He went to Kuoh Academy.

The gentle rays of sunlight slowly filled the room, trying to dispel the remnants of faint darkness. Ryo felt the warmth of the sun creeping into his skin, attempting to hold onto that comforting moment. Without realizing it, he pulled the blanket tighter around his body as if he wanted to embrace that warmth. However, the stillness of the moment didn't last long. The alarm rang suddenly, announcing the end of his rest.

Ryo opened his eyes very slowly, with sunlight casting soft shadows on his face. He sat in his bed quietly, his eyes gazing around in wonder. "My room?" he muttered quietly, as his mind tried to recall the memories of the night before. The last thing he remembered was collapsing from exhaustion in the training room... "How did I get here?"

Before he could answer his own questions, three knights suddenly appeared in front of him. They all knelt on one knee before him in complete silence. Ryo, not fully awake yet, was shocked. "What is happening here?" he muttered to himself.

He stared at the three knights. It was clear something had changed in them. Their bodies had become bigger and more powerful, and the armor they wore now looked more detailed and intricate. He raised his hand to point at them, then asked in surprise, "How did you evolve so quickly?"

The three knights glanced at each other before Knight Two rose and gestured with his hand, trying to explain the situation. He carefully pointed out, using precise motions, that after receiving an order from Ryo to hunt rogue demons, fallen angels, and demonic beasts, they discovered an entire city where they killed nine demons. They absorbed their magical power, which contributed to their evolution.

Ryo placed his hand on his head, not from pain, but in an attempt to understand the knight's signals. "Oh, it's complicated. But why can't you speak yet?"

The knight shrugged, unable to answer. Ryo sighed deeply and said, "It seems you need names now."

The three knights' faces lit up with happiness, and although Ryo thought naming them would be a challenging task, he nodded. He pointed to the knight holding a giant sword and said, "I'll call you 'Infernal,' because your helmet looks like the gate of hell." Then he looked at the second knight, who wielded black flames: "You will be 'Nero.'" Finally, to the third knight, who had a strong shield, he said, "And you, you'll be 'Iron.'"

Ryo expected some objection to these simple names, but to his surprise, the knights looked extremely pleased. Perhaps the names weren't perfect, but they meant a lot to them.

Ryo smiled with relief, and despite the simplicity of the moment, this was the first time he had smiled genuinely since being tortured by the three rogue demons. It was strange for Ryo to feel that these three, who had once caused his lack of smiles, had now become the reason for his joy once again.

Ryo's face turned cold again as he spoke, "Do you know where the powerful rogue demons, fallen angels, and demonic beasts are located?"

Nero nodded.

Ryo also nodded in response and said, "I'll bring a map of Kuoh Town when I return from school. Mark their locations."

The three knights nodded in agreement.

Ryo slowly rose from his bed and headed toward the bathroom, while the three followed him with their eyes. Ryo glanced back at them and asked, "Where are you going?"

Infernal pointed toward the bathroom. "You want to come in with me?"

Iron nodded.

Ryo felt annoyed. How could he relax in the bathroom with three giants staring at him? So, he snapped in frustration, "No! Stay outside the bathroom!"

But Infernal and Iron were still insistent on entering. Ryo was about to explode in anger when Nero suddenly smacked them on their heads with his fist.

The two looked at Nero, then back at Ryo, asking for punishment for him, as they all acted like children. The veins on Ryo's forehead bulged in anger, and he shouted, "Infernal and Iron, you're all punished! Press your heads to the ground!"

They began defending themselves, claiming they did nothing wrong and were only trying to protect him, while blaming Nero for the mistake.

"Obey the order, or there will be a bigger punishment!" A dark aura surrounded Ryo, and his eyes glowed red, displaying his rage. Infernal and Iron had no choice but to submit to their master's command.

Ryo glanced at Nero briefly before entering the bathroom. He undressed and stood under the shower, thinking, "It seems Nero is the strongest and the smartest among them. Well, that's expected. Even before they became Shadow Soldiers, Nero was their leader. They've also gained specific emotions, and their intelligence has improved. But still, their loyalty to me hasn't changed."

Ryo felt that his soldiers' increased intelligence would be useful in carrying out his orders more accurately.

After a few minutes, Ryo finished his shower and exited to find Infernal and Iron still being punished, while Nero was pacing back and forth, raising his finger as if scolding them. It was a funny sight.

