Chapter XI
Eliana stared at the night sky alone in the middle of the vast grassland in the western region of Notton. The stars shone brightly that night; the entire galaxy was visible, but far above, a massive object appeared. It was much larger than all the scattered stars in the sky, and its edges were not clearly visible. Vernizel, Yggdrasil, and Calabras appeared right behind Eliana. Simultaneously, the large object above emitted a beam of light that shone right in front of them.
Vernizel patted Eliana's shoulder and walked toward the light. He disappeared. Yggdrasil hugged Eliana and gave her a farewell. Eliana would not meet these people for a while, for some unknown reason. Eliana called out to Calabras, who walked past her without doing anything, "Calabras! Are you coming back?" Calabras stopped and turned around, seeing Eliana, who looked sad. One by one, the people she knew were leaving her; how could Eliana not be sad? Witnessing this, Calabras took off his Haori and placed it on Eliana, wiping away her tears. Since Eliana was too short compared to Calabras, he had to bend down to do so.
Calabras said, "I won't see you for a long time, but Vernizel, he can come back anytime. I warn you, be careful of him."
Calabras left, leaving Eliana behind.
Two years after the battle with Orion.
A meeting of world leaders—a time when all the kings in the world gathered to discuss matters deemed important. Eliana stood before everyone: Fatih, Este, Hulako, and the other kings. Eliana made a statement that shocked the entire meeting room—a major reality that would change the world order forever:
"With this, I, as the supreme authority holder of the Notton Kingdom, declare that we withdraw from the kings' council because, as of this moment, the Notton Kingdom is fully a union of the Oruman Sultanate."
The entire room lost its voice, shocked by what they heard, while Fatih looked at Eliana seriously, because from that moment on, he was the supreme owner of all the Notton Kingdom's land. This news was met with various responses from all over the world, especially among the people of the Notton Kingdom. Many agreed, feeling that such a condition would be better and could strengthen their kingdom's position, especially under the current condition of power being held by someone without power like Eliana. Meanwhile, on the other side, this actually triggered the anger of Eliana's opposition, who felt Eliana was manipulating them with all her breakthroughs.
Turmoil occurred. All the ministers gathered the masses by inciting provocation, considering that Eliana had brought down the sovereignty of their kingdom in the world. The incited people staged a rebellion, and the largest demonstration in world history took place, where people from all corners of Notton came and attacked Vasilia City.
Fatih, who had not yet received full power, could only wait for the outcome of the action. After weeks of besieging the palace, Eliana was arrested and imprisoned in the palace's dungeon. Eliana shared a cell with Maria, who now looked very disheveled.
They spent days reminiscing about the battle with Orion until Eliana finally asked about something, "May I know, what was actually between you and Kaizo?"
Maria replied, "It turns out you really suit him."
"What do you mean?" Eliana was confused.
"Until now, no one has even realized that I am his mother, hehehe," Maria replied.
"What? You must be joking! Come on, answer seriously!" Eliana protested, annoyed.
"Should I lie to my own daughter-in-law?" Maria countered.
"Prove it!"
"Ask anything!"
"How old was Kaizo!?"
"Seventeen during the battle with Orion, the same as you were then."
"How many girlfriends did Kaizo have?"
"He had three; you already know that. Now only one, and you are the one, the winner."
"What day was he born, and what was the weather like then!?"
"Monday, nearing noon. The weather was sunny but cool because of Notton's climate."
"Why do you know?! He never even told me that!!!"
"Because he came out of my stomach!"
"Impossible! That's impossible!!!!"
"Then ask something more specific!"
"Where is his birthmark!"
"Come on, you must know. All the girls who were close to him knew too!"
"Then answer!"
"The inner thigh, near the groin."
"Seriously... No way. You don't even look alike." Eliana, unwilling to believe, backed into a corner.
"Haha, you should already be convinced about this, considering his face looks very much like mine." Maria teased Eliana.
"How are my grandchildren? I didn't expect to be a grandmother this quickly!"
"They are fine. Desmond brought them to the Oruman Sultanate. They are with Fatih now."
"Would you like to escape with me?" Maria offered Eliana a chance to flee the prison, knowing that from now on, Eliana could no longer take care of her since they were both now prisoners.
