Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer-Novel

"Is that...Guild Master?" Dylan was shocked.

The way that person strides and his voice matches the Guild Master from his memories, he just wasn't sure if it was really him because the man was wearing a hooded white cloak.

"Yep, it's him," Mary replied. Dylan jumped a bit since he didn't sense her approach at all.

"What is he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be stationed at the headquarters?" Justin asked.

Most of Ashton's younger Beneficiaries knew each other and worked together in the fight just now. They kind of stuck together due to their connection to the Guild Master.

"Don't worry. Knowing him, he wouldn't leave his post without making absolutely sure that it's safe." Mary stated, "Plus, he was complaining about being bored lately so let him have his fun."

Fun? Dylan was a bit taken aback by that.

"Will he be alright?" Dylan asked, somewhat unconvinced about the fact that they were letting a single man handle the sea of demons.

"He'll be fine." Mary replied, "You know him, he wouldn't do something he's not confident about. Plus, if you look at the state of our army, you can already tell that we aren't in any optimal state to continue fighting so we might as well let him handle this for now."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but..." Justin hesitated, "Guild Master is a Sorcerer, yes?"

"Actually, no." Mary chuckled, much to their surprise. "He's a step short of it. But he's nearly there."

"That's...isn't that terrible then? Those demons are tough! What if—"

"Have you seen him fight before?" Mary interrupted Justin before he could finish.

Justin looked shocked for a split second before he started recalling things. And to his surprise, he realized that the answer is...

"No. I haven't."

"Then you're in for a treat." Mary chuckled again. "Whatever happens next, I suggest you, kids to pay close attention to it. Don't blink too much, you'll miss out on a lot if you do. Also, don't worry about your safety. Just know that as long as he's on the battlefield, nothing can hurt you."

Mary left them be, causing Dylan and Justin to look at each other in confusion.

They were mostly puzzled but decided to just pay attention instead. It wouldn't hurt anyway.

"IT'S YOU!! THE MURDERER OF MY PET!!"

The almost-naked man roared in fury as he pointed at Ashton. Killing intent and corruption exploded from him and attempted to drown the exhausted army of humans.

But before the corruption could even touch them, they dissipated like snow under the summer's heat. It didn't even come close to them at all. Moreover, the killing intent was treated as if it was just some air. Nobody felt threatened by it at all.

"Aww, what gave it away I wonder? Was it the outfit?"

They heard Ashton reply. He sounded sarcastic and annoying, it's as if he was doing it on purpose.

"HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE BEFORE ME!! DIE, PEST!!!"

With purely unadulterated rage, the Sin Demon Lust fired a thick stream of pure demonic energy at Ashton.

The scale of the attack completely horrified the humans. That kind of attack is enough to obliterate Fantasia as a whole, yet it was being used to kill a single person. Just from that alone, one could tell that this goes beyond misunderstanding, this is a vendetta.

Dylan and Justin felt nervous. And seeing as how the Big 3 weren't doing anything to help, they felt even more afraid for the Guild Master.

Yet, despite their worries, he remained standing there like nothing was worth his attention.

As the beam was about to hit him, they saw him raise a hand and he snapped his fingers.

Under the dumbstruck gazes of the crowd, the concentrated beam of corruption turned into a mass of blue butterflies which immediately dispersed into several clusters, flying away.

Dylan's eyes went so wide that they nearly fell off their sockets. He blinked several times in a row, rubbing his eyes even just to make sure that he didn't see that wrong.

He didn't. And neither did Justin nor the other beneficiaries either.

"That...that was..."

"Transmutation Magic!!" One of the Beneficiaries who's a Mage exclaimed with eyes shining brightly. "One of the hardest and most complicated Branches of Magic known to man! And he did it with such ease and expertise! Shit, that was beautiful!"

"Moreover, he didn't rely on Mana or Dimensional Energy to do it. He used pure Aether. Holy shit!!"

They weren't wrong. Ashton did just use Transmutation Magic using purely Aether. To Knights, his performance was cool at most but for Mages, it was absolutely mind-blowing.

