Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 217

Morgana’s eyes widened, and she tilted her head, her face showing complete incomprehension at Kainchel’s words.

“Calliope always carries this around to help recover even a little bit of mana. I recently had the opportunity to buy a large quantity of high-quality truffles, so I added some. Surprisingly, the scent is quite pleasant.”

“T-truffles…”

Only then did Morgana realize what Kainchel was talking about, and her face flushed bright red.

Truffles aren’t found through ordinary means.

They grow underground in oak forests, and their dirt-covered appearance makes them resemble ordinary stones.

That’s why dogs or pigs with a highly developed sense of smell are typically used to locate them.

“…So, are you treating me like a dog or a pig right now?”

An immense wave of hostility emanated from Morgana’s body.

It seemed Kainchel’s words had struck Morgana’s [dragon’s] reverse scale [a metaphorical weak spot, like Achilles’ heel] properly.

However, Kainchel wasn’t flustered in the slightest. He had expected this reaction from the start.

“I think having a keen sense isn’t something to be ashamed of, but rather a great advantage. This is something only Morgana can do. If I had fallen into the Abyss alone, I would have wandered in the maze and become prey for Chaos. Besides, puppies are really cute.”

“…!”

Morgana’s face turned as red as a ripe apple. After clearing her throat a few times, she abruptly held out her hand.

“…I guess this isn’t a situation to stand on pride. Give me the sandwich. Since it’s come to this, I’ll play the role of the puppy properly.”

“You’re really reliable.”

In fact, Kainchel had anticipated that Morgana would resist more fiercely.

There had been several attempts to strategically use her extrasensory perception until now.

However, each time, they had to abandon the plan because they couldn’t handle Morgana’s fierce hostility.

Kainchel had accomplished what even the Holy King Aslan couldn’t do.

“But before finding the sandwich, can I smell you? Ah, don’t misunderstand. It’s definitely not for any strange reason. It’s just that this place is so full of the stench of blood that I want to exclude what I can.”

It was certainly a plausible explanation.

Morgana nodded as if agreeing with Kainchel, then leaped forward and began to sniff.

“Hmm. Is this your scent? It’s like an aroma oil with various spices mixed in. I’ll remember it for sure with this. I won’t mistake you for anyone else now.”

“…It looks like there’s another intention hidden in there, no matter how I look at it.”

“Hey, come on.”

Then, she put her hands on her hips and began to giggle. It seemed to be her own way of getting revenge.

“Then, from now on, I’ll use my extrasensory perception to find Calliope and Bathory.”

Morgana put both arms on the ground and began to imitate a dog in earnest.

When a dog smells, it sniffs differently from when it breathes normally, in order to trap the air.

It is said that once a smell is memorized in that way, it is never forgotten until death.

“Sniff sniff… I smell truffles from this way. It’s such a foreign and intense scent that I can definitely feel it.”

She said that to know the exact direction, they would need to move a little from their current location.

Kainchel and Morgana left Goethe to guard Asura and began to follow the trail of the honey butter sandwich.

If it were a dish made by someone else, this kind of tracking would have been impossible.

Kainchel had once driven all the people of a territory wild with just the smell of grilling steak.

With Morgana’s extrasensory perception added to that, such an absurd thing became possible.

* * *

One hour and ten minutes had passed since the honey butter sandwich search began.

After breaking through the encirclement surrounded by numerous chimeras [monstrous creatures made of mixed animal parts], they were able to find Bathory, who was trembling.

She was with Calliope, as expected.

“Lady Calliope! Don’t just eat the sandwich, you should move to find Lord Kainchel! How long are you going to stay in this unpleasant space…”

“In this situation, it’s better to stay in one place. I’m blocking the approach of the hybrids with Dragon Fear, but I don’t know what will happen if I move rashly.”

“…Was the sound you made earlier, ‘Kwang,’ Dragon Fear?”

“Yeah. I’ll do it again in a bit, so bear with it even if you’re scared.”

“Far from being scary, it was very cute and lovely…”

As Calliope said, the effect of Dragon Fear was tremendous.

Although she had the appearance of a young girl, her essence was that of a White Dragon. The chimeras, moving only by instinct, were frightened and didn’t even try to turn their heads in this direction.

“I’m glad you seem safe.”

“Ah, Lord Kainchel?!”

Bathory ran towards Kainchel. It was a reaction like meeting an oasis in the desert.

There was only a brief moment to share the joy of reunion.

It seemed that Morgana wasn’t the only one drawn to the honey butter sandwich.

The hostility of an enemy that suddenly appeared hundreds of meters away was felt approaching at an incredible speed.

It seemed to be the owner of the ill-fated star they had heard before.

“It’s coming!”

“I know…!”

Until just now, Morgana had been on all fours, sniffing to find Calliope.

But before anyone knew it, she had finished preparing for battle. It was the appearance of a veteran who had fought in many great wars.

In less than five seconds, the guy revealed himself before Kainchel’s eyes.

“…Dragon?!”

Its size was smaller than expected. It was only about 5 meters at most. But every time it moved, the entire maze shook.

Kainchel sensed it.

That was a monster beyond the Demon Adolf.

A groan escaped Goethe’s lips.

“It seems that the inherent factors have been expressed as a result of repeated inbreeding. Be careful. It’s a dragon, even if it’s small.”

It was very rare, but until the mythical era, there were cases where humans and dragons were connected.

The hybrids born between them had the characteristics of both humans and dragons.

The blood of the dragon fades as generations pass.

Now, there are no cases where the characteristics of the dragon appear even through atavism [reversion to ancestral traits].

