Chapter 763: Sword Control

“You take control on your own!”

I shouted that.

Was it because it heard my voice?

RUMBLEEEEEEEEE.......

The existence I was standing on.

Mirinae’s body trembled faintly.

At the same time.

The countless souls being cooked began to surge.

‘The fight for control has begun.’

Because of my declaration.

It had become known that, when this dish was complete, there would be a separate soul that seized control.

So the countless remnants of souls began competing to become that main dish themselves.

{......Did you aim for this from the beginning?}

Then.

The old man’s soul stared blankly at me.

{You were not trying to liberate me, but intending to integrate me into one.}

“Yes.”

{Why did you not reveal that from the start?}

While gritting my teeth and cooking the [souls], I answered.

“Because then...... I would have been obstructed.”

{What are you saying? If you had revealed that, some of the disciples might not have stopped you.......}

“Not the disciples.”

I recalled the fight with Sarin.

The fight with the poison master, Sarin, was harder than I had imagined.

No, beyond being hard, the result was clearly close to my defeat.

However.

‘In the end, I succeeded in breaking through.’

And.

The reason I was able to break through Sarin’s defense was not because of my ability.

“Mirinae, you people.”

{.......}

“It was obvious you people would have interfered with me.”

The instinct of Mirinae that held control over this body.

It was because that instinct had been trying to draw me in.

‘Sarin was also an absurdly difficult opponent...... but I calculated it by probability.’

If I had revealed my intention as it was.

Perhaps those disciples of the martial hall would not have stopped me.

The battle with Sarin might not have been necessary either.

But.

‘If Mirinae had blocked me, I would never have made it this far.’

If I had revealed from the beginning that I was aiming to integrate the souls.

The souls of the stars that now occupied most of Mirinae would have tried to obstruct and push me away.

But when it was under the mistaken belief that I would release it, it was different.

‘It welcomed me very warmly, urging me to release it quickly.’

Even though this was a place I originally would not have been able to reach because Sarin would have stopped me.

Thanks to that help, I was able to come this far.

Although I was not pleased with how the battle with Sarin had ended like that.

It was certain that the result had worked to my advantage.

“What matters starts now.”

In the end.

The reason I hid that fact was to deceive Mirinae’s instinct.

Even if the souls of those immortals remained, the mainstream within this body right now was clearly the souls of those stars.

“As you said, if things continue like this, the ones who invaded your homeland...... their souls will most likely become the main dish.”

Their number was far too great.

If things continued like this, there was a high chance that one of those who had been a ‘star’ would seize control.

And I did not want that ending either.

“I do not know who the martial hall’s Master is. But.”

The original owner of that body.......

The martial hall’s Master must have begun trying somehow to prevent just that from happening.

In fact, the body I was standing on right now was constantly convulsing.

But...... no matter how hard he tried, there would be limits alone.

‘I cannot help.’

Of course.

Because among the countless souls being cooked by me, I did not know which one was the original owner of this body.

But.

SHRING, and.

Pointing the kitchen knife at several souls, I said.

“You people know, don’t you.”

{.......}

Yes.

I would only integrate the souls to the very end.

The one who could intervene in that fight for control was not me.

“You were the ones who made him end up like this. So.......”

There was little chance that the stars who invaded the World of Ten Thousand Beasts would cooperate with one another.

But the immortals of the World of Ten Thousand Beasts were originally those who had fought together.

“If you have even a little of your final conscience left, help him yourselves.”

If it was them.

They could cooperate even in the competition between those souls.

{......You ask for something absurdly difficult.}

Then.

The soul that must have been the most powerful among them.

The one who probably had a fairly high chance of winning that fight for control, smiled bitterly and said.

{But I suppose we must do it.}

With those words.

The old man and several souls following him.

Their bodies scattered faintly and headed somewhere.

‘They are going to help.’

They were people who had looked away from another’s pain because they were afraid of the future.

Even so, they were once beings called immortals.

The sin they had committed.

They knew that they needed to atone for it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.......

The fire of the furnace surged up, and the water in the cauldron boiled violently.

The souls that had become ingredients for the dish.

They had begun swelling their own rank and going wild in order to become the main dish.

{No, you cannot.......}

Then.

The countless Mirinaes that had originally been stars shouted.

***

{You bastard.}

{We helped you.}

{How can you betray us like this?}

The souls that probably thought they could not seize control.

