So, I know I said I would wait until I finished the story on AO3, but honestly, I'm done waiting. Thanks to you guys and all your support, I feel I have the confidence to post this, so thanks for the support and sorry for making you wait!
Today marked the fifth day that Izuku and Yaoyorozu had spent in Korea. Two of those days involved the hunting and killing of all the Titans, as well as Legia's physical body. The past three days involved Izuku and Yaoyorozu, as well as their guide Jin-Chul, flying to the different Titan bodies and taking their Shadows.
Each and every day they woke up early to climb onto Firnen, who returned as Thor the same night Izuku and Yaoyorozu had been welcomed into the hotel, and each and every time they did so, Jin-Chul looked incredibly nervous.
"Human, it is your third day skittishly pacing about before climbing my wing. If you do not stop, I will have no choice but to bite off your feet."
Izuku had to resist the grin that threatened to stretch across his face. He knew the wind dragon was just teasing the man, but… well, he didn't know that.
Jin-Chul's face paled slightly as he stopped in his tracks and began making his way up onto Firnen's almost platform-like back. The female Dragon snorted, amused by the Association Agent's reaction.
Climbing aboard the Dragon, Jin-Chul gave the Shadow with green highlights running through its body an indignant glare. "I'm fine with heights. I ride in airplanes all the time. But to be a thousand feet in the air and secured with only your grip to a beast that could throw you off at any moment they wished to… it's just not right."
Izuku gave the man a hand up, "Do you not trust my Shadows?"
"I don't trust any Summons. I understand they're a valuable asset to most Raid Parties, but I'll never fully trust them to get a job done that us humans should be able to do on our own." Izuku raised an eyebrow, it was an interesting take on Summoning Magic for certain.
"Well, at least today should be the last day of gathering the Titans." In all truth, with Firnen's speed, the first day they went out should've been the last day. Between each Titan body, there were dozens of times where Izuku dropped off multiple Shadows or jumped off Firnen himself in order to rescue someone trapped under rubble. There were also those wandering the new wasteland aimlessly, looking for any sign of civilization. Izuku typically dropped down one of the Dragon Knights to carry them back to the Southern part of South Korea which was still basically untouched.
Today, they were heading the farthest north they had so far, Chorwan, where soldiers, construction workers, and even normal civilians had been moved to the city for rebuilding efforts. As always, North and South Korea had a strained relationship and the South was not willing to take a chance on leaving their border unguarded during this state of emergency. Out of all the rebuilding processes, the Northern part of South Korea was deemed the most important.
Much to Izuku's surprise, despite the frigid relations between the countries after Baek and Cha's efforts to save North Korean defectors a few years ago, North Korea had still offered up their help in the wake of this tragedy. It saddened Izuku to learn that South Korea turned down this offer, determined to rebuild on their own, or at the very least without their neighbors. American, Japanese, and Chinese offers for help were accepted.
After just an hour of traveling across the country, making several stops along the way to help with rescue efforts, they reached Chorwan. As Firnen glided to the ground, her snaking, Amphitian body slithering through the rubble and coming to a stop, dozens of people crowded around. Soldiers, and civilians alike stopped whatever they were doing to come and admire their savior.
Izuku gave a small, uncomfortable wave as he hopped down from Firnen, Yaoyorozu and Jin-Chul behind him. While he could handle the loud boisterous cheers of fans and even the declarations of love, the silent reverence made him immeasurably unnerved. He was used to this sort of thing with his Shadows, but when real people were doing the same things, it just felt… wrong.
"Guess I've just gotta get used to it," Izuku thought to himself as the soldiers captain walked up to them, speaking in rapid fire Korean that Izuku simply couldn't catch. Interestingly, Yaoyorozu did understand him, despite having never learned Korean.
"Did you truly think the Smartest Fragment of Brilliant Light couldn't decode a simple language for her host?" Correnic thought at Yaoyorozu, almost sounding offended by her surprise at understanding the language.
