"Stop shouting, I'm fine!"
Izayoi scratched his head, dusted himself off, and climbed out of the crater.
After boasting that "a monster like this is a piece of cake," he'd been blasted away on the spot. It was a little embarrassing.
Despite falling from the sky at ten times the speed of sound, he was completely unscathed. Aside from a bit of dust, he felt no discomfort whatsoever.
Seeing this, Pest was less concerned with how durable the monster was and more curious about how this guy's clothes were made. How could the quality be so good?
As if sensing her confusion, Kudou Asuka spoke up from the side.
"The Type-A Third Stellar Particle can also be used to develop clothing. According to Lady Shiroyasha, its texture is on par with divine-tier equipment. It's just that the thread-like stellar structure is difficult to weave, so Miss Pest's clothes will probably take another two days to finish."
"Ah..."
Hearing the familiar term, Pest froze for a moment before exclaiming in surprise.
"The same technological platform as that monster... and you're using it to make clothes?"
What a colossal waste of resources!
"Solving civilian problems is the key to resolving world conflicts, more so than fighting. I don't think there's anything wrong with my research focus."
Saigou Homura said stubbornly, as if sensing Pest's doubt.
But after he spoke, he looked up at the monster and added dejectedly.
"Although, looking at it now, even if I don't develop offensive weapons, I should have at least developed defensive ones. That was my miscalculation."
The existence of the Bull of Heaven made him realize the naivety of his "stockpile food, not guns" philosophy.
Even if you don't develop weapons, you should at least have enough body armor!
"But research isn't something that can be solved in a moment. The problem right now is this monster!"
Saigou Homura looked at the Bull of Heaven in the sky, a headache coming on.
After the massive explosion that had shaken nearly all of Tokyo, the combusting hydrogen and oxygen had formed water vapor. This vapor, heated by the residual energy, turned to steam before the creature finally returned to its original form.
Izayoi's attack hadn't just failed to cause any damage; it had also allowed the monster to destroy a good chunk of the ecological park.
"Dammit! My fists can't even touch this thing, but its explosions can hit me!"
The grimy Izayoi recounted the exchange.
"It can return to its original form after exploding... Isn't that basically immortality? How are we supposed to fight this thing?"
Ordinary mysteries or curses had no effect on Izayoi, but the high temperature and pressure from combusting hydrogen and oxygen weren't the type of thing he could just be immune to.
He couldn't land a hit, while his opponent could go on a one-sided rampage. This kind of enemy was a perfect counter to Izayoi.
"To be precise, it's not just returning to its original form..."
Saigou Homura, who had been observing the Bull of Heaven's condition, took out a palmtop computer. The screen displayed various assessment data from satellite images, along with projections.
"Whether you look at its volume or humidity, the Bull of Heaven is clearly about ten percent larger after the explosion."
"In other words, not only can it not be destroyed, but it also gets bigger and stronger... Based on the performance evaluation of the Third Stellar Particle, this monster won't hit any significant bottlenecks before it expands to occupy the entire atmosphere."
As he spoke, Saigou Homura swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
"Which means, in the worst-case scenario, this thing could grow into a world-ending monster!"
Just imagine a day when the "Bull of Heaven" controls the vast majority of the planet's water resources, simultaneously converting all the moisture on the surface into hydrogen and oxygen, and then detonating it all at once.
Even if the explosion were limited to the atmosphere and the surface of the biosphere, the force would be enough to shatter the entire Earth, turning it into debris drifting through space.
"A world-ending monster..."
Hearing Saigou Homura's detailed explanation, Izayoi's expression turned grim. He was clearly taking this seriously now.
"This is no laughing matter."
Kudou Asuka also grew tense and let out a small complaint.
"I thought Lord Su Mo's first trial was just for us to warm up, but it turns out to be a world-ending disaster right from the start. Even for a trial to select saviors, isn't this difficulty a bit too high?"
No matter how strong they were, they couldn't be expected to face a world-ending disaster right off the bat, could they?
At this, Kudou Asuka looked at Black Rabbit with suspicion and asked.
"Are you sure this is just the first trial? Just an ordinary divine beast, and not a monster on the level of what Teacher Canary used to call a Final Trial of Humanity?"
"The Bull of Heaven really is just a divine beast!"
Little Black Rabbit waved her hands and explained.
