"My Liege… Beru is ready and waiting for our arrival."

Izuku nodded from Nejire's bedside inside his Palace, holding her hand, "I keep having to leave you…"

"It's not your fault. Besides," She said, smiling weakly, "I can't keep you to myself forever." Her hand squeezed his tighter.

"I promise I'll come home as soon as possible."

"C… Can you take those out of my room," Nejire said, pointing to the two remaining bottles of Holy Water. "I'm afraid… that I'll be tempted to take them."

Izuku frowned, "I can take one out of here. It's still only Yaoyorozu's mother… and she doesn't even want to help them right now."

Nejire shook her head, "Her… father could be at risk too. We need to save them."

Izuku pursed his lips, but after a short moment, he nodded, "Okay." His agreement causing her to sigh with relief. It had been a few weeks since Baran had burned her and the leathery patches of skin were beginning to heal, but the pain was still intense. She lied and said that she was feeling better, but Izuku could see the truth in her eyes. Which is why it pained him so much to stand from her bedside and grab the two Holy Waters. "I'll leave Hyo with you. He can help regulate your body's temperature if you start getting too hot."

Nejire nodded, a faint smile on her face, "You better come back… Yaomomo and Miruko aren't the only who can't live without you."

Izuku returned the smile, "I will come home." That was enough for Nejire and she gratefully passed into a deep sleep, the cold numbness encompassing her.


In the throne room, Yaoyorozu was holding a bag, "It should be enough to last for a week."

"Hopefully I won't even be that long," Izuku said, taking the provisions gratefully.

"I still think I should come with you."

Izuku shook his head, "I need you and Mirio here to protect my family. Arkas and two of the Ancient Dragons should be enough, but I can't be certain, I need you guys here too." Ryukyu remained in Japan, looking for any way to use the golden cube to awaken the next Ruler. "I also need you to take these," He handed her the Holy Waters, "Nejire needs you to keep them away from her."

Yaoyorozu went to protest, but stopped short as she realized the reason. To continue to try and force the Waters on Nejire would only be disrespectful, "Okay."

"I still don't know why I let you convince me to stay locked up in this castle," Miruko finally spoke up, "So you better come home soon."

"I will come home," Izuku reiterated, to which Miruko smiled.

"We know," She said, Yaoyorozu agreeing with a nod, "We just want you back here sooner rather than later. After all, that master bedroom has a pretty nice bed for us all."

Both Izuku and Yaoyorozu couldn't help but let a little bit of red cover their face. Miruko chuckled, "Now… get going. I wanna see what crazy Shadows you come back with." Her and Yaoyorozu stole one last kiss as Izuku looked to his Soldiers in South Korea. He focused on one of the basic infantry.

"Shadow Exchange."

Izuku's vision went dark as he traveled across the planet in an instant, emerging to see Beru and several hundred Shadows kneeling behind him. They were on the coast of Korea, the water lapping at the shore behind Izuku.

"Death is not the end!"

Somehow, everytime the Shadows shouted that pledge, Izuku couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and pride rush through him. It was like watching a child grow into an accomplished adult. He wasn't sure where that feeling came from exactly, but he knew it was there.

"You guys have been busy," Izuku remarked, looking out over the sea of corpses Beru had arranged for his Liege. "You've done well."

"Such praise brings me untold pleasure, my King! With your limits truly removed, we obtained every corpse available to us."

"Beru's speech just keeps getting weirder."

"Well, no time to waste. Arise!" Because Izuku's Save Shadow no longer had a set number to it, he could raise as many Shadows as he wanted.

[4345 Arachnids Elite Grade have evolved into 4345 Arachnoids Knight Grade.]

[3313 Ice Bears Normal Grade have evolved into 3313 Cryoursus Knight Grade]

"Smokey will be happy to see more of his kind… I should evolve him since he's the leader of the Ice Bear pack."

[3173 Infantry Normal Grade have evolved into 3173 Shadow Knights Knight Grade.]

[2053 Ice Golems Knight Grade have evolved into 2053 Blizzard Golems Elite-Knight Grade.]

[1252 Ice Foxes Elite-Knight Grade have evolved into 1252 Nine-Tailed Magicians Captain Grade.]

[400 Magicians Elite Grade have evolved into 400 Shadow Sorcerers Elite-Knight Grade.]

[50 Royal Knights Elite-Knight Grade have evolved into 50 Swordmasters Captain Grade.]

