Barbarian's Path To Multiversal Domination Chapter 13: Dennis Falls In Love

Dennis had appeared at the entrance of the Totsuki Culinary Academy, clad in the Armour of Brutus. He had both of his swords at his side, dagger, crossbow on his back and a hidden blade on each gauntlet. It was safe to say the man looked like he was ready for any kind of battle… unless guns were involved.

He kicked down the wooden gate, which wasn't particularly strong. Though, it was also in part to his growing strength. The Dennis of old wouldn't have so casually taken it down.

Naturally, he drew the eyes of security.

“Who the hell is he?”

“The better question is how did he take down the gate like that…”

“Are those swords real?”

They started talking in Japanese, to which Dennis didn't even bother trying to comprehend them. He smelt the good food miles away, being allured by it.

“Sir, you can't just break into the academy grounds without a permit-”

Without even looking at the guards, he went full sprint.

“He’s getting away!”

The guards didn’t even bother running after him for too long as he had long since left them in the dust.

…

Two combatants stood in the middle of a large arena that was akin to a colosseum, filled with students as spectators. However, this was no ordinary battle where men would wield lethal armaments to slay the other. This was a food battle, formaly known as a Shokugeki. Each of them had an identical kitchen with a multitude of appliances to use.

Their goal? Well, it’s quite self-explanatory. They would cook a dish each and an odd number of judges (three, in this case) would choose which one they prefer. The one with the most votes wins.

But it wasn’t quite as simple as losing and winning - higher stakes were almost always involved.

“Our Chanko Hot Pot Research Society has existed since the founding of this academy. It has a long and glorious history. What do you propose to build after razing our club-room, Nakiri-kun?”

A sumo-wrestler built second year student questioned his opponent, the tenth ranked student and granddaughter of the principal.

“Why, a cooking wing for my personal use. The fifth wing has become cramped, so I need a sixth-”

“Unacceptable!” The fat student interrupted, pointing a finger at Erina Nakiri. “That building is chock full of history and the passion our predecessors poured into their pursuit of food! You seek to trample that in the mud? How dare you call yourself a chef?!”

She looked unfazed by his outburst, looking down on him. After a sigh, Erina gave her reply.

“Is this ‘passion’ you speak of what you call copying your predecessor’s recipes and wasting your budget?”

The student’s eyes and mouth widened in reply, though no words came out.

“In the last few years, your group has accomplished very little.” Erina continued. “A research society that only sings the praises of their past glory is of little use to Totsuki.”

Her death stare led to the student frowning with anger.

“You abuse your power! I can no longer turn a blind eye… if I win, I demand that you leave the Elite Ten!”

“I demand combat, Nakiri Erina!”

She was completely unfazed, putting on her chef hat.

“Then if I win, I will proceed with the construction as planned.”

They came to a mutual agreement, beginning the Shokugeki.

…

The judges scored 3-0 for Erina Nakiri.

“Impossible…” The second-year student couldn't believe it, facing the judges. “Just how did my lobster fall short!?”

Erina walked past him, giving his dish a taste. After only a second, she found all the flaws related to it.

“There were 27 shortcomings in your dosh, senpai. First, the lobster: you blanched it two seconds too long. Secondly, the oysters produced a slight-off flavor that tainted your entire hot pot. As for your vegetables-”

“Stop!” He shouted, in denial. “Then how was your cooking?!”

He proceeded to take a dumpling and the truth unraveled in his mouth. He completely forgot that he was competing as the delicious taste took him tumbling down like a seasoned sumo wrestler.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded.

“There has been a security breach, all students are to be wary of a man armed to the teeth in black and red. If you find him, report the sighting immediately. We are working on apprehending him.”

BANG.

The sound of a door breaking down sounded as the earth shook with each thunderous step. It was as if a bull had charged into the arena. He didn't slow down as he made it to the main stage.

“It seems that this strange man is already here!-”

Dennis whipped out his crossbow and shot the student’s throat.

“YOU ATE MY FOOD!!!”

It was personal.

As the sumo-wrestler-built student clutched his throat, Dennis drew Blackfyre and the Dagger of Brutus at once. With Blackfyre in his left, he sliced off the student’s entire right arm while he stabbed the bottom of his colossal stomach with the dagger. The dagger dug deep before Dennis dragged it all the way up - through the student’s entire stomach.

Blood poured out of the long wound like a fountain, but Dennis wasn't finished.

He let go of both weapons and put his hands through the slit - tearing it open.

“WHERE IS IT, BLAAAYT…”

With a mighty roar, he forced open his entire stomach like a butchered animal.

