For those reading this story on , just wanna throw out a quick apology for the bug that went down when I posted the last chapter. The entire website seemed to just have a bit of a panic attack and refused to update stories. Several others I know were having the same issue. Honestly, I'm not even sure if this chapter is going to appear when I post it lol. If there weren't so many people on FFN happy to read this story, I'd probably just take it to AO3 only, because the amount of times this website has issues that go unfixed for days is astonishing. Alright, rants over. Anyways, if it does show up right away, then awesome! I hope you enjoy!
One Hour Before the Gate Break in South Korea:
Izuku wasn't sure what was going on. Immediately after extracting the Water Dragon's Shadow and naming her Saphira, he was beset on all sides by hordes of Dragons. It was so sudden and violent that he barely had the chance to look over the System messages. The only thing he was sure of, was Saphira's new form as a Dragon God. She looked extremely similar to Karkinos, as a Wyrm-type Dragon, with four legs that had extremely sharp talons on the ends.
"This must be the final test in progressing towards the last two Domains."
For the past seventeen hours, he and his army had been fighting with all of their might as they made their way to Toontown, the Domain of the Dark Dragon Lord, Erebus. In that time, he had accrued another three Levels, putting him up at 136. Much to his dismay, Tusk and Hyo defied his steadfast belief that the Water Dragon fight would Rank them up to Commander Grade. They were on the very edge of Leveling up from Level 29, which would put them at the appropriate Level to Rank Up. This time, he was certain that the next Dragon Boss fight would Rank them both up.
"One more push!" Izuku shouted, activating Infinite Strength as he cleared a massive path with the help of his Dragon Gods and leapt past the threshold of the Domain of Darkness.
Like all the times before, a blue shield of energy locked Izuku and his Shadows in, but unlike before, Izuku got a different System message.
[A Being that threatens the Domains of Light and Dark has appeared. Aether and Erebus will do everything in their combined might to stop this Being.]
Izuku realized quickly that he was this "Being" and that he wasn't just going to be fighting one Dragon Lord, but two at the same time. For a time, no minions seemed to appear, but after just ten minutes, two roars echoed in the sky and a third voice entered his mind.
"My Liege," Beru hesitantly asked, afraid of distracting Izuku from something important.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"My Liege… the Gate in the land you call Korea has… opened."
"...WHAT?!" Izuku accidentally shouted out loud. Thankfully, the message still transmitted to the Ant, "When?!"
"Mere moments ago. It is currently being shown on the television in front of me."
Izuku immediately activated his Sensory Share Skill with Beru, fully aware that two Dragons, each of which had enough strength to tear down entire countries, were about to be bearing down on him.
Opening his eyes, he found himself looking through Beru's. He was standing behind the couch of their living room, where Yaoyorozu, Nejire, his mother, and Sakura sat. Esil and Eri were likely in her room.
"Just seconds ago, the Villains you see running through the streets of Korea broke through the S-Rank Gate 3 days early!"
The word "Villains" didn't nearly do the scene justice. The things that had come from the Gate could only be described as Stone Titans. As tall as high-rise skyscrapers and as bulky as a tank, it seemed impossible that anything would be able to stand in their way.
Their numbers were low, about thirty, but their size, strength, durability, and surprising agility greatly made up for it. In fact, their speed was the most unbelievable thing about them, not even their size. Normally, something their size would look like it was moving slowly, even if it was covering ground rather quickly, but these things… they moved impossibly fast, as if air resistance just didn't apply to them.
"Korea's five S-Ranks engaged the Villains as soon as they emerged, but in the chaos we lost sight of their bat-"
Izuku's eyes widened as a hand large enough to play with Boeing 737s like toys filled the camera's view and the station switched back to the newsroom, the reporters safely inside looking like they had just seen a ghost.
"It… seems like we have… um, lost Misa's signal." The woman trailed off, unable to say anything more as the man did his best to pick up the slack.
