Notes – The Legend of the Gun God

AN: As a small(ish) note, I have several things to point out. I have created absolutely none of this.

Notes was created by Kinoko Nasu, currently of the Type-Moon company. It was translated by Evospace, and posted in a mildly annoying to find fashion on Beast's Lair, by Astral Sword and Doom Ravager(Or at least that's where I got it from).

In an effort to make it easier to find, and to patch up some rather glaring grammatical errors that Doom Ravager's version had, I've copied his posting and edited it for spelling, clarity, and flow. It now sounds like something that wasn't made by a person with broken English.

While I have gone through this and edited it, it should be noted that I have for the most part not changed it. Therefore, I'm going to ignore people that are complaining about the format. That was left intact for a reason. If I have mispelled something, feel free to tell me.

I'm fairly positive that this work satisfies fair use, as I have no intention(or delusion) of selling this for profitor, or anything else nasty.

I am intending to do a few original things with the material from this story, but to do so, one has to know what story I'm talking about, first. Hence this effort.

Here's a comment from Kinoko Nasu, the author.

"This was what I wrote when I was invited to make an anthology comic on the topic of angels.
However, the anthology wasn't text based and the other two were artists, so I was in trouble.
What is the meaning of a novel when over half of the book was pictures?
Especially when it's a short novel. That's how I came up with the irregular "Notes" after my doubtfulness.
I remember that I was pretty satisfied with what I came up with, considering that it was completed in a short amount of time.
Although, it's unpleasant to the eyes, it brings back memories when I cut and pasted what I typed out from the word processor.
...If I ever get a chance, I would like to make this into a real series of story too.
I always think about that when I look at the Black Barrel."

Without further ado,

Notes – The Legend of the Gun God

Presented by Raug'moss, Translated by Evospace

Chapter 0/GODO

o o o

angel notes.
the metter of knights arms.
...and over count 1999
type: other

The aircraft rose further up in the troposphere.
The sea of ashen clouds had yet to disappear.

Iron wings soared in the grey sky
To annihilate the common enemy of the human race.

At the end of the battle, all but one of the aircrafts that had participated in the mission were destroyed.
Perhaps he was lucky that an obsolete AI was piloting it.
The AI controlled plane was the only one that was unaffected by the heat of the enemy.

I continued to fly by myself.
The organic pulsations echoing in the machine were just as I thought, belonged only to myself.

I opened the hanger and drew out my gun.
The air flowing in the machine was cold, burning his lungs.
The internal temperature had reached below zero. The coat he wore carried minimum meaning.
It was at a level that would just barely sustain organic life.

This aircraft, which had only been intended to act as a transport for flight-capable species, was unequipped with weaponry.
If I were to fight, I had to risk my life.

Arctic cold and rampaging winds.
The corpses of my comrades, spinal fluid leaking out from the noses and ears, laid behind me.
An old aircraft which could crash at any moment.
The situation was so absolutely bleak that I felt like singing out loud.

Holding the Black Barrel, which I had modified for sniping, I did nothing but wait for the enemy.
For the moment the enemy would enter the scope.
For the moment I could pull the trigger and be at ease.

Seven days had been added to the clock on the plane.
Only 7 days have passed.
My paralyzed brain felt that I could continue staying like this for another month, or maybe another year.
My body was always on the verge of collapsing.

How many days and months have it been?
My mind;
my language;
myself;
just when I had lost everything,
I recollected everything back.
The gun's sight caught the enemy.
I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

My brain that punched through its limits was scorched.
Just one brief moment before I fell into unconsciousness,
Just one slight moment before I blacked out,
Just a moment before I was about to fade away, I witnessed the form of my enemy.

How...beautiful.

-Between a rift in the clouds, I saw an angel.

o o o

As has probably already been noticed, there are many terms here that are unique to this universe, and as such need explaining so that people don't become too confused. Thus, this dictionary.

鋼の大地 [over count 1999] hagane no daichi
Land of Steel

A planet that died. A globe that reached its end. A world where living things can't live.
The name of the world in the present time. It's not its official name, but a nickname passed down between the people who live in the corrupted land. Like the name Land of Steel indicates, a large part of the continent are now wild lands that are torn apart, covered by a tainted gray colored cloud. Food can't be grown, and the atmosphere is no longer suited for the put it in a human species way, a drastic end of a century. But even after the mother planet died, the humans were able to live on with its developed civil technology.
Even the planet's end where people once imagined, couldn't bring an end to mankind.

