Bab 48: Bells of the Battle.

Celestia's POV:

The Mage Lord gathered everyone in the Southern lands even before the sun rose in the sky. The coronation took place on the battlefield, which was just next to the invisible barrier. More than hundreds of Mages and wizards were gathered up in the land.

Theo was wearing a long brown cape that was made up of animal fur, along with his usual silver-white robes. I was given a hazel-colored gown to wear. Lord Arcadia stood beside us, and he faced the entire crowd in front of us.

"My fellow subjects of the Southern region," Arcadia shouted at the crowd. "We are gathered here today to pledge our allegiance to the new Lord of this region, the Silver Shadow."

He then paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Does anyone here object to this decision?" the Mage Lord questioned the crowd.

There was a deadly silence on the battlefield. No one stepped forward. It means that they all have wholeheartedly accepted Theo as their new leader.

Arcadia waited for a while and finally took out the quartz crown from his head and placed the crown on Theo's head.

There was loud applause from the crowd. The Mages were cheering for Theo, and their faces were gleaming in happiness. I was able to sense the misery they had gone through so far by King Oberon's unjust rule. Theo was right! This situation must be changed. And we must do whatever it takes to bring a change here.

And with that, the coronation came to an end! Theo is now the Lord of the Southern regions. And it is time for the speech of the new Lord.

Theo raised one hand and silenced the whole crowd. "I thank you all for accepting me as your leader. All of your demands will be fulfilled by me. I will be your savior and bring balance to this realm. But I need your aid before I can do that," Theo said.

"Silver Shadow, please tell us what we need to do. We are willing to do anything for you," shouted one of the Mages from the crowd.

Theo smiled and said, "All I need is your assistance in defeating King Oberon."

"We will be so honored to help you," the Mage from the crowd replied. Everyone else shouted the same answer in unison.

Our army is growing stronger! We already have thousands of Demonic warriors by our side, and with the help of the Mages, we can easily overpower the Highland Fae. I wish that the Fae surrender without battling!

Just when everything was going great, a giant portal appeared on the battlefield, and all the Fathomless Fae warriors got out of it. This can't be good!

Edwin was the first one to come out of the portal. Vivian and Laris were next. The ten fearless Fathomless Fae warriors strode closer to us and faced Theo.

I didn't expect my worst fear to come true this soon! Theo was staring at them casually. All the three realms were intimidated by the Fathomless warriors but not Theo! He treated them like they were not a big deal.

"Silver Shadow," Edwin shouted furiously. "You have angered King Oberon to no extent. He is going to punish you brutally when you lose the war against him. But if you step down and accept the defeat, he might show you mercy."

Theo started giggling uncontrollably. Even I did not find any sense in Edwin's statements. How can Theo lose the war? He has the most powerful army. Father Oberon must be worried about losing the war.

"You are so full of pride, aren't you?" Edwin fired at Theo. "You should remember that Father Oberon has fought thousands of battles, and he has eradicated a lot of Demons like you. So it would be for the best if you step down now."

Theo finally stopped laughing, and his facial expression got severe. "King Oberon might have faced a lot of demons in the past, but I am an Angelic Demon. Your King can't win even if the Holy Aiden grants him a boon."

Mages clapped their hands together and showed their acknowledgment to Theo. Edwin was highly embarrassed. He then turned on his heels and eyed the Mages.

"Mages of the Southern lands," Edwin cried out. "Listen to me. I know that you are all mad at King Oberon. But you all misunderstood the King. Now you all have sold your souls to the Demon by supporting the Silver Shadow. But it's not too late for you. You all still have the chance to make everything right."

No one in the crowd responded to Edwin. I felt sorry for him. Theo chuckled a little and said, "It would be best if you just left now."

Edwin looked over his shoulder and frowned at Theo. "Get ready to face the worst, Silver Shadow," Edwin growled like an animal and went back to the portal. Soon all the Fathomless warriors disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stood on the castle veranda and admired the crescent moon sky. My mind was constantly thinking about everything that happened today. Even though I am fighting for the greater good, I should have to face my friends.

How can I do that? Theo was standing beside me, and he listened to every single thought of mine. He was about to say something, but he stopped when he heard the sound of bells.

"It's the bells of battle. Someone is challenging us," Theo said and went back into the castle room. I followed him inside.

Anyone who dares to challenge the leader of a particular realm will ring the bells of the castle. Then the leader has to battle against the challenger. The winners will be announced as the new lord of the region.

I don't understand who dares to challenge the Silver Shadow. Theo handed over the Saber of Venom to me. Just a few days ago, the Serpent King gave this to me.

"Celestia, my love. I want you to hold on to this Saber today. And when I tell you to stab someone with this, you have to do it without fail. Do you promise me?"

"Theo, why would you even ask me such questions. I already promised you that I would use this Saber of Venom according to your will," I replied.

"That's good, Celestia. Now we have to face the challenger," Theo announced.