"All attempts to subjugate the Stone Titans… seem to be ineffective. The status of Korea's S-Ranks are… unknown." He swallowed dryly, attempting to get the feeling of doom out of his heart and he was in Japan, imagine how the people of Korea felt, "S-Rank Izuku Midoriya pledged to take on the task of helping Korea earlier this week. He was supposed to arrive tomorrow, two days from the supposed Dungeon Break. We're… expecting word from him anytime now. For Korea's sake, we hope that his response is not delayed."
"My Liege? Shall I go exterminate those vile pests?"
Izuku desperately wanted to answer yes. Beru wouldn't be able to kill them all, but he would be able to take out a few and greatly slow the others. However, "No. Knowing the Monarchs, this could be some ploy to get you away from my family. No," He repeated, "Just tell Yaoyorozu… that if she's still determined to come with me to Korea, then she better meet me at the airport… and be ready for her ride. You'll stay with everyone else." Unfortunately, Izuku, after Jeju Island, hadn't deemed it necessary to attach any Shadow Soldiers to the Koreans and as such, had no way to teleport to them.
"I shall do as you command, my Liege."
Izuku opened his own eyes, seeing two twinkles of light, one bright, and one dark, charging for him. "Firnen, how fast could you cover this distance." Mentally, he gave the Amphiptere a measurement for the distance between Japan's airport and the source of Korea's current tragedy.
"Open air like that allows me to reach my full speed. I could cover that distance within thirty minutes."
It was half of the amount of time Karkinos needed to traverse from the hospital his mother had stayed at, to Jeju Island, which was pretty impressive, considering that the distance from Tokyo to Jeju was about the same as the distance between Tokyo and Seoul.
A/N: It's about a difference of 78 kilometers with Jeju being farther, but for the sake of the story, I'm just gonna leave them at very similar distances.
Unfortunately, thirty minutes was still plenty of time for the Stone Titans to rampage and it would be added onto however long it took for Izuku to clear these last two Dragon Lords and escape.
Deciding that was unacceptable, Izuku reached into his Inventory and pulled out one of his Hearthstones. All he had to do was crush it in his hands and escape back to the entrance of Disneyland, where he could then fly to the Tokyo airport and pick up Yaoyorozu. And yet, no matter how much pressure he exerted on the stone, it wouldn't break.
[Warning: Hearthstones cannot be used after a Dragon Lord's Domain has been sealed.]
"Well… shit."
Just before the Gate broke open. The five S-Ranks, their expressions filled with fear, ran out of the tent, confirming the General's words for themselves as they observed the cracks of light forming in the Gate.
"How…?" Choi whispered under his breath as the surrounding military forces readied their weapons. They knew that their guns would be absolutely useless, but they were there anyways, to buy time for government officials and the surrounding reporters to escape. It was essentially a suicide mission.
Much to the shock of Cha Hae-In and much of the military personel, however, most of the reporters remained where they were, snapping photos of the opening portal or transmitting a live image to televisions.
"You morons!" Baek shouted, his beastly tiger form taking over his body, "RUN!" Only a couple heeded his words.
Hae-In drew her sword as she joined the military and Hero perimeter around the Gate. Choi readied his fire with shaking palms, Lim drew his bow, and Ma's size increased drastically as he adjusted his grip on his mace and shield.
Then, it fully opened. For a few sparring moments, all was quiet, and the tension resting in each of the soldiers and Heroes was so great that it was practically visible below their skin.
A smell assaulted Cha's nose out of nowhere, alerting her to the presence of a Villain with immense Mana, "They're com-" She didn't get to finish her sentence.
A blur shot out of the portal and punted Ma Dong-Wook into the air faster than anyone, even the S-Ranks, could track with their eyes. The foot that kicked him was so large that it even scraped by the armor of some of the tanks, flipping them over onto their tops.
"WOOK!" Baek shouted as he did his best to track Ma's trajectory, but the massive man had disappeared from his vision. It was entirely possible he was dead. "YOU BAS… tard?" Baek finally took in the full scope of what he was fighting.
