[Novel] Nekros Manteia: Prologue 1, He who is Brown

Nekros Manteia

Prologue 1: He Who is Brown

A deafening scream, an enormous explosion.
Just the echoes make one shiver.
The sounds are hostile. It foretells someone’s death.
The intent to kill is clear.

The atmosphere is heavy, tense, and sinister…
Darkness rules over this domain…
It is cold. The domain does not allow any traces of warmth. It does not allow the existence of life.
And yet, in this area, one sweats,
It is not hot. One does not feel heat in this domain. It is not why it sweats.
The sweat embodies only one thing: Fear.
The domain instills terror to all conscious beings in the domain.
They all die. Nothing is left. No life can exist here.
Nothing should exist except for that which has dominion over this domain…
And yet...

Little tapping sounds follow the loud noises.
Small, insignificant, but fast.
After the huge explosions, these small sounds always follow…
It’s as if the huge sounds are chasing the small sounds…
What other being could possibly exist here?
It is pointless to defy fate.
The cat will devour the mouse.
This domain conquers all, and therefore the mouse is under dominion.
Its fate is sealed…

Another roar, followed by a gush of wind.
And then…

“Tch”

Flashes of light appear…
Something that should not exist in this dark domain.
For a short moment, there is a sense of comfort.
For a short moment, there is a small hope...
Hope of escaping ill-fate…
Hope of escaping the domain alive…
Small explosions follow…
It has the same intent to kill…
It foretells death…
But somehow, it is not as sinister…
The sounds embody an entity able to defy the rules of the domain.
An entity changing its fate…

It is impossible…
No life can exist…
It is impossible…
It is impossible…
It is impossible...

More little taps…
There is something here…
That something runs within the cold area…
It breaks the rules of the domain.
It has defied the preset logic…
It is not influenced by anything that the domain instills on him.
A being that does not fear death…
A being that does not sweat…
A being as cold as the domain itself.
How can this being step onto the bounds of this domain?
The domain drains the life of all living creatures.
Or is this being… already dead.

Impossible…
It is impossible…
It cannot be dead…
It cannot defy the domain if it has already suffered the fate the domain forces upon him.
Or maybe that is why he defies the domain.
Since he is dead, no life can be drained from him.
That is why he doesn’t fear death…
That is why he doesn’t sweat…
That is why he can defy this domain.

A series of explosions.
Dark objects rain down on the being.
It doesn’t allow escape.
It strikes like black lightning, invisible to the human eye.
It is too fast. Any attempts to escape are pointless.
This would seal the fate of the defiant.
But…

“Hmph. Like that’s going to work.”

There are no attempts to escape.
The being catches the deadly projectiles.
And as more objects rain down on him,
The being deflects them with those in hand.
The dark objects are blown away faster than it was thrown toward him.

The being could see that which should have been impossible for a human to react to.
That’s not all
Not one of the dark objects could hit him.
They were blown away with the swing of the arm and object in hand.
The being has senses and abilities surpassing human limit.
No, maybe he didn’t have that limit to begin with.
It makes sense.
For one to have abilities beyond a human, he must not be human.
It must not have the same barriers to overcome as that of a human.

“Hmph.”

The being smirks in joy.
Aware that those projectiles will never harm him.
The being fixes his eyes at something…
The darkness at the center of the domain.
The 2 entities, the being and the darkness, are now fully aware of each other’s existence.
The being, clad in a coonskin hat and brown hunter clothing, rotates in mid-air…
Arms extended to one side.
The torso turns and flexes.
The knees bend.
The entire body positioned to…

“It’s my turn! Take this!”

… throw back the projectiles in hand.

Dark lightning, once aimed at the brown gunner, now approaches the center of the domain, with speeds no one can possibly fathom.
Just the razorwinds produced from the projectiles will blow a normal human being away, and lacerate the flesh in seconds.
But this fight does not involve humans.
This domain can only be stepped on by something that surpasses humanly attributes.

Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…
Arms, torso, knees, clothes, speech, emotion, defiance…
Aren’t these humanly attributes?
If the being has these attributes, how is he able to survive in this domain?
What being could possibly surpass humans and still have its characteristics?
Has he transcended humanity that he is able to keep humanly characteristics and gain more?
There is only one way to transcend humanity…
That is… death…

When one dies, its soul remains…
Souls keep the humanly characteristics and gain rest or torment depending on how they die and how they lived their lives…
But for souls to gain such powers…
Superhuman abilities…
Creation of domains…
Bodily attributes constituted by flesh…
Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…

A loud collision.
Thunder crashes into the darkness.
Winds turn dust into a shrouding fog, enveloping that darkness.
Within it, something breaks.
The sounds of shattering fill the domain.
The thrown projectiles roll out of the fog and land at the feet of the being.
The fog then starts to clear.

“This is interesting. Time to see what you really look lik-hm?”

