NOVEL NEXT “Red and Wet”
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Third-person POV
A long time ago in a village deep in the forest, far from any civilization, lived a nobleman named Momon. Although he only ruled over a small amount of land the village resembled the size of a city. In addition, the residents loved him because he was a fair ruler who cared more about them than his personal wealth. This even went so far that the residents set aside extra taxes from their personal recourses in order to build a huge mansion for him.
The reason for this was that he not only ensured peace through his rule, no, the villagers also respected him for his inhuman strength. Strength which he used tirelessly every day to protect the village, so that no monster from the forest ever posed a danger. He did so much that the residence soon began to call him the black hero because of his raven black armor. Many young women fell in love with him and many young men wanted to be like him, but apart from the few infrequent students he taught in the sword arts, the hunters he sometimes accompanied into the forest or the women he greeted happily on the street. He was pretty unapproachable.
The reason for this was that when he wasn't at work, his time was most definitely spent in his mansion with his wife, whom he had made his own a few moons ago. She was the daughter of a rich merchant before he had asked her father for her hand. Her father of course had been overjoyed as had his daughter who had been quite fond of him. So they got married, which was a huge celebration throughout the village and the sign of a glorious future, life was beautiful.
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Momon POV
He checked his armor and once again pulled the straps that supported his shoulder plates tighter. Finally, he equipped his two trusted great swords and picked up his black helmet. As he turned around he saw his wife who was already waiting inside the door frame. Her beautiful platinum hair flowed down to her shoulders in perfect harmony with her blood-red dress that covered her oh so beautiful body...
"You are going?" she asked, glancing over his armor
"That's right, Tob said that he wanted to investigate the forest since some of our hunters disappeared and asked me to help him" he answered
He looked at his bag that was on his belt and checked its contents again without saying anything, his wife's silent contributed to his. Sighing, he looked up again and saw that she had lowered her head and was looking unhappy at the ground.
"What is it dear" he asked, seeking her eyes which still focused on the wooden floor
Since she didn't answer, he approached her and reached for her chin to gently guide it upwards until her eyes meet his. She was crying, and her red puffy eyes expelled rivers and rivers of tears.
"What is it dear, you can tell me" He asked again slowly stroking her vibrant platinum blonde hair
"I-Its just you k-know that I g-get so lonely h-here sometimes" she sniffed and buried her head in his cold armor
"I k-know you a-are protecting t-the village b-but I j-just want t-to be w-with you" she wept and held him even tighter
“I understand” he answered grabbing her shoulders and pushing her away from him
"Today I am going to tell Tob and the rest of the militia that I am going to take a break, so I can be more at home, I also want to spend more time with you its just that it seems there never is time. I know that I should be there for you more often, especially now." He said, stroking her pregnant belly.
"After all, you'll be very busy soon, maybe we should go out together again to have a picnic and enjoy the peace and quiet before our sleepless nights begin", he joked caressing her stomach
“Really?” she squeaked her sadness suddenly forgotten
"Yes" He replied with conviction in his voice
"The village will always need protection, but I will take more time for you, No for us" he said carefully wiping away her tears
"Alright then darling, then go, I can hardly wait when you come back, maybe I should see what we can do in the next few days, I mean before I can't walk properly anymore, maybe we could..." she blabbered
"Calm down, you crazy, we have enough time," he teased, taking a step back
"Heeh, I am not crazy there is never enough time" she pouted.
"Alright", He agreed hastily, "I really have to go now, I'll see you tonight darling"
"Good luck," his wife replied and sat down in the armchair by the fireplace
"I will wait for you"
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Walking through the big village he made his way to the outskirt where the gate was located that gave entry through the giant wall. Soon they would have to increase the size since the living space was becoming scare but for the moment it was still fine. He was really worried about his wife. The day of the birth was getting closer and closer, and she seemed to be really worried, not about herself but about their relationship. He hadn't spent much time at home lately, and he now regretted that, even if it had been for the good of the village.
What put him at ease what that his wife was not alone in the giant mansions, Nabe their personal maid, who he had picked up in the forest when she was still a little girl, and who his now dead mother had taught powerful magic, was also there and ordered by him to protect his wife with her life.
He shook his head to drive away his worries and looked around. He was now standing in front of the large gate that separated the village from the huge forest, a group of guards and rangers had already gathered in front of it and were waiting for his arrival. Tob the leader waved to him when he recognized him and received a short nod in return. This is not without reason, Tob Modnar was the leader of the local militia and one of the people he personally trained in swordsmanship.
"Hey Sir Momon" shouted Tob and continued waving widely
"Tob" he replied in a reserved tone
"Good to see you Sir Momon we have already been waiting for you, we are ready when you are Sir" Tob said, even though he acted like a child sometimes he could see that the man respected him
"Good, let us set out then" he said and gave the gourd on the wall the signal to open the gate
With a loud creak, the huge oak gate opened, clearing the way to the green forest. He and Tob mounted their horses and the little caravan set off. At first, they rode side by side in silence until he decided to say something to stop Tob from starting his childish chatter.
