Manti-Gore, The Beast of Destruction

(3rd Person View)

Paperbag walked away and made his way for an exit, leaving Manti-Gore to deal with the newly arrived Hero.

Taejoon, however, had other plans.

As Paperbag walked, he noticed something was wrong. He then looked bag to see Manti-Gore surprised at the fact that Taejoon was gone from where he was standing.

"Yo." Paperbag turned to see the hero next to him

"Wha-" he exclaimed before he felt Taejoon's boot hit him square in the chest

Sending him flying, Taejoon then readied a stance with his blade.

Manti-Gore widened his eyes, what he felt was an unbelievable killing intent emanating from Taejoon. It was obvious to him, that he was gonna cut Paperbag down right there and then.

Taejoon gave Paperbag a serious glare as the man hit the wall with a thud. As soon as he grasped the handle of his sword, he noticed a large shadow on his left. Taejoon glanced to see a giant fist barreling toward his face.

Instantly, Taejoon jumped back away from Manti-Gore who had missed his swing on him.

Wasting no time, however, Taejoon directed his attack at the mercenary. He took a deep breath and looked at the superhuman.

"...Cross..." He muttered under his breath

Manti-Gore noticed something was coming. He then covered his entire body in plating and assumed a defensive position. His plan was not to interrupt the attack again, this time he will allow the attack to come to him to get Taejoon in close quarters and counter with his attack. That was his plan and was waiting for whatever the Hero throws at him.

Taejoon then disappeared and suddenly appeared behind Manti-Gore in a flash.

"...Guild Mark.." he said

A massive shockwave then blasted from Manti-Gore as a large cross-shaped cut appeared on his chest. The attack managed to cut through the mercenary's plated armor. The force of the cut was strong enough to stagger the beast of a man.

"What the hell?!" Manti-Gore exclaimed, "This power...."

He managed to compose himself and turned to Taejoon who only straightened up and looked at him. Manti-Gore clutched his wound, he felt as the blood poured out of it. He grimaced, he felt some amount of pain. This attack was different than Amily's, aside from the previous being a kick and this being a sword. No, the mercenary noticed the difference, but he couldn't exactly identify it. He did feel The Demon Leg's attacks, but they weren't strong enough to fully damage him. This one hurt and caused a significant amount of damage.

Manti-Gore will need to study his attacks further to fully understand, He could only glare at the Hero at this moment.

"You bastard, how in the hell did you damage me this much?!" He demanded, "The little girl, she couldn't do this much damage and it cost her the fight and yet you could do it, easily no less."

Paperbag stood up from where he was, he patted his suit down and adjusted his bag.

He looked at Taejoon who stood between him and his mercenary, "My...My..." he said, "You are... scary...God Sword..."

Taejoon then looked at him and gave him a vicious glare. Paperbag could feel the hostility coming from the Hero.

"That is a look...unbefitting of...a Hero..." Paperbag stated as he adjusted his cuffs, "What will...your...fans...think of...you?"

Taejoon readied another stance, "What will they think?" He said seriously, "They'll probably be ashamed of me if I don't bring you down, right here and now. Paperbag, you bastard, it is time for you to pay for your crimes!!!"

Paperbag shrugged, "I...am afraid...not.."

Taejoon then jumped to the side to avoid Manti-Gore's massive downward axe kick, one that caused a shockwave and broke the concrete floor.

Taejoon landed next to a bench and composed himself, he looked at Manti-Gore who changed his appearance. His face was resembling more of a lion's while his arms had black scales. He saw the size of his legs which were armored with plating. Taejoon was sure that the muscles underneath the skin were incredibly strong.

He had heard of the criminal, Manti-Gore, and all data regarding his abilities. He was aware of his ability to change his body parts to those of animals but was not fully informed what the limits of that ability were.

Manti-Gore then glared at him. Taejoon then noticed his eyes were those of a Hawk's. He could only assume that they were also enhanced in some other ways, but he wasn't going to ask what. But what took Taejoon aback was the wound he gave him just a minute ago.

It had healed already. There was only a faint cross-shaped scar on the chest where he had landed his first attack.

"The S-Class criminal, Manti-Gore." Taejoon said, "You were capable of defeating Amily. You're not someone to be underestimated."

Manti-Gore took a step towards Taejoon, "Ten Guardians, Taejoon." He growled, "To think one of you weak heroes is capable of wounding me so casually. And for the wound to actually hurt, is unheard of. Purgatory does have a capable warrior indeed."

He then reached his hand out and sprouted his sharp claws. Taejoon merely put his guard up. He knew this was a fight he cannot avoid, even if he tried.

He looked where Paperbag was, but to his surprise, he was gone.

He scowled, "That slimy bastard escaped?" He muttered, "Fuck!"

Before he could react, Manti-Gore lunged at him and swiped his massive arm at him. He tried to cut him with his razor-sharp claws. Taejoon ducked the swing and unsheathed his sword into a swing of his and cut at his abdomen.

After swinging, he lunged away and landed a couple of meters away. He then took a look at Manti-Gore's abdomen, it was unscathed.

"Tch..." Taejoon said, "He reinforced his defenses? How is that different than his plating?"

The mercenary then started shaking as he growled.

"Grrr..." Manti-Gore growled, "...Little.....fucker....."

Taejoon narrowed his eyes, "What?" he said noticing something was off

Manti-Gore then brought his foot up, his eyes starting glowing red. It didn't take a genius to know that something was up with the superhuman. His body was shaking and Taejoon could swear there was a bit of steam coming off his body.

Then, Manti-Gore brought his foot down, stomping the ground. The stomp was so strong it caused another shockwave, more massive than the last one, breaking the floor and creating a massive crater. This made Taejoon a bit uneasy, he was not sure what was going on. He did not know if Manti-Gore had super-strength or not, the data he was given did not go over this.