They did not want anything like the integration of souls.

On top of that, I had even guided things so that the subject of that integration would become the martial hall’s Master.

Many souls were bewildered and enraged by the action I showed.

{Even after betraying us.......}

The chains of the seal looked precarious, but they were still holding.

However, no matter how large it was, in the end, it was only one chain.

It could prevent the existence bound there from being released outside, but it could not perfectly suppress all of its movements.

{Did you hope to remain safe......!}

“......!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A gigantic energy exploded.

And forced open the lids of my cooking equipment as it burst out.

“Kgh.”

I poured mana in and supported the [Assistant Chefs] with power.

But I could not perfectly stop that powerful energy from bursting out.

‘That energy just now......!’

As I looked at the energy that burst out, I felt familiarity.

Before I entered this hole.

It was the very energy that had obstructed Sarin and knocked down Woojin and Jeochil.

I looked up at the sky with a frown.

The place that gigantic energy headed.

‘The sky opened.’

The hole I had entered through.

The ceiling of that mansion could be seen.

The energy Mirinae fired had gone outside through that hole.

Unlike just before.

Woojin, who had at least been suppressing Mirinae’s power, had also collapsed.

An energy stronger than the one that had attacked Sarin must have headed somewhere without being filtered.

[Guild Message]

Seeing that, I immediately shouted toward the System.

[Chef : I am relaying this to all Legion members in the martial hall!]

At the same time.

I looked around.

[Chef : Something abnormal will happen outside the martial hall.]

Srrrrrk.

The souls of the stars that were being cooked.

As they began to grow enraged, some form started to appear in the air.

[Chef : Stop it with everything you have!]

Before long, the form that took shape was.......

‘Swords that move by themselves......?’

Ancient-looking swords.

Rushed toward me.

***

The course meal I had begun.

The souls that had given up after deciding they could not seize control in that integration of souls.

Rather than trying to become the main dish themselves in that fight for control, they seemed to have decided to prioritize eliminating me, who was proceeding with the cooking.

Among Mirinae’s powers, the portion of power possessed by those souls began to turn hostile toward me.

A sword with a beautiful tassel.

A gigantic horse-slaying sword.

Even a military sword smaller than that, but sharper.

Six blades with elegant and ancient appearances.

Those weapons rushed toward me as if they had wills of their own.

‘If that is how you are coming out.’

Seeing that, I moved my mana.

[Assistant Chef]

There were many assistant chefs invested into [Soul Cooking].

But for me, after repeated growth, there was still room left in that number.

PAAAAAAK!

Close to a hundred kitchen knives sprang out from the shadows.

A number more than excessive for dealing with a mere five weapons rushed toward them.

CLAAAAANG!

Like that.

Beautiful swords and countless kitchen knives collided in the air.

In terms of number, my side was overwhelmingly greater.

Even simply viewed, more than ten times greater.

I expected that the kitchen knives I sent would easily block those swords.

However.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

“......Huh?”

That expectation of mine was pointlessly wrong.

‘What the!’

The assistant chefs flew in at tremendous speed.

Even though they were kitchen knives that shared the physical ability of my body, which possessed overwhelming specs.

Against a mere ten blades, my kitchen knives were miserably smashed apart and scattered in all directions.

‘How?’

Mirinae’s soul was still sealed.

Even if those things were once souls of powerful stars.

Right now, they were nothing more than shells that had been devoured by Mirinae and not yet digested.

Now that they had even been sealed, there was no way they could handle such powerful strength.

In fact.

The sword that shattered the assistant chefs and flew toward me.

From my perspective, that sword’s speed only looked endlessly slow and weak.

While feeling puzzled because I could not understand it.

I swung [Dokgogusik] to deflect that sword.

The slow-speed blade could not avoid my sword rushing toward those blades, but.

CLANG......!

The moment I deflected those blades.

‘......This is!’

I widened my eyes in shock.

‘This is not a simple sword strike......!’

I had definitely thought I had perfectly deflected it.

In fact, the strike just now was the best strike I could make.

Even though a force incomparable to the power contained in that sword should have been contained in my strike.......

Tingle.......

A shock that, for an instant, felt as if I might let go of my weapon.

A numbness rose in my wrist, as if lightning had struck it.

‘That sword just now!’

It was not because the force contained in that sword was strong.

‘It used the force of the attack I swung...... in reverse!’