"After this I am going to take a little time off" he broke the silence
"Wait what?" asked Tob confused
"Yes. My wife and I need it, I will always help you guys if it is an emergency but since she is expecting soon I thought it would be a got time. After all I can't always be there for you" he clarified.
"Oh yeah, the baby I remember you'd only talked about the last 100 times." joked Tob
"What would you actually rather have? a girl or a boy? He asked not to give him the chance to get mad at his joke
"Heeeh, a boy" he admitted
"Is that so, any specific reasons" Tob asked interested
"Not really, but you know my wife, she's absolutely crazy about magic even if she can't use it herself. She insisted that our child learn magic, and because I objected, we made a deal: if it's a boy, I'll teach it swordplay and if it's a girl, Nabe will teach her magic" he sighed.
"Hah isn't that funny and I thought..." Tob tried but was interrupted.
"SIR MOMON" one of the rangers piped up
"Yes"
"We have found a trail of blood, probably from one of the missing hunters" said the ranger
"Fine, lead the way we will follow you" he ordered.
He turned his horse around and started to follow the rangers that had dismounted their horses and carefully examined the tracks. Soon enough he could also see the tracks, blood without a doubt not that much on one place but considering it cut to the forest in a long line someone must have really lost a lot.
"Who ever that was, the person was likely chased down" one of the rangers interjected
"Not just that, the hunter enjoyed the hunt, it chased them down, but very slowly. See?" said another hunter and pointed at the tracks. Instead of a small blob like the rest of the trail, a large puddle covered the forest floor.
"The prey stopped, likely because it couldn't run anymore, but the predator didn't care, He let it rest so it could continue running later" muttered the ranger
"Diabolical" said another
"What do you think Sir Momon" asked the last
He said nothing and only gave the signal to move on, and the rangers got back on their horses, he himself also kept an eye on the track. So they rode again for a while until the tracks suddenly stopped in front of a large tree. Apart from a large pool of dried blood on the floor that was even bigger then the pool earlier, there was nothing more to see anywhere.
"The trail ends here?" asked Top confused.
"I am sorry Sir, but it seems the track ends here" confirmed the ranger
"So it seems" he said looking around
Splash
A drop splashed onto his helmet
Rain?
He stretched out his hand but nothing happened, just as he was about to pull it back...
Splash
Red blood slowly dripped through the fingers of his metal gauntlet and he looked up. What meet him was a frightening sight.
A brown-haired man, probably one of the missing hunters, had been nailed to the thick tree with thick iron bolts on his outstretched hands and feet. But as if that wasn't enough, one of the thick branches of the tree had also been pushed through his stomach. So that it looked as if it had grown through the dead man's body and finally, above his head in the setting sun they say something written in blood that looked like a poem even if it wasn't particularly sophisticated.
I live to drink
The wet and red
Since I, was made for that
Sometimes I even bath in it
because it is so wet and red
This time it did not do such thing
his wet and red, it reeks of him
His friends they ran,
I followed them
They brought me to, a lots of them
Tonight I go and hunt for them
Their red and wet smells wonderful
"SHIT" shouted Tob and brought his horse around.
He and the rangers had done the same, and now they rode as fast as they could back to the village, one eye always at the orange sunset fearing it would disappear. They did not need to talk about anything because the situation was as clear as the needed it to be. 'Somebody', and that 'somebody' was not important, was trying to go inside the village to do 'something' and they did not want to find out what that 'something' meant. After all they all had families inside the village and the poem had given them a good understanding that 'something was very bad.
"Tob, let me ride at the top I am better at the frontline" he ordered but was ignored
"TOB I know you want to get home as fast as possible, but we need to do this smart"
"Fuck I... fine I make a way" answered the leader of the
militia, making way for him
"I am sorry Sir I don't know what..." He tried to apologize.
"Ride know, apologize later" He ordered again, trying to preserve a cool front, but his insides were in turmoil, not at anytime in his entire life had he been more scared. Monsters, deadly situations that was nothing but his wife..." the possibility of her being injured made him sick
"Almost there, strange the sunset is unnatural long…" one ranger remarked
"And it smells like fire..." added another
"Fire? Wait doesn't that..."
"FUUUCK" cried out Tob as they broke through the bushes
The orange glow wasn't the sunset. There was a fire, a huge fire, the whole village burned. There was smoke everywhere, meter-high flames greedily licking at the wooden houses and the wall. Which had large holes in some corners. But when they entered the village, flames and smoke weren't the only thing they saw, pale red-eyed creatures were running around, slaughtering villagers one by one. Lightning flashed across the sky, and he looked up, two figures were floating in the sky and seemed to be fighting a duel, one threw lightning at the other figure, but they didn't seem to bother her.
Nabe
She preferably used lightning magic. But if she was here that could only mean that his wife...
"Tob, assemble remaining member of the
militia, we will need them..."
