Somewhere in a cold and dark cave, several figures stood on pillars facing each other with a heavy atmosphere filling the air. Enormous mana energy was radiated just by their gathering in one place.

The tense atmosphere grew even more when one of the figures gathered began to speak.

" The vessel of Shadow Monarch is more dangerous than we thought. "

A tall old man with blue skin known as the Monarch of Frost, Sillad spoke revealing the facts he knew.

" Didn't you say there was no vessel that could contain his full power and that was also the same reason why the Dragon King couldn't remain on earth? "

Another old man known as the King of Transfiguration, Yogumunt, responded to what Sillad said.

" I thought that man has found his vessel "

A beautiful woman with a youthful appearance was known as the Plague King, Querehsha added.

" Indeed, I have found an individual that suitable to be his vessel, but it still requires some preparation considering how persistent the vessel is " (Yogumunt)

" Let's put that aside, the Shadow Monarch vessel I saw back then was more dangerous than the Fragment of Brilliant Light and I plan to take care of it. Are you willing to help me? "

" By fighting him, do you just want to get yourself killed? Even though he's just a vessel, your opponent is one of the strongest among the 9 Monarchs. Why not wait for the Monarch of Destruction to arrive? "

A handsome, clearly non-human figure known as the Monarch of the Iron Body, Tarnak also expressed his opinion on Sillad's proposal.

" Even though we are Monarchs, can we only wait for the Dragon King? The strength of the five of us is more than enough to fight him. Our chance to defeat the Shadow Monarch is now, while he is still human. "

" What proof is there that he is still human? "

" This "

Sillad took out a dagger that had been stuck in his back in response to the question of a muscular figure who looked like a wild beast known as the Monarch of Fangs, Rakan.

" He put poison on his dagger. This is not something the Shadow Monarch would do. "

" poison, huh...

If Shadow Monarch could fully control his human body, he wouldn't do such tricks " (Querehsha)

" Will you join me? " (Sillad)

" Count me out of this " (Tarnak)

" I also don't want to end up the same as the Monarch of White Flames " (Yogumunt)

After conveying their refusal, a gate was formed behind Tarnak and Yogumunt. Meanwhile, Rakan looked at them sarcastically before finally quipping at them.

" You coward " (Rakan)

" I didn't retreat without reason. You should know what happened to the Monarch of White Flame after he was defeated. I don't want to be caught by the Authority Shadow Monarch and suffer through the 'Eternal Slumber' " (Tarnak)

" I don't think he can make us in our original form his servants " (Rakan)

" It seems like the Shadow Monarch and the Architect are working together, now he can make a clone of us. I don't want to turn into a tool in his world. " (Tarnak)

" Is that your only reason? " (Sillad)

" I just want a definite result " (Tarnak)

" I won't stop you, but you will miss the part where we finished off the Shadow Monarch " (Sillad)

" I see, well I hope your arrogance doesn't lead you to death " (Tarnak)

After stating their final warning, Tarnak and Yogumunt left the cave through the gate they had formed. Staring at the remnants of mana left behind, Sillad then turned his gaze to Querehsha and Rakan.

" What about you? Are you going to join me? "

" I will help you " (Querehsha)

" We will kill the Shadow Monarch together " (Rakan)

Satisfied with both answers, a faint smile formed on Sillad's face. With the help of two Monarchs on his side his confidence in defeating the Shadow Monarch increased instantly.

' Just wait for it, Shadow Monarch, I will repay your insult that day many times over '

Several days passed after the Dawn Guild press conference was held. Not much has changed since then, except that the leadership structure has now changed and is now completely held by the deputy guild master who is now named Izuku Hiroto.

Even though Dawn's leadership has changed, not much has changed. Well, if anything, it was the atmosphere around the guild office that had become a little heavy.

When compared to Ichirou's leadership period, the office atmosphere is still slightly better thanks to Ichirou's firm nature but can appreciate the efforts of his subordinates well. Coupled with his leadership aura and fair way of leading, it is not surprising that many people are willing to follow him.

But since Izuku took over, the atmosphere in the office has become a little heavier. The atmosphere around the guild master's office which was now Izuku's office felt very tense, as if a cold-blooded predator was standing there silently, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce on its prey.

Not only that, Izuku, who from the start had been in full control of the dungeon management and raid team, began to fully mobilize the raid team to enter many high-rank gates, even buying gates that were outside their guild's base of operations.

This of course caused protests from other competing guilds, but Izuku didn't care at all about it. No matter how much guild resources he expended, he only focused on raiding.

Apart from that, Izuku also often goes out for no reason which makes Touya Todoroki, who is currently his vice guild master, quite troubled by the tasks he has left behind.

With his leadership style like that, people slowly started to compare him with Ichirou. And the talk quickly spread throughout the guild and even though it also reached Izuku's ears, he didn't do anything about it.

It's not that he doesn't care, it's just that as long as the rumors spreading don't affect Ichirou's reputation, he won't care.

Currently, Izuku is in his new office listening to the report given by secretary Ichirou who is now helping him as secretary.

" That's all for this raid report "

" I see, thank you for your hard work "

" Um, guild master, do we still have to buy a gate in the Shizuoka area? "

" Haven't I told you, as long as its high-rank gates did anything to buy that gate? "

" But, may I know the reason you are so ambitious about conquering a high gate rank? "

" There's no special reason, I just want to carry out our duties as Hunters. "

" But do you have to go that far? "

" Hikari-san "

Feeling Izuku's cold gaze made Hikari immediately fall silent. Even though she served as secretary to a guild master, Hikari was just an ordinary person. So just Izuku's gaze alone was able to give him goosebumps.

