Heart
of the Melting Blood
Legend
of the Moonlight
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: Legend of the Moonlight takes place scarcely half a year after the event in Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED, and currently runs roughly in parallel with Guilty Gear: the World within and Without written and created by Sheo Darren. This story takes place in the TYPE MOON universe, and happens at Misaki Town where the events of Shingetsusan Tsukihime once took place.
Chapter
10
Moonlit
Flame of Justice
He was silent, sitting idly at the centre of the training hall. Alex, the lone wolf of the Holy Orders, was in the middle of a meditation. He was preparing himself, physically and mentally, for the judgment day that would take place anytime. Already wearing his black knight uniform, he was calmly concentrating on the upcoming duel with his sister he expected to ensue. He was neither worried of himself, or concerned of his destiny that would come. He was anxious whether the 'hunting season' would affect the people he had now vowed to protect, or involve those he wished not to see getting hurt. The Black Sabbath –a sword entrusted to him by his master- was laid in front of him, and he was certain the sword would understand the complicated situation its master had to face.
Then a flashback of memory knocked the door of his mind. It was of Sion, the woman he owed everything, and she was disgraced over his decision to fight the judges alone. In reality, he needed her to stay beside him in fighting his enemy, yet he realized he would expose her to danger if he let her to involve. He also knew if Sion was to become witness of the sibling war, she would be devastated by the outcome that followed.
x-x
"But you can't fight her! She's your sister, Alex!"
"I know, Sion, but I have to. If I don't go, I fear that everybody else in here would be involved. I can't let that happen."
"Isn't there any other way? There has to be something else you can do."
"I wish there is. However… if this is what I have to face, then I will. Even if I have to kill her."
"Alex, no! Please, don't do it. She's… she's an important person to you, isn't she? You love her so much, how could you do… such thing."
"I… I know, and I'm sorry."
"Don't say sorry to me! Why you'd have to do this? Why?"
"I can't tell you that, Sion. I… just can't."
x-x
The clock struck - twelve times. "It's time." Slowly he stood up, took Black Sabbath and walked out of the hall. He headed to the garden, where full moon was shining brightly in the sky, lighting up the darkness of the night and silhouetting every inch of the environment. He did not bother of the nature's silver coin; all that mattered to him was to prevent the hunters from claiming its prey.
He waited. And waited. And waited. And yet there was no sign of the judges or the hunters. He was getting restless and suspicious; were they intending to play with his patience, by not revealing themselves for a period of time?
A whistling voice caught his ear. He turned around; just in time an arrow flew from nowhere and headed toward his head. Easily he caught the arrow and found a scroll attached to it. Curious, he took the scroll and found that it was a letter written in hand.
"Mistress Lia is waiting for you at the hill outside the city. Meet her if you want to finish this matter. And do not let anyone follow you, or their life will be in danger. Sign, Longbow."
The letter was crushed, and tossed to the ground. He clenched his fist, said nothing then breathed out. If this is what the Dragoon Society wanted, he thought, he will show them what it takes to become a black feather. He nodded; it was time to go, and he left the mansion.
Little did he knew, that he was followed by a dark shadow…
x-x
It was only a short trip from the Tohno mansion to the hill, but he felt like he had been running for hours to reach the place. He was racing against time; he knew if he wasn't there on time, he would jeopardize the lives of his newfound companions. He had sworn to himself he would finish the hunting season by himself, even if he had to put his life at risk. He swore to stop the judgment day from happening, for the sake of the people who believed in him.
He arrived at the hill, and looked around for tell-tale sign of the judges. It did not take him a long time when he spotted a woman standing at the edge of cliff. It was an unmistakable sight: the long, sapphire hair that was shun by the full moon, the blue and white shrine maiden outfit that matched her perfectly, and the lance she was holding tightly. Her azure eyes were shining sadly and coldly, and he wanted to know the meaning behind the gloomy sight.
"Lia." Immediately the woman turned to him. "I… I'm here as the letter said. Tell me, is there anything I can do as your brother?"
She was staring at him sadly. "Brother Alex… I… I just want both of us to be together," she uttered. "Just like… the days we used to be…"
"But why must you do this? Why must you join the Dragoon Society?" he demanded. "What things I did that have broken your heart? Tell me, Lia, what have I done that make you disappointed?"
