The explosion was a mixture of black and red, the signature colors of chaos. However, it was also very similar to the colors that represented the Dragon Lord.
The instant the bomb went off, Damien used all of his power to contain it within a certain area. He gritted his teeth and fought against it, but, as expected, in this body, he had to deal with Chaos' full power.
From the crowd's perspective, the Dragon Lord was putting up his final struggle. He was releasing everything he possibly had to destroy Damien and win the battle.
Damien would have been glad if it was just that much. The explosion wasn't something he could deal with alone. He started sweating just from the few seconds that he spent containing it, but it was still expanding ever so slightly with every passing instant.
Still, Damien gritted his teeth and held on. The defining factor right now was not his own effort, but the actions of his main body.
Unfortunately, he was too focused on his current situation to pay attention to what was happening on that side, so he instead had to rely on something else entirely.
Damien was pushed back as the explosion became exponentially larger. The force alone shattered the arena barrier, and a huge sound filled the entire city of Terra.
People couldn't take it as part of the fight anymore. Looking at Damien, he wasn't just blocking the Dragon Lord's attack.
No, he was fighting for his life in that arena.
Chaos ensued just as planned. The citizens panicked and rapidly tried to evacuate the arena, climbing over each other to reach the exits.
The rumbling soon spread from the arena and into the city itself. Cracks spread through the streets and buildings shook as their foundations were damaged. A widespread panic was ensuing.
Damien's entire hope for quelling this problem before it truly became a calamity was based on the five words he had spoken before.
"Act now or die trying."
They were words meant for only three people. It wasn't a threat, but instead an attack aimed to remind them of their original purpose.
They were cursed now, but they still had their original egos. Just like the Prison Master, they could make the conscious choice to disobey orders and be punished.
Perhaps they would face permanent death, but in return, they would gain this society peace for many generations to come.
Was it worth the sacrifice in their eyes? That was Damien's question. He pushed through his own struggles and held onto the explosion. It had expanded into the stands already, consuming a large portion of the arena.
In three seconds, Damien would lose control over the force and it would run rampant. However, that was more than enough time.
Suddenly, the load Damien bore became lighter. His eyes widened slightly as he glanced to his left and right. A smile forced on his face when he understood what happened.
With blood leaking from their lips, eyes, and pores, the three Temple Masters were standing alongside him, using their remaining power to bring the explosive force down.
Outside, a few buildings had already collapsed. The people were wrapped in chaos, but there weren't severe casualties yet. Yes, thousands died, but they would all revive soon enough. As long as the force of the bomb was contained, they would not face eternal death. "We will not survive for long!" The Earth Temple Master roared.
"Use all of your power! Before we disappear, we must remove this force from our realm!"
The other Temple Masters nodded heavily. Damien, on the other hand, was less concerned.
After all, his mental burden was released so he was once again able to experience his split-screen life. On the other side, his body, filled with the power of Existence, removed Chaos' explosive force from the world entirely.
He held his arm out and summoned a blob of red mass from the middle of the energy storm. "I told you already. Die so everyone else can live. Even if it's a form , I won't let you survive and plant seeds for your successor to grow from."
The red mass screeched in an extremely high-pitched tone. It was definitely speaking, but Damien couldn't understand it.
Plus, why did he have to bother with what Chaos said?
Without an ounce of expression in his eyes, he closed his fist and squashed the red mass. Before its pieces could leave his reach, a black energy consumed them and brought their essence back into Damien's body.
From that moment, the island was free of a Spiritual God's influence. The energy he let spread into the world was still there, but the active techniques he used were immediately dispelled.
In other words, the control skill that was the foundation of Chaos' entire plan was undone. The Temple Masters were fighting through severe pain in order to mobilize their power and contain the explosion until then, but it all vanished in a single second.
They felt the phantom pain shooting through them, a product of their confusion, but they couldn't deny that they were not being subjected to the negative effects of the curse anymore.
There was no time to sit down and ponder upon it. With their newfound freedom, the three used everything in their power to support Damien.
Four people worked together in an arena that was no longer crowded to protect the city that didn't know of their efforts from a calamity that they still didn't understand.
Their powers combined and molded into one as they focused on the same goal, and bit by bit, the explosion's power was contained.
The black and red ball of chaotic energy retreated further and further until it disappeared entirely, leaving behind only the entirely charred body of the person who was rigged with the explosive in the first place. 'The Dragon Lord…' He was a good opponent. Whether he was dead or alive was uncertain at this time. Those who wished to know his fate would only be able to determine if he was eternally killed in a week's time.
For now, they could only kill his present body and offer him an opportunity to revive, as healing was impossible.
Damien spread his being through Nonexistence and looked at the city beyond the arena.
It was in tatters. While he was busy containing the explosion, it managed to deal a considerable amount of damage to the population.
This event would likely form a scar that never healed on the third island's society. However, if Chaos' plans truly came to fruition, then it would have been much, much worse than just a scar.
Damien smiled to himself just slightly.
'It's a really a good feeling when everything goes according to plan.' This event came frighteningly close to ending in tragedy, but everything Damien hoped for happened. Existence destroyed Chaos and the Temple Masters helped him in stopping the bomb. However, while everything had been mostly settled with these two events, there was still one thing left for Damien to do. And for that purpose, while his clone body accompanied the Temple Masters to take care of the aftermath, the main body took a direct route to the Eternal Sanctum just one more time.