The Military Chef of a Ruined World

BOOOOOM!

“Urgh!”

“Sergeant Lee Minjae, are you alright!?”

“I’m fine......!”

The gigantic mass of flesh lashed wildly in every direction.

The other Legion members avoided the attacks while pouring down firepower.

Craaack......!

One of those flesh attacks grazed past Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s body as well.

The tremendous pressure tore across his face—

But Jeon Gwangil narrowly evaded the strike and continued advancing.

'Further strategies are meaningless now.'

Even if Sergeant Shin Youngjun still possessed weaknesses—

The moment they tried to exploit them, those masses of flesh would split apart and create another dagger.

And that dagger would simply compensate for the weakness.

But.

That did not mean the man had become invincible.

'There’s a limit to the amount of flesh.'

At first glance, the flesh seemed capable of producing any miracle imaginable.

But every time it performed one of those miracles, the total mass decreased dramatically.

And even now, the Legion members’ attacks were steadily wearing it down little by little.

They could no longer target weaknesses or gain the upper hand through tactics.

But......

A simple contest of force.

Using 100 strength to grind down 100 strength.

That was still possible.

And as Corporal Jeon Gwangil continued advancing, he thought:

'The other squad members’ firepower is comparable to the strength of that flesh.'

The Legion members were strong.

The miracles produced by that flesh were undeniably overwhelming.

But in a direct clash of raw force rather than miracle-making—

The Legion members were not significantly inferior either.

Which meant—

The other Legion members could hold back the interference from the flesh.

All that remained was—

'......Me and Sergeant Shin.'

The difference in strength between the two of them—

Would decide the outcome of this battle.

RATATATATANG!!!

Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s gunfire.

A barrage from the gigantic sniper rifle hammered into the flesh repeatedly, knocking it backward.

One of the flesh masses protecting Sergeant Shin Youngjun was pushed aside—

And Corporal Jeon Gwangil did not miss that opening.

But—

CLANG!

His punch was blocked and deflected by the dagger.

Watching his own hand recoil, Jeon Gwangil thought:

'He really is strong.'

Even if the squad members were pushing back the flesh for him—

That was the limit of the support they could provide.

In the end, he still had to defeat that man in a one-on-one fight.

'Then.'

CLANG!

'How should I do it?'

No.

Thinking about it now, there was no need for questions.

There was only one method he could use.

[Trait]

[Berserk]

Black energy rose from his body.

***

When he had first met the beastkin of the Thousand Mountain Martial Hall—

The martial artists had described his innate talent like this:

“The Heavenly Slaughter Star.”

At the time, he had accepted it without much thought.

The power that had tormented him.

Simply being able to control it and use it to help the Legion had already made him happy enough.

But as time passed—

Several questions began surfacing regarding the talent he had been born with.

'......This energy exists even in the beastkin world?'

For some reason, the power he had been born with—

They had told him it existed within him from the very beginning, entirely separate from awakening itself.

The power had helped him at times.

But because he could not control it, it had also caused him suffering.

Just what exactly—

'What is this power?'

And then—

When Corporal Jeon Gwangil had been thrown into that [Path],

Only one task had been given to him.

[Attain enlightenment.]

A path created for weak beings to reach transcendence.

The early stages of that path focused entirely on fully awakening the walker’s latent potential.

The path had spoken to him.

[Dig endlessly into your inner self.]

Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s potential was not something that could be awakened through external stimulation.

Rather, the opposite.

Something already innate.

That mysterious force that had somehow been given to him from birth.

The path instructed him to delve into it.

Following that guidance—

Jeon Gwangil sat in meditation and dug endlessly into his own inner self.

And what he felt there was only one thing.

'Berserk and the Heavenly Slaughter Star.'

Different names—

But the essence was the same.

And that essence had already been contained within the name itself.

'A maddened energy.'

And one more thing.

'......A star that wishes even the heavens dead.'

As he continuously confronted the energy within his body—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil became able to guess its true nature.

'Somewhere out there in the universe...... a star that went mad and wishes for everything to die.'

One of those existences beyond the outer universe that could only be called a star.

This power originated from it.

......A force from outside this Earth.

Long ago—

When the barrier protecting this world collapsed and enemies invaded from the outside—

The battle between invaders and defenders had continued for a very long time.

And the broken barrier had not been restored for ages.

During that long span of time—

Not only the invaders, but other energies had crossed through the shattered wall as well.

And—

'This power.......'

Some fragment of that—

'Is a foreign contaminant within this world.'

Had reached him.

Corporal Jeon Gwangil could instinctively understand it.

The countless massacres and serial killings throughout humanity’s long history.

Most of them had likely been caused by this very energy.

If this power had never entered the world in the first place—

The world would have been far closer to peace.

Because of this power, unnecessary death and sorrow had been born into the world.

And also—

Instinctively, he realized one more thing.

'This apocalypse that descended upon our world.'

Within that destruction—

There had been a question many survivors, including the Commander, had all shared.

Military bases. Major government facilities.

Places that absolutely would have greatly aided humanity’s survival if they had remained intact.

And yet......

For some reason, those places had already been occupied by monsters.

As though something desired for the people of this world to die in even greater numbers......

A clear and undeniable malice.

'It was you.'

Corporal Jeon Gwangil gazed into his own inner self and understood.

The energy that granted him tremendous power—

And the malice that had flowed into this world from outside long ago.

'You......!'

Those two things—

Were undoubtedly deeply connected.

***

After realizing that truth—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil had been left with three choices.

The first:

'Completely surrender to this power.'

