Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Song Hwa-rin.

An S-rank Hunter.

Master of the White Lotus Guild, one of South Korea's three great guilds.

She stood crookedly with her arms crossed while staring at Hong Man-gi.

Her bloodshot eyes looked ready to snap his neck again at any moment.

"I said this is your last chance."

Her voice was cold.

"If you try to deceive my tongue again, I'll really pull out your intestines and cook them myself."

It was not an empty threat.

The surrounding air seemed to react to her mood, crackling with pressure.

Kang Jae-min and Lee Yu-han lay injured and could barely even groan because of their fear.

Hong Man-gi started toward the kitchen area.

Then he stopped.

He stepped closer to Song Hwa-rin.

"Excuse me for a moment."

"What?"

Instead of answering, Hong Man-gi closed his eyes.

Then he opened them sharply.

[Gourmet Alchemist, Ingredient Analysis (Advanced)]

An eye capable of converting everything in the world into an "ingredient" and seeing through its essence.

His gaze passed over Song Hwa-rin's body.

Then,

'I can see it.'

Black, sticky chains wrapped around her skeletal body.

'That is....'

A horrifying curse began at the tip of her tongue, traveled down her esophagus, and tightly strangled her stomach.

Hong Man-gi continued examining her.

Information appeared before him.

[Condition: Curse of Starvation, Stage 3, Severe]

[Symptoms: Paralysis and Distortion of Taste Nerves / Rejection of Nutrient Absorption / Includes Thirst of the Soul]

[Cause: Resentment of the Boss of the S-rank Dungeon, Labyrinth of Gluttony]

Her taste nerves had not been destroyed.

They were being completely distorted through the filter of the curse.

Sweetness became bitterness.

Nutty flavors became fishy smells.

Umami became the taste of rotten mud.

No matter what entered her mouth, the curse twisted the information and sent one signal to her brain.

Garbage.

Even worse was her stomach.

The chains of the curse tightly squeezed it, preventing her from feeling fullness from food.

No matter how much she ate, she remained hungry.

She was trapped in the punishment of eternal starvation.

Hong Man-gi quietly spoke.

"I can see it."

Song Hwa-rin's eyebrow twitched.

"Your tongue isn't broken."

His eyes sharpened.

"It's being manipulated."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're not actually hungry."

Hong Man-gi continued.

"Your soul is starving and screaming because of that terrible Curse of Starvation."

"How do you know that...?!"

Song Hwa-rin's eyes widened.

The curse.

Three years ago, inside that hellish labyrinth, she had heard those exact words.

Yet Hong Man-gi was the first person to identify it accurately.

Countless S-rank healers and famous doctors had only diagnosed her with unexplained nerve damage or psychological trauma.

"You... what exactly are you seeing?"

Song Hwa-rin narrowed her eyes.

"Are you a healer? No... what are you?"

Hong Man-gi looked directly into her eyes.

"Ordinary food cannot satisfy you."

His voice was certain.

"No matter what delicacy I bring, it can't break through the layer of the curse covering your tongue."

"Then...?"

"What you need isn't taste."

Hong Man-gi raised one hand.

"You need energy capable of breaking through the curse and striking the brain directly."

Song Hwa-rin frowned.

"You're telling me to inject nutrients?"

"No."

Hong Man-gi shook his head.

"There's another method."

His expression became confident.

"And I can do it."

Song Hwa-rin unconsciously loosened her clenched fist.

There was something different about this man.

Hong Man-gi turned toward the remaining ingredients.

His eyes scanned the ruined kitchen.

'I need something containing extremely dense life energy.'

Then his gaze stopped.

The heart of an Ironback Boar.

Fresh wild herbs.

A high-quality mana stone.

Hong Man-gi picked them up one by one.

Poming cautiously approached.

"Chef... what are you going to make?"

Hong Man-gi looked at the ingredients.

"Not ordinary food."

He took a deep breath.

"We're going to turn life force and mana itself into flavor."

Poming's eyes widened.

"Can... can you do that?"

"We're about to find out."

Hong Man-gi placed one hand over the boar heart.

'Material Reconstruction.'

Golden light spread through his fingertips.

The heart began breaking down at a microscopic level.

Blood.

Muscle.