The beast then started growling even more as he glared at Taejoon with his eyes, this time they were crimson red instead of the yellow one of a hawk's.

Taejoon readied his blade, "Don't tell me..." he said starting to realize what could be happening, "Your body....is blood doping?"

Blood doping is a type of doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted to enhance athletic performance. But this is referred to as regular human doping. But if a physical type superhuman were to figure out to dope and increased their physical abilities, it would result in dire consequences.

Taejoon fixed his shades, "Brawn-type superhumans are forbidden to attempt doping since their physiology is special and different from regular humans. Their physicality is due to the gift of their powers" Taejoon stated, "If they tried to boost those powers, their body could react in a nasty way. What you're doing could kill you, you know that?"

Manti-Gore glared at him still and clenched his fists, "You fool...." He growled, "Do you really think someone as experienced as I would not know that? I am no imbecile, you damn whippersnapper!!!"

He stomped the ground again, this time it was less powerful than the previous. But it was still enough to crack the floor and send another shockwave.

Manti-Gore extended his arm towards Taejoon and opened his hand, "Those effects may apply to Brawn-type superhumans. They may have their physiology due to their powers but at the end of the day, their physiology is still Human!! I am different, I have changed my entire cellular system to be unique. Years of training this power, years of combat, fighting the truly strongest warriors this world could offer. Do you really think mere doping would be capable of killing me?!"

He then lunged at Taejoon and punched the ground where Taejoon was, he had jumped ahead of time anticipating the attack. The punch was powerful enough to once again, break the floor and cause a shockwave. This shockwave, however, was strong enough to shatter the windows of nearby stores.

Taejoon sheathed his blade and readied a stance, he had to find an opening for a clear cut. Manti-Gore had somehow reinforced his body to be tougher than the plated armor he had tried earlier. This man was not someone he could get careless against, he had easily defeated Amily, after all.

"Tch!" He said frustratingly, "Paperbag got away and now I have to deal with this guy."

Manti-Gore straightened up and looked at Taejoon, "Ten Guardians, Taejoon...." He said, "Why run away from my fist? Are you afraid? And you call yourself a warrior? What a pathetic excuse of a warrior, you are!!"

"Oh shut up." Taejoon spat, "What do you know of me?"

Manti-Gore glared at him, "I know you are nothing like those I've fought." He growled, "I have fought real warriors. The likes of Typhoon, Atlas, Thunder, and Apex!!"

Taejoon then narrowed his eyes, "All Titans and Apex?" He said, "You fought Apex?"

Manti-Gore nodded, "Yes, and that man is far more formidable than you are." He said, "You should be ashamed to put up a pathetic display of-"

Before he can finish, Taejoon flashed past him, the gust of wind hitting the mercenary's face. He then looked behind him to see Taejoon sheathing his blade slowly.

"huh?" He said as he felt immense pain in his body

Blood started to spew out of the many massive cuts on Manti-Gore's body.

"Arrghhh!!" he shouted out in pain, "What in the hell?!!?"

He clutched his side where the largest cut was, blood pouring out rapidly. Manti-Gore collapsed to one knee as he looked at the hero.

Taejoon looked back at him with a serious glare, "Listen here, fuckface." He growled, "Lately, I've been compared to that guy by a bunch of people. I will not stand here and let some criminal do the same."

Manti-Gore widened his eyes at this, He noticed something that even a superhuman could. It was the same thing he sensed when Taejoon tried to attack his employer.

Killing Intent.

Taejoon has now directed his killing intent at him. He realized that the attack he had taken, had some in it. Taejoon was not going to show him mercy.

Manti-Gore then growled, even deeper and louder than it was. Steam started coming out of his wounds as they closed up slowly.

Taejoon noticed this, "Regeneration?" He said to himself, "This guy is more troublesome than I thought."

Then Manti-Gore stood up straight and let out a bellowing roar.

The roar was so strong that it shook the building and the shockwave caused by it pushed Taejoon back a bit as he covered his face.

Taejoon then saw as something started to protrude from his back. Manti-Gore kept roaring as his back changed.

After stopping the roar that caused some damage to the surroundings, Taejoon lowered his arms to see Manti-Gore slouched a bit, his eyes glowing red again. The hero widened his eyes to see four massive spider legs coming out of his back, two on each side. They were obsidian colored and were incredibly large, it looked as if they were twice the size of the mercenary and he is a massive man. They were also thick, too thick to even be considered spider legs. Manti-Gore must've reinforced them as well.

Then he noticed as a large serpent coiled itself on one of the legs. It started hissing at Taejoon, its dark grey scales reflecting the sunshine that came from the glass ceiling. With the newly formed spider legs, the tail serpent, and his previous form, Taejoon knew this fight will be tough.

"Damn it." Taejoon cursed, "This is not good."

Manti-Gore glared at him even more. In a blink of an eye, one of his spider legs swiped to the side. The force of the swipe was so strong that it caused a shockwave that destroyed the floor and damaged the concrete pillars heavily.

Manti-Gore then cracked his neck as he closed his eyes, "It has been a while since I've assumed this form of mine." he said, "I suppose stretching a bit won't hurt."

Taejoon glared at him, "You bastard." He said, "You're breaking everything here!"

Manti-Gore raised his arms high, "It is to be expected...." He said, "Do you not know what I am called amongst the superhumans?"

He then clenched both his fists and then swung both arms down to the ground, punching it with a hammer fist. The attack imploded the ground, the shockwave sent the debris flying everywhere. Taejoon dodged pieces of concrete as he focused on the beast, yet he stood his ground.

Manti-Gore was crouched down as he looked up at Taejoon with a raging glare,

"I am The Beast of Destruction."