The Stone Titan, with craggly skin much like Glaedr's, looked down on the beast-man with rage and… hunger? Too fast for him to react, the Titan reached down and snatched up Baek in his massive hands. The pressure exerted was enough to force his ribs to creak. His claws dug into the Titan's palms, but it refused to let go as he brought Baek closer to his mouth. Then… suddenly, a massive flash of light cut through the arm at the elbow, completely severing the limb and dropping Baek back down to the ground.
Hae-In had leapt into the air and used a massive portion of her Mana to activate the Blade of Light Skill and save her comrade, but just like Ma Dong-Wook had disappeared, she went flying as a second Titan emerged from the Gate and backhanded her midair. Baek similarly lost sight of her as the shockwave spread out from the impact.
He looked blankly down at the ground. Within one minute, Korea had already lost two of their strongest S-Ranks and only two Villains had exited the Gate so far. Lim and Choi fell similarly into despair as the military barrage refused to even faze the Titans.
"This battle… it… is hopeless," Choi realized as he ignited fire magic beneath his feet, shooting off into the sky of his own volition. "I must survive in order to help buy time when those Villains eventually reach other locations!" It was a poor justification and a rather cowardly decision, but neither Baek, nor Lim could blame him. If they had the ability to fly, they were certain they would've done the same.
While Baek remained on his knees, waiting for his death on the pavement, Lim managed to get off a few shots with his bow, refusing to go down without fighting, despite knowing that he was doomed.
Unsurprisingly, he attracted the Titans' ire as they continued to emerge from the Gate and one of them slammed his body against the office building that stood next to Baek and Lim. He wasn't even aiming to take out the two Heroes, he was merely rampaging at this point.
Both Lim and Baek had the speed necessary to outrun the collapse, but the screams of reporters and soldiers alike being eaten alive convinced them… that this was the preferable way to go. And so, the building collapsed atop them, burying Korea's last two S-Rank Heroes at the site of the Gate Break.
It was a brilliant dance through the air that was heated with explosions and breath attacks. From Firnen's back Izuku launched volley after volley with the Aerial Bane, mountains of arrows raining from the sky. But none of them ever managed to damage Erebus or Aether. The black smoke pouring from Erebus's skin disintegrated each attack before it could land and Aether's radiant glow dissolved the projectiles mere inches from its scales.
[Dragon God of Fire, Thorn is using Skill: Elucidator.]
The Dragons of Yin and Yang didn't like the massive beam of heat heading for them. Condensing their auras of light and dark, they shot forth two beams of pure energy, colliding with Thorn's and encompassing it like it wasn't even there. The red Dragon was turned into little more than a few wisps of Shadows by their attack.
Izuku cursed under his breath, "Focus on the Light Dragon!"
Saphira roared as her snaking body lurched forwards, latching onto Aether's neck with razor sharp teeth. From his wounds, burning light poured out, doing its best to weaken the Wyrm. Thankfully, Tusk, using the Evolution Core in one hand and the Kraken's Staff in the other, he was able to mostly protect Saphira from the adverse effects.
[Item: Kraken's Staff
Item Class: SS
Item Type: Staff
Made from the tail bone of the Dragon Lord Neptune, this Staff holds immense magical power. Doubles the effectiveness of all Status-type Magic.
On top of his tripled boost to all magic from the Evolution Core, this Staff doubled it once more, giving some of his Hymns immeasurable power.
Izuku drew back the string of his bow once more, aiming for the sky, intending for it to arc straight down towards Aether. But before he could let go and allow the energy arrow to fly freely, Firnen pushed herself into a dive.
With his shot going wide because of it, Izuku almost shouted at Firnen, before realizing why she had dived. While he had been focused intently on Aether, Erebus made a beeline for his throat, dark misty claws outstretched to tear his head off. Firnen's dive threw off Erebus's attack by mere millimeters, just barely saving her Liege's life.
