The Fool's Freedom

Kalyntha was panting. More than thirty orbs spun around her like heralds of death, ready to execute anyone who showed the slightest sign of betrayal. This was all going to hell. She was on the verge of doing what no self-respected low-tier copy would ever do and contact the original. Losing the fractal, or the dragon which was even worse, or the Death Plate which was… She didn’t want to think about it. Whoever had the resources to arrange for all of that was a major player.

The Thrones wouldn’t care personally, but those beneath them were sure to act, even if only to cover their asses. And when tiers three and four moved… She didn’t want to think about that either. The fucking dragons were a pain enough to deal with. Arrogant and so very sure of their inability to make mistakes.

Thankfully, Zirida had contacted her that she had sensed another [Red Cleric] and the dragon. The girl seemed to have taken a liking to the outworlder too, and that was just fine. Newly integrated worlds were a treasure trove and good for business. She was interested in creating closer relations with the boy, but it was hard. Her original was an awkward giggling mess of inappropriate behavior and as much as she was trying to suppress it, it was still there, bubbling beneath the surface.

And whenever they met she ended up torturing or killing people. Oh well, such was the way of a [Metalmancer] in her position.

That’s why bashing skulls in was much preferred. Juggling all of the copies slightly different personalities striving for attention was getting too much. Thankfully, one way or the other, this would be ending soon. There was little she wouldn’t do to end this mess.

***

Wilbis Boombelch, a proud member of the Exploding Library, an Outpost Master extraordinaire, and an even prouder turophile, cursed as he sent another [Explosion] into the midst of the many enemies beneath. Those at the center of it were left limbless and broken, but still many took their newly vacant places. He had wondered why the temple had been such an easy thing, or why the battlefield had grown quieter in the last couple of weeks. He had assumed it was just a natural thing, not worthy of his attention.

How could this all have devolved so much in such a short time? It was preposterous! His skin was already breaking out in hives and even his two clones were feeling the effects.

Who had heard of an artificially created clone having stomach issues from stress? Yet, here he was, with his original body, waiting on reinforcements that he hadn’t even called. They would come though, hopefully after he cleaned everything up. He had the authority to drag everyone signed up as a soldier or a guard with himself wherever he went. It was an expensive ability, and one seldom used as it strained the formation keeping it all together. But it was not nearly enough in this case.

His loyal guards were islands against the onslaught of skills and monsters flying in their direction, but they were a small number against the tide. It was worse than the battlefield!

How was it possible to control the void monsters? And who was doing it? He could see the many cloaked figures all over, but the barrier protecting them was a powerful artifact. Another issue. All artifacts with the ability to affect space were supposed to be registered with the Towers’ authorities and him! One of his clones was even responsible for keeping the records in order. Yet, unlicensed portal plates, barriers, maybe some sort of mind control devices, and who knew what else had slipped through and were wreaking havoc in his given domain!

The dragons were going to have him flayed! Or worse, they would involve the Exploding Library. He shuddered at the thought. No! There was no time to waste! Screw reinforcements. He was a tier two powerhouse in his own right, and he would be damned if this was going to be the end of his illustrious career. A small book appeared in his hand. He hesitated, then gently rubbed the cover before throwing it into the mass of monsters.

He shuddered violently as the (Vol. 1 of the World Ending Series, Blown with the Paper) flew with a mind of its own and fell in the midst of it all, near the barrier hiding the dragon from sight. A small book, that was nothing out of the ordinary and was the first of a series of terrifying single-use artifacts made by the Exploding Library for use in the outer reaches of the Realm, against stray powerful beings, and to conquer higher-tier fractals.

Wilbis took out a piece of cheese, stuffed it in his mouth to calm his nerves, and prayed to whoever was listening. With a wave a barrier – one of his strongest skills, covered the soldiers beneath him.

If those on top knew the situation had devolved enough that he was using this, even at the lowest possible setting, he would not be flayed.

Oh, no. Not flayed. His skull would be peeled off and his brain would be exposed for torture. It would be poked and bashed and rubbed with all sorts of monster acids or worse. All the while the healing experts would make sure his body was fine and awake for it all and his brain was not destroyed. It was a life-altering experience, as torture typically was.

Still, he watched with anticipation. It was a rare thing to use the Exploding Library’s resources in their intended way. Most relied on skills, after all. He was authorized only because of the unique circumstances of this fractal. For a moment, he wished he could call on the Deathless Plate and use those bound to it in the fight. It would be a simple effort then, but the battlefield needed to be controlled too. It’s where the remaining piece of the Void Tree rested, giving endless birth to monsters. It’s where most of the monsters below him had come from too, transported and controlled in some devious way.

However, the Deathless Plate was not for him to order around. It had a purpose here, and it was to punish and alleviate some of the pressure so the dragons were kept happy. Win-win for the bureaucrats, a massive headache for him.

And so, he waited and prayed the formation would hold.

It started as a high-pitched crackling. Pages, twisting and turning and moving at speeds that would make normal paper burn away. Then there was a sudden, quiet moment of reflection as even the void monsters stilled, sensing the fractal shudder under the weight of what was to come.

The Exploding Library had a way to blow away minds. This was not one such book, as those that actually made minds explode were banned from use with a decree of at least four different Thrones, but it was a book nonetheless.

The storm began as a small whirlwind that exploded outwards. Pages flew everywhere and passed through limbs, black flesh, and earth as if it were the soft cream cheese of tier two pink goats Wilbis looked after at home.

