The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“Grrr.......”

As the battle dragged on—

Most of the believers had already become incapable of fighting.

—Grk.

The beasts attacking the abnormal eaters—

Had all collapsed lifeless onto the ground as well.

What remained were the abnormal eaters—

And the fight between the beastkin and Lee Sanga supporting them.

Despite how powerful the five beastkin were—

They still struggled against those abnormal eaters.

The only reason they had managed to endure at all was because of Lee Sanga’s support.

It was not because the five were weak.

Those abnormal eaters were simply monstrously strong.

And yet—

Kuuung.......

Thud.......

Far in the distance—

The enormous monsters standing in the rear began collapsing one after another.

At first, they thought Legion reinforcements had arrived.

Since their mission was complete, they believed the Legion had successfully infiltrated the inner sanctuary.

However, they soon realized something strange.

‘It’s quiet.’

If Legion soldiers had truly broken through—

The sounds of much fiercer battle should have followed.

Commands shouted by officers, bombardment from mages, gunfire from marksmen.

None of those sounds could be heard.

All that echoed through the battlefield was—

Slash—

Thud.......

The sound of something being cut apart—

And the groans of enormous creatures collapsing alongside it.

‘Something’s wrong.’

They had noticed the strangeness long ago—

But surrounded by enemies, there had been no way to escape.

Then finally—

Kuuung.

Another abnormal eater collapsed.

And behind it—

The figure responsible for cutting down the gigantic creature finally became visible.

“The Legion.......”

Not the Legion they had expected—

“......Commander.”

But a single man.

***

Not only Lee Sanga—

Even the five beastkin stared at the fallen monsters in cold sweat.

‘How did he kill those things.......’

The beastkin also knew how strong that man was.

But the abnormal eaters were monsters powerful in their own right.

Yet he was approaching while cutting them down as though it were effortless.

‘It’s almost.......’

No matter how strong someone was, the sight defied understanding.

It was as though—

‘He’s their natural predator.’

And finally—

Kuuung.......

Even the last abnormal eater—

Collapsed onto the ground.

“......Gluttonous ghouls.”

At that moment—

The old man standing beside the Legion Commander looked down at the monsters and spoke.

“Though they once held the superior position of beings chosen by the system, they ultimately abandoned humanity. In the past, there were some who became gluttonous ghouls accidentally, unaware of what they might become...... but after enough time passed, most transformed themselves deliberately in pursuit of power. Are these creatures known to Your Holiness?”

“No.”

“If they are not Legion personnel, then they were likely a feral group hiding somewhere that seized the chaos as an opportunity to devour our believers.”

Shrrng.......

The old man lowered his blade toward the fallen monster.

“We shall eliminate them and offer them as sacrifices to the syste—”

However, at that moment—

Swoosh.

A hand stopped the old man.

“Leave them.”

“But Your Holiness, they have already abandoned humanity. There is no reason to spare beings unloved by the system.......”

“It may appear that way, but leave them.”

Shin Youngjun’s hand blocked the old man.

At the same time—

Srrrk.......

His pure white robe opened—

And from within, dozens of blades flew outward.

[Assistant Chef]

Perhaps because the kitchen knives he used within the Legion were stored inside Ariella’s shadows—

These were ornate and beautifully decorated daggers.

The daggers drifted through the air before—

Slash!

Cutting apart the flesh of the fallen abnormal eaters.

The believers who first witnessed the sight thought it grotesquely cruel.

They assumed he intended to kill them slowly while maximizing their suffering.

No matter how strongly their doctrine rejected nonhuman beings, few enjoyed meaningless cruelty.

A few people nearly frowned—

But that was not it.

[Ghhh.......]

After all the flesh had been carved away—

What remained in the center was the miserable shape of a human being.

The flesh severed from their bodies began glowing in midair—

Then transformed into liquid.

Srrrk.

And then—

It began flowing back into the dying human forms.

Paaaaaaah.......

At the same time—

Light burst from the Pope’s body as he watched them.

Brilliant gray-white radiance spread from the Pope’s body and wrapped around the dying abnormal eaters.

“......Cough.”

The light faded away.

And the figures that emerged were—

“.......”

Not the monstrous abnormal eaters from before—

But exhausted humans sleeping peacefully.

“Wait, that person is......?”

“I-I recognize them! They’re brothers who went missing during operations long ago!”

The believers quickly understood what had happened.

The foundation of gluttonous ghouls was humanity.

Though they had fallen, abandoned humanity, and lost the system’s favor......

“Ahhh......!”

Their Pope—

Had returned them to their original forms.

“His Holiness has......”

