Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group

[God's Tongue]: @Star Forger Kenji, why is this apple so strange? It has a human face.

Erina stared at the Surprise Apple with its terrified human face, feeling her appetite vanish. It looked like something from a bizarre food show. It even had teeth, for crying out loud. Why was it so anthropomorphic? It felt like it could eat things just like a human. But the fruity aroma was making her swallow her saliva. It was surely delicious, but she would need to mentally prepare herself first.

[Miss Pink Elf♪]: I agree, Erina-chan. I don't feel like I can take a bite ♪.

A cute girl like her really didn't like this sort of thing. The initial dot-eye version was acceptable, but after being scared, the expression was simply too grotesque.

[Star Forger]: This is a special ingredient, the Surprise Apple. The more frightened it is, the more delicious it tastes.

[Ahoge King]: If you peel it, it's very delicious. An amazingly delicious taste.

In any case, no matter the ingredient, it was better than Sir Gawain's mashed potatoes.

Gawain: My king, you...

[Gudako]: This ingredient is so interesting! I'm going to hang it over Mash's bed, so when she opens her eyes in the morning... Jyejyejye...

[The Champion]: Mash really suffers, having to deal with you.

If her mental fortitude wasn't strong, she'd probably faint on the spot.

[Miss Pink Elf♪]: Yes, the cute little eggplant would be much better off with me ♪

Ellie, Kenji thought, I can hear your scheming all the way from my world.

[Gudako]: What are you talking about? Maybe Mash and I can even play Happy Beans together later.

Kenji's mouth twitched. Are those "Happy Beans" the wholesome kind?

Crack—

A faint cracking sound suddenly reached his ears. Kenji's heart stirred, and he looked toward the egg in his dimensional space. The Cryophoenix egg had begun to shake, and cracks were appearing on its surface.

"Atashino! It's hatching!" Kenji found Atashino and shouted.

"?"

"What's hatching?" Atashino was taken aback and didn't immediately understand. Did he want her to deliver a baby?

"This..." Kenji placed the egg in the yard.

Atashino was surprised. She hadn't expected it to hatch so soon. She was so excited to see what this legendary creature looked like.

Crack— Crack—

The shaking grew more violent, and more cracks appeared. An astonishingly cold air surged out, and the surrounding ground began to freeze over. The Battle Wolf Lotta opened his eyes, his gaze becoming sharp.

SCREEE—

A clear, long cry rang out, and a featherless bird appeared. Its pupils had ice-blue snowflake patterns, and mysterious, ancient markings were faintly visible on its body.

"So ugly," Kenji blurted out.

"SCREEE—!" As a Cryophoenix, its intelligence was not low. It understood what Kenji had said, and its anger erupted like a volcano. It opened its beak and unleashed a vintage '82 frost breath. The extreme low temperature instantly froze Kenji into a block of ice.

Kenji was now a beautiful, frozen man.

"!"

Atashino was astonished. It had just been born, yet it could unleash an attack of this magnitude. As expected of a creature that could contend with the Eight Kings. She wasn't worried about Kenji, though.

Sizzle— Hiss—

The ice encasing Kenji's body rapidly melted, evaporated, and disappeared.

"Really not a nice bird," Kenji grumbled. It was the first time he had ever been frozen in a block of ice. If it had been Toriko, he would still be trying to figure out how to break free. This was even colder than the Ice Hell.

Crunch—

The Cryophoenix couldn't be bothered with him and began to devour the eggshells on the ground. The shells contained immense energy, allowing it to bypass the weakness of its fledgling stage.

After swallowing all the eggshells, the featherless bird instantly transformed. Its body was now covered in magnificent ice-blue feathers, making it countless times more beautiful than before. Its divine appearance was like that of a celestial beast from an immortal realm. Its body also grew several times larger. When it first hatched, it was about a meter long; now, it was an astonishing eight meters long and stood about three meters tall.

Good heavens, is this growth rate even reasonable? Kenji was full of question marks. Is it hacking?

SCREEE!

A clear cry pierced the clouds, echoing between heaven and earth like a sound that could split stone. The Cryophoenix spread its wings, each feather shimmering with a crystalline light. Though it was summer, snowflakes suddenly began to fall.

Following its cry, the calls of birds came from all directions, like a symphony of nature, melodious and rhythmic. All the birds that appeared in their line of sight—Rock Vultures, Curry Peacocks, Cake Ostriches, and more—all bowed their heads.

The phoenix cries in the heavens, and a hundred birds pay homage. This was the suppression that came from its bloodline.

Gourmet World, Third Area.

The Emperor Crow—the Bird King—looked toward the Human World at that moment, a hint of surprise in its eyes.

So it's that one... The Bird King recognized the Cryophoenix. It was an oddball. Despite having immense power, it had no interest in the throne, preferring to live in solitude and rarely participating in any conflicts. There was more than one Bird King, but since ancient times, there had only ever been one Cryophoenix on Earth. Through its divine skill of Nirvana, the Cryophoenix watched the clouds rise and fall, and the seas change over eons.

However, the Bird King wasn't interested in the Cryophoenix. It was a homebody bird, through and through.

"I'll give you two choices now," Kenji said to the phoenix. "Become Atashino's partner, or leave this place."

"If you stay, you get free room and board."

"..."

The Cryophoenix thought for a moment, then nuzzled its head against Atashino. The cool touch made her let out a contented sigh. It would make a great air conditioner in the summer. It was only because it found this human, Atashino, very kind. As a proud Cryophoenix, it definitely wasn't staying for the free food. In any case, it was all the same to it where it lived, as long as it didn't have to fight often.

Kenji and Atashino looked at each other, stunned by how agreeable it was.

"Cryophoenix... I'll call you Icy for short?"

The Cryophoenix had no objection. It was just a name, after all. It didn't care about such things. It wasn't like she was naming it "Doggie Number Two."

"Its aura is even stronger than Coco's Kiss," Kenji noted with a nod. Kiss was just one member of the Emperor Crow flock, but this Cryophoenix alone could represent its entire species. It lacked nothing in terms of lineage or bloodline. However, it didn't have a competitive spirit; otherwise, the title of an Eight King would surely belong to it.

"What a beautiful creature. Its strength should be comparable to an Archon's." Raiden Makoto's voice sounded in Kenji's ear. Although she didn't have a body, her consciousness could occasionally see the outside world.

"Its upper limit is far beyond an Archon's. Can you destroy Teyvat?" Kenji asked with a smile.

"How is that possible? Even Morax couldn't do that," Makoto said, speechless. If the Archons could casually blow up Teyvat, the planet would have been destroyed countless times during the Archon War.

In contrast, among the Eight Kings, it seemed all of them could destroy the Earth. The Horse King's snort, the Dragon King's extra-dimensional laser, the Battle Wolf's stomp... they all controlled their power. If they really went all out on the Earth, the little planet would be in great peril.

"Your world is a bit too overpowered," Makoto grumbled. "By the way, when will the Kitsune Saiguu be able to awaken?"

Makoto was now residing in a special space Kenji had created, where the abundant starlight nourished their souls every moment.

"Her situation is even worse than yours. It will be some time before she can communicate." The Kitsune Saiguu had been swallowed whole by filth, and very little of her was left. Her situation was just as bad as Himeko's.