The Manticore
Black Dragon. Schwarz.
Manticore.
A mid-tier monster one could find without much difficulty wherever humans lived.
The reason they appeared so readily near human settlements was nothing particularly grand.
Manticores were carnivores.
And among all flesh, the meat they preferred above all else was human.
"Grrrrr…"
With bloodshot eyes gleaming, the manticore let out a low growl.
"Krrrrr…!!"
Schwarz answered in kind, spreading his wings wide and snarling back at the beast.
There could be only one reason a manticore that normally dwelled deep in the forest would show itself here.
It had come to hunt.
"A-a manticore…!!"
At the sight of it, the color drained from Milia's face until she was white as a sheet.
A girl of barely ten years and a young dragon who had not even reached the juvenile stage.
To the two of them, a manticore was nothing less than a calamity—on the level of a chimera or a fully grown dragon.
"Krrrrr…"
As if it had sensed Milia's terror, the manticore lowered its body like a predator stalking prey and began to close the distance step by step.
What do I do…
Watching the manticore draw nearer by the second, Schwarz flicked a sidelong glance toward Milia.
Faced with a situation she had never experienced in her life, she could only tremble, at a complete loss.
Maybe I should have turned back right away, even if it made her angry.
Schwarz shook the thought away.
Regret changed nothing about what had already happened.
The only thing that mattered now was how to get out of this alive.
Milia's hypothermia had not fully recovered, so fleeing by air was impossible.
Running on foot would only end with them being overtaken in short order—that much was obvious.
In the end, only one choice remained to him.
"Grrrrung…"
"Sch-Schwarz…?"
Hearing the low rumble directed at her, Milia spoke in a trembling voice.
After so long together, they had grown able to read each other's rough intentions from a look alone.
"What are you thinking right now…!!"
"Keuuung."
Schwarz gave her a small nod as if to say don't worry, then turned his head back toward the manticore.
"Kyaaaaaah-!!"
"Kyauuuu-!!"
In the same breath he spread his wings wide and roared at the beast—and the manticore charged.
Its razor claws swept toward him. Schwarz ducked low, slipping under the strike.
A rush of air parted above his head as the forepaw passed, and he lunged straight for the exposed underside of the manticore's throat, clamping his jaws onto the pulsing neck with all his strength.
"Kyaaaak-!!?"
"Grrrrrrr-!!"
The manticore thrashed with a scream of pain, but Schwarz held on for dear life.
If he lost his grip and was thrown free, what would follow was all too clear.
So they struggled, locked together for what felt like an eternity…
Then came the sickening sound of hide tearing, and a warm, metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
"Kyaaaaaak!!"
"Keuweong!!"
In that instant the manticore raised a foreleg and smashed it across Schwarz's head. The impact hurled him free; he tumbled across the ground.
Pain as if his entire body had been beaten with clubs.
He forced his head up. The world swam and blurred.
A sharp shake of his head finally brought his vision back into focus…
"Kyaaaaaah-!!"
"Grrrrr…!!"
The manticore roared at him; Schwarz answered with a defiant bellow of his own.
A head-on fight is hopeless…
Even giving himself every benefit of the doubt, the manticore's bulk was more than twice his own.
Size did not decide every battle, but the larger fighter always held the advantage—that needed no saying.
Please just leave… please…
Staring at the wounded manticore, Schwarz prayed desperately that the beast would simply withdraw.
Predators often abandoned a hunt when prey fought back with real ferocity.
Pushing too hard and getting injured could ruin future hunts—or make them targets for other predators.
"Kyaaaaaaah-!!"
But his hope proved empty. The manticore showed not the slightest intention of retreating; it spread its great wings wide and shrieked.
Of course…
If life ever went the way one wanted, how easy it would be. Schwarz let out a short, silent sigh.
Yet he could not back down.
Not while the girl behind him was still trembling. He would never yield.
With another roar the manticore charged again. Schwarz leapt straight up onto its head.
"Kyau-!?"
In that same moment the manticore's tail—studded with countless spines—lashed toward his skull.
