News of Ichirou's death quickly spread throughout the world. This news naturally shocked the whole world and was also announced along with the news of the deaths of Hunter Cristhoper Reed and Brazil's greatest Hunter, Jonas.

Sadness immediately hit many people as soon as they heard this sad news, especially those closest to them. Kiyoko, who heard the news, was of course shaken and even fainted. Luckily the baby in her womb was fine. Even so, the sadness was still unbearable.

Ichirou's funeral was even held as a national funeral and broadcast on many TV stations and the internet. Many guests from home and abroad attended his funeral.

The rain that fell that day covered up the sadness felt not only by all the guests present. Even though the rain wiped away their tears, it only added to the sadness they felt.

Most of the people closest to him cried watching his funeral. Only one remained silent with a blank stare.

Since Izuku arrived in Japan, he has remained silent. He didn't even say anything and often locked himself in his room, and only came out at Ichirou's funeral. He even often neglected his work, which was not something he usually did.

Izuku stared silently at Ichirou's coffin which was covered with dirt. His eyes were empty like a dead fish, there were traces of tears on his face. He didn't even care about the rain soaking his clothes. His mind was blank and only a collection of anger and regret existed within him.

He constantly blamed himself for letting this happen before his eyes. His mind kept spinning about that. Endless regret is also accompanied by anger at the enemy who has taken away someone precious to him.

He has promised many times to take revenge for Ichirou's death, but due to his confused thoughts, he has not taken any action.

Izuku remained silent in front of Ichirou's grave even after the funeral was over. Only when Touya woke him up did he move from his place.

" How long are you going to stand there? Everyone is gone and you're the only one left. "

" ah, yeah... "

Touya who saw Izuku's condition like that couldn't help but feel worried. He was also devastated when he learned of Ichirou's death, but still, the ones most devastated by his death were none other than Kiyoko and Izuku. Moreover, Izuku was the one who witnessed Ichirou's last moments, it was clear that he was the most devastated one.

Even so, he didn't expect the impact to be this severe. The Izuku he saw when he returned that day seemed to see his old self, like someone who had lost his reason to live.

While they were standing there, someone approached them. That person was none other than Daichi.

" Izuku, Kiyoko, he's looking for you. "

" Kiyoko-san, why? "

" I don't know, she just said he had something to talk to you about."

" I see... I'll go "

Following Diachi's word, Izuku was told to go to the waiting room where Kiyoko was waiting for him. When he arrived at the room, he knocked on the door, and after a few moments, he heard a reply from Kiyoko.

As soon as Izuku opened the door, he could see Kiyoko waiting for him with her head down. When she saw Izuku, she then tried to smile to greet him. Even though Kiyoko was smiling, Izuku knew that Kiyoko was hiding her sadness. There were also traces of undried tears on her face.

" You are here, sit down "

" yes "

Following what Kiyoko said, Izuku sat in front of her. There was an awkward silence between them before their conversation, while Kiyoko still wore a friendly smile.

" Sorry for calling you suddenly "

" No "

" There's something I want to tell you "

Hearing Kiyoko want to say something to him, Izuku suddenly became tense. How could he not, since he felt most guilty towards Kiyoko. Not only did he fail to protect her husband, but he also brought him back as a cold corpse.

" first of all, thank you for bringing my husband back. Thanks to you, I was able to hold a funeral for him "

Hearing what Kiyoko said, Izuku quickly raised his head in surprise. He thought Kiyoko might hate him or blame him for Ichirou's death, but what he heard instead was a thank you.

" Sorry? Kiyoko-san, aren't you mad at me? "

Hearing Izuku's question Kiyoko shook her head slowly before calmly answering

" No, even though I was shocked at first, after hearing the full story from Sugimoto-san I understood what happened. That's why, don't feel too guilty, okay? "

" I-I'll try... "

Even though Izuku answered weakly, Kiyoko felt that Izuku's answer was more than enough. Satisfied with Izuku's answer, Kiyoko smiled again. She then took out a document she had prepared beforehand and handed it to Izuku.

" Kiyoko-san, what is this? "

" read it "

Following what Kiyoko said, Izuku read the document, and it didn't take long for his face to turn confused.

" Kiyoko-san, this... "

The document Kiyoko gave was his adoption document. Moreover, the family who will adopt him is the Hiroto family, Ichirou's family.

" Ichirou and I have been planning to adopt you into our family for a long time. Thanks to help from Sugimoto, the necessary documents were completed not long ago, sorry to keep it a secret from you. "

" ah, no problem... "

" So what do you think, will you be our son? "

Izuku was silent for a moment after hearing Kiyoko's statement. After so many years, he didn't expect to have a family again, especially it's Ichirou's family. This no doubt made Izuku confused.

He wasn't sure what family itself meant to him. He had long lost the meaning of parents and family in his life.

