Mittens

"Haaaahhh… Haaahhh…"

It's been three hours since Helena and Alexander have been locked up in combat against the Manticore. 

They've finally figured out the Manticore's attack patterns and because of that, the Manticore is missing all of its attacks. The price they paid for this is quite big though as they only have one strong health potion each. 

Both of them can only make one more mistake.

The Manticore wasn't unscathed either, it had plenty of small cuts all over its body and some of its flesh were charred by the Salamandr.

But it was clear that the Manticore was stronger than the two of them. It is very hard for either of them to fight the Manticore head-on

Both sides were already exhausted but looking at the battle closely, it was Alexander who was the most tired out of the three.

The Manticore noticed this and it focused its attacks on Alexander.

Helena gritted her teeth in anxiousness. She knew that Alex was out of stamina potions and his focus potions were also running out.

She had to help Alex and get the Manticore's attention somehow.

Helena tried to attack the Manticore from behind multiple times but it refuses to even block her attack.

It knows that as long as it keeps moving to attack Alexander, Helena won't be able to deal any fatal blows to its body.

It plans to tank Helena's damage and finish off Alexander first.

"You! Big! Fucker! Fight me! Are you scared?!"

Helena was spouting off curses in anger, she was desperate to get the Manticore's attention because she knew that Alexander wouldn't be able to hold out any longer.

After a few more seconds of relentless onslaught, Alexander finally made a fatal mistake.

While dodging, he slipped on an uneven surface which made him fall down on his butt.

Unfortunately for him, this was the chance that the Manticore needed to finish him off.

*ROOOOOOAAAARR*

It pounced excitedly at Alexander as it opened its jaws to try and rip Alexander apart with its sharp teeth.

"IGNITION BLADE!!"

Helena had no choice but to use her finisher against the Manticore even though it wasn't the perfect time to use it yet.

She had to save Alexander at all costs.

*ROOOOOAAAAAARR*

Fortunately for Alexander, Helena's finisher did just the perfect damage to stop the Manticore from killing him.

Alex didn't miss this chance and immediately extended his sword's range using sword intent.

Before the Manticore could recover from Helena's attack, Alexander's sword intent pierced through its chest.

*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAARR*

The Manticore roared in pain again but unfortunately, Alexander's attack didn't pierce through its heart.

After a few seconds, it finally recovered and it was extremely furious now due to the heavy damage that it suffered.

"Alex! Watch out!"

The Manticore flew into the air and unleashed a barrage of poisoned spikes from its scorpion tail. 

Fortunately, Alex has naturally fast reflexes and he was able to dodge the poison spikes.

Unbeknownst to him, it was all a part of the Manticore's plan. As he was dodging the poison spike barrage, the Manticore flapped its wings and dived towards Alex.

Helena's eyes constricted into vertical slits after seeing the new variation of attack pattern from the Manticore.

She knew that Alex would die if she didn't do anything.

She couldn't explain why, but at that moment, It seemed like her instincts took over her body and made her forcefully cry tears of blood.

After a few seconds, the tears of blood flowed down her cheeks and solidified into blood runes. Her body started emitting red smoke and her amber eyes turned scarlet.

It seems that her body naturally reacted to the crisis at hand which proved that she truly had immaculate battle instincts.

Just as her transformation finished, the Manticore's dive attack struck Alexander.

He was now pinned under the Manticore's paw while spitting blood from his mouth. It is obvious that he was heavily injured by that attack.

He wanted to drink his last strong health potion but it seemed that he wouldn't even get that chance.

Just as he thought that he was dead for real this time…

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ALEX YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"

Helena was zooming towards the Manticore at an unbelievable speed. 

Even the Manticore was shocked by how fast Helena was going. As a result, it panicked a bit and it wasn't able to properly defend itself.

This unbelievable speed was due to the blood rune state combined with Helena's dash skill.

The Manticore was forced to release Alex in order to prepare an attack that could counter Helena's charge.

*ROOOOOOAAAAR*

The Manticore opened its mouth and a magic circle appeared in front of it. 

After a few seconds of charging, a purple beam covered with sparks fired towards Helena.

With how fast Helena was going, there was no way she could dodge this beam attack from the Manticore.

The Manticore excitedly looked at the result of the collision since it believed that it had already won.

Unfortunately, it was caught off guard when a magic circle appeared around Helena's arms which boosted her attack power by at least three times.

"HOOOOORAAAAHH!!! EAT THIS YOU BASTARD!! IGNITION BLADE!!"

The Manticore's eyes were wide open due to shock as it saw Helena slashing its beam attack apart.

In the end, it wasn't able to react in time and Helena's finisher move struck it right in the neck.

It couldn't even roar as it started to spit out blood. Its throat was bleeding heavily and it seemed like its head would fall off at any moment.

"Buhaaaahhk…"

Helena also spat out blood due to the physical stress that her body had to endure after using two new skills simultaneously.

"Haaaahh…Haaaahh…Hahahahaah it seems like we won you overgrown flying kitty!"

Helena knew that she could pull off another regular Ignition Blade to finish off the Manticore so she immediately assumed the Ignition Blade's stance again.

The manticore's eyes widened in fear as it saw Helena preparing another attack that would finish it off.

"IGNITION BL-!"

"W…Wait! Don't kill me! I submit! I can be your mount, your pet, whatever! Just don't kill me!"

Helena was utterly shocked after a voice sounded in her head. It seems to be the voice of the Manticore and it was begging for its life!

Telepathy!

"Y-You can talk?! You motherfucker! We could have talked it out but you choose to roar like some stupid beast?!"

"You speak with us now that you're about to lose?! Amazing! Just fucking amazing! You think I'm gonna let you off?! Die!!"

Helena was enraged upon learning that the Manticore could talk and her judgment was clouded by rage.

Her comrade Alexander almost died so her anger is justified.

Just as she was about to kill the Manticore…

"W...Wait… General! Don't kill it… Try…to tame it…It would be a huge help to the town…"

Alexander quickly voiced his suggestions with a weak voice because it was unwise to kill such a strong helper.

Helena took a deep breath to calm herself down after hearing Alexander's suggestion.

Indeed, this Manticore will be a big help to their town if they could subdue it.

"Ha! What guarantee do we have that you will not make trouble for us once you've recovered? Do you think we're idiots like you?!"

Helena asked in a cold voice.

In response, the Manticore spit out a small purple marble and gave it to Helena.

"T-This is my beast core. If you destroy this, I will immediately die. You can keep my beast core and crush it anytime you want if I make any sort of trouble for you."

"With this beast core, my life and death will be under your control."

Helena smiled widely after hearing the explanation.

It seems that this Manticore is sincere about submitting to them.

"Very well, I shall accept you on our side. A strong general like me needs a strong mount. In addition, you know this forest well so you shall act as our guide!"

"Y-Yes, I greet master!"

"Great answer! From now on, you shall be known as Mittens"

Helena was satisfied with the Manticore's reply. In the end, she even gave it a name.

Mittens almost fainted in anger due to its new name. However, there was nothing it could do.

In the end, the Manticore was forced to accept the name Mittens with a depressed heart.