The Military Chef of a Ruined World

The enormous mass of flesh erupting from the dagger wrapped around the Pope’s body protectively.

And as they watched that sight—

“Ahhh...... worship Him!”

The believers prayed through tears.

“Our God protects His son with His holy power!”

But—

The Legion members watched with cold sweat running down their backs.

“......That looks holy to them?”

The flesh had swollen like gigantic boils.

Rotted blood vessels had burst open across its surface, blood smeared everywhere.

No matter how generously one looked at it—

It seemed utterly divorced from anything remotely holy.

Honestly speaking—

Until only a few minutes ago, the Legion members still had not fully grasped that their Commander had become the enemy leader.

He had looked exactly the same as before.

His speech, his small gestures—

Everything had remained unchanged.

“Even after witnessing this miracle, you still deny His existence, blind ones?”

But—

Not anymore.

The Pope floated into the air as grotesque tentacles writhed around him.

A dark and ominous aura now flowed from his body—

Something they had never once felt from him before.

And his eyes glistened with an eerie violet light.

“And yet...... the System still loves even people such as yourselves.”

A revolting presence filled the entire space.

Simply looking at him was enough to make nausea rise in one’s throat.

And then—

“I shall guide you onto the proper path.”

FWAAAAAAASH!!!

Gigantic tentacles surged toward them.

***

BOOOOOM!!!

As the massive flesh lunged toward them—

The Legion members hastily dodged aside.

At the same time, Sergeant Lee Minjae shouted:

“This situation is unexpected, but the operation itself remains unchanged!”

CRRRRZZZT.......

A massive bolt of lightning gathered in his hand.

“Subdue the Commander who has lost his mind!”

KRAAAAAK!

The enormous lightning bolt shot toward the Pope floating in the sky.

Until moments ago, his lightning had only been used as support to assist Corporal Jeon Gwangil.

The Pope and Jeon Gwangil had been fighting in close quarters, exchanging blows at point-blank range, and the Pope’s body had been small enough that accurately landing such attacks had been difficult.

But now—

The situation had changed.

‘The target got bigger...... and the risk of friendly fire dropped.’

The Pope was now wrapped in gigantic masses of flesh.

For Lee Minjae, that enlarged body was actually advantageous.

No matter how fast the Pope moved, a target that massive was impossible to miss.

“Foolish.”

Sergeant Lee Minjae’s lightning possessed some of the greatest destructive power in the entire Legion.

And after climbing that path, both the casting speed and firepower of his magic had grown even stronger.

A direct hit from that attack could critically wound virtually any monster alive.

And yet—

“You truly believed such insignificant power could wound divine holiness?”

Craaaack.......

More flesh tore itself away.

Then gathered in midair and formed a shape.

[Elementum Dagger]

[The meaning contained within this dagger is rejection of all elements.]

KRAAAAAK!

Lee Minjae’s gigantic lightning bolt struck the Pope directly.

The attack was even more powerful than the divine punishment lightning he had unleashed in that submerged city.

But—

CRRRRZZZZT.......

“......Ha. This is ridiculous.”

The one struck by that lightning—

The Pope himself—

Appeared completely unharmed.

‘No matter how absurdly strong Youngjun’s body is, this shouldn’t be possible.’

Lee Minjae immediately guessed the reason.

‘......That dagger.’

The dagger formed from the flesh—

Had weakened his lightning.

At that moment—

FWAAAAASH......!

Something appeared atop the giant mass of flesh.

[Forced Dressing]

What revealed itself was a gigantic cloth garment.

Clothing created large enough to fit absolutely any being.

The garment descended toward the flesh surrounding the Pope.

And on its inner surface—

[Poison Garment Crafted with the Utmost Devotion of a Supreme Master]

[The wearer has chosen a path no seamstress should ever take. A sinful garment created not for the wearer’s comfort, but for the wearer’s assassination.]

An overwhelmingly potent poison coated the fabric.

‘Clothing made using the poison obtained from that beastkin...... Sarin.’

Because she had created a garment no seamstress should ever produce, her experience level should have suffered an enormous penalty.

But—

It was a sacrifice worth making.

When combined with [Forced Dressing], a skill that forcibly equipped clothing onto targets who wore none—

Its lethality became unimaginable.

FSSSSSSSH......!

The instant the garment touched the flesh—

The flesh truly began burning away at terrifying speed.

A poison created by Sarin, the poison master from another world.

Even though the beastkin had weakened themselves to break free from their seal, the poison’s potency itself had not diminished.

And yet—

Lee Sanga frowned.

Because—

‘......He doesn’t look panicked at all.’

The Pope merely watched the scene calmly—

Then casually waved his hand.

Craaack.

As the Pope swung his arm—

The poisoned portion of flesh tore away.

And then—

[Registil Dagger]

[The meaning contained within this dagger is strong resistance to physical force.]

A single dagger formed.

Regardless of its grotesque raw material, the weapon resembled an ordinary iron dagger.

And then—

RATATATATATATANG!!!

A massive impact came flying from afar.

“Tch. Figures.”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s large-caliber bullets.

Normally, those rounds would have shredded flesh like that effortlessly—

But instead, the bullets bounced off the soft flesh without penetrating.

“......Still, we learned one thing.”

However—

The man possessing observational ability superior to anyone else in the Legion—

Corporal Seo Suhyeok—

Noticed something.

“Every time one of those weapons is created, the amount of flesh decreases.”

“......!”

“And the power contained within the weapons as well. The aura they release weakens over time. Which probably means......”