Fat.

Impurities.

Hong Man-gi ignored everything unnecessary.

He searched only for the dense particles of vitality stored within the monster's heart.

"Extract."

Red particles of light slowly rose from the heart.

Song Hwa-rin's eyes narrowed.

Then Hong Man-gi placed his other hand over the mana stone.

"Decompose."

The mana stone released golden particles.

Red life force.

Golden mana.

The two began swirling together in the air.

"Poming! Control the temperature! Don't let the mana disperse!"

"Yes! Hnnng! Hyaa!"

Poming waved her tiny hands and began controlling the vortex of mana.

With the delicate control of an SSS-rank cooking spirit, the unstable energy gradually stabilized.

Song Hwa-rin watched with narrowed eyes.

'That doesn't look like cooking... what is it? Alchemy? Magic?'

The sight was bizarre.

There was no fire.

No pot.

The ingredients turned into light and danced according to Hong Man-gi's gestures.

Yet as an S-rank Hunter, Song Hwa-rin could feel it.

A powerful wave inside the vortex stimulated something deep within her instincts.

Her appetite, dead for three years,

trembled faintly.

Hong Man-gi was drenched in sweat.

He focused desperately.

It was almost as though he were coding the information of "flavor" into every individual wave of energy.

The rich meaty aroma contained within the boar's heart.

The fragrance of herbs filled with the life force of the forest.

The thrilling sense of elevation contained within the mana stone.

He began creating a wave that stimulated not physical taste receptors,

but the brain's memory of flavor itself.

"Ugh...!"

The extreme mana consumption made his legs tremble.

His vision blurred.

But he forced himself upright.

'Just a little more...!'

Hong Man-gi squeezed out the last of his strength.

[Flash!]

The swirling red and gold energies collapsed inward.

Then they transformed into a golden liquid.

Hong Man-gi carefully guided it into a bowl.

The liquid shimmered softly.

No overwhelming aroma came from it.

It looked almost like a simple clear soup.

Yet every Hunter nearby could feel the dense wave of mana contained within.

Hong Man-gi breathed heavily.

"It's finished."

Poming looked at the bowl with shining eyes.

"Chef... this isn't ordinary soup."

Hong Man-gi nodded.

"No."

He looked toward Song Hwa-rin.

"This is food for the soul."

He carried the bowl toward her.

Song Hwa-rin stared at the golden liquid.

Suspicion remained in her eyes.

But for the first time,

there was also hope.

Hong Man-gi held the bowl out.

"Trust me... and try it."

Song Hwa-rin slowly brought the bowl to her lips.

Gulp.

Her throat moved.

The golden liquid entered her mouth.

Then,

"Uhp!"

The instant the soup passed down her throat, her eyes flew open.

[Flaaaash!]

"Ah... aaah...."

A vision unfolded before her.

An endless golden field.

The nutty fragrance of freshly baked bread.

The sweetness of perfectly ripe fruit.

The savory richness of meat grilled over charcoal.

Every "flavor" in the world that she had forgotten over the past three years.

The taste of life itself.

Proof that she was alive.

It was pure ecstasy.

A sob escaped Song Hwa-rin.

"Ugh... sob...!"

The hands holding the bowl trembled violently.

"I... it's delicious. It's delicious!"

She kept drinking.

One mouthful.

Then another.

Every time she swallowed, blood returned to her cold hands and feet.

Color returned to her gray face.

"Delicious... delicious...! It's perfect!"

She cried and laughed at the same time.

Kang Jae-min and Lee Yu-han stared with their mouths open.

"That woman... is crying?"

"Chef... did it."

Poming sniffled on Hong Man-gi's shoulder.

"Hiiing... thank goodness... really, thank goodness... Poming was so scared...."

Only then did the tension leave Hong Man-gi's body.

He collapsed onto the ground.

A short while later,

Song Hwa-rin emptied the bowl completely.

She placed it on the ground and breathed heavily.

Tears still covered the corners of her eyes.

But no madness or killing intent remained within her gaze.

Instead,

there was peace.

Warmth.

She slowly stood and approached Hong Man-gi.

Hong Man-gi looked up at her nervously.

Then,

[Thud.]

Song Hwa-rin dropped to her knees.