What Was Planned for the First Floor
Beautiful flowers have thorns.
Sweet honey has bees that guard it.
And spirit herbs were more precious than flowers, more valuable than honey.More beautiful, sweeter, and nobler than either.
Naturally, many sought them.
Naturally, many wished to claim them.
And naturally—
"It's a Poil Orc."
There were other hunters who wished to claim the spirit herb.
Covered head to toe in snowy white fur—It was one of them, or rather they—the Poil Orcs who lived in the icy mountains.
"What do we do? Regular knights can't even hope to compete with those things."
"And standing next to you is a Demon King, isn't it?"
He stood up and slowly approached their settlement.
Grrrk—
Grrrk?
The cries of monsters echoed through the blizzard. Berze felt their gazes.
One, two, three—The number of golden eyes increased, all filled with wariness and hostility.
"···Demonkin."
A rough voice came from one of the orcs.
Berze did not suppress his aura, and they immediately recognized what he was.
"As Demon King, I command you. Leave quietly and abandon what you've found."
Monsters were ultimately the inferior descendants of demonic beasts.Those demonic beasts, once scattered across all dimensions by the Demon Realm, had settled in the Middle Realm and taken on new forms.
Though tens or hundreds of generations had passed since they were cut off from the Demon Realm, faint engravings still lingered in their flesh—
Loyalty to demonkin, loyalty to the Demon Realm.
However—
"···We refuse."
"This is ours."
"We do not obey demonkin words."
The Poil Orcs bared their teeth.Wariness and hostility turned to bloodlust and rage.
"These wretches···"
Berze had overlooked two things:That for monsters who had lived severed from the Demon Realm, the connection had nearly faded to nothing—And that for creatures ruled by instinct, the spirit herb before them was an absolute value they would not surrender.
Something more important than some nameless demonkin.
But the Poil Orcs had overlooked something as well—
Berze was not merely demonkin.He was a Demon King.
And he enjoyed fighting.
Fwoom—
Black flames bloomed.The falling blizzard did not dare encroach upon the domain of the flame.
"K-Kill him!"
"Protect what is ours!"
The orcs dug their weapons into the snow and charged.
The black flame opened its massive jaws.The two forces collided.
KRAAAASH—!
The leading orc exploded instantly.
That was the beginning.Explosions, screams, and shrieks filled the air.
"···Ah."
Ernan stared blankly at the scene.
It was hot.
The blizzard felt like a gentle breeze before the overwhelming heat.
The black flame felt like a living creature.
It melted snow, burned the ground, and devoured the orcs.
An orc screamed.
Even as it rolled across the snow, the fire did not go out.
Their fangs could not reach the Demon King.Their blades melted helplessly before the infernal flames.
It was a one-sided slaughter—an utter butchery.
"Even five Poil Orcs can tear an ogre apart. Up on the mountain, even the strongest knight can't handle them. If you ever meet them, you must run immediately."
"Would I ever have a reason to go where Poil Orcs live?"
"That's true. Still, it's good to know—haha."
Fragments of old memories surfaced.
And she had indeed come—Although the situation was far from dangerous.
'So this is a Demon King···'
Her spirits trembled in fear, hiding behind her from the presence of an absolute being.
But she could not tear her eyes away.It was beautiful—the strength, the overwhelming might.
'If I were that strong···'
Maybe she wouldn't have had to live a life like prison.
At that moment, darkness fell.The ironic brilliance of black light faded.
Haaah—
The Demon King let out an exhilarated breath.
In his grasp hung the chieftain's limp body like a dead corpse.
Was he dead? No.
There was a faint breath—barely.But that was all.
The chieftain was incapable of doing anything.His twisted limbs bled, and the glossy white fur had been completely burned away.
His companions were buried in the frozen earth, already covered with snow.
"Say it again."
"···W-We offer it to you."
"I," the Demon King growled, chewing on his words, "hate being ignored. And I hate being mocked even more."
How dare an orc, not even a hero—
Challenge the vanguard of the Demon Realm.
"How do you think I feel when something beneath me dares crawl above its place?"
"M-Mercy··· please…"
"Do you think mercy is for dogs who bite their master?"
"I—I will serve you, Demon King!"
Creatures within a Demon King's tower fell into three categories:
Demonkin.Demonic beasts.And monsters.
Demonkin were the intelligent races of the Demon Realm.
Demonic beasts were everything else from the Demon Realm.
And monsters were the distant descendants of demonic beasts that took root in the Middle Realm long ago.
There were only two ways to make monsters residents of the tower:
Brand them as slaves with Magi Points and the tower's power—Or subdue them through strength until they submitted willingly.
But Berze intended to take neither.
Even without branding, bringing them into the tower meant they would absorb some of its Magi.
And he had no Magi Points to waste on creatures like this right now.
A dog that has bitten its master should not be left alive.
"That is not for you to decide."
CRACK—
He took its life.
"Wow··· the purity of the mana here is incredibly high."
At the center of the Poil Orc settlement were plants that reeked of mana.
Gulp—
The princess swallowed unconsciously.
"Don't get greedy."
Berze snorted and pushed her back.
He gently dug up three spirit herbs and tucked them into his coat.
The snow-white flower, called Iasins, was a frost herb that grew only in snowy mountains.
Because it carried extreme cold, water-spirit magicians and ice-type mages would pay a fortune to obtain it.
For a first find in barely thirty minutes, it was too great a harvest.
'I didn't expect a mana-dense zone to be so close.'
Ernan, who had been discouraged moments before, was now hopping around happily with her spirits, and Berze clicked his tongue.
Even if she hadn't found a spirit herb, the place itself was a huge gift to a spirit wielder like her.
