Omega Wars Chronicles

Chapter 33 Episode 32: Hearts

A flashback occurs in the Kenar tribe as little Dam and a Kenar man were walking among the other Kenars in the marketplace. During this incident, many of the people spotted the Kenar man beside Dam and they began to momentarily bow their heads before him while addressing him and murmuring among themselves."
"Welcome back, Chief Dai."
"How was your journey, Chief Dai? Fruitful, i hope?"
"It's Chief Dai!"
"He's back so soon?"
"It's the Chief! He's here!"
  As this was happening, Dam noted some of the Kenars looking at him with scorn and disgust which made Dam bend his head in sadness. Chief Dai turned to his side and quickly noticed the saddened expression on Dam's face.
"What's wrong?" Chief Dai asked.
"These people ... They admire you." Dam said while facing the ground, "They look at you with so much respect and adoration. I just wish they could look at me like that. I'm not asking for so much adoration or respect, i just want to be looked at as a person and not  a monster.
"Dam, you are not a monster." Chief Dai said, "Infact, you are far from it. I know it's hard but one day, the people will accept you just like they accepted me."
"What happened to you?" Dam asked.
"My life was... Complicated." Chief Dai said, "But there is something my mother taught me; she taught me that as long as you remain kind towards others and you keep treating them with kindness, when you are in need there will always be someone that will help you.
Of course, there will always be ups and downs but still, i never abandoned her teachings  and look at where it led me. I'm adored and respected by everyone, i have a beautiful and kind-hearted wife and two great sons.
  Dam, if you do this and don't give up on yourself, then believe me, one day you might become a better man than i am."
Dam smiled at Chief Dai and Chief Dai grinned with his eyes closed.
Back at the court, the audience were still dumbfounded with Dam's revelation while most of the Kenars were glaring at Dam.
"I-i don't believe it." Cloud said.
"Pick a number." Sting said.
"So much for Meeno's efforts." Karma said with her arms crossed.
"Dam..." Yagura said softly with a wide-eyed expression.
"Right now I'm shocked, folks." Trengal said, "Dam of the Kenar tribe has just confessed to the murder of his Chief and he shows no remorse to it."
"What a monster." A man said with a stern look.
"Indeed." A woman said.
  Down at the arena, Dam and Meeno were still staring at each other while Meeno was still   carrying a shocked expression on his face.
"Satisfied?" Dam asked.
"I don't believe it." Meeno said with a straight demeanor, "I don't believe you killed father."
"Alright then, i didn't do it?" Dam asked.
"You're still not taking this seriously." Meeno said with a stern expression, "Dam, do you understand what you just said? They'll execute you!"
"They are welcome to try." Dam said.
"What's wrong with you?!" Meeno angrily asked, "Don't you care about anything at all?!"
"Nope." Dam replied.
Meeno began to growls while clenching his fist as his irises glowed.
"DAM!!!" Meeno shouted as he advanced towards Dam at high speed.
Meeno tries to punch Dam but finds himself halted before his fist could connect to Dam's face which left him in shock.
"Huh? What in the ..?" Meeno asked.
"You have a shadow, do you not?" Dam asked as his irises glowed, "When it comes to the black ice, even your own shadow can be used against you."
Meeno looks at the ground and sees his feet frozen with black ice.
"Son of a..."
  Witnessing what Dam has done, Trengal quickly became amused.
"Wow! A black ice user can even go as far as manipulating the shadows of their targets?" Trengal asked within himself," And here i called Sting a Shadowmancer. This guy is a 100% fit for the title."
At the audience center, Cloud was staring down at Dam with a slightly annoyed expression while having his arms crossed.
"What's wrong with him?" Cloud asked, "Can't he understand that his brother is trying his best to save his life?"
"He does but he just doesn't care." Sting said.
"That's just him being foolish." Rish said, "A wise person would cooperate. Does Dam truly believe that he can take on the Kenar tribe by himself?"
"Well, he does seem pretty confident in his power." A feminine voice said.
  Cloud, Sting and Rish quickly turned to their side and sees Killer bee sitting beside Cloud while smiling.
"Bee! How... When did you get here?!" Cloud asked in a surprised manner.
