In the Mato dimension

A few minutes after the appearance of the red gate

Chief uzen along with yuuki seemed to have finished eliminating the shuuki around the gate, he then looked towards the gate. His reverie was instantly ended when he felt a strong and fast presence.

As they turned around they saw a light streaking high and stopped right in front of them. A female figure with a serious expression appeared before them. "What's the situation now? Kyouka." The figure of the Anti-Demon Corps Commander, Ren Yamashiro had arrived.

"Still the same as before, nothing has happened until now." Staring at the gate. "So, this is the gate you're referring to?" Asked the commander.

Commander Yamashiro approached the red gate. Then, she used one of Vairocana's abilities. That is, Clairvoyance to Observe the Gate's Structure and Energy

(Ren watched the gate intently, her eyes shining as she tried to see the details.)

"There are magic patterns on its surface... maybe this is the key to opening it."

Ren experiments with her Cancelling ability to see if the red Gate works based on certain magic. If he managed to partially dispel its effects, this could give him a clue about the gate's mechanism.

(Ren touches the gate and tries to channel her ability.)

"Can't... this is too strong. But there's a reaction... this really isn't an ordinary gate."

While thinking about the next step, a giant whirlwind appeared.

Both Ren and Uzen looked calm. Because, that was Chief Yakumo Yakumo's ability. After the whirlwind disappeared, Chief Yakumo appeared with two other chairmen. That is, Chief Varvara Pilipenko, Chief Bell Tsukiyono, and Chief Konomi Konomi.

"Sorry, we are late, there are a lot of Shhuki that appeared. So we had to deal with them first, so they wouldn't come here."

Kyouka looked surprised. Because, she had killed all the shuuki that appeared with Yuuki within a 5 kilometer radius. And it turned out that there were still many shuuki that appeared in a radius that was even further away, it was not unusual for shuuki to appear in such massive numbers.

"Yakumo was right, while heading here I saw shuuki appearing in large numbers in a radius of about 25 kilometers from here." Said Ren, who then looked back towards the gate.

"What should we do now?" asked Tarara, who was approaching the gate.

"Nothing yet. At least, for now." Ren replied. Kyouka looked increasingly agitated while Konomi could only try to calm her down.

"Wahhh, girls...! I'm sorry this Yakumo...couldn't help you. It's such a heavy burden, you know! You see, I even have to hold back these tears!" they looked at Yakumo with amused looks.

"What are you doing, Yakumo? We're in a dangerous situation and you're acting like this?"

Ren could stare at her with confusion and disbelief, shaking his head slightly.

Uzen looked at Yakumo with a look that was hard to read, but clearly showed annoyance

"Yakumo, are you... just kidding? A situation like this is not the right time to joke around!"

Kyouka would slightly furrow her brows, trying to restrain herself from acting impulsively.

Ren stepped forward, her voice calm yet firm

" Kyouka, Yakumo, enough. This is not a good time to fight. We're all here for the same purpose."

Yakumo scratched her fist and apologized. "Alright, alright. I give up, I'm sorry...Kyouka."

Kyouka sighed. "Alright, next time don't do that again." Ren smiled with relief seeing them both

"Ah...co-commander...will the girls inside be okay?" Bell finally spoke

Ren smiled, "Calm down bell, we don't know what's in there. But, I'm sure they're fine. Besides, I'm sure Kyouka isn't soft on those girls." Then Ren looked at Kyouka with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Commander,"

Soon a portal appeared

Chief Tenka exited the portal followed by the rest of the chiefs. Chief Fubuki came out and ran hurriedly towards Kyouka and Ren.

"Chief Uzen, Commander! How is it? What's the situation?" Fubuki asked anxiously.

"Sorry. But...there's nothing we can do as of now. I've tried my Ability, but they don't seem to be working."

Kyouka approached Fubuki, then bowed and apologized.

"Sorry! I...couldn't take care of himari."

Fubuki's gaze softened

"It's not your fault Chief uzen. It was purely...an accident."

"Fubuki's right, kyouka. It was purely an accident...I guess, we can only hope that those trapped inside can find a way out." Ren said

Ren continued. "Actually, I want to use my abilities and forcibly open the way. However, that might only make things worse. I guess... we can only hope for those trapped inside to find a way out." Ren also seemed to be unable to do much

Inside the Gate, at almost the same time

"finally found...the lair of the Ice Bears."

Even from a distance, the number of Ice Bears in the cave was obvious.

I took a few steps forward, and the Ice Bears who were previously relaxing immediately realized my existence. One by one they started to come out, I stopped my steps. There were more than 30 Ice Bears, yes.

"come forth"

'...'

'...'

the soldiers in black armor appeared silently and surrounded me.

The shadow soldiers stood tall in eerie silence, without the slightest sign of chaos.

"Good.

"You all understand that this is your first attack, right?"

Meanwhile dozens of Ice Bears had already gathered.

'Looks like the other side has also finished preparing.'

Souta pointed at the Ice Bears.

"Go."