Eliana refused, as she did not want to deviate from the plan. That was quite shocking to Maria, who realized that everything was actually Eliana's plan. She couldn't believe that Eliana was capable of sacrificing all her power and the safety of her people for her own purpose.
"What is this plan for?" Maria asked.
"So I can find Kaizo and bring him back," Eliana answered.
"I'm sorry, but how? He's gone. Let him rest in peace," Maria countered.
"I will not die unless it is with him! I will do everything to bring him back!"
"Oh my, if Kaizo had come to ask for my blessing, I might have had to speak directly to God for guidance!"
"Haha! You are funny, Mother."
Maria was silent, not expecting anyone to call her mother. Kaizo never knew her. Even until he died, he still couldn't find out who gave birth to him. Maria thought she would leave this world without ever feeling the warmth of a child, but now she had met Eliana.
Maria hugged Eliana. Slowly, her tears colored the night. Eliana finally felt the warmth of a family. It felt ordinary to her, maybe because her soul could no longer feel anything due to everything she had been through, but still, it felt different. Eliana felt comfortable.
However, everything ended.
A rebel opened the door and forcibly dragged Eliana out. Eliana remained silent and did not resist. Maria was about to kill the person, but Eliana stopped her, signaling that she would be fine.
Eliana was tied up in front of the palace. All the rebels cheered happily, seeing that she was about to be executed. They would not behead her, knowing Eliana could regenerate. Eliana was to be burned alive until nothing remained.
Eliana did not resist at all when her clothes were taken off. Her body was leaned against a large wooden stake and tied with rattan. Her body was doused with oil, along with a pile of firewood.
Eliana smiled, looked up at the sky, and closed her eyes. She saw Kaizo in her mind.
"BURN! BURN! BURN!"
A torch was dropped, hitting the firewood, instantly igniting a huge fire that covered the entire palace gate. The night sky was illuminated by the embers.
The raging fire continued to burn, incinerating the snow that began to fall in the city that had lost its queen. Those on Eliana's side all felt loss and sadness, while those who chose to rebel were all happy, unaware that they were merely tools for the high-ranking officials.
The rulers exploited the easily deceived people like this to bring down Eliana, so their hands remained clean of all accusations, and then they began to fulfill their own desires.
Within a week, everything changed: taxes increased, laws restricted, authorities were arbitrary, and the people suffered.
They thought everything was safe, but Eliana was still alive. She had handed over the officially stamped letter of power transfer to Fatih a long time ago, even before she declared Notton's submission to Oruman.
Eliana also survived because she had removed her life heart, which looked like a small pearl, and also gave it to Fatih. Eliana truly trusted this man.
After her body was completely burned, even her ashes incinerated, Eliana came back to life by being recreated through the pearl. Eliana successfully survived and met Desmond and her children again.
Seeing the success of Eliana's plan, Fatih immediately took action and began to gather a large army along with the Sultan's Cannon, the pride of Oruman.
Letters of surrender were sent weekly to the palace in Vasilia City, but they seemed quite brave. They felt they could not be conquered because Vasilia City was located in the middle of a vast snowfield. The nearest sea route from there was only the frozen strait in the north, which was somewhat close to the city, making it impossible for ships to pass, considering the huge waves and insane temperatures.
While Oruman and Notton were heating up, Eliana cut her hair to shoulder-length, put on Calabras's Haori, and wrapped the black scarf given by Kaizo around her neck. From now on, this was the new Eliana.
The entire world tried to quell the battle, hoping Fatih would release Notton, but he refused because the official letter of power transfer was in his hands, and the authority over the Notton territory was his.
The new King of Notton was Leo Notton's personal assistant, a man Leo trusted to replace him someday. He tried to convince the world kings to help ward off the threat of the Sultanate from himself.
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew heated until, at its peak, all the kings gave up because Fatih brought a witness who saw how severe the behavior of the Notton kingdom was towards the letter carrier sent by Fatih. The witness was an old Notton soldier who remained a soldier after the power shift from Eliana. The soldier testified that the King of Notton himself had received the letter of surrender from Fatih via the letter carrier, but the king immediately beheaded the carrier and gave his head to the palace guard dogs.