Watching the scene—

The believers whose expressions had previously been grim now clasped their hands together reverently.

Lee Sanga noticed among them several faces she recognized as well.

From the old man known as a Cardinal, one of the Church’s highest-ranking leaders—

To several influential figures among the Church’s ruling class.

All of them—

“Performed yet another miracle......!”

Were offering worship toward the man who had once been their Legion Commander.

Shin Youngjun.

“Guess I should say...... it’s been a while.”

And—

As though already accustomed to such reactions, he left the believers behind and spoke toward her.

“Squad Leader Lee Sanga.”

“.......”

The Legion Commander...... no.

The Pope addressed her directly.

***

“I never imagined I’d see you here. I thought you’d be supporting the troops from the rear.”

“......Calling it support sounds nicer than it is. I was really just sitting around watching, wasn’t I? Staying idle started getting on my nerves. I figured maybe it was time for me to do something dangerous again. Though more importantly.”

Lee Sanga looked at Shin Youngjun with strange eyes.

She had already heard a rough explanation from Jeong Sua.

That the Church had forcibly subdued their Legion Commander and brainwashed him.

But somehow—

“......You seem to be doing pretty well?”

“Thanks to your concern.”

The sight before her was completely different from what she had expected.

She had feared he was being forced into servitude by the Church.

Yet instead—

He seemed to be completely dominating everyone there, including the Church leadership.

‘Should I say this is exactly what I expected...... or not.......’

When they first met, he had been nothing more than an awakened soldier desperately struggling to survive within the unit.

Now those days felt stranger than the present.

“To be fair, I was surprised too.”

He shrugged lightly.

“I never imagined we’d manage to mobilize not only other races...... but even Ariella’s forces.”

“We didn’t really do much ourselves. That queen...... hm, I guess I heard she technically isn’t a queen. Anyway, she personally persuaded the Legion soldiers, so that’s what made all this possible.”

“Ariella personally......? That really is impressive.”

“Right? They chose to cooperate of their own accord. We honestly didn’t do all that much.”

“Not much? You made all their equipment, didn’t you?”

That was not wrong.

Within an extremely short time, Lee Sanga had produced the highest-quality equipment possible and supplied it to the new Legion soldiers.

The effect had been tremendous.

“Even now, our forces above are still being pushed back somewhat. Without your equipment, it would’ve been impossible.”

“.......”

However—

At Shin Youngjun’s words, Lee Sanga could only smile bitterly.

“......Being pushed back. I see.”

At first glance, it sounded like good news—that the Legion overwhelmingly controlled the war.

But—

At least to her, it was not reassuring at all.

‘The Legion still hasn’t reached this place.’

They had endured while waiting for Legion reinforcements.

Which meant those reinforcements were still struggling enormously to arrive.

“Just asking in case...... but you’re not planning to simply let us go, are you?”

“What kind of obvious question is that?”

Smile.

“Of course not.”

“.......”

“Well, don’t worry too much. Legion soldiers are still human. Since they are beloved by the system, they won’t be treated harshly. They’ll simply receive a bit of education until proper faith becomes ingrained in them.”

“Education, huh. That doesn’t sound particularly reassuring.”

“Look at me. Do I seem like someone whose personality was forcibly rewritten?”

At those words, Lee Sanga frowned.

Certainly, as he said—

Aside from opposing the Legion and siding with the Church—

Most of his behavior still resembled the Legion Commander she knew.

......Of course.

That was only true for “most” of it.

There was one enormous difference she could clearly feel.

“Humans won’t be treated harshly.”

That statement.

That was not something their Legion Commander would ever say.

“Then what about them?”

Lee Sanga pointed toward the beastkin.

The beastkin, still holding their weapons warily, flinched.

“You’re not going to pretend you don’t know who they are, right? Someone like you could easily figure it out.”

“I don’t need to guess. I’ve seen their faces before. Though at the time, they were asleep.”

“Then this makes things simple. As you already know, Commander, they aren’t human.”

“.......”

“Can you promise they’ll be treated peacefully as well? If you can, then I’d be willing to surrender quietly too.”

“Hm.”

At her words—

Shin Youngjun lowered his head and scratched the back of it.

“Sorry, but.”

Then finally—

He sighed.

“I still don’t want to lie to the soldiers who followed me.”

“......!”

And—

At the same moment—

Paaaaang!!!

Shin Youngjun and the believers beside him—

Exploded forward with terrifying speed.

***

Kaaang......!

The moment the battle began—

Lee Sanga did everything she could to support the beastkin.

They had already been fighting merely to survive.

And since their coordination had improved during the prolonged battle, part of her still held a faint hope.

But—

“......No...... way.......”

