12 BATTLE

Athos wanted to kick himself for throwing his weapon away the moment the fight started, but it was because he had underestimated the manticore's reflexes. If his axe had met its mark, it would have taken an arm at the very least, or even instantly ended the fight if it had gone for the head. It wouldn't matter much though, for the axe would return to him in time, half a minute at most.

He looked to his side and grabbed the car nearest to him, effortlessly lifting it above his head. It was Toyota Tacoma and weighed around 3.5 tons. Frankly, it looked more like a truck than anything.

"Move out of the way Kids!", he shouted, hoping the half-bloods wouldn't get in the way of the fight.

Thankfully, the demigods snapped out of their dazed expressions due to his voice, and quickly scampered off, away from the manticore, taking refuge behind a large white van. The monster seemed to want to chase after them but with a grunt, Athos sent the grey truck sailing right into the distracted monster's face.

With the sound of a kitten being stepped on, the manticore managed to jump backwards, narrowly escaping the flying truck, which with a loud 'BOOM!' created a small crater when it landed. Seeing the destruction it caused, he hoped that the truck's owner would be fine with the vehicle having a few scratches.

"You're an interesting one", the monster said, the frown on its hideous face making it seem even more terrifying, and raised its tail high in the air.

Athos' eyes widened as he realised what it was about to do. He immediately rolled sideways at the very moment large spikes coated with deadly poison impaled the ground he previously was standing on.

"Hmmm, you know of my attacks. A pity", the manticore said, spikes slowly regrowing on its tail. "You know, little demigod, It would've been less painful if you would've just died then"

The monster lunged forward vaulting over the truck, its insectoid legs propelling its large body at insane speeds, hoping to catch him off-guard. But he was ready and his training with his father immediately kicked in. With a fluid motion, he grabbed the outstretched arms of the monster while it was still midair, and using its own momentum, carried out a textbook throw that would make any master proud. The monster went flying into the abandoned building with a dismayed howl and rammed into the concrete wall, making it crumble and collapse. The impact looked damaging, but it only served to only piss off the monster as it burst out of the rubble roaring bloody murder.

'Fuck. Manticores are too fucking durable', he thought. That throw would've flattened any normal human into a bloody mess, but it seemed to do absolutely nothing to the monster. Just then, he felt his hand twitch and he looked down to see the Leviathan ring reform around his index finger which made him grin. This was what he needed.

"GRRRAAAHH! I'll rip you to shreds!!", the manticore growled, dashing forward and swiping at his head with its deadly claws. Athos merely ducked and summoned Leviathan, cleaving upward with his axe blade, slicing cleanly through the manticore's arm. It felt as though he was cutting through the air itself with how sharp the blade was, and instead of the monster's hand crumbling to dust as usual, it was absorbed by the axe, emphasizing the deadliness of Stygian Iron. Stygian Iron was probably the metal that was most feared by monsters, for instead of destroying the physical form of the monsters like celestial bronze or imperial gold ( Used mostly by Romans ), it absorbed its essence, preventing it from reforming in Tartarus. Stronger monsters like the Manticore would still reform, but it would take far, far longer.

With another pained howl, the manticore lurched backwards, staring at the place where its arm once was. Athos grinned at the sight, and just as he was about to taunt the monster to make it madder than it already was, he felt his left arm go numb. He frowned and looked down, and much to his surprise and horror, saw a spike stabbed into his bicep, piercing through his tracksuit. The numbness was a sign that the poison on it had started to take effect. He looked back up to find the manticore with a disturbing grin on its face. The claw swipe wasn't the only attack the monster had launched. It was clever enough to hide a spike attack behind a seemingly anger-fueled swing.

"Don't worry, little demigod. My poison won't kill you, but the pain will make you wish it did", the manticore said, its grin only getting more and more disturbing on its ugly face. As though reacting to the manticore's sentence, a piercing pain shot up Athos' arm, making him grimace. He never for once thought that he'd actually be glad he was wearing the mask, as he didn't want the monster to see him when he was weak.

He grit his teeth and pulled out the spike for he didn't want more poison seeping into his bloodstream. He knew pulling the spike out would result in bleeding, but he needed to be able to move his left arm, and his healing factor would take care of the blood loss.

He cursed himself for being a fool as he tightened his grip on Leviathan, enduring the excruciating pain flowing up his arm. He really was an incredible idiot. After years of fighting dumb monsters who didn't really think before attacking, he had fallen into the mindset that he would always be tactically superior in a fight. That lead to him not thinking that the Manticore's rage-induced swing had a hidden attack. More like he didn't pay attention, which was ironic as he had ADHD.

Blood rushed to his head and anger started to build up in him when he realised that he had been outplayed by a monster, but he took a deep breath, calming his pounding heart. He needed to be coolheaded in a fight and he knew that more than anybody. He couldn't lose himself in anger like he used to do in his past life. There was no referee to stop the fight here. It was kill or be killed, and if Athos knew only one thing about himself, it would be that he detested losing.

His eyes turned cold and determined. He would never underestimate an opponent again. He switched to a one-handed grip as his left arm was compromised. It was inconvenient, but Leviathan was somehow balanced enough to be used one-handed. It was a magical weapon after all.

"What is it, little demigod? Can't handle the pain? I can put you out of your misery you know, but having you suffer would be more fitting after you claimed my hand", the manticore growled, slowly walking toward Athos with the same disturbing grin.

Athos chuckled, and dashed forward, his axe glowing menacingly.

"Tis but a scratch"