
The manticore recovered quickly, growling low, but Wade had seen the flicker of weakness.
The poison wasn't just corrosive, it was volatile. And it could affect the manticore.
And just like that, a plan began forming in his mind.
He began circling the beast, forcing it to follow him, keeping its attention locked.
It struck again and again, every tail swipe cutting through the air like a homing missile.
Wade used the broken bits of stone as cover, dodging and sidestepping until he maneuvered the manticore near one of the large pools of venom that had accumulated from its earlier attacks.
"Come on," Wade whispered, his focus narrowing.
The manticore lunged again.
Wade feigned exhaustion, deliberately slowing his dodge so the stinger barely missed his chest.
He stumbled, just as the creature reared its head, sensing an opening.
And that was when he activated Aegis of Reflection again.
The golden shield flared to life around him as the manticore's tail plunged down, not toward Wade, but directly into its own venom pool.
The result was immediate and violent.