"Not too long ago." Killer bee replied, "The healers expected me to be down for some weeks but to their surprise, i recovered faster than it was expected of me.
So with their permission, i was allowed to come here and watch the match."
"Well, it's good to have you back, Bee." Cloud said while smiling.
"Thanks." Killer bee replied while grinning with her eyes closed.
Sting and Rish supposedly sensing something in the atmosphere, turned their face away and began to whistle which made Cloud stare at them with a blank face.
"What?" Cloud asked.
At the Chiefs center, Chief Ezgord sat back on his seat.
"Welcome, Chief Ezgord." Chief Tenya said.
"Thank you." Chief Ezgord said, "This is the final match of the first half, correct?"
"Yes, it is." Chief Miza replied, "And what we are witnessing is a fight between considerate brother and a black hearted goat."
During this discussion, the sound of an explosion took place in the arena, catching the attention of the Chiefs. At the arena, a large rift appeared on the ground along with Meeno laying on it with his left arm grey in color.
Meeno groaned in pain as he stood on his feet and began to clutch his left arm.
"I told you what will happen if you tried to use your ice." Dam said.
"Dammit why?" Meeno asked while facing the ground, "Why did it have to be like this? Dam, I... Have you forgotten everything that has happened between us? Dam, please, I'm begging you... For the sake of our family... For the sake of our father, please say what happened. Please."
"First of all, let's get something straight." Dam said, "Chief Dai might have adopted me and raised me till i was 10 but he was not my father and you can bet as hell that you and Lady Yagura are not my family."
Hearing this, Meeno's became so heartbroken that his irises glowed and he dropped to his knees while tears were streaming from his eyes. At the audience center, Yagura who happened to be heartbroken as well and began to sob while covering her face with her palms.
"Lady Yagura!" A woman said as she placed her hands on her shoulders.
A flashback occurs 5 years ago as Yagura and Meeno were training in a grassy field; during this incident, Yagura easily caught Meeno's punch.
"Not bad." Yagura said while smiling, "You've lasted far longer without the assistance of your older brother. I'm curious to see how long your older brother can last without-"
"Lady Yagura!" A masculine voice called.
Yagura and Meeno quickly turned and sees it to be a bearded Kenar man bowing his head before her.
"Uh, Fein, what is it?" Yagura asked.
"Lady Yagura, i bring dire news." Fein said, "The Chief of our tribe, Chief Dai... Has been killed."
This revelation instantly shocked Yagura and Meeno.
"N-no. That's impossible..." Yagura said as she subconsciously stepped back a bit, "He is the strongest among us. There is no way he can be killed... No, i know his strength... There's just no way..."
"Lady Yagura, what i speak is the truth." Fein said with a sad demeanor.
"No... No...!" Yagura said as tears were flowing from her eyes, "It can't be."
Yagura drops to her knees and began to sob while Meeno placed his hand on her shoulders and was sobbing as well.
Seeing this, the saddened Fein turns his face away.
"Who did it?" Yagura asked with her eyes closed while emitting a faint red aura and facing the ground.
"Lady Yagura, i don't think-"
"WHO DID IT?!!!" Yagura furiously cuts in.
"... It was the boy you brought into your family." Fein said, "It was Dam."
   This revelation quickly left Yagura and Meeno in shock.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Yagura asked, "There is no way that can happen. It's completely impossible. No, i refused to believe it."
Fein immediately clenched his fist and frowned at Yagura.
"With all due respect, Lady Yagura, i just told you who killed your husband, our Chief and you are defending him?!" Fein asked, "Did you really love your husband or did you just marry him because of his sta-"
In an instant, a flood of red ice overtook Fein and pinned him on a tree, covering his entire body except for his head.
  Fein groaned in pain and quickly opened his eyes, only to see Yagura standing beside him with a frowning demeanor along with her irises glowing which made him slightly tremble.
After recalling that moment, Yagura lifts her face up which was covered in tears while her irises were glowing.
"That bastard. After everything they've done for him, this is how he repays them?" A man asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he truly did it." Another man said.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Hyle said.
"I'm not surprised he'd say something like that." Reiv said within himself with his arms crossed, "There is a reason why many in the academy call him the Black heart."