"I don't want to do this, but I have to!" she cried, even as she tried to remain calm albeit tears that started to stream down her cheeks. "I have to do this for you… Brother Alex…"
The answer irked him. "By executing justice on those who know nothing of this? By allowing blood to be shed? By letting the people to suffer? By doing all of these, you expect us to be reunited? You've got it wrong, Lia! You've got the whole idea wrong!"
"Don't tell me what is wrong and what is right, brother Alex! I know what I'm doing!" she replied and frowned. "Ever since you left… I was wondering whether I had done anything useful for you. I had been thinking whether I was a bother for you because of the illness I had. Then Uncle Valentino… he told me that I could be reunited with you, but only if I agree to serve the Dragoon Society." The young woman, then, lifted her head and stared deeply at him. "Ten years have passed ever since, and I've been waiting for this day to come. And now you refuse to see me again? Why can't you try to understand my feeling? Why, brother Alex? Is it… is it because of the woman you call Sion?"
"Lia, don't misunderstand everything! She isn't like what you think! She's just a friend of mine," he insisted.
Her eyes were lit up in anger. "Then why Longbow told me about your love affair with her? You… you horrible! I hate you!"
He was startled. Never before in his life, would he be called horrible by his own sister. He never expected to hear such words from the person so important to him that he once would die to protect her smile. He never believed that she would change so much into detesting and hating her brother. "It can't be helped… right? It can't be helped, this battle between two siblings…" he sighed in low voice.
He lifted his head. Lia was now pointing the lance at his face, with an angry expression only she knew why she was making it. "Very well, Lia. If you insist to," he uttered and withdrew Black Sabbath.
"You are going to be captured. Prepare yourself, Lone Wolf," coldly she spoke and spun the lance. Subsequent to that, Echo and a ninja appeared next to her, who immediately opened their battle stance, and Alex responded by opening his own. The three warriors were waiting for cue sign of battle, even as wind started to blow across the grassland.
"Let's go."
The two judges jumped away from Lia, and pounced toward Alex. One of them, the ninja named Blaze, withdrew his katana and aimed it at Alex. The black feather immediately repelled the oncoming attack, whilst simultaneously evaded an uppercut punch given out by Echo. He jumped as to escape their next attacks and tossed several shurikens to slow them down. Echo ignored the projectiles and jumped toward him and aimed her knuckles at him, while screaming a loud battle cry. Alex parried all the punches she executed and counterattacked with a flip kick that sent her crashing on the ground.
"Lone Wolf!" He turned around and immediately snatched a flying kick given out by Blaze. He braced himself for a while then tossed the ninja back to Echo who was getting back on her feet. Both of the judges were sent flying away from him and crashed next to Lia. Alex jumped to the ground and waited for the judges to make their next moves.
"As expected from the ex-assassin who once served the Holy Orders," Lia spoke. "To be able to single-handedly defeat two of the best Great Judges, you are truly a force to reckon with."
"This is just a part of it, Mistress, and I'd be glad to show you more," Alex replied.
Lia grinned at the answer. "However will the lone wolf be able to face the hounds that are eager to devour their prey?" she spoke and waved her hand in the air. In less than seconds, ninjas and assassins jumped from their covers and surrounded Alex en masse. The black knight wasn't intimidated by the massive number of his enemies and calmly positioned his steps, spinning Black Sabbath in his hand as he did.
"AHA! Numbers aren't alone to ensure the success of this judgment day, everyone!" Alex looked above and saw a mechanical crawler appearing above his head. The ninjas and assassins fled as to give space to the oncoming vehicle, leaving the lone wolf in the path of the crawler. He teleported, just before the crawler crashed and landed far from the impact zone. He snorted; has another judge arrived?
"You're very late, Doctor Getter," Lia said. "We could've used your service had you arrived here earlier."
The owner of the name, who later appeared from inside the crawler on top of a platform, laughed. "My apology, Mistress, but I must first feed this baby, or it will complain and demand for food," he spoke as he corrected his eyepiece. "Speaking of food, I think we have a nice dessert for tonight."
"Who are you anyway?" Alex demanded, as he was surrounded again by the soldiers.
