Chapter 800: The Late Dish (2)

Somewhere very, very deep and dark.

In darkness like the deep sea, a being was curled up.

That being...... the insect faintly opened its eyes and looked upward.

An absurdly deep darkness.

But that darkness was not the end.

Above the darkness, another golden deep sea was situated.

Only beyond that was the outside.

The outside was so far away that it could not even be seen properly.

The farther away from the outside, the stronger the pressure in this deep place became.

The insect's consciousness felt as though it would be crushed by that pressure and fall asleep at any moment.

It could feel that this world itself was trying somehow to put its consciousness to sleep.

But.

'......I do not want that.'

The insect did not want to become what this world.......

What this darkness and the golden sea wanted.

Whenever it felt the impulse that made its eyes seem about to close, the insect recalled memories.

The memories of the owner of this body.

The thought that it wanted to live, which it had when it first saw those memories.

And.......

Across all the memories of the owner of this body and the insect.

The most enjoyable memory it had experienced while living.

The insects were beings created solely for destruction.

Because of that, those emotions were extremely faint.

The memories of the original owner of this body, the life-form it had parasitized, were also far from happiness.

Because of that.

[You have consumed a dish!]

Not long ago.

Others of its kind had invaded the city where it had been staying together with the compatriots who followed it.

When it fought them and was driven to the brink of defeat.

A dish that a chef had given it.

Through that power, it had won the battle against its compatriots.

But separate from that victory, the insect had felt tremendous bewilderment.

That was only natural.

'That was cooking.'

The cooking that had entered it.

That taste.

'Was delicious.'

Something even the original owner of that body had never felt.

It was granting extreme pleasure.

The effect of cooking is also influenced by the one who eats that cooking.

For someone whose standards for taste are not usually high, the effect of the cooking is correspondingly greater.

In the end, how deliciously one perceives that taste is the standard that determines the effect.

In that regard, the insect was a being for whom cooking was more efficient than for anyone else.

The first cooking it had ever tasted.

Through that cooking, the insect had come to realize that such enjoyment existed in life.

'To disappear after eating it only once.'

Because of that.

'Would be far too wasteful.'

Suppressing the drowsiness that surged toward it.

It clenched its teeth and maintained its consciousness in that abyss.

It concentrated its mind on the scenery of the outside, so distant that it could not even be seen properly.

'This one is deceiving you.'

Because it was inside that sea.

The insect could understand the thoughts of the sea.

It knew what thoughts he held as he acted...... and could resist.

'I will give you this one's memories.......'

It could clear away the golden light that had been inside the mind of the man outside.

And deliver to him the memories it had seen in this deep sea.

The reason such a thing was possible in a deep abyss where even those called sages would lose consciousness was simple.

'Therefore.'

Someone who had experienced little enjoyment in life.

Would cling to that small amount of enjoyment more than anything else.

'Give me that cooking again.'

Above all.

It had been the guest who had placed an order before anyone else.

'The cooking you promised.'

An order to create cooking solely for them.

Although it was very late.

"Please eat."

......As long as the taste was satisfactory.

"Prince."

It was willing to forgive it as much as necessary.

***

Those insects...... the zombies were a species created to invade other worlds.

Those created through that malice possessed a certain degree of resistance to the laws of other worlds.

Last time, when escaping from North Korea, they had also been able to enter that golden light and fight.

The only thing that was bound was the body they had parasitized.

The insects were free to a certain degree from the laws of the world, but the body could not escape the laws of the world in which that body had been born.

But...... that only applied to the laws of the world in which that body had been born.

'Inside that golden light are Avaritia's laws.'

It was not a world governed by the laws of our world.

Because of that, it could not exert a strong influence over the insects.

Normally, Avaritia would have noticed those zombies and eliminated them.

But he had lost a great amount of power and was devoting all of his strength to dragging that Demon Realm here.......

[Blue Droplet of Concealment Infused with the Care of a Demigod-Class Chef]

The intruders had even been subjected to [Force-Feeding] with my cooking.

Even the great transcendent failed to notice their infiltration.

SLASH-!

The zombies' attacks poured out simultaneously.

Avaritia tried to avoid those attacks, but he could not avoid all of them.

That body was forcibly opened.

[You have consumed a dish!]

Into it.

The light of the cooking seeped.

FWAAAAASH.......

The body of the insect that had consumed the cooking began to shine brightly.

And.

As I looked at that sight, I thought.

'Right now, Avaritia is possessing that body.'

Because of that.

Normally, strengthening that body would have been a foolish act.

Even now, that body was unable to fully endure Avaritia's soul.

If the rank of that body increased, Avaritia would merely become capable of handling correspondingly greater power.

But.......

[A Banquet for the Insects]

[This cooking was created for a specific target!]

This cooking was created solely for a specific target.

According to what I had experienced since the beginning of this destruction.

Cooking created for a specific target displayed a greater effect than other cooking.

[A collaborative work by a Demigod-Class War Chef, an Orthodox Chef, and an Intermediate Survival Chef.]

[Cooking created at the request of a single life-form, for a species that was originally incapable of eating anything.]

