Previously in Heart of the Melting Blood…
Slayer coughed and walked toward Lone Wolf. "An event has bound to start, and it's not the type you would like to face."
Lone Wolf glanced at the vampire lord. "You're telling me that something bad is going to happen?"
"I bet that you'd known already," Slayer replied.
"Could you please emphasize that?"
Slayer patted the author's shoulder. "My point of telling you us," he spoke, a grin carved upon his face, "you should be aware of the black feather. Heh, even I doubt that you understand this, so may I suggest you to visit the city of Cairo to investigate?"
Lone Wolf shrugged. "Even if you're that noble, added with the fact that you're the ex-leader of the feared Assassin Guild, why would you do this?"
"My answer cannot be shared, unfortunately," the Nightwalker said.
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"Black feather?"
The window abruptly opened, resulting from a sudden gust coming from the desert. The girl was shocked and covered herself from the oncoming wind, trying not to let the nightgown slip off her body. The gust lasted only for a while before it subsided, leaving the girl in confusion. "What was that?" she whispered and sensed another gust coming in, only it was not as sudden as the previous one. She watched in surprise, as a black feather flew into the living room and landed on the floor. She approached the item and picked it up, examining its intricate shape very carefully. "I've never seen this kind of feather before…" she whispered and looked outside the window. "Is this the reason Lone Wolf wants me to look into?"
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Guilty Gear
Heart of the Melting Blood
Written and conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO
Lone Wolf NEO does not own any of all the games or anime or manga featured in this story, but he owns the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. Lone Wolf would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.
Chronological Note: Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED takes place scarcely half a year after Guilty Gear versus SNK 2: Battle Revolution, and currently runs roughly in parallel with Guilty Gear: The World Within and Without written and owned by Sheo Darren.
Chapter 08
Fallen Soldier and Purple Alchemist: A Prophecy
Sion walked in the park alone. Her mind was trying to figure out what type of event related to black feather she would encounter at Cairo. She had never been assigned or asked to handle such cases ever since the events of Melty Blood happening at the Misaki Town. Moreover, the feather she found was both intriguing and mysterious, and she had no idea of where it originated or what purpose of existence it was.
"Speaking of existence," she whispered and stopped walking, staring at her empty palm, "I too am curious of my own existence… what am I really? I know I'm not a perfect human, but…" Immediately, a series of flashbacks emerged in her mind, altogether compiled by her superhuman thinking ability. Even with that ability, the alchemist of the Atlas Academy was still in deep confusion about herself.
It was not until she met the man named Tohno Shiki during her visit at Misaki Town. Before she knew it, she found herself attached to the very man she called 'he one whose eyes can penetrate the thin line called life' and she did not know the reason behind it either. She could not seem to have understanding about his feeling toward her (or her feeling toward him either) since she was a gifted genius with the mind-hacking ability, feared by all people. She frowned. "What can I do… to understand my own feeling?" she whispered.
"Huh? Who's that?" She saw a man wearing black uniform sitting on a bench, enjoying himself a cup of ice cream. Curiosity arose inside of her; Sion approached the man who was in deep awe of the ice cream he was feasting. "Excuse me, but you're not around here, right?" she asked.
The man looked at her. "Umm, yes. I'm just a visitor taking time touring around this city."
"Can I sit here?" she asked again.
"Sure, sure. No one's sitting here since this morning." Sion gladly took a sit beside him, watching at him who was about to finish the ice cream. He noticed her. "You want some?"
"Eh? No thanks, sir. I just want to sit here and-"
The man lifted a plastic bag full of ice creams. "I bought all of these a while ago. You can take one of them for you. Let's just say that this is my treat for today, what you say?" he uttered and smiled.
The two of them were enjoying ice creams the men bought, while taking times to talk with each other about everything they could talk of. Sion was thinking that he was an undercover agent from the uniform he was wearing until he told her that it was a remembrance of an organization he joined. "Ten years have passed, and this is the only dress I have with me. Don't you think it's weird to see people walking around with the very same outfit they wear from the very first day?" he uttered.
"I… I think it sounds weird to me," Sion answered. "Oh, I forgot to thank you for the ice cream."