"Fool! You have never heard of the famous Doctor Lens Getter, the greatest scientist to roam the whole planet?" the scientist spoke aloud.
"Not the kind of scientist who has a weird obsession toward machinery," he replied, warily looking around him.
The scientist laughed at the answer and corrected his eyepiece again. "I don't think I'd like to start an argument over who I am, for I have been entrusted by commander Valentino to assist Mistress Lia and her comrades." The mechanical crawler roared as to support its master, and Doctor Getter proudly laughed to himself. "Even Metal Widow agrees with me, that today is will be the most remembered day for us and Dragoon Society. Lone Wolf, I believe, you must prepare yourself because the end of your life is now!"
The crawler named Metal Widow, as well as the soldiers, pounced at Alex, forcing him to jump away from them. He flew over Metal Widow when a group of assassins chased him and fired handguns at him. He dodged all the bullets fired at him when a ninja appeared behind him and tried to catch him. He knocked the ninja away, who was sent toward the attacking assassins, and landed on the back of Metal Widow. Things became awfully biased for the lone warrior as Longbow and his band of archers arrived at the battleground and rained the area with arrows. Even Spike and his legion of swordsmen arrived, and things became even more complicated for him.
Doctor Getter laughed maniacally, as he commanded Metal Widow to block Alex's route while the soldiers surrounded him and denied him of any escape attempt. "Surrender yourself, Lone Wolf! Your time is up!" he demanded and pointed to Alex's face. "You can never, and will never, escape alive! We're going to send you to your grave! Say your last prayers!"
"Not so fast!" A barrage of knives appeared from the thin air, and Echo and Blaze were forced to abort their dual attack. Alex tried to locate the attacker and saw a black shadow standing on top of a tree. He knew the black shadow, and he knew it too well.
"Nobody's going to bully Alex-kun in the name of justice, Great Judges of the Dragoon Society," Ciel pronounced and withdrew her key blades. "Not today, not tomorrow, not forever."
"Just who are you this time?" Doctor Getter roared.
"We are Alex's friends, and we're here to stop the judgment day from taking place," another voice came out. It was Shirou, and he arrived with the band of Servants. "Whether you want to believe it or not, it's up to you. But we won't let you hurt him, not even a touch of finger."
"You dare challenging me? I, the great Doctor Lens Getter, shall make your day suffer!" the scientist screamed and commanded Metal Widow to strike at the newcomers. One of the Servants, Berserk, jumped forward and blocked the crawler's huge pincer, enduring the heavy impact he received. The scientist was angered and commanded the soldiers to change their focus on the newcomers.
"Everybody split up! The battle will be easier after we manage to reduce their numbers!" Ciel shouted, even as she jumped to avoid an assassin's attack.
"Got it! Saber, let's go," Shirou spoke and jumped into the battlefield. Saber nodded and followed him closely from behind, while the rest of the Servants split up to take care of the Dragoon militias. Ciel landed next to Alex who was fending off a TAG attack by Echo and Blaze, grabbed his collar and carried him to safety.
"Why the hell are you here, Miss Ciel? I didn't remember asking your help," Alex demanded.
"Whether you asked us for help or not, it isn't our concern. Right now, we're here to help you fighting those judges," Ciel spoke and opened her stance.
"I alone can fight them! You stay out of my way!" Alex insisted, even as Echo appeared above him and tried to aim her knuckle at his head. Just then, a slipstream of razor-sharp air slipped through and knocked the monk off.
"Where are you looking at?" Alex looked at the direction of the voice and saw the familiar sight of Arcueid, who was giving a 'peace' sign at him.
"Mou, you're so late, and yet you act like you're always the first," Ciel mumbled.
Arcueid just laughed silly. "Come on, it's been a while."
"Since we last fought over Tohno-kun? That was the thing of the past, Arcueid," the Vatican agent replied and blocked a ninja's flying kick. "Alex-kun, leave the judges to us. You go and deal with Lia now."
"But Miss Ciel!" Alex protested.
"There's no time for argument, Alex-kun, and I don't want to quarrel with you right now," Ciel insisted and jumped into the battlefield. Arcueid squealed in dismay and followed her track, knocking out several of the Dragoon soldiers as she ran across the field. Alex tried to call them back yet they were already engaged in fierce duels to even listen to him.
