Chapter 786: The Blue Colossus

[Heart of a Lesser Dragon]

[Holy Blood of a Forgotten Saint]

[Core of a Thousand-Year Glacier]

[Dewdrop of the World Stone]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng]

[Brain Fluid of an Ancient Sage]

[Seed of a Netherworld Flower]

[Heart of a Lava Giant]

[Single Horn of a Heavenly Demon]

[Bone Powder of an Ancient Death God]

The dish I had made using the dragon pearl Mirinae had left behind.

After finishing that dish, I looked at the remaining ingredients.

Each and every one of them was an extraordinary object comparable to Mirinae’s dragon pearl.

In my original condition, even with two assistants, handling all those ingredients would not have been easy.

[A stored recipe is being loaded.]

Of course, that was no longer the case now.

A chef’s condition was an unexpectedly important part of cooking.

And I had already taken care of that part with a nourishing dish powerful enough to restore my body.

[1. Cook the Heart of a Lesser Dragon over high heat.]

There was one problem.

“Mister!”

The chef who had taken part in creating this recipe.

Doyun looked at me with a worried expression.

“With the dining hall melted like this, even if we try to cook according to the recipe.......”

“Do not worry.”

The dining hall had already lost even its original shape.

Only the site where the dining hall had stood remained, to the point that calling it a dining hall was almost embarrassing.

However.

[Elemental Cooking]

Through the infinite mana dwelling within my body.

I transformed the surrounding air into fire and heated it.

FWAAAAASH!!!

“......!”

“Th-this heat...... What in the world......!”

A massive blaze rose and began heating the dragon’s heart.

The two chefs staggered backward in shock before flames powerful enough to overwhelm even the dining hall’s maximum output.

The fire was so intense that even chefs resistant to heat found it difficult to endure.

As I cooked the heart with that heat, I realized one thing.

'This is similar to Mirinae’s dragon pearl.'

The Heart of a Lesser Dragon.

Like Mirinae’s dragon pearl, which had contained immense power, it was a crystallization in which an enormous amount of pure power had accumulated.

[2. While the heart is cooking, thoroughly mix the Dewdrop of the World Stone and the Holy Blood of a Forgotten Saint.]

Red blood met a blue droplet.

However.

CLACK!

“Th-this is strange.”

“It feels like we are mixing solids rather than liquids.......”

The Dewdrop of the World Stone and the Holy Blood of a Forgotten Saint.

The two seemed to possess completely different properties, like oil and water, and did not mix easily.

......No, comparing them to oil and water would have been an understatement.

The moment they touched, the two liquids hardened and stopped moving, as though two solids had been forced together.

However.

“If they do not mix well.”

CRRRRACK.......

“Then I simply need to mix them with greater force.”

The enormous hand of the blue giant, formed from infinite mana.

I plunged that hand into them and forcibly mixed the two liquids together.

The resistance was overwhelmingly powerful, but I crushed it beneath even greater force, forcibly mixing and compressing them.

BOOOOOM!!!

A force great enough to turn graphite into diamond...... No, even that was not enough.

Nuclear fusion taking place within a star.

When force and pressure comparable to that were applied, the two liquids naturally began blending into one.

[3. Place the cooked Heart of a Lesser Dragon into the thoroughly mixed liquid.......]

“You call this cooking......?”

[4. Grind the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and place it inside the Heart of a Lava Giant.......]

“This is not.”

[5. Plant the Seed of a Netherworld Flower in the Brain Fluid of an Ancient Sage and allow it to germinate.......]

“This is not cooking.......”

As I continued cooking.

Howard, who had been watching, stared blankly with his mouth hanging open and muttered.

“......A myth.”

And.

As I continued with the cooking, I thought the same thing.

'These ingredients. No matter how I look at them, they are beyond what a human can handle.'

The difficulty of the cooking alone was absurd.

Without Mirinae’s dragon pearl, even I would not have been able to touch them.

Every single step required enough power to overturn a mountain, split the heavens, or lift a river.

'And it is not only the difficulty.'

The ingredients contained such tremendous power that merely cooking them was this difficult.

The dish completed from them as well.

'This is...... not something a human can consume.'

Under normal circumstances, the result would have been something no human could eat.

That was why.

“Doyun.”

“......Huh? Ah, yes!”

While I cooked.

That little boy scattering mana beside me was necessary.

“Ugh...... The heat.......”

Startled by my call, the boy came running.

Unable even to approach easily because of the aftermath of my cooking, he drew near with Howard supporting him.

Then he waved his hand over the dish being prepared.

At that moment.

[Ultra-Extreme Survival Cooking]

A dish that ordinarily could not be consumed.

A power that somehow made it possible to consume such a dish.

The concept of being “edible.”

Was forcibly overlaid upon something humans had never been capable of eating.

'......This recipe could not have been created without Howard.'

This cooking process.

Although I was the one carrying it out, it was something even I could never have imagined.

A chef closest to the pure essence of what a chef was.