Their Guild Master just transcended the Magical Theories and performed something that was deemed 'impossible' right before their very eyes! How can any Mage calm down upon witnessing that?

"What Sorcery is this!?" Lust frowned in confusion. The butterflies that fluttered even too close to him immediately died due to the sheer corruption he was releasing.

"Sorcery, huh..." Ashton mused, "Good enough I guess. Anyways, are we gonna fight or what? I'm getting a little bit bored you see."

"Insolence!" Lust quipped in fury. "Men! Bring this pest down for me! Don't damage him too much! I want him intact so that I can make him suffer as Labolas did!"

"Kinky, but sorry I'm not into Demons." Ashton sneered as waved his hand.

The horde of Demons was coming after him, there were so many that they almost formed a sea. Despite this Ashton didn't look afraid, he didn't even feel the need to move.

As soon as he waved his hand, all manner of chaos ensued.

Magical circles lit up beneath his feat, forming an intricate array of doom.

Everyone felt the world quaking. Volcanic eruptions happened, sharp spikes to earth impaled the demons from below, there was a frigid hail of snow, sharp gusts of wind that sliced through multiple targets, and thick pythons of lightning struck down, making the entire battlefield look like a real warzone.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

The mages who were watching this were almost foaming in the mouth due to sheer adrenaline and stimulation.

They watched as their Guild Master weaved spell after spell expertly like he had been doing it his entire life. What's more, is that he casts at least five spells at once and it's different each time.

Both Knights and Mages couldn't follow what was going on precisely because everything was happening too fast. But, if anything they know this...

The Guild Master was holding off an entire horde of Demons on his own. And that's enough for them to see the Guild Master in a new light.

The Mages were practically worshipping him at this point. Oh if they could do even just a fraction of what he could, they'd be set for life.

While it was fun to watch as Demons screamed in confusion and agony as they suffered the intricate wave of spells, some were afraid that their Guild Master was forgetting something really important...

Ashton's barrage of spells eventually stopped at some point. He didn't look like he was running out of mana, and he also didn't look exhausted either. He just stopped for whatever reason.

"I'll admit, you put up a good resistance, pest." Lust narrowed his eyes at Ashton. "But if you think that this is enough to deal with my disciples, then you are gravely mistaken."

The dead bodies of the Demons around Lust suddenly began twitching. A vortex of corruption covered their bodies before disappearing. In a span of mere seconds, the sea of demons was back to their feet, looking as of nothing happened.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Although the majority of them know that both Angels and Demons have Flase Immortality, seeing it occur in real life was still a chilling experience that gives a hopeless impression.

"This is what makes us different from you, pests." Lust boasted. "We are eternal! Death has no meaning to us unlike yours."

"Oh, really?" Ashton scoffed audibly in a challenging tone.

With eyes gleaming coldly, light condensed on Ashton's hands. When a shape appeared on his hands, Alice's eyes gleamed. She immediately sent out a voice transmission to everyone, saying:

'Knights! Listen up! Pay real close attention to what's going to happen next. This is a rare opportunity.'

Dylan and Justin stiffened and steeled their gazes.

They then noticed that their Guild Master was now holding a rather peculiar weapon. A scythe made out of bones.

Before anybody could even admire the craftsmanship of that weapon, their breaths hitched when they saw Ashton raising it.

As if the world held its breath for his next move, time stopped and all they could truly do was watch as Ashton planted a foot forward and cleaved the world diagonally.

"World Ending Cleave!"

Shing!!!

A cold moonlit cleave performed with utmost perfection shone briefly flashed before their eyes. Time stopped when it happened and resumed when it was over.

Black blood then erupted like a geyser as all demons, except for Lust, lost their heads. Their bodies erupted in pristine white flames while their blood and soul were eagerly devoured by the Bone Scythe he was holding.

As Lust's eyes constricted upon witnessing this massacre, he heard the haunting voice of the culprit before him.

"How were you different from us again? You guys are what? What concept doesn't have meaning to you all again?"

"Come on. Look at my eyes and repeat those words again. Don't be shy."

Lust swore that he had never seen such a chilling smile before.