Jin-Chul shot back a few quick responses before turning to Izuku, "It's this way."
Despite the enormous size of these Titans, when their Mana Cores were removed and they were buried in mountains of rubble that blended in with the surrounding area, it was almost impossible to find them. No Mana, no sounds that a living body would put off; the dead were far harder to find than the living for Izuku.
"Which one of you thought it was a good idea to crush this guy with a mountain?" Izuku asked his Shadow Dragons as he followed Jin-Chul to what was essentially a collapsed hill of metal scraps, "Scratch that. Uramoth, Glaedr, didn't I ask you to make their deaths quick and painless?" He could feel the Dragons bowing their heads from inside his Shadow.
"Forgive us, my Liege. The armor on these six was incredibly thick, we had to expend plenty of Mana to create a Steel Storm that lasted long enough to penetrate it. It ended up giving him a makeshift burial."
Izuku sighed, wondering if in truth Talos just got carried away with its fused power. If that was the case though, he couldn't blame Uramoth or Glaedr because it was an entirely different Shadow making those decisions.
"Well, if they were strong enough to give you a bit of trouble, then we might be able to get some strong Shadows out of this."
Jin-Chul let out a heavy sigh as he looked over the field of metal, "I'm sure Korea will be happy to have all this metal to melt down, but it's gonna be tough to get to the Giant's bodies with it sitting on top. They're gonna decompose before we can get at their good materials. If we can even find them, that is."
Izuku promised the Koreans that they could have the Titan bodies, just so long as he got to do his thing with their Shadows. They obviously agreed. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
"Don't worry about finding them. I just needed a general area, I think this'll be fine." Izuku stepped forwards, "Arise."
[5 Stone Goliaths Elite-Knight Grade have evolved into 5 Earthen Behemoths Captain Grade]
[Earthen Behemoth Captain Grade has evolved into True Titan Commander Grade.]
"And it looks like I found Legia's elite squad… and their commander."
All six new Shadows rose from their metallic graves, pushing off literal tons of scrap as they revealed themselves to the world.
The Behemoths were not all that different from the Goliaths. Thicker armor than the Titans, slightly bulkier stature, and not much difference in size. However, the Behemoths also possessed one new feature, an extra set of arms.
The True Titan was an entirely different beast himself. He was as close to Legia as any of the other Shadows got. If Izuku had to make a comparison, he would say that without a doubt, it looked exactly like the Attack Titan from Attack on Titan, just a couple hundred meters taller. He had no thick armor like the others and instead was covered in heavily layered Shadow muscles. Though he was a Grade lower than his Dragons and Beru, Izuku reckoned he could give them a serious run for their money with his raw strength and size.
All six of the Titans kneeled to him, the True Titan addressing him. "My Liege. You have the Titans undying loyalty. We are eternally grateful for your promise and your attempt to help our first Master."
Jin-Chul looked over to Izuku in confusion, "Their first Master?"
Izuku shook his head, "It's a long story." He was still unsure how the masses, or even lead Association Agents would react to the information that ancient gods were here on Earth and controlling a war that has waged on since time itself existed. Then looking back to the True Titan he asked, "Do you have a name?"
"Once. It has been too long. We no longer have any identity outside of the Being that governs us."
Izuku frowned, feeling a beat of sadness from his heart, "I should give them all names to be nice. That means I need 30… no, 29 names. I forgot about that other Titan that swam to China." Reports came in just the other day about the Hero of China, Liu Zhigang, killing said Titan before it even managed to make landfall. "I was gonna name the True Titan just… Eren, or maybe Jaeger. Wait… Jaeger?" Izuku smiled, "I think I can use that."
Pointing to the True Titan he said, "You're Striker Eureka. Striker for short." He pointed to the next one, "Cherno Alpha." Then the next, "Gypsy Danger. Crimson Typhoon. Romeo Blue. Lucky Seven." And just like that, the six were named. Izuku would have to come up with 23 more names, but the series he was picking through had plenty to choose from.
