I. Budget Accommodation
After getting paid for the Giant Toads, Goku's team settled into the cheapest accommodation in Axel, the only inn that hadn't raised its prices due to the influx of "heroes."
"The Mana level in this inn is so low I feel like I'm suffocating," Tatsumaki growled, levitating half a meter off the floor to avoid contact with the grimy carpet. "This is unacceptable."
"It is perfectly acceptable. It is economically viable, and the absence of a dense Mana concentration prevents our own Ki and Magic energy fields from attracting immediate attention," Kaguya replied, unrolling a digital map onto a wooden table that looked about to collapse.
Goku, oblivious to the misery, was fascinated by the food. "Hey, this soup is delicious! And it's so simple!"
Erza and Akiha, with martial stoicism, simply organized their weapons and armor in the corners, ready for a surprise combat.
Just then, the inn door burst open and a familiar group entered noisily: Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin.
"Kazuma! My arm hurts from so much purifying, and the reward only covers half of my emotional expenses!" Aqua shouted, pointing at her arm while crying.
Kazuma, seeing the new, powerful adventurers, tensed up. "What are you doing here? Did you come to welcome us to the misery of low-budget lodging?"
"We are preparing for our main mission," Kaguya said, looking at Kazuma's group with analytical eyes.
Tatsumaki scoffed. "You people don't even look capable of surviving a gust of wind."
"Shut up, you floating runt! I am Aqua, Goddess of Water, and my purification power is legendary!" Aqua yelled.
"Your 'legendary power' couldn't prevent the toad's slime from sticking to your body," Tatsumaki reminded her.
II. The False Plague Generator (FPG-1)
Kaguya ignored the exchange and went straight to the crucial point, with her enigmatic smile.
"We have determined the location of the Dimensional Anchor in the Demon King's castle. The problem is the entry protocol: they have magic and Ki detection barriers to stop high-power attacks like those of Erza, Goku, or Tatsumaki. Our 'discretion' plan requires a catalyst that generates a distraction of maximum energy with zero actual destructive power."
Kaguya pressed a button on her device, and a hologram of a ridiculous object was projected: a duck-shaped cannon that ended in a giant funnel.
"I have designed the False Plague Generator (FPG-1). By overloading it with an immense amount of Mana energy, it can mimic a natural catastrophe that forces the guards to deploy cleaning and purification resources, giving us a twenty-minute infiltration window."
Megumin looked at the cannon with fascination. "'Maximum energy'? An explosion?"
"No. An explosion would leave a crater. We need something that is chaotic, massive, and irritating, not destructive," Kaguya corrected.
Erza looked at Kazuma. "Do you have any spell that fits that description?"
Kazuma shrugged. "I have 'Steal' and 'See.' I don't have 'Irritating Chaos.'"
III. The Deception of the Goddess
Kaguya, with a glint in her eyes, turned to Aqua, who was outraged by Tatsumaki's mockery.
"Miss Aqua. I understand your frustration. You are a Goddess in a world that doesn't appreciate the purity of your power," Kaguya said with a mellifluous voice and false admiration.
Aqua instantly puffed up. "Exactly! Finally, someone intelligent!"
"Your Mana is unstable, yes, but it is of an immaculate divine purity. It is the only type of energy in this world that can charge my FPG-1 to create the perfect distraction. The device requires an amount that could dehydrate a dragon, but you, as a Goddess, have the inexhaustible source we need for a Mega Dimensional Purification," Kaguya continued, using the most flowery terminology possible.
Aqua blinked. "A... Mega Dimensional Purification? Will I make the sky fill with holy water?"
"You will cause the Demon King's Castle to be flooded with the Maximum Concentration of Purity ever seen, forcing them to stop the war and clean up their existential mess. Only a Goddess of your caliber can achieve such a feat of massive practical uselessness!" Kaguya was barely smiling.
Aqua nodded fervently, feeling her final vocation had arrived. "I will do it! Allow me to show you the true power of Aqua, the uselessly blessed one!"
Kazuma tried to stop her. "Wait, Aqua! Don't trust her, she's using big scientific words to trick you!"
Darkness intervened with a masochistic gleam. "If this is a trap, I wonder if the overload will cause me some form of divine discipline! Please, don't splash me with holy water!"
IV. The Jell-O Deluge
Kaguya placed the FPG-1 on a hill outside Axel, pointing it at the distant Demon King's Castle. It was night, the perfect time for infiltration.
"Miss Aqua, the charge. With all the purity of your being," Kaguya instructed.
Aqua struck a dramatic pose. "Oh, God of Axel, hear my call! Divine Power: Grand Purification!"
Aqua unleashed a torrent of pure, blue Mana directly onto the FPG-1. Kaguya's device glowed intensely, absorbing the energy. The power was so ridiculously immense that even Goku was astonished.
"Wow! That's a lot of energy! But it's not Ki!" Goku exclaimed.
BEEP! PURITY OVERLOAD! the device screamed.
Kaguya's duck cannon fired. There was no explosion. There was no holy water. What came out was a massive, thick torrent of... bright blue Jell-O with a citrus flavor and hints of vanilla.
The gelatinous mass, propelled by Aqua's immense power, traveled across the night sky like a slow, viscous projectile, coating the Demon King's Castle in a thick layer of edible and purified dessert.
Tatsumaki burst into laughter. "It's... it's ridiculous! She covered everything in Jell-O!"
"Analysis: Aqua's immense purity neutralized the explosive factor, transforming the plague energy into a stable purification substance. It is a success!" Kaguya announced, unflustered. "The intensive cleaning distraction is active."
Kazuma slapped his forehead. "A Jell-O attack! It's a work of art in uselessness!"
Megumin was disappointed. "It wasn't an Explosion."
Darkness was strangely satisfied. "The smell of vanilla and citrus... it's purifying me to the soul! It's an incredibly sweet discipline!"
Goku approached the Jell-O that had splashed onto the ground. He tasted a bit. "Hey! It tastes like orange!"
As the cleaning chaos began twenty kilometers away, Kaguya looked at her team.
"Infiltration window: 18 minutes. Let's go!"
The team headed toward the castle, leaving Kazuma behind, who was pulling a pickaxe from his bag.
"We have to go. But Kazuma seems to have an idea," Erza said.
"Silence! That Jell-O is of divine purity! It must be worth a fortune if I sell it as an ingredient for magical desserts in the capital!" Kazuma shouted.
The group of superheroes and mages said goodbye to the dysfunctional band of adventurers, who were now focused on harvesting Jell-O. The infiltration mission had begun in the most absurd way possible.