At those words—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil muttered quietly.

“Consumable.”

“Yeah.”

If that was true—

Then this power was not unbeatable.

No matter how absurdly powerful that grotesque ability was—

If they could force him to consume all the remaining flesh.......

Sliiide.......

But then—

The gigantic flesh began moving on its own.

Guuuurgle.......

Ignoring even the Pope’s will, the flesh expanded independently.

And then—

CRUNCH!

It lunged toward the corpses lying across the floor—

The bodies of the believers who had died fighting the abnormal eaters.

***

CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!!!

The flesh devoured the believers’ corpses.

And then—

“It’s.......”

“......Eating awakened?”

The flesh, which had drastically shrunk earlier—

Gradually began swelling larger again.

And—

Lee Sanga gritted her teeth as she watched.

Certainly, the war of attrition they had hoped for had just become far more difficult.

But that was not what truly enraged her.

‘......That isn’t our Commander.’

It was true that he had always wielded all sorts of bizarre powers in the past.

There were even people who had called those powers miracles.

But......

‘Not like this......!’

The current Commander—

Both his appearance and his actions—

Everything about him felt grotesque.

Devouring the corpses of the dead to strengthen himself.

A sin the Commander she knew would never have tolerated.

Lee Sanga stared briefly at the scene before shouting through clenched teeth.

“You’re...... no, all of you are being deceived!”

She had seen it.

The hidden space concealed deep within this underground facility—

A place even the other believers had not been allowed to see.

Researchers conducting secret experiments while worshiping the System.

“That thing you call the System isn’t what you think it is!”

They had realized something.

......Which was why—

“You worship the System? Ha! Don’t be ridiculous.”

They had desperately tried to conceal that truth.

“Its true nature is nothing like—!”

“Squad Leader Lee Sanga.”

At that moment—

The Pope floating in the air—

The one who had ignored even the tentacles consuming corpses below him while focusing solely on battle—

Turned his gaze toward her.

“......!”

Seeing that, Lee Sanga felt the faintest spark of hope.

Their source of strength was ultimately faith in that existence.

Perhaps by questioning the foundation of that faith—

She had managed to affect the Pope somehow......

At least, that was her hope.

But—

“I already know.”

“......What?”

The Pope pointed toward her with an indifferent expression.

“I already know, so there’s no need for you to shout about it.”

BOOOOOM!!!

A gigantic mass of flesh surged toward her location.

Lee Sanga barely dodged it and thought:

‘He already knows?’

The truth those researchers had tried to conceal with their lives.

He already knew that truth.

‘......And even knowing that.’

He still—

Worshiped the System.

“......Looks like persuasion won’t work.”

The other Legion members did not fully understand what Lee Sanga had been trying to say.

But they understood at least one thing:

She had attempted persuasion—

And even that had failed.

The faith the Pope possessed now was not something that could be resolved through reason.

He remained faithful despite already recognizing the contradictions within that faith.

Which meant that faith had never been implanted through normal means to begin with.

“Subduing him the same way as before is impossible now.”

The strategy where Corporal Seo Suhyeok concealed his presence and waited for a sniper opportunity—

Would only ever work once.

Trying it again would never succeed.

“The same goes for targeting weaknesses.”

“......He’ll just use that flesh to create something that compensates for those weaknesses.”

They could not persuade him.

The strategy they had painstakingly prepared had already been exhausted.

And now even exploiting weaknesses had become impossible.

Did that mean—

They truly could no longer defeat the Pope?

......No.

That was not the answer.

“We already tried every trick and strategy we had.”

“......Which leaves only one option.”

In the end—

They had confirmed that even that flesh had limits.

And they already knew the Pope could be brought down.

Which meant—

“......A pure battle of strength against strength.”

No strategies.

No counters.

Just both sides colliding with their full power head-on.

“We’ll support you as much as possible, but......”

“If it comes down to that kind of fight, then you’re the key.”

And—

As though he already understood that himself—

“Corporal Jeon Gwangil.”

The gigantic warrior—

Began walking toward the Pope.

***

RATATATANG.......

Magic and bullets crossed through the battlefield.

And amidst that battle—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil continued throwing punches without speaking a single word.

His eyes stared straight ahead.

‘He’s strong.’

Every time the daggers and gauntlets collided, his bones ached.

One moment of carelessness and he would already have lost.

He himself took pride in his strength—

But against that man, even he was being overwhelmed.

And—

The other Legion members knew it too.

Which was why they had built the operation around deception.

Make it appear as though he were the main force drawing Sergeant Shin Youngjun’s attention—

Then let Corporal Seo Suhyeok finish it.

That operation had worked.

......And they had truly succeeded once in bringing down Sergeant Shin Youngjun.

But—

When Shin Youngjun collapsed after being shot—

Jeon Gwangil had felt two emotions.

‘One was joy.’

The operation had succeeded.

Now all that remained was returning their Commander to normal.

That fact alone had made him genuinely happy.

There was no doubt that had been the strongest emotion he felt at the time.

......But simultaneously—

‘Regret.’

The operation had succeeded.

And yet......

‘If only we could’ve fought a little longer.’

Maybe—

Something might have changed.

That strange intuition lingered within him.

Victory through strategy somehow left behind a faint sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction.

And then—

When the Commander they thought they had defeated rose once more and lifted his weapon—

‘......Ah.’

Corporal Jeon Gwangil realized something.

Something he could never say aloud.

Something he could never tell the other Legion members.

‘Joy.’

As he stared at the surging masses of flesh—

His heart overflowed with pure joy.