"Now for the Boss monsters."

[1 Demon Spider Captain Grade has evolved into 1 Akarachnid Commander Grade.]

A/N: I did not misspell arachnid on this one, it's name is a combination of Akuma which means demon… I think… and arachnid.

[1 Paladin Captain Grade has evolved into 1 Warden Commander Grade.]

[1 True Knight Captain Grade has evolved into 1 Demon Knight Commander Grade.]

"He kinda looks like Igris," Izuku thought as he looked over the Demon Knight, "Okay! You can be Akumo," He said, pointing to the humanoid Spider. Then he looked over to the Warden. He was a hulking man with thick armor, a tough shield and an axe that didn't look all too different from Izuku's, "Hmm, you're Iron. And you…" Izuku thought silently as he looked over the Shadow. He didn't have a majestic cape like Igris, instead, he had thin armor that spread out like wings, "You can be Icarus."

"Thank you, my Liege!"

[Shadows Saved: 324368]

"Around fifteen thousand Shadows, a decent boost, though most of them are far weaker than the majority of the army," But even as that thought ran through Izuku's head, he could not complain about adding them to his army. After all, the other Monarchs supposedly had millions in military forces, every Shadow would be worthwhile in a fight like that.

"Well, no point in waiting any longer." Izuku removed the Eldritch key from his inventory. Its grip was entirely made up of black metal that stretched into moving tendrils that emitted smoke. "Let's get this show on the road." He jabbed the key into the air in front of him and turned. Without even waiting for Izuku to step through, a purplish Gate formed and expanded, swallowing him and his Shadows whole.


Ryukyu paced inside Izuku's apartment. It was what she did whenever she needed to clear her mind and right now, she needed some extra headspace. She'd just spent the last four hours, using the tricks Tsukauchi taught her to sense Higher Beings, to peer into the golden cube. Because she'd been so focused, she didn't even notice the passage of time. By now, Izuku would've already been inside the Gate for around three hours.

"And I'm over here making absolutely no progress!"

Her next strategy was just going to be walking the streets, golden cube in hand to see if it sought out a host, but before she could even make for her shoes, a knock resounded throughout the living room.

Raphael emerged from her Shadow, "My Liege… we were not expecting anyone, were we?" He was the commander of the Angel Beasts, and was classified as a Celestial Behemoth himself, so he was suitably huge and monstrous. Glowing white claws stretched out from the Shadowy essence of his hands.

"No… but I doubt a Monarch would knock," She said, brushing off the Marshal's concerns. However, she couldn't help but stretch her senses out, reaching past the door, finding a substantial, yet weak compared to her, Mana source. She peaked through the peephole, surprised to see Shoto Todoroki standing in the hallway, dressed in casual clothing.

Curiosity flowing through her, she opened the door, causing Shoto's eyebrows to scrunch up.

He quickly bowed his head, "Sorry, I must've gotten the wrong address from Miss Camie." He bluntly turned around, preparing to leave.

"Hold on," Ryukyu blurted, "Are you looking for Izuku? This is his apartment. I'm just… watching it while he and his family are away."

"Oh…" For a time, they both stood there, awkwardly unsure to do with the situation. Thankfully, Shoto finally found his voice, "You were close with my brother, right?"

Ryukyu was simultaneously embarrassed and sad. To be reminded of her relationship with a "bad boy" by his brother on one hand, but to also remember that she'd lost him at the same time. "...Yes."

"You were in that Gate when my brother turned back to Villany and you were in that castle when my father died."

"Yes?" Ryukyu said, now confused by the turn this was taking.

"Then tell me… what happened to my family," Shoto demanded, a sudden fire in his eyes.


"Okay…" Izuku muttered, "This is officially more than I expected." Unlike the other instance Gates, which used parts of a city or even the city itself for a Dungeon, this place looked nothing like a ruined South Korea. In fact, it looked the farthest thing from it.

Izuku stood in the center of an alien forest, flora of all shapes and sizes cropping up around him. The only thing that carried over from Earth, was the water lapping at the cliffside behind them. Izuku peered over the side, not at all surprised to see purple water lapping at the rocks. However, what was surprising, were the "fields" of floating stones, suspended high above the water for seemingly no reason.

"I… feel a familiar shudder of fear looking at this landscape," Beru said, his mandibles clicking rapidly.