However, if there is an almost infinite amount of time, the story is different.

“If there is a possibility that a real one will be born, it will be 100 percent in the Abyss. …This entire place was Merlin’s experimental site to obtain the dragon’s factors.”

However, Merlin’s wish to create the ultimate life form failed.

That was just a mass of madness with only the appearance of a dragon. It would soon turn to dust and disappear.

Morgana activated her extrasensory perception once again and muttered.

“…It’s like looking at a zombie dragon. The body can’t withstand the dragon’s mana and is melting away.”

A man with a hooked nose wearing a monocle on a crystal hanging from the ceiling came to mind.

It was Merlin, the alchemist of life.

“Kihihihik! Unless I give up, this body’s wish to create the ultimate life form has not failed! Devour everything, Chaos! Use those guys as nourishment and evolve into an even more superior life form!”

Then, as if answering that he understood, Chaos roared.

“Krrwaaaaaaa!!!”

Kainchel reflexively drank the Dracula’s blood in the cola bottle.

‘Tch, is this the end? But now is not the time to save it. But his name was really Chaos. Goethe, what the hell are you…’

Even though it was a failure, Chaos’s body contained the power of a dragon.

He had to use everything he could.

Before he knew it, the place where Kainchel was standing had turned into a huge space with a diameter of over 1 km.

It seemed that the entire Abyss was under Chaos’s control.

Chaos lunged at Kainchel with a speed that could not even be seen.

Fwoooosh!

It was faster than anything he had ever met. Kainchel was able to respond to that speed thanks to the increased agility he gained from becoming a vampire.

If he hadn’t drunk Dracula’s blood, he might have died in vain from that attack just now.

“Sword Master! Demon! Devour them all and become stronger, Chaos! That is the meaning of your existence!”

With those words, Merlin’s shadow disappeared. But he would be watching the situation here from somewhere.

“Kainchel! Be careful! It’s so fast that even my extrasensory perception can’t keep up!”

“Then I’ll have to make it slower.”

With familiar movements, Kainchel used his aura to pull out long noodles.

The number increased exponentially each time he moved his hand.

Morgana’s eyes widened. The last time they fought, there was only one strand of chewy noodles mixed among the many thin noodles.

But this time, all 1,024 strands were chewy noodles.

“That’s something you can only do if you have a million auras…”

Instead of answering, Kainchel raised his slightly injured left thumb.

Dark red blood was still flowing from it.

By becoming a vampire, Kainchel could exert absolute control over blood.

By mixing his blood into the aura, he was using techniques that would normally be impossible.

“I think you’re very hungry, so I’ve prepared a special 1.5 serving. I hope you like it.”

Thousands of chewy noodles clung to Chaos’s entire body. That didn’t completely seal its movements. But it became dull enough to respond to.

Morgana, who had approached Kainchel, gasped for breath.

One of her arms was soaked with blood, whether it was grazed by Chaos’s attack just now.

Someone’s voice echoed in Kainchel’s mind.

『Drink the blood!』

The vampire’s bloodsucking urge was tempting him to sink his teeth into Morgana’s slender neck and suck her blood.

Kainchel smiled and took out the blood sausage he had put in his two-dimensional pocket [a pocket with seemingly infinite space] and mumbled.

The blood sausage, which was only mushy and fishy, tasted so sweet.

He could endure for about 3 minutes with this.

“Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

Kainchel nodded at Morgana’s words and replied.

“It’s moving like that even though thousands of chewy noodles are binding it… Not only is it fast, but its power is also tremendous. Let’s try to finish this as quickly as possible.”

Morgana said, moving her muscles to stop the bleeding from her wound.

“Usually, it takes three Sword Masters to beat a dragon. But why? I don’t think we’re going to lose.”

Chaos is strong.

He knew why the guy had increased the size of this place to 1 km.

He judged that it had to be this big to run wild.

At that time, a long tentacle popped out from one of Kainchel’s shoulders.

― Fortunately, it seems I’m not late. Partner! The weakness of that guy is fire!

‘Fire? Then I’ll have to give him a big one.’

Kainchel took out the Fragarach [a legendary sword], which had ladles connected in the two-dimensional pocket.

It was a ladle made by carving a branch of the World Tree Yggdrasil [a mythical tree connecting all the worlds].

When you become a vampire, your disposition changes to evil. Originally, you can’t hold the Fragarach, the sword that destroys evil.

However, he accidentally found out that using the Yggdrasil ladle could offset that.

“Flambé!”

Whirrrrr…!

Fierce flames strong enough to burn everything blazed on the blade of Fragarach.

The heat was so intense that the surrounding air was distorted.

The wooden ladle turned to ashes in less than 0.1 seconds.

Kainchel grabbed the completed flame sword and rushed towards Chaos.

Even Morgana was surprised by Kainchel’s movements after becoming a vampire.

Believing in his strengthened physical abilities, he poured all his aura into increasing the firepower of the flambé.

As a result, it emitted so much heat that it even penetrated Kainchel’s flame resistance while holding the flame sword.

“H, hot! What is this heat…!”

Morgana screamed as she aimed for Chaos’s tail.

But it wasn’t a situation where he could fight while considering her circumstances.

Kainchel persistently followed Chaos’s moving path and tried to stab Fragarach into his neck.

But the two wings continued to interfere with that.

‘Tch, in this case, Double Booster!’

He crammed the little aura left into both legs. Then Kainchel’s body accelerated as if exploding.

“L, Lord Kainchel!”

“…Kainchel!?”

Kainchel’s body, which had surpassed the limits of humans several times, shot out like lightning.

The sword of flames he was holding pierced Chaos’s neck.