With that, the Maverick that had just caused such drastic changes in his kingdom finally disappeared.

It was as if a heavy boulder had been removed from Valentius' back. The mere presence of that person was simply terrifying. Valentius IX had thought himself beyond normal, mortal fear. But all his delusions had gone up in smoke when that person appeared. Thank the AI that he was able to throw the council members out.

If Shugireth Darkstar had learned that the war meeting had been about how to deal with him... Hmm, the wisened old man scratched his chin in contemplation for awhile, gazing at the spot from which the Master of Pandemonium had disappeared.

”Well Myria, did you get it?”He asked, curious to see what she had made of his secret code. Going top shelf meant pulling out all the stops in assessing the threat-level, and his daughter would not miss the opportunity, he was sure.

Myria had been standing there in silence, patiently waiting for him to move. He could only wish his other children were half as intelligent or obedient as her. Unfortunately, they were not.

His heirs were, to a point, a bunch of stupid brats. How could he leave the kingdom in the hands of someone that drank and whored all day and night, a mere level 55 despite all of his royal resources and training? His meeting with Shu made him realize that he might not be long for this world after all. He should hurry up and make plans accordingly. He glanced over at Myria. Perhaps...

Myria tapped out a steady rhythm on the ring that Shugireth Darkstar had given them, seemingly deep in thought. Bang! The door to the throne room slammed open and a few cloaked underlings of Myria hurried inside. Did they not see him? So unceremonious. But then again this entire day had been unceremonious and filled with rude councillors and then Shugireth, who was someone that stood above even him.

That person was excused, but these? Since they were Myria's underlings he decided to relax a little.

”We.. we did it! We got it!” A young man said enthusiastically. ”But why did you pressure us to do it so urgently?” The pale, thin-faced youth continued.

”Because, Ravin.” Myria said, frowning.

”Because?” Ravin persisted.

”Because it was the will of the Emperor, you should know that already. What? In your eyes, Am I not a Royal Court mage Ravin? Hmm?” Myria snapped, placing her hands on her hips.

Inside his heart, Valentius chuckled silently, taking great pleasure in the myriad Myrias he'd seen today.

His daughter was quite the little sprite, always feisty for a new challenge, but sensitive to the changing circumstances aswell, which was what made her such a great heir. He really needed to find a way to make her the successor instead of those two bumbling idiots.

”N-no no, you got it wrong. I mean, of course I-” The man stammered. Valentius thought this one could do with a bit of disciplining.

”Just give it here and be gone. You didn't take a peek at it right?” Myria said.

”Course not milady.” A gruff middle-aged mage said. The last one, a young girl barely into her teens, remained quiet. She had dark skin and features that suggested Azurean blood. Perhaps she was from even further south than that though, it was hard to say.

”You'll be able to tell if we looked. So I told them not to.” The girl said.

Laughing, Valentius clapped his hands, startling everyone. They gazed at him wide-eyed as if only now noticing his presence. He was indeed getting old.

”Well said girl. Who would've thought you would be the wisest among Myrias retainers? You're a recent addition? We have not seen you around before.” Bowing hastily, the girl collected herself and spoke.

”Your humble servant names herself. Yatiana Mirnhoffer Medyousaleff.” The girl said, bowing once more. Where had this excellent, mysterious child come from? Hmm, but perhaps she would do. He would have to ask Myria about it later, but she looked the right age.

”Yatiana, not a bad name. From where?” He asked.

”Azure Kingdom, southwestern district near the border. Mountain valley...”

”Hooh, the Azure kingdom. Perhaps this day will not be as gloomy as we had first thought. Myria, bring her for dinner. We wish to discuss business with your little retainer.” The three retainers gaped briefly at Valentius before finally catching themselves and closing their mouths again. He didn't care about their assumptions.

Once Myria's people left, he briefly recommended that the unruly young man be retrained.

”Now, let's see it.” He said.

Myria brought out a stone tablet wrapped in cloth. It was one of only a few relics from the bygone age of legends. Already, the bright light shimmering beneath the cloth told the Emperor something he had half expected to see.

”Brightest light I've ever seen the stone make, but then again we have hardly ever had the opportunity to use it.” Myria murmured.

”Must be a first in atleast 100 years.” Valentius said. ”Now let's have a look at that boys stats. If we can somehow handle him, maybe put in a request with the guilds and the tower...” Nodding her understanding, Myria kept quiet as she slid the obsidian black stone tablet out of the cloth, handing it to him.

Swallowing his saliva, Valentius IX looked down at the many, many words. Already, the fact that the stone tablet was covered with scribblings unnerved him.

Ordinary beings could at most produce a few lines of text... but this... was ridiculous.

