With Kudou Asuka on their side, even ordinary weapons could be made to exhibit divine-tier effects.
The divine lightning that Black Rabbit could only control with a simulated Divinity Vajra was something Kudou Asuka could replicate with the simple power-generating mechanism of a lighter.
Although the burst would only last an instant before the ordinary device was destroyed by its inability to handle that level of output, it was true that with enough weapon resources, Kudou Asuka could unleash destructive power on the level of a god—that is, a Four-Digit being.
Even Saigou Izayoi couldn't compare to her in this regard.
However, just as Izayoi's previous attack had been ineffective against the Bull of Heaven, it would be difficult for Kudou Asuka to break through its immortality, even if the power she wielded could take many forms.
The trinity cycle of hydrogen, oxygen, and water vapor was not a pattern that could be broken by sheer force alone.
"It seems both high temperatures and electric shocks only accelerate its immortality cycle," Kudou Asuka said, looking at the thunderstorm raging above the Bull of Heaven's head.
If that weren't the case, it wouldn't be displaying the thunderstorm as one of its innate abilities.
It is often said that fire and water are merciless, but as it happened, both fire and water were aids to the Bull of Heaven's immortality.
"What about freezing?" Kasukabe You asked instinctively.
It was a logical line of thought.
If high temperatures didn't work, then low temperatures should be enough to freeze the Bull of Heaven solid, right?
"Theoretically, water in a low-temperature state is still water, and still part of the immortality cycle of water," Saigou Homura said after a few seconds of thought. "However, at low temperatures, the energy levels within the water molecules are different, and the hydrogen and oxygen atoms are less likely to become free radicals. If we could approach absolute zero, it should theoretically be enough to prevent the explosion."
"So is it useful or not?" Kasukabe You raised her hand, not quite understanding.
"It's impossible to eliminate it without changing the immortality cycle itself," Saigou Homura said, shaking his head. "But in theory, we can at least slow its movement and proliferation, achieving an effect similar to a seal."
When you can't kill something, sealing it is a priority option.
"Alright, then our mission is to seal this big guy first," Izayoi immediately decided, then looked at Kudou Asuka. "Young Lady, can you freeze the entire Bull of Heaven? Preferably to near absolute zero. Are you confident you can do it?"
At absolute zero, the internal energy of molecules drops to its lowest point, which should at least delay the time until the next explosion.
If they could buy that time, Saigou Homura could begin his research on how to seal the Bull of Heaven.
Everyone believed that with his scientific prowess, he would surely find a way to break the Bull of Heaven's immortality.
Of course, that was all predicated on Kudou Asuka being able to buy enough time.
And in response to Izayoi's question...
"Impossible! I can't do it! Did you even pay attention in school?!" Kudou Asuka shot back with a triple denial, looking dumbfounded. "To cool something on the scale of the Bull of Heaven down to absolute zero, do you think that's something an ordinary weapon can accomplish?"
"Besides, even if you managed it, with the Bull of Heaven's volume and the rate at which it exchanges heat with the outside world, do you really think that level of freezing is sustainable?"
The first problem was cooling efficiency, and the second was the continuous energy consumption required to maintain absolute zero.
The former might be boosted by expending more resources, but the latter was clearly a state that couldn't be maintained for long.
Unless the frozen Bull of Heaven was thermally insulated from the outside world, the ambient heat radiation and heat exchange would quickly raise its temperature, causing it to "thaw."
Neither problem was easy to solve.
"It's one thing for Izayoi to be a book-dumb meathead, but Homura, how could you say something so irresponsible!" Kudou Asuka put her hands on her hips and glared at the two of them.
She wanted to help, but it was just impossible!
Faced with Kudou Asuka's questioning, Izayoi shrugged.
"Calling me book-dumb is a bit much. My academic scores aren't that much lower than yours, Young Lady. The reason I didn't mention those two difficulties is because there's a solution for the first one. A while back, Teacher Algol suddenly wanted to have a snowball fight, so Homura created an A-device that could quickly make it snow. It wasn't designed for combat, but since it's built on the Third Stellar Particle framework, it shouldn't break too quickly."
"Building a device like that just for a snowball fight..."
Hearing this, Kudou Asuka's mouth hung open, half in admiration and half in astonishment, before she sighed.
"That's just like Lady Algol. If it's a device made by Homura, the quality is guaranteed. It should at least be able to withstand a few dozen minutes of high-intensity use from me."
