Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
Chapter 183 Black Fog (III)

Blake stared at the ceaseless rain of light pouring down on their enemies, feeling momentarily dazed.

A wave of nostalgia hits him, causing a flood of memories to drown his mind.

This wasn't the first time he had seen this scene. Mary wasn't the first Magic Archer he knew that could cast this spell. In fact, the one he knew could do this spell better than her and they did it on their first try.

Not that this person was a genius though, it's because this spell was their last resort to keep everyone safe.

Having said that, this situation is almost no different from what he had in the memories of his past life — the fifth one to be more specific. It was also one of the most painful memories he had.

Back then, he was a Hero too. He had a loyal team of soldiers whom he shared his deep ties with. They were a unit, Blake raised them to become the ultimate protectors of Humanity.

This was during his fifth life and back then, he still harbored some hope that maybe, he'll be able to change a lot of things.

Unfortunately, they were met with a nasty ambush. Somehow, they've got evicted from the outside world and that's when things go out of hand. They've become surrounded by both Demons and Angels.

They fought so hard but in the end, it was all useless. He couldn't anything other than watch as his men died under the claws of the invaders one by one.

There's this one particular soldier, a female pretending to be a man, whom he shared extremely close ties with. He treated her like a sister and she confided her secret to him. She joined their ranks because she wanted to fight and Blake admired her for that, so he trained her.

She wasn't talented, she was average at best. But she was determined to make the world a better place even if it means she needs to sacrifice herself for it.

For him and the rest to live, she ignited her cultivation base and released the Perpetual Rain of Light, the very same spell raining down on their enemies right now.

She only read this spell that very same day, she didn't have time to practice it or even attempt to do so because of the surprise ambush. But despite all odds, she managed to cast it, at the cost of her own life though.

She smiled at him as Blake's men dragged him away from the battlefield to escape. She sacrificed everything for him and he couldn't even do anything for her.

This memory always haunted him. It's also one of the things that made him crestfallen now at his 9th reincarnation.

He was tired. Really, really tired.

All he knew was constant war and battle all of his life. For some reason, in each of his life, something will happen that forces him to do something.

As a result, he will try once more. Try his hardest, mind you, to end this once and for all. Fail at the very last moment and then reincarnate again.

Rinse and re-fucking-peat.

Blake is really tired.

That's why in this life as well...he didn't have high hopes either. In fact, on most days, he doesn't even know why he's here.

For what reason does he raise his shield? Who was he defending again?

Too much has happened and he was so incredibly tired that he doesn't even know where his conviction lies anymore. But because all he knew was to fight, again and again, a habit that has been ingrained in his very soul, he still ends up being here again.

Why is it so difficult to achieve peace for his race? Why is it so difficult to remove the threat of the invaders once and for all? Was he doing something wrong?

And more importantly, why is it always him who gets called back? Why does he keep being reincarnated again and again? Why can he never have peace and remain dead?

Just...why?

But at the end of the day, nobody can answer this for him. Not even Gaia herself could. So, he could only guess that his cycle of reincarnation has something to do with the invaders.

This was his only option left. If he could destroy them once and for all, maybe he'll be free from this cycle. Maybe, he'll finally know what peace is like and maybe, he could finally rest.

Sadly, doing just that would prove extremely difficult. Of course, he'd know, hell he'd been trying for approximately 9 lifetimes by now.

But...for some reason, today, on the very chaotic battlefield, facing a deadly horde of demons, a scale that he has never seen or experienced before...he found himself hoping.

There are only four of them here, yet here they were, effectively fighting against something that could easily trample a whole metropolis down.

He found himself recalling this life. Noticing the slight nuances here and there. More specifically, everything that has something to do with Ashton.

He has technology that nobody has ever seen before. He has methods that are unheard of and he was strong enough to become a pillar they could rely on despite being the same age as they were.

Ashton was mysterious and there are definitely tons of reasons why they should be wary of him. That being said, one thing's for sure.

His hatred against the invaders was probably greater than all three of them combined.

Ashton isn't a threat to humans, he's an ally. He only becomes a monster to the invaders.

Frankly, that's enough for Blake to put some level of trust in Ashton. And with his support, hope sparked within Blake's heart.

Deep down, he is scared to hope for something good once more because the few times he did all turned into disappointment, causing a great deal of pain to him which followed him throughout his reincarnations.

That being said, he had no control over this. So, however, this might turn out...

'Fuck it!'

"RAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!!"

Blake released a battle cry. One that comes from the very depths of his soul. It was accompanied by lifetimes of grief, aggravation, and fury.

He slammed his shield together repeatedly, gathering the attention of all demons within this battlefield to be focused on him.

Feeling the sharp gazes of the demons gathering on his body filled him with power. Then, under everybody's astonished gazes, Blake's body started to grow.

Before they realize it, he turned into a giant.

He turned into 30 meters of hulking mass that towered over everyone. All eyes were on him as he lifted his foot and stomped the crawling Black Fog beneath him.

This is a skill that Blake created. He called it the 'Giant's Resolve'.

It is a skill that imposes provocation on everyone he targets. This skill then converts their aggression into power which he could then use to increase his size. The more their focus was on him, the more aggression he harvest, therefore prolonging this skill.

This skill slows him down of course but in exchange, it turns him into a destructive giant who could pretty much tank all manner of attacks. He could only use this skill once a week though so he must be careful.

But yes, this skill is a product of numerous lifetimes of experience. Only a few people are aware of this spell, most of them should be dead by now.

He didn't think that he'd ever use this skill again but here he was. Blake was moved by the hope he felt and decided he might as well try his best once more in this lifetime.

Whether he's met with success or failure...Blake truly didn't care anymore. Since all he knows was to fight, then he will fight.

He's tired of thinking at this point. Might as well go with the flow. If it's a fight they want, then it is a fight they'll get.

Boom!

To Blake who's now a literal giant on the battlefield, all demons were akin to ants to him. This includes his allies of course but he doesn't plan on hurting them.

Mary's skill wasn't hurting him, nor any of her allies, it was just passing through them so naturally, Blake was safe too.

Using his enormous size, Blake rampaged on the battlefield, swatting demons like annoying flies.

Each move he does shakes the battlefield fiercely, and since he's directly attacking the demons who were still hiding within the Black Fog, he's effectively reducing their chances of being resurrected.

In fact, each of his attacks visibly reduces the size of the Black Fog, so as long as he kept doing this, he will eventually get rid of the Black Fog by himself.

Ashton who was on the ground looked up at the titan who was rampaging in front of him with a smile on his face.

'You madman...you actually did it.'

As the keeper of the Grand Archive, of course, he's aware of Blake's achievements, he even guessed the direction he was going with his discoveries by tracing his previous lives.

He doesn't know the name of this spell but he knows that Blake actually has it. And now, he actually displayed it, which of course made him extremely jubilant.

'Go on then, my guy. Rampage all you want, I'll be right behind you.'