"Mister Alex, yes?" He turned around and was greeted by a violet-haired woman in blindfold.
"Who might you be?" he asked.
"My name is Rider, and I am entrusted by my master to assist you," she spoke and bowed to him. He was about to say something when a band of ninjas ambushed them. Immediately Rider swung her chained mace and knocked several ninjas away, leaving one of them to Alex who easily punched him out. Another band of ninjas ambushed them from the south, and this time a string shoot trapped them midair.
"Alex! Are you alright?" along came Sion's voice, as she ran down the grassland.
"Sion! You're here, too?" he demanded.
"There's no time for questions," Sion replied and withdraw a strand of lasso. "Let us help you. You know you can't do this alone, can you?"
A loud battle cry echoed in the midnight sky. The three warriors looked above and saw yet another band of assassins leaping towards them. Piqued by the constant interference he had to endure, Alex screamed a very loud battle cry that Sion and Rider were almost deafened, spun Black Sabbath rapidly in his hand, and pounced at the assassins. "You lowlifes are dead!" he roared and dashed past the assassins. Stunned in the open air, it was as if they were suspended by invisible threads that later cut through their bodies. The assassins turned into body pieces at the same time Alex landed on the ground, blade in backhand position. Idle as he was, he slowly stood up and glanced at the advancing swordsmen. "Come on forward, if you don't value your life anymore," he taunted and pointed the kodachi to the swordsmen.
"Get him!" Subsequent to that the swordsmen leaped forward and tried to attack him en masse. The black feather disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the enemies, before went to counterattack them. The situation turned chaotic, as the swordsmen tried to defend themselves from the merciless onslaught. Sion and Rider tried to assist, only to find themselves facing a warrior on bloodlust and they too were attacked.
"We have to keep ourselves away from him," Rider suggested after they jumped away to safety. "He's too dangerous to approach right now."
"But Alex is outnumbered! He can't defeat those soldiers alone!" Sion insisted.
"He might be, but I've heard of a terrible story from Saber," Rider spoke and looked at the berserk Alex. "She told me of a strand of warriors who were feared in the past for their… terrifying Warrior Berserk."
"Warrior Berserk?" Sion replied. "But why?"
"It was said that once a warrior would attain Berserk status, he would lose his common sense and think of nothing but a lust for blood," Rider spoke, warily looking back at the battlefield. "I thought it was only a legend, but after I saw him like that, I'm afraid the story might have a true basis."
They heard a deafening cry from the battlefield. They turned around, and saw Alex grapping one of the swordsmen while standing on a pile of dead bodies. He was laughing maniacally and stabbed the swordsman's chest, pulled out his heart and tossed it away. He laughed again and sliced the limp body into many pieces, and was later soaked in his prey's blood. Sion covered her mouth in horror at what she saw.
The knight halted. His face, body and suit were soaked in blood, and the Black Sabbath was coated with thick layer of human fat. From the animalistic breath, he was not satisfied with the slaughter and demanded for more blood. He turned to Sion, who was staring at him in disbelief, and turned away.
"Lone Wolf, you must pay for everything!" He turned around and saw Longbow aiming his crossbow at him. He merely stood there, not bothering arrow salvoes the archer-hunter fired at him. He disappeared as the arrows rained his place and reappeared behind Longbow, who could not prepare for such counterattack.
"Are you awake in your sleep?"
A slipstream of air that passed through his chest to bring Longbow down. The archer-hunter screamed in pain and tried to gain his sense when he was grabbed on the neck. "You insist to meet your brother, don't you?" Alex spoke and tightened his grab on Longbow's neck.
"Lone Wolf…! Don't… there are some misunderstandings about my brother," Longbow begged and choked for the want of air. "I didn't mean to accuse you for his death. I…"
"Misunderstanding?" Alex replied with a mocking grin. "Then you're telling me that there's been misunderstanding because I was to be blamed over Henry's death?" Then he laughed maniacally and crushed Longbow's throat. "You're the one who refuses to understand! For that, you shall die!" Longbow was unable to speak his last word and fell dead to the knight. Alex tossed the lifeless body to the ground and stared at his bloodstained palm. He rugged and glanced to his left. His prime enemy -his own sister- was not moving, horrified by the sudden death of the judge. A wicked smile appeared on his scarred face. "You're going to follow Longbow, aren't you?" he asked.