A flashback occurs as multiple orc corpses were laying on the ground while Dam was approaching an Orc who was sitting on the ground in a frightful manner while having his arm stretched towards Dam.
"Please stop." The orc said, "I didn't know they were planning to attack. I was just out looking for supplies for my wife. She's currently in labor and i needed supplies to help her. Look!"
The orc quickly brought out his pouch and poured open all the herbs on the ground.
"See?!" The orc said ,"Please, don't kill me. I beg you. My wife needs me. I-"
The orc instantly grunts in pain as his blood splattered on Dam's emotionless face, leaving his corpse to drop on the ground.
"That's too bad." Dam said.
After recalling that moment, Reiv clenched his arms tighter.
"I and the others weren't cool with what Dam did during that task." Reiv said within himself, "Granted, his attack on the first orcs was done out of self defense but the last... That was completely inhumane."
"Schroeder." Leorona called, "You've spoken with Dam, haven't you? What was your experience with him?"
"When i was talking with Dam on becoming a better person, i noticed the look in his eyes." Schroeder said.
Schroeder recalls as Dam lifts his eyes as they were glowing while having an emotionless expression on his face.
"That look... That look of darkness." Schroeder said after recalling that moment, "I could feel it even piercing my heart. He is... A terrifying person."
Back at the arena as Meeno was still on his knees while facing the ground,  Meeno suddenly clenches his fist.
"So that's how it's going to be..." Meeno said, "Fine."
Meeno pokes his arm grey colored arm 4 times and clutches it.
"Purge." Meeno said while still facing the ground.
In an instant, a mild shockwave occured in the arena and Meeno's grey colored arm had reverted back to normal. The audience became amazed with what Meeno had done.
"His arm... He changed it back to it's original color."
"How did he do that?"
"He is truly the son of Chief Dai and Lady Yagura."
"Now we're getting somewhere." Cloud said.
"This is unbelievable!" Trengal said, "Meeno just got rid the infection and is ready to continue fighting Dam!!"
"Not bad." Dam said.
"I've tried my best talking to you but as of this moment... I'm done holding back." Meeno said as lifts his head with his irises glowing while blood was flowing out of his eyes.
Meeno placed himself in a battle stance and sets his arm back while charging a red aura, leaving Yulin and many others shocked.
"Wait a minute. Is he trying to...?" Yulin asked within herself.
The air in the arena became wild and Meeno's red aura began to swirl wildly across the stage.
"This move... I've seen him use this move before." Cloud said within himself, "He wasn't joking when he said he's done holding back! He's going for-!"
"Red blizzard!" Meeno said as he swipes his arm forward, sending a severe red snowstorm towards Dam, shaking the entire place in the process.
"You don't seem to understand." A masculine voice said in the middle of the red snowstorm.
The red blizzard suddenly dispersed, creating an intense gust of wind and leaving the audience stunned. The sky instantly became darkened and Dam was emitting a black aura while walking towards Meeno with his face covered with the shade of his hair.
"It doesn't matter what you throw at me." Dam said as he raised his glowing irises to look at Meeno, "Because in the end..."
"It all means the same to me." Dam said as his aura formed a humongous shiny black bird from behind and instantly spread it's wings.
"Keillax aura manifestation?" Chief Akuro asked within himself in shock, "By someone of his age?"
At the audience center, many of the people were shivering at the immense pressure coming from Dam.
"What is this dark feeling?" Cloud asked within himself, "The pressure is immense!"
  Cloud also noted Killer bee and Rish greatly trembling  at Dam's pressure as well.
Back at the arena as Dam was still walking towards Meeno, Meeno was trembling and sweating in a profuse manner.
"Wha-what is this demonic pressure I'm feeling right now?" Meeno asked within himself.
"Your will to fight has been broken." Dam said, "Let's end this."
As a black energy began to swirl round Dam, Dam stretched forth his arm and began to charge a concentrated black orb on the finger tips of his index and middle finger .
"Goodbye, Meeno." Dam said
  The black orb on Dam's fingers began to increase along with the swirlings around his body, causing the air in the arena to run wild.
"Enough." A feminine voice sounded.
Dam looks to his side and sees the person to be Yagura who happened to standing among the audience with a slight scowl on her face.
"Enough, Dam." Yagura said, "No more games."