It was a horrific sight, making some students faint while most felt absolute fear crawl up their backs. Erina Nakiri couldn't believe what she was seeing, being only a couple of steps away. Some of the blood had sprayed into her.

Meanwhile, Dennis clawed through the student’s stomach, in search of the dumpling he had eaten. Eventually, he did find it and savored it - blood, guts, food and all. As the cannibal feasted, no one had the courage to stop him.

Dennis went for seconds.

When he tried her cooking unbloodied and took the first bite, he felt as if he had been KO’d by Mike Tyson himself. He fell to his knees, feeling the dumpling melt in his mouth. The ravioli dish was so delicious that the feeling it gave was akin to meeting a mighty rival who had defeated him.

He wanted more…

Immediately, he took the last dumpling and realized just how amazing food could be. All his life, he had been eating cheap garbage, heavily processed, poorly cooked, bad seasoning - except for the food Grace made him. Even then, this was a whole different realm of deliciousness…

Everything was perfect. Bliss. Paradise. A utopia for his mouth.

It was as if he had lived a lie his entire life and at last… he had grasped the truth of the universe.

“Food… good. Food… is love… food is life.”

Dennis savored every last drop on the plate, going so far as to dash forward to the judges and lick up the atoms on their plates like a hungry dog.

A team of security guards rallied around, though they didn't really have anything to offer in terms of weapons. They weren't police officers.

“All students, evacuate the building immediately!”

Nakiri Erina stepped behind the security, turning away in fright. One of them escorted her out. She had never witnessed a killing, nevermind one so brutal right in front of her face. Whoever this man was, he seemed beyond deranged.

Once he finished eating everything, his eyes flashed and glared at the escaping Erina.

There was chaos in the arena as a swathe of people began running out. Dennis looked unamused by the security, pointing his wrist at one of them and firing off the hidden gun.

BANG.

The bullet went right through the guard’s chest, dropping him to the ground. The rest stood with shocked expressions. As they were dazed by what just happened, Dennis went down and grasped his weapons that he’d dropped. With Blackfyre and the Dagger of Brutus, he carved right through them before aiming to charge out.

Only problem was that the arena exits were covered by hundreds of people with Erina on the other side already.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

Dennis began killing all of the students in front of him, causing even more panic and leading to them running out even quicker. Eventually, he did made it out - only to see Erina getting into a car and being driven away.

Like a madenned dog pumped full of drugs, he chased after her.

Erina looked back with a horrified expression as she saw Dennis running on all fours.

“Drive faster… faster…”

“FOOD… DENNIS WANTS MORE FOOD!”

He eventually straightened himself, going full sprint. His pace was absolutely inhuman as he began catching up to the car. Erina’s heart was rapidly pounding as she was too scared to even look back. What did that madman even want with her? She couldn't understand his language…

“FOOOOOOOD!!!”

Dennis eventually caught up, leaping forward onto the top of the car. He crawled further and drew Blackfyre, piercing through the window and killing the driver.

The car spiralled uncontrollably before Dennis grabbed hold of it and altered the momentum with his strength - stopping it in its tracks.

Erina’s head jolted in response. She quickly turned to the door and opened it, running away as fast as she could.

Dennis was far faster, catching up to her in the local forest and grabbing hold of her arm.

Even though he was forceful, his touch was strangely gentle.

How else could she cook if he broke her? Dennis knew this, treating her like the treasure of his life.

“What… do you want?”

She didn't even look at him, glancing away and closing her eyes. He was like a mountain, literally and figuratively. The pressure of his aura made it hard to breathe as it crashed down onto her timid body.

He grabbed her chin and made her look up at him.

“Yo, look at me.”

She kept her eyes closed.

“Bitch doesn't know English.” Dennis sighed, shaking his head. He stepped back, patiently waiting for her.

It felt all too strange. Usually when someone disobeyed him, he'd use force and get his way. In this regard, he couldn't communicate with words nor hurt her too much or she couldn't cook for him.

He snapped his fingers.

“Grace, where the fuck are you?”

A portal appeared behind him. He grabbed Erina’s shoulder and threw her through before walking in himself.

~

[First cook acquired, Kitchen built.]

The next thing Dennis saw was a modest, clean kitchen. Grace sat on one of the counters, observing the new inhabitant. She smiled while nodding approvingly.

“You have good taste.”

Erina Nakiri looked around, raising an eyebrow.

“We were just in a forest, so how…”

“You're speaking English now?” Dennis looked surprised.

“This place conveniently translates all words into the language you're most familiar with.” Grace explained, shrugging. “Essentially, you're speaking Japanese to her and she's speaking English to you. This way everyone understands each other perfectly.”