Only Howard could have accomplished the difficult task of creating a recipe from such transcendent ingredients.

However, even for someone like him.

'Without Doyun’s ability, he could not have created a dish humans could eat.'

When he completed the recipe, Howard had said it would have been difficult without Doyun’s help.

There had been a reason for those words.

No matter how exceptional a chef he was, if the ingredients themselves were inedible, he could never have created a recipe from them.

And.

'If it had not been me, this dish could not have been made.'

The completed recipe was not something just anyone could cook.

It required someone beyond an ordinary chef.

A chef possessing enough power to overcome even the powerful resistance emanating from the cooking itself.......

'A dish that could not be completed by a single chef.'

Howard was needed for the skill to create the recipe.

Doyun was needed to establish the condition that allowed the recipe to become edible for humans.

And I was needed to cook the recipe they had completed.

'The three chefs required to complete this dish just happened to be gathered here.'

An absurd coincidence.

There were extremely few [Chefs] in this world.

For some reason, perhaps even the System found it difficult to create chefs.

And yet, those three rare chefs just happened to form the exact combination necessary to complete this dish.

It was far too coincidental.

'The same is true of these ingredients.'

The essence of the [System] was an immense structure created from the collective unconscious of the lives dwelling upon this land.

However, these objects originated from far too many different worlds to have belonged to beings born upon this land.

That grand duke had crossed into this world through a transaction with the System.

The will of the people contained within the System—their desire to survive somehow—had brought beings from other worlds into this one despite the danger.

These objects were probably the same.

They were likely objects the System had introduced into this world through some kind of transaction.

In that case.

'It would not have gone to such lengths to acquire these ingredients only to let them be discarded.'

That was why.

Perhaps only those required to complete this dish had been selected as chefs.

It was merely my speculation.

However, if that speculation was correct.

'Then this dish being made right now.'

The System’s deliberate selection of chefs.

The final destination and ultimate objective of that grand design was precisely.

[Stat-Boosting Potion (Strength)]

[Stat-Boosting Potion (Agility)]

[Stat-Boosting Potion (Mana)]

[Stat-Boosting Potion (Luck)]

The four liquids floating in the air at the end of the recipe.......

That was what it meant.

“Is it finished!?”

“Not yet!”

The liquids floated in the air, held by my mana.

I tried to reach out toward them.

......At that very moment.

THUUUUD!!!

“......!”

A tremendous impact struck the fortress.

I turned my head.

{I am sorry.}

The fortress wall, which had already been half-destroyed.

Collapsed.

{It seems this is our limit.}

And from beyond it.

I could see golden energy approaching.

***

The beastkin had been using all their strength to restrain Avaritia.

The fact that they had endured this long against a being possessing a body capable of handling rank could only be called a miracle.

However, no matter how many miracles occurred.

Defeating that being was impossible.

“Ugh......!”

“We cannot hold it any longer......!”

BAM!

They were blasted away with frustrated expressions.

The golden energy that had been restrained at their center erupted explosively.

BOOOOOM!!!

The energy struck the fortress wall first.

All the fortress’s functions had already been shut down.

When the freely falling fortress was struck by the impact, it began plummeting toward the ground at an even greater speed.

“Senior! The cooking is complete, so we should escape first......!”

There was little distance left before we reached the ground.

The fortress had tilted severely from the impact.

Howard shouted while clinging to the remains of cooking equipment protruding nearby.

However.

“No. Not yet.”

“What do you mean......!”

I spoke while maintaining my balance with the [Assistant Chefs].

Because.

“The cooking is not finished yet.”

The reason the System had created chefs.

The destination of its grand design.

However.

“If this entire ordeal was only meant to make four bottles, I would never have done it.”

Those four bottles were far too insignificant to be considered the result of such a grand design.

They certainly possessed tremendous value in that they could strengthen awakened individuals.

However, considering the value of the ingredients, it could not end with a mere four potions.

“Then we at least need to activate the propulsion system......! We cannot do anything in this state!”

“That is not right either.”

If the [Propulsion System] were activated, the fortress would regain its balance on its own.

It could not completely prevent the crash, but it could slow it down.

However, I thought differently.

“You two go first.”

“Senior!”

The [Assistant Chefs] emerged from the shadows, pierced through Doyun and Howard’s military uniforms, and carried them outside the fortress.

But I remained here.

Even if the fortress crashed into the ground like this.

Even if the impact killed me.

I was a military cook.

Therefore.

“Cooking comes first!”

No matter what danger I found myself in.

I had to complete the mission given to me...... this dish.

[Infinite mana is being supplied.]

The form of the blue giant shone as it poured mana into my body.

[Dragon’s Inner Core] pounded violently as though it might burst at any moment, absorbing the mana with maximum efficiency.

And I moved that mana through my entire body, which had undergone [Rebirth of the Flesh].

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[The amount of mana is far too immense!]

[The probability of bodily collapse is increasing to an extreme degree.]

The output of my current body had risen beyond imagination.

However, even so, Morzan’s mana was literally infinite.

