Chapter 223 - I Cannot Wait

Some seven hundred years ago, there was a race called Doppelgangers.

Their nature as parasites that lived within demons or demonic creatures made them outsiders among demons.

Successive Demon Emperors, wary of their parasitism, had forbidden it. They were permitted to absorb others only after killing or defeating them in a fair duel.

That decree had sealed off the Doppelgangers' potential. The more living beings they inhabited and absorbed, the stronger they became, but without taking that first step, a Doppelganger was weaker than even an ordinary demonic creature.

One Doppelganger rebelled against it.

Devouring countless demons, he became a confidant of the reigning Demon Emperor and ultimately devoured the emperor himself. Then he proclaimed himself Demon Emperor.

It was foolish stupidity to believe that strength alone would justify everything.

Demons did indeed worship strength. But the laws and the Guide established by the First Demon Emperor were etched into their hearts even more deeply than strength.

- A demon challenging the Demon Emperor must possess tokens from a majority of the grand dukes.

- The victor of a fair duel becomes Demon Emperor.

Whether the challenger was a demonic creature or a low-ranking demon did not matter. Whether the tokens had been earned through the grand dukes' recognition or stolen did not matter either.

But the requirement to obtain a majority of the tokens, and the principle that only someone qualified could become Demon Emperor, were absolute.

The cowardly Doppelganger who had posed as a confidant and devoured the sleeping Demon Emperor met neither requirement.

He was nothing more than a cowardly assassin. The grand dukes joined forces to kill him, then pitted their strength against one another to select a new Demon Emperor.

And an order was issued to exterminate the entire Doppelganger race.

"How did you survive?"

"I seem to be the only one answering questions, and I have a great many things I would like to ask you as well, Lord Berge. Why don't we agree to answer each other's questions?"

"Very well."

"Since we cannot readily trust each other, why don't we swear on the great First Demon Emperor and the Guide, to establish that trust?"

Jason smiled. Berge smiled back.

An oath on the Guide, when neither of them believed in it.

It was all a performance.

"Fine. I, Berge Deias, swear on the great First Demon Emperor and the Guide that I will speak only the truth."

"I, Jason Cockmundo, swear on the great First Demon Emperor and the Guide that I will speak only the truth."

"Is Jason Cockmundo even your real name?"

"What does that matter?"

True enough. The oath was meaningless to begin with, so a name hardly mattered.

"I was fortunate. I was an orphan. I never revealed to anyone that I was a Doppelganger, and my abilities earned me admission to the Demon King Military Academy. Then I became a Demon King and descended to Arain."

"Fortunate, you say."

Was that really all there was to it?

Berge felt uneasy, but Jason offered no further answer.

"Then it is my turn to ask you a question, Lord Berge. Why do you not faithfully follow the Guide, despite being a demonic dragon?"

He had even insulted the Guide at his graduation ceremony, in full view of everyone.

Perhaps that had been the beginning. Otherwise, Jason would have treated Berge just like any other demonic dragon.

He had given Berge leeway, wondering whether he might be different. That had brought about the present situation.

How could he not take an interest in a demonic dragon who hated the Guide?

"Do I need a reason to dislike the Guide? I just hate it."

"... Not the answer I wanted, but I understand."

"My turn. How many years ago did you come to the dimension called Arain?"

"How precise would you like me to be? Shall I give you the days and hours as well?"

"Years will suffice."

"621 years."

"Unbelievable."

"My turn. Why did you kill Lord Drakson Doldorf?"

"He was in the way."

"In the way of what?"

"You've had your question."

"How unkind. If that is how you intend to play this, you may not get the answers you want from me either."

Berge clicked his tongue and added another sentence.

"I killed Drakson because he was going to report to the grand duke that I had trespassed on his territory."

"I understand."

"My turn, then. How many Demon Kings and heroes have you devoured so far?"

"That is two questions. Please ask only one."

"You're being picky."

"Is that not the nature of our relationship?"

"Demon Kings, then."

"Do you know precisely how many Demon Kings have descended here to Arain?"

"No."

"49. Divide that into two groups, and the larger group is the number of Demon Kings I have devoured."

"25? You crazy bastard...!"

"My turn. Why did you enter Lord Drakson's territory?"

"There was something I wanted."

"And I suppose you will not tell me what it was right away?"

"I'm doing exactly what you are."

"It cannot be helped, then."

"How many heroes have you devoured?"

