"Breaking news out of New York's Superhuman prison, The Underworld, this morning. The Villain known as Gigantomachia broke free with the help of an accomplice that the surviving guards referred to as dressed like, "A Japanese schoolgirl." Fifty-five guards were killed. This accomplice's identity is currently unknown, however, there was talk of the Japanese Hero Association contacting the American Bureau of Heroes, whether or not that has to do with this girl is currently unclear." Izuku watched with curious eyes as the news anchor held a hand up to her ear, "Um… this just in. Many countries are requesting that this year's International Hero Conference take place somewhere other than America. China's residing president, Xi Jinping even went so far as to make the statement that, "If America cannot keep her own demons locked up, then we do not trust her with the safety of our Heroes and our other non-powered representatives.""

"Japanese school girl," Izuku muttered.

"Do you think that it is the Monarch of Transfiguration?" Correnic asked.

"It sounds like the profile that the Association pulled up," Yaoyorozu chimed in.

"Himiko Toga," Izuku said, scowling at the Tv screen. Aside from Legia, none of the Monarchs had done anything to get on his good side, but Yogumunt deserved the worst of his wrath. She attacked his family and for that, she was the Monarch Izuku wanted to get his hands on the most.

"The President of the Japanese Hero Association, Yagi Toshinori, more commonly known as All Might had this to say." Instead of her quoting him however, the display switched to a view of the skeletal All Might speaking at a podium.

"Japan has no right to point any fingers at America after our own shortcomings and thanks to the confidence I have in the representatives we're sending to the conference, I do not fear for the safety of those at the venue, no matter where it may be." He raised one finger, "However, in order to keep the animosity between the people of the world, I propose that this year's conference take place on the famous I-Island!" The snapping of shutters filled the silence that All Might left for a moment, "Since the Island is not the property of any one country and instead the independent nation home of the National-Rank Hero Siddharth Bachchan, I believe it is the best choice for this year. It's security has been personally overviewed by my Association and there are no flaws."

Izuku cringed inwardly, "No security is gonna stop any of the Monarchs teleporting in with a Gate."

"Mr. Toshinori!" One of the reporters cried, getting his attention, "You said you have total faith in your representative, can we take that to mean that it will be Izuku Midoriya and the Thanatos Agency filling Japan's spot this year?!"

All Might smiled wide, "Indeed! Not only did we personally choose him, but our Hero Association received over a dozen requests from other countries and even Thomas Andre himself to ensure that he would take part in the conference!"

Yaoyorozu smiled, "You'd think he'd check with us first."

Izuku shrugged, "It's not like it's something we can refuse really. Besides, we might be able to get some information from the rest of the representatives. Find out if they know anything regarding the Monarchs."

To be fair to All Might, they had just made the decision today, and being a country's representative was more of a prize than a responsibility, so they didn't expect Izuku to turn down the offer/request.

"You really think anyone's gonna know more than we do?"

"Not sure." He then squinted, "Wait… Thomas Andre? Why does he want me there?"

"Perhaps he respects your strength… or wants to know the source of it," Correnic proposed, but Yaoyorozu shook her head.

"It makes sense for other countries to want him there, they might try to tempt him over with money or land or something, but… If what I've heard about Andre is to be believed, he respects no one. He could be considered the strongest Hero in the World if myself and Izuku didn't have Higher Beings."

"And since he doesn't know what Higher Beings are…"

"Then he still thinks of himself as the strongest," Yaoyorozu finished.

Izuku chuckled, "You think he wants a fight?"

"It would make the most sense."

"Hmm," Izuku muttered, "Hinata."

The Shadow Angel rose from the ground. It wouldn't be odd to compare her to Esil in terms of her appearance. She definitely resembled a Seraph. Neat and smooth armor, white outlines in her Shadow, and three sets of wings on her back.

"Yes, my King?"

But there was one thing different about Hinata. Not only was she a General Grade and therefore two Grades above Esil, who hadn't been getting much time to fight since she was watching over Eri, Hinata also was not a melee fighter and instead was a magic user.

"I have an assignment for you."


"You sure I can't come with you?" Yaoyorozu asked.

Izuku shook his head, "As much as I'd seriously love your company in that melted wonderland, if any Monarchs show up, you're the only one who can fight them." He gestured at Eri, who was hugging him tightly, "Someone needs to keep her safe. Beru's the strongest, but he's still in Korea."

"Come home soon, Daddy!" Eri shouted into his ear, causing him to flinch back and laugh.

"Shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"You'll be safe… right?" It was a question just a little too mature for a girl of eight years old. To worry if one of your parents was even gonna come home at all was pretty sad, but considering how little she had, only to gain so much, it made sense that she'd want to keep it.

Izuku gave her a beaming and confident smile, "Of course! After all, you know your Daddy is the strongest in the world!" A little bragging went a long way in convincing Eri that she didn't have to worry. A sparkle shone in her eyes and her worry disappeared.

"That's right!"

Izuku set her down and focused in on Saphira, who he sent ahead to the Disneyland Entrance. "Sorry, but I gotta make sure I tie up every last Quest the System gave me."

Yaoyorozu smiled, "That's right, don't want to miss out on any loot."

