Previously in Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED…

The man from earlier was standing erect at the center of the hall, surrounded by countless of cut and slain bodies scattering everywhere. Blood was staining every inch of his uniform and body, as if he had been soaked in the pool of blood. Silent as he was, he later frowned and reached the cross and clenched it very tightly.

"God… this is the best I can do for them… the people who had fallen before my eyes… please, forgive me…"

He kissed the cross and put it inside his outfit and headed toward the door, stepping a slain body outside the hall. He, then, walked in the rain and disappeared from sight.

.

A year after the historic events charted in Guilty Gear versus SNK 2: Battle Revolution…

The saga continues…

x-x-x-x-x

Guilty Gear

Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED

Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Written by: Lone Wolf NEO

Lone Wolf NEO does not own Guilty Gear or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright or owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

Chapter 01

Dawn of the New Day

The man in black robe was strolling alone at the bustling market of Cairo. He kept the momentum of his pace albeit several obstacles standing on his way, mostly local people selling and bargaining their goods. Ignoring the daily conversation of the people and traders alike, he headed toward the exit gate and walked into a nearby church.

"Ah, welcome, young man," an Arabic priest greeted. "We gratefully welcome anyone praying for God's mercy and bless. May our voice reach the very edge of the heaven."

The man just sighed and grinned. "Thank you very much, Father." He stepped into the church and approached the altar. He looked around the empty hall for a while before he knelt and went into a praying pose. He was deeply absorbed into a momentary silence, as he murmured to himself in unknown language.

The priest saw him and slowly approached him, as not to disturb his prayers. "My goodness, I haven't seen anyone who's as devoted as you are, young man. It's a rare sight nowadays."

The man stopped praying and stared up at the priest. "This is for my deceased family, Father. I pray for their happiness in the afterlife," he spoke and resumed his prayers. "And I'm not as devoted as you can see, Father. But I do believe in God, that's why…"

"How grateful of you to pray for the deceased souls. May God bless you and your family, young man," the priest spoke and made a crucifix sign on his chest. He walked out of the church, leaving the man alone with his session. Idle as he was, he opened his eyes and stared at the floor.

"God… please tell me… how much sins had I committed just because of the people…?" he whispered. "It's not that I purposely kill the sinners, but everything I had done was for the people I care of…" He reached the iron cross and clenched it. "Please… tell me…"

A cry of help disrupted the momentary silence. He stood up and looked at the outside. "Something's wrong." He quickly walked to the door and saw the priest from earlier surrounded by several thugs, mercilessly beaten to death by the people. "Hey! Stop bullying the old man!" he ordered and ran toward the mass.

The thug stared at the man. "Hey, what have we got here?" the spoke and laughed. "An outsider trying to help this helpless oldie. Forget it, whoever you are. You've got nothing to do with this."

"I said stop bullying the old man," the man demanded. "Have you youngsters not taught to respect other people?"

"Respect? What respect?" the replied and laughed for the second time. "We don't need to respect anyone, especially around time like this. And what are you up to? Asking us to be more respective, just like him?" they insisted and kicked the priest.

The man growled in annoyance. "Just stop it, damn it!" The thugs ignored him and continually mobbed and bullied the priest who was pleading for mercy. Trying to demand the group to leave the priest, eventually he was getting annoyed by the disrespectful act. He took off the robe and tossed it, revealing the badly torn all-black uniform.

The thugs looked at him and cooed in disgust. "Well, well. Isn't that the outfit of the Holy Orders? Heh, too bad we won't listen to anyone serving the Holy Orders as well," they uttered and continued to beat the old man. The man lost his temper and reached his back, slowly withdrawing a kodachi concealed beneath the cloth. He closed his eyes and clenched the cross, murmuring to himself.

"God… please, forgive me…"

x-x-x-x-x

"Yawn… man, that was a good, peaceful sleep," Ky murmured as he got up from his bed, yawning and stretching his body. He looked beside him and smiled to see Dizzy sleeping peacefully beside him. Softly he patted the Gear's forehead. "I wonder what she's dreaming of right now," he whispered and kissed her supple cheek.

Ky jumped off the bed and walked toward the window and pulled the curtain, letting the golden ray to shine the room. "Morning at homeland… finally, peace of mind," he uttered. He looked back at the back and saw Dizzy waking up from her slumber, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Ohayou, Dizzy." Good morning, Dizzy.

The innocent Gear looked at her sweetheart and smiled.

"Ohayou, anata." Good morning, dear.

Ky approached Dizzy and sat beside her. He admired the untouched beauty of the Gear for a while before he pulled her into his arms. "You're so beautiful, Dizzy. You really are," he whispered and embraced her closer, and placed trails of kisses on her supple cheek. Dizzy giggled and wrapped her lithe arms about his body, resting her head on his firm chest.

