"Unbelievable. How on earth did this happen?"
Inside the Valkyrie dormitory.
Everyone stared at the result that had been obtained at the cost of blowing up the kitchen, their expressions twisted and speechless.
Mei and Rita's faces were pale.
If they had not been a Herrscher and an S-rank Valkyrie, and had not switched into their armor the instant they sensed something was wrong, they might already have been injured.
Although they themselves were unharmed, the dishes they had painstakingly prepared had been reduced to ashes. Meanwhile, the dish summoned using their cooking as sacrificial offerings—MEI's creation—remained perfectly intact.
"No matter how you think about it, this makes no sense. How did this pot of food 'survive' that explosion just now?"
"Bronya thinks it looks like a slime from a video game. And the terrifying, poison-type kind at that."
"The fridge was full of perfectly edible, proper ingredients. Just what kind of method produces... this? MEI, are you some kind of alchemist?"
After taking a glance, everyone instinctively stepped back several paces. Their instincts were screaming at them to get as far away from the pot as possible.
A pot of "porridge" that emitted black mist. But calling it slime was already being charitable. In truth, it looked more like a swamp monster.
They rubbed their eyes, thinking it must be an illusion. Yet they could have sworn they saw a wailing human face surfacing on the porridge's surface.
"This is bad. It feels several times more terrifying than back in the Previous Era."
"If Elias had fed this to the Herrscher of Finality back then, it might've actually poisoned her to death."
"Let's... not. Isn't that method a bit too evil? Too cruel?"
"So this is five hundred centuries of culinary cultivation? MEI, did you invest all of it into dark cuisine instead?"
The members of the Previous Era were drenched in cold sweat.
Memories resurfaced—of the fear once dominated by MEI's cooking. These battle-hardened Flame-Chasers, veterans of countless wars, now clutched their stomachs, their faces pale as phantom pain began to stir.
Even Griseo was no exception.
The girl recalled how, when she was young and naive, she had once stayed up late painting and grown unbearably hungry. Summoning courage from who-knows-where, she had actually dared to try MEI's cooking.
She had assumed it only looked bad, that it would still be edible. In the end, as expected, the unexpected happened.
After merely licking a mouthful of broth alongside a certain cat, she had ended up hospitalized in Mobius' laboratory for an entire month.
Pardofelis had claimed that in that instant, eight of her nine lives had vanished...
"Scanner analysis complete. Classified as biochemical toxin. Threat level: extreme. Considering it survived the kitchen explosion, high temperatures may be insufficient to eliminate it. Recommendation: deploy a pseudo-black hole for total annihilation."
Prometheus raised her soulium hand, already preparing to manually generate a pseudo-black hole.
"How could this happen? I clearly followed normal cooking procedures."
MEI stared at her hands in disbelief, suspecting that perhaps she was being affected by some strange rule.
Mei and Rita were equally confused. They had indeed watched MEI cook using entirely ordinary methods. Yet somehow, as she continued, the ingredients had fused into this abomination.
"Would anyone like to try a bite? Maybe—"
"MEI, are you trying to murder us?!" xN
Seeing that she still refused to give up, everyone broke out in cold sweat and assumed battle stances.
"Just give up, MEI. Everyone has something they're not good at."
"I refuse! Elias once told me he believed that one day I'd make something edible. As long as you give me just a little more time—just a tiny bit more—I will definitely succeed!"
"Uh... that's very moving, but reality is as terrifying as that pot of porridge you made."
Just as everyone was wondering how to persuade MEI to put down the kitchen knife and return to being a perfectly ordinary mad scientist—
"Did something happen? Why is there black smoke rising from the dorm roof? Hm? Griseo, MEI, Prometheus? I didn't expect you all to be here too!"
"Elias!" xN
The moment they saw the white-haired boy return, the girls immediately felt as though a savior had arrived. But when they noticed Sakura and Rin following behind him, the corners of their eyes twitched.
Great. Five more rivals added in a single day.
"Sakura, Rin, we'll greet you properly later. This is urgent. Elias, hurry and persuade MEI."
"The only person in this world who can stop MEI from straying further down the path of dark cuisine is you!"
"Uh, I just got back and I'm already facing something this serious?"
Elias looked at the pot with a helpless expression and instantly understood the situation. Just from its appearance, he could tell it was even more horrifying than five hundred centuries ago.
Eden and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
If it was Elias' words that had once encouraged MEI to persist on the path of cooking, then surely he alone could make her abandon this road of no return.