The kings chose to let Fatih settle his own affairs, as they did not want to interfere further with the matters of two superpowers like this, as it could trigger a World War that would only harm them.
The walls of Vasilia City had been renewed. Now they were five layers thick with archers on every wall, also equipped with barricade defenses of burning oil.
The large Sultanate army, led directly by Fatih and his supreme generals, had arrived. Dozens of catapults and cannons, including the Sultan's Cannon, were also brought to the battle. Meanwhile, the Notton Kingdom had prepared a wall repair team, so every time a wall was breached, it would be immediately patched.
The great war was marked by a light snowfall that began to descend.
From all directions, Fatih's troops surrounded the city. Cannonballs and fiercely burning stones rained down on the city walls from every direction. From the Vasilia City palace, the ministers and their king were having a liquor party, feeling that an easy victory was guaranteed for them, while the terrified people only hid in the City Hall, hoping for the best outcome.
Fatih's troops were clearly outnumbered, but they continued firing cannons and catapults while gradually trying to climb the walls. The soldiers used their respective powers: flying, throwing stones, firing lasers, controlling snow, accelerating running, and various others. All for the sake of conquering Vasilia City.
Fatih, from afar, carried out rescues. Whenever someone was deemed in danger, a portal would appear to save them. The power of the holy sword was also prohibited in this battle, but that didn't mean Fatih had lost his mind.
The first shot of the Sultan's Cannon.
"BOOMM"
The party immediately stopped. The soldiers covered their ears, and a tremor shook the city. The high-ranking officials began to take the defense seriously. The hole created by the cannon was large enough and able to penetrate two layers of the wall.
The entire repair team worked hard, but it was too late. Fatih opened a portal right in front of the wall, and instantly thousands of soldiers entered through the hole. The first and second layers became the battlefield. The fearful high-ranking officials chose to let their soldiers die rather than send aid, intending to focus the defense to the west to counter further attacks from the Sultan's Cannon. The unexpected happened.
Ten Sultanate warships docked on the northern hills. Unbeknownst to them, the ships were pulled by Oruman soldiers, and the ships contained additional troops, ammunition supplies, and extra cannons. Even a new super-cannon that had never been used before was on one of the ships: the Conqueror Cannon, bigger and stronger than the Sultan's Cannon.
The Conqueror Cannon fired its attack, breaching three layers of the wall simultaneously.
The additional soldiers ran out of the ships, immediately attacking the new hole. Meanwhile, Fatih moved to save the fallen soldiers with his portal. Fatih brought Kirito behind to heal anyone who was dying, whether his soldiers or Notton's soldiers. Fatih did not want anyone to die except the high-ranking officials.
The climax occurred when Fatih and his four supreme war generals together spurred their warhorses through the battlefield, entering the walls and fighting on the front lines. A massive attack occurred again when the Sultan's Cannon in the west and the Conqueror Cannon in the north simultaneously fired their cannons again. Two new holes were formed, directly opening the way into the city. The Notton soldiers were destroyed, and the Oruman soldiers successfully entered the city. The kingdom's banners were torn down and burned, while the Sultanate's banner was erected.
Kirito released massive healing magic, while Fatih, along with a group of elite troops, immediately broke in on horseback and occupied the Vasilia palace. Along the way, the people cheered happily, welcoming Fatih's arrival.
On that day, the impossible felt normal. What was previously swallowed by darkness felt the light again.
The Notton Kingdom collapsed and was fully controlled by the Oruman Sultanate.
Fatih sat on Eliana's throne and imprisoned the high-ranking Notton officials and their new king.
The total casualty in this battle was zero. No soldiers were killed; at worst, they only sustained moderate injuries. Thanks to Kirito's help, Fatih succeeded in breaking a record: a conquest without casualties among the soldiers. Fatih's arrival was truly greeted with joy by all the inhabitants of Vasilia City.
The conquest of Vasilia City had been executed.
The war ended with a Sultanate music parade. Drums were beaten, and hymns were chanted. The atmosphere of the conquest, which should have been gloomy, became very festive. Once again, Fatih succeeded in spreading the red apple.