Chapter 272

Haruto stared at the Venomous Dragon as the last traces of life rapidly faded from its body.

After a moment of thought, he took out a piece of Magic-Sealing Ore he had collected earlier, a chunk nearly as long as his forearm.

Holding it firmly, he pushed the ore directly into the wound where his Nen blade had pierced the monster’s brain.

The Venomous Dragon, which had still been twitching faintly, instantly went completely still.

Its final trace of life disappeared.

Haruto released his grip and jumped down from the creature’s enormous head.

After briefly telling Frieren and the others what he had done, he stared intently at the corpse and waited.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

The Venomous Dragon did not collapse.

Its body remained completely intact.

"It worked!"

Haruto could not suppress a smile.

He had already been fairly confident that the method would succeed, but actually seeing the result still brought considerable relief.

"Looks like it."

Frieren walked over, crouched beside the corpse, and examined it.

The outcome did not particularly surprise her.

Based on their earlier deductions, she had estimated the method had at least a ninety-percent chance of working. Failure would have been far more surprising.

Stark came over as well, staring at the fully preserved corpse in amazement.

Fern finally relaxed and smiled.

Haruto drew his Melk Knife and spun it once between his fingers.

Then he looked toward the three of them with a grin.

"So, now that we’ve got the whole thing preserved... want to try a Venomous Dragon feast?"

"Huh?"

Stark froze.

Then he cautiously pointed out the obvious.

"That’s a Venomous Dragon. Are you sure it’s actually safe to eat?"

Frieren and Fern looked toward Haruto with equal curiosity.

Neither of them had any particular objection to eating monsters anymore. After all, they had already eaten mimic meat.

But a highly poisonous monster like the Venomous Dragon was clearly a different matter.

"Well..."

Haruto did not answer immediately.

He turned back toward the corpse and used the Gourmet Restaurant’s Ingredient Deconstruction to thoroughly analyze the creature.

A short while later, he looked back at them.

"The skin, venom sacs, and venom glands are extremely poisonous. Even a small amount could be fatal."

"But the meat itself is completely non-toxic."

"More importantly, it’s an exceptionally high-quality ingredient."

Anticipation immediately appeared in Frieren’s eyes.

"That sounds promising."

Haruto’s mimic dishes had been delicious enough to leave a lasting impression on her, so she had no reason to refuse now.

Seeing Frieren’s reaction, Fern and Stark also nodded.

Haruto called Stark over, and together they moved the Venomous Dragon onto a broad, relatively flat section of rock.

Once the enormous carcass had been laid out properly, Haruto stepped forward.

The Melk Knife appeared in his hand.

He did not cut immediately.

Instead, he first wrapped the blade in Nen.

Dense aura gathered around it, extending the knife into a massive blade taller than Haruto himself.

A cold, razor-sharp gleam flowed along its edge, the condensed Nen almost tangible.

Haruto drew a slow breath and tightened his grip.

His gaze locked onto the Venomous Dragon’s body as his concentration sharpened completely.

He mentally reviewed everything Ingredient Deconstruction had shown him—the arrangement of its bones, distribution of muscle, connective tissue, blood vessels, venom glands, and every poisonous structure within its body.

Once he had confirmed everything, Haruto gave a low shout.

"Mighty Bull Blue Dragon Slash!"

His blade swept through the air.

A dazzling arc of cold-white light erupted from the strike and transformed into the image of a majestic azure dragon, scales and claws clearly defined as it flashed across the Venomous Dragon’s body with a resonant dragon roar.

The wind from the slash swept through the cavern.

Yet the enormous corpse did not move in the slightest.

Then, a moment later, the Venomous Dragon’s body separated.

Following the natural gaps between bones, muscles, and connective tissue, the entire carcass came apart almost like a machine being carefully disassembled.

Every cut was smooth as a mirror.

Not even the finest muscle fibers had been torn or damaged.

The severed surfaces of blood vessels and connective tissue were perfectly clean, without so much as a drop of blood spraying outward.

More importantly, every venomous gland, sac, and contaminated tissue had been separated flawlessly from the edible portions.

Not a trace of poison had touched the meat.

"Th-That was a slash?"

Stark’s axe slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a clang.

He stood frozen, mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.

As a warrior, he had never seen swordsmanship like this.

It was more outrageous than any sword technique he had ever witnessed.

Frieren’s eyes widened slightly as well.

Himmel had been a swordsman, but even his swordsmanship had never looked this... flashy.

Fern simply watched Haruto with curiosity.

She could tell that the Mighty Bull Blue Dragon Slash was extraordinarily powerful, but she lacked the experience with martial techniques to fully understand just how absurd what she had witnessed really was.

Haruto ignored their reactions and turned his attention back to the dismantled dragon.

He removed the hide, venom sacs, venom glands, and other toxic materials and stored them separately.

Those parts could still be useful for Poison-type Pokémon.

Haruto himself might not have much need for them, but if he brought them to the Pokémon world, he could probably trade them for something valuable.

