The Wicked Wetlands

The air here was smeared with the thick scent of blood, as a foul metallic odor wafted through the region. Here, a vast forest stood, one filled with lakes for most of its entirely. The underbrushes of this jungle grew to unfathomable heights, ensuring their abilities to shroud all things as did the trees that rose from the lakes, reaching towards unseen heights.

Inspecting the surroundings, one would notice a series of scattered landmasses positioned at various sections of this vast wildland, some of them being small while the others were large.

The more substantial lands ranged from a few hundred meters to those only of a few kilometers of size, these lands were occupied by bandits and lifeforms that were in a constant state of battle for supremacy. A collection of corpses rested on these lands, some within the waters while others slept eternally on edges of smaller pieces of lands.

It is here that was known to many as the Wicked Wetlands, a place so dangerous that it became the known haven ground for all manner of criminals and as well as terrifying monsters.

In one particular location, there was a strange magic formation. It glowed in a strange blue light before exploding, sending rays of light spheres that scattered across the wetlands. As if they sensed something, the bandit leaders who were currently seated in their lairs looked up at the many beams of light that scattered across the wetlands forest.

"Would you look at this? New blood... hahaha! Brothers, it looks like we've got our selves some new company this time around. Quickly, gather together! We must make swift work of these individuals before the others do!" A muscular bandit leader said.

He had a long scar across his left eye with an eye patch that covered it and a bushy-bearded chin giving him a fierce look by nature. His body was garbed in ragged-looking leather armor with a torn cloth wrapped around his waist.

"Aye-aye! Yes, leader!" The group of bandits replied as they formed random groups that swept out through the wetlands in search of these 'New Blood.'

Swish! Swish! Swish! The bandits flexibly and adeptly moved through the bushes, then on top of the branches of trees that grew over the swamps with great skill, showing that they were not of any regular class.

The leader also swiftly followed as he glanced around at the surrounding rays of scattering lights, "Now, which will it be?" He said with a playful look in his eyes as he licked his lips in excitement while baleful force energies rose around him.

Swoosh! Soon, his figure vanished into the tall bushes, leaving no traces of his previous movements, the now silent campgrounds guarded by a few bandits on makeshift watchtowers.

******

A ball of light beamed towards the depths of this wetland at incredible speeds. Soon, it began to slow down as it landed on top of a small landmass in swamp waters.

Ping! After a flash of bright blue light, the figure of a green-haired youth appeared, crouching on the ground. One of his hands held the handle of a wrapped-up sword resting on his back, as he placed his other palm onto the grassy earth with his fingers spread wide.

"So, it was like this... our Second Phase was so abrupt it is almost guaranteed that those who aren't capable of adapting to the unknown will face serious dangers," Rajen said with a thoughtful look on his face.

As he glanced around at the environment, he began to send streams of his Dragon Force into the ground, causing invisible ripples of power to spread throughout the region for a few hundred meters.

"The lifeforms here are sly, observing me while hiding at the depths of these swamps. It also seems that quite a few of them are at levels of a Rank 2 and Rank 3 Force Beasts. Such a dangerous place, I doubt there will be many to survive," Rajen muttered after he scanned the environment.

Force Beasts, these are unique creatures that exist within this world, they each carry an otherworldly power that is leagues above the class of other lifeforms. These creatures are gauged based on a ranking system to categorize their strength. When comparing them to the masters of this world, they are ranked as follows:

Rank 1 to Rank 7, which is equivalent to the experts ranking of Class F to Class S Combatants. Legend speaks of a higher rank, but no one has ever truly lived to tell the tale, causing it to forever remain as a mystery.

"Oh well, no point brooding, it's time to get moving," Rajen said as he jumped from the small piece of land, soaring over the endless swamp waters towards a nearby branch of a towering tree that grew from the swamp.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

As if they waited long enough, the creatures below the swamp quickly surfaced as they burst through the waters and shot up towards the now airborne Rajen.

They were a group of large dark brown creatures with scales that had bright yellow eyes and fat arms with sharp claws, with a head similar to that of a lizard with sharp jagged teeth. As they opened their giant mouths, they bit towards Rajen, ready to tear him to pieces and have a sumptuous meal.

"So, they were Crocus Beasts, truly as brutal as the master says. It seems I need to teach you guys some manners," As Rajen spoke, he also unwrapped the sword that was on his back.

Upon preparing his sword, Rajen then gripped its handle with both of his hands as he bent his body forwards while still in the air, placing the sword by his side with its blade pointing towards the sky. He then looked at the army of Rank 2 and Rank 3 Crocus Beasts and yelled, "Prepare yourselves!"

As his voice sounded, his body began to spin at a terrifying pace as blinding green energies shrouded his form. Soon, these energies formed a cyclone that drew up the water from the surrounding swamps creating a water-cyclone.

Now airborne, the Crocus Beasts were forcefully pulled into the cyclone where they began to spin around Rajen's form with no ability to resist.

Seeing his enemies where he wanted them, a bright green light shone within Rajen's eyes as he yelled while swinging his sword, "Art of Swords - Revolving Cut!"

