Max was sipping on some blood as he sat in his office reading important development documents when he felt a gust of wind pass over his shoulder and hit a point beside his feet, entering the depths of the shadow created by his body.
Max was alerted as he looked all across the room to find nobody as he jumped to his feet and drew his newly obtained Goldmans sword just to be sure.
" Zippo you alright there buddy? " Max asked as he expected his silent bodyguard to give him some form of a response, but what he did not expect was that slowly his shadow would expand and get lighter as an unconscious Zippo would emerge on the surface.
" You have a black dragon protecting you, how interesting " A deep male voice said from behind Max's back.
All the hairs on Max's body stood up vertically when he heard this voice. He knew exactly to whom this voice belonged and the boundless power that this ancient being commanded.
As Max turned, he saw Angakok relaxing on his own office seat, as he scanned Max with his deep purple eyes.
Usually Max prided himself in his mastery over [ Way Of The Wind ] and the ability that it gave him to detect attacks before they ever happened, however, even though he was alert, he did not feel Angakok entering his office room at all, neither could he figure out how the man entered with all the walls intact and his door tightly shut.
" Welcome to my humble residence Shaman God Angakok " Max said in a respectful tone as his voice shivered in panic.
Clasping his hands together, Max bowed deeply before the primordial god who had helped him time and time again.
" That mask of yours, it's from the Angels isn't it? Let me guess, the pony tail girl Hazriel gave it to you alongside that pendant you wear on yourself at all times" Angakok speculated as Max felt his fear for this old entity increase even more.
" Y-yes " Max replied, not daring to lie in front of those purple eyes that seemed to see right through his visage.
" It must be a priceless artefact if it's capable of blocking my inspection. You did well to secure something of such high value " Angakok commented in an emotionless voice as he half complimented Max.
Internally Max was a little relieved that the artefact gifted to him by Hazriel was powerful enough to even block Angakok's perception, but his relief was short lived as Angakok demanded him to take it off.
" Remove the mask boy, let me have a look at your progress since we last met " Angakok instructed as Max had no choice but to remove his mask and store it into his inventory as Angakok studied his stat panel.
" Hmmm, you have not improved much at all since we last met, I'm quite disappointed.
This will take longer than I expected if you are to improve so pathetically slow " Angakok commented as his voice contained a hint of disappointment for Max being unable to bring big changes to his stat panel this time around.
" May I be permitted to ask what you have planned for me? " Max asked nervously as Angakok waved his hand and tried to dismiss Max's concerns.
" How much time we spend together will solely depend on your personal abilities, boy.
I have worked very hard to create a special time dilation construct for your training, but by the state of your stat panel I think we will need to spend quite a lot of months outside of it as well.
The specifics of your training arrangement will be explained to you by Kremeth, He's more patient than I am and has past experience with you.
I'll give you 15 minutes to wrap up your affairs here, bid farewell to whoever you need to bid farewell to, and meet me back here.
Me giving you 15 minutes is already a concession on my part, but if you test my patience, there won't be a Dombivili city after minute 16 " Angakok said leisurely as Max understood the emotion behind that threat perfectly.
Rushing out of his office, he scurried to find Asiva.
***********
( Inside Asiva's office )
Sebastian and Asiva were having a very awkward conversation as Asiva kept jabbing insults at Sebastian with each passing sentence and the poor dwarf had to take it face down.
This was Asiva's payback for him dragging Max to the massage parlour and Sebastian had no defence for his actions.
The two were trying to settle the topic of how much foreign aid they should provide to the 26th ranked vampire clan who was currently facing economic turmoil after a huge volcano erupted on their home planet and killed thousands of civilians.
Asiva was of the opinion that they should at least give 500 million in aid because it was not a matter of how much the other clans were paying but about being morally correct, Sebastian on the other hand was only willing to pay 200 million which was what the Saint Maximus Clan was offering in this situation.
As the two discussed this issue, Max barged into the office panting as he had that ashen face that spelled that he was in trouble.
" What happen- " Asiva wanted to ask, but Max just kicked the desk she was working on away and leaned in for a deep and passionate kiss, stunning Asiva completely as she did not understand what was going on.
For a few good minutes Max kept kissing her as if there was no tomorrow as Sebastian felt a little awkward to be witnessing such a scene.
He was about to get up and leave, when Max stopped kissing Asiva and looked at him with a panting expression.
" Oh jeez, don't kiss me please " Sebastian joked as he half-expected a snarky comeback but there was none as Max simply pulled him in for a hug.
Now both Asiva and Sebastian were really worried as this was completely unlike Max's usual behaviour.
" Hey, buddy, what's going on? " Sebastian asked in a panicked voice as Max let go of him and shook his head solemnly.
" I'm leaving my clone here for tomorrow's meeting with Felix, but, it will disappear automatically after 24 hours.
An ancient god has come knocking for me, and I have no choice but to follow him.
I have no idea where he's taking me
I have no idea how long will we be gone
The only thing I know is that I can't escape this predicament and that you guys will have to cover for me while I'm gone.
If I don't show up before the clan assessment, start looking for master Kremeth, he seems to be involved in this and transfer the clan's ownership to Asiva " Max said seriously as he dropped a sudden and huge bombshell on his closest friends.
" Oye oye oye, Max are you kidding me? You need to tell me more than that, what the fuck is going on? " Sebastian demanded, however, Max did not trust Angakok's grace enough to dally in conversation.
If he accidentally exceeded the time limit he gave him, there might really not be a Dombivili city anymore.
" Asiva I love you with all my heart.
Sebastian you are my only brother in this universe after my real brother died " Max said emotionally as he turned and began sprinting back towards his office, leaving Asiva and Sebastian with just his clone which was holding the mask of Ravan.
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/// A/N - Chapter 29/30, almost done ///
