With the Southwestern Region cleaned of the Divine Order's presence entirely, one would expect several changes to take place.
However, for the most part, nothing much happened.
As months went by, the citizens slowly forgot about the events of the past and went back to their daily lives. Trade resumed in the region, and those from external forces finally found themselves able to enter the cardinal region again.
At first, they thought everything was the same, but there was a subtle difference.
The people…weren't they acting a little different?
They weren't as "kind" as before, but that wasn't a bad thing. In the past, the kindness most people received from the citizens unnerved them. It didn't seem natural, and the cult-like feeling that was ever present here made people want to leave as soon as possible.
Other than those who succumbed and became brainwashed citizens of the region, everyone else viewed the common people of the southwest like they were a plague.
That feeling was gone now.
They seemed to be minding their own business, living their lives without being overly concerned about others.
That was it, though.
After the Divine Order was destroyed, everyone expected there to be a new influence controlling the Southwestern Region, but that was a flawed assumption.
The Divine Order still existed.
Even its old headquarters were rebuilt, leaving the territory looking like nothing happened at all.
But the people weren't the same.
That was the key difference.
The Veritas Clan didn't have to do much after the war ended. Other than an envoy party that went to Void Palace, the rest of their army returned home to await further orders.
Void Palace and the Holy Empire were the ones who really cooperated in the reconstruction of the region.
It was Damien's idea.
Though he still hadn't had the opportunity to meet the Holy Emperor, he'd been exchanging letters with the man for several months.
Through those interactions, Damien was able to learn a great deal about religion and how to act if one was in control of one.
With this knowledge, he was able to create a new Divine Order. His own people were sat at the head of the order, so it would never stray off its original path again.
The citizens of the Southwestern Region were able to resume their lives so soon precisely because of this.
Damien gave them a sense of security and stability, making them feel like nothing much had changed.
He was able to bring peace to the territory, and though he couldn't hang his banner over it quite yet, the fact that he was the one controlling it from the dark still held true.
The Southwestern Region needed time to stabilize entirely. In terms of economics, geopolitics, and other similar matters, the people Damien put in charge of the order had a lot of work to do.
Namely, the 8th Sword of Void Palace, Fabio Viviani. He was the one at the absolute peak of the new Divine Order.
He, along with the council of aids provided to him, would be in charge of ruling the entire Southwestern Region, a mission they took as a blessing from their Young Lord.
The Holy Empire didn't care about artificially expanding its territory, so it didn't interfere much with what happened afterwards, only offering help where help was needed.
The Vega Clan remained silent as they continued to observe how things progressed, while the Dragon Clan, as always, remained unconcerned with the happenings of the Heavenly World.
The only other influence who had a stake in this matter was the Kyushu Federation, who'd been oddly silent since everything began in full swing.
Matthias Quincy promised Damien nonaggression, and that was exactly what he provided. He, like the leaders of Vega, decided that watching and being entertained was the best course of action for the current moment.
However, he did have a promise with Damien.
And Damien had shown him exactly what he promised to.
The Divine Order was gone, leaving only the Straea Clan.
Matthias knew better than to take their silence as submission, but regardless, he was a man who never went back on the promises he made.
In return for a number of resources that seemed unbelievable on paper, the Kyushu Federation would become a true ally of Void Palace, attacking and retreating together, living and dying together.
As he looked over the tens of reports telling him about everything taking place in the outside world, he had a wry smile on his face.
He saw it when they first met. That was the only reason he entertained the young boy who had ambitions beyond his station.
But now that they'd come this far, in a matter of months at that, he was forced to truly accept the conclusion he'd made.
"Damien Void…wants to rule the world."
Maybe "rule" wasn't the right word.
Whatever it was, Damien was trying to bring any and everyone together, creating a united front.
The only question was…
What was this united front for?
Who was he trying to face?
Even if Matthias was a member of the Heavenly World's elite, he wasn't aware of the true threat the Foreign Races presented.
He was aware of the Straea Clan's collusion with them, but just like everyone outside the palace, he was completely unaware of what they'd done to Dante, and what they were planning to do to the world.
The masses still saw the Foreign Races as a small threat.
Damien had plans to change that.
He couldn't just tell them. For people like Matthias, words alone weren't enough to prove anything.
They needed concrete evidence.
That sort of evidence wouldn't show itself as long as the Foreign Races had any say in the matter.
'But what if they didn't?'
What if they couldn't continue being underestimated anymore, no matter how hard they tried?
Well, they'd find out soon enough.
With the war against the Divine Order over, most people assumed that the palace was too focused on internal stabilization and the handover process to care about anything else.
They were wrong.
Void Palace didn't need to put much effort into those things. Their internal situation was at the best it had ever been, and when it came to the Southwestern Region, they didn't have to do much work at all because of Damien's preplanning.
The majority of their forces were free and ready.
After all, they knew that they weren't done yet.
Their Young Lord had led them to victory against one of their enemies, but there was still one left.
And while they were all still in the mood to wage war and conquer…
Damien couldn't betray their expectations, could he?
He had no plans of doing that at all.
Even for him, the feeling was the same.
The Straea Clan had been quiet for long enough. Whatever they were doing, Damien wasn't going to give them more time to do it in peace.
War was tedious and tiring, but it was also incredibly rewarding.
So until everything was over, Damien refused to stop.
The Divine Order was gone. The Straea Clan was next.
Until Void Palace hit the absolute peak of all worlds…
Well, nothing more needed to be said.