During his reflection, he suddenly remembered Ichirou's last request asking him to call him father. If you think about it, it must be because he intended to adopt him.

Seeing Izuku who was confused like that, Kiyoko could only sigh.

" there's no need to decide now, you can think about it first. "

" ah, yes "

After his meeting with Kiyoko Izuku decided to take a short walk to organize his thoughts. While his feet were walking in an uncertain direction, a question kept spinning in his head.

What is family?

For Izuku, the word 'family' had long lost its meaning. Even though he says he considers the people around him as his family, he is not sure they are his real family.

Izuku continued to walk erratically until he accidentally bumped into someone. However, when he was about to apologize, the person he hit immediately called him as if she knew him.

" oh, Izuku-kun, it's been a long time "

" Fuyumi-san "

Fuyumi saw Izuku's blank expression and felt something was wrong with him, but then she remembered the national funeral she saw this morning and immediately felt guilty.

" I'm sorry about what happened "

" Yes, thank you Fuyumi-san "

Fuyumi felt concerned when she saw Izuku's sad expression. She knew Izuku must be feeling sad, she hoped to be able to help ease Izuku's sadness. And when she looked back at Izuku's soaking wet appearance she was shocked again.

" Oh my gosh! Why are you soaked like this? "

" ah, this... "

" Never mind, come quickly and follow me. "

Fuyumi took Izuku's hand and took him to her house. She then gave him a towel to dry his body and told him to change into Touya's clothes that were left there, but Izuku quickly refused since he still had spare clothes in his inventory.

After waiting for Izuku to change clothes, Fuyumi then made warm tea for him. Izuku then drank the tea and thanks to it, his mood lightened a little.

" Thank you, Fuyumi-san "

" You're welcome "

Fuyumi responded with a smile. Even if it was only a little, she was happy to see Izuku's face look more relieved, even if only a little.

" By the way, I didn't see Shoto-kun. "

" Ah! Shoto currently taking The Provisional Hero License exam. "

" Is that so "

" Yes, I heard that the training is also quite tough, even to the point where you need to make the ultimate move."

" Is that so "

Seeing Izuku only give the necessary answers made Fuyumi concerned again. Knowing how Izuku was, if he just answered like that, he had something bothering him.

" Izuku-kun, are you okay? "

" No, unfortunately, I'm not fine "

It was rare to see him be honest like that. Seeing this, Fuyumi realized again how devastated Izuku was because of this incident.

" You know you can tell me if you want. I don't know if this will help or not, but I'm sure by talking you can lighten your burden even if only a little. "

" Yes, thank you Fuyumi-san, actually there is something I want to ask. "

" What's that? "

" For Fuyumi-san, what is family? "

" family? "

" yes... "

" But why are you suddenly asking this? "

" just curious "

" I see, family huh... "

Fuyumi seemed silent for a moment as if she was thinking about the answer to Izuku's question. Even though her memories of her family weren't very good, recently her family atmosphere had gotten better since Touya's return. And it was all thanks to Izuku who brought back the older brother they thought was dead back to them.

Fuyumi stared for a moment at Izuku who was silently waiting for her answer with his head bowed. Seeing his appearance like that made Fuyumi not have the heart to continue seeing him like that.

" For me, family is a place where I can share pain and overcome it together. As you know, my family cannot be called a harmonious family, but thanks to the return of my brother, now our condition is a little better. Mother has been released from the hospital and sometimes we would have dinner together once in a while.

When we get together like that, we usually talk about our daily lives and sometimes share the problems we are experiencing and find solutions together.

Even though at this time we don't have a father to gather with us, I will still try to make sure we can get together like a whole family. Even though my wishes could be called selfish, that's the family I want. "

" Fuyumi-san, you are an optimistic person, aren't you? "

" Really? I guess so "

" If the family is a place where you share the pain, then can familial relationships between colleagues be considered family? "

" I don't know, I guess it depends on how you view that person. If you consider that person to be your brother, can talk freely without any restrictions, and if you feel that person is your place to return to then I think you can be said to share a family bond. "

" I see, then what would you do if you suddenly lost that person? "

Hearing Izuku's question, Fuyumi once again looked at him. She felt like she knew why Izuku was asking her this. She could feel the anger and resentment hidden behind Izuku's empty blue eyes. Seeing him like that, she suddenly remembered her younger brother Shoto, who used to have similar eyes every time he saw their father.

Seeing Izuku's eyes like that, he must have felt devastated and confused because he had just lost someone he considered family. Understanding what Izuku is experiencing, Fuyumi tries her best to give an answer that she thinks is appropriate for the current Izuku.

" Of course, I will feel sad, but life still has to go on. We can't always feel sad because the person we love left us. We may miss that person, but what we need to remember is what that person left for us.

