The Liberation of Istanbul

The French army lost almost three quarters of their troops in Moscow. However, the German army had hung back and was thus able to get out faster and with minimal casualties, so the entire French coalition was still decently powerful.

Once they had regrouped, Louis immediately called for a strategy meeting with Napoleon.

However, it wasn’t much of a strategy meeting…

“What the hell was that!?” Louis screamed at Napoleon. “A blizzard out of nowhere!? Even if such an Ability exists, how the hell did we never hear about it until now!”

Napoleon yelled back, “Almost every Ability is unknown! It was impossible to predict something like that!”

They were both absolutely furious. They had built an empire in record time, and yet it seemed to be crumbling even faster.

Taking deep breaths, Louis tried to cool off. “It’s okay. It’s mostly our best soldiers that survived, and we still have most of the German army. All we need to do is hold the line and wait for the Japanese to join and attack Moscow from the other side.”

“Sir! Sir!” A messenger burst into the room.

“What is it!?” Louis practically bit his head off.

“It’s the Japanese!”

“They’ve joined!?”

“N-no…!” The messenger froze in fear.

“Then what did they do!?” Louis got right up in his face. “Spit it out!”

“T-the Japanese have… D-declared war on us…”

In an instant, Louis's anger vanished. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even think. Those words had acted as his death sentence.

***

Triumphantly, the allied forces consisting of the Russian and Japanese armies as well as the Turkish and Italian holdouts marched through the streets of Istanbul. They were greeted with thunderous cheers from the Turkish people. They crowded the streets, and many had already torn down the French flags, stomping, ripping, and setting them on fire.

The French and Germans had fled, likely to set up a stronger defensive line in Rome, but that left Istanbul ripe for liberation.

Mehmet Ozturk and Fatma Kurt, the Orange Knight and Maiden, were paraded around gloriously.

The two had sought refuge in Moscow as their city fell. While humiliating at the time, it was worth it to protect their lives.

Unfortunately, their home hadn’t been spared. Istanbul was hit with Meteor at close to its full strength, and the damage was unimaginable. Most buildings had been reduced to piles of rubble, and the streets were almost untraversable.

Still, even in such awful conditions, the return of the Orange Knight and Maiden brought hope to the Turkish people. Their city could be rebuilt and destroyed hundreds of times over, but as long as their champions stood, they would fight.

Keitaro took a keen interest in Mehmet and Fatma, however. While all the other Knights and Maidens he had met were of similar ages, Mehmet was only thirteen while Fatma was twenty-nine. Every Knight and Maiden was brought here as a pair for a reason, and Keitaro wasn’t sure what that reason was in their case. Although they did seem quite close.

But a thirteen year old in a situation like this… He’s practically still a boy, yet he’s been forced to fight to the death and lead his people. Depending on how things turned out, Keitaro might have to be the one to finish him off. And to him, that was a price worth paying.

“Ah, we’re almost there!” Yuri pointed out into the distance. It was Hagia Sophia. He thought it’d be a good place to visit to build morale amongst the people.

Originally built as an Orthodox church in the 6th century by the Byzantine Empire, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 after it was captured by the Ottomans.

Considered the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture, the structure did not disappoint. Even Keitaro who had little interest in religion found it imposing the way the domes loomed over the city. However, while Mehmet and Fatma looked at the mosque with reverence, Yuri’s eyes showed a tinge of envy, maybe even hunger.

As Yuri, Natalia, Mehmet, and Fatma went in, Keitaro and Toko chose to stay outside.

While Keitaro was sure the inside was grand, the grounds were beautiful as well. Gardens, fountains, there was plenty to enjoy.

However, Keitaro didn’t care much for enjoying the grounds. Religious sites just weren’t his thing, especially not since coming to Kosma.

Soon Mehmet and Fatma had exited, although the Russians were still nowhere in sight.

“Mr. Owari. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to go in?” Fatma said to him in an overly polite fashion. “It’s beautiful inside, and there’s an area for non-Muslims to pray.”

“No disrespect, but I think we’re all beyond praying.”

Both were confused by that answer.

But Keitaro continued, “Honestly, I don’t want to stay here much longer myself. The faster we take down Louis, the better.”

“You mustn’t let yourself be overcome with vengeance, Mr. Owari.”

“This has nothing to do with vengeance, at least not for me.” Keitaro glanced over at Mehmet.

However, the kid didn’t even seem fazed by what had happened. His home had been conquered, destroyed by foreign invaders, yet he didn’t even seem to be bothered.

“Mehmet… how do you feel about this? The Genesis Tournament that is.”

“W-well…” He quickly glanced at Fatma before continuing, “It’s a test.”

“A test?”

“That’s right.” Fatma cut in. “Obviously this is a test from Allah himself.”

A test from a god… It made some sense. After all, it would take a god to create something like Kosma, but that answer just didn’t satisfy him. If this really was a new world, then could it really be explained with ideas from the old world?

***

“Sir, Tokyo has declared war on Paris.” Pinkerton had entered Jack’s office to give him the news as soon as he had heard it.

Jack let out a long, deep sigh. “Well, that’s unfortunate…” Getting up from his chair, he walked towards the window. “That puts us in a very difficult position…” He ran through everything in his head, and after mulling it all over, he looked over his shoulder and said, “Do you reckon we could sue for peace with the British?”