"Why…?" Lia asked, and was promptly attacked. She managed to knock Alex away with her lance and jumped to safety. "Why must you kill him! He has nothing to do with both of us!" Again, she was attacked –and this time, there was no room for counterattack as she had to block all of the knight's attacks.
"Both of us?" he replied and pushed her across the field. "I don't think so. He's an enemy, and he must die. The same will happen to you." He kicked Lia in the shin and pounced at her in his Sleeping Awake pose. Lia rolled to her left, evaded the attack and counterattacked with a stab. It missed, and she was grabbed on the nape of her neck. Alex had overpowered her, and was prodding Black Sabbath on her back. "Like I said earlier, the same will happen to you," he growled.
"NO!" Lia cried and stabbed the back of the lance on Alex's midsection. He was knocked off, and Lia immediately slashed the lance across his face. He cried out in pain and stepped several feet backward and Lia took the chance to call several assassins for backup. She waited, and gasped as the black feather looked back at her. The attack had struck across his face, and had hit both of his eyes. He was deeply under control of Warrior's Berserk, thus he was not suffering from the injury; he merely put his hand over his damaged eyes and closed them shut.
"Great, this is just too great," he mumbled and screamed in bloodlust. "I shall kill you for this!"
x-x
Saber was facing Spike, the prime swordsman of the Dragoon Society. She was not afraid of fighting the judge, nor intimidated with his appearance. She was merely amused to be fighting a human warrior, which she had never done along her life as Shirou's entrusted Servant.
Spike turned around and grumbled at what he saw. "Damn, Longbow's down," he cursed. "And I'm too busy fighting a female knight to assist Mistress right now."
"Hey, look over here," Saber demanded. Spike turned to her and shrugged in fun. "What's so funny about? I didn't remember asking you to laugh!"
"I'm merely amused," Spike spoke and spun the rapier, "to see the lone wolf actually having friends, though I admit they're the strangest league to exist. It's ironic, isn't it? A lone wolf is supposed to roam the land in solitude."
"Perhaps you might need to learn a bit or two," Saber replied and withdrew her sword. "But before that, I need to ask you a few questions about him."
"Oh? Go ahead, then. You know, I'd love to have conversation with people like you," Spike replied, though he did not lower his defence. "So, what are you going to ask?"
"Do you have any grudge or revenge against Alex?" Saber asked. "Your former comrade Rage told me before we left that each of the Judges has their own reason to face him."
"Oh, that? Let me think for a while," he replied and scratched his forehead with the blunt tip if the rapier. "Let's see… Longbow wanted to avenge his brother's death; Rage wanted to finish his business with Lone Wolf, and Echo wanted to know who killed her fiancé ten years ago. As for me, Lens and Blaze, we want to fight him simply because we want to know how capable he is."
"That's all? Well, I guess Alex doesn't have to worry about you guys," Saber spoke and pointed the sword at Spike's face.
"Miss, please, our job is to ensure that the judgment day will be accomplished today," Spike spoke and resumed his stance. "You might miss some of the vital points. For instance, why Mistress Lia picked the six of us when she knew she could face him on her own." He immediately jumped forward and swung the rapier at Saber's head, and the swordswoman effortlessly blocked the attack.
"So? Does it have anything to do with you?" she replied and kicked Spike away.
"How should I know? She never tells us," he spoke and stabbed Saber's chest, only to be deflected by body armour she was wearing. "But what do I know is Mistress has a complex towards her own brother," he said as he repelled a counterattack.
Saber blinked in surprised. "She has a brother complex? You've got to be kidding me."
"Ask her for yourself if you don't believe in me," Spike said and grabbed Saber's armour, before tossing her to Shirou. "Wow, I never thought to win this fight this easily. Is this all the so-called Servant has? Come on, Miss! Why don't you fight harder?"
Saber grumbled and got back on her feet. "You're playing rough, and I don't like that," she spoke.