Thud.

Even Shin Jong—

The last beastkin still standing—

Dropped his staff and collapsed to his knees.

The formation of five that had endured even against the hordes of abnormal eaters—

Collapsed almost instantly once the battle began.

It could not be helped.

The formation had always operated with fewer people than originally required.

And that formation had only been maintained through Miyang’s strength at the center.

“......Cough.”

Once she became the first to fall beneath Shin Youngjun’s hands—

The formation ceased to function as a formation at all.

After that, the beastkin collapsed one after another with terrifying speed.

Falling to Shin Youngjun and the believers.

It was not because the believers themselves were stronger than the beastkin.

‘......Cooking.’

The aura pouring from their bodies restrained the beastkin’s movements.

And the liquid coating their weapons forcibly absorbed into the beastkin’s bodies upon contact, weakening their strength.

Even when the beastkin released poison in desperation—

The believers already possessed resistance to it, as though they had anticipated everything beforehand.

Kuuung.......

Those beings who had been so powerful—

Those who possessed martial arts so advanced the Legion soldiers could barely comprehend them—

The beastkin sank to their knees.

“You fought impressively.”

Lee Sanga recalled Ariella’s words.

That a Legion Commander who had prepared against an opponent became incomparably stronger than one who had not.

She had been completely right.

During their previous accidental clash, he had nearly been driven into defeat.

But now—

He looked relaxed, as though facing enemies several levels beneath him.

“So this is how things turned out, Squad Leader Lee Sanga.”

“.......”

“The operation itself wasn’t bad. Sneak in, destroy the Maxim, advance the Legion forces into this place, then confront me together with the beastkin. Since Ariella is cooperating in the surface battle as well, you probably expected to penetrate deep into the Church almost instantly. Honestly, I would’ve made the same plan myself. But......”

He shrugged.

“In the end, it failed.”

“.......”

“Sorry, Squad Leader Lee Sanga. The Church will not lose. It’s not because your operation was sloppy.”

He lifted his head as though gazing into the distance.

Toward the war between Legion soldiers and Church believers unfolding aboveground.

The Legion overwhelmingly surpassed the Church in numbers, troop quality, and equipment.

Yet—

“They ate my cooking.”

There was only one reason the Legion still had not won.

“After all, how could food made by me lose so easily?”

“.......”

The very power that, throughout the Legion’s history, had turned battles destined for defeat into victories—

Now stood on the Church’s side instead.

“Well then, come with me.”

And—

The one wielding that power reached out his hand toward her.

“As I said, you don’t need to worry. You won’t be treated harshly.”

“.......”

“It may feel confusing at first, but once Squad Leader Lee Sanga faces the truth, your thoughts will chan—”

However—

At that exact moment—

“......Pfft.”

“......?”

A sound utterly unsuited to the situation escaped her lips.

***

“......Squad Leader Lee Sanga?”

“Ah, sorry. I just found something kind of funny.”

“......?”

Shin Youngjun looked at her in confusion.

Lee Sanga suppressed her laughter and spoke.

“To be honest, I’d been feeling pretty intimidated too. The man I heard got brainwashed is somehow treating Cardinals like subordinates. You defeated those five so effortlessly. I really started wondering whether beating you was simply impossible.”

“......What?”

“But the moment I thought that, something you used to say came to mind. Something Commander always repeated.”

Shin Youngjun frowned, unable to understand.

But regardless—

She continued speaking confidently.

“I had my doubts before...... but thinking about it now, those words came from our amazing Legion Commander standing right here, didn’t they? So I guess they really must be true.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

Shin Youngjun stepped forward.

“The beastkin have already been subdued, and the Legion soldiers still haven’t even reached the entrance to the inner sanctuary.”

“.......”

“I don’t know whether you’re trying to stall for time or something else, but changing this situation now is impossi—”

“That exactly.”

At that moment—

Lee Sanga cut him off while pointing directly at him.

“Whether something is possible or impossible doesn’t matter.”

“......?”

And—

At the same time—

Gugugugugugugugugu.......

Suddenly—

Massive tremors shook the surroundings.

“Push through with sheer stubbornness.”

The believers’ panicked gazes searched for the source of the shaking—

Then slowly turned upward.

“If it doesn’t work......”

And—

The instant every believer’s eyes lifted toward the ceiling—

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!

With a deafening roar—

The ceiling collapsed.

The very structure that had remained intact even while countless abnormal eaters and believers fought inside it—

Collapsed instantly.

An enormous cloud of dust exploded outward, obscuring all vision.

......And then.

Through the haze—

“......Then make it work.”

Someone’s voice echoed out.