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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Essence of the Canon
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Even now, not much has changed, but before my regression, I was brimming with pride.
If I was overflowing with confidence, then I was overflowing with confidence.
If I was arrogant, then I was arrogant.
Racial pride, the flowery title of top of my generation, and the constant flattery from those around me had shaped me that way.
It wasn't just empty words. Among my peers, there wasn't a single cadet who could even compare to me.
Even among the students of the Demon King Academy, where only the finest of the demon race were gathered, I stood unrivaled.
I had enrolled superiorly and graduated overwhelmingly.
That was why I saw Arrein, the worst dimension, as nothing more than a trophy to highlight my excellence.
No, I believed Arrein was the only fitting choice for me.
The dimension befitting the greatest like myself had to be Arrein, naturally.
Despite the warnings from a few, I steadfastly descended upon Arrein. And defying everyone's expectations, I achieved some results.
I pushed ahead of the demon kings who were already there but too busy hiding themselves. With that success, I believed I could conquer Arrein and rise even higher.
Until I realized that damn thing called the Demon King's Canon was meant for heroes, not demon kings.
'Even thinking about it now makes me want to curse.'
Either way, the me of the past had experienced the dimension called Arrein once. And that experience was an invaluable asset.
An asset that allowed me to hypothesize not blindly following the canon.
I truly believed I could conquer Arrein.
But Gordon didn't seem to think so.
"Arrein? Arrein?!"
Gordon tore at his hair. Strands of elf hair, said to be as soft as silk, regrettably fell out.
"We have nothing! In a situation where even the easiest place might be too much, the worst dimension?!"
His teary-eyed appearance overlapped with the past.
'It'll be tough, but Demon King and I are here. It's more than worth challenging! No, without Arrein, I wouldn't even feel motivated!'
I remembered it being quite spirited back then.
"I'm not going! I can't go! If you want to die, die alone!"
What was the difference between then and now?
There were quite a few.
First, back then, I was the model student. The top graduate acknowledged by all. But now? A rebellious troublemaker who shook the demon race's values.
Due to the butterfly effect, the benefits I received then and the demons who stepped up to follow me were gone.
'No wonder it's different.'
But I couldn't tell him about the regression, so I could only tell him to follow.
"How about you stop tearing your hair out? It's a waste, isn't it?"
"Is this the time to worry about a few hairs?!"
It backfired. Even more hair scattered on the floor.
If I gave him a chance but he refused, would he end up completely bald?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Regardless of Gordon's opposition, the moment of dispatch arrived.
The furious Alkain had me permanently assigned to Arrein and threatened that no one could help me.
It was only natural that more of Gordon's hair fell out as he tried to persuade demon acquaintances to avoid the worst.
Time passed, and the day came. Standing before the portal were only me and Gordon—the most pathetic demon king descent in history.
The one consolation was that the archduke, Alkain himself, came to see us off. Though, of course, not out of pure goodwill.
"Even if you cry and beg now, there'll be no second chance. Rot away in that cursed dimension for life."
"Thanks for the well-wishes. I'll return after turning it into a complete colony."
"Such guts, befitting the top graduate. If you truly succeed, I'll grant any one request."
"I'll hold you to it."
I brushed off Alkain's increasingly crumpled face with a smile.
Grabbing the limp, corpse-like Gordon by the collar, I dragged him along.
And so, for the first time in demon realm history, a demon king and his adjutant alone...
Crossed through the dimensional portal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The first to greet us was a flurry of pure white snowflakes.
A chilling cold seeped into our bodies, weakened further by dimensional interference.
I exhaled a frosty breath and brushed the snow from my hair.
"We arrived properly."
"Where is this...?"
"Northern continent, somewhere in the Erjest Mountains."
A natural fortress untouched by human hands.
Monsters overrun the area, and the harsh environment repels the weak.
That's why here...
"I'll build the tower."
Where no one can find it.
And even if they do, they won't dare approach.
"That goes against the canon."
Gordon bristled.
Canon Rule 1: A demon king must build his tower in the assigned world.
The proposition simply limits it to building a tower, but later demons added their own detailed conditions.
Choose a suitably treacherous spot, but not one humans can't reach at all.
"So?"
"The canon is the unbreakable law of the demon realm."
"Me, who caused that uproar at graduation? You really think I'll follow it?"
"...Have you truly abandoned even a demon king's pride?"
I clicked my tongue at his growing disgust.
I understood. Deep-rooted faith isn't easily denied without death or something equivalent.
I didn't answer.
I slowly surveyed the mountain peaks. I found a suitable valley among them. Surrounded by peaks, it wouldn't be easily spotted without pinpointing the location.
The perfect place for a tower.
"This spot looks good."
"Not only building it in a remote place, but hiding the tower completely?"
Gordon, who had been watching me, piped up again.
"And if I do?"
"I'll stop you. Pointing out a demon king's mistakes and advising him is my duty."
"Obeying your demon king's orders is also your duty."
I easily shut Gordon down and dug into the ground. I planted the tower seed Alkain had given me.
