Blue Grill was fully prepared. On Kael's side, the modifications to PAIR were complete. After the adjustment, eating it would no longer cause a gender change. Instead, once consumed, the eater would be able to clearly see the Food Spirits.
At the same time, eating PAIR was the key to entering the World of Souls.
With everything ready, Kael set off for the Area 6. This time, the one accompanying him wasn't just anyone—
It was Ichiryu, the President of IGO.
As for Midora, he planned to continue tracking Joie's whereabouts, so he headed to the Area 1. Before leaving, Ichiryu and the others reminded him to be careful. The waters there ran deep.
Kael understood the situation well. If it were only Joie, even adding the Blue Nitro into the mix, they wouldn't pose much trouble for Midora.
But Acacia was there too.
Even though Acacia hadn't made a move yet, he was already getting restless. Under those circumstances, going to the Area 1 was extremely dangerous.
Midora, however, didn't care.
All he wanted was to kill that bastard Joie.
And Midora wasn't someone to underestimate. Surviving in this world for hundreds of years wasn't a joke. He knew how to guard against enemies. He knew how to escape if necessary.
He didn't like running—but he understood one thing.
Before killing Joie, he absolutely would not die.
Recently, Midora had also grown interested in Food Luck.
After all, it had blocked one of his attacks—completely unharmed. Midora had never possessed Food Luck himself, so now it had caught his attention.
He was wondering if he could replicate it.
If he could copy Food Luck, future battles would become much easier. At the very least, he'd be able to avoid devastating attacks like that.
As for Jiro, he chose to accompany Setsuno. The two of them headed into the Gourmet World to investigate certain matters.
In the end, only Ichiryu came with Kael.
One reason was that Ichiryu was the most familiar with this place—he had been to Blue Grill before. Another was simple: Kael needed protection from a top-tier powerhouse.
Kael didn't refuse.
Even though his strength wasn't weak anymore, facing those late-stage monsters who could erase people in an instant was still troublesome. The Blue demon protected him, sure—but having a true powerhouse guarding him wasn't a bad thing.
Kael could command the Blue demon, but he couldn't detect enemies in advance. That was one of the drawbacks of a Gourmet Demon without consciousness.
Without awareness, he could control it freely.
But here was the problem—other people's Gourmet Demons could sense the outside world. If they detected danger, as long as the host wasn't compromised, they would emerge on their own to help.
Of course, that came with a downside.
No matter what you did, your Gourmet Demon would see it.
Gourmet Demons and humans were completely different species—but at the end of the day, they were still intelligent beings.
Conscious or not, each had its pros and cons.
As for Kael—
He preferred the unconscious type.
Under Ichiryu's protection, the two rode a camping Monster and arrived at the Area 6.
This was the Ocean Continent.
As far as the eye could see, there was almost no land. Even the scattered islands that barely broke the surface were constantly drifting in the violent sea currents.
To be honest, the environment was brutal to the extreme.
The water flowed so fast that the islands looked like they were racing across the sea, crashing wildly into one another. Under those conditions, it wouldn't take long for them to shatter completely.
"Still as harsh as ever," Ichiryu said helplessly as he looked out over the Area 6. "I wonder how long it'll take for the traces left by the Eight Kings to fade."
The marks left behind by the Eight Kings lingered for a long time, though not forever. Otherwise, the entire Gourmet World would be scarred by their battles, and no other life could survive.
But this time, it seemed like two of the Eight Kings had truly fought in earnest.
That was why the environment here had become this extreme—and why it would take even longer to return to normal.
"What terrifying power," Kael murmured.
This was his first time seeing it in person. He'd known about it from the manga, but witnessing it firsthand was a completely different experience.
His own strength wasn't weak—but as levels increased, power grew exponentially. The gap between tiers was enormous.
Standing here, he could clearly feel just how overwhelming that power was.
If Ichiryu and the others forced their way in, they could disperse these phenomena.
But acting recklessly here would be seen as a provocation on the Eight Kings' territory.
Supreme powerhouses could come into the Gourmet World to capture ingredients.
But they couldn't casually alter its terrain or natural environment. Doing so would be treated as a challenge by the Eight Kings.
It was like visiting someone else's home. They could treat you to good food and drink—but you couldn't start rearranging their furniture or smashing up the décor.
Otherwise, you weren't a guest anymore.
So even though Ichiryu and the others had the ability to change things, they wouldn't do it.
Unless the Whale King—like the Monkey King Bambina now—was already dead.
"Our escort is here," Ichiryu suddenly said.
Kael looked toward the sea.
There, fishing amid the raging currents, stood the Golden Chef—Jiji.
It had to be said, Jiji's first appearance carried serious presence.
But after thinking about it more carefully, Kael realized—
Jiji was totally showing off.
With currents this intense, even if he himself wasn't affected, there shouldn't be any fish left to catch.
Unless he was planning to hook something like the Level 1600 Bozu.
"Long time no see, Ichi-chan."
Jiji smiled as he greeted him.
His relationship with Ichiryu was excellent. After all, it was Ichiryu who had given names to him and the others.
The Nitro race was special. Before truly understanding humanity, they suppressed their emotions deeply.
Even the Red Nitro were the same.
After meeting Ichiryu, they learned much about human emotion and knowledge from him.
Humans might look weak—but their race had never lacked miracles.
And those miracles were something the Nitro could never produce.
Seeing Ichiryu again now, Jiji was genuinely happy.
After all, the reason he could now act so human—
Was largely thanks to Ichiryu.
_________________________
*The Bonus Chapter*