The Military Chef of a Ruined World

Even afterward—

Lee Sanga and the five beastkin continued moving toward the source where the scent of that energy grew stronger.

And not long after the first battle—

—KIIIEEEEK!

“Hup!”

They encountered monsters similar to the ones they had faced earlier.

A gigantic creature resembling an eagle crashed to the floor.

“...Huu.”

The beastkin let out heavy breaths.

And behind them—

“There are... more powerful enemies than expected.”

Already dozens of monsters with beast-like appearances—

Lay dead across the area.

The creatures were not strong enough to defeat the five beastkin.

But neither were they weak.

Every single one of them was tremendously powerful, steadily wearing down the beastkin’s stamina—

“And every one of them uses completely different abilities.”

“We can’t predict them, which makes dealing with them difficult....”

The elephant from before, for example—

Had possessed enough vitality to endure Miyang’s attack once, while wielding its rapidly extending trunk like a gigantic whip.

The monsters appearing afterward had all been entirely different.

One had regenerated slashed wounds so quickly that poison was the only effective ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) method against it.

Another fired bizarre spell-like attacks from afar.

The variety was overwhelming.

“So this is supposed to be a human facility.”

“To guard a facility with spirit beasts of this caliber....”

The beastkin frowned.

“I must retract my previous underestimation of humans.”

“We heard only a small number of awakened individuals traded with the Cat Demon Temple. It seems large organizations like the Legion possess strength on this level as standard....”

“I vaguely thought warriors on our level could rampage freely here. But after fighting that Benefactor fellow too... it naturally humbles you.”

At those words—

Lee Sanga let out a silent laugh internally.

'There’s no need for them to humble themselves.'

The beastkin were genuinely powerful.

Lee Sanga repeatedly found herself astonished both by the strength of each monster and by how effortlessly the beastkin handled them.

But—

If she had to say which side bothered her more—

It was definitely the monsters.

'Tigers, lions, monkeys, even bears....'

Far too many different beasts.

And every single one resembled animals that had once existed on Earth.

Moreover—

'Those powers.'

At first, she had only suspected it vaguely.

But the more battles they fought, the stronger her suspicions became.

'They resemble awakened individuals.'

The ability to awaken entirely different powers from person to person—

That diversity was the defining characteristic of awakened humans.

'These things....'

Lee Sanga couldn’t help frowning.

'What exactly were they doing down here?'

And—

Not long afterward, she finally discovered the answer to that question.

“...This is.”

“Hm.”

They opened one of the rooms.

And what waited inside was—

“So those things from before.”

Endless rows of operating tables.

And atop them—

The beasts.

***

“Uwek....”

Lee Sanga felt her stomach churn.

After the apocalypse—

She had thought she’d already become accustomed to every kind of horrific sight imaginable.

But this was different.

“...Do humans.”

Probably because—

The operating tables filling the enormous room.

And every single beast lying atop them—

“Have some kind of culture like this?”

“...Absolutely not.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“I was genuinely starting to consider returning to the martial hall.”

Even the beastkin, who had remained calm while fighting terrifying monsters, seemed deeply disturbed by the sight.

They frowned heavily.

“These things....”

Then shortly afterward—

Lee Sanga noticed something.

“They’re alive.”

Despite their skulls and abdomens being completely opened up, exposing their insides—

Most of the beasts here were unmistakably alive.

Alive—

And fully conscious.

Lying there in that condition.

'What the hell is this....'

Horrified, she examined the beasts more closely.

And then—

She noticed countless unidentified wires connected directly into their brains and abdomens.

And those wires extended toward the deepest part of the room.

“Let’s... head farther inside first.”

“Agreed.”

Lee Sanga and the beastkin followed the cables deeper into the facility.

Along the way, they discovered several empty operating tables.

Not merely vacant—

But violently destroyed, as though something had rampaged wildly while escaping.

Like traces left behind by something that had broken free from restraint....

'The monsters outside... escaped from here.'

The creatures they had encountered earlier had probably been lucky escapees from this place.

At the same time, another strange thought crossed her mind.

'Those things outside, and these creatures too.'

The cables were connected to them—

But they didn’t resemble tubes supplying nutrients or food.

Which meant—

'How are they still alive like this...?'

There shouldn’t be any edible food this deep underground.

In fact, there seemed to have been no signs of human activity here for months.

And yet most of the beasts outside and inside were still alive.

If they had been hungry, they should have started devouring one another.

But there were no such traces.

Holding onto those questions, they finally reached the deepest part of the room.

“This is....”

Bizarre machines connected to the wires extending from the beasts’ bodies.

Covered in dust, the machines sat silent, seemingly no longer operational.

Nearby, countless documents and indecipherable notes had been pinned up everywhere.

Lee Sanga approached them.

'...What is all this supposed to mean?'

She couldn’t understand any of it—

No, she could barely even read it.

The pages were covered in extremely complex symbols and formulas.

If the Legion’s scientists or medical specialists had been here, perhaps they could have made sense of something.

Unfortunately, as a tailor, there was very little she could understand.

The only recognizable things were—

'National Zoo, Jujurium... Eco Café, Jungle Ranch....'

Names of zoos that had apparently supplied the beasts.

And—

[Diary]

[Absolutely Do Not Open!]

“.......”

A single worn diary—

Apparently left behind by one of the humans who had worked here.

'It says not to open it, but....'

Glancing toward the countless beasts surrounding her—

Lee Sanga thought:

'I don’t think I need to respect the wishes of someone who did this kind of thing.'

And then—

She opened the diary.