Even if it originated from the outside—

There was no denying the tremendous might contained within it.

The star that could be called the owner of this energy was likely extraordinarily powerful even among stars.

If he submitted to that power—

And devoted himself to that star—

He would become its apostle and gain overwhelming strength.

Since he had been born with the power in the first place, there likely would not even be severe side effects.

But at the same time—

This was a force that wished death upon all things.

If he devoted himself to it, then aside from himself......

No.

Perhaps even he himself, the one who would bring all things to an end, would eventually be led to death as well.

Naturally—

There was no reason for him to choose that path.

The second choice:

'Abandon this power.'

Back when he did not understand its true nature, that would have been one thing.

But after realizing what it truly was through deep enlightenment—

Most people living in this world would inevitably feel intense revulsion toward such a power.

Especially once they learned it was connected to the malice engulfing the world itself.

Ordinarily, abandoning a power so deeply intertwined with him would have been impossible.

But after attaining profound enlightenment within that [Path], he was different.

If he truly wished to discard it—

He probably could have.

But—

'That’s a little.......'

Even so—

'What a waste.'

He neither became intoxicated by the power—

Nor abandoned it.

***

CLANG!

As Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s gauntlet collided with the Pope—

Both bodies were thrown backward.

“Huff...... huff.......”

The battle was dragging on.

Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s bullets, Sergeant Lee Minjae’s lightning, and Squad Leader Lee Sanga’s mana were all nearly depleted.

Harsh breathing escaped Jeon Gwangil’s mouth, and exhaustion caused his body to stagger.

At this rate, the Legion members’ defeat was all but certain.

And then—

Sliiide.......

Instead of charging toward Sergeant Shin Youngjun once more—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil chose differently.

Tap.

He slowly raised both hands with visible strain—

And lightly pressed them together in prayer.

“......?”

Seeing that, the Pope frowned.

He had expected Jeon Gwangil to charge again relentlessly.

The sudden gesture made no sense to him.

Then—

“Sergeant Shin.”

“......?”

“Do you remember what you once told me?”

In the past—

When Corporal Jeon Gwangil had been defeated by the warrior of the Green Mane tribe—

Sergeant Shin Youngjun had shown him his own weakness.

At the time, he had said:

“That a Sergeant wasn’t perfect...... and was actually a cook who could barely survive without the help of the Legion members.”

Looking at how powerful he had become now, those words almost felt absurd.

But at the same time—

“As expected. I always knew Sergeant Shin’s words could never be wrong.”

Now of all times—

This truly seemed to be the moment when he needed the Legion members’ help.

The man standing there with his hands clasped and eyes closed—

Corporal Jeon Gwangil.

For some reason, despite the fierce battle raging around him—

Smile.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“I’ll show you.”

And at the same moment—

FWAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!

The black energy swirling around his body—

Began violently surging outward as though released from a seal.

Madness so intense it felt capable of driving every {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} observer insane.

Killing intent so deranged it wished for all things to die.

But—

The ominous energy spreading in every direction—

Soon gathered into one place and took shape.

Sliiide.......

Behind the gigantic soldier—

Something even larger appeared.

Countless arms unfolded behind him.

Though it was clearly a manifestation of endless murderous intent—

The arms moved solemnly, forming sacred hand seals.

“.......”

The appearance of the gigantic figure almost resembled......

Some transcendent being freed from worldly suffering.

And—

As the Pope stared at it blankly, he muttered:

“......Martial arts.”

Originally, martial arts had been created by beastkin born with wild instincts so they could control those instincts themselves.

To suppress their savagery and obtain reason—

And through reason, seek immortality.

And—

Savage instinct and madness shared certain similarities.

Within the beastkin world, those born with this energy had attempted to suppress even this madness through the principles of their martial arts.

“......I heard no one ever succeeded in the end.”

Yes.

What he had chosen was neither surrendering to that power nor abandoning it.

But a third option.

'Control it. Rule over it.'

The fully controlled energy of the star—

Charged toward the Pope.

***

Martial arts.

Originally, they had been created by beastkin born with wild instincts in order to control those instincts.

Suppress savagery to gain reason.

And through reason, seek transcendence.

And—

The beastkin’s innate savagery and the madness that had descended from beyond the stars.

Those two energies shared undeniable similarities.

Swooooosh.......

As Corporal Jeon Gwangil assumed his stance—

The crimson-black shadow responded in kind.

A giant possessing countless arms.

Its eyes remained peacefully closed, and its hands formed solemn seals.

Despite being composed entirely of insane killing intent that seemed to desire the death of all things—

Its form......

'Sacred.'

As though it had attained ultimate enlightenment—

It appeared incomparably reverent.

In the beastkin world—

Those born with this madness had attempted to suppress it through the teachings of their world.

The greatest martial art born from those efforts eventually flowed into the Thousand Mountain Martial Hall.

But according to what he had heard—

'No one ever truly succeeded in the end.'

Even the genius who had created and mastered that supreme martial art—

Had ultimately failed to overcome the energy and been devoured by it.

The savagery of beasts and the killing intent from beyond the universe.

To control both at once was nearly impossible for mere mortals.

But now—

'So this is what success would look like.'

Before the Pope’s eyes—

Stood someone who had finally succeeded in controlling that energy.

“Then......”

That overwhelming killing intent.

The man immersed within the crimson-black energy.

Corporal Jeon Gwangil smiled lightly and said:

“Please teach me a move.”

And at the same moment—

Space itself trembled.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s fist—

And the countless arms of the giant formed from killing intent—

All surged toward the Pope simultaneously.