"Love you guys."

"You you too."

"I love you, Daddy!"

"Shadow Exchange."


[Quest]

[Normal Quest: Gain Entrance to the Dragon King's Palace (Part 3)]

You have obtained the Six Dragon Lord Keys, you now have permission to enter the Dragon King's Palace.

Quest Completion Requirement:

- Rescue the Prisoner trapped inside.

Rewards:

- 1. +30 Stat Points

- 2. Two Items of your Choosing

- 3. Hidden Reward

"Rescue the prisoner?!" Izuku's eyes widened, recalling the story Sung Jin-Woo told him about being trapped inside a Gate by the Rulers. "Is there… someone in here?!" His thoughts suddenly jumped to- "No… don't get your hopes up…"

"My Liege, are you alright?" The male Angel, Tatsuya, asked him.

"Yes," Izuku immediately answered as he strolled up to the barrier guarding the Dragon King's Palace. It was also known as Cinderella's castle. He pulled out the six ornately carved keys, about to take a moment to admire their shape, but before he could even do that, they shattered into fragments of light and the barrier disappeared.

"Well… that was kinda anticlimactic." He reached into his inventory, pulling out Daybringer and Nightbringer, handing both to Tatsuya as he called out Aurum and Argentum, "Beru's still on assignment. Which means, you three are my strongest Shadows." It was honestly baffling just how powerful these ones were and even more surprising was the fact that they came from everyday Gates popping up around Korea's disaster zone. If Beru hadn't been there to take care of them, there was no way they didn't escape to wreak even more havok.

Tatsuya was a mostly physical fighter, with certain Skills boosting his strength even higher, which is why he received actual weapons. Aurum and Argentum on the other hand, went empty handed. Despite claiming they had very little actual control over Time and Space, they still had some control over it and that made them incredibly powerful, not to mention the many energy based Skills and abilities they had at their disposal. These two had immense amounts of Mana, far more than any other troop in Izuku's army, barring maybe Hinata, Thorn, or Uramoth.

"I want you guys to clear out as much of this castle as possible without entering the Boss Room." Izuku walked through the castle's arch, wondering how he was gonna fight in such small quarters. Cinderella's castle wasn't all that big after all; compared to a normal castle that is.

Of course, the System had a fix for that, or at least the Gate did. Within seconds of stepping through the archway, Izuku felt a great deal of vertigo as his vision blurred and he found himself standing inside a grand foyer. "Oooookay?"

[Aurum is using Skill: Tachyon Acceleration.]

Aurum could only use his time powers on himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't do some pretty cool things with it, like the Skill that made him move nearly at light speed.

Before even Izuku had a chance to blink, Aurum had blown away the 10 Dragon Knights that leapt off the nearby banister.

"Arise."

[10 Dragon Knights Captain Grade have evolved into 10 Prime Draconians Commander Grade.]

Izuku raised an eyebrow, realizing that these guys were basically on the same level as Pektra. "Kojin and Arch Liches" The Undead King and the one-hundred Liches rose behind Izuku as Tatusya, Aurum, and Argentum rushed off to tear their way through the palace. "Now, while they're off doing that. I want to know what you guys can do that I can't." In Izuku's mind, if their only real power was necromancy, then they were basically worthless, he still had several thousand Shadow Save spaces left after all.

"Myself and my underlings do not call upon warriors in the same way you do, my Liege," Kojin's voice was chilling to the bone and even Izuku felt a slight shudder run through his body, which he identified as a Skill much like Shadow Pulse. Kojin's Fear Skill was a passive ability that constantly put any enemies near him through immense terror. The reason Izuku felt it despite not being an enemy was because the base Skill was so powerful that Kojin had to restrict it as soon as he was called upon.

[Kojin is using Skill: Call of the King.]

Suddenly, hundreds of Death Knights began filling the room. They looked exactly like his Shadow Death Knights, but despite looking like Shadows, Izuku couldn't feel any connection to them.

"I alone am capable of summoning ten thousand units, the Arch Liches behind me are only capable of five-hundred each."

Izuku's eyes widened, "Sixty-thousand Death Knights is nothing to scoff at. At the level of Elite-Knight, they could overcome the entire world's population of S-Rank Heroes themselves."

"There of course is the problem that this Skill can only be used once a day and unlike your beautiful Shadows, my Lord, my Soldiers cannot regenerate. Nor can they hide in your Shadow, nor can I while they exist, otherwise, they will dissolve into nothingness and the Skill will be put on cooldown."

Izuku nodded, "Well, considering the number, I can't exactly be upset with those limitations. Anything else I should know about you guys?"

"As Liches, we cannot be hurt unless our enemy is wielding a weapon imbued with immense light or fire energies. We are also experts at casting cold or dark magics."

"Well, they aren't my strongest Soldiers, but they definitely have more use than expected." Izuku called the chilling Liches back into his Shadow and just as Kojin said, the Death Knights he summoned broke up into nothingness. It left Izuku with a single question though, "If the Shadow Magicians can Summon Shadow Infantry that act like normal Shadows, why can't these guys?" Unfortunately, Izuku was aware that he likely wasn't going to get an answer, so he began peeking through Tatsuya's eyes with Sensory Share. "Oh well, for now I'll just focus on the action."