"No big deal, Missy," the man spoke and took another dip of the chocolate-flavored ice cream. "It's my bad habit of buying ice creams in bundle, so I sometime invite other people to have it."
"You sound like a friendly guy to me," Sion said.
The man broke into a modest laughter and stared at her. "Really, Missy? You think I'm a friendly guy?" he asked between his laughs. "And I think you're one brave woman. To sit beside a stranger you meet by chance, don't you think it's a little… daring?"
Sion quickly turned her head around as to break eye contact with him. "Drop that 'daring' word, please? I'm not used with it anyway," she insisted, a bright red color staining her face.
"My apology," the man uttered.
"Say," Sion uttered and looked back at him, "we've talked to each other but we forgot to introduce each other. My name is Sion Eltnam of the Atlas Academy."
"The Atlas Academy? Isn't that the place where the best alchemist in the world is trained?" the man asked. "Man, I didn't expect to know you as the academy's alchemist. You know, I've been longing to meet this kind of people, and I never believe I'd eventually meet one."
"Why, thank you," Sion replied and smiled. "May I know your name, please?"
"Actually, Missy," the man uttered and scratched the back of his head, "I don't have a real name. And… as a matter of fact, I never have a real name in my life."
"Oh, really?" Sion replied, a little disappointed by the answer. "But at least you have a nickname. I'd like to hear it now."
"Oh, okay then." The man coughed and put the ice cream cup down. "My nickname is…"
"There he is!" Both of them looked at the direction of the shout and saw a huge mass of hooligans running toward them. "Hey! You in the black uniform! Don't try to run away! We've got this park surrounded!"
"Who are those guys?" Sion asked, before realized that the man already stood on the lane, facing the hooligans. "Err… what are you going to do?"
"Miss Sion, do you not mind if I have to spill blood?" he inquired and tucked behind his uniform.
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Sion asked again. A moment later, she saw a kodachi tucked out from the uniform, slowly withdrawn from its scabbard. "What… what are you going to do? Hey!"
"Miss Sion… God… please, forgive me…" the man uttered and immediately dashed toward the attacking thugs.
-Background music: Pompeii (E.S. Posthumus)-
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Mark 2 opened his eyes. His internal sensor detected disturbing energy flows coming not far from his scouting post. He looked around and saw the man dashing toward a group of attacking thugs. "HMM… THIS IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING. I SHOULD OBSERVE THIS DUEL."
x-x-x-x-x
"Damn, not this strange feeling again…" It was the fourth time Robo-Ky felt such obnoxious mood lurking inside of him. He looked at the clear sky of the countryside and shrugged unpleasantly. "I know there's something wrong happening, but I can't seem to find out what it is. Damn, I forgot to ask Nik to repair my early warning system."
He turned around and stared at the twin ninja girls of Leaf Village, who were sleeping soundly on the floor. Deciding to let Chihiro and Chidori accompanying him until he met the swordsman-in-legend for his special training, Robo-Ky felt that the girls were in desperate need for someone or somebody to become their master, or at least guiding them. He could become one if he wanted to, yet he could not accomplish such task; he isn't the type of person who would easily choose to have people follow him everywhere.
"Zofeah-sama… doushite…?" Robo-Ky looked at Chidori. She was moaning in her sleep, and he noticed that she was shivering. Knowing that the shinobi had lost the one she relied upon the most, the PWAB warrior with free will knelt beside her and softly patted her scalp. To his surprise, Chidori seized his arm and firmly embraced it. "Zofeah-sama… don't leave me, onegai… Zofeah-sama…" she murmured and brought the arm close to her chest. Robo-Ky could not help himself but to sigh in wonder.
"Perhaps… I can become your custodian, shinobi girl," he spoke, softly patting Chidori's head, "that is, if Sumomo agrees."
x-x-x-x-x
The man proved to be too lethal for the thugs to handle. Before an eye could blink twice, the thugs were downed by a quarters, and numbers of casualties were increasing. Sion blinked in surprise when she saw how the man managed to keep himself intact while outwitting the attackers coming from all directions.
Just after that, she saw a flock of ravens coming from nowhere and flew in the sky, silhouetting the whole battle scene. She watched in awe before a mass of black feathers fell from flock, shielding the sky from sunray. "Black feathers… wait a minute!"
