The moment the group stopped moving, everyone there saw a creature shrouded in dark mist, but they could fully see the outline of its large body.

Over 3 meters tall and 5 meters long, the Manticora had two pairs of huge wings on its back, very reminiscent of bat wings. It has a lion's mane, completely black, running from the top of its head to the middle of its back.

In the middle of Manticora's back began the three tail-shaped stingers of scorpions, each with its sinister stingers, one of the sharpest natural weapons of all.

Standing under its four legs, which had exposed external bones and claws as horrible as its stingers, the creature with a human-like face had the hideous look of a killer on its face. Its teeth, however, bore no resemblance to those of humans, but those of a thirsty dog in search of its next meal.

As soon as the group, led by the werewolf, got close to it, the Manticora turned its face in their direction, looking directly at the tall, furry creature in front of them.

The Manticore was even more intelligent than the Behemoth, aware it had something of great value in its small territory, something that would surely attract fools to take a chance on it.

"Another group courting death," It opened its mouth and muttered, then moved without hesitation, attacking with its stingers and claws toward Vicente's group.

The Manticore was not only more intelligent than the Behemoth; it was also more cautious. Knowing that many predators would target it if it displayed any sign of vulnerability, it couldn't forgive these intruders encroaching on its territory.

The moment it attacked, the pentagrams of all the magicians in the group appeared, while everyone there, even the werewolf, saw scenes from the future as they moved to dodge the initial combat attack.

The werewolf narrowly dodged one of the creature's stings, but couldn't help looking in horror at the brown exoskeleton structure in front of it and thanking the woman called Lina and the man called Casey. Without these two, it would have been seriously injured, marked for death!

Vicente did not hesitate to merge his powers with Torne's, realizing the fight there would not be simple. There was no room for him to test his powers individually.

As the battle began, he felt his mana more than double, as the darkness in the surroundings came under his control with the appearance of the Throne of Darkness.

A crown and cloak of darkness appeared over Vicente's body, as the Manticora stopped looking at the werewolf, turning its attention to its real opponent there.

"I see. You're here to hunt me," tt said, sensing Vicente's darkness, even feeling a little of the elemental suppression coming from the young Paragon.

"Even if you are the king of darkness, this one in front of you will not lower its head, young magician. But I will give you a chance to leave with your group alive out of respect for your position," said the Manticora, while it was already in a defensive position.

Rory and the others used the moment to back off a little, distancing themselves from their opponent to only support Vicente and the werewolf, the real fighters, who had a chance of making the Manticora suffer.

Their armor could help them cause the 6th stage creature some discomfort. But even all of them together could do no more than the werewolf or Vicente individually.

They went into standard formation, with Lina and Casey focused on supporting their colleagues, while the others stayed in position to protect these two and try, on a smaller scale, to suppress their target monster.

"Trying to intimidate me? It won't be that easy, monster," Vicente said as he raised one of his hands, causing darkness to surround the creature, forcing it to the ground.

The five armors acted together to create pressure under the Manticora, while the ground shook, making weapons and conscious metallic beings appear in the surroundings.

Chains tried to catch the creature's legs, while metal structures appeared around the Manticora's stingers.

The creature felt Vicente trying to invade its mind, trying to divert its attention from the metal warriors and darkness forming around it.

As six pentagrams glowed around Vicente, making his heart beat differently and affecting the enemy significantly, the werewolf acted with some distance, attacking fiercely to help its ally weaken the opponent.

The creature felt pressured, noting that dealing with Vicente would not be easy. Not only did he have a darkness even stronger than its own, but the magician had two extraordinary powers and the help of several warriors who were weak on their own, but together could be a nuisance.

It opened its mouth and laughed mischievously as its cyan pentagram appeared outside its body amid the darkness of the area vibrating strangely.

"All right! Let's see who's stronger! If you win today, so be it. My pentagram will be yours. But if not, I'll devour your body!" it shouted as the shadows of each of them, but also of the surrounding trees and rocks, changed, forming shadow monsters.

Vicente's 4th stage companions hadn't expected that, but the moment the creature's shadows attacked them, their armor kicked in, making them move as they counterattacked.

Vicente saw the werewolf change its attack to defend itself, while he merely moved his right arm.

He grabbed the neck of one creature of darkness, causing it to dissipate immediately afterwards.

But that was all the time it took for the 6th stage monster to escape the joint suppression on him and move as fast as Layla towards him.

"Die!"

It yelled as it attacked Vicente with its three stingers, using its powerful aura to destroy Vice's metallic items, which, under the Metallic Symphony, were acting independently of him to hurt it.

Vicente felt all his physical features rise with the power of his fourth pentagram and moved, narrowly escaping the creature's poisonous stings.

When the Manticora least expected it, a metal trident broke through the rock beneath it, striking its abdomen, its most sensitive area.

The trident was made of metal, but it was shrouded in darkness, while the elements of darkness above the creature seemed to force it downwards, making it difficult for it to escape.

In this position, it saw a giant lightning bolt rapidly forming on its right side, while a huge hammer descended towards it at the command of the electric creature.

Its heart beat differently and it felt just how strong the young man it was fighting really was!