Even if it was only a fragment, infinity divided by infinity was still infinity.

Even my current body had a limit to how much it could withstand.

According to the original plan, this stage should have been enough.......

No.

I would have already accomplished my objective long ago with power to spare.

My original plan had been to resolve [Vital Energy Loss] and then begin cooking.

I had never expected to gain powers such as [Dragon’s Inner Core] or [Rebirth of the Flesh].

The moment I obtained power beyond my expectations, I should already have been capable of accomplishing my original objective.

However.

'The situation has changed.'

At the same time that my condition changed, my objective also changed slightly.

The current me...... was aiming for a place far higher than before.

'More.'

So much that even my body, which possessed the rank of a demigod, would not be enough.

'More, even more!!!'

I had to pour the maximum possible amount of mana.

Into this dish.

“Bimana!!!”

And because of that.

“Assist me!”

[All mana circuits of the fortress are being temporarily transferred to the dining hall.]

Whether we were falling or not.

Whether the propulsion system worked or not.

There was no room whatsoever to concern myself with such things.

***

THUUUUUUUUD!!!

The gigantic fortress was half-destroyed and plummeting.

Countless lines spread across every part of the fortress.

The mana pathways laid throughout the enormous structure.

Blue light began flowing through those mana circuits.

[Infinite mana is being supplied to the fortress.]

The propulsion system, the autonomous defense system, the energy barriers, the fortress’s natural restoration......

Every circuit that should have been used for the fortress’s other functions was reconfigured solely for the sake of a single dining hall.

It was the moment the entire enormous fortress transformed into one dining hall.

And at that exact moment.

{Foolish.}

Light surged upward from the ground.

The light rising from the ground toward the fortress finally collided with the falling fortress.

Clinging to the collapsed outer wall of the fortress, I looked at the golden light crawling inside.

{We could have stood together. Only brilliant glory would have awaited us upon the path where we sought to live together. For your sake, I would even have surrendered the throne of the great alliance...... Yet you cast aside that opportunity and choose to drink the cup of punishment.}

Just as the energy of the dragon pearl flowing within my body had condensed into the Dragon’s Inner Core.

Just as Morzan’s infinite mana had condensed into the form of the blue giant.

The freely released energy condensed here, taking the form of a gigantic golden colossus.

{Yes.}

It possessed such overwhelming size that even the walls of the enormous fortress appeared small beside it.

{That is why I came here.}

The golden giant looked down at me arrogantly and spoke.

{Your fate has already entered its course. No ordinary being can twist it now. That was why I sought to stand with you......}

However.

Though its gaze was arrogant, its confidence was not unfounded.

{But if that offer is rejected, that immense fate may become an enemy of the alliance.}

Because.

According to those beings, I had boarded a fate that would lead me to become an incredibly extraordinary existence.

A fixed route so firm that I could no longer easily step away from it.

That was why countless beings from beyond had been forced to flee the moment they saw my fate.

'But not that one.'

It had not fled.

Instead, it had belatedly taken an interest in this world, a place it had never even cared about before.

Only now did I understand the reason.

'Because that thing was not an [ordinary being].'

My fate had become so firmly fixed that it could no longer be twisted carelessly.

{A being capable of twisting that fate.}

Because it possessed the power to twist even that fate!

The reason such a tremendous being had descended upon this land while accepting the risks.

When I thought about it, the answer was extremely simple.

First, it would invite me into the alliance.

Then, if I refused that invitation.

{That is the reason this lord was forced to personally descend upon this land.}

It would twist and crush the fate of the one who had defied them.

THUUUUUUUUD!!!

The giant’s fist surged toward me.

I had already experienced what happened the moment that light touched someone.

The instant that light touched me, my defeat would be certain.

However.

'......It is still not enough.'

The cooking was not finished yet.

I could not leave this place.

And so, remaining rooted where I stood, I continued concentrating on the cooking.

Without even looking at the approaching golden energy, I regulated the mana flooding into my body.

'......Is it impossible after all?'

And then.

Just before the golden energy touched me.......

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Another massive explosion.

Swept across my surroundings.

“......!”

Focused on cooking, I stared in shock at the light visible at the edge of my vision.

Because.

I was concentrating on the cooking and could not do anything else.

Naturally, I had not caused that explosion.......

Yet the golden energy had not touched my body either.

{The pact I made with you has not yet been fulfilled.}

There was only one reason that had been possible.

{For your fate to be twisted before then would constitute a breach of contract.}

Blue light surged from my body.

And, acting upon its own will, blocked the golden light.

{Therefore, until that moment arrives, I shall protect you.}

The materialized light of glory.

The radiant golden colossus.

And the materialized mana blocking that colossus’s fist.

A giant of deep blue light.

“Morzan......!”

The origin of that blue light had already vanished.

All that remained was a tiny fragment.

{Until then.}

......However, the origin of that tiny fragment was, quite literally, infinite.

{Do as you will, great chef.}

No matter how small the fragment had been divided.

Infinity remained endless.