Only then was I able to realize it.

The reason my assistant chefs, which should have contained greater strength, had been smashed.

It was not because that strength was lacking.

What was lacking...... was something other than strength.

“......Martial arts.”

It was the principles of martial arts.

***

CLANG!

Six blades flying toward me.

I barely managed to deflect another blade, but.

The sword and the knife crossed.

And in that extremely short moment when two pieces of iron touched.

Srrrk.......

The sword moving in the air moved just slightly.

Not quickly, not strongly...... just a little.

And.

That was enough.

CLAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

Because of that brief collision.

The kitchen knife I was holding, [Dokgogusik], was flung away.

‘I dropped the knife!’

Among the enemies I had fought until now, there had been many strong ones.

There were any number of monsters I could not defeat even as I was now.

‘But even when fighting those beings, I had extremely few experiences where I dropped my knife.’

And now.

That rare thing had happened.

On top of that.

‘Not even against the main body, but against swords......!’

Not against this existence I was standing on.

But against those swords that began to move through the involvement of a part of that existence’s soul.

‘Their power is not strong.’

The extremely small movement that sword showed.

The exceedingly advanced martial arts contained within that small movement, so advanced I could not even fathom it.

That realization had used my power in reverse.

PAAAAAAK!

Other blades rushed in.

CLANG!

I truly barely deflected them.

But at the tremendous repulsive force, the fingers that were holding my weapon came loose.

It was the moment when I even dropped the kitchen knife I held in my other hand, [Black Iron Chinese Knife].

“Cough.......”

That was not all.

I only deflected a sword, yet I felt as if my internal organs were being violently shaken.

In the past.

When I first met Seohwan and woke Miho, Jeochil, and Woojin.

I had sparred with them in order to receive instruction in martial arts that suited me.

At that time, they had been horrified when they saw my [Assistant Chef].

‘They even said there would be nothing they could teach me.’

After actually going through the sparring.

They realized that Assistant Chef was not that kind of power and looked dejected, but.......

Thinking about it now.

‘I experienced the prime strength of the martial hall’s disciples.’

Those disciples of the martial hall gave up teaching just by seeing it.

The power they had mistaken for [Assistant Chef].

That meant the original was a technique possessing a level of that degree.

Now.

I could painfully understand the reason they had been shocked then.

“This is the real.......”

Martial arts begins at first as a technique for moving the hands and feet.

After that, it passes to the stage of placing that will into the sword held in the hand.

After that, it is the enemy’s weapon that clashes with the opponent.

After that, it is a technique that projects one’s will even into the body of the enemy fighting oneself.

When the realization that advanced like that eventually.

Could reach an opponent that was not even touching oneself.

Could reach all things in nature without restriction.

The supreme realm where one becomes able to unfold that realization without directly holding a weapon...... is this.

I had no choice but to smile bitterly.

Not a fake like mine that only imitated the outer appearance...... but the true.

“Sword control.”

***

And.

When the Legion Commander was fighting the blades rushing toward him.

FWAAAAAAAASH......!

The power poured out by the enraged remnants of the stars.

That power escaped through the cracks of that seal and headed outside.

The power of the seal remained intact.

Especially, outside this [Gate] was Gangwon Province of the Republic of Korea.

Even in a world ruled by the System’s influence, it was a region possessing the strongest influence.

Even if that power went outside, it would likely be unable to have a major effect.

However.......

Inside was a little different.

{......Are you still sleeping?}

Cheonsan Martial Hall.

This martial hall was once the territory of the one who had been this martial hall’s Master.

And.

The final remaining fragment of the world that countless immortals had ruled.

And.

Those countless immortals and the master of the martial hall had now become one.

So this small world was no different from that evil dragon’s domain of rule.

The place that energy headed was the pavilion where the disciples of the martial hall had lived.

Originally, many people had been lying there.

But now, it was a place with only a few remaining.

{The three most outstanding children.}

The power outside that Gate.

Those who had been sealed and had their eyes closed by the [System].

The master of the Inner Hall, Ungyeon.

The master of the Outer Hall, Hyeonchuk.

The successor of swordsmanship, Myojeong.

And.

{My most trusted eldest disciple.}

......The eldest disciple of the martial hall.

Cheonho.

{Save your Master and eliminate the intruder......!}

“......Yes.”

The four disciples who had slept until the very end.

By the command of their Master, woke from a long oversleep.