" Understand, we'll try working on it "

Finished with her report, Hikari rushed out. Left alone, Izuku took a moment to sigh before looking at the office which now felt dark and empty.

Ichirou's absence in his life has taken away much of Izuku's spirit. All that remained in him was his anger and ambition for revenge.

Amidst the silence of the room, Izuku's eyes glowed a cold purple as if he were staring at empty air. However, contrary to what it seemed, Izuku's view kept changing to different places.

Izuku uses his 'Share Sense' skill on every shadow soldier he has placed in the shadows of every famous hunter from various countries.

Thanks to what he said at the press conference, many Hunters from various countries quickly contacted him, some even came directly to Japan to meet him.

Thanks to that, he finally had eyes that could monitor his protection targets as well as his prey. Not only through his shadow, Izuku also always spreads his enormous mana energy throughout the city.

Even though Izuku put in almost all his effort, he couldn't find any sign of his prey.

' where the hell that b*st*rd is '

In the middle of his thoughts, the door to his room was suddenly knocked. Izuku immediately deactivated his skill and invited the people who visited him to enter.

As soon as the door opened, Touya, who was visiting him, walked in. He then noticed Izuku's cold expression that he had had for the past few days and immediately sighed.

" Can you stop having that scary face, you also pressured Hikari to use it right? "

" ... "

Izuku didn't even bother responding since what Touya said wasn't wrong.

" Did you come here just to nag me? "

" Only half of it, I came here to submit a complaint that came in today. "

" is that so, just leave it on the table, I'll look at it later. "

After saying that, Izuku immediately got up from his chair and prepared to leave.

" Are you going out again? "

" So what? "

" What do you mean what? Don't you see how much work you have ignored up until now? "

" Just leave it there, I'll deal with it later "

As if no longer interested in his conversation with Touya, Izuku immediately walked out. But before he went any further, Touya's hand immediately stopped him. Izuku stared coldly at the hand that touched him.

" let go "

In a cold tone, Izuku ordered Touya to let go of his hand.

" How long are you going to act like that, it's not only you who wants revenge. Stop acting egotistical as if everyone is just a burden that gets in your way. "

" Even though you say that the opponent's strength exceeds that of a national-level hunter? You will die in vain if you fight them. Therefore, do your job as a hunter and be strong to protect yourself. "

Hearing Izuku's words belittling the Hunters under him made Touya quite annoyed. And as a result, he threw his fist which directly hit Izuku's face. Thanks to Touya's strong punch, Izuku was pushed back, and bruises also formed on his face.

Even though Izuku could have avoided it, he decided to accept it. He felt that with that, Touya's anger could subside a little. However, contrary to his expectations, Touya's anger peaked again as soon as he saw Izuku's eyes which had been blinded by his anger and ambition for revenge.

Touya didn't expect the day he would see his closest friend have the eyes he hated the most. As a result of his annoyance, Touya then grabbed Izuku by the collar and shouted at him.

" You bastard, are we that trivial in your eyes huh?! Does power make you blind to the point where you ignore the people who work under you? Be aware, that you now carry Ichirou-san's name with you, do you want to disgrace his name with your actions? Just because you're special doesn't mean you can do whatever you want "

" I never intended to disgrace Ichirou-san's name even the slightest "

" Really? But look at what you did, not only did you neglect your job, but you also used the guild for your ambition of revenge, and I also know that you met the foreign hunters to keep an eye on them. "

" Then... "

Touya was quite surprised and angry with Izuku's passive response.

" You! "

His grip on Izuku's collar tightened before finally pushing him back because his annoyance had reached the point where he could burn down Izuku's office.

" Forget it, it's useless for me to talk to someone like you who is blinded by revenge. I hope you can reflect on yourself before it's too late.

But if this continues, I will make sure I will drag you down from your position. "

After leaving his warning, Touya immediately left Izuku feeling angry. The anger Touya felt was natural judging by the actions Izuku had taken recently. Not only did he ignore the people closest to him, but he was only focused on his ambitions which might one day destroy him.

Izuku looked at the door to his room which had just been roughly closed by Touya. He no longer felt any presence behind his door which let Izuku know that Touya was gone.

Left alone, Izuku was silent while touching his swollen cheek. He momentarily pondered the words Touya had said to him.

' Am I really gone too far '

While Izuku was thinking about this, the shadow beneath his feet moved and Beru appeared from behind it and spoke to Izuku.

" I apologize for this servant's impudence, but why didn't you dodge the attack earlier even though you should have been able to dodge it easily? "

" I don't know, I guess I just don't want to "

" Pardon me, but- "

" Don't mind it, let's just look for the location of the gate. "

" yes, my Liege "

Beru immediately carried out his king's orders without much resistance thanks to his absolute loyalty. Following the king who walked out, Beru also returned to Izuku's shadow.

Izuku's actions, which often go out without notice, are not without reason. Since he couldn't find any trace of his prey on Earth, he thought about looking for it in the dungeon as well.

Even though he knew that the gates that appeared on earth were the work of the Rulers, it did not rule out the possibility that one of the many gates was a gate created by a force equal to the Rulers, the Monarchs.

Despite the very small possibility, Izuku refuses to give up, and this is the reason he becomes obsessed with high-rank gates.

Izuku then went outside for the umpteenth time to check the gate and conquer it. But he would not have guessed what surprise awaited him when he arrived at the gate.

.