The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“I added a little...... ‘noise’ to your body’s signals.”

Once, he had been nothing more than a lightning mage.

But now—

The man before him was a [Wizard of Electromagnetic Waves].

And his specialty had become something entirely different from the lightning magic he wielded in the beginning.

Thud.......

“Hard to move, isn’t it? Makes sense. Your nerves are practically overflowing with noise right now.”

The Pope knew about that ability.

After all, the supposedly irreparable communications network—

The one twisted beyond recognition by the mana flooding into the world after the apocalypse—

Had been restored by that very man.

But—

'An application like this.......'

In battle, Lee Minjae had always fought similarly to other lightning mages.

Granted, he specialized in wide-area magic to a level unmatched by anyone else in the Legion—

But fundamentally, his powers had never seemed that different.

'This is.......'

Not anymore.

His voice boomed through the Pope’s head like thunder itself.

As though someone were screaming directly into his brain.

This was not simple paralysis.

'Interference.'

The electrical signals flowing through the human body.

He had interfered with those signals themselves.

“Now! Go!”

And—

The Legion soldiers did not waste the opportunity.

BOOM!

The gigantic Corporal Jeon Gwangil charged in.

Watching him approach, the Pope’s mind spun rapidly.

'If this were simple paralysis, the blood in my body would’ve restored it instantly. And if it were mental interference, it never would’ve worked on me in the first place.'

But disrupted electrical signals could not simply be normalized through regeneration.

At this moment—

There was only one solution.

'I need to find the mana disrupting my body...... and remove it.'

The Pope closed his eyes to regain control of his senses.

And toward him—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s fist shot forward—

CLAAANG!!!

“......!”

Only to be intercepted by dozens of daggers.

Each dagger carried the same power as the Pope himself—

Along with invisible, scentless poison coating their blades.

Of course—

The delay they created lasted less than a second.

Not nearly enough to stop Jeon Gwangil.

At most, they slowed him slightly.

But during that tiny opening—

Tremble.......

The Pope’s hand moved.

And slammed into his own knee.

BANG!

His body’s electrical signals had been disrupted—

But mana itself had not.

The mana contained within his hand surged through his entire body.

What he needed to find—

Was the foreign mana that had entered from outside.

'Sergeant Lee Minjae’s electricity.......'

Ordinarily, it would have been far too faint to detect.

But—

'I’ve handled it before.'

[Elemental Cooking]

The mana of cooking swept through his body.

The target of the “cooking” was limited solely to the foreign lightning flowing inside him.

Lightning he had previously handled before.

CRRRRZZZZT.......

The lightning was instantly [Cooked]—

Then absorbed harmlessly into his body.

***

BOOOOM!

“!”

Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s fist tore through empty air.

The instant the Pope removed the interference signals and regained control over his body, he kicked off the ground and evaded.

“I figured you’d eventually break free...... but not this fast.”

Sergeant Lee Minjae let out a hollow laugh.

But the Pope himself [N O V E L I G H T] broke into a cold sweat.

'If I had never cooked that lightning before, I would’ve remained paralyzed for quite a while.'

[Elemental Cooking] was not omnipotent.

No matter how small the amount, ingredients one lacked experience handling could not easily be cooked.

Had it been anyone else, escaping that interference would not have been simple.

Between the combat ability Jeon Gwangil had shown earlier—

And this—

The Pope became certain.

'There’s something about them that I don’t know.'

Which meant—

Dragging this fight out would be dangerous.

His greatest strength had always been adapting to the enemy’s abilities.

The very concept of the unknown was practically a weakness for the Pope.

'I need to end this as quickly as possible.'

[Elemental Cooking - Water]

A dish appeared in his hand.

Cooking that transformed instantly into liquid form.

FWAAAAASH!

The water sprayed outward.

A wide-area attack impossible to evade completely.

Everyone present knew exactly how terrifying the weakening effects hidden within that cooking were.

Which was why—

“......Bangul.”

The woman watching the battle from behind—

Jeong Sua extended her hand.

Drip.......

The water spreading across the battlefield—

Suddenly gathered together into a single droplet.

Plop.

Then fell uselessly to the floor.

'......Spirit arts.'

Just as he had experienced in that foreign land—

Elemental interference through spirit arts was far more delicate and precise than even specialized elemental mages.

The Pope’s power extended only to the act of cooking itself.

Once the dish left his hands, he did not possess absolute control over it.

BANG!

And so—

The [Assistant Chef] daggers immediately surged forward.

Against Corporal Jeon Gwangil, they could only slow him slightly—

But among those gathered here, Jeon Gwangil was likely the only one capable of deflecting the Assistant Chefs that way.

Eliminating the support personnel behind him should have been more than sufficie—

“I’ll handle it!”

Lee Sanga shouted as she extended her hand.

Thin threads were wrapped around her fingers.

SHFFFT.......

The threads moved with the motion of her hand.

And attached to the ends of those threads—

Were metal needles.

[Trait]

[Sewing Mastery]

[Martial Arts - Shadow Stitch Needle B+]

Gigantic needles—

Shot toward the flying kitchen knives.