"But, if I had to say, it's not exactly an ordinary one. It was once a member of the Final Trials of Humanity, but because it was defeated and its secrets unraveled long ago, it was downgraded to an ordinary divine beast or a demon lord."
"A former Final Trial of Humanity? No wonder it has world-ending potential."
Izayoi nodded in understanding.
"I didn't expect an enemy of this difficulty. I'm starting to get a little fired up."
"Don't get fired up just yet. Help me think of a countermeasure. Starting with a world-ending monster is terrifying, but honestly, this is a hurdle we couldn't have avoided."
Saigou Homura scratched his head and said.
"Given the immense value of the Third Stellar Particle, even if I didn't pursue weapons development, someone else would have sooner or later. This is a challenge we would have had to face no matter what."
A factor meant for salvation being used for world destruction—that's always been an unavoidable situation.
The issue isn't about prohibiting such a possibility from developing, but about how to overcome it.
"Speaking of which, the Bull of Heaven's characteristics do line up with the legends of the divine beast from mythology. It's a divine beast born from cumulonimbus clouds, yet it causes droughts on the land. This must reflect its ability to strip moisture from the natural world to fuel its own cycle."
Saigou Homura muttered his analysis, seemingly trying to find a breakthrough in mythology.
"Mythology..."
Hearing Saigou Homura's analysis, Kudou Asuka paused for a few seconds, then suddenly turned to the rabbit-eared little girl who had been following them.
"Black Rabbit!"
"Eh? What is it?"
The rabbit-eared girl looked over in confusion.
Kudou Asuka said.
"This divine beast called the Bull of Heaven also existed in the Little Garden. Do you know how it was defeated by Gilgamesh and Enkidu?"
The quick-witted Kudou Asuka had thought of a convenient strategy: copy the answer.
Others might not know how to deal with it, but as a dependant of the gods and buddhas, Little Black Rabbit should know, right?
"No! That kind of leading question is forbidden!"
Little Black Rabbit took a step back and shook her head.
"Ensuring your safety is one thing, but you can't rely on my power to subjugate the monster. Not even for a hint."
"So strict?"
Kudou Asuka hadn't given up yet.
"Of course it's this strict!"
Black Rabbit nodded, then added.
"Of course, even if I wanted to answer, I couldn't. After all, that happened during the dawn of the Little Garden. I'm just a moon rabbit who wasn't born that long ago, so how could I possibly know about things from so far back!"
Her words were perfectly reasonable, but...
"A useless rabbit, as expected."
Kudou Asuka sighed and looked away.
"A laugh at the Little Garden Aristocrat's expense."
You Kasukabe also shook her head in disappointment.
"The shame of the Little Garden Aristocrats."
Izayoi sighed along with them.
"You idiots! You got a problem with my title as a Little Garden Aristocrat?"
The rabbit-eared girl was instantly flustered, but she didn't forget what was important.
"If you have a problem, I'll reason with you after the subjugation is over... As for now, even if you try to taunt me, don't even think about making me cheat here!"
Seeing that Little Black Rabbit absolutely wouldn't budge, the group exchanged glances and gave up on trying to coax her further.
"By the way, Lady Asuka, is your power effective against that monster?"
Izayoi Saigou suddenly asked.
Unlike him, who specialized in martial arts, Kudou Asuka's Gift was a control or amplification type, so it might be useful against it.
"If it's just the verbal control of my Prestige, it's useless."
Kudou Asuka shook her head.
She had tried it from the very beginning, but the "Bull of Heaven" didn't react to her commands at all.
"Makes sense. It is a divine beast, after all..."
Izayoi wasn't surprised.
"Your Prestige can't even interfere with this rabbit when you use words, let alone the Bull of Heaven, a divine beast that was a former Final Trial of Humanity."
"Mm."
Kudou Asuka nodded, not feeling that his words were meant to belittle her.
Ignoring Black Rabbit's nonsense like "What rabbit? I'm a Little Garden Aristocrat, a dependant of Lord Su Mo!", she continued.
"If I were to use other Type-A products, my ability could indeed produce a significant effect, but there doesn't seem to be anything that can cause actual damage to this monster."
Kudou Asuka's Gift, Prestige, could amplify a spark to the level of nuclear heat or an electric current to the level of a heavenly thunderbolt. Its amplification effect on Type-A technology products was even greater.
However, breaking through the "Bull of Heaven's" immortality would not be so easy.