'If I'd been a bit more careful…'
The tower absorbed even small traces of mana from its surroundings and converted it into Magi.
If he had built his tower here, he could have gained more Magi.It was too late now, of course.
'In that case, I should reconsider replacing the princess.'
He had considered watching the hero's progress and, if things turned troublesome, sending back the First Princess and kidnapping the Thirteenth Princess again.
But the potential she showed made that decision harder.
The Ergest Mountains overflowing with spirit herbs—And a princess who could command spirits, the best trackers in the world.
'At least for now···'
He felt the need to exploit her.
Until he reduced dimensional interference to the limit and reclaimed his true power—
Until the day came when he could sever the necks of the heroes who had mocked him.
'Humans always work harder when you give them the right carrot.'
"Let's move to the next area. If we find another one, I might give you one as your share."
"Yes! I'll look as hard as I can!"
But as the saying goes—the first stroke of luck is often the last.After that initial miracle, nothing appeared again, no matter how long she searched, until she was exhausted.
"The heroes have begun their Hero's March?"
"Yes. The elf delivered the message."
As soon as Berze returned to the tower, news awaited him—the Hero's March had begun.
Hero's March. A phrase he had grown sick of hearing before his regression.
"···So it begins."
"They say thirty-two heroes have formed a group."
"Their leader?"
"A hero named Hillen Cargill. He is the one rumored to have slain the Demon King of Lust."
"Hillen Cargill···"
A name he remembered.The real deal—the hero who had cut down the Demon King of Lust.
Of all times, a heavyweight had appeared from the very start.
'Is this the price for building my tower on Ergest Mountain?'
His attempt to weed out as many heroes as possible seemed instead to have drawn an even stronger adversary.
"For now, why don't we obstruct their Hero's March as much as possible?"
"How?"
"Isn't that why you bought Granada?"
"I have better uses for him. I won't waste him on something so trivial."
"Then why not purchase demonic beasts with Magi Points and send them?"
It wasn't worth considering.
Heroes chosen by the dimension grew stronger by hunting invaders.Heroes grew by fighting demonic beasts, demonkin, and Demon Kings.
Though that was the standard method—
To obstruct the hero's march while also raising them to later devour them.
All the more disgusting and repulsive because it was effective.
"Denied."
"Then there's no method left. And when they arrive, we will inevitably lose. At this point, wouldn't it be better to stop selling Magi Points and spend them on reducing dimensional interference instead?"
"At best, that will buy us a few months. Do you think that's enough to beat a hero who has already severed a Demon King's head?"
Impossible. If that were feasible, Berze wouldn't have died in his previous life.Back then, he had kidnapped countless princesses, caused chaos, and earned immense notoriety.
"Then will you just wait and be defeated?"
"No. I intend to use them."
"Use them?"
"The Hero's March—humans glorify it more than anything."
Berze knew the significance of the Hero's March.He knew the influence it carried, the fame heroes gained from it.
He had suffered its consequences far too many times.
"It's the perfect stage for a mercenary corps that has little fame but solid skill."
"Are you saying you'll send Granada?"
"If possible, I'd prefer humans to eliminate humans."
But no matter how greedy they were, mercenaries would not assassinate a hero who had slain a Demon King and was attracting the full continent's attention.
"Then what else can we do? They're still coming."
"Nothing."
Sending demonic beasts would only help the heroes grow.There was nothing that could replace the demonic beasts in that role.So he would do nothing.
That alone would partially restrict the heroes' growth.The Hero's March was essentially a request to Demon Kings to send demonkin for them to fight.For their growth.
By cutting that off completely, he would at least achieve above-average interference.
"As for the heroes—"
"Yes?"
"When the princess said she wanted to decorate the fourth floor, something occurred to me.Perhaps I've been too rigid in my thinking. Perhaps I'm just another narrow-minded demonkin."
A doubt surfaced.
Did he really need to spend Magi Points to reinforce the tower?
Did he really need to keep expending Magi Points to maintain traps?
"What do you think about filling the tower with something other than demonic beasts?"
"That's absurd! What nonsense are you saying?"
Gordon was aghast.
"Don't tell me—you're going to buy slaves again to fill it?! Absolutely not! Never!"
"And why not?"
"Because it's a tower! And you're a Demon King! You would let humans run a Demon King's tower?!"
"What if it's dwarves instead of humans?"
"Even worse! Do you know how laughably short those dwarves are?!"
"They are small."
"Imagine those little runts greeting the heroes at the mighty Demon King's tower! What would heroes think?!"
"They'd laugh, probably."
He imagined the tower doors opening and a group of 130-centimeter dwarves marching out.It was admittedly amusing.
"Exactly! Even with terrifying demonic beasts, it's barely enough—how could you even consider using such trash species?!"
What demonkin desired was fear, dread, anger, and despair.
Would humans fear dwarves?Would they despair?
No. They would snort and mock them.
That must never be allowed.
"There's a reason an imposing throne sits at the top of the tower. And dwarves would never obey your commands faithfully!"
"I've heard dwarves are quite fond of money."
"At least they're not like humans who'll sell their guts and liver for coin. They're sneakier. More irritating."
"I heard they're stubborn."
"And more importantly—"
"More importantly?"
"They're weak. Weak! They're barely fit to be food for demonic beasts, let alone guardians of a tower! The tower must be filled with the strongest demonic beasts possible to face heroes!"
"True. A tower should be filled with strong ones."
"Exactly! Now you sound like a proper Demon King again!"
Gordon nodded dramatically, relieved he had prevented his lord's madness.
"So the first floor will be filled with dwarves."
"Gakh!"
Gordon bit his tongue.
None of what he said worked at all!