" Izuku "

Izuku, who hadn't noticed it until now, turned to look at who was calling him.

" Sugimoto-San? "

He looked behind Sugimoto, there were people busy rescuing the raid team. It seemed, he was too focused on the battle until he didn't realize that the people had already gathered behind him.

Izuku looked back at Sugimoto who was looking at him, his eyes staring at him asking for an explanation of what had just happened.

" We're going to need a long conversation once we get back "

" I know, but more than that how is the condition of the raid team? "

" for now let's get out of here "

" Yes "

Izuku followed Sugimoto out along with the rescue team.

Outside the gate is more crowded than before they entered the gate, there is an ambulance preparing to take those injured immediately to the hospital, as well as the reporter's car, it can be seen from the logo affixed to the car.

As soon as they came out, the camera started flashing taking pictures of them. One of the reporters stepped up to ask about what happened in dungeon to one of the Hunters in the rescue team but was blocked by one of the Bureau agents.

For the time being, their priority is to take the raid team to the hospital as soon as possible, while the bureau agent will deal with other matters.

They arrived at the hospital, all the raid team was seriously injured, but only Ichirou was in critical condition. It has been an hour since he get into the operating room, Izuku was waiting with several agents.

The doctor came out, Izuku was the first to stand up and immediately asked how Ichirou was doing.

" Doctor, how's his condition? "

" his injuries were much worse than we thought. His arms and legs were almost destroyed, especially his spine was seriously injured which caused some of his motor nerves to stop functioning. We are not sure if he will be able to walk normally from now on. It was honestly a stroke of luck that he was still alive. For now, his critical condition has now passed, and we are not sure when he will wake up. "

For a moment, what the doctor just said made the heart that heard it drop instantly. A harsh reality just said is tantamount to a life sentence.

Izuku's face instantly darkened. The light had long since left his eyes, leaving a muddy look filled with anger at his inability to save his comrades. With the heavy atmosphere surrounding him, Izuku ventured to try to meet Ichirou.

" Can I go see him? "

" Sure, but please don't make a noise, the patient still needs to rest "

" Okay. thank you doctor "

After the doctor left, Izuku and several agents went to Ichirou's room with the nurse guide. In the room, Ichirou was lying helplessly with various medical equipment attached. His figure, which has always looked tough, is now lying helplessly on the hospital bed.

Izuku sat down by Ichirou's bed. His head lowered and his fists clenched so hard that his hands turned white and blood slowly dripped from between his fingers. His mind raced to think of the terrible events that befell his comrades.

" I'm so sorry Ichirou-San if only I got there sooner... "

Looking at the blood dripping from Izuku's hand, Sugimoto who came to accompany him patted him on the shoulder trying to calm him down a little.

" Don't blame yourself, it's not you to blame here Izuku, we are also responsible for this. If only we had known earlier, this accident would have happened "

" ... "

Looking at Izuku who was just silent without giving a response, Sugimoto decided to leave him alone, letting him calm himself down. Judging from how close Izuku is to the raid team member, this incident is a big hit to him.

" I'll leave you here, meet me at the bureau office when you're calm down, and please don't be too burdened with this "

Izuku stayed where he was for almost 30 minutes without leaving Ichirou's side. After making up for a while, Izuku stood up deciding to leave.

He looked at Ichirou once more before leaving.

" Ichirou-San I'm leaving first, get well soon "

Izuku walked out of the room and headed to check the condition of his other colleagues. He first went to Daichi's room, then Katsuhito's room, and finally Kiyoko's room.

Daichi and Katsuhito are still unconscious due to the anesthetic, both of whom received a lot of injuries from the incident and only Kiyoko is still conscious since the wounds are less than the others.

Izuku reached her room, he knocked on the door. Hearing the knocking sound, Kiyoko looked at the door and saw Izuku standing there, she then let him in and told him to sit down next to her bedside.

" How are you Kiyoko-San? "

" As you can see, I still need a few days to fully recover "

" That's a relief "

" Sugimoto-San just came by a few minutes ago, I heard that you are visiting Ichirou, so how is he? "

When Kiyoko asked that, Izuku looked away, his face darkened as he thought of Ichirou who was lying on the bed unconsciously.

" that... "

Kiyoko just smiled bitterly at Izuku's reaction.

