The next day morning, Vesyrn Garcia called for the assembly and Azzy went along with him as one of the Pavilion masters.
He stood there with the Pavilion masters on the right while the six clan leaders stood on the left.
Since the moment he stepped inside the throne hall, Azzy could feel several gazes from the clan leaders, filled with either reverence or envy. He acted as if he didn't see that.
Vesyrn sat on the throne and scanned the room for a moment, before opening his mouth and speaking in his monarch's voice, "You must have already guessed the reason why I called you all here. Azrael Garcia." He called out his son.
Azzy stepped forward and walked until he reached the center of the hall and bowed on one of his knees with his fist on the chest, "Your Majesty."
"Get up"
As Azzy stood on his feet, Vesyrn spoke, "Yesterday, you protected the clan from destruction. That is indeed commendable. I haven't seen it in person but according to Clan Leader Francis Blood and Clan Leader Yashna Night's words, your strength has surpassed a demigod. With such strength, there is no doubt that you should lead..."
"Wait a second, Your Majesty," Azzy hurriedly stopped Vesyrn without letting him finish those words. "I apologize for the interruption but I would like to say something very important. I believe you will change your thoughts after hearing it."
"Hmm? What is it?" Vesyrn's facial expression was filled with curiousness.
Azzy took a deep breath and revealed the truth to shed light on everyone's ignorance, "first of all, I cannot accept any praise for this act, Your Majesty. If anything, I was the one who put the clan's future in danger."
"What do you mean?" Vesyrn furrowed his brows. He clearly didn't agree with Azzy's self-blame, "I heard of the matter. That Apostle of Death wasn't just aiming for your life. He also want to take revenge for Velez Garcia. You are probably not aware that Prince Velez actually used the fragment of the jewel of death in order to kill me. He said that it was given to him by his mentor.
Little did he expect that this 8000-year-old Vampire would stand in the way and put forth a suggestion.
"Your Majesty, in order to secure the future, it is best if Young Master marries and leaves behind a child. Having a child will become an unbreakable attachment for even a god."
This was the suggestion Francis Blood put forth, in order to make sure to tie Azzy to the clan.
Since the Blood clan doesn't let any of its descendants marry outside, Azzy doesn't feel like it is some sort of selfish scheme. But then again, he was going there to claim his love. How could he marry someone else and have a child with them?
Hence, Azzy quickly tried to counter it while his dad's expression seemed like he was also seemed to be in favor of that suggestion, "Clan Leader Francis, don't worry about me running away from the clan. I have a mother, a father, and a younger sibling here. My attachment to them is unbreakable. Not even the time would be able to break it. So, your worries are baseless."
He then shifted his gaze back to his dad, "Your Majesty, if I want to leave, I could do it in secret while leaving behind an avatar. You wouldn't notice a difference. But, I don't plan on deceiving anyone. I genuinely wish to get stronger, and at the moment, none in the clan would be able to help me achieve the heights I'm aiming for. This is something I have to do on my own."
Seeing that his dad's expression softened and filled with a bit of sadness, Azzy knew that he managed to convince his dad. He struck the nail further, "Moreover, you can be confident in my potential. It only took me ten years since my awakening to reach where I am. Do you think I will take centuries and millennia of time to become a demigod and achieve complete mastery over my powers?
My return will be much earlier than you think it is."
Vesyrn instantly replied, "If that is the case, you won't bother explaining so much, Azrael." As Azzy went silent, Vesyrn let out a deep sigh, "Fine, I understand. You can leave."
"Vesyrn..." Francis Blood raised his voice, calling him by the name, to which Vesyrn raised his hand and gave him a stern look, "even if I'm the acting clan head, I'm still the head of the clan. And my decision is final."
As Francis shut off his mouth, Azzy bowed with his hand on the chest, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Once I finish my preparations, I will be leaving in a week of time."