“... Okay.” Dennis scratched his hair without thinking too much about it. He turned to Erina. “I want you to cook for me.”

Erina blinked confusedly.

“To put it plainly, Dennis travelled through time and space specifically to have you cook for him. Even better… if you serve a worthy enough banquet, we'll let you go back home before Dennis went full psycho. Isn't that great?”

“That's all?” Erina questioned.

Dennis looked at Grace and she smiled.

“Of course. I even went through the effort of getting all types of ingredients. You're free to cook whatever - but I'd suggest it having meat. Dennis is more of a carnivore.”

“... Very well.”

She took a deep breath, gathering herself and trying to wash away the memory of Dennis’ brutality. Strangely, she found Grace very reassuring. She was the opposite of the brutish and barbaric Dennis; radiant, soft-spoken, eloquent, charming… it was like a beautiful angel standing next to the devil himself. Little did she know, they were both very much devils - only in different ways.

Erina began cooking under the amazed and hungry eyes of Dennis. She worked extremely fast, making dishes appear out of what seemed thin air. Before long, most of Grace’s gathered ingredients had been used in various ways to create a myriad of gourmet dishes.

It was clear that she was trying her best despite the strange and frightening circumstances, sparing no effort.

“I'm do-”

HUM. HUM. HUM.

Dennis began munching before Erina could even announce that she had finished. She watched him gobble down dish after dish like an endless vacuum. It seemed as if there was no end to his appetite.

Meanwhile, to Dennis, each gourmet dish felt like a worthy duel that kept him on the edge of his feet. The feeling was like fighting heavyweight legend after heavyweight legend. George Founier, Sugar Ray, Mike Tyson, Muhammed Ali…

Dennis was in heaven.

When he finished, the man just stood looking at the ceiling with a satisfied face of ecstasy. Not even his greatest battles had made him feel that way, nor Grace in all her beauty.

“So… when can I return home?”

“Hm.”

Grace observed Dennis’ expression and felt a twinge of jealousy. He did not react this way to her cooking. Originally, she had intended to lie to Erina but she began to think that maybe sending her back home wasn't the worst idea. They could always find another chef…

“Right away, of course.”

“No.” Dennis’ face changed as he stepped towards Erina, firmly grabbing her shoulder. “I need you. Stay and cook for me… always.”

“That… wasn't part of the deal.” Erina’s voice trembled slightly as she felt intimidated. “I don't belong in this strange place-”

“Yes, you do.” Dennis countered, his eyes glowing golden. “You belong to me. I took you.”

“It's unfortunate, princess.” Grace spoke with a mocking tone. “Since Dennis decided you'll stay, your only real choices are to either live as a prisoner or accept this new way of life. Suicide is another, I suppose… but we'd just kidnap another Erina and the cycle would repeat itself.”

“Why me?” She questioned. “There are other, better chefs…”

“It’s rare to see you so humble, sweetheart.” Grace smiled, touching the side of her face. “We are not here to hurt you. If anything, this might even be a better place than home. You don't have any responsibilities other than cooking for Dennis. Sure, the place is rather dull at the moment but we can work on it. Hell, we could go on vacations together.”

“I could even bring your secretary and cousin along.”

“Grace, you sort her out. I'm ready to go and fight someone.”

“Already, huh… well, I have a list of tasks for you before your next great conquest. These are requests from our benefactor who will reward each completion handsomely.”

Grace whipped out a clipboard with a sheet of paper, giving it to Dennis. He gave it a read.

~

Task 1: Barbarian’s Lackeys

Description: Recruit five followers to your cause.

Reward: The Whip Of Authority

~

Task 2: Demon vs Demon Round Two

Description: Get vengeance on Robert Baratheon by defeating him in single combat.

Reward: The Demon of the Trident (MAXED loyalty) and a Gym.

~

Task 3: Hey, I Know You

Description: Visit a timeline you've been in before and see the aftermath of your deeds.

Reward: Bathroom.

~

Long-term Goal: Self-Sufficient

Description: Build a farm and provide enough entertainment for your followers to have a pleasant time within your residence.

Reward: Divine Spring of Strength

~

“That's long.” Dennis didn't look interested. “Build a farm? I'm not a farmer.”

“What I suggest you do is defeat Robert Baratheon first, then visit your Brotherhood and recruit some of your assassins who are already loyal to you. That way, you knock off two birds with one stone with hardly any effort. Of course, you could also go visit Rhaegar or Princess Rhaena. Also, don't worry about the last one… it's not supposed to be done immediately.”

Dennis nodded, agreeing to her suggestions.

“I’ve been waiting to fight that horned dolboyob for a while now.”

“Now's your chance.”