The darkness was just a façade. It covered and protected the real darkness in this domain.
The fog reveals a man.
His stance shows readiness and eagerness to slaughter…
But he doesn’t move…
He doesn’t even look at his opponent.
Wrong, it’s not that he doesn’t. He can’t.
He has all forms of weapons pierced all over him.
His left arm is pinned to the ground by a spear.
His right, by a saber.
His feet are shackled by knives
His thighs locked by chains and sickles.
His face split by an axe.
His neck choked by a scythe.
His torso, a pincushion of swords pinned down by halberds.
The rest of his body, an emery bag of arrows and bolts.
He has been impaled and dismembered completely.
This form of mutilation is probably the most brutal.
With this, it is a sure kill.
No one can survive such an inhuman form of punishment.
And yet, it is unbelievable that the man is still standing up in a battle stance.
This body died standing up.
No, it died locked in the battle stance.
The weapons prevent the body from moving for even an inch.
It has not rested upon the ground.

It is hard to recognize the body.
No… This man cannot be identified even up close.
The weapons destroy everything used to recognize the man.
The decay ensures nothing will be left after.
But...
The being knows the man all too well.
The man who died standing up.
The man of a thousand weapons.
The man whose legends are spoken of far and wide.
The large club-weilding monk loyal to his emperor.
The legendary retainer who deprives fallen enemies of their weapons.

“***** ********* ******, the Legendary Retainer, eh?”
The being erases his killing intent.
The sinister aura that once matched the domain’s is now gone.
His thoughts are now focused on the tragedy in front of him.
Anyone would pity this creature.
Aside from death, he is beyond recognition. His identity was taken away with his life.
No one can be happy faced with this sight.
The domain changes. It now emanates sadness, despair, pain, and suffering.
The domain reflects the negativity of the darkness in control of it.
The being now understands what he must do.
The stance is gone.
He slowly approaches the lump of meat in front of him.
Slowly, reaching out to the decay.
Slowly gripping on to one of the weapons sticking out of the flesh.
And at that moment…

Dark objects start to rise up from the ground.
The domain now emanates anger.
The being is no longer a defiant, but now a defiler.
In an instant, the objects rush toward the being’s neck.
It is now faster than ever before.
Anger has now amplified the deadliness of its attacks.
This will surely eradicate the one threatening the existence of the domain.
These objects will yield to nothing.
It is too strong to block, and too fast to dodge.
The being is now as good as dead.
After this last attack, he will suffer the same fate as everything else in the domain.
It would be over.
The being should die here and now.
But…

“You don’t want me to do it?”

The brown gunner doesn’t even flinch.
There was no reaction to the death that approached him.
The being merely grips harder on the weapon stuck at what looks to be the arm of the corpse.
The being never feared the death emanating from the domain.
It wouldn’t change even if that death emanated from something else.

The dark objects stop.
They are merely centimeters away from the being’s neck.
The being looks at the weapons pointed at him.
These are only eight out of the one thousand weapons that the corpse owns.
These are what the being has been up against ever since the battle began.
The being glances on the biggest weapon of the eight.
A club.

“I thought so. You are ******”
The being knows what the darkness wants.
It wants to rest.
Its soul must have been in despair after being pinned down that long.
It is merely a soul, and therefore no one could see it.
It was unseen for too long.
It was unseen at the time it needed help.
Nobody saw it, therefore nobody helped it.
So it created its domain and haunted it so as to eradicate the life of all that ignored it.

The being removes the weapon from the arm of the corpse.
At that moment, the dark objects fall to the ground.
These are all the weapons that the corpse collected from the enemies he defeated.
The weapons aimed at the neck now fall around the being’s feet.
The intent to kill is gone…
The domain is now calm and serene.
The darkness now realizes what the being intends to do.

“Idiot. You just realized?”

One of the weapons shake.

“I was just kidding, ok! It was a joke, A JOKE!”

All weapons are removed from the corpse.
The being lays the mutilated body on the ground.
The lump of meat disappears, the darkness broken, and now the soul remains with its true form exposed.
This soul has no more reason to haunt.
The chains that bind him have been severed.
Its impossible wish is now fulfilled.

It starts to heal…
Its bodily features become clearer…
He can now be distinguished as the legendary retainer.
He is unconscious, and lies on the grass…
He has a smile on his face.
It assures the end of his torment.
The being smiles along as well.
At that…

…the domain disappears and reveals the area, shined upon by a moonlit sky.
The area is situated at the center of a school campus basketball court…
A few trees are found in this campus, and they sway with the breeze, its leaves reflecting the moonlight…
The sheds opposite the school building would normally be dark, but the full moon has other ideas.
The area is now peaceful, silent and solemn.
The newfound comfort soothes both souls.
It is a beautiful night.
A perfect night to greet the freed soul.
A perfect night to relax.

