Damien had quite a ways to travel, but it didn't take nearly as long this time.
Since he wasn't near the main palace, his identity wouldn't be questioned nearly as much, so putting on his Damien Grey disguise was more than enough to use teleportation arrays.
The Southwestern Region's culture was wildly different from the Southern Region.
The architecture was more of a textbook Western style, and it was far more technological than one would expect from a religiously dominated society.
The people of the Southwestern Region had unwavering faith in their god. It was to the point where a majority of the population would likely be willing to sacrifice their lives in its name.
The brainwashing had several negative effects on the people, but on society in general, it also had its positives.
For instance, the technological development.
With their united minds going towards a single cause without such thing as an opposing opinion, they were able to make rapid progress in several industries, namely daily conveniences.
The cities of this region were extremely modern, reminiscent of Earth's cities filled with skyscrapers and apartments that cramped millions of people into a small space with ease.
There was a police force as well.
The Divine Order was sneaky. They committed several atrocities, but many of them were done in the shadows.
The people didn't know they were being brainwashed. Such procedures would be done from birth, so it was impossible for them to even have the thought.
Their lives were relatively normal as well. Besides the overwhelming amount of religious influence in their daily schedules, they lived like normal people.
It could be said that their lives had been purposefully designed to not draw suspicion from the outside.
But there was an air of uncanniness.
As Damien traveled through the territory and ambled its cities, he could feel the difference between them and normal people.
Though, he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was different.
The disguise was immaculate. When the average person spent time in the Southwestern Region, they wouldn't even realize the difference.
And while the territory rarely had immigrants due to its heavy culture that most outsiders weren't willing to accept, there were occasionally those who decided to make the change and ended up indoctrinating themselves, becoming part of the crowd.
It was an insanely intricate scheme. Damien couldn't even imagine the amount of time it took for it to become so complete and cyclical, to the point where it could likely never be broken.
'Still, I'll have to break it.'
Damien didn't care what they chose to believe in, but the people who instilled those beliefs were not in their right minds.
If, after the Divine Order was destroyed, the church they established could be continued under better leadership, Damien would absolutely choose that option over others.
'But we don't even know if that's possible yet.'
Whether or not the people would be willing to make such a change…
'I guess I'll find out soon enough.'
Damien was already outside the big cities. He was currently in a small rural village somewhere in the midwest of the region, standing outside a rundown cathedral that looked more than just out of place in its surroundings.
'This is the place.'
He'd seen the location in the homunculus' memories.
It was one of many that had been in and out of this cathedral.
After all, it was made here.
'This cathedral is said to be an ancient relic of a civilization before the Divine Order, one of many things that prove the existence of their god, however…'
In reality, it was a front the Divine Order used to hide one of its many homunculus creation facilities.
And Damien was about to enter it.
He walked up the main stairs like someone who had no idea what he was doing, and as he expected, he was intercepted by a clergyman.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked, a welcoming smile on his face.
His eyes were squinted, so it wasn't easy to see his expression, but it was obvious he was eyeing Damien up and down, determining his purpose.
"Ah, no, I'm in the Southwestern Region for a bit on work, so I thought it would be nice to sightsee."
"I see…"
It wasn't rear. Damien's excuse, no matter how plain it sounded, was valid. People did indeed have to travel between cardinal regions for work fairly often.
After all, each region had its own speciality, and several million people had been employed to help transport said specialties to everywhere they were desired.
Damien had worked undercover for several years in the Eastern Region. For the sake of his convenience and hers, Yulia provided him a valid identity as a mercenary working for one of said companies, an identity that would be valid forever, or until the day they became enemies, as Yulia put it.
He could easily show his ID card whenever it was needed, but it seemed the clergyman didn't doubt his identity.
"Allow me to show you the way. Our cathedral has quite a long history, so you may get bored along the way."
"Don't worry. I happen to have a great interest in different cultures, so this is great for me."
Damien responded with the same cordial attitude, and without another word, the clergyman gave him a tour around the church.
Various facts were mentioned, including the history Damien already knew.
He was given the whole tourist experience, and he played his part well in return.
However, his goal was naturally different.
'I can't enter in broad daylight this time.'
He had to find his way down there and see if what he was looking for was truly there, and he needed to do it secretly.
He'd heard the rumors as he traveled the lands.
People were predicting the war already.
If the common people could sense it coming, the higher-ups could too.
But war between two great clans wasn't something that could be initiated so easily.
After all, they were too strong. If a war started, it would inevitably cause countless problems.
Justification was necessary.
Currently, Void Palace had it but was holding their hand.
The Divine Order didn't have it yet.
Not in the slightest.
But if Damien left any evidence of his actions here?
If they were given the initiative?
It wasn't something he could allow.
The entire time Damien took his tour of the cathedral, he was scanning the place with his awareness. For extra safety, he even detached his awareness from his body and disguised its energy so it couldn't be traced back to him.
He didn't find anything but rock for several thousands of kilometers under the cathedral, but eventually, the location revealed itself to him.
'I don't see any specific way to get down there, but that's better for me. I should be able to make it through teleportation.'
It was unfortunate that he couldn't see what was going on in the facility, only able to see where its roof was, but that was enough for now.
Regardless of what he found down there, it would be a useful clue.
'Since there's nothing else to do here, there's no need to continue looking suspicious.'
The tour was about to end, and he'd run out of time.
"Thank you for the experience. It really was as interesting as I expected."
The clergyman smiled and nodded, returning his empty words.
Damien left without any problems, and for the rest of the day, he continued his tourist front without deviating even slightly.
He could feel the eyes on him. They didn't leave until night came and he found a place to sleep.
However, as Damien found, they hadn't left at all. They'd waited, and when the next day dawned, they were once again on his tail.
For the next three days, Damien was forced to maintain his facade.
He checked in with some of Yulia's people whom she had stationed in the nearest big city, affirming his identity once again, and when that was finally done, the shadows that followed him slowly drifted away.
On the fifth day, he finally got his chance.
And he capitalized on it.
He arrived back at the cathedral in the dead of night, concealed by everything he could use.
The infiltration would begin and end today.
There was no room for mistakes.
