( Two days before the departure to the other realm )
" This is not fair you know…. *Sob* I'm just as strong as you are " Asiva said softly as she broke down after hearing Max's request.
" I know you are siv, No, you are stronger than me, but that's precisely why I need you to take care of things here at the Bloodfall clan while I'm away. If all of us go to war, who will take care of our home? " Max said as he tried to ask Asiva a sensible question.
" It's going to be hell out there…. I'm not willing to let you go there alone " Asiva said as she absolutely refused to not fight back to back with Max on this one.
She was ready to die for Max if needed, but she was not ready to send him to the dimensional battlefield alone.
Max hugged her tightly, he knew that he would need to console Asiva today, the previous separation was already too much for her to handle, now the thought of him going again was proving to be challenging for her to cope up with.
" Why can't you let Severus or Sebastian or Anna stay back? Why must it be me? " Asiva asked, although she already knew the answer to that question.
Only she was Max's regent, only she was the prime minister having the highest say in every department.
Only she knew the nuances of how to run a territory and Max only trusted her to run the show in his absence.
Deep down Asiva knew it too, the territory was not running as smoothly as it used to be.
Petty crime and theft had skyrocketed in the past month and the looming sense of doom was bringing the worst out of many people.
Fights often broke out in the fruit markets to the point where Max had to allocate more police patrol to the fruit and grain markets than he needed to do in the other 13 districts combined.
There was growing frustration amongst the merchants because their products were not moving fast enough and the compulsory military service was causing a shift of culture that was unseen before.
Not everyone had the dream of becoming a strong warrior in life, not everyone wanted to train and wield a weapon.
Most of the young vampire youth was still in the phase of enjoying their life rather than doing something productive with it, hence when they were suddenly called up for training, it was a hard change in the life they were used to.
Military training was a personality altering experience and in the long run it was for the best, but in the short run it caused a lot of problems just because of the sheer scale of recruits being trained at once.
In such volatile circumstances, Max needed to have someone he trusted to look after the civil affairs, which meant that either he himself or Asiva needed to stay back.
His presence on the battlefield was strongly corresponding to the confidence and morale of the troops, plus with his extensive training, he was now someone who could go toe to toe with an average tier6 god in combat.
Those two factors combined made him the more suitable candidate to lead from the front, which meant that Asiva needed to stay back home.
" If you die there Max…. " Asiva said as she choked and could not finish the sentence she was about to say.
Max lowered his head, he would be lying if he said that he was not worried about his own life.
The dark faction aside, if he was forced to use his blood manipulation powers on the battlefield, the vampires themselves might end up killing him.
But what choice did he have?
The future king of vampires couldn't just sit the war out and hope for his future subjects to respect him.
" If you die there, don't expect me to live either " Asiva said as she looked away from Max after saying those words.
Everyday that she lived away from him was a painful torture. If he died and was gone for good, Asiva did not wish to live in a universe where he was not alive.
Max kissed Asiva on the cheek as he wiped off her tears.
One of them had to be strong here and Max decided that he was going to be the one to carry all the burden from this point forward.
" Nobody can hurt me Siv, I'm Max goddamn Rajput, no I'm Lord Ravan Bloodfall, I'm the godslayer, I'll be alright " Max said cheerfully as he reassured Asiva of his competence.
For many moments the two did nothing but embrace the warmth emanating from the other's body until the point where they slowly started kissing.
The mood began to shift slowly and soon both of them found their bodies to be completely naked as their robes were thrown in a far corner of the bedroom.
What followed was a session of very soft, loving yet intense love making as Max tried to do his best to coax Asiva into staying out of this war by giving her mind-numbing pleasure.
6 hours and 10 orgasms later, Asiva seemed completely dehydrated and numb as she mumbled promises to Max as to how she was going to look after the territory and how he should only focus on the war and not worry about home.
It was a full night's work, but Max managed to convince her in the end using his excellent skills in bed.
*********
( One day before departure )
After a full night's work, Max wanted to have his morning tea in peace and quiet which was why he headed to the west gardens to enjoy one in solace.
He liked the west gardens a lot because it was constructed in an Earthen style that reminded him of the garden that he had back in the Upside on Earth.
He had believed he would be the only one there, but the old man was already sitting on one of the seats facing the garden as he sipped tea enjoying the scenery as well.
' Of Course he enjoys it, he's from earth ' Max thought as he shook his head and took a seat beside the old man.
The old man gave him a faint smile and a nod, but there were no pleasantries exchanged even though he was the Lord of the palace.
The old man continued to observe the garden in his peace and quiet as Max was quite amused by his behaviour.
Not only was the old man wise, but he was also uninterested in currying favour.
He was an odd one, and Max was unable to figure out his real motive, but somehow he felt like the old man was reliable.
That despite his frail body, the old man was a pillar of support he could lean on if he needed to.
It was an odd sensation that was difficult to explain, but over the past few weeks Max had become quite glad that he had met the man.
" We are leaving tomorrow…. " Max said as he took a sip from his tea.
" I'm excited " Rudra replied with a smile
" Excited? That's an interesting way to put it.
Tens of Billions will die in this war and you are excited? " Max asked amusedly
" Ofcourse I am, if you remove the fear of your own mortality, you will see that wars are just a wild adventure and this one is as big as it gets.
We will get to see fights between gods.
We will get to witness unseen and unheard attacks being used by friends and foes alike.
We will have hard fights and sweet victories.
Some days we will cry for lost ones, some days we will enjoy cutting down opponent's.
But because every day might be our last one.
We will be sure to make the most of each one.
I think war will be fun and I think the dark faction will fall and we will tell our children and grandchildren that we fought in the war where the universe was eradicated of a great evil " Rudra said as he flashed Max a big wrinkled smile that made Max involuntarily smile on his own.
" Interesting…. " Max said as he absorbed the words of the old man.
While they sounded philosophical, they helped Max lift off some of the gloom that he felt about doing to war tomorrow