The Military Chef of a Ruined World

Crunch!

“......!”

The beasts that had been bound atop the operating tables with their brains and entrails exposed—

Raised themselves with Lee Sanga’s help.

After staggering slightly—

They immediately charged somewhere.

[Th-These creatures......!]

Ignoring the beastkin, who stood in easier positions to attack—

The beasts rushed straight toward the far larger and more terrifying abnormal eaters.

“......!”

Even the beastkin who had been fighting the abnormal eaters stared at the sight in shock.

Their appearances and the energies they gave off resembled the other animals they had fought on the way here.

But—

‘......They’re different.’

Their sharpened senses could tell.

Those beasts were slightly different from the creatures they had fought before.

[How dare mere test subjects......!]

The nearly hundred-strong group of abnormal eaters panicked.

Thanks to that, the beastkin finally gained a little breathing room.

The abnormal eaters far outnumbered them—

But in terms of individual strength, the beastkin still held the advantage.

And now a new group had appeared to aid them.

The very creatures those researchers had personally created.

—Ukkiik!

And while many beasts attacked the abnormal eaters—

Not every beast joined the assault.

Of course, they certainly did not attack the beastkin either.

Pak!

The chimpanzees approached the animals lying atop the operating tables—

Ripped away the cables connected to their brains and heads—

And pressed together their split-open flesh with their own hands.

Most animals that experienced forced awakening possessed regenerative abilities far beyond ordinary lifeforms.

Though not to the same extent as those treated with Lee Sanga’s sewing—

Simply patching them together crudely and waking them was enough for them to recover slightly.

And so—

Most of the beasts that had been unable to do anything atop the operating tables opened their eyes.

—Grrrk.......

Most of them resembled the beasts Lee Sanga and the beastkin had fought outside.

Their bodies staggered while low growls escaped their throats.

But—

Crunch!

Even those creatures that seemed driven by nothing but beastly instinct—

All attacked the Church researchers who had become abnormal eaters—

As though they had all discussed it beforehand.

......As if—

They knew exactly who had turned them into this.

“Now!”

And then—

Watching the scene unfold, Lee Sanga shouted toward the five beastkin.

“We have to escape while we still can!”

With those words, Lee Sanga quickly turned around.

And the beastkin as well—

Understood that this battle had nothing to do with their true objective.

She assumed they would immediately follow after her.

......However—

“B-But!”

“......!?”

Instead of turning alongside Lee Sanga—

The beastkin slowly advanced forward instead, swinging their weapons toward the abnormal eaters.

Their gazes—

Were fixed upon the beasts tearing into the abnormal eaters.

***

Even though they clearly understood this was a situation where they needed to flee—

They still hesitated while swinging their weapons.

‘Didn’t they say they don’t feel kinship toward animals?’

They themselves had said so only minutes ago.

Lee Sanga found their behavior strange since it contradicted those words—

But she soon realized the reason.

“If our assumption is correct.......”

They did not feel kinship toward ordinary animals.

In fact, the same was true even toward humans.

Born carrying the wild instincts of beasts—

They cultivated reason through training, allowing them to control that savagery.

Exceptional rationality capable of suppressing even the ferocity carved into their flesh.

That, they had said, was the standard by which they recognized their own kind.

“Those beasts......!”

Lee Sanga recalled the wolf she had awakened first.

The wolf that lowered its [N O V E L I G H T] head toward her after escaping the operating table through her help.

‘No matter how intelligent wolves are... there’s no way something like bowing politely exists among them.’

Lee Sanga recalled the horrifying experiments described in the researchers’ journals.

Through those records—

She learned that even without undergoing training like the beastkin—

It was not impossible for human reason to dwell inside the body of a beast.

“You’re telling us to abandon them.”

“We cannot do that!”

Perhaps—

Those beasts were beings even closer to the beastkin than ordinary humans were.

‘.......’

Lee Sanga bit her lip.

It was not difficult to imagine what those animals originally had been.

And the moment that thought entered her mind—

Even she found it difficult to simply walk away.

Yet despite that—

Grab!

[How dare mere test subjects!]

[You were never created for combat! What confidence do byproducts born during the research process possess to challenge us......!]

The beasts were steadily collapsing one by one beneath the abnormal eaters’ attacks.

—Grrk.......

In the end—

There was simply too great a difference in power between the abnormal eaters and the beasts.

The abnormal eaters had panicked only because their own experiments had unexpectedly turned against them.

Given enough time—

The beasts would inevitably lose.

“Even if we fight together with them, there’s no guarantee we can eliminate all those abnormal eaters.”

“.......”

“And if we lose after fighting beside them...... our operation fails, and they die meaningless deaths for nothing.”

Lee Sanga clenched her fists tightly as she spoke.

“I know this isn’t an easy choice, but we have to go. We need to move and—!”

Her gaze turned toward the beasts dying in their place.

“We need to make the ones responsible for turning them into this pay for their crimes.”

“......Pay?”

“Even those researchers are ultimately just underlings.”

Creak.

“There’s a real enemy somewhere else.”

“.......”

“And that... is probably the best thing we can do for them.”

At those words—

The beastkin stared at the dying beasts with trembling eyes.

Click.

Then they sheathed their weapons.

“I was planning to return to the martial hall as soon as I repaid the favor for waking us up.”

“But this......”

Grrrrrr.

Their furious breathing grew rougher, sharp fangs revealing themselves.

“This really pisses me off.”

With those words, they turned around.

