( 2 days later )
Max was seated in his office when Jathi came in to deliver a rather sad piece of news.
As expected, in the battle between Julian and Regus the Caesar clan monarch ultimately perished, however, the fight was more interesting than one would have imagined.
According to reports Regus suffered injuries to his left hand where Julian's attack almost cut through the bone and his chest where two deep gashes could be seen.
Eyewitnesses swear that Regus lost close to 40% of his HP before being able to take Julian, as he apparently offered the Caesar clan monarch a chance to surrender.
Unfortunately, however, Julian being a man of pride that he was, chose a warrior's death rather than surrender, and was relieved by Regus via a stab to the heart.
He put everything on the line and died with pride befitting that of the Caesar clan patriarch, but ultimately he fell short of dethroning Regus.
Max was hardly shocked by this turn of events as he was sure that Julian would fight with everything that he had got till the bitter end.
His loss was undoubtedly a hole in the vampire society that was going to be hard to fill but Max did not mourn over his death for too long.
He was an emotional fool who chose to die in vain.
Max had no sympathy for such characters.
" How is the public opinion around King Regus after the fight? " Max asked Jathi as this was the part that he was most interested in.
" It has undoubtedly deteriorated further, people have begun to martyr Julian and have started to share his views on the King that he is a tyrant.
The road to recovery will be hard for the king after this incident " Jathi said as Max clutched his fists in joy.
If there was one good thing that came off this tragic event, it was Regus's name being besmirched even further.
Although he won the fight, he had lost the narrative and that was a big win for Max.
" I've decided, minister Jathi, I'm going to participate in the dungeon event personally.
I'll be taking Sebastian, Severus, DarkSorrow and Anna with me in the main team, the rest is up to you " Max said as he gave the final list to Jathi to be submitted on deadline day.
The dungeon event was going to officially start in 14 days from now, and before that Max had a surprise wedding to complete.
Jathi was a bit disappointed that Max did not accept his advice and was adamant about going personally, but he also respected Max enough to understand that he must have his own reasons.
In the end, he could only do as instructed.
**************
( Meanwhile, The unnamed god and Micheal )
" Master, as per your instructions I blocked the return of Shakuni to the universe in the council meeting, however, it has landed us angels in deep waters with the elites and their allies.
It's spooky, but we are not the strongest force in the universe anymore, their alliance is pretty strong too " Micheal said as he admitted to the fact that the alliance between the Hazelgroove Empire, the Won Knights and the True Elites gave him the scare.
" It's a necessary sacrifice, only when Shakuni feels the undeniable need to kill the queen, would he engage in the combat against her that would tear apart the very fabric of the controlled universe.
He has already reached the peak of tier8 and is unrivalled under the celestial realm.
The queen is his last challenge, defeating her would mean he ascends to become a celestial, however, his family is an unnecessary burden weighing him down.
When I gave him the seed of chaos, the most powerful seed of them all, I had hoped it would rid him of all his emotional baggage, but despite using it for close to 3 years the man is still in his senses.
It's almost unbelievable as to how much mental fortitude he possesses as I've never seen one quite like him " Odin said as Micheal visibly pouted at the comment.
" Master, if you give me a seed, perhaps I can reach the pinnacle too. I think I'm ready to ascend to the celestial realm, don't you think so? " Micheal asked in a pleading voice as Odin shook his head.
When Odin took in the Archangels as his students his intention was most definitely to make them the greatest warriors of them all.
As a species, they were the strongest in the universe.
They possessed the highest aptitude for controlling mana, the best constitution, defence, vitality of any Bipedal race, and also had wings that gave them an edge in aerial combat as well as added stability in hand to hand combat.
They were the ultimate build and had the potential to reach the peak, but despite Odin's best efforts all of them fell short.
He taught Sariel how to defend and made him the strongest defensive warrior in the universe.
He taught Raphael the art of mental combat and made him the best special arts user.
He taught Lucifer the art of destructive attacks and made him the strongest offensive fighter.
He taught Hazriel his prophetic skills and gave her the ability to peer into fate itself, reaching her how to reincarnate individuals and how to shape their second lives to raise them as champions.
And he taught Micheal everything, hoping that the eldest brother would become the next version of himself.
Unfortunately however, despite his best efforts all angels lacked that ' X ' factor, that drive to overturn the heavens as being born the strongest they never understood the struggle for strength.
Odin knew that not a single one of them was ready to face a celestial and would die a horrifying death if he allowed them to.
Since he cared for them enough to not send them towards their own certain deaths, he did not give them any seeds nor did he push them to challenge a celestial for his spot.
For him, Shakuni was the candidate he was waiting for for so long. As Odin truly felt that perhaps he could be the one that the perfect warrior was waiting for in the celestial realm.