亜麗百種 [a-ray] a-ray hyakushu
Hundred Subspecies

Next generation primates that were created by the human species who used up all the planet's resource.
They were modeled after the living things that used to exist on the planet. They were modified/enhanced in order for them to survive on the corrupted planet. There were numerous branches to the A-rays, and they were categorized into about 100 major species. From 1 to 10 consists of only one type of A-rays each and not a mass. Some carry the genes of humans and they look like us, but a large part of them are mix/evolved form of various creatures and primates.

人間種 [liner] ningenshu
Human Species

Human race on the Land of Steel. Evolved form of the old human beings who adapted to this world without changing their shape. They technically belong to the A-rays as well.
They were able to adapt and live on today's environment, but they still don't carry any ability more than a normal human are building a country in order to reconstruct their old civilization. Cease-fire with the Hundred A-rays.

大戦 [Babel's Tale] taisen
The Great War

After the death of the planet, there was a war between the survived human race and the Hundred A-rays. Mankind in order to survive, and the A-rays to rule the world.
Under the Six-Sisters who united the unmassed A-rays, the human race were on the verge of defeat. Near the end of the war, mankind created the Knights and the Human Species, and it further killed the planet that's already dead. There was no victor to this war. It was interrupted by an intruder that suddenly appeared and nearly wiped out both sides.

騎士 [Ether Liner] kishi
Knights

Life form that received an even stronger effect from the drastic environment. They wield a special weapon called the Demonic Swords. Aggressive species that can fight the A-rays equally without any support of firearms of the old age. There are currently 78 Knights enlisted.

魔剣 [knight arms] maken
Demonic/Magical Sword
The name of the weapon that Knights carry.
All human species born in this world are effected by Gin. Babies born with a large amount of Gin in them shape it as if it's their bones during their lives, and when they reach adulthood, it is laid outside their body. Because it is created with the unanalyzed entity Gin, it is able to cause various effects and its power is strong enough to be considered a weapon.
Only few humans can shape the Demonic Swords, and those who carry a Demonic Sword powerful enough to be used for war are considered as Knights. Only one Demonic Sword exists per Knight.

ジン [grain "Ether"]
Grain
Space dust. Name given to all the harmful and unpredictable particles generated from the planet that lost its function. Although it is harmful to humans, sometimes it gives an unique effect to their body, and some call it Ether. The Hundred A-rays, Human Species, Knights, are all new species created by this Grain. The energy transfer rate of the Grain scattered in atmosphere is incredible, and it resulted in a new level of warfare that was never possible on this planet. With A-rays, who can take in Grain into their body, and Demonic Swords, crystallized by Grain, all the weapons of the old age became useless.

人間 [Last-Seed] ningen
Humans

Human species who hasn't received any modification, or their descendent. Since they are no longer able to survive on this planet, it is said that they are on the verge of extinction.
In order for humans to live outside, they need support from medication or machines. They can't directly inhale the air, nor can they eat the food made in the factory because they raise the physical ability too much that they become poisonous. They are rare, but have no value.

空が、昏い [cloud sky] sora ga kurai
The Sky, it's Dark.

Sky covered by clouds. The thick layers of cloud hides the sky since the great war. It doesn't mean the sky is gray; they just can't see the sky.

天使 [No.20 Guardian Angel] tenshi
Angel

Artificial angels within the Hundred A-rays. The 20th species within the 100, but it is equal to the top 10 just considering its power to destroy objects. A mass that protects a single A-ray species. The original is an angel in the largest religion of the old age. A human type that has a pair of bird wings.
Aggressive species that uses the absorbed heavy particle that scattered in the atmosphere after the world got destroyed as its source of power.

アリストテレス [ Ultimate ONE]
Aristoteles

8 Life forms that appeared near the end of the war. Unknown existences.
Not only their appearance, but each of their biology differs significantly.
The reason they used this name is a mystery, but the origin is probably a scientist from the old age. Considering mankind and A-ray as their enemies, they repetitively attacked them indiscriminately. Mankind were broken their platform completely, and the hundred A-rays decreased in number significantly by them. After the Great War was over, they slowed down their activity by the sea of clouds that covered the sky, but they still continue to slaughter the living things on the planet. Since then, the human species and the A-rays ceased fire, and till they destroy the common enemy, they grouped themselves together as the human race.

