Around a week back, after Danny and Adrammelech's diplomatic party left Faerie, the king had denounced his faith in the All Creator.
He stood with a proud smile, Marvin, the head of Princess Willow's guards.
"You see this, Marvin. This is a statue of someone who holds true strength."
King Oberon said and looked at a giant statue of the God of Magic.
It looked like Danny but with a chiseled body that could make a model jealous.
Both horns were intact, his hair was organized, and his eyes were made of magical glowing gems.
"Why are you showing me this?"
Marvin asked the king.
He thought that after what happened with his king's new god and the princess, he would be disposed of.
"Do you know why I offered you the nineteenth princess?"
The king asked.
"Because I'm not important enough to marry the first princess."
Marvin said what he believed was the answer.
"That's a reasonable answer, but no. I gave you such a low-ranking princess because I didn't want her to outrank you once you become king."
The king said.
Marvin was shocked.
"Both the tree and I see great talent in you, and these days, aside from you, there has only been one other whom the tree wanted to be my successor other than you. But my god took him, so you are left as the only option worthy as the next king of Faerie."
Oberon said.
Another possible successor who went with the new god?
It must have been that silver-haired child!
If only he hadn't escaped from Marvin's grasp along with the princess...
"I'm telling you all of this because the tree is warning me that emissaries of Eden are about to enter our realm and take me with them."
Oberon said, and as soon as he did, flame hit the newly built statue, and not even rubble was left in its stead.
"Good job, Uriel."
A man with blond hair, blue eyes, muscular physique dressed in bronze-like armor and white bird-like wings said to another man with bird-like wings, green eyes, and brown hair.
They, along with two others, appeared in the skies of Faerie outside of the King's Hall under orders of the All Creator.
"My name is..."
The winged man in the sky was about to introduce himself but then frowned.
"unimportant! Oberon, Fay King of Faerie, Under orders of the All Creator, we are taking you to Eden to be judged by the one and only god of all realms, known and unknown!"
The winged man shouted and lifted his hand.
"Ata Atsur!"
He chanted.
Oberon froze like a statue, and his unmoving body flew to the winged man's side.
The four winged men vanished, and Marvin was left alone in the King's Hall.
He felt great pain as branches sprouted from his head like a crown, and he felt his mind connecting to that of the tree.
********
It was the third day of the third week of the school year.
Previously, Danny had notified everyone that their mission in Faerie was going to occur today and that they needed to stand close to the tunnel and wait with him for their ride.
This time, everyone was coming.
Alaparos and Alya, who didn't come last time, and even Willow and Donovan, whom Danny wanted to keep out of danger.
"So when is that 'ride' coming?"
Mira asked.
She found it hard to believe this poor guy found them a proper ride.
Danny looked with his eyes into the distance and could sense an incoming vehicle powered by magical energy.
This must be it!
As part of his deal with the Oni Clan, the clan leader agreed to let Danny and his friends travel with the agents he was sending to Faerie to find the fifty Fay on the list Danny had sent Momotaro.
A large black van came by, and from inside it, a face covered by black cloth analyzed the bunch.
"Are you Daniel and company?"
He asked with a voice muffled by the cloth.
Everyone looked at Danny with a questioning look, asking whether he was the one who suggested this terrible name.
The white-haired demon felt like his soul was being pierced by the stares from his friends.
"Well, this isn't how we call ourselves, but I guess so... Who told you this was our name?"
Danny asked.
He would rather shift the blame to anyone else.
"The clan leader told us to refer to you that way because it's easier than Daniel and a bunch of randos."
The Oni Clan member explained.
He pressed a button, and the back door of the van opened.
This type of vehicle worked by using magical engineering and magic talismans to automate the movement of the car with a mere push of a button.
Everyone entered through the back door and was impressed to find out it was a vastly expanded space.
They had anything they could need for this mission.
From food and medical supplies to communication items and magical projections of information.
"Let me lead you to a room you can wait in until we reach Faerie."
Another Oni demon covered in a black outfit with his face covered by a mask appeared and said.
He led them to a large room where they waited.
********
It was a short ride, and the van stopped near the tunnel between Faerie and Hell.
Everyone except for a select few exited the van and organized their things outside.
"Okay! Our crew of fifteen will find the fifty targets and coerce them to come with us. From the order the leader gave us, your crew needs to finish your mission before the end of the week."
The operation leader said, and after a slight bow, he threw a smoke bomb at the ground, and the Oni Clans' members vanished.
"Okay! So yesterday, I went over all the information I have about Faerie and its fruit, and from what I've gathered, the fastest route will take us about two days."
Danny said to his friends.
"What you found is wrong."
Princess Willow said.