"Can you do that for me? It's something that has got to do with black feather…"
She gasped. The black feather Lone Wolf asked her to investigate was happening right in front of her. Then she remembered the story of an angel of death who walked upon the very surface of the earth, bringing along him the sign of coming death: black feather. Is the man standing in front of her the shinigami she was asked to investigate?
Slowly she pulled out a cord from her bracelets and walked toward the chaotic scene. "Alright, whoever you are. Stop!" she demanded. The man halted and stared at her. "I don't know what grudge you have against the people, but I demand you to stop killing them! RIGHT NOW!"
"Miss Sion?" the man asked in surprise.
She shivered in anger and deeply glowered at him. "I can't believe the man who treated me ice cream turns out to be heartless murderer! What has forced you into committing this crime? Tell me!" she cried whilst tears began to flow down her eyes.
The man was silent for a while, ignoring several thugs who were running away from the scene. Then he breathed out and looked up at the blackened sky. "This is for my family… I know it's against the teachings, but…"
"I don't care about that!" she cried again. "Just stop killing these people! I beg of you!"
He frowned. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sion, but as soon as I have this matter finished, I can repent for all sins I have done."
"For how long?! Forever?! Until you've killed everyone on the Earth?" Sion insisted and clenched her fists. "You should've known the consequence for- LOOK OUT!"
He turned around, and an oncoming attack nearly hit his head. It missed, yet it managed to tear his uniform. "Just what you think you're doing?" he snarled and snatched the attacker's neck. The thug helplessly struggled to escape, yet the man tightened his neck and deeply glowered at him. "And tell me something. How did you find me? Who told you this?" The thug groaned in refusal and kept struggling in his grip. "ANSWER ME!"
"The… P… WA… B… agent told us…" the thug told him. "He told us that he'd pay us if we managed to bring your head to him, and…"
"And what about that time?" he demanded.
"That had got nothing to do with this! Honest!" the thug swore.
A loud cry startled both him and the strangling thug. They looked behind and saw Sion caught by a newcomer armed with a sword. "Damn it! My plan to bring you to the bureau has been ruined, thanks to you," the newcomer shouted and prodded the sword's edge at Sion's neck. Sion was caught in terror and called out for help, and the agent strangled her tighter, not allowing her to move violently.
"That's the agent I'm talking of! That's him…!"
The man threw the thug on the ground and stepped toward the agent. "You're looking for trouble, mister. You don't have any idea of who you're dealing with."
"Don't come close, or I'll kill her!" the agent threatened, shivering in fear.
He deeply glowered at the agent. "Kill her?"
"Yes! I'll kill her, I swear!" the agent insisted.
"Go ahead," he dared and stopped walking. "Kill her and show me that you're one brave and stupid person to hire an entire hooligan to kill me."
"You…" the agent shivered.
"Just kill her!" he demanded.
"Don't… force me…!" the agent begged.
"TOO LATE!" In an instant, the man in black uniform disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the agent. He grabbed the hand holding the sword and cut it in half, before he snatched his collar. The agent screamed in pain and released Sion off his possession, and was dragged by the man. "Tell whoever employs you," he hissed and tossed the agent to the ground, "not to mess with the fallen soldier. Got it!?" The agent ran away in fear and left the scene. He watched at the escapee for a while before he breathed out. "Miss Sion, just now you've heard my nickname, haven't you?"
"Your… nickname?" Sion asked
He turned around and stared at the woman. The flock of raven that was feasting on the carcasses flew and dramatically decorated the background scene, as if he had been sent by the God of Death with death in hand. "The Fallen Soldier… that's the only name I have. Well, children call me with other name, but Fallen Soldier is the name I own."
"Fallen Soldier… who are you?" Sion asked.
He sighed. "It's… it's a long story."
x-x-x-x-x
The agent had fled from the arena and was now headed to the main gate. Already terrified by what had happened upon the thugs he hired, he was running as if he was trying to avoid the angel of death reaching for his soul.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?"
The agent halted. Standing before him was the owner of the golden-yellow eyes, who was glowering at him in anger. "M-Mark 2!?"