Then, since Jin-Chul was there, telepathically, to all of the Titans, he said, "Legia has been corrupted by the other Monarchs. I'm not sure if it's reversible, but once myself and Momo get back to Japan and have the privacy to discuss it with Correnic, we're going to do everything possible to find a way to reverse the process and restore him… If we cannot achieve that… then I will have no choice but to destroy his Spiritual Form." Correnic had promised to teach Izuku the way to fight Spiritual forms once they were no longer at risk of being overheard.
The Titans didn't move from their spot, but Striker raised his head, staring into Izuku's eyes. "My Liege… we… have no words. We serve you, but it would bring us unfathomable joy to see our first Master finally be at peace, whatever shape that takes. We… thank you."
Izuku nodded and then called the six Shadows back into his own Shadow. With that, his time spent in Korea was over. There was nothing left to do here. It was perfect timing too, since the key to the Cartenon Temple would run out its timer and give him a Gate to clear tomorrow at noon.
"Well, it looks like this'll be where we part ways," Izuku said to Jin-Chul, who tilted his head in confusion.
"Are you heading back to the airport?"
"Nope, just heading home." Izuku pulled Yaoyorozu into a hug, "You've got my number, let me know if there's any other way I can help."
"What are you-"
"Shadow Exchange."
"Doing?" Jin-Chul asked, now staring directly into the eyes of Beru.
"Kiek kiek kiek," His mandibles clicked together as Jin-Chul slowly backed up, uncomfortable with the malevolent energy Beru was putting off. "My Liege says you must be returned to your home." Beru walked forwards, scooping up Jin-Chul in his arms before he could even blink, "I shall return you."
Jin-Chul nodded silently, face turning pale as he realized he was once again going to be flying through the air, carried by an ex-Villain that could drop him at any moment.
A blob of darkness rose through the floorboards of Izuku's penthouse home, dragging Eri's attention away from the Tv. A smile lit up her face as Izuku and Yaoyorozu emerged from the Shadows.
"Mommy! Daddy!" She hopped off the couch and sprinted over to them, wrapping her arms around their legs before they even had a chance to pick her up.
The two makeshift parents laughed as they tried to pry her off their legs in order to pick her up. Her grip was rock solid.
"You're home!" Nejire's bubbly voice filled the room as she emerged from the kitchen, Miruko following along behind her. She wrapped the three of them in a massive bear hug, squeezing them all together, "Yay!"
"Nejire-chan!" Eri laughed, "You're squishing me!" So of course, Nejire decided to hold them tighter.
After a minute, Eri managed to convince her to let them go and Izuku turned towards Miruko, "What're you doing here? I thought you said you weren't gonna stay here cause of Thanatos."
Miruko shrugged, "That Eraserhead is a pretty good leader. I gave him temporary control for today since I figured…"
"Since you figured what."
Miruko did her best not to blush, but she couldn't avoid the red creeping onto her cheeks, "Since I figured you'd be… coming back today. I wanted to be here to welcome you back."
Izuku smiled as her ears flopped forwards in embarrassment and she looked down at the ground. Handing Eri back to Yaoyorozu, he walked over to Miruko and wrapped her smaller body in a hug.
Her ears shot straight up and an, "Eep!" escaped her lips, causing Eri to laugh loudly.
"Thank you all for waiting for us." He said, pulling away from Miruko, who was still bright red and whose ears were twitching with happiness.
"Yes yes, that's all well and good, now can we get down to business?" Correnic asked through the speaker that Yaoyorozu created, causing Eri, Nejire, and Miruko to look at it with surprise, all forgetting what had just transpired.
"Who's that?" Eri asked.
Izuku and Yaoyorozu exchanged a glance, before sighing, "Well, I guess you guys would've found out eventually."
"So… you're both… gods?" Izuku's mother asked. Her and Sakura had been in the pool, when the two got home and joined the others just in time to hear the explanation for Izuku's powers and Yaoyorozu's newfound abilities.