Monsters shrieked and ended just like that. Dolls, parasites, and even a few of the massive Void Mantises – large things made of twisting wood corrupted by the Void Tree’s Aura. They had only four legs, which made them quite easy to take down on the battlefield, but their attacks were nothing to scoff at. The beams they used were stronger than some of the larger parasites.

It didn’t matter. The pages shred all of them to pieces and Wilbis was sure even the cores didn’t remain intact. He didn’t know what the plan was so he had wanted to deal with it without Kalyntha’s intervention. Her family was trouble and would make his life hell too, if they learned the full extent of his failure. Especially if their cherished genius daughter lost any of her copies, as she called them. Hollow things that somehow lived their own lives! He was greatly jealous, as his clones were just merely clones of himself who could only focus on one task at a time.

He shook his head and focused on the battlefield. The barrier shuddered dangerously and so did the formation holding the fractal together. Yet, the damned barrier held for now, making Wilbis curse. There was time, however. It was a short book but it still took some time to go through it. The whirlwind of pages was still growing, shredding both terrain and monsters and crashing into the strange barrier that held the dragon captive. His soldiers were fine as they kept pulling back under his, and their own protections.

For a second, he thought about using (Vol. 2, The Very Hungry Page) but shuddered at the thought. It was the pinnacle of what was at his disposal, and only a grave situation that would endanger the stability of the fractal warranted the use of that. Even getting his brain stripped and tortured separately from his body was a preferable outcome. This artifact was sure to doom them all.

And what would his goats do without him? Maybe it was time to think of retirement.

***

Feyrith and Byrr watched with wide eyes as the maelstrom took hold and tore apart the horde of monsters before them as if they were no more than grains of sand. They could feel the rampaging magic that only grew stronger and stronger. Wilbis had done something to protect them, and few of them had the means to add to it.

“Is that paper?!” Byrr asked. The large man was shining with forest green light as he created a dome of branches that protected those around from stray limbs flying in their direction. Master Wilbis’s arrangements were only good against the magic.

Feyrith nodded and felt the connection to one of his summons disappear. The poor thing hadn’t stood a chance.

“Master Wilbis is going full-on crazy gnome,” he said.

“Will the formation hold?” someone else asked.

“For all of our sakes, I hope so.”

This is why Feyrith was not a fan of those involved with the library business. They were all crazy, and Master Wilbis was finally showing it to the world. And all of that for a shitty dragon, not that he would say those words out loud. At the very least, it was a good story to tell.

If they survived that is.

***

The two left the outpost behind them in a blur. Alan felt great. He was a bit faster than Zirida when he wanted to be, leaving the [Red Cleric] surprised. He kept pace with her, of course. She knew the way and he wouldn’t just ditch her to show off.

His new physical attributes made him feel great, and his mana was like a large ocean that cleared his thoughts and made him feel in control. The first half an hour was spent testing and getting used to his body. It was important. And it felt amazing.

“Thanks for coming for me,” Alan smiled. He had been doing a lot of that. Lots of smiling. He felt a strange lack of anxiety, as if despite all his burdens, there were things worth appreciating. How come he had to change his whole race to understand such a simple truth?

Zirida frowned, making Alan smile wider.

“She’s getting flustered. You thanked her already.” Xil helpfully added.

“I did, didn’t I?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like the girl. Just not the fact that she’s god-worshipping scum. We demons don’t get along with most godly bullshitters.”

“That’s only natural.” Is it?

“It’s not that far from here with our speed,” Zirida said. Alan felt a pang of guilt for talking about her with the demon without her knowledge. Zirida had been nothing but honest and fair with him. For a second the thought of revealing Xil’s existence sprang up, but he pushed it down. It was too risky.

“Have you ever seen any demons?” Alan decided to ask instead.

“Oh, good one! Now ask her to make babies! Nothing suspicious!”

“Demons?” Zirida repeated, “No. Even the weakest of demons are at the very least tier two or above it. I’ve heard and read of them, but we don’t deal with their kind much. They would never join an institution based around a God, no matter that it is the literal God of Blood.”

“Lifegiver, you called him once.”

“Yes, once.”

“That’s interesting. Doesn’t sound like demons are that much of a problem, eh?”

“Strange indeed,” Xil replied.

“Almost as if I can make the right choice from time to time.”

“Almost.”

“Some don’t like them, that much I know. There are corners of the realm where they are hunted and exterminated, but that’s mainly because if a demon appears, it’s usually summoned to do evil by someone. They are beings of contracts and have their own Realm. Nothing more I can tell you, why?”

“Oh, just curious. We had a lot of tales about demons on Earth.” It felt bad lying. Well, not as bad as he was used to it, but some part of him knew she deserved better.

“Earth? Your home world, before the integration? What was it like?”

Now that’s a broad question. What was it like? If I put my cynic self to rest then I have to guess it was… not that bad.

“It was—”

Something rocked the world. It was not instantaneous – rather it slowly grew in volume. A whirlwind of magic filled with… something. Alan felt the mana around go berserk without even trying to look at it. It was a strange phenomenon, a storm of massive proportions.

Zirida slowed her pace and gazed off into the distance where the source of the sound lay. It was growing stronger by the minute.

“That’s the Outpost Master.”

“It is?”

“No mistake. We shouldn’t get much closer... The faction he belongs to is frankly insane. I’m worried that’s one of their creations. Wilbis does not have the powers to do that himself.”

Well, if she’s that worried.

A limb – a doll’s arm fell thrown from the strange whirlwind and shattered about twenty meters away from them.

“Now that’s demonic. You should let me meet whoever did this.”