Upon saying this, all of the green energies that surrounded his body were channeled into his sword as he made one big circular swing.

Shing! The cry of the sword resounded as a circular green slash wave was released in a disorderly manner, striking at all the Crocus Beasts that were spinning in the cyclone.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Following the sounds of flesh slicing to pieces, the cyclone exploded, revealing the falling corpses of the now halved Crocus Beasts, and Rajen who was similarly descending towards the swamp at a rapid pace.

Rajen did not panic at this scene; instead, he dived at the swamp waters and landed his feet on top of a small rocky surface that protruded from the lakes.

After using it as a launching pad to propel himself once more into the air, he glided towards the branch of one of the tall trees.

Swoosh! Quickly, he arrived on top of the branch and started to jump from tree to tree skillfully. As if he had light feet, he glided through the air with his clothes flapping through the wind and hair dancing behind his head, carefully making his way towards the depths of this treacherous wetlands.

******

Somewhere within these wild wetlands, a group of burly looking men wearing headbands and torn up clothes surrounded a seemingly fragile-looking young girl; they jeered at the female while teasing.

"Hey-hey-hey! Little missy, are you lost in these woods? Why not ask us older brothers here for help?" One of the bandits said in a mocking tone.

"Hahaha!" The men surrounding the female laughed in a carefree spirit as they felt no threat from the girl. However, the expected stuttering and mumbling in fear from the female did not occur.

"Hmph! Who are you silly ruffians that dare to get in my way?" Reya said in an annoyed tone; she picked herself up from the ground while brushing off the dirt from her clothes and hair.

"What did you say?" A bandit who did not like to be insulted roared as he lifted his blade menacingly while glaring at the female, the other bandits also had similar reactions.

Reya continued to brush the dirt off her hair as if the bandits that surrounded her were non-existent, she then pondered, 'I've been sent to this region all alone, then I guess this means that this phase is meant to test everyone's survival skills. As most of this area is a swamp, there are most likely underwater creatures. I need to look out for them other than these bastards.'

One of the bandits who was short-tempered couldn't wait any longer; he bent his body like he was falling to the ground and used his toes to push his body forwards like a rocket that shot towards Reya.

He then lifted his head, revealing his reddish eyes as he wielded his damaged looking blade and swung it across her legs from his extremely low assault angle while sneering, "Bitch! I'd love to see the look on your face when our brothers here take you to have some 'fun,' but first, your legs are mine!"

Swing! The blade gleamed in a sharp light despite its damage as it cut through the air, ready to remove Reya's legs.

Reya frowned with even more annoyance as she spoke, "So, a group of ruffians like you wants to play games with me? You don't match!"

As she said this, she crouched and pressed both her feet hard against the ground then jumped into the air, positioning herself above the bandit, whose attack now swept across the bare field, causing him to stumble a few times.

Looking at the clueless bandit below her, she then smiled as she twirled her body forwards like a spinning wheel, causing her large twin tails to dance about wildly as she descended towards the bandit at a rapid pace.

Swoosh! Instantly, she arrived at the bandit's unguarded back with one of her feet lifted above her head, slamming down towards the back of the bandit. A tinge of red was at the base of her feet, which soon connected on the spine of the bandit.

Bang! Following a loud sound, the bandit was pressed into the earth of the small landmass, causing a deep crater to form. His back was then instantly ignited into a group of blazing red flames created by an unusual kind of fire force energy.

"Ahh!" After a loud wail, very soon, his figure faded from existence as now only the crater remained with the scorching red flames.

This scene took time to describe, but in truth, it occurred in not more than a few seconds, for as soon as the bandit struck towards Reya's legs, she had disappeared and reappeared like a revolving storm that smashed into his back creating the current scene.

The other bandits that stood a little distance away were blown backward by the shockwave, a few of them colliding with boulders at the edges of the landmass while the unlucky amongst them fell into these deep swamp waters.

"Argh!" The screams of the bandits who fell into the swamps echoed throughout the area, as they were violently pulled underneath its surface by strange creatures, filling the survivors with even more dread.

"Shit! How could this little She-Devil be so strong?" One of the bandits exclaimed.

"She's most likely one of those prodigies from ancient families, damn! How could our luck be so bad?" Another bandit complained.

However, as they were complaining, the scene once more changed before their eyes. All the scorching hot red flames moved as if dancing around a figure. Soon, the beautiful Reya once more appeared from the fire, walking forwards at a slow pace. Her hair danced behind her as she looked like a scarlet flame goddess that descended on the world.

"Deeeeemon!" One of the bandits exclaimed with horror, but before he could do anything else, his throat was gripped by a slender but mighty set of fingers that released clusters of scarlet flames that burnt his body to nothingness.

"No-I--!" His cry fading with the wind as his ashes blew across the area, becoming a part of the land.

The surviving bandits became silent; they looked at the young girl that now stood at the bandit's position with deep despair. Seeing this, Reya smiled in a sweet smile and spoke while cracking her knuckles, "Now then, who's a She-Devil?"

Her voice was also carried onto the gentle wind that spelled certain doom.