"Your son… may potentially end up as one," Correnic answered, "Izuku's strength continues to build. That implies that Ashborn is conditioning him to be taken over by his full powers. We're still not sure whether it's going to be Ashborn or Izuku who are in the driver's seat. However, for the moment, both Yaoyorozu and Izuku are human, completely human. Their power is otherworldly, but they are not."
"So that's what happened to Dabi. A… Monarch took over his mind and body?"
Izuku nodded.
"Well… shit," Inko covered Eri's ears as Miruko let loose a curse, "Is there any way to pull this Ashborn bastard outta you?"
"Unlike most Monarchs who have taken a host, Ashborn's Spiritual Form has not yet taken root in Izuku's body. He is currently doing nothing more than remotely feeding him power, there's no way to stop that. Besides… if there's even a chance that Ashborn will side with the Rulers and the humans, we need to take that chance. His influence was instrumental during many battles of the Supreme war, both as a Ruler and as a Monarch. He turns the tide wherever he goes. It was only because of the betrayal of the other Monarchs that we were not able to be defeated. If he returns to side with us, then we stand a chance of saving this planet and killing the Monarchs once and for all." The room was silent for a moment before Correnic started speaking once more, "But for now, we know that Izuku is on the side of humanity and because of that, we need to use him as much as possible. For that reason, we're going to need some time alone so that I may teach him how to destroy the Spiritual Form of a Monarch and permanently kill them."
"Well, I guess we better get started. After all, I've got an appointment tomorrow."
[Item: Key to the Cartenon Temple.]
Item Class: S
Item Type: Key
The Key to all of your questions. In {17:34:55} this Key will become fully usable.
"This can't be…" Correnic said, "This took even us Higher Beings years to master… how can a mortal already…"
Izuku stared with wide eyes at the System message in front of him.
[A Higher Being has permitted you to learn Spiritual Combat earlier than the System had planned. Skill: Spiritual Combat has been learned.]
[Skill: Spiritual Combat.]
Active Skill
5000 Mana per minute
The User surrounds themself with their own Mana, mimicking the signature of a Spiritual Body, allowing them to fight and even destroy a Spiritual Form.
"I guess… the System really wants me to learn how to put down the Monarchs for good."
Shadows: Total Count: 1543
68 Lava Golems - Knight
49 Angel Archers - Knight
40 Obsidian Beetles - Knight
34 Greater Fire Spirits - Knight
33 Yetis - Knight
381 Shadow Infantry - Knight
15 Ice Golems - Knight
282 Shadow Nomu - Elite-Knight
63 Shadow High Orcs - Elite-Knight
25 Shadow Bears - Elite-Knight
23 Stone Goliaths - Elite-Knight
21 Lava Titans - Elite-Knight
10 Amphitians - Elite-Knight
6 Ice Foxes - Elite-Knight
Stain - Elite-Knight
154 Shadow Wyverns - Captain
149 Dragon Knights - Captain
30 Angel Mages - Captain
30 Draconian Cannons - Captain
20 Earth Hydras - Captain
20 Quetzalcoatl - Captain
20 Angel Knights - Captain
20 Fire Serpents - Captain
6 Magicians - Captain
6 Heroes - Captain
3 Shadow High Orc Bodyguards - Captain
Gipsy Danger - Captain
Lucky Seven - Captain
Cherno Alpha - Captain
Romeo Blue - Captain
Crimson Typhoon - Captain
Smokey - Captain
Slice - Captain
Twice - Captain
Chimera - Captain
Tank - Captain
Esil - Captain
Striker Eureka - Commander
Hyo - Commander
Tusk - Commander
Karkinos - Commander
Igris - Commander
Ifrit - Commander
Pektra - Commander
Beru - General
Glaedr - General
Thorn - General
Firnen - General
Saphira - General
Uramoth - General
Shruikan - General