[Shugireth Darkstar]

Race: Demon ex nihilo

Age: Unknown

Level: 2188

Class: (Ancient) Arch-mage

[Stats]

HP: 943511000

MP: 1928175000

STR: 21188

AGI: 21188

VIT: 2239190

INT: 17049417

WIS: 9161692

SPI: 21188

[Titles]

Master of Pandemonium

The one who conquered death

The Immortal Ancestor

The Mage of the Beginning

Master of Water and Ice

Supreme Master of Air and lightning

Grandmaster of the Arcana

God of Mana

God of Fire

God of Darkness and Void Zones

God of Space and Teleportation

Bloody Commander of the Black downs

Godlike General of Pandemonium

One Man Army

Invincible duelist

Shadow of Death

Mass Murderer

Sinful slaughterer

Demon King

…

Bane of King Northmont

Bane of King Thressen

Bane of Queen Enid

Bane of the Iridescent throne

Bane of the Dragon Empress

Bane of the Mountain tribes

Bane of the Blue Wind

Bane of the Southern kingdoms

Bane of the Westfront Isles

Bane of the Dark Dominion of zol'uguk

Bane of....

Master of Dungeons

Master of Labyrinths

Master of instances

Master of the Void Zones

Master of the wide world

Slayer of Empress Yusuristraz and Dragon Lord Iridan

Slayer of the Worldwyrm Kelmenneloth

Slayer of Klkaqi the Underburrower

Slayer of the Dream eater Othlonom

Slayer of the Scarab King Kouklaqlek

Slayer of Zulgon the hungerer

Slayer of...

Slayer of Demon King Diablo, Master of the Burning Hells

Wielder of the Eye of Diablo

Wielder of the Eye of Nihil

Wielder of Apophis the Unmaker, Bane of the elven goddess of creation

The Deceiver

…

DANGER LEVEL: UNCLASSIFIABLE

”Fo-four digit level? What by the seven sages!” Valentius said, making a strangled sound.

”Huh? Stop joking around, lemme see his stats too. I'm curious.” Myria replied.

”Curiosity will get you killed.” He told her. In his mind, Emperor Valentius had no more doubts about what to do. As his old eyes read ever downward, his mouth dried up and he forgot to breathe.

What the hell was this... the stats of that kid... If one could gaze at the stats of a God, wouldn't it look something like this? A four digit level... nobody had a four digit level, nobody. To say nothing of ascending the barrier twice and reaching two thousand.

Every ten levels was hard and you were rewarded accordingly with a substantial power increase. This principle also applied to the hundreds. If a level 99 and a level 100 fought, there wasn't a 1 level difference in stats, no. The difference was much larger than that. Level 1000 was a mythical barrier only a few people had broken though. SSS class adventurers, and the like.

The difference between level 999 and 1000 was huge and people who had reached those heights were legendary figures known throughout all of the lands. Major, major world players.

Just how enormous was the cleft that opened up after overcoming the barrier of level two fucking thousand! This was insane. This was impossible... And all those titles... one only acquired titles from special world shaking deeds, and that 12 year old kid had... so many titles. No, he wasn't a 12 year old kid, he only looked like one. The deceiver. No wonder he had that title.

Demon... king... but how can this be? This should be impossible.

The laws of the world had been broken by that existence.

”Father, father!” Valentius heard the distant voice of his daughter Myria calling him. He shook his head, the dark spots clearing from his vision. He was lying half slumped in his throne, and a worried Myria was holding his hand and inspecting him.

”I'm okay.” He managed to croak, but his mouth was as dry as the desert. ”What's wrong dad? What happened? Did someone put a spell on the tablet? I swear I'll strangle that kid Ravin.” She did not understand. How could she...

”Just... take a look.” She did, and soon her beautiful face paled and she started swooning. Valentius grabbed her just before she fell, settling her on his lap. The effort caused him some strain, for he was not a young man anymore.

Leaning against his chest with her eyes rolling around in her head, Myria muttered to herself. He understood her shock well. It was like suddenly discovering that the world was made out of candy or that you had suddenly turned into the opposite sex.

No, much more severe a shock than even that. It wasn't like Valentius had ever wanted to turn into a woman, no. Definitely not.

Soon, Myria managed to collect herself, shooting an embarrassed look his way when she regained her senses. Valentius just smiled at her. ”It's just like that time when you were a kid and exhausted all your mana putting on a show for my birthday. That day you fainted on my lap too.” He patted her head.

”I'm a grown woman dad.”

”I know.”

”We can't go against him. The slaves... we have to...”

”I know.”

”Thank God I got to him before Lili could..”

”What, did that woman do something again?” Smiling weakly, Myria began telling him of the day from her perspective and he listened intently to her daughter recounting her troubles, eager for the short reprieve from stress that the story gave him.

For he would soon have to deal with an Empire wide problem, a crisis the likes of which he had never faced before. And it was all caused by one small boy. An unfathomable, godlike existence.