Using Dominator's Touch to anchor himself to Firnen's back, he turned around, surprised to find Erebus diving after them. "He's dedicated, I'll give him that!" Izuku once more drew his bow, generating an arrow. This time, it would be impossible to miss.
Letting go, the arrow flew forwards becoming a blinding white as it expanded, exploding in a type of flashbang attack. The more Izuku used this bow, the more he realized just how versatile it was. With just a thought he could create scatter arrows, piercing arrows with extra velocity, explosive arrows, or as he just used, a flashbang arrow.
Most of the arrows had too little mass to do any damage to Erebus before his misty exterior dissolved them entirely, so a direct attack was essentially worthless. This attack on the other hand, well, it blinded the Dark Dragon Lord long enough to allow him to crash headfirst into the pavement. Firnen had been leading her enemy into a trap, pulling up at the last moment to save herself and Izuku. From there, it was someone else's time to fight.
As Erebus pulled himself off the pavement, trying to recover his senses, Glaedr's tail slammed down on his right wing, completely shattering the bones. The Dragon roared in agony, experiencing true pain for the first time in millenia.
"Sorry brother," Glaedr said, certain that his sibling was now grounded, "But your cloak was never enough to stop me." It was as the Earth Dragon said. Even Erebus's disintegration powers couldn't break through his scaly armor. And now that it had been upgraded to Gaia's Mantle, Glaedr was the Dark Dragon's perfect counter.
Erebus roared in defiance and let forth another stream of darkness from its mouth, displaying once again how these Lords were stronger than their siblings, their Skills had no cooldowns.
Glaedr met breath with breath, his Sandstorm breath combatting the Darkness and even pushing it back in some regards, greatly surprising Izuku. He was certain that Glaedr's breath attack would be shoved back instantly. It worked out even better than Izuku predicted.
"Hello there brother," Thorn said as he let loose a stream of heat that passed right above Erebus's head. He had ducked just in the nick of time to dodge it, cutting off his breath attack.
That brief moment was enough to allow Glaedr to leap forwards, digging his stony claws into Erebus's neck and biting down on his skull. The Dragon desperately flung his body about, trying to free himself, but if there was one thing that Glaedr could do better than all of his siblings, it was close combat. He was heavier, studier, and overall more skilled in the act. Erebus stood no chance and could only let loose a scream of rage and pain as Glaedr's teeth penetrated his cranium.
[You have defeated the fifth of the Six Dragon Lords!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have obtained Key Item: Key of Darkness.]
[You have obtained Ingredient Item: Misty Cloak of Erebus.]
[You have obtained Item: Corrupted Blade.]
"Arise, Shruikan!" Izuku shouted, dismissing one of his Shadow Infantry, who were currently dealing with the minions of Light and Dark. The Dragon wasted no time heeding his Liege's call
[Shadow Dragon Lord of Darkness Commander Grade has evolved into Shadow Dragon God of Darkness General Grade Lv. 25]
[Shruikan General Grade Lv. 25]
The Dragon perfectly encapsulated every aspect of the Shadow Army. He was darkness incarnate, terrifying as hell, and looked completely indestructible. With six bulky legs that made him stand taller than any of his brethren and wings that dragged behind him like a cloak of darkness, Shruikan could've been considered the perfect Shadow Soldier.
"Shruikan! Kill Aether!"
Shrukian let loose his first roar as a Shadow as his two front legs stretched into the air, showing that they were, in fact, connected to his wings. Unlike the skeletal and bony wings of a wyvern, Shrukians wings were thick and powerful. Nothing would be breaking them.
Leaping into the air, he slowly gained momentum as he began charging up towards his brother. Aether, meanwhile, was still busy fighting off Saphira, and didn't notice as Shruikan approached him. By the time he caught the distinct thumping of wings, it was too late.