Spike chuckled to hear the response. "Oh, really? Then I guess I'd have to be more careful next time," he said.
x-x-x-x-x
The sibling battle had lasted for two hours. Neither Alex nor Lia was showing any sign of submission. Being under full control of Warrior's Berserk, the knight was thinking of nothing but to kill his enemy, ignoring Sion and Rider who tried to stop him from continuing his senseless carnage.
"I'm going to kill you, Mistress," Alex spoke as he pushed Lia to the edge of the cliff. "I'm going to put an end of this judgment day once and for all, and there's no better way than to kill you."
"I will not surrender to the likes of you!" Lia replied. "The judgment must be carried out, and I will not step back!"
"Really? Even if you have to face the death of your own brother?" he sarcastically asked.
"You're not my brother!" she replied and pushed him away from her. "Brother Alex wouldn't do mindless thing such as killing, and he wouldn't kill anyone whatever reasons there are! You… you're not my brother!"
"Then I will kill you!" he shouted and pounced at her in the Sleeping Awake motion. The warrior maiden stabbed Alex's chest before he could land the Instant Kill. It barely missed his heart, yet it was enough to knock him out of his Warrior's Berserk. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees, even as blood gushed out of his chest like a fountain of red water. "Lia…!" he growled and coughed of blood.
"Your day has come, Lone Wolf," Lia spoke and approached him, "the judgment day has arrived upon you, the sinned one. I shall punish you by the name of Dragoon Society."
"To hell with that!" he replied and again coughed of blood. His strength was deteriorating and he was losing a lot of blood. Added with the injury on his eyes, he was totally disabled. "Isn't there any way I can do to repent myself, other than to face the judgment? You have to tell me if there is, Lia! You have to!"
"A sinner like you have no place for atonement," Lia replied and lifted the lance up in the air. "Say your last prayers."
"Alex!" Sion cried and ran toward him. "Lia, please stop this! He's realized his mistakes, you don't have to do this!" she begged as she knelt beside him.
"Stand back!" Lia demanded. "He must be punished for his sins. I will spare your life if you leave us alone."
"No! I will not!" Sion replied and stood up. "And why would you want to punish him? Just because he was a criminal in the past? Just because he ignored his duty as your brother? Just because he abandoned you? Just because he's a lone wolf doesn't mean that you have to blame him for everything!"
Lia was ticked off and seized Sion's neck. "You don't understand everything! And why you want to bother his life? You insolent woman! I shall kill you first!"
Immediately Alex lunged himself toward Lia and tackled her body. "Don't hurt her, Lia!" he demanded and knocked her from Sion.
"Why did you stop me, Lone Wolf?" Lia demanded. "She's the one who hurt you! I must punish her!" Alex did not answer, and kept on holding her body. She tried to knock him away from her when she heard Blaze calling out her name. She looked at the ninja, and realized that she and Alex were off the edge of the cliff. "Lone Wolf! Are you trying to kill both of us! Let me go!" she demanded, as she tried even harder to push him away.
"Lia," he called her as he tightened his embrace on her. "I don't hate you for what you've been doing…"
She was startled. The embrace had reminded her of the very day he was forced to leave her after killing the Guild's assassins. "Lone… Brother Alex?"
"But you've gone too far! I won't let you hurt her or anybody else!" he shouted and kicked himself away from the cliff.
"No! Don't do this!" It was useless, because they were already far away from the cliff and was diving toward the seemingly bottomless pit. She was lucky, for Blaze jumped in and snatched her from the sight-crippled Alex. She landed back on the cliff, and ran back to see whether he had fallen into the depth. She was in relief; he managed plunge the Black Sabbath on the cliff, and was hanging on it. "Brother Alex! Take my hand!" she shouted and tried to reach for him.
Alex could not look at her. The injury on his eyes had yet to recover, and the fatal wound was deteriorating him even more. He tried to search for the location of the voice and looked upward. "Lia, where are you?" he shouted and tightened his grip on the sword.
"Up here!" she replied and waved her hand. "Brother Alex, I'm above you! Try to reach my hand! Quickly!"
He gathered his final strength and seized her hand, and was pulled back to the cliff. He fell to his knees, but not before he was pulled into the young woman's arms. "I'm sorry, Brother Alex… I didn't mean to hurt you… I'm so sorry," she apologized and buried her face on the stained Holy Knight uniform.