六人姉妹 [No.1 savig system to earth] rokunin shimai
The Six Sisters

At the time of the Great War, beings that ruled over the Hundred A-rays.
It's said that they look just like humans, and that all six looked like witches in a fairy story wearing a black hat and riding on a broom stick. Each one of them carried an ability that surpasses all the hundred A-rays.
Near the end of the Great War, the youngest sister, "Judge" was defeated by a Knight, but her death cry tore apart a continent. The whereabouts of the remaining five is unknown.

黒いアリストテレス [type:jupiter] kuroi aristoteles
The Black Aristoteles

An Aristoteles that appeared in the western continent.
A black giant several dozen kilometers in size. Its form was pretty close to a human.
It was actually a group of black photon gas, and theoretically its size can expand infinitely. It carries a unknown core in its center that can only be described as an artificial sun, and the gases are emitted from this object. Of the 8 Aristoteles, it eliminated the most living things. The western continent went on an all out battle, and it wiped them out without a scar. ... Although there's probably no such thing as a scar to this Aristoteles. After this incident, a team of Knights were sent to the western continent. After a fierce battle, it was sliced into half by the demonic sword of Knight Edem, the Slash Emperor. The chopped artificial sun went berserk and burned the whole western continent.

十字架 [type:saturn] jyuujika
The Cross

A cross shaped Aristoteles that is 3000 meters long.
It's outer shell is composed of an illuminating mineral, and there's nothing else. This flying object fires a rain of light to the ground from its body.
The rain is a cross shaped electric impact that is a meter long, and it explodes as it hits the ground, annihilating the living things around it. There are variations to this cross shaped light and some causes an earthquake that tears apart the earth as it lands on the ground. The crosses struck on the ground are just like tombs spread about on the wild land.
Also known as the Flying Fortress, it seems to be the leader of the Aristoteles's that are on the planet.

ブラックバレル [Longinus]
Black Barrel

A black rifle that the Gun God uses. Created by a mineral that counters all Grain, it's a weapon that is feared by life forms that carry any slight amount of Grain.
But because all living beings that exists in the world are affected by Grain, it is impossible for them use or even touch it. The God Killer gun. If the target creature is stronger... in other words, the more Grain it carries, the more powerful the bullet becomes.
...Today, only the rare species that weren't able to evolve and don't have any Grain can touch this gun.

空が、赤い [blood sky] sora ga akai
The Sky, it's Red.

The Sky in this world. Above the gray sea of clouds, there is not a blue, but a red sky.
It's not because of a pollution, but from the blood of one of the Aristoteles that appeared near the end of the Great War, Type-Pluto.
In order to not let Pluto enter the planet's atmosphere, the Six Sisters fought it and killed each other at the same time, and its blood covered the whole planet as a result. The gray cloud is said to be a shield that the Six Sisters placed.
Within this red sky, the two Aristoteles that are prevented from entering the planet are floating like fish that swim in the sea.

天の亡骸 [type:venus] ten no nakigara
Heaven's Corpse

An aristoteles estimated to be a thousand meters long. It appeared after the Great War and was flying in the sea of clouds. Its shape was never confirmed by anyone, and its details was unknown.
A life form that had a pair of wings, and compared to the other Aristoteles's, it was close to this planet's species
According to the records, it was shot down in the mission by the Knights in the 83rd year of the new calendar, and it fell somewhere on the continent. Originally, it was a life form that lands on the earth of a planet, rooting itself, and spreading its spore as it eats away the planet.
It can also be described a gigantic carnivorous plant.
...It was put to an eternal sleep by the Black Barrel.

銃神 [GODO] jyuushin
Gun God

..."His" nick name given upon the mission of the "Bird drop" Some sarcastically called him a god imitator. A rare pure human. He excavated the Black Barrel from a sealed area, and made it his gun. Died during the intercept mission of Type-Saturn.

アリストテレス [Ultimate ONE]
Aristoteles

Life forms that came from the other planets. They were the strongest life forms on their respective planets, and each of them had the power to wipe out all the remaining living beings in this world.
The name Aristoteles was given by the humans, and they have no such things in the first place. The Aristoteles don't fight each other, and they just freely fly around killing things.
Several Aristoteles among them contacted mankind learning about this planet's concept of "knowledge".
After Type-Saturn, who received orders from their respective planets and sent it to the others, got eliminated, they entered a final war with the human race.

タイプムーン
Type-Moon

It didn't appear in Notes, but it said in an interview long time ago that it's a secret boss in Notes who carries the Demonic Sword, "Real of the World" (True World?) . For those more familiar with Type-Moon(the company)'s later works, feel free to subsitute the name with Crinsom Moon Brunestud.