"In that case, you can take some of the Corona Sunflowers here, but not too much," said Ayame with a serious expression.
The Corona Sunflowers were the energy supply for the seal behind them. Taking a few was fine, but if too many were removed, the seal would be undone entirely. Though she didn't know what was being sealed, its confinement alone implied great danger.
"I understand. After all, I know something about you… and also about your old partner, Girim. He's joined the Bishokukai now," Zed informed her.
"Joined… Bishokukai? Why?" Ayame's face paled in shock.
Girim was once her closest partner and a respected friend of the IGO. Why had he turned to the enemy?
"They say it's for a certain ingredient. As for the specifics… I don't know."
Of course, Zed knew the truth. Girim had betrayed the IGO and Ayame in his obsessive pursuit of Acacia's Full Course. He joined Bishokukai to search for the lost location of the Old First Ecological Zone—ironically guarded now by the one he abandoned: Ayame.
"For an ingredient... Yes, that sounds like him," Ayame said bitterly. "His strength grew fast, and so did his ambition. He dreamed of monopolizing every top-tier ingredient in the world—a foolish fantasy doomed from the start."
Even back then, she had warned him. But Girim, blinded by greed, cast her aside and chose a darker path. It made sense now—his temperament suited Bishokukai all too well.
Seeing her troubled expression, Zed said no more. Instead, he began carefully transplanting several Corona Sunflowers into his Planting Space. The flowers, radiant with life, were rare—each producing only one or two seeds after blooming. This was why Ayame had only been able to grow a few after all these years.
But Zed had an advantage. Within his Planting Space, time was compressed, growth accelerated, and difficulty reduced. Given time, he could cultivate the Corona Sunflowers on a large scale—something unimaginable to ordinary chefs or cultivators.
Once done, he selected one flower and prepared to consume it to break the 100th level of his Gourmet Cells.
The method was simple: extract the golden liquid inside. Twisting the bloom gently, a single shimmering drop emerged. Without hesitation, Zed swallowed it.
At once, golden light surged from his core, intensifying until a glowing orb—like a miniature sun—formed at his heart. His cells ignited, rapidly evolving beyond anything he had experienced before.
This was the moment of transcendence. His Gourmet Cell Level shattered the threshold of 100—a limit that divided the Human World from the Gourmet World.
There were two main reasons for this monumental surge: one, crossing the 100-level threshold itself, and two, the extraordinary nature of the Corona Sunflower. Though not on the level of theatrical ingredients, within the Human World, it stood among the finest.
As his transformation continued, his Gourmet Demon emerged in full—a massive phantom of raw power—its presence blanketing the entire Old First Ecological Zone with terrifying pressure. Thankfully, Zed had isolated the aura to avoid harming others nearby.
Yet, even more critical than the surge in strength was the system update that followed.
New knowledge filled Zed's mind—answers he had long sought. The system revealed the truth of Erina Nakiri and the others' arrival in this world.
When Zed was summoned here, he tore through the world barrier, leaving behind a rift—an unstable gap. The world Erina and the others came from was weaker, and because of their narrative importance in that world, they were pulled through the rift into this one.
But now, with the system's update, something had changed. Zed could access the coordinates of their original world. This meant he could now return—and also enter their world.
As the golden light faded and his transformation settled, Zed tested his strength with a level meter.
"Just as I thought… It can't even register it."
The tester failed—it could only measure up to Level 100. Beyond that, it was obsolete. A new generation of devices would be needed to gauge his power.
Still, he could feel it. His strength now surpassed even the Four Heavenly Kings at their peak during the Four Beasts arc. If he fought his past self, he could win in a second.
The others gasped as they saw the tester's failure.
"There's more," Zed added, "but first, I need to capture the ingredient inside that seal."
"You're going to unseal it?!" Ayame exclaimed.
"Don't worry. I won't touch the Corona Sunflowers that power it. I'm disabling the energy transmission instead."
Raising his left hand, a colossal spoon manifested and dug into the ground, lifting the entire altar into the air. The seal's energy supply was cut, but the flowers remained untouched.
As the transmission stopped, the massive sealing mechanism began to glow red. With a rumble, the seal slowly opened.
"You're certain you can handle whatever's inside?" Ayame asked warily.
"I wouldn't joke about this," Zed replied. "I know what's inside—the Wolf Fire Dragon."
Back when he was weaker, Zed wouldn't have dared touch it. But now, his cell level had soared far beyond the threshold. He was ready.
The seal fully released, revealing a titanic creature.
The Wolf Fire Dragon emerged—its massive claws anchoring atop several mountain peaks. Despite the smaller mountains, its body stretched more than ten kilometers in length. A walking cataclysm.
Now Zed understood why the Battle Wolf had destroyed its species. The Wolf Fire Dragon's size made it a giant target despite its power. The Battle Wolf, though not as large, possessed elite members strong enough to rival the Eight Kings.
This one—perhaps the last of its kind—had likely been preserved by the Red Nitro.
"That's… definitely a wolf," someone whispered.
Zed confirmed, "It lived in the Gourmet World during ancient times. It's the last known Wolf Fire Dragon."
Before the beast could fully awaken, Zed vanished.
Appearing at its head, he struck first: "Grand Knocking: Concentrated!"
This move, often used for wide-range destruction, was focused into a pinpoint soul-infused strike.
BOOM!
A blast of compressed energy slammed into the Wolf Fire Dragon's forehead. Its front legs lifted from the earth, and its body collapsed backward, flattening a mountain.
The single blow—delivered with physical and soul power—had nearly disabled it entirely. The Wolf Fire Dragon's defenses remained formidable, but Zed targeted its weakest point: the brow.
The beast staggered but didn't die.
Zed knew what he wanted—to destroy it from the soul level.
Two more strikes followed—each empowered with his Food Soul energy.
Crack—
The soul of the Wolf Fire Dragon shattered.
Its body froze, now only a husk—a massive, motionless creature. Yet, even without its soul, it lived.
Unable to store it in his space, Zed drew his First Generation Melk Knife—a blade forged to cut the legendary ingredient Air. It was not a combat weapon, but a perfect tool for this moment.
He sliced cleanly through the beast's neck.
"Like slicing tofu," Zed marveled.
The Wolf Fire Dragon's head dropped, lifeless. Quickly, he stored the meat and the blade.
From unsealing to decapitation, it had taken him less than thirty seconds.