"Ne…"

"What is it, Dizzy?" Ky asked after he stopped kissing her scalp.

"I had a dream a while ago," she spoke, snuggling in his arms.

"A dream?" he asked again.

"Umm," replied the woman and held him close, as if she wanted to stay in his arms forever. "It was beautiful, Ky. It was really beautiful; I don't know how to tell you…"

"It's alright," Ky said and softly rubbed her back. Dizzy giggled again and snuggled in his arms, before she fell asleep. Ky looked at the woman and smiled.

"Sleepyhead," he uttered and kissed her scalp. He was idle for a while before he let out a sigh and looked outside the window. "If only this peace would last…"

Outside the mansion, Rock was seen practicing his martial art. Ever since GVS2 ended, he had no one else to spar with except his wife Hotaru and archrival Ky, though he occasionally felt bored with it. He wished he could challenge his ex-mentor Terry right now, but the legendary wolf was nowhere to be seen after the tournament ended. Even his father Geese Howard left soon after; and this had made him feeling alone.

He shrugged. At least, everything has become better than the last time; he thought and proceeded with his sparring.

Yet will this so-called peace last long?

"Honey, breakfast is ready," Hotaru called from the kitchen.

"I'll be there in a moment!" Rock shouted outside.

.

It was a peaceful morning at Magnolia Village. The villagers were busy with their routine activities, as if nothing had happened to them. Indeed, they were unaffected by the events of GVS2 and felt that they had no connection with the event. Despite the shocking news of Yuu's passing away, they regarded it as a part of their life.

For Nik, it was a different matter.

He already knew the truth of the tournament. Being told by Lone Wolf NEO all about GVS2, he was rather disappointed to know that the prestigious battle had come to and end. He also wondered of how the fighters would do since they had no one to battle against.

"HEY, NIK."

The shopkeeper looked at the door and gasped in surprise. He had mentioned about the fighters just a few moments ago, and now one of them was standing in front of him. "Robo Ky, welcome back. We missed you."

"AND YOU BETTER STOP QUOTING AGENT SMITH THIS TIME," the PWAB knight demanded.

"Why not?" Nik asked.

"Because this is not Sheo's story," Robo Ky reminded before he shrugged. "AH FORGET IT. HEY, CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOUR?"

"Oh, sure, sure. Anything from the best shopkeeper you can rely on," Nik said, smiling at the robot. "How can I help you, Robo Ky?"

"AIIIII!" the usual morning shriek of Sumomo startled both of them. The mini Persocon jumped off Robo Ky's head and landed on the desk between them and proceeded with her morning call dance. "Good morning everyone! Today is a good day, isn't it? AIIIIII! Let us do some morning exercise! And one, two, three four! And five, six, seven, eight! AIIIIII!"

Robo Ky laughed and picked Sumomo up and put her on his shoulder. "FEELING ENERGETIC, HUH SUMOMO?" he said.

"AIIIIII!" Sumomo answered and shook the tambourine she held. "I am always energetic! Robo Ky should be feeling energetic as well! AIIIIII!"

"So, Robo Ky," Nik called him, "what can I do for you?"

The robot stopped dancing with Sumomo and looked at the shopkeeper. He took out a scroll and handed it over to Nik. "THESE ARE THE LIST OF HARDWARES AND SOFTWARES I NEED TO UPDATE. CAN YOU TAKE CARE OF ALL OF THEM?"

Nik took the list and examined each item listed in it. Then he beamed at Robo Ky. "Just leave it to me! There is nothing I cannot fix in this world."

.

At the necropolis…

"Zofeah-sama…" whispered Chidori, as the two ninja girls knelt in front of the grave. "It's been a year since you left us. And… we had tried to live a living with you. But…" Wiping off her tears, she weakly smiled. "We just couldn't. We've been living and accompanying you since you took us as your assistants, and we thought that we could stay by your side forever…" The girl went into tears before she could finish her words.

Chihiro pulled her twin sister into her arms and softly soothed her. "Don't cry, Chidori… Zofeah-sama doesn't want to see us in tears, you know," she whispered.

Chidori broke into a bitter cry and buried her face in her arms and clung onto her. "Why… oneesan… why do we have to face this…? Why?" she whined.

"I don't know, Chidori," Chihiro answered, rubbing her back as to sooth her feeling. "I just don't know…"

Chihiro lifted her twin's face and cupped her flushed cheeks. "We should get going. Okay?" she asked, wiping the tears. Chidori could only nod, and followed on, as the two ninja girls left the grave. It was not long before Chidori returned to the tombstone. Staring at the stone carvings for a while, she later bowed.

"Zofeah-sama, gomennasai. We have to leave." She looked at the grave again and weakly smiled. "Sayonara…"

x-x-x-x-x

It was a rather silent day for Millia. Ever since Sammy was missing, she had been feeling empty inside. Despite the marriage she already had with Venom, she still needed a companion whenever her husband was not at home. She felt alone, and she had no one to accompany her.