Beru was the last Shadow Izuku expected to say something like that. Compared to Bellion and Igris, Beru was a child, maybe a few years old at best, he had very little experience in life compared to the rest of the Shadows who were thousands, or maybe millions of years old. Possibly even older.

"That would make sense," Igris chimed in, holding his sword at the ready, "After all, this is Typhon… a planet on the outskirts of the Black Eye Galaxy. Quaresha tried to invade this place… all insect-type beings gained an inherent fear of this place once she was pushed back by the Primordials and their children."

"A different galaxy…" Izuku trailed off, looking into the sky, colored green instead of blue. "Wait… "their children?" Does that mean we're dealing with more than two Primordials?!"

"The situation is not so dire my Liege. The children of Primordials," Bellion flicked his wrist, sending Centillion rocketing through the air, spearing an insectoid creature hiding behind a tree and dragging it to his feet, "Are not always Primordials themselves. Two Primordial Grade monsters occupy this planet, their offspring range from Elite-Knight Grade to Grand-Marshals." He rolled over the dead bug. It looked almost like a wasp, with a massive abdomen and stinger, but the upper half of its body was occupied by glowing, stone-like formations. For a moment, Izuku thought it was some sort of virus that turned their bodies to rock, but upon closer inspection, he saw that there were folds of the stuff, like an exoskeleton with several legs poking out. Each was adorned with a razor sharp claw. Its head was a bulbous hairy mess that Izuku didn't even want to focus on.

"Arise."

[1 Hiven Elite-Knight Grade has evolved into 1 Hiven Mantis Captain Grade.]

The Hiven's abdomen and stinger disappeared, being replaced by six legs that ended in razor sharp points, allowing the creature to scuttle along the floor as well as use its hexagonal patterned wings to fly. Like the name suggested, it now looked more like a mantis than a wasp.


[Quest]

[Normal Quest: Obtain Primordial Shadows (Part 1)]

Quest Completion Requirements:

- The Primordials cannot be immediately fought. You must gather more power. Complete both tasks below to proceed to Part 2.

- Reach Level 210

- Kill and extract 100,000 Denizens of this planet to attract the attention of the Primordials. [1/100,000]

Rewards:

1. Hidden


"It seems like part of the Quest itself is the reward. To add another hundred-thousand to the army… maybe I won't have to worry about the Monarch's forces as much as I thought." Then, the memories of Ashborn flitted through his mind. He was utilizing hundreds of thousands, at the full power of a Monarch even, and his army was still torn apart by far less than several million. "No… I can't become complacent with any strength… I have to keep going, until absolutely nothing can stop me!"

"Let's get into a more open area," Izuku suggested to his highest ranking Shadows. "Then, we'll see just how powerful the Shadow Army has become."

Beru floated up into the air, reporting that there were grassy plains not too far away. Wanting to waste no time, Izuku pushed off the ground with all his might, flying into the air and making a massive arc as he fell back to the ground, landing inside the field. The stalks of alien grass stood around him, all the way up to chest height.

"Well, it's not as open as I wanted it to be, but I'm sure I can have the fliers call out the incomin… Did the ground just shake?" Izuku's eyes widened and he leapt back, jumping out of the "grass" and back into the forest as the ground continued to rumble with increasing violence. "Hey Beru? I don't think you found a field…"

The ground around the forest began cracking and tearing away as the beast underneath the field, or rather, the beast that was the field, began lifting itself up from its slumber. The stalks on its back were actually its hair that Izuku and his Shadows had seen.

When it was finished rising from the ground, the creature was about the size of Kamish himself, which was to say, he was absolutely massive. It was a spider-like monster, with eight legs, spiky protrusions jutting out from its joints. It's body was like that of a beetle, with wings large enough to rival a Boeing. Its head was almost like a hammerhead shark's though slightly angled back. Its six eyes and wings crackled with powerful electricity. Without a doubt, it was quite powerful.

Izuku was about to call out Kamish, but Igris stepped forwards, his Divine Blade hanging to his side, "I shall take care of this one, my Liege."

The beast let out a piercing shriek as lightning arced from one of its wings, heading for Igris. He swiped at it impossibly fast, his sword absorbing the energy. This frustrated the monster, who let out a dozen more bursts of energy. Igris swiped them all aside as he continued strutting towards his gargantuan foe. Finally, when the creature realized its lightning would do nothing in this fight, it charged.