CRACK
With a loud crash, one of the characters fell out of the sky. She had black hair and was wearing a maid's outfit. She had wounds all over her body, but as quickly as she had fallen from the sky, she got up again and focused on the figure that landed in front of her. The figure was clearly a woman, red hair oozing out from under the long robe and without a doubt covering her beautiful body. A white mask blocked the view of her face, which made her appear mysterious.
"Sir Momon, she is also just a servant, although a tough one, the real mastermind is at the mansion, your wife is their goal, please you have to hurry" pleaded Nabe
"She is stronger than you" he replied without much emotion
"I am aware, but I can at least buy some time" she argued
"Thank you, Nabe I will never forget that" he thanked
"Good luck my lord"
yeah, good luck
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run run run
FASTER FASTER FASTER
Suddenly his inhuman speed was not enough, not once in his life had he wished for more strength, everything had just come to him, power, riches. Of course, he had to train like everyone else, and money wasn't simply given to him, but the effort had been minimal, now it was different. Out of breath for the first time in years, he reached the property. Everything was so peaceful, almost like usual, only the smashed lock on the door and the faint smell of blood told a different story.
Slowly he entered through the door and made his way into the living room, as quiet as he could and with great effort he moved forward. As he entered the room lit by the fireplace, something caught his eye, the big armchair that normally stood sideways was facing the fireplace, as he was trying to make the next step into the room, he stepped on something. He picked it up and instantly recognized it, it was the crimson dress that his wife had worn today a big piece near the stomach had been ripped out and thrown besides it at the floor.
"Honamy?" he asked towards the fireplace
"Psssssssssssst"
"It is sleeping" answered a high-pitched voice sounding like that of a child
He froze and kept his eyes focused at the armchair
"You know? I always wanted a younger sibling, but most people think I am not that responsible." the young voice said cutely.
"Who are you?" he asked with suppressed aggression in his voice
"Pssssssssssssssst"
Movement, he raised his sword, a small figure who had been sitting on the chair had stood up, still with her back to him. Long platinum hair almost like his wife's only more white was falling over her shoulder. Slowly the figure turned her head the dolllike face was the first thing that sprang to mind. If he had seen her on the street he would have thought of her as a normal innocent child, but the atmosphere did certainly not speak for her.
"You know? I really like to play games, humans are so fun they are almost made for playing with the," she declared innocently.
"OHH, and your wife was one of funnier ones. Ihihihihihihihihihihihhi, ahh the way she begged and hoped for your return, at that moment I knew that it was just getting started" giggled the little girl
"WHERE IS SHE" he snapped
"Ehhh, that's your question? I normally get asked what I have done to them, that way I can explain to them everything in great detail" she said and turned around fully, she was indeed looking like a child, a long robe like the one from the figure earlier also covert most of her form. Her one hand was carefully almost gently holding a small bundle and the other hand that had a beautiful violet ring on it was caressing it like a litle...
"IhiHihiHIhIhihiHIHihIHhiHIhIHIIhIHAHAHAHAHA, OHHHHH what would I give right now to see your face. What would a give to see as you realize what has happend, haHAHAHAHAHAihIHIHIHhIhihihi" The child, NO, monster giggled.
"Ohhh how much she screamed, how much she begged me to stop, if not for her then for her unborn child, she appealed to me, to my
heart, to god, but unfortunately for her, I don't have a hard, and I am certainly not as merciful as everyone thinks" declared the monster with such a happy voice, he could have mistaken it for that of a human
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he roared and threw himself at the little demon in human form, every action, every provocation and everything that had led to the current moment simply broke him. It didn't matter that he didn't know where his wife was, the fetus in her arms didn't bother him either, all he felt was anger, and to appease him there was only one thing he could do: kill her, hurt her, it didn't matter, he just wanted to see her suffer.
His blade that he had been holding was betted aside by her one arm the other still holding his future child. As he went for another attack he felt a strong hit at his leg that send him to the ground and his swords sliding away. He rolled around and raised his arms to block potential incoming strikes, And he was right. Something flew towards him and burst on his raised hands, blinding him for a short time as it splashed liquid through the visor into his eyes. He felt something small sit on his chest and the next moment there was a hail of blows left, right, left, right like a steady drumbeat that gradually stole his consciousness.
At some point the beating stopped and even though he couldn't see anything and was barely conscious, he could still hear, steps that walked through the living room and that let the monster sitting on his stomach hold in.
"OHHH, Marie, is it done?" asked the monster in human form
"Certainly so my Lady, every villager is dead, just as you wanted" said the voice and made his heart almost stop
"Wonderful, that will motivate our friend, if he is not motivated enough to pursue us; Knock Knock, Momon I don't know if you can hear me right now but if you want to see me again I would suggest you make your way into the Re-Estize Kingdom, I will prepare a fine playground where we can pass our time. Be sure you're there on time, I'm not particularly patient" finished the monster and the weight on his stomach vanished.
seeeeeeeee youuuuuuuuuuu
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I really like the names of the characters they almost always have a secret meaning.