Well, maybe not anymore.

The Russian woman was watering the garden in front of her house when she heard a faint purr coming from beneath the bushes. Curiously she looked under her feet and saw a pair of weak emerald eyes peeking from inside the bushes. "Aw, it's a cat. What's wrong with you, kitty?" she asked when she saw a Siamese cat sitting under the scrub. The cat weakly meowed and stared at her in the saddest eye gaze it could muster. "Are you afraid at me, kitty?" she asked and gave out her hand. The cat kept purring, hesitant to approach her. She smiled at the feline. "Don't be afraid, kitty. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Reluctantly the cat stepped out, staggering on its four paws as it slowly walked toward Millia. Taken by sympathy, Millia picked the cat and cradled the feline in her arms. "You're in pretty bad shape, kitty. Let me take you inside, okay?" she said. The cat purred and softly nudged its head against her chest. She giggled and kissed the cat's forehead before walked into the house.

At faraway…

Leon Winchester was observing the precious silent assassin with binoculars when he saw the woman picking up a Siamese cat from the garden and taking it into her house. He smugged. "At least it's not that damn opportunist cat," he pondered and continued spying on her.

x-x-x-x-x

Somewhere else…

"Body ga ameze!"

Kyo tried to land the 114 Shiki: Aragami punch onto I-No. The red witch grinned and jumped over the attack and counteracted with Chemical Love. The Kusanagi fighter got knocked off and was sent crashing on the wall, and I-No proceeded with a Sultry Performance. "Kusanagi boy, you're mine!" she cried and rammed onto him.

"I don't think so!" Kyo shouted and escaped with Psych Burst Counter. I-No got knocked off course and Kyo quickly chased after the woman, giving out his trademark Wild Bite combo Gatling. "Never mess with the Kusanagi, lady!" he shouted and Roman Cancelled the last attack into a Moon Harp Positive. He immediately home-jumped, attempting an aerial combo.

"Hah! I'm the one who should say, 'never mess with the red witch, boy!'" I-No insisted and air-recovered. She immediately executed Ultimate Fortissimo, equally sending Kyo back to the ground. She, then, landed back on the ground and watched at the Kusanagi fighter who tried to stand back.

Kyo fell on his behind. "Damn it… I've lost to some red-hat woman," he mumbled and disappointingly smiled at I-No.

"Aw, look at you," I-No teased and put a hand on her hip. "Our Kusanagi boy is surrendering already. Boo-hoo-hoo."

"Yeah, at least my ex-student isn't around here," Kyo said and looked around to make sure Shingo was not around. Then he looked back at I-No. "So, red lady, care to join me for tonight's dinner?"

I-No couldn't help herself but to grin over the invitation. "Why, sure." She lifted her guitar and approached Kyo and looked down at him. "Well, you better treat me something good, Kusanagi boy."

.

The grassland was disturbingly silent. There was no sign of life at the area, except for two people facing each other. The first person was wearing white-red gi and had a devious grin carved upon his face, while the second person was wearing red cap and red sleeveless jacket, with his horsetail swaying with the wind.

"So, Terry," the first person finally broke the silence, "why don't you just give up and go home? You know me, The Most Powerful Man in the World who is immortal."

"Heh, immortal or not, you're still human, Geese," the second person answered and corrected his cap.

The person grinned and folded his arms. "But I will still stay living, Terry. I will survive against all odds."

"Yeah, I know," the man-in-cap answered. "You're still needed in this world as the plot has decided. Go figure."

"You're remarkable, Terry," the man said and clenched his fists, igniting a powerful gust of gale from them. "Let's see how far you've progressed."

He grinned and opened his battle stance. "Alright then. But I must tell you; this wolf spirit is hungry for a prey right now."

"Be my guest."

"Come on! Come on!"

x-x-x-x-x

It all happened too fast for an eye to see. The man was standing behind the paralyzed thugs while holding the kodachi in a backhand slash position. The shocked expression of the thugs could be seen emerging from their face, as they slowly looked at the man. "That's so freaking fast…" Instantly, their body was slain and fell to the ground, piece by piece. The priest was looking back and forth between the sudden massacre and the man who had saved his life in horror.

"What… what have you done? You've slain the guiltless people! That's against the teachings!" he demanded. "What had triggered your inner self into committing such act?"

"Innocent? What innocent? These people deserve to be punished for not respecting a person's life…" The man stared at the priest and frowned. "Forgive me, Father…" he spoke in repentant tone, "I have committed another sin in my life… please, forgive me…" He turned around and walked away from the church, leading to a destination only he knew.

A moment later, he halted. "But I do not commit this sin without a cause. As a fallen soldier, I know clearly what I am doing." He resumed his steps and slowly disappeared from sight, leaving the priest in disarray.