Quick disclaimer, last chapter I listed the possible number of Save Shadows as 780k, that was obviously wrong. I've updated the last chapter to read the correct Shadow Save as 32716/77923. I also somehow managed to write in Izuku's max Mana as 35000 instead of 390000, that has been changed as well! Apologies for the slip up and thank you to the comments who caught it! As a final note, I now have a Twitter for chapter updates among other things, come follow me at ShadowSovereig7 Hope you enjoy the chapter!


"You should get some rest," Izuku said, gesturing to the veritable legion of tents. Thanks to the Shadows, it took them only a few minutes to set up enough insulated tents for the entire army of Heroes. It was finally, fully, winter and the sun had gone down just a few hours ago, meaning that even after they reached Razar, there would be no light until they left the South Pole.

The man Izuku was talking to, an average A-Rank on guard duty, looked up with bewilderment, "Me? You've been on your feet for three days straight! Why don't you rest?"

"I'll rest when I need to, but for now, you should rest, you look like you're about to fall over. Besides, the Shadows don't need rest, they can take over." He gestured behind him, to where several of the Seraph Sorcerers hovered, their auras menacing enough to make the A-Rank shiver.

He wasn't the only one they scared though. Throughout the past three days of travel, many of the Heroes became increasingly tense around the silent warriors. Because of their intense loyalty, they would only respond to Izuku, making conversation or camaraderie between the humans and Shadows impossible.

"Yeah… okay I think I'll go now." The A-Rank hopped up, a bit of adrenaline coursing through his cold veins as he speed walked away from the pack of Shadows and their leader. But there would still be an air of unease even as he retreated to his tent. After all, the camp and its skies were surrounded by Shadows.

Seraph Berserkers lined the perimeter and Seraph Knights guarded the air above them, while Firnen spent her days and nights at a higher altitude, scanning the surrounding area like a UAV.

After the first encounter with the Angel Army, none of the Attack Forces had seen any similarly substantial resistance. The most they got were a few squads of Angel Warriors and Sorcerers every two hours.

They weren't strong enough or numerous enough to be a real threat to the Ruler Hosts or the National-Ranks, but they did cause trouble. Possibly because they knew this fact, they never attempted to target Izuku or his Shadows, only the humans in the group as these were the only ones they could reliably kill before their own untimely death. After appearing on the horizon, they would form magical shields or use the Angel Warriors as cannon fodder in order to avoid death by Shadows. They would then dive bomb the camp or the marching Heroes and kill as many as possible.

Izuku sighed and shook his head, "You guys need to stop learning from Thorn, humans are friends not food."

"Yes, my Liege!" The Seraphs cried in unison.

Izuku slammed the shaft of his axe into the ice, forcing it to stand straight up like a stop sign. He leaned against it as he relaxed and stretched his Sense Stat out into the arctic tundra. With enough focus he could just barely make out the edge of Razar's bastion, stationed on top of the South Pole. But before he could try and make out the Mana signatures of any of the Angel Army, a conversation caught his ear.

"There's no way he's human."

Three B-Ranks, a C-Rank, and two A-Ranks sat around a fire. Since there was no tinder to start the fire or firewood to burn, most fires were ignited by magic and maintained by Mana or other gases.

It was late, but none of them were tired. The constant worry of being the next to go during an Angel's suicide attack was more stress than they were used to. So they sat around a fire, shooting the shit, passing alcohol around and trying not to worry about their fatal future.

"So you think he's a Villain?"

"I mean, have you seen anyone else with a Summon count this high?"

"It's not that. Anyone else had that many Shadows I'd just brush 'em off as National-Rank, but him…" She trailed off, not needing to say anything else.

A few clips of Izuku's Extractions existed online, showing off how he stole the bodies of Villains to put them to work in benefit of the human race. To some, it was awe-inspiring, to others, it was an unsettling and abnormal rending of the natural order. Death and Life were not something to be made light of, but Izuku played with them in abundance and that just didn't sit right with some people.

"There's no way he's a Villain, otherwise we wouldn't be alive right now."

One of the A-Ranks shook her head, "I've seen it before, Gate Villains that look human. They'll attack each other, tear 'em apart."

"Yeah but that's just rivalry between species. A Raid Party of mine once walked into a Nomu-type nest. The little shits were biting the heads off of each other, but the second they saw us, they forgot about the infighting and just wanted to kill us. No Villain would stay helpful to humanity this long."

The first man who spoke, the C-Rank, shook his head and finally managed to get a word in, "I'm not saying he's a Gate Villain or a human Villain, I'm just saying there's no way he's human."