Nero noticed Ryo had come out and immediately stopped reprimanding them, looking to Ryo for his next order.

"Infernal, Iron, stand up!" Ryo's voice was calm.

Quickly, both Infernal and Iron stood beside Nero, waiting for further instructions.

Rio sat down on the couch, then looked at Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi. "Did you collect the souls of the stray devils you killed?"

Each of them pulled out the souls of the stray devils they had slain. Nero had five souls, while Jahimi and Hadidi had four each. They placed the nine stray devil souls on the table in front of Rio.

Rio stood up and took three souls, then began channeling his demonic energy into them. In a calm voice, yet one filled with power and authority, he said, "Rise!"

The souls began to rise, emanating their dark aura throughout the room. They stood up: the first one donned a black armor like a regular knight, with a purple gleam shining from his helmet. In his hands, he wielded a spear. The other two wore old, black robes, their faces resembling skulls with purple flames burning in their eye sockets. Each of them held magic staffs.

Rio now had a spear-wielding knight and two mages.

Rio was surprised; he didn't expect the souls to be this powerful. He thought they'd be similar to Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi, but these were entirely new soldiers. However, this didn't stop him from hiding a terrifying smile on his face.

The newly summoned dark soldiers knelt before Rio. He glanced at the remaining souls, then at Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi, wondering if they could also summon dark soldiers. If so, it would greatly benefit Rio. So, he decided to test it out.

"Nero, use your magic to summon soldiers from the souls."

Nero was puzzled but couldn't disobey his master's orders. He stepped forward, took one of the souls, and followed Rio's instructions. To his surprise, it worked. The soul transformed into a knight that resembled Nero, though slightly smaller and less imposing. But this made Rio even more excited.

He then instructed the others to try as well, but only Jahimi and Hadidi succeeded.

Rio thought of something: "It seems that for the summoning to work, they need to evolve from regular soldiers into elite ones like Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi."

He then commanded Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi to summon the remaining souls, and it worked. Now, twelve dark soldiers knelt before Rio.

However, Rio noticed something about the formation. The soldiers he summoned stood in the front, while the ones summoned by Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi stood directly behind them. This was the formation of the Dark Army, but they had done it without Rio's orders.

A fierce smile spread across Rio's face as he saw his Dark Army taking shape.

Rio then divided the Dark Army into:

Elite Soldiers: Nero, Jahimi, and Hadidi.

Regular Soldiers: The newly summoned soldiers.

Nero: Commander of the Knight Army.

Jahimi: Commander of the Barbarian Army.

Hadidi: Commander of the Tank Army.

As for the soldiers he summoned, he would wait for them to evolve and then assign them as commanders or find suitable leaders. He also appointed Nero as the overall commander of the Dark Army.

Rio sat back on his chair, resting his head on his arm, looking at his soldiers with calm eyes. All the dark soldiers knelt, with Nero at the front.

"The Dark Army is beginning to take shape, and I will march with my army across the world and ascend to the heavens."

Rio's words echoed in the air, making the dark soldiers feel their master's purpose, the goal they would wield their weapons for.

Rio glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was time to head to Kuoh Academy. Although Rio wanted to go out and seek more power, he needed to proceed step by step and not rush things.

He stood up and began walking, and as he did, the soldiers rose and cleared a path for him. With every step he took, each soldier in front of him dissolved into a stream of darkness and entered his shadow.

Rio set off for Kuoh Academy, and along the way, he noticed that all the girls and women were looking at him.

Rio sighed and said, "Being handsome is tough, but what can I do?"

Suddenly, Rio realized he was acting strange and arrogant.

"Looks like I've been influenced by Jahimi and Hadidi's intelligence levels."

He shook his head to clear out the foolish thoughts and continued on his way.

When he arrived at the academy, he overheard conversations among the students.

"Who's that handsome guy?"

"Yeah, since when do we have someone this good-looking?"

"Damn! Isn't Kiba enough? Where did this jerk come from?"

"Wait, I know him, that's Rio."

"No way! Is that Rio? He used to look like that?"

"Oh, it's Rio! He's cold but definitely handsome!"

Suddenly, a girl's voice shouted, "From this day on, Rio is the Cold Prince of Kuoh."

Rio almost stumbled at the nickname. Also, didn't Sona say they had fixed his new appearance?