Bound with chains Max was sent back to the controlled universe alongside some of the surrendered werewolf gods and their leader Ulrich.
He was forced to walk as a criminal in front of thousands of shocked vampires who had mixed reactions to his arrest.
" Go to hell, primordial vampire! You are a cancer to our society! "
" Hiding behind the mask of goodness your real objective was more sinister than the devil. I spit on you- "
" My Lord, I'm from the twilight clan, I believe you are innocent, I've seen you fight with your life on the line for us with my own eyes.
Don't worry, some of us believe in you! "
" I don't understand why the Aurelius clan is imprisoning him, King Regus should just KILL the primordial vampire! He is here to destroy our society! "" How can we trust the words coming out of demons? Has someone verified the authenticity of their claims? "
Stones were pelted and spit was spat towards the parading prisoner crew.
Shockingly, Max got almost the same level of hate as Ulrich, but the werewolf god still narrowly beat him to the punch of the most hated guy as there were still a few who sympathised with him, versus 0 sympathisers for Ulrich.
On a day where he was supposed to be celebrating his monumental victory, Max was instead going to be imprisoned inside a basement dungeon of Ixtal.
It was ironic, almost cruel, as if Regus Aurelius had given his all to save the vampire society, so had Max.
He too had put his life on the line to save the vampires and had played a big role in the war, but yet, despite all his contributions, on a day when victory had been achieved, he was turned into the criminal, just because his race was a primordial vampire.
What he deserved was adoration, respect and love, yet what he received was stones and spittles.
If he were a weaker man, it could have broken his resolve, but he was not.
He faced the situation bravely and without complaints as he awaited his chance to strike back.
Having already issued instructions to Sebastian prior to his arrest, he knew that now that Regus had decided to arrest him, he had the advantage of painting his picture as being the victim.
Since the king had decided to not give him the benefit of the doubt and play a political game, Max would play one right back and rock his world even though he himself would be sitting within a prison cell.
************
( Upon reaching Ixtal )
When the prisoners were teleported to Ixtal, while Max did not have any exaggerated reactions. Ulrich and the werewolves did.
The werewolf gods dropped to their knees and despite the kicks to the head and the insults by the Aurelius officials, they patiently kissed the holy ground and prayed to the red moon above as they seemed to be extremely elated to having gotten the opportunity to touch the holy land.
As the group was led towards the prison, they had to cross a bridge that went over the Sanguis and immediately Max began hearing the maddening chants of ' Avenge Us ' as he neared the river.
His breathing began more ragged and his bloodlust flared, as just like last time when he came here as a mortal, the river tried to influence him this time around too, but since he was a god he was able to keep walking and was not forced to his knees like the last time around.
The prison where he was supposed to be held was in an underground dungeon with no light, no air pockets but just pitch black darkness.
In a stinking cell that smelled like alcoholic vomit, he was chained using Mithril chains which were laced with runic inscriptions that prevented him from using mana or divine essence.
For additional security measures the cell door was also made from several layers of reinforced Mithril iron and had several barrier isolation techniques built into it which limited the flow of mana inside the chamber, ensuring that the prisoner inside could never gather mana to fuel any offensive moves.
Max could only walk two steps to either side before hitting the wall as the cell was only wide enough for one to stand or sit in and did not even have enough area for one to sleep horizontally.
It was a kind of cell that was reserved for the worst criminals of vampire society, yet now Max was placed inside one as if he were just as big an enemy of the vampires as the werewolves.
His way of the wind senses told him that the one neighbouring his cell was Ulrich himself as the two were given special treatment and given cells that had not been cleaned in decades and had a particularly putrid smell to them that could give even god's a headache.
With nothing to see in the darkness and nothing to do within the cell, Max simply sat down cross legged and decided to conserve his energy as he closed his eyes and began to plan his next move that would come after he was released from this cell.
Since the king had given him this golden opportunity of thinking in isolation, he decided to make the most of it and think very carefully.
[ System Notification - 24 hours have elapsed and your system reward is now available.
We thank you for your patience, player.
Would you like to enter the universal warehouse and claim your reward now? Or would you like to enter at a later date of your choosing? ]
Max saw the notification and smiled, it had come at a perfect time as he had all the time in the world right now to analyse and make a good choice.
" I'll go now " Max murmured as he conveyed his choice to the queen and immediately afterwards his consciousness was sucked out of his body as he was taken to the universal warehouse to select a reward of his choosing.