A frantic beat of his wings let him dodge by a hair's breadth. He scrambled onto the beast's back and began savaging the nape of its neck with wild, desperate bites.
"Kyaaaak!! Kyaa-!!"
"Grrrrr-!!"
Pain at its nape sent the manticore into a frenzy, but Schwarz clung on with every ounce of strength, tearing at the hide.
The two beasts' roars filled the air; blood sprayed in every direction and torn clumps of grass flew skyward.
"Kyaaaaaah-!!"
"Kyaak!?"
Then the thrashing tail slammed into Schwarz's side.
A crushing impact, followed by pain beyond description.
It felt as though a red-hot skewer had been driven through his flesh.
A scream tore from him; the world flipped upside down…
His body bounced and rolled several times before it finally came to a stop.
"Schwarz!"
Milia cried out in anguish, but the sound never reached him.
"Kyauuu…!!"
His vision was nothing but red. Warmth poured from his side, and agony beyond measure flooded through him.
If he let his focus slip for even a second he would black out. Schwarz clenched his jaws until blood welled between his teeth and tried to force himself upright.
But no matter how hard he strained, his fallen body refused to rise.
"Grrrrr…"
The manticore approached with a low growl.
Its bloodshot eyes burned crimson, as if enraged that a creature so far beneath it had dared to wound it.
"Keuuung…!!"
Watching the beast draw closer, Schwarz thrashed and struggled to stand, yet his limbs would not obey.
The manticore thrust its blood-smeared face right up to his.
"Grrrrr…!!"
A moment later it opened its jaws. Rows of razor teeth filled his vision.
Damn it.
Schwarz cursed under his breath as he stared at the sight.
There was nothing more he could do.
All that remained was to close his eyes and wait for the death that was coming for him once again.
The manticore's breath brushed his skin, sending a crawling chill through him. Overwhelmed by a nameless revulsion, Schwarz slowly shut his eyes.
And then—
—Thuk!
"Kraaaaaaaaah-!!"
A sickening sound of something piercing flesh rang out, and the manticore screamed.
…?
Schwarz's eyes snapped open. What he saw was Milia, driving a broken spine deep into the manticore's eye.
"Schwarz! Run—now!!"
"Kyaaaaaaah-!!"
Blinded by the sudden strike, the manticore thrashed wildly, spraying crimson blood.
Milia clung to its nape for dear life, fists locked in its mane.
But even she could not hold on long against a beast gone berserk.
"Kyaak!!"
At last her grip failed. She was flung free with a scream and tumbled across the ground…
"Keureuk-!! Kyaaaa-!!"
Leaving her where she lay, the manticore clawed at its own face with a forepaw, trying to dig the spine free.
But every scrape only drove the barb deeper.
"Keuuuu…"
Watching that, Schwarz slowly forced himself up.
The briefest of openings, bought by Milia.
If he let this chance slip, there would never be another.
With that thought he poured every last scrap of strength into his unresponsive body and rose.
"Keureuk!?"
The manticore turned its head in alarm at the sight of him—but by then its fate was already sealed.
"Kyaaaaaaah-!!"
"Kraaaaaaaaaaah-!!"
Schwarz summoned the final dregs of his power and smashed a forepaw down onto the manticore's eye. The sharp spine plunged deep into its skull.
A nauseating sensation, and the manticore's final death cry spilled from its jaws…
The once-glittering eyes lost their light. Its massive body swayed, then toppled with a heavy thud onto the earth.
"Keuu…"
The joy of victory lasted only a heartbeat.
With a labored sound Schwarz lifted his head and staggered toward Milia, who lay not far away.
Clinging to the last threads of consciousness, he reached her side and collapsed beside her.
Thankfully she seemed only to have fainted; a faint breath still whispered from her lips.
"Keuung…"
Relief washed through him. Schwarz let the fraying cord of awareness slip free and draped a wing over her body.
Please… let someone find us here…
With that single, fervent wish, Schwarz's consciousness sank completely into darkness.