"So then what the hell is he if not a Villain from the Gate? A God?" She said, a teasing smile on her face, completely unaware of how close to the truth she was.

"Yeah, we've seen just about everything come out of the Gates, I don't believe there's anything aside from us and them."

"I-I don't know… there's just som-"

"Listen, if us A-Ranks can't sense anything different about him, there's no way you can. As far as I'm concerned, he's human. So just be grateful that he's on our side."

The C and B-Ranks scowled at the two A-Ranks. "Rankism" had always been an issue between the Heroes of the world. D, C, and B-Ranks were certainly important, as they were the only ones who would clear the lower ranking Dungeons. For A or S-Ranks, however, those Dungeons simply weren't worth their time. Not to mention it didn't pay out nearly enough for their lavish lifestyles. As such, A-Ranks and S-Ranks held themselves in much higher regard. They thought- no… knew, with absolute confidence that they were more important than the lower Ranks.

This, obviously, rarely went over well, but once again, the higher Ranks had all the power, so the best the lower Ranks could do was vent to each other.

"Really takes me back," Izuku thought to himself as he eavesdropped on the conversation from half a mile away. He chuckled lightly, "Back to the days where I could barely stand against an E-Rank Villain and was making nowhere near enough to care for everyone. Can't say I miss that in the slightest."

Though his loved ones were still in danger and he was currently fighting a literal war, Izuku couldn't deny that he was happier than he'd ever been. He now had the power and money to protect just about anyone he wanted to. His mother was awake and healthy. His father had returned from his entrapment inside a Gate. His sister… well she was the same as always. And not just that, but Izuku had expanded his family to an adopted daughter, two loving girlfriends, and a third female "partner" that was becoming closer with each passing day.

As Izuku's thoughts turned to Nejire, his mood slightly soured. Remembering the absolute agony she had faced was enough to put a poor taste in anyone's mouth, but he had faith in her will. She wouldn't let the pain consume her like Ryukyu warned. After all, someone willing to fight gods head on wasn't one to be underestimated.

"She shall be fine my Liege," Igris said, standing beside his master, Caladbog buried in the snow. As one of the Shadows that had been with him the longest, Igris tended to pick up on Izuku's thoughts much easier than the others. "The recovery process will be long, but the pain will steadily decrease. And as Ifrit has already reported, she's used none of the Holy Waters to stem her pain. If she can handle this sort of pain, there's no outcome where she does not make a full recovery."

"Indeed," Beru's mandibles clicked together, excited to join in on the conversation. He didn't get a whole lot of alone time with his king to simply talk. "Our ladies are resilient creatures," He said, referring to Yaoyorozu, Miruko, and Nejire, "And I'm certain they need no coddling… but don't forget to remind them of their beauty, my Wondrous King."

Izuku's head snapped towards the ant and even the calm and collected Igris gave his fellow Shadow a slanted look through his helm. Receiving the sudden attention and not sure if he misspoke, Beru explained himself, "W-While my All-Mighty King was rescuing the peasants from those disgusting Titans, I was allowed plenty of time to inspect human cultures. Whenever the little one told our lady that she looked pretty, our lady grew considerably happy. I could only imagine what joy it brings our ladies to hear such a compliment from my King."

"That is, quite possibly, the most intelligent statement to spew from your mouth," Igris claimed, already onboard with the reasoning, "Perhaps a daily reminder of your attraction to th-"

"No, then the phrase would lose significance," Hyo mentally chimed in from across the continent, "My Elven traditions were not all that dissimilar to those of humans, so please, allow me to assist our Liege."

"Guys seriously, you don't need to-" Izuku was cut off as a sound like crashing thunder echoed from the center of the camp. A few screams of panic jumped up from the tents as Izuku, Igris, and Beru flew over within the span of a few seconds.

"Seraphs! Maintain the perimeter and alert me to any Mana signatures!" Sounds like this weren't all too odd inside the camp, as Heroes occasionally tested their mettle against one another to relieve stress, or one of the Seraph Makers were experimenting with weapons. The reason Izuku took this one more seriously than others, was the immense amount of Mana that exploded outwards from it. It had been of a Gate and a powerful one at that.

Just before crashing into the snowy ground where the Mana came from, Izuku's near perfect eyesight took in the surrounding area. It was his Agency's space, directly in the center of the camp. Most of them were scrambling to back away from where the portal had been and prepare their attacks. The most shocking part was that the Gate was gone at all. Nothing remained from it's very short existence, so it wasn't like a Ruler or Monarch had created it to attack and it wasn't a normal Gate since it was already gone, so what was it?

Izuku finally hit the ground and yelled to Todoroki, "What happened?!"

"Not sure. A Gate just opened up and swallowed Burnin."