Normally, it would have been difficult.

But this was cooking whose recipe itself had been created by us.

Because of that, there was something that had become possible.

[This cooking was created for a target incapable of consuming cooking.]

[In exchange, life-forms other than the target are incapable of consuming the cooking.]

This cooking was created solely for a specific individual.

All of its taste and effects activated solely for that target.

Not for that body.

[Soul Cooking Proficiency]

Only.

For the soul of that target.

-Ah.

Then.

That body of Avaritia.

The enormous golden light and the black darkness situated within it.

The cooking reached a being somewhere deep inside it.

-The taste.......

It was the one who had sent power toward the outside even from that deep place.

Had it not been for its help, I might already have declared that I would join those beings.

The power that removed the interference aimed at my brain and delivered Avaritia's memories to me.

The Prince's light.

The light of an awakened.

-Is excellent.

That light.

FWAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!

The moment the cooking reached it.

Began to swell without restraint.

=.......=

Even though it was being emitted from the body of a zombie, a being that had invaded this world.

That was exactly the same as our light, the light emitted by all awakened, the System, and the Legion.

That light was already shining brilliantly from the outside as well.

Even now, the Legion soldiers' light was digging into Avaritia's gold.

In the middle of that, as a final desperate struggle, Avaritia used all of his power to summon that Demon Realm.

The defensive structure of that power was currently extremely fragile.

CRACK.......

In the middle of that.

An enormous light suddenly arose from the inside.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!!!

That golden dark radiance began collapsing in an instant at a speed unlike anything before.

That light shattered and fell to the ground.

=The destruction ordained for all beings. Though we struggled somehow to avoid it.=

While an enormous amount of gold fell to the ground.

=There were no exceptions.=

THUUUUUUUUUUD......!

Even the body of the enormous golden giant crumbled away.

***

BOOOOOM.......

The giant's body completely crumbled away.

Then the golden light that had completely filled this land.

That light also shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.

"......Huh?"

"It is not disappearing...... it is falling?"

The Legion soldiers who saw that opened their mouths blankly.

That energy itself had not disappeared.

Its owner had merely lost the power to endure those lights.......

Having lost control over that body, the energy that had filled this entire area had lost its owner.

Perhaps because of that.

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE.......

That golden energy became golden minerals and fell throughout the surroundings.

That glittering stone powder completely covered the ground.

And, in the middle of it.

"......That was excellent cooking."

A single wounded man.

Looked at me and said that.

"Of course. Whose cooking do you think it was."

After replying like that while shrugging my shoulders.

I looked up at the sky.

'It is moving farther away.'

WOOOOOOOOOOO.......

Avaritia had tried to forcibly connect the Demon Realm to this land.

But because of the Legion's light that had begun shining from the inside, he lost control over the Prince's body.

No matter how powerful that soul was, it had lost the medium through which it could wield that power.

Perhaps it would have been different against us in the past, but against the Legion as it was now, it could not properly exercise its power.

The Demon Realm that he had tried to drag here by force also appeared to be moving farther away once again.

'......However.'

Even while it moved farther away like that.

I could feel the gazes directed at me.

Those seated upon the thrones and glaring at me.

The gazes of the lords of that Demon Realm.

'Those bastards will target this place again someday.'

Had the beings of this land and I been weak beings without any power.

They might have placed us lower on their list of priorities.

But we had ultimately succeeded in defending against Avaritia, who had invaded this land.

The beings of the Demon Realm were allies who had resolved to survive together.

They would not easily overlook us, who could become an obstacle to them.

'......Even if those bastards decide to invade immediately, it will take quite a lot of time before that invasion actually happens.'

Our world had strengthened the power of the world itself while increasing the power of the awakened.

They had witnessed the defeat of Avaritia, who had chosen to descend while actually suffering a loss to his forces.

No matter how demonic those beings were, they would not be able to lightly consider infiltrating this place.

If they invaded again, they would not descend with only their souls while accepting the danger, as Avaritia had done this time.

A full-scale invasion like the one that occurred when Mirinae's homeland was destroyed.

A considerable amount of preparation would be necessary for that invasion.

'Until then, we have no choice but to somehow prepare defensive measures.'

While thinking that.

I spoke toward the Prince.

"Prince."

"Mm."

"I will have to have a detailed conversation with you as well......."

As I said.

There was a high possibility that the beings of that Demon Realm would target us again someday.

If so, it was not too late to begin preparing methods to respond to them from this very moment.

"But it seems that will have to be postponed until a little later."

And.

One of the methods for responding to them happened to be.

Nearby.

"I understand."

Then.

As though it understood what I was trying to say.

"Since I have been served excellent cooking, I must pay the price."

It put a hand inside its chest.

Then took out something that was inside.

"This will not be enough to pay the entire price."

What was held in that hand was a very small golden light.

It had not even formed a proper shape...... but it still contained enormous power.

[Golden Lord and Archdemon of Greed, Avaritia]

"Even so, it must be something you need."

It had descended into the Prince's body.

It was Avaritia's soul.