Damien checked for any secret rooms before leaving, since he knew what that man's usual habits were like.
Unfortunately, this labyrinth wasn't a main base and was just a death trap, so there was no information stored here.
Once he was certain about this, he immediately used his control over Existence to bypass any and all restrictions and return back to the surface.
'The problem is that this is still just the great desert. I need to find the Vanishing Dunes.'
From what he knew, they appeared and disappeared randomly and had been around for so long that they were involved in countless ancient myths and folk tales.
That meant they weren't a product of the mysterious man, but a natural phenomenon he'd taken advantage of for his benefit.
'It'd be easier if he made it. That way, I could at least predict the pattern.'
The great desert was hundreds of millions of kilometers wide. Even for Damien, it was impossible to immediately find something so elusive in a large area like this.
With no other choice, he began to teleport randomly in search of any traces of the phenomenon.
'They supposedly leave a huge disparity in the environment when they disappear, and when the sand fills in the gaps, it creates a unique pattern.'
'But even though all these years have passed, nobody has found a pattern in the movement of the dunes.'
'If it was really just a phenomenon, it would have to follow a pattern of some sort. Nature is filled with unique geometry like that, and true randomness is rarer than one might expect.'
'If it's really random, there's a possibility it isn't a natural phenomenon at all. And if it isn't that, the only remaining answer is…'
Damien shook his head.
He didn't want to think of the worst-case scenario here.
Instead, he diligently tracked trace after trace. He didn't even know how to determine the Vanishing Dunes apart from any regular part of the desert, so it was an especially annoying task.
But, as he continued teleporting, he suddenly felt a sensation like he was passing through a wall of slime.
He stumbled out of the spatial layers due to its interference, and though his surroundings didn't change much, he knew he'd found what he was looking for.
'That barrier wasn't something simple. This is probably it.'
The Vanishing Dunes.
Without delay, Damien tested the majority of his abilities to see if he'd been placed under any restrictions.
'There's nothing that can actually affect me, but there's definitely a ban on Divine Energy. Those who travel through this place have to use their bodies alone.'
That must've been why Damien was stopped by the barrier in such a forceful manner. His "Divine Energy" was blocked, and his teleportation was cancelled.
'Void Energy and other forms like what the Envoy'a demon race uses are fine. Only the Divine Energy of the Heavenly World is restricted.'
Damien could still function at full capacity, but he didn't immediately make that known.
'If there's someone else here, it's better to make them think I'm defenseless.'
He couldn't raise any alarm bells without knowing the full situation, after all.
With that thought in mind, he spread his awareness and took note of the boundaries of the Vanishing Dunes. After developing a clear understanding of how much space this area contained, he began the search he came here for.
'That second young master, what was his name again…? Ah, right, Asher Norn.'
Damien recalled the information he knew about the man, mostly that which was provided by the Norn Family.
'His affinity is fire, but Fire Laws are so prevalent in the desert that it's impossible to distinguish a specific frequency of them. His appearance isn't too obvious, and overall he's a pretty average guy.'
He didn't really get what significance Asher Norn held for his family to spend so much manpower on him, but that was a question for another day.
'If I can't find his traces, I have to look for anything else.'
He explored the area, which was around ten million kilometers wide and fifty million kilometers long, on foot.
His speed was something to marvel about, and despite the great distance that was seemingly impossible to scour without mana, Damien did it without much issue.
Of course, if he had to search every corner of the space, it would have taken him many months at the very least, but Damien had an awareness that surpassed the perception of even some Gods.
He was able to find the first trace through it and beeline there. After that, going from trace to trace wasn't too difficult.
They were physical, after all. Slight indents in the dunes, traces of battle, and even footprints hadn't disappeared, making it evident that they were left not too long ago.
'He disappeared around a month ago. If he was actually kidnapped, these traces wouldn't be so obvious. I think he came here for some other purpose, and the kidnapping happened when he collapsed from weariness.'
Damien's presence here was caused by a collection of coincidences, which made him a bit uncomfortable, but he ignored that feeling.
Because after almost a full day of searching, he found what he was looking for.
The final line of footsteps led to a clearing in the range of dunes that made up this natural phenomenon.
In the desert, this would've been nothing special, but in this place, flat ground was basically nonexistent.
They weren't called the Vanishing Dunes for nothing. It was basically a mountain range of sand, with each valley just barely wide enough for a single person to fit through on the flat area.
So when Damien found the clearing, he immediately felt suspicious.
His awareness didn't find anything off, and when he walked across it, nothing special happened, but…
'...the smell of blood is too thick.'
There had to be something here.
If blood was the key…
'My blood happens to be quite the delicacy.'
Damien grinned.
He cut into his palm and allowed his blood to drip onto the ground below. He even cut off Transcendent Regeneration to let copious amounts of the red liquid paint the ground, just in case a few drops weren't enough.
Nothing happened instantly, but Damien knew he was on the right track.
After all, the sand wasn't stained.
His blood sunk below the surface and disappeared into the mouth of "something."
And when that "something" got a taste of the heavenly treasure known as Damien's blood…
RUMBLE!
An earthquake shook the Vanishing Dunes.
The sand in the clearing sifted to the side as something rose from beneath it.
'It's…an altar?'
An altar of blood, a sacred yet corrupted imagery that Damien wasn't expecting to see, appeared before him.
And along with it, as if par for course, an altar guardian.
Damien's eyes widened.
"Ah, is it that time?
He hit his fists together in excitement.
The beast before him was a true chimera with a lion's head, a scorpion's tail, and the claws and wings of an eagle.
Its aura was tremendous, flaring out with such intensity that it increased the gravity in the area several times over.
It wasn't just an aura of power.
It was an aura of true Divinity.
Was there any better situation?
Damien flared his aura back, making his intentions known.
It was a challenge.
Damien had seen many Demigod beasts as the expedition party moved through the great desert, but he never had the chance to actually fight one.
Now that the chance had come, how could he let it go easily?
He raised his arm and pointed at the chimera with a large grin decorating his face.
"You…"
"You're fucking dead!"