"Lia…" He was about to embrace her when he head a loud screech coming from above them. He immediately pushed Lia far away from him, and was struck by Metal Widow's pincer. He wavered, firmed himself for a while and slipped off the cliff. He managed to catch Black Sabbath's hilt, and tried to endure the crawler's massive pounding on the ground above him.
"Brother Alex!" Lia cried and ran to the edge of the cliff. "What are you doing, Lens? I've almost saved him!" she demanded.
"But aren't we going to execute the judgment day right now, Mistress?" Doctor Getter asked.
"Forget about the judgment day! I'm going to save him!" she insisted and knelt near the cliff's edge, trying to reach for Alex. "Brother Alex! Grab my hand! Now!" Alex, instead, chuckled and ignored her hand. "Brother Alex, please! Do it! I don't want to lose you again!"
"Lia," he called her again and loosened his grip on the Black Sabbath. "I… I was glad to see you again. Though the consequences aren't… supposed to be like this, I'm happy to finally touch you…"
"Brother Alex, please! Don't you want to be saved? I-I'll beg the elders to drop the sentence against you, then we can live together," she replied.
"Together… like we used to be, right?" he asked.
"Yes… together, like we used to," she told him, trying not to cry.
He grinned. "You're crying again? Come on, Lia, you're supposed to be strong. You once told me you wanted to be as strong as me, didn't you?"
"I can't…! I can't be strong without you!" she denied and started to cry. "Please, Brother Alex! Grab my hand, and you'll be saved!"
Yet he took no attention of the offer. He was a sinner, and he was too remorseful to live with her, a woman whose pure heart was too gentle to be stained by blood. "Take care, Lia… and tell everybody else, I'm sorry."
The grip was finally released. He jumped to the depth of the cliff, falling to his final destiny together with the Black Sabbath. The young maiden cried in horror and called out his name, yet could do nothing but to watch as he plunged into the darkness of abyss. The field became silent, as the wind stopped blowing and the chirpings muted. The rest of the people were wondering of what would happen next, and were in curiosity as she sombrely called out Alex's name.
Lia slowly stood up and took back the lance. "We're pulling back," she ordered, not turning back to the Dragoon militia. All the soldiers complied to the command and fled from the battlefield, leaving the Judges to stare at her in disbelief.
"Ojousama, what happened to Lone Wolf?" Blaze asked.
"He's…" She tried to speak, and tried very hard to force herself to speak. "He's gone."
The Judges and the FATE warriors were in shock. "You mean Alex-kun is…" Ciel spoke.
Lia could only shake her head. "This judgement day has failed to reach its objective. I'll take responsibility for this unsuccessful mission," she spoke and walked away from the edge of the cliff. She found herself facing the angry face of Sion, who went to seize her arms and shake her madly.
"Where's Alex! Where is he! What have you done to him?" she demanded.
Lia pushed her away and continued walking. "How should I know? How should I know… when he wanted to say sorry before he fell down there?" she whimpered. "I… I'm sorry, but…"
Sion was in shock. "You can't be serious. He's… gone?" Lia just nodded and walked away from the FATE group, while the Judges escorted her closely behind.
"Damn, when I thought I could finish this up," Spike complained and chased the group. "I'm sorry, Miss, but we'll continue this battle the next time!" he shouted to Saber.
"Like I want to," Saber replied.
"No… it's a lie…" Everybody turned to Sion, who had fallen onto her knees. Her heart had been broken. Her feeling had been denied. Her soul had been torn. The man she so depended to, the knight she could rely on and the person she referred to as lone wolf had been defeated. It was as if the whole world was laughing at her for believing in someone who foolishly chose to jump into his demise.
"Sion," Shiki called her as he knelt beside her. "It's over now. Everything's over now."
She broke into tears and fell onto his chest, crying bitterly on his shirt. "No! Why this has to happen? Why Alex has to die! I still haven't told him how I feel…" she sobbed and clung onto him. Shiki said nothing but to sooth her, who cried more bitterly and clung onto him more closer. The rest just stooped their head, devastated by the loss of the lone wolf they had wished to know better.
"Damn those Dragoons…!" Ciel cursed and punched the ground. "I've failed to stop this from happening! They must pay for this…!"
