After a series of actions—anger, roaring, biting, rolling around, and running away—all to no avail, the manticore completely broke down.
It knelt on the ground on all fours, panting heavily with its tongue lolling out. Its eyes no longer held any fighting spirit, but were filled only with despair and sorrow.
Meredith jumped down from the pillar, and her gaze toward Todd was different from usual. She said in a joyful tone, "You won."
Cú Chulainn glanced at the half-dead manticore on the ground and muttered, "Of course I'll win against an opponent like that."
Todd sat cross-legged in front of the manticore, looking at the monster that was no longer insane, and laughed.
Meredith came up behind Todd and said, "Give it a quick death. It's the right of the victor."
Cú Chulainn, standing not far away, chimed in, "That's right! Tear its throat open! Tear off its head! Blood! Howls! That's the meaning of battle!"
The manticore rested its chin on the soil and quietly closed its eyes, like a traveler who had seen the end of life and accepted its fate with peace of mind.
Brushing the dust off his backside, Todd looked at the monster at his feet, a smile still on his face: "Let's go, let's get out of here."
The decision to forgo the execution of the loser stunned the other three people present.
Meredith stammered, "Let it go? You're not kidding, are you?"
In contrast to her questioning, Cú Chulainn displayed anger: "The execution of the loser by the victor is a tradition in the North for thousands of years! If a battle is not offered up as a sacrifice with the blood and life of the loser, then what is the sacred duel? A bunch of children playing house?!"
Ignoring the attitudes of others, Todd lowered his head, pointed to the distant sky, and said to the kneeling manticore again, "Let's go back to the sky. Our battle is over."
The monster slowly opened its eyes, watching Todd's actions and listening to his words, a strange emotion slowly emerging in its eyes.
Seeing that the manticore still didn't move, Todd stepped forward, intending to pat it on the head and make it leave as soon as possible.
The moment Todd's palm touched the lion's head, his consciousness suddenly and automatically entered the 'soul space'.
Looking at the azure seawater around him, Todd said in surprise and doubt, "What's going on?! I didn't activate my soul space!"
A figure the size of a small mountain slowly swam across the dark seabed beneath Todd, a huge eye opening... staring... closing.
To the average person, the whole thing seemed like Todd had just been stunned for a second. But only he knew what had actually happened.
Back in reality, Todd watched the manticore fly further and further away through the air, a cold sweat beading on his back. His consciousness had just been pulled into the 'soul space' of another being!
Ignoring Meredith's attempts to stop him, Cú Chulainn walked up to Todd and roared, "Do you even know what you just did?!"
The latter shrugged: "I'm not used to wielding a butcher's knife against an enemy who has given up resistance."
After a brief pause, Todd casually added, "Doing that makes me feel no sense of accomplishment."
"What did you say?!" Cú Chulainn's face turned red, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight Todd.
A twisted vine, like a living snake, crawled onto Cú Chulainn's body and tightly bound his hands and feet.
Scáthach tossed aside the branch she was holding, leaving the three of them behind as she walked toward the temple. As she departed, she uttered these words: "The victor has his reasons."
Seeing that Todd and Meredith were also about to leave, Cú Chulainn, who was tightly bound and lying on the ground unable to move, cried out in distress, "The one who broke the tradition is that new guy! I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you tying me up?!"
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