" Judging from your reaction, it must be bad, right? "

"I'm sorry... if only I could come sooner... "

" Izuku... "

Kiyoko took Izuku's hand, he raised his head to look at Kiyoko's face.

" It's not your fault that this happened, you worked so hard to save us. We managed to get out of there alive it's all thanks to you and we're so grateful for that. At least you should be grateful for it "

" but I... "

" Izuku, I know how you feel, I'm also upset that my healing did not have a significant effect on Ichirou. I kept thinking that if my support magic and healing power were stronger, I might be able to help the team... "

Tears began to fall from her face, and the mixed feelings she was holding back now leaked out. Unlike Izuku who has always concealed his feelings, she can't resist her feelings.

Although Kiyoko tried to calm Izuku down, she also tried to calm herself down. The words she said to Izuku were also words for herself as well.

Izuku also noticed it, but he chose to remain silent and let Kiyoko cry to her heart's content, waiting until she calmed down.

After a few minutes, Kiyoko finally calmed down, Izuku who was by her side still holding her hand until now.

" Sorry, it's embarrassing to show you this side of myself "

" It's okay, sometimes you need to bring out your emotions at least once, isn't you who told me that "

Kiyoko then smiled softly, she didn't know that her words would come back to her one day. She then laughed, lifting a little of the weight off her chest.

" You're right, it's a bad thing to hold your emotions for too long, thanks to you I feel a little better "

" but I didn't do anything though "

" just being here with me and talking to you is the help I need right now, thank you again Izuku "

" um, yes you're welcome"

Izuku accompanied Kiyoko until the evening, he then left her to let her rest, then headed to the Bureau to meet with Sugimoto.

Izuku arrived at the bureau office, Sugimoto was already waiting for him inside his office. When he entered the room Izuku was quite surprised to see the Director himself waiting for him with Sugimoto.

Izuku looked at the two of them with confused eyes.

" you are here, sit down. "

After bowing lightly to the two of them, he sat down beside Sugimoto.

" You must be wondering why the Chairman is here "

" Is it because of what happened before? "

" yes, but not only that "

" then... "

Sugimoto looked at Matsumoto, then he nodded in agreement.

" I've talked to the Chairman, and... we are thinking about promoting you as an S-rank Hunter "

It was a very surprising thing for Izuku. His brain tried to process it but got stuck because of the shock he received. His mind was still stuck thinking about today's incident but with the shocking announcement from Sugimoto, his head immediately stopped working.

To be promoted to S rank, a Hunter must have a certain amount of mana and real abilities. Hunters must also obtain promotion approval from at least 3 Hunter S ranks.

Seeing that Izuku froze in place, Sugimoto patted him on the shoulder and called his name trying to wake him up.

" Izuku... "

Izuku was shocked and he was able to come back to his senses.

" Yes!, sorry what you said just now? "

" Huh... I told you that we would promote you as an S-Rank Hunter "

Sugimoto sighed after seeing Izuku's reaction. It is rare to see Izuku lose his calm under any circumstances, he is usually calm and cautious but also sometimes very calculated.

It's great to see that Izuku can react like that, but it's not the time for it.

Izuku that was already tried to think about it once again. But there was one thing that bothered him.

" But isn't this too sudden? "

" There is a reason for it " (Matsumoto)

Izuku looked at Matsumoto with confused eyes, he wondered what the reason was. Matsumoto then began to explain the reason to him.

" First after Japan announced the existence of gates and dungeons and also the monsters inside, it brought a wave of changes in the world. Japan was the first to announce it and was followed by the Americans, and the British, and then the whole world also began to announce it.

And when the Americans made the announcement, they also posted a list of S-ranked Hunters they followed that other countries followed. Although we were the ones who started it, it seemed like we were the ones who were left behind. "

Matsumoto handed two document files to Izuku.

" Chairman, this... "

" This is an S-rank Hunter list owned by other countries. America has the most S-rank Hunters, they have 10 S-rank in total. And this one is the S-rank list we have and the list of candidates who will be promoted to the S-rank. "

Izuku looked at the documents of the S-rank candidates. There were 10 candidates in total and he saw Todoroki's name and his name was at the top of the list.