***

[I barely survived another day at the laboratory today. Lately I keep wondering what the hell I’m even doing with my life. A life where you’re treated like trash unless you pull all-nighters and come in on weekends.... As I turned off the lab lights and walked out, I wondered if I’m really doing the right thing. No, before that—why do I even have to live like this? What kind of wealth and glory am I expecting to gain by living like a slave?]

Perhaps this had been someone who already kept a diary regularly.

The story began abruptly without any introduction.

At first, Lee Sanga had no idea what she was reading.

But after a few more pages—

She realized.

'A graduate student.'

The story of a graduate student.

'Mostly complaints about wanting to die from exhaustion, regret, and resentment toward people.'

Pitiful, but—

Lee Sanga quickly flipped through the pages.

[I killed my professor.]

Then—

Her hand stopped turning the page.

[Not because he overworked me.]

[I thought he’d died after being eaten by a monster, but he came back alive, so I had no choice but to kill him again.]

It was easy to guess what had happened.

The Day of Ruin had arrived.

[Now that things have turned out like this, I can’t help wondering what the point of all those papers and research projects even was. People who wrote dozens, hundreds of brilliant papers all died meaninglessly. I’ll probably die the same way soon. Thinking that I suffered all my life just to die like this makes me want to cry.]

Apparently terrified and shaken beyond belief—

The writer described the events of the apocalypse while constantly speaking about death.

[...After a few weeks, I realized I apparently had more talent for survival than for research.]

Despite all the despair—

The writer survived for quite a long time.

[If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve gone to graduate school.]

Hunting monsters and awakening.

Joining others to establish safe zones.

Fighting over scarce food while struggling to survive.

Then eventually—

[Several days have passed since we began communicating with the Order.]

[Those who worship the System... the power that saved us.]

[Together with my companions, I decided to join the Order.]

[I hope this decision wasn’t a mistake.]

The writer joined the Order.

At first, they regarded the Order members with suspicion.

But several months later, they had become completely assimilated.

[I survived not because I possessed talent.]

[The System fed me Its flesh!]

The diary began filling with passages about faith and devotion toward the [System].

'Fed them Its flesh....'

Probably some sort of religious mythology.

Lee Sanga let out a faint scoff while continuing to read.

Most of it was ordinary enough.

Attending mass, participating in battles, internal Order affairs and how they were resolved.

'...Nothing particularly important?'

Just as she considered closing the diary—

[At last, I understand!]

The contents suddenly became strange.

[There was always something I questioned.]

[My life before the apocalypse was filled with regret and doubt. Reading papers, conducting research, writing papers endlessly while wondering why I had to live that way.]

[Today, I finally learned the answer.]

Reading that—

Lee Sanga tilted her head.

A reason for one’s past life?

Most people simply drifted through life.

There was usually no grand purpose behind it.

[The System had been preparing a magnificent plan to make use of me all along!]

Apparently, the writer thought differently.

[Today, my colleagues and I heard Its voice directly.]

[To think ordinary believers like us could hear the voice supposedly reserved only for Cardinals, Saints, and Knight Commanders!]

“...What?”

The “System” these people worshipped referred to the actual System itself.

And according to the diary—

The System had spoken directly to them.

Lee Sanga frowned deeply.

[In order to carry out the first command....]

However—

Her expression twisted even further after reading the next line.

[We secretly smuggled patients out of the hospital wards while avoiding the eyes of our brothers.]

That sentence made her frown sharply.

From stories told by other Legion members, she already knew what those hospital wards meant.

The Order really did seem to operate facilities caring for countless patients.

Even if they were enemies, she had at least acknowledged that much.

'...They smuggled those patients out?'

And even—

'Avoiding the eyes of their brothers?'

Only then did Lee Sanga realize something.

Why this facility was located so far out on the perimeter.

Why there were so few traces of people coming and going.

The reason was—

[It would have been wonderful to receive cooperation, but the System instructed us to keep this hidden even from the Order’s leadership.]

[A secret mission unknown even to the Cardinals... what an unimaginable honor.]

The existence of this place—

Was unknown even to the Order’s leaders.

Lee Sanga couldn’t help being confused.

The Order was essentially a cult.

A group that worshipped the System as though it were a living entity.

Naturally, she had assumed all the details of their faith had simply been fabricated by the cult leadership.

But—

'A secret operation even the Order leadership doesn’t know about.'

Which meant—

These people weren’t following the cult leaders at all.

'Does that mean the existence called the [System]... actually exists?'

No.

They were still a cult in the end.

Who knew how bizarrely their beliefs had developed?

Maybe they had mistaken meaningless System messages for divine revelations and fallen into delusion.

The important thing was what those who received the “revelation” actually did afterward.

[We do not know why the System granted us this revelation.]

After receiving that revelation—

The first thing they did was smuggle patients out of hospitals.

Since some among them worked at those facilities, they managed to secretly remove patients by falsifying death records.

[We are Its servants. There is no need for hesitation or doubt.]

They were a group united by absolute faith from the start.

The very concept of betrayal among them was weak.

That was why this had been possible.

And after that—

'...They raided zoos.'

The monsters during the early apocalypse had been relatively weak.

Small creatures like mice and sparrows had been hunted to extinction by monsters.

But powerful or intelligent animals had sometimes survived by escaping into the wild.

[The revelation granted to us by the System was....]

They captured those wild animals.

And then—

[Determine the boundaries of humanity.]

For them—

The method of determining the “boundaries of humanity” was extremely simple.

Their god, the System, granted blessings only to humans.

In other words—

The revelation meant discovering the exact range of beings affected by the System.

And so—

[Extract the brain of a chimpanzee and transplant a human brain into it.]

“...What?”

They—

Began the experiments.