But there is one who cannot relax…
One who has been outside the domain.
One who has waited for the one she calls a friend.
A girl…
She kneels just outside of the domain’s boundaries…
She stands up slowly…
Her eyes, watery…
Her legs, wobbling…
Her heart, pounding…

She waited for the being trapped in the domain.
She wanted her friend to come out alive.
She wanted to see the being again.
She thought of her friend’s strength and thought it wouldn’t last long.
But the fight dragged on.
She heard every fear-striking explosion.
She felt every gush of wind.
Of what would happen to her if the being fell there, she could not fathom.
She could not hold back her tears.
She could not keep her body standing.
She could not help but kneel on the grass and scream.
Terror was instilled in her even as she was outside the domain.
She couldn’t help it.
With every sound she heard, thoughts of what might have happened to her friend flashed before her.
She was desperate.
She needed to know.

“****-kun?” *sob*
“Uhh, hhh, UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

She runs towards the being.
Her long, straight hair sways with the wind.
The excess fat on her chubby body bounces as she speeds toward the being she calls her “friend”.
Her round face and teary eyes clearly reflect her despair, her worries, her pain and her fear.
But at the same time…
She conveys happiness…
She knows that she will see her friend again…
She knows that she can hold the gunners brown clothes and bury herself in them…
She knows that she can continue partaking with the coonskin hat her friend owns.
She is happy.
She can no longer hold it in.
She thinks of nothing else but her friend.
She reaches out to the being and…

*bump* *thud*

… pounces on him.

She wraps herself around the being.
Her chubby arms, her round face, her petite chest, her healthy yet well-curved body, everything.
She pressed herself on to the being, as if offering her entire body.

“Woah, *oof* calm down. Did you really think I would fall that easily?”


“Shut up, you idiot. You dense, ignorant idiot!”

*sigh*

“Just be quiet. Take responsibility for what you did.”

“And just what did I do?”

“Shut up! *sob*Just *sob* shut uuuuuuuuuuup!”

She cries, letting everything out.
This is her way of telling her friend about everything she felt…
Despair, worry, pain, fear…
Happiness, relief, love, concern…
… All of it conveyed in that humanly process called crying.
The being sees this all too clearly.
The brown gunner realizes what he needs to take responsibility for, and why he is dense, ignorant, and an idiot.

“I won’t lose, ok? I promised I wouldn’t leave you, and I intend to keep that promise.”

*sob*

“Stop crying, Mila-chan.”


The girl continues to bury herself in her friend’s brown clothes.
The being keeps her locked in his arms…
Keeping her warm…
Comforting her…
Treasuring her…
Giving her a sense of security…
He digs his face into the girl’s soft and smooth hair…
He kisses her head.
The girl looks up to the brown hero…
Her tears shine like pearls in the moonlight…
Her skin and face shines in the moonlight…
It’s all too beautiful…
He brings his face to the girl’s ear…

“Everything's ok now.”

The girl just stays silent.
Nothing more can be said now…
She lays her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“Mila-chan, you’re too honest.”

She doesn’t react…
She is still…
She stays motionless…
She could not hear the words spoken to him.

Wait…

Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…
Something is wrong…

He hurrily checks on the girl…
His face is in shock…
He, who doesn’t fear his own death, is now afraid of the death of his friend.

“Mila-chan? Oi Mila-chan!”

*breath* *breath*

“What the-“

*breath* “Mmph…”

*deep breath* “Stop scaring me like that… It ain’t healthy.”

Her eyes are closed.
She breathes deeply…
She slumbers.
Her body resting upon the being’s shoulder.
She has a smile on her face.
A smile of relief… and happiness.
The brown gunner shares her happiness.
He smiles as he picks up the girl and gives her a piggy back ride.

“Good night, Mila-chan…”

“(Mumble)May I borrow your coonskin hat?”

“Hm?”

“Come on, just for a while… let me wear your hat.”

*giggle* “Sweet dreams, Mila-chan.”

He walks away, the girl sleeping on his back.
He steps out of that area and heads for home.
He listens to everything the girl mumbles in her sleep.
‘All is well that ends well’, he thought.

But not quite…
At a distance…
A boy…
He hides behind a tree standing in between the sheds.
He looks at the soul carrying the girl.
His vision blurs.
Water gathers up in the boy’s eyes.
It doesn’t allow him to see…
No...
The boy didn’t even want to look…
This sight is something he doesn't want to see...
He tries hard to reject what is in front of him...
But he can't...
He wipes his tears...
He watches as the brown hunter carries the girl home.

*sob* *sob* “M-mila-chan”

*sob* *wheeze*

“MILA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!”

(Next is Prologue 2, she who is the final signature.)

Thanks to the following:
Enya "Amaya-neechan" Leop: Translation tools
Christine Dorothy Guya: Encouragement and moral support
Jimeny "Nanai" Miranda: Letting me borrow her laptop-chan…
Jhey_Rhyn of the AA forums: First Constructive Criticism

List of already existing characters: (Order of appearance)
Brown Hunter
Legendary Retainer
Mila Crockett (Hero)
Unknown Boy

Tools used:
This forum
Microsoft Word
My own brain!

uwah~ can't wait.. i wonder what it is~

its so long xD


<< lazy bunny... *rolls*

Yosh... almost finished... just needs a bit moar tweaking...

Final Edit: Removed Translations...

Since I have to meet a deadline (GSK Arts Week) I decided to remove the romaji approximates...