Naturally, memories were currently being read.
The Eternal Sanctum boosted Damien's power to an incredible level. Once he finished comprehending the things he learned from its structure, he filled all of the gaps that previously allowed people like Kura to stand against him. Twelve came and twelve died, but not in the simple reviveable way that most people died in this realm. Those assassins met a poor end because Damien needed information. Unfortunately, they would not be returning to life.
'At a base level, it looks like the Temple Masters, huh.'
Assuming that Damien didn't know anything, then regardless of whether he had a mind-reading ability or astute observation skills, the conclusion he'd come to was that the Temple Masters ordered for his assassination.
Was it because he was outshining their participants?
Well, since Damien didn't have enough time to properly learn the personalities of those from the other two temples, it would be quite easy to convince him so. The previous attack he experienced served that purpose as well, though it was mainly meant to keep him from learning anything unnecessary.
Even their memories lined up. The Water and Fire Temple Masters personally called for each of them and offered great rewards for Damien's head.
If Damien didn't know better, then all of the signs would have led to those two. His ire would be directed there according to the wishes of the mastermind.
Why did he want Damien to go against the Temple Masters?
See, from start to finish, Damien just accidentally found himself involved in these matters. He was just acting as the "big red button" that set off the nuke known as the Dragon Lord. Damien himself shouldn't have held any value to the true perpetrator, Eximus. Was he trying to make the Temple Masters suffer more by using him to ruin their reputations? Or did he just want to make the tournament more exciting from the perspective of an all-knowing observer?
Damien got the feeling that the only real reason for involving him had to be emotional.
'But I can't say for certain since he wasn't directly involved in anything. He did leave me a nice present, though.'
With his questions out of the way, Damien smiled as he walked away from the site as if nothing happened. He would play along with the schemes in the tournament for now, just so he could figure out why they were being plotted in the first place.
However, he wouldn't need to do it for long.
After all, those twelve were also corrupted with the control skill to shut their mouths. They had a trace of Chaos inside of them, and when Damien devoured it…
…it was only natural for him to receive a piece of its memories, right?
'That guy named Eximus might be elusive, but catching him just became far easier.'
Damien now had a rough idea of where the containment unit was. While his main body tracked it down, all he had to do was play the waiting game.
He hummed to himself and left the stadium, waiting for the second day of competition to arrive.
It did, and it passed just as easily. There were no new attacks. Damien had a slight silent confrontation with the Temple Masters before the round started, perfectly acting out his role as someone aiming for revenge. Though nothing about that attack was publicized, it would still be dangerous for them to act immediately. Damien's name was gaining prominence, and he was rapidly becoming people's favorite competitor due to his dominance and story.
He was an underdog who was still building his badge to the gold level but he was defeating everyone so overwhelmingly, so it was only natural for them to cheer him on. Damien was kept safe from assassination attempts by their cheers, and as if it was inconsequential, he casually finished his matches and returned to his room, practicing for what came next.
So, the third day of the tournament dawned. Damien approached the stage, prepared for his first match against a real competitor. At this point, he was facing Yanui and Quill was facing another Chaos follower. Tomorrow, he would fight the winner of that match and then have his showdown with the Dragon Lord.
That was the original plan.
"It seems we have a change in the roster!"
As Damien stood on the stage alone, the announcer did his job and announced some sudden news.
"According to the Water Temple, the original competitor, Yanui, was defeated by another temple member just yesterday! They chose to wager Yanui's participation slot, and with the agreement of the three Temple Masters, their match commenced! It may seem rushed, but this participant has sufficiently proved her strength through a bracket similar to what our remaining competitors have experienced so far!"
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, large projections appeared, showing a woman fighting several tens of opponents one after another and defeating them.
As they watched the woman display her power, the announcer welcomed her on stage.
"Now, introducing our newest challenger: Kura!"
So there was a reason why Damien had a wry expression on his face since earlier. The person who walked up the stairs and met him on the battle stage was someone he knew not too well, but someone he had a sinking feeling that he would re-encounter. She grinned, looking him in the eye.
"Shall we have a rematch?"
If it was , then he wasn't going to complain.
"I was looking to test how much I've improved, so this is perfect."
The person Damien fought when he first came to this island, she had clearly become far stronger in the time that they hadn't seen each other. A rematch that mattered to only a single person, but still one that Damien couldn't help but look forward to, began on the tournament stage.
And, as if important events were meant to happen concurrently, Damien arrived at the place he saw in Chaos' memory fragment.
He found himself in an underground cavern. It was almost impossible to reach because one had to practically swim in the Sea of Nothingness to reach it, but Damien somehow survived.
There was only one thing in the cavern. A pure white box with no entrance or exit that held one of the worst prisoners known to this island's people.
As Damien gathered more knowledge on Chaos itself, he understood what kind of entity its apostle was.
The Eternal Sanctum had nothing on this single box. Damien prodded it with Nonexistence in every way possible, but he couldn't find even a single way to enter naturally.
Still, there was somehow a menacing red and black aura emanating from it. That aura was the mark of Eximus and the proof that the person Damien was searching for was beyond those white walls.
'Once again, I have to resort to cheating.'
He didn't like it, but he still had to use it. The Void's energy wrapped around his body, and like he did not exist in the first place, he phased through the cube's walls and arrived inside.
Damien could finally meet the person who used others to commit every serious crime in the island's recent history.