" You will be the perfect first offering to the king "

The rescue team was still frozen in shock after witnessing the monster's attack. But it didn't take long for Ichirou to come to his senses. He immediately tells Kiyoko and the other healers to heal and evacuate the wounded.

" WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HURRY UP AND SAVE THEM!... "

The team members immediately came to their senses thanks to Ichirou's scream. They immediately moved in a panic to evacuate the injured Hunter.

But without letting the Hunters have their way, the architect revived the knight statues around it, which put the Hunters on alert again. They immediately gripped their respective weapons tightly preparing for the battle that could break out at any moment.

One by one the statues stood with broken body parts here and there. The architect standing between the statues spread his arms as if to welcome them.

" Anyone alive by the time all my puppets collapse will be given the great honor of witnessing the king's birth. As long as one of you survives until then, that is. "

As he continued to speak, the Lord's statue stood completely upright. With a smirk on his face, his eyes lit up.

Ichirou is aware of the upcoming danger. He turned around again and went back to warn his team members.

" WATCH OUT! "

Light radiated from the Lord statue's eyes accompanied by the sound of explosions as the floor shattered under its attack. The smoke dissipated, revealing the traces left by the monster's attack.

The team members managed to dodge the attack thanks to Ichirou's warning, otherwise, they would die if hit by the attack.

Those who managed to avoid death immediately counterattacked.

After the smoke cleared from sight, Todoroki activated his fire spell and directly attacked the statue that had just attacked them, but his attack did not damage the statue.

The same goes for other Hunters. None of their attacks were able to penetrate the body of the knight statue. Only Ichirou and Sugimoto's attacks were able to break through their defenses.

Even so, the battle was difficult considering the sheer number of statues they had to face. Although the statue was damaged, it did not interfere with their movement. This makes it difficult for rescue teams to deal with them.

The fight continues but not much has changed, if there is, some casualties begin to pile up on Hunter's side.

Sugimoto felt a sense of urgency in his situation this time. As the team leader, he must decide before the casualties increase.

His eyes then caught Izuku's figure who had just stood sculpting ever since the fight began. Sugimoto thought if it was Izuku he would be able to turn things around now. Although bitter, he had no other choice but to rely on him, since Izuku is the strongest person in the room right now.

He then turned his gaze to the angel statue that had just stood in front of Izuku with no signs of moving. Seeing this change, he then turned to Todoroki who was still casting his fire spell on the statue.

" Todoroki!... take this opportunity to awaken Izuku "

Hearing what Sugimoto said to him, Todoroki then nodded and immediately ran to where Izuku was standing. But just before he could reach him, a sword swung right in front of him.

Todoroki barely dodged the sword attack. Even though he is a mage, Todoroki does not forget to train his body so that he has a physique on par with a B-rank Hunter.

Todoroki stared at the figure that attacked him. The angel statue met Todoroki's gaze with a smirk on his face.

" You think I'll let you... "

' Tsk... '

Todoroki clicked his tongue as he encountered the obstacle in front of him. Once again, he aimed his flames at the corner statue but was easily blocked by his sword.

" How dare you disturb the king "

Seeing that none of his attacks were successful, he then decided to use a more powerful spell.

Mana began to revolve around him, in his hands, hot mana began to take the shape of a spear. Todoroki grabbed the fire spear and threw it directly at the opponent in front of him.

The spear grazed the angel's face but inflicted little damage.

' Damn it, this thing has magic resistance '

Realizing this, Todoroki once again activated his magic, but this time he created not one but several fire spears at once. The spear glided smoothly toward the angel.

The angel repelled his attack, but some escaped and managed to injure him. The angel was quite surprised to learn that there were humans capable of harming him besides Izuku.

" I'm surprised that there's a human being who can hurt me besides the king's vessel, you are really interesting. Not only do you have a huge amount of mana for humans, but you also have the potential to surpass my creations.

