The Dragon Lord's state was unusual. If one observed his body at a glance, one would find nothing wrong. If a more in-depth approach was taken, then perhaps only signs of the control skill would show.
To find the truth about what was going on in the Area Lord's body, Damien had to pierce through the layers of control and find the mechanisms hidden beneath. And it was exactly as he said.
The Dragon Lord had been turned into a living bomb that would blow when it was disturbed.
'Thankfully, I had the Void obscuring my mana. Otherwise, this entire volcanic region would have gone up in smoke.'
No, perhaps that was for the better? If he blew up here, then the number of casualties would definitely be decreased.
Damien's killing intent rose just slightly, but he suppressed it just as fast.
'No. I want to maintain the established order of this island. Even if it happens here, everything will go to shit if the Dragon Lord blows up.'
The plan was not extremely convoluted, but it likely took ages to set up.
From start to finish, the tournament was not a stage to get rid of the Chaos Faction.
No, it was a sacrificial altar.
'I was supposed to kill the Dragon Lord at the end of the tournament and trigger the bomb. It would decimate Terra and kill all three of the Temple Masters who are being forced to watch from the stands. That'll act as a trigger for the Prison Master to let the prisoners loose, and the Chaos Faction has an easy road from there.'
The Area Lords wouldn't be able to stop them because of the restrictions on their bodies, and the temples would be in shambles after the deaths of their masters.
Chaos would take hold, and the mastermind behind everything would become the king of the world.
'That's probably what he wants, right?'
A great upheaval where vile beings became the majority, where even normal citizens would be forced to turn into cruel people if they wanted to survive. Only the person who created that upheaval and established control over the world's strongest forces would be able to stand above it and claim it as his own.
'There is one good thing I've learned, though.'
It was easy to say that forcing the Temple Masters to die because their close friend turned into a human bomb was plotted to make them feel hopelessness before their fall, but it was just as easy to say that the mastermind was not confident in killing the three Temple Masters on his own.
'If he's of the same strength as them but used some esoteric methods to control them, then my life definitely becomes mildly easier.'
Not having to face a force stronger than the strongest people on the island was enough for Damien.
'But he can't be an Area Lord and he can't be a Temple Master. The only people left with enough power to do anything…'
Damien's eyes narrowed.
It seemed that someone did indeed find a way out of the impenetrable Eternal Sanctum.
'I have to find him.'
Before the Dragon Lord died, he had to find the real mastermind and kill him.
That was the only way to stop the era of chaos from dawning.
Damien had been gone for a week, but the only one aware of his actions was himself. The clone Damien played his part perfectly. The majority of his time was spent training on his own as he pretended to follow the Temple Master's orders to stay inside, while the rest was spent with the Temple Master himself, discussing the plan for the tournament.
As the event drew closer, the pain in the Temple Master's eyes became clearer and clearer, but Damien pretended not to see it.
'I can't alert anyone of my actions. Not even him.'
He didn't have a reputation on this island, which meant that he could play the part of a mercenary willing to follow orders for rewards well.
There were always eyes on him no matter where he went or what he did, so it was definitely a constraining lifestyle. He lived it only for as long as it was necessary, and when the time came for the tournament to start, the clone got excited to play his part in everything.
'It will take time to find the mastermind. I have to go back to the Eternal Sanctum and look for clues in places I didn't check before, and if he isn't inside, then I have to search the island until I find him.
The main body had a difficult few days ahead of him, but it wasn't going to be any easier for the clone.
'I can't stall since the matches are timed. The best I can do is draw out my fight with the Area Lord when I get to him. Still, I have four days at most. In four days, someone will fight the Area Lord regardless of what I want.'
That was the structure of the tournament, after all.
With the gathered power of the people here, it was impossible to cause a disturbance and get the fight delayed. The main body only had four days to do more than he'd done in the past seven days combined. "Thank you for joining us on this momentous occasion!..."
'Haa…it's not like it's my fault that I showed up at the very end. If I was here a few years ago, I could've taken care of it without all the hassle.'
It was only difficult because of the time crunch, but this was also something Damien was involving himself in due to his own whims.
"...the heroes of our nation have gathered…"
He could technically go fight an Area Lord right now and move on to the fourth island, but did he want to do that?
The position of Absolute seemed like a lonely place.
This was a realm that only existed to provide future Absolutes a place to hone their power.
Damien wanted it to be able to carry out its purpose without interference. He wanted to see more people rise from the rubble and become Supreme.
"...give thanks to the Temple Masters who created this glorious event…"
The Chaos Faction couldn't be trusted with a duty like that. The Temple Masters weren't much better if they let themselves get fooled by the mastermind, but they at least had the heart. They could train their strength when this incident ended.
"....now, introducing our champions!"
The announcer's speech ended before Damien could give it any more thought. He and the three hundred or so competitors walked out of the tunnel and into the stadium's light amidst the cheers of the crowd.
'I'll have to trust them with the aftermath.'
He directed his gaze upward at the platform where the three of them sat.
The Earth Temple Master, the Water Temple Master, and the Fire Temple Master. Three fools who found themselves in a bigger situation than they could handle.
If the main body was able to free them from their curse in time…
'...then everything will be up to you.'
There were still some days before the climax of this event, but it somehow felt like it had already arrived.
And that was a fact that nobody who knew about it was happy about.