Devil's Enclave.

On the airborne vessel, Nioh sat in a cross-legged position, analyzing the details regarding the Devil's Enclave on a holographic display. The bleak descriptions of the landscape were sufficient to cause even experienced hunters to hesitate:.

As he scrolled through the reports, three young men approached him. They were around eighteen, each carrying an air of confidence—or arrogance.

The first, a brown-skinned young man with short black hair and rugged features, had a large saber slung across his back. Clad in tough leather, he stood with his arms folded. "We must talk about our tactics for safeguarding the area," he declared, his voice firm yet tinged with impatience.

Nioh lifted his head from the screen, his golden eyes narrowing as he studied them. "Then discuss," he said simply.

The young man didn't appear taken aback by the direct answer. "The Devil's Enclave is infamous for being nearly impossible to defend. The landscape is against us—sharp rocks complicate ground assaults, and the salty sand disrupts information collection and communications. Factor in the volcano, which might erupt at any time, along with the strong winds that render aerial methods unreliable. If we fail to prepare adequately, we're doomed. " 

The second young man, dressed completely in black, including sleek goggles obscuring his eyes, spoke next. His voice was calm and precise. "I'm Cyanide, from the Order of the Crow. "

 Nioh slightly tilted his head, his gaze briefly lingering on the goggles with silent curiosity. Cyanide continued, "I recommend we rotate defense shifts. Since we aren't familiar with each other enough to collaborate effectively, it's advisable to share the responsibilities. 

However, your team is lacking in manpower. I don't have faith in five individuals managing the defense independently. " Before Nioh could reply, the third man, wearing white robes and holding a decorative golden staff, interrupted. His tone carried a note of contempt. 

"Kid, your team is jeopardizing us all. It's irresponsible. " Nioh's eyes darted to the staff for a moment, his expression inscrutable. 

He turned back to Cyanide. "What are you suggesting? " 

"We possess two alternatives," Cyanide replied consistently. "We can either allocate some of our members to your team or integrate your team into ours. " 

"Denied," Nioh said flatly.

The bluntness of his response caught the others off guard. Cyanide raised an eyebrow, clearly unaccustomed to such a curt rejection.

Before the tension could escalate, a woman's voice cut in. "What the leader means," Iris Grimes said smoothly, stepping forward, "is that our team is fully capable of handling itself. We're open to discussing shift rotations and broader strategies, but anything beyond that is off the table." Her calm yet assertive tone seemed to ease the brewing conflict.

"That's reckless," the man in leather retorted, scowling.

"That's not for you to decide," Nioh said, his voice icy. He rose to his feet, exuding quiet authority. "We'll take the first shift. Each shift will last ten-hours. Iris will serve as your point of contact for emergencies. Beyond that, we'll manage our own affairs."

The man in white tightened his grip on his staff. "If any team fails to defend their zone, we'll all be eliminated. You're gambling with everyone's chances!"

"That's your problem to deal with," Nioh replied coldly, already turning back to his screen. He paused for a moment and added, addressing Cyanide, "Oh, and I don't trust these two. Make sure the final shift doesn't end with them."

The conversation ended abruptly, leaving the other leaders fuming as they walked away.

--

In the livestream chatrooms, the buzz around the Devil's Enclave intensified.

"Look! There's going to be action in the Devil's Enclave already! The Stone Locusts are on the move," a commentator typed, pinning a feed showcasing the first wave of the migratory swarm.

Stone Locusts were a terrifying species that lived beneath the archipelago's seas, a scourge of the ecosystem. Their numbers were staggering, with each swarm numbering in the thousands.

"They're a bipedal flying species with stone-hard shells," another commentator explained. "The males are small, lower-ranked, usually between F and D. The females, though—they're larger, stronger, and ranked D to B. They can manipulate stone using biocore energy. It's going to be brutal."

The feed zoomed in on the swarm. Male Stone Locusts scuttled forward in droves, their sharp claws and razor teeth gleaming. The smaller males relied on brute force and overwhelming numbers, while the fewer but more dangerous females trailed behind, their energy signatures pulsing faintly as they prepared to unleash their abilities.

"They're omnivores," the commentator continued. "They'll eat anything—plants, animals, even their own kind. That's how they've managed to survive and expand so aggressively. If they reach the main island, they could devastate the ecosystem in days."

The first wave of Stone Locusts surged toward the shores of the Devil's Enclave, and the livestream erupted with commentary.

The Devil's Enclave served as a dangerous and disorderly battlefield. It had a tall volcano at its center and was shaped like a warped sequence of half-circles. The island was encircled by uneven, sharp rocks that jutted out from the ocean like fangs, leaving a single narrow entry point—a little beach that spread into a broad valley of uneven, muddy ground. A thick forest extended beyond the valley to the base of the volcano. It was a challenge to protect because of the area's immense size and intricacy.

The first wave of the migration—the Stonelocusts—had already begun, and Nioh's team was the first to deploy. As the flying ship hovered above the Enclave, its doors opened, revealing the chaos below. Nioh stood at the edge, his gaze cold and calculating.

"We can't let them spread across the island," he declared. His voice was calm but commanding. "Iris, take point. Cryo, support her!"

Without hesitation, Iris nodded and leaped into the open air. Her green mechanical armor gleamed under the sun, her exoskeleton humming as it enhanced every muscle movement. Her shield was angled forward for aerodynamics, her trajectory sharp and purposeful. Cryo followed closely, his icy-blue exoskeleton trailing faint mist from the coolant tubes that snaked along his body.

"Sol, Kol," Nioh continued, pointing toward a vantage point on the island. "Set up there. We'll funnel them your way."

"Yes, Captain!" Sol and Kol responded in unison, activating their morphs before diving toward their designated positions.

As they plummeted toward the island, the live-stream viewers erupted in excitement.

"They're jumping in right next to the horde! Are they insane?" one commenter typed.

"Why is a five-member team taking the lead on this? The numbers don't make sense!" another added.

Unaware of the scrutiny, Iris adjusted her shield mid-fall, the green armor of her morph gleaming brighter as she braced for impact. Cryo flanked her, his helmet's visor glowing an icy blue as he adjusted his trajectory to follow her lead.

"Brace for impact!" Iris shouted.

The ground approached fast. The Stonelocust swarm below churned on the shores of the beach like a living sea of stone and claws, the males scuttling in every direction while larger females loomed at the rear, their glowing biocore energy already manipulating the surrounding terrain.

Iris hit the ground first, slamming into the uneven earth with a thunderous crash. The shockwave rippled outward, sending mud and dust flying. Cryo landed seconds later, the temperature around him plummeting as frost spread from his boots and began crystallizing the ground.

"It's starting! Look, they've landed right in before the of the swarm!" one commentator exclaimed on the live feed.

"This is madness! A five-member team taking on that?" another typed in disbelief.