Why don't you entertain me more, human... "

Feeling himself being made fun of by the statue before him, Todoroki reactivated his magic. But this time, he placed the magic spell right below the angel statue.

The pillar of fire soared high as soon as the spell was activated, and the surrounding floor melted with heat and turned into molten lava.

The angel sword sliced through the pillar of fire revealing the figure of the angel statue flushed with heat.

" HAHAHA... THAT RIGHT... JUST LIKE THAT... ENTERTAIN ME MORE!... "

The fire died and the angel looked around for his opponent, but Todoroki's figure was nowhere to be seen. The angel statue wasn't flustered or panicked, instead, he smiled even more deeply.

" You think such a trick will work for me... "

From behind the smoke, there was a dazzling light and Todoroki's figure jumped out from behind the smoke while holding a fiery sword in his hand.

Their swords met immediately, the flames from Todoroki's sword were unable to penetrate or melt the angel stone sword moreover, Todoroki's body was also further pushed due to their physical differences.

The angel then tilted the angle of the blade, creating a gap between their blades. The angel did not let go of the moment and immediately counterattacked which managed to injure Todoroki's right shoulder.

Todoroki was quite surprised by the sudden attack but managed to take a few steps back from him.

" is that all you have? Playing small tricks that end up in vain, is boring.

In the end, everything went according to my design. The system I created can predict and respond to every possible eventuality. You won't be able to break through my creation with such efforts, I don't think you can do better... "

Just as the angel was busy talking, a fireball flew up and hit his face.

" blah... blah... blah.. talk on, but watch your surroundings dumb*ss "

Realizing what Todoroki said, two Hunters appeared from behind the angel. Each held a sword and spear aimed at an angel.

Seeing the efforts of humans who tried to fight him with numbers made the Architect chuckle. Moreover, he also realized that the two humans who attacked him were nothing more than bait. He could clearly feel where's Todoroki moving without even looking at him.

The architect then swung his sword sending the two Hunters hit the wall and immediately chased Todoroki who was only a few steps away from Izuku.

Seeing the angel running towards him with the sword raised, Todoroki immediately jumped aside to avoid his attack.

The sword swung and the stone floor shattered instantly due to the impact. A cloud of dust lifted, revealing an angelic figure grinning like a demon.

" You avoided it... impressive "

Todoroki, who was out of breath because of the previous fight, could only stare at the angel fiercely. Blood was still flowing from the wound on his shoulders which made Todoroki's face paler.

The angel turned to look at Todoroki's figure that was about to fall. But the gaze of the statue was a little strange. Instead of looking at Todoroki, the angel's gaze turned to his shadow.

' Shadow Soldier?... '

The shadow soldier that Izuku implanted into Todoroki's shadow showed a reaction when he felt danger in the person he was riding.

As soon as the Architect noticed the presence of the shadow army, his eyes scanned around the battlefield and saw several shadow soldiers present in the shadow of several humans there.

' Despite not being able to get out due to the rules of this place, its presence is unquestionable, not just one but several. '

" Tell me, humans, why did the king plant his shadow on you, and what is your relationship with Izuku "

Knowing what the angel meant, Todoroki smiled subconsciously.

' Even now you are still trying to protect us as you please '

Without much delay, Todoroki looked at the Angel and gave an unbelievable answer coming from him.

" Friend...

We are friends who came here to save him... "

Quite surprised to hear from Todoroki, he was also quite surprised to be able to give such an answer. Luckily for him, no one paid any attention to him as everyone was busy with their own battles.

Except for one...

The angel statue smiled again at the answer that he thought was quite ridiculous.

" So that's not what the King meant. Well, then I will give you a chance. Today, in this world, one of the greatest kings is about to descend. I will allow you to witness this glorious event.

However, every little 'friend' of yours will die here today. "

" like hell, I'll let you... "

BANG~

A precise punch hit the angel's face shattering his face. The architect could not hide his surprise. His eyes caught him sprawled on the floor. A cloud of dust and rubble blocked his view of the figure that was attacking him.

