"The essence of law? It's nothing more than a tool for class rule. It's the embodiment of the will of the ruling class. It's a method for the rulers to regulate all sorts of social behaviors. "
In a certain country in a certain world, any law scholar would learn about the essence of law when they first started studying jurisprudence.
Perhaps it was because this country was deeply influenced by the ideology of the hammer and the sickle. Their definition of the essence of law was filled with class warfare.
"Law is the tool of the ruling class."
In that country, this was the public opinion, the orthodoxy, the final conclusion. In fact, most law scholars and professionals viewed this as the truth … But, this wasn't everything. At the very least, I didn't believe that this was everything.
Obviously, this type of conclusion would only become reality after countries and social classes appeared. But, if society's structure wasn't complete, such as a primitive society without written or systematic laws, then wouldn't the most basic social principles be considered law?
And in this world where so many species coexisted, the concepts of law from the old generation were constantly being challenged.
For example, the Silver Dwarves strangely achieved equality for all species. They had no officials or tribe leaders, but even stranger was that they abnormally strictly obeyed the tribe's rules. In that case, since there wasn't even a ruling class, the classical concept of law based on class was nothing more than a joke.
For example, the Ant Tribe, which was a minority species, all of them lived for the Ant Queen and served the Ant Queen. However, the Ant Tribe actually didn't have any sense of self. They successfully combined all of their wills into a single entity. Since there was only one Ant Tribe member, it was difficult to say who ruled who. It was also quite common for the Ant Queen to be sacrificed.
For example, the Undead Tribe, which was composed entirely of dead people, or the Dragons, which had an even stranger social structure …
Such situations were quite common. In this world, the elves and humans had strict and careful societies, while the nobles and commoners were the minority. I couldn't even count how many societies were even stranger than the Silver Dwarves'.
Since most species hadn't even established their own countries yet, it would obviously be a joke to continue using the concept of class as the foundation of law.
If such a foundational law was still used, then the "evil laws are also laws" argument from my previous world would only become more and more intense, to the point where it would become impossible to resolve.
Abstract theories might be difficult to understand, but for example, if the tyranny of a tyrant, the internal system of a terrorist organization, and the unspoken rules of a killer society were also recognized as laws, then the newly born power of law would become the most powerful weapon in the hands of villains and tyrants.
Although this seemed like an abstract theoretical thought, explaining the essence of "Law" was actually giving the concept of Law a definition. Law was the source of the power of Law's birth and development, just like how Holy Light was defined as "Purification".
To Aichy, who had the power of willpower, a careless thought was definitely a disaster.
If there was a problem with the foundation, even if the superstructure did not collapse, it would grow askew sooner or later.
"Could it be that the law is only a basis for ruling? Could his social function of leading people to do good and punishing villains be simply explained as a function of maintaining social stability? Perhaps, that kindness and social function is its true nature. "
Finally, when it came to the Codex of Origins of this world, I gave up on the classical theoretical system that had once been the "Bible". Instead, I proposed my own personal understanding of the law based on the unique characteristics of this society.
"He should lead people to do good."
From this moment onward, the Aichy Codex was completely different from any other country's Codex. "Evil laws are also laws?" Such a dispute would never occur from the very start. The tyrant's evil laws were excluded from the Codex from the very start.
"He should treat every criminal equally."
From that moment onward, the power of Law would only act based on the criminal's crime. It wouldn't be biased based on the criminal's identity or power level.
"He should be limited to Divine Laws and Human Laws …"
After I finished defining the laws one by one, I discovered to my astonishment that an action that had been despised by human society back in the olden days became the best explanation for my "Law".
"… It's actually bloody and primitive … revenge of the same kind."
Perhaps the term "revenge of the same kind" was a legal term, but the actual meaning was quite simple.
"An eye for an eye, and blood for blood."
Those who harmed or killed would be treated the same way no matter how many evil deeds they committed. Those who gouged out their eyes would have their eyes gouged out, and those who killed would be killed. In primitive tribal societies, the majority of the time, the victim's blood relatives would take revenge. That was why this had another name … Blood Revenge.
Since it was far too barbaric and cruel, it had long since been eliminated by modern countries.
But, perhaps it was precisely because this world was far too cruel and barbaric that my power of Law appeared in this world.
Law used even crueler methods to threaten villains. Even if the villains managed to avoid judgment while they were alive, they would still be punished afterward. There would be no exceptions.
Law gave the victims the right to take revenge. When the villains' actions were exposed to the light, when the Codex of the River Styx recorded the mortals' experiences, their heavy crimes would finally transform into a noose that would strangle them to death.
Law gave the innocent and the weak a necessary sense of security. That was because the villains' severed heads were still hung high on the city walls, shocking the people who came after them. Law gave the victims the right to take revenge.
They were the protectors of the weak and the weak. They were the protectors of the weak and commoners, as well as the executors of vengeance for the victims.
It was quite obvious that this was quite extreme, bloody, barbaric, and unreasonable.
But, in this cruel world, if I continued to use modern law … then even the death penalty was being abolished. The "peacetime laws" that could be bailed out with money were the true idiots that didn't fit this era.
To give the simplest example, if I continued to use the laws of the olden generation as the foundation of law, then my Justice Knight would have to act just like the olden generation's police, even if they encountered an evil act of murder. They would first gather evidence and testimony, and then bring the criminal to court for a fair trial … In a way, they would even be inferior to the olden generation's police, because the power of Law was far more inflexible and foolish than the current system.
It was also worth mentioning that the death penalty was one of the few examples of revenge in the modern era.
"Murderers must pay with their lives."
This was common knowledge in traditional and primitive societies, but it had already been rejected by many countries. The ever-more complicated laws actually gave the unforgivable villains a chance to do evil again.
In this world where resources were limited, this was far too wasteful.
"Chaotic times require severe punishments … This world is even more chaotic than chaotic times. Naturally, severe punishments are boundlessly severe as well."
Only after I had determined the core of the Law's essence, did the series of applications of Law Incantations come into being.
But no matter what, Law was still a type of power of Order, an elemental power in this world. Not only did Law conform to its own characteristics, it also had to conform to the elemental laws.
The power of Order, the product of extreme Order, wasn't just the Power of Law.
Prophecy spells, wishing spells, and other "reasonable" spells were all used on the level of natural laws. They were quite similar to the power of Law, and their characteristics were also the same. The result of casting the spell would either succeed in achieving the desired result, or fail and be completely useless.
That was why wishes that were difficult to fulfill would be twisted by those with good intentions or evil intentions. For overly complicated events, prophecy spells that forcefully determined the future would be impossible to fulfill. That was why even if the popes forced prophecies, they would make it sound simple.
The power of Law was the same. Using Law incantations would result in a tug-of-war between friend and foe. If the user of the power of Law won, the Law incantation would succeed. But if the criminal was too powerful, the offensive spells would be weakened, and binding spells would be ineffective. In the end, it would still be a competition of elemental power.
The more complicated the application, the weaker the source. The more simple and direct the application, the stronger the source, the more impossible to distort.
In the end, when I decided to forge a sword, I finally achieved my goal in the most primitive and foundational way.
"Begin the trial. Law Sword: Revenge. An eye for an eye, blood for blood … A life for a life!"
The moment that the double-edged rune short sword appeared in midair, Cavendish's physical body directly shattered into pieces under his astonished gaze. I, who was laughing at him, also exploded into pieces.
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