(MC POV)
Like I thought, the book Cai Hong wanted to read was literally a book about a hero.
That would have been fine and all but… It's a story about me going to 'slay' Sophia, or rather, a book loosely based on it.
I didn't even know they had a book written about it, even more curious was how did this even end up here on the Cloud Plane?
Did that Dark Sect guy drop this here or something? The timelines don't really match up though…
Omniscience is also being really vague that it was simply 'dropped here'. I'm guessing this book got caught in some kind of dimensional rift or something which sent it into this specific library for some reason?
Well, it's not really that important so I forgot about it and concentrated on reading the book to Cai Hong who was currently cuddled on my lap.
Also, Iris was seated beside me and leaning her head against my arm while Akari and Shiori were curled up in their usual spots on my shoulders. All of them were really enjoying the storytime with me it seems.
"Papa! Hero!" Cai Hong squealed while I flipped to the next page.
Yes, she is aware that the hero mentioned in the story was me, even though the story had embellished almost every single thing and almost nothing was accurate.
Right now the story had reached the point where I had gathered all my clearly fictional companions, beaten all the Four Heavenly Generals of the Demon Lord that most definitely didn't exist in reality, before finally making my way towards the throne room of the giant castle that most certainly was never built.
I flipped to the next page and read aloud the epic battle that most definitely did not happen between my group and the Demon Lord who, in this story, was a male that was twice my height and had impressively large horns adorning his head.
Whoever wrote this had a very vivid imagination, going so far as to recount on how my companions and I worked together to finally strike down the Demon Lord.
I thought the story would continue with the group returning back home as heroes but surprisingly, the story went on to show how I made my way to the defeated Demon Lord's side and healed him.
Unsure of where this was going, I continued reading the book aloud for Cai Hong.
"The Hero, the one most beloved by all and the most magnanimous of all heroes, reached down and cradled the Demon Lord to his chest. 'Hush now,' he says, healing his past nemesis of his wounds
completely. 'Everything will be alright.'"
Cai Hong giggled, "Papa is nice~"
I very much want to say the guy in the book isn't me but I decided to just continue reading it.
"The Hero brushed away the stray strands of hair from the Demon Lord's face, cradling him like he would a baby. The two of them shared a smile, as though the previous battle before had been nothing but a lie. Slowly, the two of them inched closer, both their lips parting and'..."
I snapped the book shut, "And then peace was returned to the lands and they all returned home happily ever after."
"Yayyyyy~" Cai Hong clapped happily.
I quickly turned the book over and checked who the author was.
…
Goddamnit Odriana!!! I should have known it was written by you!! I should have known this when all my companions were described to be exceptionally handsome and pretty boys and when more time and effort were put into describing the men than the women!!
How the hell did your book even end up here?!! Did you and Elaria use it as some kind of test for a warp drive or something?! Is it just so you could spread your books further than it already has?!
You know what, I don't want to know.
At least it was innocent enough up until the Demon Lord so it still qualified as a good enough story for me to read to Cai Hong.
"Papa, hero!" She squealed again, this time hugging my face.
I felt Iris shifting her weight before she slipped her hand in mine, going so far as to entwine her fingers in between my own.
I looked to the side to see the cosmic being refusing to meet my eye, but I knew she was blushing since her ears were noticeably red. I guess she must have realised what kind of story it was and felt a little embarrassed about it.
All of a sudden, I heard the sound of lightning exploding in the upper levels of the tower, startling everyone else around us.
Looks like Lian Li's doing just fine at least.
Right as I was considering checking up on the rest of my disciples, several people entered the tower and looked around the place.
At first, I didn't pay any attention to them but they were obviously looking for me since they made a beeline towards me the moment they looked in my direction.
Looking up, I realised it was those old men that Shiori and Akari had been tossing around earlier. It looks like they had managed to heal themselves before coming to look for me, most probably for revenge.
Sensing the imminent confrontation, I stood up and handed the book I had finished reading to Cai Hong.
"Cai Hong, why don't you, Shiori and Akari go put this book back and look for another book?" I suggested.
"Okies~" She giggled, taking the book from me with a bright smile.
My foxes knew what I was trying to do and leapt off my shoulders to accompany my little dragon in her search for a new book. Naturally, they know to smash any idiots who dare to try and harm my little one.
The old men reached me just as she pranced away. Some of them spotted her and tried to chase her so I moved to step in front of them.
Two of them decided to intercept me before I could block their way so I reached out my hand and waved, freezing those that tried to go after Cai Hong in their place.
Since the only one here that could see me do anything to them was Iris, there's no reason for me to hold back either.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill all of you right here and now?" I asked.
One of them scoffed, "You wouldn't dare--"
I pierced his throat with my right hand and grabbed his spine at the very back of his throat. Locking his body in place with a Technique, I pulled out my hand along with the entirety of his spine.
I then released the locking Technique and the old man crumbled lifelessly onto the ground.
Dumping the spine back on his corpse, I burned them both with a quick blast of fire before turning to look at the rest of the old men.
"Alright. Next?"