The memories he leaves behind may become scars and reminders of that person. But even so, it is these memories that will guide us forward. "

" Then if the person you care about is suddenly taken away because of someone else, will you take revenge? "

" To be honest, I don't know either. If you ask me whether I would hate that person, of course, I would hate him, but we humans have nothing wrong with forgiving each other. At first, it may be difficult, but slowly time will help us overcome it. "

Hearing Fuyumi's answer, Izuku was silent for a moment. He was seen closing his eyes while contemplating every answer he heard. And not long after, he finally opened his eyes and smiled faintly at Fuyumi.

" You really are a good person Fuyumi-san "

" I-I see, then does that answer your question? "

" Yes, thank you Fuyumi-san "

Fuyumi looked at Izuku's face for a moment, she could see Izuku's face looked a little better than before. It seemed like her answer had succeeded in helping lighten Izuku's burden.

" I'm glad I could help. I'm not sure why you suddenly asked that, but you are like family to us. "

Hearing Fuyumi's words of encouragement, a faint smile formed again on Izuku's face, a smile that hid various dark emotions within him.

" Thank you for the tea Fuyumi-san, but it looks like I have to go. "

" Eh! Are you leaving already? "

" Yes, unfortunately, I still have some work to do. "

" Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped then. Come here next time if you're free. Also, bring my brother if you can, that person rarely comes because he's too busy lately. "

" Of course, I'll bring him next time, then please excuse me. "

" Yes, be careful when you go home "

" See you Fuyumi-san "

" Yeah, see you later Izuku-kun "

After leaving Todoroki's residence, Izuku immediately returned to the guild office to complete his pending work, as well as to fulfill one of Ichirou's last wills.

As soon as he arrived at the guild office, he was immediately greeted by the people who saw him. Without paying attention to these people, Izuku immediately summoned the higher-ups to hold an emergency meeting.

It didn't take long for the guild higher-ups to respond to Izuku's sudden call. Those who arrived immediately sat down quietly, none of them dared to speak since they felt the aura pressing down on them since they arrived in the room.

After all the higher-ups gathered, Izuku started the meeting. He skipped the greetings and all other formalities and just started the meeting straight away. Even so, no one dared to protest his actions. Not only was Izuku the highest authority in the guild after Ichirou left, but Izuku's blue eyes looking at them coldly made them quite depressed.

The next day a press conference was held in the hall of the Dawn Guild office building. In a room that was not that big, many reporters were crowded into the room. As moths attracted to a flame, they were looking forward to what statement the Dawn guild would reveal and about who would inherit the guild master seat of Japan's number 1 guild.

Not long after the reporters were ready, the press conference immediately began. Izuku then walked towards the podium wearing formal robes that had the Dawn emblem on the back. Different from Izuku's usual appearance, Izuku's current appearance felt very cold. Moreover, the heavy atmosphere around him and his blue eyes that looked coldly at the people before him made the reporters who wanted to take pictures suddenly fall silent. None of them dared to press their camera shutter because of the pressure they felt from Izuku.

" First, thank you for attending this press conference, I will immediately convey the main point. A monster colony with high intelligence is targeting world-class Hunters. They are far stronger than many Hunters out there, and they don't care about weapons or ways of killing. "

" By monster colony, do you mean the monsters that killed Hunter Christopher Reed, Hunter Jonas, and Guild master Ichirou Hiroto? "

" That's right, they are monsters that specialize in blocking space with magic, then isolating their prey. So, for those of you who feel certain to be prey, it is recommended to be near a companion who is willing to protect you. "

There was a momentary pause in Izuku's speech. He momentarily closed his eyes as if in contemplation. For a moment he thought back to his battle with the Frost Monarch. His anger rose again when he remembered that.

' that b*st*rd called himself the Monarch of Frost. Until now I have met four Monarchs. Based on the memories the Architect gave there is still that big wolf, the Monarch of Destruction, and three Monarchs whose names I don't know '

Izuku then slowly opened his eyes which were already glowing purple. A hint of murder leaked from him as his eyes stared at the camera.

" However, for those who don't have the partners I described. Please contact me directly at the Dawn Guild. "

For a moment, the intensity of the aura emitted by Izuku increased again following the feelings and determination that were also driven by revenge. He stared intently at the camera before speaking again.

" I, Izuku Hiroto, as the new Dawn guild master will do my best to hunt these monsters. "

' Then I'll make sure that bastard pays for taking my family away, even if it means using all the world's hunters. '

That day Izuku finally decided which opponent he would fight. Izuku's provocative statement signaled the start of a major war between forces who has powers beyond human understanding.

Even though the opponent he was about to face had strength stronger than other powerful Hunters, Izuku didn't care. As long as he could eliminate the b*st*rd who killed Ichirou, he wouldn't care about anything else, even if he had to hunt down the other Monarchs.

That day marks the start of a battle that may determine the fate of humanity.

The battle between the Monarchs finally began.

.