Guilty Gear X Lightning the Argent is the first novel in the Guilty Gear series. It is set in 2181, before the events that lead up to Guilty Gear X, and is centered mostly around Ky Kiske and his job in the International Police Force.
The novel was first published on January 1, 2001, by Enterbrain. An e-pub version was released by Kadokawa in December 30, 2016.[1]
Contents[]
- Chapter 1: "Deeds & Beasts"
- Chapter 2: "Babylon's Feast"
- Chapter 3: "City of Disease (Dragged Town)"
- Chapter 4: "Wheelchair & Corpses"
- Chapter 5: "Guilty Gear"
- Chapter 6: "Mortal Song"
- Final chapter: "Supplement by Ky"
- Afterword
- Profile
Story[]
As the novel opens, Ky Kiske hears several disturbing reports from London and departs to investigate them. By chance he is able to follow Sebass, president of the Blackard Corporation, into a socialite party wherein Sheevus displays their new medicine, Vitae, by smashing a dog's paw and restoring it to perfect health. Ky wants to stop the party, but he is interrupted by Sol Badguy, who has come for Sheevus's head. A fight ensues between Ky and Sol, but Sol disappears after they hear a girl's singing voice, leaving Ky to deal with the aftermath.
Afterwards, Ky investigates the Gear-related rumors and ends up in a rundown village located where the Hydra is sealed. There he chases away a gang harassing a wheelchair-bound girl named Marina. He attempts to bring Marina to a hospital, but the villagers redirect him to the local doctor, who turns out to be Faust. A villager explains that they have an arrangement with the Blackard Company; they are allowed to live there and are provided with necessities as long as they serve as test subjects for the company's products. Occasionally, some experience side effects and are carted off to the company's hospital to never return.
After Marina recovers, she tells Ky that there has been a series of murders recently, but the bodies are removed by the company before anybody can investigate. Ky decides to spend some time in the village, living in the now-abandoned church. Ky finds out that the former priest was a member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. He isn't able to investigate further as a loud noise interrupts him.
Meanwhile, Sol is wandering around, examining dead bodies, when he runs into That Man's servant, Raven. Sol attacks Raven, but he merely shrugs off Sol's attacks, then disappears. Ky then enters the scene and the pair fight yet again. Sol is annoyed and runs off, so Ky takes the corpse Sol was examining.
The next day, Ky accompanies Marina to her job. Ky discovers—thanks to the children Marina tutors—that a beautiful singing voice is heard every time a murder occurs. Afterwards, Ky thanks Marina and offers her the bottle of Vitae that he received from Sheevus. Marina initially refuses, but she accepts it after Ky says it might restore her ability to walk. Ky then has Faust examine the dead body. Faust recognizes the victim as someone he had been treating for an injured arm. Ky notes that the arm bones look as if they have been chewed upon.
Marina then catches a cold, and Ky drops off some medicine for her. By accident, she drinks the Vitae and not the medicine. Her ability to walk restored, she visits Ky, who is amazed. Later, Faust pays Ky a surprise visit, and tells him that the murder victims (many of whom were his patients) are missing whatever part they needed treatment on. Ky mentions the mysterious singing, but Faust shushes him, saying he hears it, and vanishes. Ky chases after him, only to find Faust defeated by Raven. Raven warns Ky not to let Sol get close to the source of the 'resonance' and disappears.
After patching Faust up, Ky finds some old data files left behind by the former priest: Marina was left on the church's doorstep by a dying woman, and in her hands was the sigil of Justice, and the priest feared that Marina might actually be a Gear. Ky, alarmed, meets with Marina. Not feeling well, she suddenly collapses and her legs turn into black tentacles, which Ky cuts off. The tentacles merge into a face similar to Marina's and emit the mysterious singing voice before crumbling. Ky hurriedly takes the wounded Marina to Faust. Ky realizes that Vitae heals by converting human cells into Gear cells, and that the 'murders' are the result of these cells destroying the host's body.
The realization comes just as Sheevus sets his plan into motion. The Hydra fully awakens and terrorizes the village, and Ky's butler Bernard calls up reinforcements from an unlikely source—the Jellyfish Pirates. Faust helps hold off the Gear as well, while Ky searches for the voice's source. He runs into Sol, who refuses to let Ky handle the issue and they fight for a third time. Sol emerges victorious and takes Ky's Thunderseal away. Sol eventually finds the source of the singing—a Gear girl with free will. Sol is about to kill her, but he spares her at the last second.
In the meantime, Ky finds Sheevus and attempts to take him into custody. However, Sheevus swallows a bunch of his own Vitae and turns into a Gear. Ky is in a pinch without his sword until Sol suddenly appears again and tosses him the Thunderseal. With it, Ky kills Sheevus, then turns to confront Sol. Yet, Sol has disappeared again, leaving only the girl, Solaria, who is Marina's long-lost sister. In the aftermath, she is taken under the protection of the IPF, while a recovered Marina is now studying for a teaching license in London. Ky, however, receives the reports of a free-willed Gear in the US and departs to find it.
Characters[]
Gallery[]
References[]