Ciri defeats a manticore in new The Witcher 4 concept art – this monster was cut from the third game

CD Projekt RED shared a new concept art from the The Witcher 4 universe showing Ciri locked in a deadly battle with a manticore.

The piece, framed in an elegant black border, captures the climactic moment of the fight – the witcher, riding atop the beast, delivers a finishing blow with her sword to its neck.

The art clearly shows the manticore signature traits: thick, backward-curving horns, leathery membranous wings resembling those of a dragon or bat, and thick dark fur along with clawed legs that highlight the creature strength.

The beast bares its fangs in a snarl, and blood sprays from a wound on its neck across the composition.

Ciri wears her signature leather witcher outfit, her ashen hair whipping in the wind, and her face – smeared with the creature blood – shows total focus and steely resolve.

The manticore appearance in official art stands out given the history of these creatures in the Witcher universe. Manticores appeared in Andrzej Sapkowski books and got mentioned in the games, but players never actually got the chance to fight one themselves.

Leaks from 2014 suggested manticores were originally planned for The Witcher 3 but got cut from the final version, though a witcher armor set bearing their name still made it into the Blood and Wine expansion.

This fresh look at the creature potential appearance in The Witcher 4 lines up with other recent reveals – at the latest Epic Games State of Unreal tech showcase, CD Projekt RED showed off a scene of a winged monster attacking a wagon caravan.

In a conversation with a merchant, Ciri directly referenced the beast that wrecked the caravan: "The manticore that flattened your carts and devoured your men, quite the opposite." It looks like the developers finally decided to let players face this legendary monster themselves, years after cutting it from the third game.