"Do you count every demon or human you have killed, Lord Berge?"

He did not.

That must mean Jason had killed that many.

"What were you trying to obtain in Lord Drakson's territory?"

"The power of a mythical beast. A mythical beast's corpse."

"Dodging the question again."

"What did you do for all those centuries?"

"I worked to become stronger. Back then, I was so frail that I felt I might break at any moment."

A Demon King who had graduated from the Demon King Military Academy, weak? That was bullshit enough to make a passing hellhound laugh.

"What mythical beast?"

"A Phoenix."

"The embodiment of pure fire that plunges into lava and rivals a dragon, is it not? So that was how you did it. Concealing your demonic energy and, among humans..."

"What picture are you trying to paint?"

"A big one."

Berge's face twisted.

"Is there a problem?"

At that innocent expression, Berge grinned, baring his teeth.

So that was how he wanted to play it.

"How did you make Lord Hillen and the other heroes your servants?"

"Skillfully. How do you intend to paint that picture?"

"Reduce their fear of Demon Kings. Skillfully, in what way did you bring them into your service?"

"The Armani Orb. And then?"

"Familiarize them with us through interaction. How did you get them to accept the Armani Orb willingly?"

"I threatened them. After making them familiar with you?"

"Devour them, starting at the top. The princesses too?"

"The same. Is that how you're taking over the Empire?"

"Yes. What about Lady Vivian?"

"Made her a servant. Have you taken it over completely?"

"Yes. Lady Reina?"

"The same. After the Empire?"

"Akan. What did you do with your tower?"

"Used dwarves. After that?"

"The other kingdoms. In what way?"

"Golems. Next?"

"The entire continent. You used golems to build the tower?"

"No. Why the moderate approach?"

"To acquire them. Then what?"

"Attached them. Acquire what?"

"A human legion. Attached what, to where?"

"Legs to the tower. For what purpose?"

"Conquering the Demon Realm."

"..."

"..."

Their rapid exchange stopped.

Silence settled over them. The deep silence weighed down the air.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other.

"Heh."

A laugh slipped between parted lips, breaking the silence.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Pahahahaha!"

Berge roared with laughter, his booming voice making the air vibrate. Jason laughed along with him.

"You're going to use Arain's humans to conquer the Demon Realm?"

"You attached golem legs to your tower?"

"You're completely fucking insane."

"You are hardly one to talk, Lord Berge. What sort of thinking even makes that possible?"

"And you think your plan is possible?"

"Why should I not do it? The Demon Realm broke the law of survival of the strong. It deserves to pay the price. Why should it be impossible? Arain is different from other dimensions."

The abundance of heroes meant the dimension possessed great power.

It meant the creatures living there had great potential. It meant the dimension's fighting strength was considerable.

Look.

There was a spirit king's contractor.

There were no fewer than ten Stars, where other dimensions might have only one or two.

There were over three thousand heroes.

"A dimension's power disappears the moment you leave it."

"Their own inherent strength does not disappear. Having grown more rapidly with the dimension's power, they are already strong."

"And the interference? They may be heroes now, but the moment they invade the Demon Realm, they become invaders. They will experience the dimensional interference Demon Kings endure."

"If interference can be counteracted in a lower dimension, a higher dimension is no different. I need only make them all my servants and share the tower's authority with them."

"Do you think the Demon Realm will just sit there and take it?"

"Why do you think I have spent centuries building my strength?"

"Even so, you would struggle to withstand all the grand dukes and the Demon Emperor attacking together."

"There is plenty of time. Indeed, now that I have been exposed, stronger foes will descend to kill me. But as long as they are subject to dimensional interference, I will win here even if the Demon Emperor himself descends."

Berge could not deny it.

Even the Demon Emperor's power would be suppressed upon descending to a lower dimension. The degree supposedly varied from demon to demon, but between Jason as he was now and a newly descended Demon Emperor, Berge honestly had no choice but to favor Jason.

"One last question. Then why did you abandon the moderate approach?"

"Are you asking because you truly do not know?"

"No, I know. Then let me change the question. Isn't that too drastic a change of direction?"

"Since things have turned out this way, I decided to take a somewhat longer view."

"Longer?"

"Thanks to you, Lord Berge, I realized that extending my grasp from the shadows leaves me far too vulnerable to unforeseen factors."

"And?"