As the saying goes, the one who tied the bell must untie it. MEI, couldn't you just obediently remain a mad scientist?
Yet what happened next stunned them all.
"..."
Elias stared at the dark dish as if gazing into the abyss. After a moment, he picked up a ladle and scooped a spoonful.
"Wait! Elias, what are you doing?!"
"Don't do anything reckless!"
"If you're hungry, just eat a few mouthfuls of air first. We'll find you something proper right away!"
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. A terrible premonition rose within them.
"..."
Elias silently observed as the porridge gradually corroded the metal ladle. Then he looked at MEI's hopeful gaze. Finally, he took a deep breath and, expressionless, opened his mouth and swallowed a spoonful.
"Ah... mm... ngh..."
Suppressing the urge for his eyes to roll back, the Authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth activated at full power. Elias' body trembled slightly, a clear aura of death surfacing across his face.
But he did not fall.
In that instant, everyone witnessed what it meant to possess an iron will that surpassed steel itself. Awe filled their hearts. As expected of the Flame-Chaser who had saved the Previous Era twelve times.
What terrifying resolve.
"E-Elias... how is it?"
"Mm... it's... it's pretty good... not bad... just a little bitter... a little spicy... a little numbing... kind of like firecrackers going off in my stomach. Heh... isn't that... rather unique?"
"That is absolutely not how food is supposed to taste!" xN
Elias slowly set down the ladle in his hand, then gently patted the head of the deeply moved MEI. Those golden eyes of his were filled with affection so intense it seemed ready to melt the dark cuisine chef on the spot.
"The flavor is a bit stimulating, sure, but it's not completely inedible. Mm, compared to five hundred centuries ago, you've improved a lot—really, a lot. As expected of you, MEI."
"Elias... I'm so touched!"
This person truly never let anyone down.
A shimmer of tears welled up in MEI's eyes as she threw her arms around the white-haired boy and hugged him tightly. At that moment, she felt that all her persistence had not been in vain.
Elias rubbed his cheek lightly against hers and patted her back encouragingly.
"It's nothing. Just... in the future, it's probably best not to let anyone else eat it. Ordinary people might not understand the beauty of your cooking. Leave it all to me to handle from now on."
"Mm! I'll cook for you every single day from now on!"
"Th-that's... not entirely necessary..."
Elias shuddered. His stomach spasmed violently, and he suddenly felt that perhaps he needed to start practicing how to generate a pseudo-black hole inside his own stomach.
In the end, after his persuasion, MEI left happily with her pot of dark cuisine, declaring that she would use it as a research sample to see if there was room for improvement before the next meal.
"Big Brother Elias, are you really okay?" Griseo asked with concern.
"Of course I'm fine. What could possibly happen to me? Don't forget my current configuration—Ultimate Chimera + Palatinus + False God + Twelve-Authority Herrscher... I'm not dying that easily."
Elias wiped the corner of his lips.
"Why didn't you just explain it clearly to MEI? She really has improved over the past five hundred centuries—but entirely in the direction of becoming a dark cuisine master... I can't believe you managed to endure that," Sakura said, still shaken. She had once tried to teach MEI how to cook. The result had nearly been mutual destruction between her and the kitchen.
"Well... when I think about how she spent five hundred centuries persisting at something she isn't even good at, all because of my encouragement... and then I see that hopeful look in her eyes... I feel like dying once or twice wouldn't matter. After all, everyone dies someday, right...?"
Elias wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Since it was his encouragement that had led MEI onto the path of dark cuisine, he naturally had to shoulder the responsibility that came with it.
As long as MEI didn't give up, he would stay with her to the end.
"You spoil her way too much!!" xN
"Do I? But I spoil all of you just the same."
"..." xN
With that single sentence, everyone fell silent.
It was true. Elias spoiled them all so much that sometimes they even felt they would be ruined if this continued.
Many people might think Elias was the fortunate one, being loved by so many girls. But Mei, Sakura, and the others knew very well that the truly fortunate ones were themselves.
Precisely because of that, they had resolved to cherish this hard-won happiness. And yet Elias himself never seemed to cherish himself at all—that was what troubled them most.
"Alright, alright~ Don't make such faces. Speaking of which, I didn't expect little Griseo to be here too. Ah—no, I should say big Griseo now."
"Big Brother Elias, what do you think of me now?"
Griseo smiled and spun lightly in front of him, showing off the growth she had accumulated over five hundred centuries.
