“Bululu, Kurimu, come over here for a moment. I have something to give you.”
“?”
Although they were puzzled, Bululu and Kurimu still approached Ai Yue with trust, standing before her like children being called home by their mother.
“Whatever happens next, do not be afraid.”
Looking into Bululu and Kurimu’s eyes, Ai Yue found herself saying those words for some reason.
Strangely, when they met Ai Yue’s blue-white pupils—which seemed to radiate a cold aura yet were not actually cold—they felt their hearts fill with courage. Their bodies surged with strength, as if they were no longer afraid of anything. They even felt an impulse to immediately grab the Gear Giant, which was preparing to self-destruct and was dozens of times larger than them, and slam it into the ground with their bare hands.
However, what they didn’t notice was that as they felt this sudden surge of power, Ai Yue’s eyes flashed with a pink light.
This was actually the only skill Ai Yue could currently use without consuming a large amount of Vitality Essence to boost her strength, and it was also the specialty of the Succubus Race — Charm.
General Charm was typically used to arouse the target’s desires to facilitate the rapid acquisition of Vitality Essence, but here, Ai Yue applied it to enhance Bululu and Kurimu’s explosive power and mobility.
If she accidentally mixed in effects that increased their affection for her, things would get messy. That was why Ai Yue usually didn’t dare to use it this way, but these were extraordinary circumstances, and she had no choice.
“All right. Now I’m going to give you something. Don’t be nervous.”
Having heard it repeated several times, even the somewhat dull Kurimu understood. Ai Yue then pointed the Glass Kaleidoscope at the two of them.
“… DIVINE PROTECTION.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Magic Power flowed through the wand toward Bululu and Kurimu. Magic Power imbued with Holy Magic effects gradually enveloped their bodies. Unlike normal Holy Magic that could harm members of the Demon Race, they felt no pain or discomfort. Instead, they felt a warm, powerful energy wrapping around them, significantly strengthening their own power.
Divine Protection was, simply put, a support spell that could strengthen a target’s overall statistics and even imbue their attacks with Holy Magic effects. It was similar to the second effect of the Glass Kaleidoscope, Immaculate Glass, but while one targeted oneself, the other strengthened others, and they differed in terms of the degree of enhancement and consumption.
As for why Ai Yue used this spell instead of doing it herself, it was naturally because her individual magic output was definitely insufficient.
One had to remember that this Dungeon Instance was a high-level area with a recommended level of at least Level 60, and it was intended for teams. How could she—someone whose base stats only reached Level 60 or so because of Level 100 equipment—clear this DPS check on her own?
In a normal battle, she might have a winning chance by relying on evasion, magic, and her knowledge of this world. But in a situation like this that relied purely on numerical mechanics, she really had no choice but to rely on the powerhouses.
Furthermore, she had forcibly increased her strength during the previous battle. The Vitality Essence she had spent so much time absorbing was nearly exhausted. If she continued like this, she would likely fall back into a state of hunger due to a lack of Vitality Essence.
“This is…”
Bululu felt her vastly increased power and couldn’t help but feel shocked.
Even though it was Holy Magic, it didn’t make her feel disgusted; it even strengthened her as a member of the Demon Race. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this bizarre situation overturned her entire understanding of the world.
If Bululu felt this way, one could only imagine how Kurimu, who detested Holy Magic even more, would react.
“Wow! What is this? I don’t hate it at all!”
Even as a member of the Devil Race, Kurimu was strengthened by the spell without any discomfort, causing her to shout in excitement.
‘Even the Devil Race, who are the most susceptible to it, aren’t affected… Could it be…?’
Seeing Kurimu’s reaction, Bululu made a connection.
Without a doubt, Master Ai Yue’s magic overturned the Demon Race’s traditional understanding of Holy Magic. Holy Magic, which was originally used to eliminate the Demon Race, was now strengthening them instead. This meant that perhaps not just Master Ai Yue, but the entire Demon Race might no longer be threatened by Holy Magic. The shackles that had oppressed and restricted the Demon Race for so long would vanish!
Although Bululu thought of all this, the principle was actually not that complicated.
Ai Yue had simply isolated the Purification aspect of the Holy Magic—the part that could harm the Demon Race—from the strengthening part. She concentrated all of the latter onto the subjects’ bodies, while the former worked in the opposite direction, only triggering when they launched an attack. It functioned similarly to adding an insulation layer and a conditional trigger mechanism.
Of course, this was no simple task. It required not only the user’s exquisite control over magic but also the cooperation of those being strengthened. Ai Yue had already solved the latter part using Charm combined with the trust the two of them had in her.
As for why no one had discovered this after so much time, it was naturally because the people here were inflexible, unilaterally believing that the Demon Race could not use Holy Magic.
“With this, you should be able to damage it normally.”
“I see. I understand, Master Ai Yue.”
Bululu clenched her fists, and her aura erupted, causing the very air to vibrate.
“Hmm? Understand what?”
Unlike Bululu, Kurimu looked slightly confused.
“Since Mama Ai Yue can completely counter that big guy, we don’t really need to do anything, right?”
“No, Lady Kurimu, you don’t understand,” Bululu countered seriously.
The fact that she addressed Kurimu as Lady Kurimu even in private showed how serious Bululu was being.
“Master Ai Yue is training us. If we always rely on Master Ai Yue, we will never grow. Master Ai Yue has given us equal footing to fight the enemy just so we can take the field and solve the problem ourselves. She even thoughtfully left the final blow to us. Am I right, Master Ai Yue?”
“Hmm? Ah… yes, exactly.”
In reality, Ai Yue simply didn’t want to—and couldn’t—solve the enemy within the time limit.
“Is that so? So that’s what she meant.”
After hearing Bululu’s explanation, Kurimu gradually understood and showed a thoughtful expression.
“All right, all right. The timer is still counting down. There are only a few minutes left. Although I believe you can handle this perfectly, there won’t be a chance if this continues.”
To avoid exposing herself, Ai Yue quickly changed the subject and shifted the focus back to defeating the enemy.
“Now, let me see your strength.”
“Yes!”
“Got it!”