" But why is my name at the top of the list? "

" About that, you are a special case. Based on our observations, you have better growth potential than any Hunter, and seeing the raid records you completed proves your potential as an S-rank Hunter. What happened this time is a pity, but with it, we can confirm your ability. " (Matsumoto)

" That's right, and just by looking at the number of creatures you can summon, there is no doubt that your ability is equivalent to the S rank and maybe even more. " (Sugimoto)

Izuku was silent once again but this time he was lost in thought. He was confused as to whether or not to accept it. This is indeed a great opportunity for him, but after the Chairman mentioned today's incident, the feeling as if he was taking advantage of the accidents of his colleagues made him feel worse.

Sugimoto also realized this just by looking at Izuku's silent reaction. He then tried to give him one more push.

" by the way, Ichirou-San also agrees with this "

" Ichirou-San too? "

Sugimoto nodded at Izuku's handling then handed him one more document. The document contained a proposal for a promotional application that had Ichirou's signature on it.

" A few days before the raid, Ichirou-San visited me and handed me this document "

" Is that so... "

Izuku once again had a dilemma with the decision he had to make. His mind worked so hard that wrinkles slowly formed on his face.

With his current state of mind, it seemed impossible to make a decision right away, one day wasn't enough to think things through. Izuku decided to put his complicated thoughts aside at this point.

" Can I... have time to think about it? "

" of course, there is no need to rush, take your time and think about it slowly "

" thank you for your consideration "

" It's okay, I know it's a hard day for you, you'd better go home and rest "

After getting permission to leave, Izuku stood up and bowed lightly to the two before leaving the room.

" Well, then please excuse me "

Seeing Izuku leaving the room, Sugimoto took a deep breath and then looked at Matsumoto.

"Sir, didn't use this incident to convince him was too much? "

" You know how the heroes in each story grow up, they overcome their crises and become stronger through it "

" But still, he's just a kid "

" Sugimoto, please consider our current situation. Only with this incident, people's trust in us will be reduced, we need heroes to return people's trust in us. "

" But Sir... "

" Sugimoto! Please don't doubt my decision, I made this decision with our common good in mind "

Although Matsumoto didn't speak loudly, the aura emanating from him was able to exert pressure on Sugimoto. Sugimoto couldn't fight Matsumoto's decision because of their difference in position. He could only lower his head and follow his orders like a subordinate.

Swallowing his anger, he lowered his head towards Matsumoto and immediately replied without further resistance.

" yes Sir, I understand "

The next morning on TV news, the news show reported on the recent incident at the gate that appeared near the construction site.

" An incident occurred at the gate located on the construction site at 4 pm. Several Hunters were seen entering the gate, and coming out with their bodies covered in wounds. Regardless, the situation can be controlled quickly and the dungeon is closed thanks to the quick action of the Hunter bureau agents who soon arrive at the scene. "

People gathered around watching the news and talking about this incident.

" Isn't it scary? "

" What about it? "

" Did you see their injuries, they were inhumane, very scary. How can a person survive after such an injury "

" But I heard that Hunter has a higher recovery rate than ordinary people. "

" Aren't they exaggerating? Maybe some of them have a recovery quirk "

People started arguing about the news broadcast on TV. Each of them has its own opinion. Some agree and some don't.

As Matsumoto estimated, most opinions doubted the performance of the Hunters. Because they are used to Hero's performance in dealing with problems, they trust Heroes more than Hunters.

Izuku, who was also watching the news on his mobile phone, then turn his phone off after reading his comments. Their criticism made Izuku feel bad.

Once again he remembered the accident that happened to Ichirou and his team. His expression slowly began to wrinkle the more he thought about the incident.

" This won't do "

Izuku stood up from his bed and then headed to a certain location. He contacted Sugimoto telling him that he would be away for a few days.

He arrived in front of Tokyo Tower and then walked into the dungeon of the Devil's Castle. The flames immediately greeted him as soon as he entered. Regardless of the view of the surrounding ruined city, Izuku went straight to the 76th floor.

The devil was already waiting for him by the entrance. Without waiting any further he took out his dagger and then summoned his troops.

Behind him stood his shadow warriors, Igris, Iron, Tank, Baruka, and Tusk who were the new faces in his army. With his new army form, he rushed into the demon crowd, ready to carry out another massacre in this dungeon.

.