The figure stood above him with a pair of shining blue eyes staring at him intently. It wasn't long before a voice filled with cold undertones sounded as the figure started to speak.

" You... "

Still shrouded in shock, the architect raised his face to see the face of the Assaulter who attacked him, but he was shocked again when he saw a figure standing in front of him.

" What have you done to my body? "

A while ago before Izuku woke up, he was still witnessing the war between black and silver forces. The war that was quickly turned with a certain victory, was once again turned upside down with the arrival of a new enemy.

From the blue gate emerged heavily armed troops carrying flags with symbols Izuku was very familiar with. Clan Ricardo, Peitos, Rokan, Ingrass and even Radir. The demon army that Izuku once fought in the dungeon of the Devil's Castle once again appeared before his eyes.

Meanwhile, from the red gate, a giant white wolf emerges followed by an army of animal-like monsters.

The two armies showed obvious hostility towards the Shadow King. The king replied with the same level of hostility.

The war broke out again as soon as the two armies gathered. The two great forces clashed again, causing the earth and the sky to shake.

Izuku was amazed to see the shadow soldiers who continued to regenerate no matter how many times they were destroyed. All thanks to Shadow Monarch's infinite mana.

' It's amazing... If it were me, I would have run out of mana long ago...

...but...

Why do I find this situation strange '

It didn't take long for Izuku to realize something was wrong with this turn of events. He then looked back at the battlefield. The demon army and the beast-man who came out of the two gates slaughtered the shadow army mercilessly, knowing what the shadow army was capable of.

Although it was originally a war of monster armies against the silver army, it has now turned against their own allied forces.

' Aren't they on the same side? or perhaps...

internal conflict?!.. '

After Izuku realized this, The battle quickly ended with the number and the infinite regeneration ability of the shadow soldiers. Coupled with the escape of one of the enemy leaders, the battle became an absolute victory for the Shadow Monarch.

As the battle was coming to an end, the Monarch stood in front of the demon army leader who was already lying on the ground covered in blood and wounds. The surroundings were filled with the corpses of demon soldiers and monsters. The Monarch looked into his opponent's eyes.

" We have a chance to end the war today. So why did you betray me? "

The demon leader laughed at Monarch's question.

" What a... shame. I could've done away with you. "

" I ask you a question. Why did you betray me? "

The Monarch added emphasis to his voice as he looked into the demon leader's eyes.

" Hehehehe... ?! #$%$# %$%#... #%... "

After hearing the demon leader's words, the Shadow King pulled the demon leader's body and brought his face closer to the King's clutches. The monarch then crushes the demon leader's head with his bare hands leaving his hands covered in purple blood.

Izuku who was watching them from a distance didn't understand what the demon leader was saying, but judging from the King's reaction, it was definitely not a good thing.

However, after witnessing how the demon leader's head was crushed. Izuku's vision changed once again, now in front of him a pair of familiar eyes staring at him before finally losing their light.

Badum~

' Those eyes... where have I seen it before... '

Izuku felt his hand grip the face of the owner of that eye, then released his grip and dropped his body. He then took off the helmet that covered the figure's face, but he was immediately shocked and confused when he saw the familiar face of the figure.

' Demon King Baran?! ... what is he doing here?! ... '

The surprises don't stop there. Izuku was shocked again when he realized his hand was not his.

' Huh?... since when?... '

Badum~

Along with that, he could also feel something else beating along with his heartbeat. He touched his right chest where the 'something' was. He could clearly feel another beating inside of him as each beat pumped up the dense mana within him.

Not long after, he could feel some strong presence approaching him from above. Izuku then turned his gaze back to the sky to see an angel-like figure flying down while staring at him.

Then, a notification screen appeared in front of him right before his vision went dark.

[Playback of the retrieved data has ended]

.