Somewhere in the Arctic:

Ryukyu walked through the snow, still reveling in the fact that she had overcome her sensitivity to cold. Tsukauchi walked alongside her as they approached a Gate slowly forming ahead of them. Neither were worried though, they could feel the power of another Ruler inside it, another host had been found and they were teleporting directly here to figure out the Rulers plan.

"Why does Grantuld have a different effect on my ego compared to Pulra on yours?"

Tsukauchi shrugged, "Each Ruler has different ways of integrating with their host, but the stronger they are, the more they affect you, which is why some Rulers don't have a presence in their host's minds. Pulra is the weakest, so she was able to integrate with me on a deeper level. Which is why I still occasionally refer to myself as her, yet still manage to keep my thoughts separate. Grantuld is one of the stronger Rulers… and the angriest, so he has to limit your exposure to his powers to prevent you from simply rampaging."

Ryukyu shook her head, scoffing. "This is insane. I've fought Villains for years now… but… gods? Don't think I'm ready for that."

Tsukauchi sighed, "I doubt anyone would be. Unfortunately, we have very little choice. A war is coming to Earth. The Rulers are our only chance."

"And Izuku?"

"Pulra's… still not sure whose side Ashborn is on. His host is all for humanity, but Ashborn's the only Ruler to ever change sides and then be betrayed… we can't be sure of his true intentions."

"Well then," Ryukyu said, crossing her arms, "Who are we missing?"

"If we don't count Ashborn, then Aeic was trapped somewhere, so he's currently an unknown, Serenia, Arturk, Razar, and Correnic are still in need of a host as far as Pulra knows."

"And this is one of those missing?"

Tsukauchi nodded, "God I hope so. Even with all the Ruler's on our side, we're gonna be outnumbered. Most of the Rulers' armies were destroyed during our final bout with Ashborn," The Association Agent squinted his eyes as he realized he was once again referring to himself as a Ruler. "The Monarchs likely have millions of troops. At best, we have a few thousand."

"Why haven't they already been called to Earth then? Just in case."

"We can only deploy them once. It takes a lot of energy to move armies via Gate compared to one person. If we deploy them too soon, it'll give the Monarchs a lot more options on how to destroy the Earth."

Finally, the Gate in front of them began cracking, causing Tsukauchi to squint. "What? Gates with just one Being move through them don't break open… they just generate as open."

"What does that mean?"

Tsukauchi's eyes widened and he spun around, snapping his fingers, beginning to conjure up a Gate of his own about twenty meters away, "It means that whoever is coming through, isn't coming through alone!"

Ryukyu dropped to all fours, taking on her Dragon form and channeling Grantuld's power like Tsukauchi taught her. Pure power rushed through her veins alongside rather potent rage. She grew taller and began emitting an aura of golden light. Raising her Dragon claws, she prepared to slash through the first thing to come through the portal, but the pure being that began emerging stopped her short.

"Tsukauchi?"

The man turned around, pure confusion on his face as Angels began pouring out, "The Rulers' armies? But-!"

Suddenly, the Angels rushed Ryukyu, forcing her to take a swing and claw two out of the sky, but she couldn't stop the others that rushed past her first swipe, jabbing spears at her neck. With a beat of her wings, she pushed herself back, narrowly avoiding a strike. "Why?!"

Tsukauchi took a few steps back, recognizing the Ruler's aura that was leaking through the Gate alongside the Angels, "It can't be…"


"Pretty boring final gauntlet," Izuku said, standing before the Boss Room doors. "I kinda expected some tougher opponents."

"Perhaps this… Dragon King will provide a challenge," Tatsuya suggested.

"I don't much care, just so long as he becomes a useful Shadow."

Izuku shoved open the doors, revealing a throne room decorated with darkness. Izuku's Sense Stat let him see partially into the room, sensing a single figure with some pretty immense energy at the back, sitting upon a rough scaly throne. He was about to ask Igris to send a blast of fire through the room with the Genesis Blade to light it up, but a voice stopped him.

It was male, gravelly, and compared to the rough, gargling, or otherworldly speech patterns of some of the talking Villains Izuku had met, it sounded extremely humanoid. It was just too normal. But in truth, it wasn't the way the voice spoke that caught his attention, but rather what the voice said.

"Damn! It's about time!"

Izuku felt the figure rise from his chair and begin walking through the darkness to the light leaking through the door.

"I can only explore this place so many times. Even the library gets pretty stale after ten years." The voice paused for a moment, "You gonna say anything?"

"I… I know that voice…"

The man was stunned into silence, "You… know me?" From his perspective, all he could see were a few vague shapes obscured by the light behind them mingling with the Shadows.

"I-Ifrit, give me some light."

The Fiery Shadow rose up, shooting a few floating fireballs forwards. When the room was still dim, he turned up the lights, temporarily blinding the two parties. When they were done blinking the light out of their eyes, they simply stared at each other.

The man spoke first, "Is… Is this real? Am I dreaming again?"

Izuku felt numb, his voice was trembling, "D… Dad?"