A Pain in the Neck

[Alain the Carnedge]

Manticore flew up in the air at the scent of blood, letting out an enraged snarl before descending on the meat that had escaped it before. Alain prepared his blade...or at least tried to, which is the point he realized that perhaps having his weapon turn to liquid wasn't the greatest of ideas. "Great. Guess I'll have to improvise." He muttered, slightly annoyed. The Manticore screeched as it flew down, it's claws tearing through the ground when Alain sidestepped it. He raised the crossbow and fired it straight into the man-eater's back, the bolt bouncing off it's hide harmlessly. And this is why I hate having to deal with things before figuring out how to deal with it. The hybrid shot spines from his tail, but Alain leapt into the air and memorized where the spines hit, and the Manticore took the opportunity to leap and hit him in the face. The red rider grunted, flipping to his feet before tearing a spine out of the nearby wall, throwing the crossbow at the monster as a distraction. The manticore leapt over the crossbow and flew at him, furiously growling as it did so. Alain's response was to throw the spine into it's maw like a throwing knife, the improvised weapon striking true and piercing the flesh inside the creature's mouth, making it drop to the ground as the poison worked it's magic. The creature lunged and attacked in a furious frenzy, slashing and biting wildly in hopes that it could finally put down it's foe before it's own venom sealed it's fate. Unfortunately for the manticore, the poison worked fast enough that it had slowed it's movements enough for Alain to dodge, though even with the paralysis it still was fast enough to land a few swipes that tore through his skin. Three seconds. The slashes continued, each strike becoming more and more inaccurate and slow to the point where dodging them was almost trivial, until Alain's hand lit up with crimson just as the Manticore roared with anger, staving off the poison in hopes that it could end this one, impudent being once and for all. The Manticore's rage overcame it's coming paralysis, it's strikes now becoming faster instead of slower, though the cloaked one's blade was fast as well, able to block the attacks that he could not dodge until the monster flew up into the air, raining down it's toxic spines. Alain bursted past the spines before they pierced the ground, his newfound speed confusing the creature just long enough for him to jump up and stab a hole straight through it's wings. The hybrid screeched in pain as it dropped, flapping it's wings in a feeble attempt to try flying again. The cloaked one landed on his feet though the monster wasn't so lucky, slamming into the ground with it's screech of pain louder than the sound of it's body hitting the floor. However, the hybrid persisted in it's efforts, getting up with a pained snarl. The two stood across from each other, sizing up their foe before making one last sprint, both going for the killing blow.