Once the toxic portions were dealt with, Haruto selected three cuts of meat for cooking.

The first was a large section of loin.

The skin had been removed completely, leaving only a thin layer of subcutaneous fat. The meat itself was fine-grained and pale pink, almost like cherry blossoms.

The second was belly meat from beneath the ribs.

Layers of fat and lean meat overlapped like frost patterns, distributed with near-perfect uniformity.

Snow-white streaks of fat ran through the crimson flesh, making it easy to imagine the rich aroma that would emerge once the fat melted over a fire.

The third cut came from the hind leg.

Because the Venomous Dragon constantly relied on those powerful limbs, the muscle was incredibly dense and firm, almost like compact marble, with a deep rose-red color.

Haruto placed the three cuts on separate boards and began preparing each one with a different marinade.

If they had been aboveground, he would have liked to test the Rapid Seasoning Spell he had obtained from Serie.

Unfortunately, magic was completely unusable inside the Magic-Sealing Ore deposit.

Thankfully, Nen was unaffected.

Haruto began with the loin.

He kept the entire piece intact rather than cutting it, preserving as much juice as possible.

Then he rubbed it evenly with finely ground Wuu Volcano Salt, glowing umbrella mushroom, and a small amount of fruit wine.

Afterward, he wrapped his hands in Nen and began massaging the meat, guiding the marinade deep into the flesh.

Next came the belly meat.

Haruto sliced against the grain, cutting it into pieces exactly five millimeters thick.

Every slice was perfectly even.

He placed them into a small bowl, then poured over a soy-sauce-based marinade containing salt produced by Nacli, Dryad pollen, and several other seasonings.

He mixed everything thoroughly by hand until every slice was evenly coated.

Finally, Haruto turned to the hind-leg meat.

He cut the dense muscle into two-centimeter cubes, leaving a small amount of connective tissue in each piece.

Then he picked up his new metal staff.

And used it to pound the meat.

Repeatedly.

The heavy staff broke down the tough connective tissue and loosened the muscle fibers, ensuring that the meat would not become dry and chewy after grilling.

For the marinade, Haruto used concentrated sea salt from the One Piece world, Oran Berry, and several additional seasonings.

Once all three cuts had finished marinating, he began preparing the grill.

Haruto divided the charcoal into two heat zones.

The left and right sides were maintained at a steady low temperature, while the center burned with fierce flames.

The first cut to go onto the grill was the whole loin.

He placed it fat-side down over the low-heat section.

Cooking the loin demanded precise heat control.

It had to be roasted slowly at low temperature. If the heat became too intense, the delicate interior would toughen, its juices would escape, and the melt-in-the-mouth texture would be lost.

Haruto watched the meat closely.

The fat gradually contracted and began releasing a thin sheen of oil, producing a gentle sizzling sound as the aroma of roasted dragon meat slowly spread through the cavern.

Every so often, Haruto touched the surface lightly with his fingertips.

He even used Nen to sense changes in the temperature inside the meat, carefully monitoring its doneness.

Before long, the fatty side had developed a light golden crust while the center still retained a tender pinkness with the faintest trace of red.

Haruto immediately turned it over.

Once every surface had been lightly roasted, he brought out a prepared sauce.

The amber-colored glaze sat in a ceramic bowl.

It had been simmered from Sweet Honey, soy sauce, and several spices until thick enough to pull into fine threads, with sweetness and savoriness balanced perfectly.

Using a brush, Haruto coated the loin with a thin layer.

The sauce slowly seeped into the surface under the gentle heat, gradually developing a beautiful caramelized sheen.

Once glazed, the loin only needed to continue slow-roasting, so Haruto left it alone for the time being.

He turned his attention to the hind-leg cubes.

Those went directly into the intense central heat zone.

Flames rose nearly half a meter high.

The instant the meat touched the grill—

Sssshhh!

Juices seeped from the surface and were immediately scorched away by the fierce heat, combining with the marinade to form a dark-brown crust.

Haruto continuously turned the cubes, making sure every side received equal exposure to the flames and developed a perfect sear that locked the juices inside.

Then he brushed each piece with a thick layer of sauce.

The glaze caramelized under the intense heat and fused with the crust, adding another layer of flavor.

Once the exterior was finished, Haruto moved the cubes to the low-temperature section so the centers could slowly cook through.

He reduced the central heat slightly.

Then he laid the thin slices of belly meat across the grill.

Flames licked the meat.

The snowflake-like marbling immediately began melting with a rich sizzling sound, and droplets of rendered fat fell onto the charcoal below, sending up fragrant bursts of smoke.

Haruto moved quickly.

Each slice remained over the heat for only a matter of seconds.

The moment both sides changed color and the fat had fully rendered, he flipped or removed it without wasting even half a second.

Any longer would make the meat tough and ruin the rich, tender texture created by its heavy marbling.

Just before the belly slices were finished, Haruto rapidly brushed them with sauce.

A final burst of flame swept across the surface.

The glaze clung to the meat and caramelized instantly.

The aroma reached its peak.

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