Ai Yue aimed her staff at the Gear Giant, preparing to cast another spell.
“Waaaaagh!!”
Just then, Kurimu, who was shielded by the wall of light but standing very close to it, suddenly let out a loud cry.
“Crap!?”
Staring at the golden wall of light before her, Kurimu looked as if she were seeing something incredibly filthy and disgusting. Her expression was one of extreme horror, and the tail behind her lashed about wildly, much like a cat with its fur standing on end.
“What’s wrong with Kurimu…?”
“Ah, I remember now. For the Devil Race, who specialized in the Distortion Law, Holy Magic—which can restore such distortions—is the ultimate natural enemy. In other words, it is to her what the sun is to a Night Demon, or what water is to a lower-tier Blood Demon.”
Because the Demon Race was currently the race that diverged the most from what was considered ‘normal’ among the thriving races, Holy Magic was already quite effective against them. However, the abilities of the Devil Race seemed to deepen that abnormality or supernatural nature even further. As a result, Holy Magic was even more potent against them. It reached a point where even defensive magic with no offensive capabilities, like the Sacred Wall Ai Yue had just used, would cause massive damage if they so much as touched it.
Of course, since Kurimu’s own strength was quite high, her HP did not drop that significantly. Still, it did not change the fact that, as a member of the Devil Race, she felt an instinctive loathing toward Holy Magic.
“While I feel a bit uncomfortable too, it is much better than what Kurimu is going through.”
Bululu was a Goblin Mutant, so strictly speaking, she was not a pure member of the Demon Race. Consequently, her sense of disgust toward Holy Magic was much lower than Kurimu’s.
Furthermore, once she remembered that this Holy Magic was cast by Ai Yue, her discomfort vanished instantly.
Although she did not know why Master Ai Yue could use the very Holy Magic the Human Race often used against them despite being a demon herself, it was Master Ai Yue, after all. It was only natural for her to master techniques that other demons could not. Master Ai Yue had even mastered the sole weakness of a Demon King, which meant she was already invincible and possessed no weaknesses at all!
‘Mm… This is a bit troublesome. The best way to clear this boss is to use Holy Magic. If Kurimu is physiologically repulsed by it, that could be bad.’
From the very beginning, the method Ai Yue had pre-set for clearing this Dungeon Instance was Holy Magic.
Unlike ordinary magical or physical attack methods, Holy Magic—as a magic specifically targeting abnormalities—dealt specialized damage to the resistances and regeneration abilities possessed by all the enemies in this dungeon. Or rather, Ai Yue had set the principles behind these enemy traits as ‘abnormalities’ instead of something achieved through normal means.
As for why she had set it up this way, one only needed to consider where the entrance to this dungeon was located.
Since the dungeon appeared in the Demon Realm, it naturally had to cater to the characteristics of the Demon Realm. That meant encouraging Players to use Holy Magic, which was specialized against demons. This also served as a safeguard to prevent the native residents of the Demon Realm from clearing the dungeon before the Players could.
However, it was currently being cleared ahead of schedule by a Player who had reincarnated as a native demon capable of using Holy Magic.
But just because she felt nothing toward Holy Magic did not mean other demons felt the same. At the very least, Kurimu’s fur was standing on end, and she even showed faint signs of going berserk.
Look at her—she was on all fours with her tail raised, hissing at the wall of light. Even the dungeon AI controlling the Gear Giant seemed unable to comprehend the situation and momentarily halted its movements.
“Bululu.”
“Yes, Master Ai Yue!”
Without needing Ai Yue to say more, Bululu understood perfectly. She rushed out and scooped up the hissing Kurimu to move her away. Seizing this opportunity, Ai Yue released her next spell.
“Pure White Arrow.”
It had been mentioned recently that Holy Magic did not only come in a golden version, and what Ai Yue was using now was one of the other variants.
Magic power condensed above Ai Yue into a pure white arrow of light and a bow. The bowstring pulled taut as she drew it, and the energy contained within the arrow of light expanded further.
Finally, the energy reached its critical point. The arrow of light shot forth like a laser, carving a white trail through the air as it directly struck the arm of the Gear Giant that was holding the beam lance.
[Threatening long-range attack detected. Activating defense system.]
The moment the voice finished speaking, the white arrow of light that was about to pierce the Gear Giant’s arm came to a halt. A transparent film covered the giant’s surface, appearing lustrous as if it had been coated in wax.
“Refractive Coating?”
As the developer, Ai Yue recognized the effect of that move at a glance. It was a defensive barrier meant to deflect or reduce damage from long-range attacks, specifically energy-based ones.
“However…”
Ai Yue snapped her fingers. The multicolored gems on the Glass Kaleidoscope in her hand all turned brown simultaneously, causing the arrow of light to turn brown as well.
Or rather, the arrow of light had acquired a physical form.
“Since long-range energy attacks are ineffective, then a continuous, close-range physical attack should be very effective, right?”
As soon as she spoke, the arrow, having turned completely brown, whipped up a powerful whirlwind and began spinning rapidly like a drill.
Ai Yue had known from the start that the Gear Giant would adopt this defensive strategy, so she had set a trap. First, she induced the opponent to use a defense that could not withstand physical attacks. Then, she used the Glass Kaleidoscope’s attribute-conversion ability to turn the spinning arrow of light into a hard metal spike, transforming it into a drill capable of sustained piercing attacks.
In this unpredictable situation, even the Gear Giant—with its high level of Level 80—could not tank the hit entirely. A large hole was bored straight through its arm.
Of course, this was not just because the Refractive Coating could not handle close-range physical attacks. It was also due to the second effect of the Glass Kaleidoscope: all magical attacks would carry the properties of Holy Magic, allowing them to bypass the innate resistances of the enemies in this dungeon.
“Thinking about it, it is a bit contrary to common sense for a magical spell to belong to the physical category.”
Still, if it was a physical attack with a tangible form, then it should naturally be classified as a physical attack, right? So, should the other type be called an energy attack rather than a magical one?
Ai Yue grumbled inwardly for a few moments before once again preparing to cast a spell. After all, she had designed this Gear Giant herself; she knew it would not be defeated so easily.
[Arm damage detected. Commencing repairs and increasing output.]
As the Gear Giant’s voice rang out, its pierced arm was filled with energy and eventually restored to its original state. The magic power swirling around the Gear Giant intensified, rising by an entire tier. Its other arm also transformed into a structure similar to the beam lance, but this one was a laser gun for long-range attacks.
“Amazing. As expected of my own design,” Ai Yue couldn’t help but remark.
“Well, I just hope my Vitality Essence is enough to last.”