“We should move as quickly as possible.”

“We must achieve the objective while they buy us time—”

However—

At that exact moment—

[NO!!!]

A thunderous voice erupted from behind them.

Ignoring the beasts biting into its flesh—

One abnormal eater launched itself forward.

[Those harboring blasphemous thoughts toward the system!]

Its size was nearly twice that of the other abnormal eaters.

As that massive body flew toward them—

Its scent rushed sharply into the beastkin’s noses.

[If you are allowed to escape, doubt toward Him will spread.]

And the beastkin remembered information through scent, much like animals.

‘That journal.......’

They instantly realized—

They had smelled this scent before.

[WE CANNOT LET YOU GO!!!]

KWAAAAAAANG!!!

A level of force even Miyang would have struggled to block.

The beastkin instantly leapt away to evade the attack—

But—

KWA-GWAGWAGWANG.......

The tremendous impact shattered the floor beneath them—

Sending their bodies crashing downward.

***

Crackkkkk.......

After falling somewhere as the ground collapsed beneath them—

Lee Sanga slowly rose while rubbing her head in confusion.

Nothing could be seen around her due to the clouds of dust stirred up by the collapse.

Then—

“What happened!”

“Th-That is... an unexplained earthquake suddenly occurred near the outer area of the deep sanctuary, so we redirected the guard forces to investigate, and then suddenly the ceiling—”

Voices echoed beyond the dust.

Lee Sanga flinched.

‘The Church......!’

They had escaped the researchers’ isolated secret zone—

And arrived in an area occupied by actual Church members.

‘Hoo.......’

The instant she heard the voices—

She suppressed her breathing.

Both she and the beastkin wore stealth garments capable of concealing their presence.

They had successfully infiltrated all the way from outside the Church.

No matter how sharp awakened senses might be—

As long as they suppressed their breathing and movement, discovering them within this dust would not be easy.

“Damn it, what in the world happened.......”

“Huh? There’s something over there.......”

A startled voice rang out as though someone had discovered something.

Lee Sanga stiffened instinctively.

For a moment, she thought they had discovered her and the beastkin—

But—

Sssss.......

As the dust slowly settled—

The first thing that became visible was naturally the tallest object present.

A massive figure large enough for its head to nearly touch the ceiling.

“......That monster!”

“A human who devoured monsters—the final form of one becomes a devouring ghoul!”

......Once—

It had been one of the Church’s researchers.

That abnormal eater.

[A-Aah.......]

Even while suppressing her breathing, Lee Sanga stared at it in shock.

The strike it launched to prevent them from escaping that isolated sector—

Had ironically sent them here instead.

And the owner of that body-slam attack had fallen through the floor together with them.

Originally, it had likely been a devout follower of the Church.

But now, its appearance—

To a Church that declared only humans to be loved by God—

“Monster!!!”

Was simply—

Far too inhuman.

“How could such a thing exist in this sacred place......!”

“So the Legion was commanding not only monsters, but devouring ghouls as well!”

“The surface front is already collapsing rapidly, and now even here!”

And—

The Church’s stance toward monsters was absolutely clear.

“Eliminate it!”

Pak!

The Church elites guarding the deep sanctuary—

Immediately began swinging their weapons toward the being that had once stood among them.

Slash—

The abnormal eater’s flesh split apart.

They were elites even within the Church to begin with.

Not only had they consumed the new Pope’s cooking—

But perhaps this deep sanctuary itself amplified their strength as well—

Because the abnormal eater’s tough hide was sliced apart with ease.

[Ahhh......!]

No—

That was not all.

[How... did this happen.]

The abnormal eater itself—

Did not even resist as it received the attacks, only letting out despairing laments.

“Look at the ceiling! There’s some kind of hidden chamber......!”

“There was a place like that here?”

“Deal with that monster first, then investigate!”

But—

Only briefly.

[N-No.]

After hearing the Church members’ conversation, the creature muttered blankly.

[I-If they see that place...... then doubt toward the system.......]

“What nonsense is that monster spewing......!”

If their research—

And the results of that research became known—

Those who worshiped the system through their own will rather than the power of the [Crown]

Would inevitably begin doubting.

[That... cannot happen.......]

In the end—

The creature that remained loyal to the system until the very last moment had only one choice left.

[There must be... no one left who knows that place exists.......]

Crunch!

The monster that had silently endured the attacks—

Finally swung its arm.

And one Church believer was instantly flattened into pulp.

***

“Brother Jeonggyun!!!”

“How dare a monster abandoned by the system......!”

From that moment onward—

Even more Church members joined the battle.

[Forgive me, forgive me.......]

Crunch, crunch!

The abnormal eater’s arms swung repeatedly—

And casualties rapidly increased.

[Ahhh, how did things become like this!]

[It must be hidden, hidden......!]

The other abnormal eaters trapped within the isolated experimental sector—

And the beasts attacking them as well—

Eventually fell through the collapsed floor as the fighting continued.

The Church members attacked them—

And after grasping the situation, the abnormal eaters likewise began eliminating witnesses.

A complete battlefield of chaos where every being present treated every other as an enemy.

—Young Hero.

—Listen carefully.

‘......!’

And amid that chaos—

Several figures concealed themselves while moving silently.

—The source of this strange energy.

They continued advancing while tracking a single scent.

Things had gone wrong midway, forcing them into battle—

But from the beginning, their objective had only been one thing.

—The Maxim...

—...is over there.

And that objective—

Was here.