"So the first problem is more or less solved, but what about the second?"
Even if she could freeze it, it wouldn't mean much if it only lasted for a few dozen minutes.
So, how could they insulate a monster as massive as the Bull of Heaven from heat exchange with the outside world?
"I don't know either," Izayoi said, shaking his head. "But Homura should know, otherwise he wouldn't have suggested it!"
In this regard, he chose to trust his younger brother.
However—
"No way!" Saigou Homura shook his head, dashing any hopes. "To insulate against heat radiation, even in my core laboratory, the most I have is a black-body cavity less than a meter in diameter. It's one of the most precious pieces of equipment in the lab."
"Creating a black-body cavity that can encompass a divine beast of tens of millions of cubic meters and insulate it from external energy radiation isn't a matter of how many resources you spend—it's fundamentally impossible!"
But in the field of applied science and engineering, this requirement exceeded current construction capabilities.
What can't be done, can't be done.
"Then why did you recommend this method...?" Kudou Ayato asked, confused.
"It's not like we have any better ideas. We might as well give it a shot. At the very least, we can take the opportunity to collect some data," Saigou Homura said with a shrug.
"Alright!"
Unable to think of a better approach, Kudou Asuka nodded.
Just as they were about to try this idea, a sound suddenly emerged from the dense fog.
"Watch out!" Pest warned sharply, her cat ears twitching.
At the same time, Kudou Ayato took a step forward, entering the dense fog and rushing toward the nearest dark shadow.
The kendo girl's movements were sharp and decisive, and her physical abilities were extraordinary, yet she didn't stir up a gale as Izayoi did when he moved. She barely even disturbed the fog as she walked.
Pest couldn't see how she closed the distance, nor could she see when she sheathed her sword.
She only saw a faint, ink-like color flicker in the milky-white fog, followed by a splash of ink-like red that burst from the mist, the smell of blood erupting with the wind.
"Is this... a Minotaur?"
Kudou Asuka used her folding fan to whip up a gust of wind, clearing the fog and revealing Kudou Ayato's position to everyone.
At the kendo girl's feet, a monster let out a pained roar. It had the head of a bull and the body of a man, with a giant axe lying scattered beside it. Its appearance was strikingly similar to the Minotaur of myth.
The bull-headed monster's Achilles tendon had been severed, leaving it unable to stand upright. Its bloodshot eyes showed no trace of reason, only an intense desire for slaughter.
"Can we communicate..."
Bold as ever, Izayoi crouched down and extended a hand, attempting a gesture of goodwill.
However, the bull-headed monster immediately gored him in the chest. Its sharp horn crackled with sparks of lightning. An ordinary person would have been disemboweled and then fried by the lightning.
"Alright, guess we can't talk!" Izayoi shook his head in regret, then casually threw a punch.
BANG!
A sound like an explosion rang out, and the bull-headed monster was knocked unconscious by his single blow.
Standing up, Izayoi looked at the other bull-headed monsters that were vaguely surrounding them, seemingly drawn by the scent of blood, and shook his head.
"I don't know what's going on, but these monsters are definitely related to the one above us. Still, these guys are too weak to be a threat. Only normal people like Homura need to be careful..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Kasukabe You and Kudou Ayato.
"I'll handle the task of getting the A-device from the lab. I'm leaving these monsters and the job of protecting Homura and the Young Lady to you two. Any problem with that?"
"Mm," Kasukabe You nodded silently.
In Little Garden terms, the bull-headed monsters were only at the Seven-Digit level. Although they could still easily destroy an army or a hill, they were nothing to them.
"A piece of cake," Kudou Ayato nodded, walking straight toward several other rampaging Minotaurs.
Even if she didn't intend to kill them, disabling the monsters was a trivial matter for her.
As they moved, the two of them subconsciously began to compete in speed.
The monsters, which Pest was not yet capable of handling, were cut down by the two of them like slicing vegetables. Before long, a small mountain of them had piled up.
Just then, Izayoi came running back, carrying a mountain of equipment.
"Didn't you just need the A-device for cooling?" Kudou Asuka asked, a little confused.
"Since I was there, I figured I'd bring everything. What if it comes in handy?" Izayoi replied. After placing all the devices on the grass, he tossed a machine that looked like an air conditioner fan to Kudou Asuka.
"Young Lady, it's all yours!"