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"Damn it—why is this Midora brat so damn hard to deal with?"

Acacia was frantic. He'd recognized the aroma of GOD, of course. He'd been part of a GOD-capturing expedition before and had even secured a good amount, but he hadn't eaten it.

Froese had been the one to eat GOD. Acacia's own Appetite Demon was too unique, and besides, he and the Blue Nitro Pair already had a plan in motion.

Executing either his plan with Pair or the Blue Nitros' sealing plan required him to wait. And so, another few hundred years had passed. Acacia knew that to deal with NEO, he first had to either manifest it or devour it himself.

Without GOD, it was all for nothing. The intoxicating scent made Acacia desperate to rush to GOD's location that very instant.

But Midora had him pinned down—with Ichiryu, Jiro, and Don Slime watching his every move.

He was lucky he could absorb Midora's attacks without being killed outright. If he died—NEO would just find another host, and tracking it down again would be a nightmare.

He needed to eat GOD to manifest NEO, but Midora was blocking his path. The situation was making Acacia increasingly agitated.

His anxiety was palpable to the three men watching him.

——————

"He's getting desperate. GOD has appeared. If Yuuki fully prepares it, his resurrection plan will be a complete failure."

Don Slime said with a grin. Seeing Acacia so flustered was immensely satisfying. After all, Don Slime and NEO were mortal enemies—the kind that wouldn't rest until the other was dead.

NEO had played a part in Don Slime's death long ago, so seeing Acacia squirm was as good as seeing NEO squirm.

"I wonder how Chef Yuuki is doing over there."

Needing to keep a close watch on Acacia to prevent him from slipping away, the four of them remained, trapping him there.

"He'll be fine. Trust his skills. Besides, Guinness is helping him."

Jiro had sensed the Wolf King's presence, so he knew that with Guinness's help, Yuuki would have no trouble at all.

Hearing this, Ichiryu also nodded. Just as they were watching Acacia, a fragrance even more enticing than before suddenly wafted over. The appearance of this fragrance invigorated everyone.

"Damn it, the preparation of GOD is complete!"

Acacia realized instantly that GOD had been successfully cooked. Even if it was just a portion, it was enough.

He found it hard to believe. Cooking GOD, even a small part of it, was an incredibly difficult task. For Yuuki to have finished so quickly was nothing short of miraculous.

"Looks like you're in a hurry. GOD is important to you, I get that. But you're not getting a single touch!"

Midora slammed Acacia into the ground again with another punch, his eyes locked on him, ensuring he couldn't escape to interfere with Yuuki.

Though he and Yuuki weren't close, all the ingredients he'd been eating were prepared by him. He wasn't about to let Acacia ruin things now.

"Bastard—get out of my way!"

In a rage, Acacia launched an indiscriminate attack, releasing the Heavy Rain: Feast of Kings.

This move, condensed from appetite, was an enhanced version of the Feast of Kings. The normal version only released one golden sphere, but this one released countless spheres of appetite.

And all of them were aimed at the Earth.

"He's really underestimating us! Black Tornado!"

Don Slime drew his fork and knife, crossed them, and unleashed a massive black tornado that swept across most of the planet's upper atmosphere, obliterating all the spheres.

Even if Don Slime hadn't acted, the spheres wouldn't have landed. All the other continents, except for the Seventh, had their own Eight Kings.

So, they only really needed to worry about the First Continent.

But Don Slime didn't care about any of that. He couldn't be bothered with the other Eight Kings. If any of them dared to cause him trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to turn them into a meal.

That wasn't just a boast—he truly had the power to take down all the Eight Kings.

So, Don Slime acted without a second thought for what the other Kings might think.

——————

Meanwhile, the aroma grew stronger.

On the Second Continent, where Guinness stood guard over the prepared GOD, the ground had become a sea of blood and bodies. Countless creatures had been slain by the Wolf King.

But still, they kept coming, an endless tide drawn by the ever-intensifying scent of GOD. They simply couldn't resist the temptation.

Even Guinness himself was tempted to rush over and take a bite. But he held back. As one of the Eight Kings, he had to maintain his kingly dignity. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel⦿fire.net

If he couldn't even withstand this level of temptation, how could he call himself the ruler of a continent?

As time passed, Yuuki finally finished preparing the last ingredient.

Stepping out of the special cooking space, he was greeted by the sight of a landscape littered with the corpses of beasts—all clearly Guinness's handiwork.

Yuuki was grateful. Among the Eight Kings, he had a soft spot for Guinness, perhaps because of his connection to Jiro.

And he would never forget the image of Guinness avenging Jiro.

Compared to the mischievous Monkey King Bambina, the Wolf King was far more respectable.

With Guinness still holding back the tide of beasts, Yuuki consumed GOD, immediately following it with CENTER.

Since he had no Appetite Demon, there was no manifestation process—just a pure, explosive surge of power.

He had rushed to increase his strength for one reason: to deal with NEO.

Feeling the immense power coursing through him, Yuuki knew with absolute certainty that he was now more than ready to face NEO.

After eating, Yuuki divided the remaining GOD, storing most of it away and leaving a single piece for Guinness.

The Wolf King had helped him, after all. It was only right to share.

As for the endless horde of beasts still swarming towards them, Yuuki unleashed a Grand Knocking. The force instantly spread across the entire Second Continent, paralyzing every creature except for the Battle Wolves.

The frenzied beasts of the Second Continent froze in place. Though a piece of GOD was still with Guinness, they were now helpless, unable to move, forced to simply watch.

Seeing the beasts immobilized, Guinness turned and left. His job was done. He would take his share of GOD back to his pack.

He could tell that Yuuki hadn't used much force in the Knocking. The paralyzed beasts would likely recover in about a week.

A week without food or water would be a death sentence for a normal human, but for the creatures of the Gourmet World, it was nothing.

It would have almost no lasting effect on them.

——————

With the Second Continent secured, Yuuki headed for the First. Acacia was on the verge of despair, trapped and unable to break through the encirclement.

Though his opponents couldn't kill him—he was constantly regenerating and devouring—Acacia knew one thing for certain: If he couldn't eat GOD and CENTER, his plan would completely collapse, even if he survived.

This was the last GOD born from a fully matured Earth. While another might appear in the future, the planet would have to survive for that to happen.

And Acacia wasn't sure he could wait another few hundred years. More importantly, he didn't know if Yuuki, after consuming all the legendary eight ingredients, would be powerful enough to kill him.

So he was desperate...

But his desperation only made Midora and the others fight harder. As long as Acacia was miserable, two of the three were happy.

Only Ichiryu, perhaps, still saw Acacia as a teacher. Midora, driven by the memory of Froese and Acacia's manipulation, wanted nothing more than to kill him on the spot.

Jiro, too, had abandoned any lingering sentiment after Acacia's lethal attack. The bond of master and student—a bond as strong as father and son—was something Jiro understood well.

It was Acacia who had taught him how to control his power, taught him Knocking, and brought him to the Human World, where he had met Setsuno.

For all this, Jiro had been deeply grateful. But that one attack had been a life taken. Jiro had repaid that debt with his own life.

From that moment on, they were even. So now, Jiro felt no guilt in tormenting his former master.

"Looks like you still can't finish this guy off."

As the battle raged on, Yuuki appeared. The lingering scent of GOD clung to him, and Acacia's attention immediately snapped to him.

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