'A seamstress’s weapon isn’t limited to scissors.'

The [Assistant Chef] copied only the wielder’s stats.

Not their Traits or Skills.

They were simply fast and powerful.

The intricate techniques of the Pope’s martial arts could not be reproduced through them.

Compared to the Assistant Chefs, the needles’ power was absurdly weak.

But—

If she could predict the path of knives that only flew in straight lines—

CLAAANG!

Then striking them from the side and altering their trajectory was entirely possible.

'.......'

As the Pope’s Assistant Chefs were knocked away by her needles—

Lee Sanga stared blankly at the sight herself.

'Not long ago, fighting like this would’ve been impossible for me.'

No matter what anyone said—

She had spent a long time distant from actual combat.

She had learned the beastkin martial arts just in case—

But her mastery remained shallow.

Even the combat style she had displayed while cooperating with the beastkin recently—

Was something she would not have understood only a short time ago.

And yet—

The reason she could now fight this way was simple.

'......That path.'

The method the vampire queen had shown them.

The road that climbed toward the heavens.

Lee Sanga recalled that path.

A universe where time stood still.

Within it, the Legion members had each faced entirely different trials.

The farther one walked, the more worlds filled with different ordeals unfolded before them.

Every single one of those trials had been deadly.

Only after overcoming one stage were they granted the right to choose whether to proceed further.

She could not even remember how many times she had nearly given up.

And—

The purpose of those trials had been simple.

'To forcibly awaken the potential hidden within that being.'

A path designed so that even insignificant insects could reach transcendence.

Its method was to draw out a being’s inborn potential to the absolute limit—

No.

Beyond the limit.

Perhaps that was why—

Even though she was a production-class awakened—

Most of the trials assigned to her had been battlefields where she needed to risk her life.

'Which probably meant my production-side potential was already being expressed properly.'

The potential she possessed but had never fully awakened.

That path had sought to force it into bloom.

And to survive those battlefields—

She had no choice but to fight.

To learn the combat methods of a seamstress.

The slightest mistake could cost her life.

The reason she survived such brutal trials was simple.

'......Because I had an example to watch and learn from.'

Even now—

She continuously altered the clothing of the beastkin fighting the believers and of Corporal Jeon Gwangil battling the Pope in real time.

At the same time, she supported the battle through the needles attached to her threads.

Strengthening allies through her production-class abilities—

While simultaneously fighting with the very tools granted to her profession.

Strangely enough—

That combat style resembled someone else.

'Commander.'

A man born with powers seemingly unrelated to battle—

Yet who had shattered those limitations and dominated the battlefield.

Because of that example—

She had quickly realized the direction in which she herself needed to grow.

Her current combat style resembled the Pope’s quite closely.

And it was not simply because she had modeled herself after him.

From the very beginning—

That heavenly path existed to draw out the maximum potential of those who walked it.

Which meant the combat style she had learned now—

Was not merely her ideal.

But—

'The most efficient combat method production-class awakened can display in battle.'

The ideal form of combat reached after fully awakening the potential of a production-class awakened.

'The Commander never climbed that path.'

Which meant—

Without relying on any path like that—

Their Legion Commander had already discovered and mastered the optimal combat style possible for a production-class awakened.

Entirely through his own experiences and realizations.

He had reached something closer to the correct answer than anyone else.

'Honestly...... it’s hard not to be amazed.'

And now—

She had to fight that very person.

And win.

Was something like that truly possible?

She had doubted it countless times.

But now—

That thought was beginning to change.

'Maybe...... it actually is possible.'

***

BOOOOM!

The gigantic warrior continued hurling fists toward him.

Behind him, violent lightning storms raged.

And every attempt the Pope made to attack—

Was neutralized by the awakened supporting from the rear.

As the fierce battle continued—

'......I see.'

The Pope gradually grasped their strategy.

'The only one directly engaging me in close combat is Corporal Jeon Gwangil.'

All the others fought solely to support him.

The reason was obvious.

Compared to the people he once knew, they had become incomparably stronger.

But no matter how much they had grown—

'He’s still the only one capable of fighting me head-on.'

The Pope, after consuming the maximum possible amount of cooking.

Against someone possessing such overwhelming physical abilities—

Only the Legion’s greatest warrior, Corporal Jeon Gwangil, could truly engage him directly.

This entire structure had clearly been planned from the beginning specifically to counter him.

In that case.

There was no reason to continue fighting according to their plan.

Even if it meant overextending himself slightly—

Eliminating the support personnel in the rear might be more efficient.

'......Even if I suffer some injuries, I can heal them immediately.'

With that thought—

The Pope kicked off the ground and slipped past Corporal Jeon Gwangil.

His objective was to eliminate the three supporting awakened in the rear first—

Then deal with the far more dangerous Jeon Gwangil afterward.

But—

'......Three?

At that moment—

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Why was it—

That something felt missing?

Normally, he never would have overlooked it.

And yet now—

He felt as though he had forgotten something important.

Unfortunately—

BAAAAAANG!!!

The instant that thought crossed his mind—

A gigantic bullet pierced straight through his body.