William glanced around, feeling the demonic nature surrounding them. It was like a virus, constantly pressing against the sacred boundary maintained by the blue-haired girl. The contrast between her territory and the corrupted land beyond was palpable.
"By the way, my name is William," he introduced himself.
The girl looked back at him, her expression unreadable. "Scylla, if you were after my name," she replied in an emotionless tone.
"Yeah, I was. It'd feel weird calling you 'hey you' instead," William nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Scylla didn't respond with a smile, instead just shaking her head as she led him to the entrance of her territory. "Get out now," she commanded, her voice still cold.
"Ouch, so cold," William said, mockingly clutching his chest.
Scylla merely stared at him, her face devoid of emotion. "Go," she said flatly, watching as William stepped outside the border of her land.
As soon as William crossed the threshold, he felt a strange sensation prickling his skin. His blood and Sila began to coalesce, and soon, a small, glass-like sphere formed in his hand. William held it up, inspecting it curiously.
"So, you can still form your cleansing device," Scylla remarked, observing the process before turning away. "Go and establish your own territory," she added before closing the entrance behind him, leaving him to face the wild, decaying lands.
William looked back and saw the closed gate, shaking his head, he looked ahead and saw the dead and decayed forest,
"She lucked out with that territory," William mumbled as he continued walking forward. Two wings suddenly sprouted from his back, a deep purple with dark red veins pulsating through them. "Cosmic Wings," he whispered, giving them a powerful flap as he launched himself into the air.
Flying in a straight line, he left a faint trail in the sky, soaring higher and higher. As he ascended, he surveyed the landscape below. To his surprise, it wasn't just one protected area surrounding the forest, but four distinct territories, each carving out its own spot in the otherwise barren land.
"It seems they've decided to stake their claims through force," William mused, noting the competitive nature of the region.
Hovering midair, he scanned the environment for a suitable place to call his own. "I don't have any water-related talents, so I should prioritize an area with water availability," he thought aloud as he drifted through the sky.
After flying for what felt like hours, he finally spotted a murky red lake nestled in the middle of a swamp. "The Sinking Swamp of Death," William muttered as he recognized the infamous location, its sinister reputation making it both dangerous and potentially rewarding.
He knew if he wanted this territory, he'd have to deal with whoever, or whatever, was guarding it. "Looks like it's time for a fight," William whispered to himself as he descended into the swamp. As he walked closer to the lake's edge, two glowing red eyes flickered from within the murky depths, locking onto him before vanishing beneath the surface again.
A smirk tugged at William's lips. Raising his hand, dark energy began to crackle around it as a black lightning spear formed in his grasp, sparking and hissing with raw power.
"Dark Chaos," William whispered as he launched the black lightning spear toward the center of the swamp.
A deafening roar erupted from beneath the surface as the swamp itself began to shift. It rose like a living entity, with two glowing red eyes glaring at William. The creature's massive, swamp-like form stretched upward, summoning a wall of muck and slime to block the incoming spear. But it was futile—the spear tore through the wall, striking one of the glowing eyes, obliterating it instantly.
"Roarrr!" The creature bellowed again, this time with a mix of agony and rage, its remaining eye burning with fury. But before it could retaliate, another spear pierced through the air, striking its second eye. The swamp demon let out a final, tormented screech before collapsing, its massive body dissolving back into the murky waters as its life force faded.
"Swamp demons... Their cores are in their eyes," William muttered as he observed the now-lifeless creature. He could feel the energy dissipating from its form, its power no longer a threat.
However, as he hovered above the swamp, he frowned. "But this one's too weak," he thought aloud, his gaze shifting toward the surrounding lands.
From his vantage point, William surveyed the other territories: towering mountains to the north, a black sand desert stretching out to the south, a dense, ominous forest to the west, and the cracked, decayed wasteland to the east. Each area housed different types of demons—mountain demons, sand demons, forest demons, and earth demons. Their territories created a paradoxical landscape that only the twisted nature of the Parallel World could produce.
He focused on the southern desert. "The sand demons are notorious. Once they discover the swamp demon has fallen, they'll try to seize this territory," William mused. He knew he had to eliminate the sand demon before they attempted to invade.
Determined, he flapped his cosmic wings and took off, flying swiftly toward the black sand desert, ready for the next battle.
As he reached there, he landed on the desert, with sand under his feet slipping away, William looked around as he activated his Dragon eyes and trying to locate the core of the sand desert, as he was trying to locate the core, suddenly, a long sandy whip formed behind him as it ended with barbs on its tip.
As the barbed whip lashed out toward William's back, he appeared to be unaware of the attack. But just as the whip was about to strike, William effortlessly sidestepped, his body moving with fluid precision. In a single motion, his grey energy blade slashed through the whip, causing it to dissolve into sand particles mid-air.
William's sharp gaze shifted to the source of the attack. Rising from the black sand, a humanoid figure emerged—its form twisted and demonic. The creature's tail, which had been the whip, now coiled behind it, shifting restlessly. Its body was clad in a jagged, crystalline mesh that acted as armor, glinting darkly in the dim light. The armor seemed to grow out of its flesh, fusing with its skin in a grotesque display. Its eyes, glowing a faint red, locked onto William with a malevolent glare.