"?"
Everyone was surprised.
Danny was wrong?!
Alaparos, Donovan, and Mira felt a thrill that they hadn't felt before.
It was as if their arrogant boss was put in his place.
"What do you mean?"
Danny was confused.
What did she mean he was wrong?
His books were usually very accurate. Was there some information that hasn't been recorded?
"There is a teleportation pad to the top of the tree in the royal palace."
Princess Willow answered.
"Mira cast a teleportation spell."
As soon as he heard the princess's words, Danny understood that this was the fastest option.
He could cast the teleportation spell himself but didn't want to waste magical energy.
"Tēza Yātarā."
Mira chanted.
The seven of them appeared in the king's hall.
As soon as they appeared, the guards, clad in green and silver armor, aimed their spears at them.
"You are under arrest for trespassing into the castle."
One of the guards said.
The guards outnumbered them by many.
It wasn't even a three-to-one situation.
They could barely survive in Athens, and their goal back then was only to stall for time.
This time, they needed to run away and reach the teleportation pad.
"Stop!"
Princess Willow said, and the guards were surprised.
"Princess Willow? Weren't you taken by the new god?!"
The same guard as before asked.
Princess Willow didn't know what to say and looked at Danny for help.
Danny pondered what to say, but he did not need to.
His closest confidant had already thought of an idea.
"We are here under orders of that god."
Chaos walked forward and bowed toward the king's empty throne.
"I apologize for not notifying you in advance, but we are on an urgent mission from our lord."
Chaos said.
He had no clue what it was about a god, but as long as they bought his act, they could get out of this.
"If you are looking for King Oberon, he isn't here!"
The King's Hall's doors opened loudly, and a familiar person walked in.
He walked around them to the throne and sat on it.
It was a brown-haired Fay, clad in green mantles and sliver python-scale armor.
He looked at them with condescending green eyes.
Since the last time they'd seen him, branches sprouted from his head like a crown, showing that he was the new king of Faerie.
"Arrest them."
He ordered.
He slouched to one side on the throne and sneered.
For a lack of better options, Danny was ready to start a fight, but luckily, fate had another plan.
"Danny, can I fight him?"
Donovan asked.
He had a strong aversion to seeing Marvin on the throne.
He had no clue why, but it felt as if someone was touching his toys.
Danny looked at the young boy and then at the loathsome guard.
This silver-haired Fay was probably not strong enough to defeat a trained, high-born Fay guard.
But if he did one thing...
"Okay, but only so long as you use his name."
Danny agreed to let Donovan handle the situation.
"Marvin Sprout, I challenge you to a duel over the throne of Faerie."
Donovan declared.
He had one reason he wanted the throne. That is, he would be able to give the princess the right to marry whoever she wanted so long as he was king.
His voice resonated in Marvin's ears, and the latter felt compelled to agree.
"Fine, you can make the first move."
Marvin said.
Something was weird!
He had no reason to accept this invitation, nor did he want to allow a filthy low-born to touch his royal body.
Then why? Why did he agree?!
"Marvin Sprout, kneel!"
Donovan said with an evil smirk.
Fays with the power to see and control True Names were very powerful. That was why the previous king relegated their tribe to be low-born with barely any magic.
He couldn't let them hope to retaliate against his tyrannical rule.
These Fay could manipulate a person's action with a mere mention of that person's name.
Their only clear weakness was that by merely knowing their True Name, their powers held no effect on you, and if the person who knew their True Name had strong enough magic control, he could even control them.
Marvin sweated.
He wanted nothing less than to kneel to this damn low-born.
Marvin had nothing he could do when King Oberon was taken, could do nothing as the princess was taken, and now, he was being forced to kneel in his own throne room.
If Marvin bowed now, he might as well just give up living.
While thinking that, Marvin did as he was commanded to do.
When he realized that, he had lost all will to live.
How could a king go on living after bowing to such a wretched...
Marvin broke.
The tree could accept a crazed king but not a broken one. The crown of branches on Marvin's head vanished, turned to dust as if it never was.
Branches sprouted from Donovan's head and formed the shapes of two goat horns like Danny's.
The difference was that these horns were made of wood, and neither horn was broken.
Danny looked at these horns and couldn't help feeling grateful.
It seemed that this prickly Fay he had taken under his care, even if he didn't show it, did appreciate Danny's help.
Everyone present in the room looked in awe as the magical energy in Faerie concentrated on Donovan, and he became king.
He looked around and could feel all the Fay in Faerie. It was unfortunate he couldn't save them all.
Along with the Fay, he could sense something else.
But now was not the time to look into it.
They needed to follow the princess to the teleportation pad and reach the top of the tree.