"Wait… What?!" Izuku reached out his senses, panicking slightly when he realized that Burnin was not, in fact, anywhere in their camp. "Damn… Okay! Everyone clear the area! We don't know what's special about this spot, so until it's cleared up, I want the entire space vacated!" Everyone jumped into action as Izuku, Beru, and Igris took up a three point formation around the slight indent in the snow that had been swallowed up by the Gate.

As they waited anxiously for any new sounds or Gates, Izuku looked over Beru and Igris's Stat page.


Igris:

Level: 1/30

Species: Knight King

Grade: Marshal

Skills:

[Ultimate Swordsman: Igris is capable of swinging his blade hundreds of times within just a few seconds.]

[Commander's Rally: Upon using this Skill, the Shadow Army under his command will teleport into a perfectly strategic formation that best suits the situation.]

[Regeneration: As long as the Shadow Monarch has Mana, Igris can regenerate.]

Mana required for next Evolution:

[0/1,250,000]


Beru:

Level: 10/30

Species: High-End Nomu

Grade: Marshal

Skills:

[Gluttony: Can take on small attributes of the enemies he consumes.]

[Body Changing: Can adjust his size to increase strength or speed separately.]

[Regeneration: As long as the Shadow Monarch has Mana, Beru can regenerate.]

Mana required for next Evolution:

[1,000,000/1,250,000]


Izuku ignored the rest of the details and focused instead on the Mana needed to evolve Beru. He had spent the past few days pouring Mana to him when he was certain that they weren't going to need it. Now, with it so close and something clearly wrong happening, he decided that he could spare the last two-hundred and fifty-thousand to get a permanent Grand-Marshal in his ranks. The Six Dragon Gods could achieve that Grade when fusing, but it obviously wasn't a true Grand-Marshal.

"Alright, before anything else goes wrong… Beru, come here."

Beru was in front of his Liege within the blink of an eye, kneeling down. His mandibles clicked with excitement. He knew what was about to happen and it was exhilarating.

Izuku couldn't blame him, he personally knew the insane rush of growing substantially stronger with one big push. So, placing his hand on Beru's shoulder, Izuku poured in vast amounts of Mana.

[Mana: 143631/393631]

[Mana Requirement for next Evolution of Shadow Soldier: Beru has been met. Beginning Evolution process.]

Izuku stepped back as Shadows enveloped Beru much the same way they had done with Igris. It cocooned around him before shrinking to fit his new body. His body, in general, grew larger and his exoskeleton became even harder as it smoothed out and began overlapping like plate armor. His two normal arms that connected to his shoulders remained the same, but the two extra arms sprouting from just below those lost their shape as they elongated into needle-like blades that tucked into his torso. The top of his head sprouted three horned protrusions, creating what looked like a jagged crown resting on his head.

[High-End Nomu Beru Mashal Grade has evolved into Perfected Nomu Beru Grand-Marshal Grade.]

"Thank you, my King. I shall use this power to kill whatever may stand in your way."

But Izuku didn't respond, he was staring over Beru's shoulder, where soundlessly, a Gate stood. He was tempted to charge in, but before he or Igris, who noticed it as well, could do anything, a figure began emerging.

Cloaked in golden light, Burnin pulled herself from the Gate. Her hands were clasped together over her chest, hiding something beneath them. The aura surrounding her was undoubtedly that of a Ruler, but something didn't feel right. The aura spasmed and leaked out, like it was growing hard to control. And even more worrying were the cracks of light forming in Burnin's skin.

When her eyes opened, only bright gold light filled them.

"Ashborn," The voice definitely didn't belong to her, "It is regrettable, but this is the only mortal in the entirety of this continent that could handle my power for longer than a few minutes, so this must be brief." Her hands unfurled, revealing a small, Rubik Cube-sized box. It was a soft gold color and had extremely ornate carvings filling every little bit of space on all six sides. "With the loss of our Armies, the Rulers grow ever weaker. Myself and Serenia must find our hosts before Antares regains his full strength." Burnin shoved the box into Izuku's hands, "Find the one worthy of myself." But when she let go of the artifact, nothing changed, Burnin was still alight with a godly glow, one that was continuing to grow brighter. "I'm truly sorry for your loss."

"What…"

Burnin continued to grow brighter and the cracks in her skin wider as the Ruler's energy reached a critical mass.

"NO!" But it was too late, "TUSK!"

A blue barrier surrounded the area as the energy exploded outwards, illuminating Antarctica for a sparse few moments.


Thank you for reading and Happy New Year to you all! I'm sorry this chapter is a bit uneventful but I hope you still managed to enjoy it!