Igris was Marshal Grade, strong enough to handle a National-Rank or even beat them one-on-one. But not even he could stop the incredible mass of the creature rushing towards him. Despite this, Igris was not in the least bit perturbed. He stopped in place, and raised his sword, its blade glowing a deep crimson.

Then, mere moments away from the creature crushing him, Igris spoke, "Bleed."

Blood-Red Excalibur let out a deafening high pitch tone and Igris slashed the sword faster than even Izuku could track.

For a second, the creature looked entirely fine, like nothing had even happened as its momentum continued towards Igris. But suddenly, its legs gave out and it fell to the ground, its head coming to a stop inches away from Igris's body. A perfectly neat line had bisected the massive arachnid down the middle, killing it instantly.

Izuku let an excited smile stretch across his face, "He always manages to fulfill my expectations and exceed them! Bellion was right! With that sword, Igris would be worthy of the title Grand-Marshal!"

"My Liege," Bellion interrupted Izuku's thoughts, "That creature's roar has obtained the attention of our surroundings. I believe it is time to begin this fight in full."

Izuku nodded, his armor folding over to cover him as he took up his axe, "Two down, a hell of a lot more to go."


Shoto stared blankly at the kitchen table. It was a lot of information to take in at once. Gods, a universal war, humans becoming host to those gods… his family becoming unwilling hosts to those gods.

Ryukyu sat across from him, her hands folded, waiting patiently for him to recover. She figured it had been time to let Shoto know the truth behind his family. Letting him in on the secrets of the Monarchs and Rulers was not all that big a deal when she considered that basically every world leader knew of their existence.

"So… Izuku killed my brother… my father… and he let Touya be taken over…"

"Todoroki…" Ryukyu pursed her lips, "Myself and Mirio were also responsible for your father's death. Touya… well… I was too weak back then to help and Izuku had his hands full. As for Natsuo, no one except Izuku really knows what happened to him."

"I know what happened… I know my brother attacked him… I know he was being evil… but… Izuku didn't have to kill him! He was strong enough to restrain him!"

"Todoroki!" Ryukyu scolded, "Izuku was not always as strong as he is now. He may have been fighting a true life-or-death situation. You cannot yet blame him for an event no one witnessed!"

"I… I don't…" Shoto went silent, his head suddenly going limp.

"Todoroki?" Ryukyu stood and walked over to him, gently lifting his head. His eyes were still open, but they were blank, completely lost. "Todoroki?! What's wrong?!"

But Shoto couldn't hear her. Her voice was getting dimmer by the second as he drifted further and further back into that dark room.

The voice was there with him, "Now you know the truth. What shall you do with it?"

Shoto hung his head low, "What can I do with it? …No matter how badly I want to yell at him, let out all my rage… hit him. I can't… Everytime, he was defending himself, right? Besides," Shoto smiled bitterly, "He's a god now, I couldn't hurt him."

"What if you could?" The voice asked, "What if I offered you that power? What would you do with it?"

Shoto looked up, "You have that power? Enough power to surpass him?"

"Answer the question. What would you do with that power? Would you kill him?"

"N-NO!" Shoto shouted back, "I'd… I could never do something like that."

"But you want to hurt him… to pay him back."

Shoto scowled, "It's ugly and I hate myself for wanting it… but yeah… I do want to hurt him. I do want to make him feel just an ounce of my pain."

The voice took a moment to respond, "To fight and take revenge in the name of your fallen family… it is not an ignoble desire. But… it is the wrong answer."

"What?"

"I respect your sense of self. You know that what you wish for is wrong, but you wish for it all the same. I can see that cold fire in your eyes. I know that if you truly had the power to defeat a being like Ashborn… you may not be able to stop yourself from going too far. You are not at fault. After all, you are human. But you are not worthy of being my host."

"No… No! You said you could give me the power to match someone like him! Forget Izuku! At least give me the chance to fight my brother! At least let me be the one to kill that parasite clinging to him!"

The voice sounded sad, "That… is an even worse answer, young one."

"WHY?! Aren't they your enemies?! Don't you want them dead?!"

"I wish for peace. As long as the Monarchs exist that goal cannot be met… but I do not want anyone dead." The voice began returning Shoto to his real body, "I am truly sorry. I know you are hurting and that anger is almost uncontrollable. But you will not find your answer with power or… with me."

With that, Shoto returned to reality, a single tear of regret slipping down his cheek.