As soon as the order was issued, the shadow warriors charged forward as if they were gliding on ice. The shadow warriors quickly approached their target. Fortunately, the ferocious attacks from the Ice Bear's front paws were faster than their movements.

Swing!

Kwajeek!

With one strike, one shadow warrior was wiped out.

If only the one underneath his armor wasn't a 'shadow' but a real person, the attack would have definitely torn him into pieces.

'Hmm...'

souta frowned deeply.'As I thought, did I expect too much?'

Both their physical strength and body size, these Ice Bears were a difficult foe for the shadow warriors to , something quite surprising happened next. Souta's eyes opened wider.

The warrior whose chest was torn apart by the Ice Bear's attack suddenly turned into a wisp of black smoke just before falling to the ground.

The black smoke coagulated at a point a few steps away and returned to its original form.

'Good!' My expression brightened.

The Ice Bear became more agitated than ever after realizing his attack was futile, and he roared loudly.

ROOOAR!

And so, as the infantry soldiers bided their time in front, the magic warriors standing behind had finished their spells.

Boom!

Kaboom!

The fireballs that came out from the tips of the magic warriors' hands exploded here and there. The shadow warriors who were swept away by the explosion instantly regenerated, but on the other hand, the Ice Bears could only roll around while screaming in pain and agony, while their bodies were burning.

Grroooaaar!

Grrrrrr!

Meanwhile, the shadow warriors wasted no time and quickly approached the defenseless Ice Bears, before stabbing them with their swords.

Stab!

staaaab!

One after another, the proud and triumphant Ice Bears fell to the cooperative tactics of the shadow warriors and magic warriors.

Souta continued to watch the proceedings with an expression full of interest and happiness.

The infantry soldiers and their rapid regenerative abilities; the magic warriors and their outstanding firepower.

The overall combat ability of the shadow warriors had far exceeded his initial expectations.

Before long, the Ice Bear was forced back by the strength of the shadow warriors and pushed back to the entrance of the cave.

He thought that the end of the battle was near, but then...

AAAAAAR!

Accompanied by an eardrum-shaking rumble, a huge shadow slowly emerged from one of the caves.

"Isn't that..."

The Ice Bear that came out was at least a head taller and doubled in body size compared to the other Ice Bears around it.

Roar!

Just one sweep from this huge Ice Bear, and many warriors were bounced off.

SWOOOSH-!

Kabboooomm!

The soldiers' regeneration speed could no longer keep up with the giant Ice Bear's onslaught.

Kwajeeeck!

Slam!

Souta could only groan after seeing that.

"So, he's the leader of the group, huh...?"

He guessed that, since there was a pack, there must be a leader leading it as well. However, that bastard turned out to be much bigger and stronger than he had expected.

"Krooaar!"

The giant Ice Bear leader obliterated all the shadow warriors that appeared before him, and approached Souta with terrifying speed.

It was at this moment that a note appeared in his sight.

[Your mana has been depleted and shadow warriors can no longer regenerate.]

[Your mana has been depleted and the shadow warrior can no longer regenerate.]

'What?'

He hurriedly checked his MP value, and as the System warned, it had disappeared completely.

[MP: 0/1860]

Once his MP was drained, the destroyed shadow warriors did not regenerate and simply returned to Souta's shadow.

In other words, to regenerate the lost warriors, he needed more Mana.

'Damn it...'

One more reason to increase his Intelligence Stats.

Souta scratched the side of his head. With the appearance of the Ice Bear leader, the flow of battle had completely reversed.

However, Souta still had a lot of latitude.

'Since their boss has appeared, this side should also advance.'

Souta, who was still standing there with his arms crossed, called out to the 'boss' of the shadow warriors.

"igris"

One more shadow came out of Souta's shadow.

And from that shadow, a knight wearing a helmet with an ornate mane rose up silently.

Souta pointed forward with his chin.

Igris bowed to Souta, before rushing towards the Ice Bear leader.

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Igris lightly dodged the Ice Bear leader's front legs, and slid between his hind legs. He passed through the hind legs again, took out a dagger and cut the Ice Bear's sinew.

"Groooaaarrr?!"

That was the beginning

Igris drew his long sword and deftly dodged the Ice Bear's rage, while continuing to slash the giant monster's body with his sword.

Tendons, claws, forelimbs, legs, torso - pieces of flesh from various areas of the monster were cut off and fell to the ground piece by piece.

"Hah!"

Souta could only gasp in amazement at Igris's ingenious and complex movements.

The last place Igris hit was the Ice Bear's head.

Slice!

The giant Ice Bear's head separated from its body and flew away. However, before it landed on the ground, Igris easily snatched it away. He strode proudly towards Souta, and knelt before him.

Thud.

Then, he placed the dead Ice Bear's head in front of Souta's feet. It was as if the knight was presenting the spoils of victory to his king.

Souta swallowed dryly and looked at the kneeling Igris and his bowed head.

'If Igris had decided to use his sword from the start, would I have been able to defeat him?'

The Ice Bears, in the absence of their leader, lost all order and became extremely confused, before they were swept away by the remaining shadow warriors. That ended the battle.