( Max and Kremeth's POV )

After cleaning up the space pirates, Max and Kremeth Jr headed off to planet Zandar which was confirmed by the queen to be the planet where Felix Aurelius was currently living.

Since it was a different destination from where the merchant ship was headed, Max had no choice but to carry Kremeth with him inside a space bubble as the duo traversed through space in the same way that Angakok and Max used to.

" Good job clearing the space pirates son, however, you went way too soft on them.

The difference in power between yourself and the lower ranked pirates was large and they had low chances of striking back at you, however, sparing the captain was not a good decision.

You don't know if he's going to become a problem for you in the future, you don't know if he might just decide to self-destruct and cause you harm in desperate hopes of taking you down with him after losing a fight.

Mercy is a quality and a virtue I wish to teach you, however, mercy can also be fatal.

You need to choose whom to show mercy and whom not to and can't be indiscriminate about it" Max said as he tried to teach Kremeth about the importance of making smart decisions and not idealistic ones.

" I understand your concerns father, I shall keep your advice in mind, however, what difference is there between the honourable Rajput clan and all the other vampire clans if we don't act like a true noble?

Mother says we need to spare as many lives as possible and always act with pride befitting our royal status " Kremeth said as he sulked in the corner of the space bubble.

He thought he did really well and was in no mood to listen to his father's lecture.

" Your mother is right to teach you about the importance of mercy and acting like a noble. However, there are two sides to understanding any narration.

Say the survivors who witnessed your heroics today spread the word that the young hero Kris saved us all from space pirates.

Not only did he not kill the space pirates but he managed to subdue them and turn them in like a true soldier.

This becomes one side of the narration that brings you fame and saves your image as an upright citizen.

From your perspective this is how things should be, maybe from the perspective of the commoners this is how a model soldier/ hero should behave. However, what about the criminals?

What if a pirate hears this story and thinks that the worst that can happen to him is that some hero will break his bones and throw him in prison?

That the vampires are soft and that they don't kill their enemies?

What if your choices today encourage and embolden more pirates to pilferage our lands, however, if you resorted to indiscriminate slaughter, maybe the world condemns you, yet that fear stops a million other pirates from trying such cheap tricks within vampire lands.

What you fail to understand, Kremeth, is that acting like a noble is not always acting like a brave hero for the masses, but being a villain so that even if the masses don't understand you, they enjoy the results your methods produce.

If you were to ask me, what is the best approach? I'd say it lies somewhere between the two, somewhere between mercy and fear, and that is the fine line that I wish for you to learn how to walk" Max said as he explained to Kremeth in so many words about how the real universe worked.

Having been isolated from the real society, Kremeth lacked understanding about the practicalities of life and it showed in his decision making and his morals.

He had not seen the filth of the universe and hence he could be idealistic which was a blessing in itself, yet such idealism would make for a weak future vampire monarch and Max was trying to avoid such a future.

" I understand…." Kremeth said broodingly as although he did not agree 100% with what his father explained he did see the merit in his words.

Perhaps killing the captain and sparing the crew was a better decision than sparing them all and Kremeth realised it after listening to Max.

Having lived with Asiva all his life, Kremeth was only taught how to be idealistic, but now his father was showing him a new side of the universe and Kremeth was finding it strangely intriguing.

**********

( Meanwhile Rudra )

Rudra had reformed his body and was gazing down upon the universe looking at Max and Kremeth travelling in a bubble.

The time for Rudra to call Max had finally arrived, however, he only had five minutes to communicate with his brother which meant that he needed to pick the most opportune moment to make that call.

He could not waste it when Max was occupied or in the middle of something important and hence he was looking down from the celestial realm to determine if the time was ripe or not.

At the moment, he seemed to be grooming his son, teaching him his own ideology on how to view the universe and Rudra did not wish to interrupt such a beautiful moment.

Lately, Rudra had been worried about Kremeth's development, however, it seemed like Max had finally noticed the problems and was working to resolve them.

As an uncle, this scene undoubtedly warmed Rudra's heart as he hoped that after spending time with Max, Kremeth would finally start living to his true potential.

As for calling Max, Rudra decided to do it the moment Max landed on his destination planet and got a moment of peace and quiet as Rudra had finally figured out the way to beat the perfect warrior and it needed Max to work extremely hard.

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