Covered it with soil, cut my palm, and sprinkled blood. As the dry land absorbed it in an instant, I infused it with magi.
A faint vibration.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[The Tower recognizes the user.] [Race: Black Flame Demonic Dragon Tribe.] [Name: Berge Dayas.]
The tower's system recognized me. The seed, having absorbed the owner's blood and magi, unleashed its latent potential all at once.
Kugrrr rumble—
The mountain shook. The air churned from the massive magi wave.
A colossal five-story tower revealed itself.
Its exterior was crude. Smooth without seams, as if carved from a single block of metal, but devoid of any other decoration.
Worlds apart from the 20-story tower it had grown to just before my regression, but perhaps due to nostalgia, it had its own charm.
Creeeak—
The door opened. I stepped inside over the red carpet welcoming me.
And took in the empty, cavernous interior with nothing in it.
Before, it had been filled with magic beasts given as a reward for being top graduate and demons who followed voluntarily due to my fame. But this time, only Gordon.
"Take a good look. This is the tower you'll manage from now on."
"Is there even anything worth managing?"
The guy shot back curtly. His constant nagging was getting on my nerves.
If he weren't a capable subordinate who'd manage the tower in my place, if he weren't the loyal one who'd worked for me in my previous life, a tooth or two would already be broken.
"Cut it out. Don't elves treasure their ears above all?"
"..."
Gordon flinched and trembled. No matter the situation, the fact that I was a demon king, one of the demon realm's top powerhouses, hadn't changed.
Gordon lifted his head while shaking.
"...I'll keep it in mind. And as adjutant for now, I'll offer advice."
"Speak."
"Kidnap a princess."
"Reason?"
"If you kidnap a princess and leave traces of the Demon King, the fury and sorrow of an entire kingdom will reach you fully. Those emotions will turn into sweet magi, making you stronger."
Even amid fear, it was filled with zeal to correct my wayward path.
That was Gordon's strength. But this time, the direction was wrong.
"Rejected."
"The canon is canon because it must be followed! It's canon because it's more efficient! It's been passed down for over ten thousand years and endures because there's reason to it!"
"That might hold for other dimensions, but it's wrong here in Arrein."
"What makes Arrein different from other dimensions?"
"Over a thousand years without conquest should be enough to realize it's different."
"But the canon was set by the first Demon Emperor to gather magi more efficiently."
"Half right."
After being toyed with by heroes and dying, I wondered.
Was I special, or were they all like that?
Had the canon truly devolved into a system for heroes, not demon kings?
From right after graduating the academy until dispatch to Arrein, I scoured every record in the demon realm.
The librarians glared at me with disgust for being a rebel, but I forced my way in and checked anyway.
And I realized.
The intent behind the first Demon Emperor establishing the canon.
And why it had devolved only in Arrein.
"To understand why the first Demon Emperor set that canon, you need to know how demons obtain magi."
Demons gain energy from the life force and negative emotions of humans or other heteroraces.
The higher the quality, the greater the quantity, the better.
"No demon doesn't know that."
"Then, what do you think is the way for a demon king invading the middle realm to gain higher, more magi?"
"Fame."
Whether demon, human, or heterace, achievements bring fame.
For demon kings invading various middle realm dimensions, achievements meant toppling nations and defeating their nemeses, the heroes.
Larger kingdoms.
Stronger heroes.
Toppling and slaying them was the path to fame for a demon king.
"Killing weak heroes a hundred times over won't resonate much with humans. Because slaying weak heroes doesn't prove the demon king is strong."
But if you slay a hero known by all to be strong?
"A strong hero isn't just any hero. He's hope itself."
"So we should follow the canon even more? Because we need to raise such heroes."
The idea was that demon kings needed strong heroes to build fame, but strong heroes weren't common.
So the first Demon Emperor resolved: if none exist, create them. Raise them and devour.
The canon clause to aid hero growth materially and spiritually was born that way.
Not just for their symbolic representation of humanity, but because a strong hero's despair in defeat was worth more—a two-birds-one-stone deal.
"That method isn't wrong per se."
The elite of the demon race enter the Demon King Academy. Graduating at the risk of life is only for a select few.
Such demon kings operate on a different level from humans or other heteroraces. Even with dimensional interference limiting power.
"Countless dimensions have been and are being conquered that way. In a sense, the canon isn't wrong."
"Then why...?"
"But Arrein is different."
Arrein has one fundamental difference from other dimensions.
"Yes. One thing."
A very minor difference, yet an enormous one.
"Arrein has too many heroes."
No, 'many' doesn't even begin to cover it.
"A goddamn ridiculous number."
That was why the dynamics had reversed.
When situations change, rules must adapt, but for demons, the canon was faith, not rules.
The Demon King's Canon had spread covertly, leading to heroes exploiting it en masse.
Thus, the heroes' canon for using the Demon King's Canon emerged.
"So I'll use that canon against them."
To toy with the trashy heroes who mock the foolish demon kings blindly following the stupid canon.