For the time being, Damien returned to his room. There were too many parties keeping eyes on him for him to wantonly leave the temple.
'If the Temple Master is technically an enemy, then nothing here is safe.'
The Earth Temple was not at fault, and Damien could tell that the Temple Master wasn't an inherently evil person. Everything he said and did was being controlled.
'That means all the information I've received so far could be a lie.'
It really depended on how the enemy saw Damien.
If he was a threat to the plan, then everything he was told could be falsehoods meant to direct him into a trap.
If that same person saw him instead as a piece on the chessboard, then the information was partially true, but he was being used to accomplish a step of that person's plans.
'I can't easily decide which one it is.'
However, he was forced to treat the information as fact until he'd found evidence otherwise.
'The Temple Master is being controlled, and the Dragon Lord is somehow involved too. For someone to be able to take both of these figures into the palm of their hands…'
That person had to be incredibly strong.
It couldn't be another Temple Master. The pact they signed together forbade them from acting against one another, so if it was one of them the signs would have already been clear.
'Other than them, the only people on this island with that kind of power are a few individual wanderers and the Area Lords.'
Wanderers weren't too highly respected, but they also weren't scorned. It would be strange for a wanderer to find a reason to want to bring chaos into the island's structure.
More importantly, everyone who had the amount of power required to plot such a conspiracy was either on the island because they wanted to be, or–
"–they're trapped here by something and have a huge vendetta.'
The Area Lords were the most suspicious entities on the island.
For the most part, they didn't leave their associated arenas. However, their actions on the island were not controlled to a great extent. They were not allowed to fight anyone who didn't come to challenge them, they were not able to refuse a challenge they received, and they were forced to remain on the island until they had been naturally defeated.
These were the only rules barring them outside of combat. Even when in combat, the only added rule was that they were not allowed to go easy on their opponent. They had to use everything they had even to hunt a rabbit. 'Area Lords aren't able to touch other Area Lords, are they?'
It was too confusing. Somewhere, at some time, somebody found a loophole in the system that had remained impenetrable for so long.
The third island had faced chaotic plots for a very long time, and each time the people involved were thrown into prison and left there to rot. This was the very first time that the Chaos Faction had been able to create a stir to this degree.
It was a location that had been suspicious to Damien for a very long time. It reeked of danger and nobody seemed to mind it. On top of that, its location was not hidden in the slightest.
It was guarded and watched by the Prison Master, an Area Lord who was said to have been upholding his duty for billions of years. Was that why they thought it was better for it to be above ground and hidden in plain sight?
Regardless, if Damien wanted to investigate all of the Area Lords, then a week wasn't nearly enough time. They lived fairly separated from each other, and Damien couldn't cancel distance as he had never visited their arenas before.
'The Prison Master is in a more central part of the island, so it will be easier to reach the rest from there. Plus, it'll be good if I can see the state of that place for myself. I need to judge whether it's actually a viable solution or not.'
But first, he needed to get out of the Earth Temple.
Damien was the only one in this realm with access to a power other than Nonexistence, after all.
'I was refraining from using it since it would inhibit my training, but this is a separate matter so it should be fine.'
The Void Physique was always with him.
Damien was restricted by the laws of this realm, but would that still be the case if he activated the physique's power?
The Void had not submitted to him yet, but that didn't mean it was unwilling to support its favorite Apostle when he needed it.
As long as Damien unleashed that power, nobody in this realm would be able to touch him.
'Still, I can't overdo it.'
He was using the Land of Nothingness to get stronger. Cheating its system wouldn't help him do that. No, there was a possibility that doing so without moderation would offend the concept and ruin Damien's efforts.
However, he was never planning to overcome the island trials with the Void's help.
He only used it to make his own life more convenient.
A pitch-black energy covered his body. In one motion, it peeled off of him and formed into a clone that matched him perfectly.
Damien's own body transformed until he looked like a completely different man. The convenience of a reality-breaking ability, really.
His mind was perfectly split similar to how he cloned himself in the Heavenly World before landing in this realm. And, his clone only had one ability: the power to utilize Nonexistence.
Damien grinned. There was only one thing left to test, and that was simpler than anything.
Damien himself canceled distance and left for Terra.
Sensing the disturbance, the guards outside the door burst into the room, only to see Damien meditating peacefully.
His eyes opened menacingly. "I'm not a fan of people who don't respect my privacy, but you came at the perfect time, so I'll let it go. You and you, come at me together. I challenge you to a duel."
The clone stood up and faced the two guards.
"Sir, that is not our job. We are only here to protect you."
They obviously weren't interested. However, Damien wasn't going to let them off so easily.
"Maybe, but you guys are also pissed off about having to do shit instead of your own thing, right? Come at me. If you win, I'll request a change of guards and get you guys some paid time off."
Nothing else Damien said really interested them. They were slightly annoyed about having to guard him at all times, but it wasn't much different from their normal work so they didn't mind it.
The important part came after that.
The concept of "paid time off" was nonexistent in this realm.
The prospect of being off work but still receiving salary…
It was something incredibly enticing to these men. And since Damien was someone who could really promise them something like that and fulfill it…
…they couldn't just let this opportunity slide!