"You're so beautiful I almost didn't recognize you! Back then you were small and adorable—who would've thought you'd change this much?"
Elias immediately gave a thumbs-up internally, praising her countless times.
"Yes... I didn't expect it either..."
A certain flat immortal revealed a sorrowful expression.
She placed a hand on her chest, feeling the still utterly barren front armor, and thought bitterly that she would probably never suffer from sore shoulders in this lifetime.
Good thing milk powder existed. Otherwise, future children might starve...
In truth, having spent so long around Eden and the others in the Elysian Realm—women with explosively good figures—combined with her own prolonged failure to advance, Fu Hua had indeed developed a degree of insecurity in that area.
But perhaps one day, when she gained the confidence to shout "If the chest is not level, how can the world be level?" the Immortal Phoenix would finally gather the courage to advance and become invincible.
Or perhaps...
When she saw another version of herself rise to the top at lightning speed, she would realize that Elias never cared about her insecurities at all.
At this moment, however, Elias' attention was entirely focused on Griseo.
Watching the little girl he had once carried around grow into a graceful young lady, Elias felt an inexplicable fatherly emotion stir within him.
When he considered lifting her up the way he used to—hugging her, kissing her, raising her high above his head—he hesitated, unsure if that was still appropriate.
He couldn't help thinking like Kosma. Is it really okay to do that? Would the now-grown Griseo mind?
But while he was still hesitating—
"Big Brother Elias, I missed you so much!"
Griseo suddenly threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her delicate face rubbed lightly against his chest, revealing a bright, lively smile even more vivid than when she was a child.
Elias felt his heart melt instantly. For a moment, he was so overwhelmed with joy that he even forgot the stabbing pain in his abdomen.
"Griseo, even though you've grown up, you're just as adorable as ever. Mm... I like you the most!"
"Mm. Griseo too. I've always been looking forward to the day I could reunite with Big Brother Elias."
Like a bird that had found its nest, Griseo sat on Elias' lap. Her eyes shone like stars as she gazed at the pure white boy before her.
"Even though Griseo has grown up now... in the future, will Big Brother Elias still paint with me, take me to all kinds of places to play, and teach me all sorts of things?"
"Of course I will!"
Elias gently patted her head with indulgence.
His demeanor made Kiana and the others suck in a sharp breath. They had not expected that the strongest member of the Previous Era faction would be this pure, cute, seemingly harmless girl.
Not just them—even Sakura and the others were on high alert. As expected, this was how it would be. The grown-up Griseo truly had the potential to challenge Elysia.
The reason was simple.
She was the girl Elias doted on the most.
Every Flame-Chaser present knew that Elias' indulgence toward Griseo had no upper limit.
In the past, she had merely been a minor, a little girl, and thus posed no threat. But now that she had grown up enough to step onto the battlefield, she would inevitably become an unimaginably formidable opponent.
(So good~ My Griseo is still this adorable. Five hundred centuries have only added beauty on top of her cuteness. Isn't this already perfection?)
Elias thought about how, during those endlessly looping days, the girl before him had given him so much support.
If not for Griseo healing his battered heart again and again, he might not have endured.
For Elysia, Elias had been able to loop eleven times.
But for Griseo, he was confident he could loop hundreds of times.
"By the way, you still don't like wearing shoes, huh?"
"I was wearing them before I came. But from now on, I won't need to—because Big Brother Elias will carry me. Or... holding me works too."
The girl recalled the past. She used to deliberately step barefoot into paint, because when she did, her favorite Big Brother Elias would wipe her feet clean for her.
Even Griseo thought she had been a naughty child for doing that. But if it meant Elias would spend more time with her, she was willing to be a bad child.
"Mm. Of course I'm willing to carry or hold adorable Griseo for a lifetime," Elias replied without hesitation. He had absolutely no resistance when it came to the girl before him.
Griseo had super-effective damage against him.
After some time of intimacy, however, Elias suddenly claimed he had urgent business and prepared to leave.
"Oh, right. Do any of you know where Durandal is?"
"She took on a hundred Honkai Beast extermination missions today. It'll be a while before she returns."
"Oh. That's... not good."
With that, Elias left the dormitory and quickly turned into a corner—then collapsed stiffly to the ground.
(Yeah... I really can't hold it in anymore. Feels like I'm about to die. Even the regenerative ability of the Herrscher of Rebirth can't keep up with the rate at which MEI's dark cuisine is destroying me. This time... I'm done for...)
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