“Sergeant Shin!”  

Corporal Jeon Gwang-il’s hand reached out towards Sergeant Shin Young-joon, who was fleeing to avoid the attack.  

But the moment the black shadow touched the tip of Sergeant Shin’s foot,  

Swoosh.  

“…Good heavens.”  

He disappeared completely from that place.  

As if he never existed there in the first place.  

“Sergeant Shin…”  

“Sergeant Shin has disappeared!”  

“Those bastards…”  

When Shin Young-joon’s figure vanished, confusion spread among the soldiers of the legion.  

Guild Leader, the commander of the [Steel Legion].  

His role is not just that of a guild leader.  

After all, it was this light that allowed them to overwhelm the vampires, who had numerical superiority.  

Wasn’t that created by Sergeant Shin Young-joon?  

The claim that he accounted for 70% of the legion’s combat power was not an exaggeration.  

Whenever a crisis befell the legion, he would resolve everything with inspired improvisation.  

While the degree may vary, most of the legionnaires felt indebted to him.  

“Did the Queen take the enemy’s leader?”  

“I’m not sure, but it seems that leader was the majority of their combat power.”  

Unlike the flustered legionnaires,  

The vampires began to gain momentum.  

“Hahaha. The combat power of those fellows who lost their leader has dropped by more than half.”  

“You did well in killing their comrades.”  

“You inferior beings. Now it’s our turn…”  

The vampires, wielding weapons, approached.  

But they were mistaken about one thing.  

“These bastards…”  

It’s true that Sergeant Shin Young-joon accounted for the majority of the legion’s combat power.  

But his buffs were achieved through cooking.  

Once the food was eaten, the buffs would persist even if the chef, Shin Young-joon, disappears.  

And.  

Those who felt indebted to Sergeant Shin Young-joon, their fury had only one target in this situation.  

“How dare they do this to Sergeant Shin…”  

“They won’t die so easily.”  

The battlefield was already tilting in favor of the legion.  

And the Queen, who had single-handedly faced many elite soldiers, had also disappeared, just like Shin Young-joon.  

In other words,  

“Aaaaargh!”  

“What, what is this?”  

“They said 70% of our power would disappear, but not at all!”  

Enraged legionnaires swung their weapons.  

“Kill them!”  

“Avenge Sergeant Shin!!!”  

“Don’t kill them easily! Make them suffer as much as possible!”  

The soldiers, engulfed in the madness of fury.  

The battle with the vampires did not last long.  

“Ugh, ugh…”  

“You are the last one.”  

Jeon Gwang-il’s blood-stained glove grabbed and lifted the head of the last vampire.  

“Please, spare…”  

Crack.  

His one hand tore out and crushed the vampire’s heart.  

The battle ended in victory, but there wasn’t any celebration.  

“Sergeant Shin…”  

“Damn it.”  

After descending from the mountain range, this was the largest-scale battle they had experienced.  

The overall situation was in the legion’s favor, but casualties were inevitable.  

The first fatalities on the ground.  

“Of all people, it had to be Sergeant Shin…”  

“What are we supposed to do now?”  

Despair settled on the soldiers’ faces.  

Reorganizing the troops and returning would not be difficult.  

If one of the other squad leaders took over as the guild leader, the guild itself could be maintained.  

But Shin Young-joon and the dishes he created were the core of the legion’s combat power.  

With him gone, the moment they encountered forces even similar to, or weaker than, the vampires, the legion would face the crisis of total annihilation.  

“Ugh.”  

“Damn it…”  

While most of the soldiers were despairing over this fact and grieving over Shin Young-joon’s disappearance,  

“You’re all worrying about useless things.”  

Someone broke the somber mood with those words.  

A recently joined survivor, Jeong Soo-ah.  

“…What do you mean by that?”  

The soldiers glared at her with hostility.  

Squad Leader Lee Sang-ah looked at her sternly and said,  

“I heard you were about to live your entire life as a blind person.”  

“That’s right.”  

“You did mention in the past that Commander Shin Young-joon saved you, right?”  

“That’s correct.”  

“…And yet, you speak so lightly about it? If you had any sense of gratitude at all…!”  

As the soldiers’ anger was about to explode at her brazen attitude,  

“So, I’m telling you not to worry about unnecessary things.”  

Jeong Soo-ah spoke with a serene expression instead.  

“There’s no way my benefactor would die from something like this.”  

“…What?”  

“He’s the one who made me, a blind person, see again.”  

It was as if something overwhelming was stirring within her.  

Jeong Soo-ah spread her arms wide.  

“With just seven dishes, he fed hundreds of people, and the soldiers fighting under his grace were clad in a sacred light to eradicate evil. It was a miracle. Do you really not understand what this means?”  

“…?”  

“It means that he is the Messiah who came down to save this chaotic world.”  

Finally,  

“Ah…”  

People who realized what she was trying to say scowled.  

“Ha, there were always people like that.”  

“Since the day of destruction, people obsessed with strange religious beliefs…”  

“I hadn’t seen any since joining this unit. They must have been hiding.”  

In an instant, civilization had crumbled, and people had to lose many precious things.  

With their wounded hearts,  

Some sought healing through religion.  

“Savior, my foot…”  

“There were so many cults spewing that nonsense.”  

Those who had been fighting to survive on the surface were already fed up with cultists.  

“The commander is dead. We are also saddened, but it is an unavoidable truth. Miss Soo-ah, it must be heartbreaking, but… you have to accept it.”  

“We don’t even have the luxury to mourn properly. Stop spewing nonsense. It’s annoying…”  

No one paid attention to her words.  

“Well, soon enough, we will see who is right—me or you.”  

“Stop talking nonsense.”  

“Shall I make a prophecy?”  

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Jeong Soo-ah continued speaking.  

“He will come back soon as if nothing happened. Just like Jesus returned after three days, he will overcome death and return.”  

“Hey, hey. Someone shut her up.”  

“You will realize that I was right when the time comes…”  

As one of the soldiers approached to silence her.