"I HAD SEEN EVERYTHING," the robot spoke, "I HAD SEEN WHAT HAD YOU DONE TO HER. HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND AND WENT TO PURPOSELY ATTACK CIVILIANS? HAVE YOU REALIZED THE MISTAKE YOU HAVE DONE?" Mark 2 stated, slowly opened his steps and walked toward the agent. The Thunderseal he was holding was glowing in thunder blue, crying at its master to slay its victim. "YOU COWARD. IF YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT THEM, WHY DON'T YOU GO AND DO IT YOURSELF, INSTEAD OF HIRING OUTSIDERS TO DO YOUR TASK?"
The agent was too terrified to move, paralyzed by the glare of death Mark 2 was giving at him. "Mark 2, we're very sorry!" he cried and fell onto their knees, apologizing at the robot. "I'm very sorry! I didn't know anything about that!"
"SORRY ISN'T ENOUGH TO REPENT YOUR MISTAKE," Mark 2 spoke and lifted the Thunderseal upward. "YOU MUST PAY FOR YOUR ACTS. DEATH IS THE ONLY WAY TO CLEANSE YOURSELF OFF ALL YOUR SINS."
"Mark 2! I'm very sorry! Please forgive me! Please…!"
"YOU CAN ASK FOR FORGIVENESS," Mark 2 coldly spoke, "AT HELL. I AM SORRY, BUT I MUST DO THIS AS THE BUREAU HAS ORDERED. FAREWELL."
The Thunderseal struck.
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Mark 2 stood erect. The Thunderseal Blade was coated in blood. Before him, a body slain into pieces was lying on the ground, emitting a foul-smelling stench and the smell of rotting flesh into the open air. "BOTH OF YOU ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO VIOLATE THE BUREAU'S CODE OF NOT INVOLVING CIVILIANS IN OUR OPERATION. WERE YOU NOT INFORMED BY THE HIGHEST OFFICERS ABOUT THIS?" he whispered.
Idle as he was, Mark 2 later looked at Hikaru. "THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE MAN THAT INTRIGUES ME. ESPECIALLY-" He got an incoming transmission and immediately responded to the call. "MARK 2 REPORTING. CHIEF. YES? RIGHT NOW? BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS INVESTIGATION? NO, CHIEF. I MEAN… I UNDERSTAND. I WILL RETURN TO BASE AS SOON AS I CAN. ROGER AND OUT."
Mark 2 disconnected the intercom and wiped the Thunderseal off blood with a piece of cloth. He put the sword back into its scabbard and walked out of the city park. After a few paces, he halted. "THAT SPEED HE OWNS… AND THE BLACK FEATHER… IT'S LIKE HE'S AN WARRIOR COMING FROM THE UNDERWORLD," he thought. He opened a hatch on his midsection, and his mini-me counterpart jumped out of his belly. The mini-me was observing the area in confusion before Mark 2 called him.
"MINI-ME," the robot spoke, "DO ME A FAVOUR AND WORK AS AN UNDERCOVER AGENT."
"Eh? You want me to become a spy, Mark 2?" the mini-me asked. "Do you want me to spy on the man you're asked to follow around?"
"YES, THAT MAN," Mark 2 answered. "THE CHIEF NEEDS ME TO RETURN TO THE BASE, AND I STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED THIS TASK. YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HER, RIGHT?"
"Don't worry about that, Mark 2!" the mini-me exclaimed and saluted at him. "I shall have this investigation done for you! Roger and out!" The mini robot ran toward the centremost section of the park, leaving Mark 2 alone at the gate. The PWAB robot watched at the mini-me for a while before he left the park.
x-x-x-x-x
Yuuki opened her eyes. Somehow, an unpleasant feeling was lingering inside of her. She breathed out in dismay and got up from the chair and walked toward the window. "Something's not good is going on…" she whispered and stared outside the window, where a flock of raven was flying in the sky. "And I fear it's been started."
That Girl looked beside her and saw a piece of black feather on the window frame. Curiously she took the feather and examined it. "Black feather… what prophecy it brings?" she pondered.
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Ciel looked up at the sky. It was an unusual sight to see a huge flock of raven flying and shielding the sun from shining its ray on the earth. "This is very unusual… I wonder what has caused this kind of thing to happen?" the Vatican agent whispered and corrected her eyeglasses.