"And so I intend to simply devour Arain openly. Foolishly using the Empire to undermine my own prestige was a waste of time. I even played the wronged Demon King, deceived by the Empire and saddled with the shameful name of Lies."

"You'll lose a huge chunk of the fighting strength you want."

"Did I not tell you? I am taking the long view. I will not head to the Demon Realm immediately after conquering this dimension. I will devour whoever comes and nurture the humans anew."

"I can hear Grand Duke Alkain having a fit from here."

"Even if it is conquered by the Demon Realm, the power of the dimension called Arain will not disappear. This dimension remains full of potential. In time, new powerful individuals will emerge—as my faithful servants."

Unless the Demon Realm could eliminate Jason, time was on his side. And in Berge's estimation, the Demon Realm as it stood could not do it.

Jason—no, the Doppelganger wearing Jason's skin—had already integrated himself into the dimension far too thoroughly.

"Unless it's me."

"Such confidence. Just what one would expect of a demonic dragon. Then shall we conclude our questions here?"

"I have another. Why did you help Daniel Deirus grow stronger?"

"I have nothing more I wish to ask you, though."

"Actually, I have a fair idea."

"Oh? Might I hear it?"

"You've hit a wall, haven't you?"

"..."

Every living being had limits. Demons' potential surpassed that of most creatures, but they too faced walls.

Everyone struggled desperately to break through that wall. They became Demon Kings and invaded dimensions in pursuit of purer demonic energy and battles to the death.

But what if even that reached its limit?

They would seek a new path. Struggle to break through by any means. Find some special catalyst. If they could not find one, they would create one.

"And that was the special hero you nurtured by feeding him a dozen or more Demon Kings. Daniel Deirus. Am I wrong?"

"Could he not simply be my vanguard commander for the conquest of the Demon Realm?"

"If that were true, he would have no reason to fear you and call you a monster."

Loyalty would have made sense.

But no human would be loyal knowing they would be devoured.

"But he is alive. If that were my purpose, would I have any reason to keep him alive until now?"

"I hate the Guide, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. When it comes to gathering negative emotions and demonic energy, it is absolutely sound and efficient."

Crush humanity's hope.

"Show the humans Daniel Deirus, the hero they once revered as a god, and then kill him."

How would it feel to watch their only hope fade away?

Would it not bring utter despair?

"Isn't that right?"

"... Correct."

CLAP!

Jason clapped.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

He applauded like a madman.

"Indeed, it seems you did not become the top graduate through luck. Then do you know what I will do now?"

"You'll let me go."

"Correct. You are not enough as you are now."

And so.

Jason pushed up his monocle.

"Go. Go and consume the elixir I have prepared. Would Berge Deias, having devoured Daniel Deirus, not be a richer morsel than Daniel Deirus alone?"

"And if I become stronger than you?"

"Going to the Demon Realm in my present state would be meaningless anyway. I spoke of time, but no one knows whether that will mean a hundred years or a thousand. Thanks to you, Lord Berge. Rather than simply wait through all those tedious years, would it not be worth taking a small gamble?"

"You'll regret it."

Berge raised his eyes in a glare.

"A demonic dragon never forgets humiliation."

"Should you not be grateful for my mercy instead? Surely you know it yourself. You cannot defeat me as you are now."

"That doesn't matter."

"Then please, do not forget this humiliation, and return as quickly as you can."

"You've waited six hundred years. Can't you wait a little longer?"

"Having waited six hundred years is precisely why I find it so difficult to wait any longer."

"One more question."

"Yes, if you wish."

"Why did you reveal everything?"

"What do you mean?"

"If the Empire is in your hands, isn't it more your style to wear the emperor's skin and bide your time?"

"Certainly, that was how I operated until now. But it is amusing to hear that question from the very person who forced me into this."

Jason pushed up his monocle.

"Still, if I must answer, it was a rational decision."

"A rational decision?"

"The decision that I must not give you any more time, even if it means exposing myself."

"You mustn't give me more time... Then you won't be waiting quietly, will you?"

Yes, exactly.

"I will crush the coalition here and advance on Hilderan. And the imperial army will invade Akan."

Ernyan Hilderan, and Lavinia Akan.

"If you wish to stop the destruction of the kingdoms of those princesses you cherish, you will have to return quickly."

Because I...

"Am so excited at the thought of devouring you after you kill Lord Daniel and obtain his power, Lord Berge, that I simply cannot wait!"

Jason beamed.