Shruikan's body, at least twice the size of Aether's, slammed into the Light Dragon, the legs on his wings reaching out and wrapping around Aether's neck like meaty hands. Now, Shruikan once again plummeted towards the ground, but this time, his brother's body was going to be his cushion.
Their shrouds of light and dark battled back and forth as they fell, Shrukian's beginning to gain an edge as Aether opened its mouth and shot its beam of light out. Shruikan countered with its own breath, the darkness corrupting the light like a virus and pushing back the beam until the darkness made contact with Aether's body, withering away his life force as they slammed into the ground.
[You have defeated the sixth of the Six Dragon Lords!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have obtained Key Item: Key of Light.]
[You have obtained Ingredient Item: Blinding Essense of Aether.]
[You have obtained Item: Slashing Scythe of Light.]
[Congratulations! You have beat all Six Dragon Lords and acquired all Six Domain Keys! You now have access to the Dragon King's Palace!]
[Normal Quest: Gain Entrance to the Dragon King's Palace (Part 2) has been completed!]
[You can receive the following Rewards:]
- 1. +30 Stat Points
- 2. Armor Recipe: Dragon God Armor
- 3. Hidden Reward
Izuku dismissed all of the System messages and sprinted over to Aether's body. "Arise Umaroth!"
[Shadow Dragon Lord of Light Commander Grade has evolved into Shadow Dragon God of Light General Grade Lv. 25]
[Umaroth General Grade Lv. 25]
Umaroth almost completely matched Shruikan in terms of appearance, except for a few differences, like white light filling the membranes of his wings instead of darkness, and the more clear outline to his body instead of the misty and undefined shape of his brother.
Both Dragons, Light and Dark, turned to him and bowed their heads, "My Liege. It is-"
"Sorry!" Izuku shouted, pulling out a Hearthstone as he jumped atop Firnen once more, "There's no time!" Izuku crushed the green stone in his hand filling his vision with light as he was ejected out of the Gate and back to the entrance of the real life Disneyland Tokyo.
Many of the civilians screamed in shock as a massive Amphiptere suddenly jumped into existence and flew into the sky at a blistering speed. Most of the people there hadn't even known about Izuku showing up in that exact spot two days prior.
"GO FIRNEN!" Izuku shouted, "FASTER!" It would take around half an hour to reach Korea and since the time of the Gate opening, another two hours had passed. His fight with the last two Dragon Lords had gone on far longer than he thought. To some, two and a half hours might not be a lot, but for thirty insanely fast Stone Titans, it was plenty of time to cause death and destruction. In fact, unbeknownst to Izuku, the city of Seoul was already a ruined wasteland.
Half a mile outside the city of Seoul, a blond Hero opened her eyes, pain wracking her body as she fully regained consciousness. Her left arm was completely crushed. She immediately knew that it was unlikely to ever be usable again. Her right arm was untouched and her sword was still somehow clutched in its hand.
Attempting to sit up, she noticed that she was laying in a pool of her own blood. Thanks to her Awakened abilities, she had clotted rather quickly and prevented herself from bleeding out, but she had still lost a lot of blood and was light-headed. There was no way she could stand and she knew that anytime now, those Titans would be bearing down on her once again. Judging by their speed, it wouldn't take them long to destroy the rest of Seoul and spread to the rest of Korea.
"Move!" She told her body, but it was useless, she was broken. She was helpless and likely to die very soon.
About to give up hope, Cha Hae-In was surprised to see four blurry outlines through teary eyes.
"...Hear me? Can you hear me?" A faint voice asked as the image in her eyes cleared, revealing the handsome face of an athletic young man.
"We're going to be taking you to a nearby hospital."
"Your eyes are so beautiful…" She thought deliriously as the young man and his compatriots gently transferred Cha Hae-In onto a stretcher, taking her sword so that it wouldn't get in the way. "What… is your… name?" She asked the young man weakly.
"Ah!" He exclaimed with a smile, happy to see that she was at least somewhat lucid, "My name… is Sung Jin-Woo."
