Child of Omens: Ruination Part 2

Chapter 21: Battle Lines

V sat in front of the dead campfire, reading his book as the morning sun peaked over the horizon. Hearing the stirring of one of team HVRN, he looked over to see Nora was beginning to wake.

Griffon: "Uh oh, it looks like the wild child's waking up."

Nora: "*Yawn* Good morning."

V: "Morning, you woke up surprisingly early? Especially with your current state."

Nora: "Yep, no matter what time I go to sleep, I am cursed to forever wake up at the crack of dawn. But luckily for me, Ren's always up to make me pancakes...WAIT, REN!!" Nora rushes to check on Ren.

V: "Do not fret. Your friend is safe. He's still resting from drinking the serum."

Nora: "Where's Hawk?"

Griffon: "Now I usually lose bets, but I'm pretty certain that's him."

Griffon nudged over V's scroll that he lets Griffon use to watch funny videos. They look to see a large-scale battle taking place at Atlas; they could see thousands of Grimm followed by a massive whale that seemed to spew more out. The camera then pans above the battle to see giant red storm clouds, black lightning arcing throughout it.

Nora: "Wait!? That's Hawk!! Oh my Oum, he became a menacing cloud!!"

Griffon: "*Whispering* She can't be serious...can she?"

V: "He may be using the sword of destruction's power to manipulate the clouds around him."

Nora: "Okay, so he got the relic and went back to Atlas, but why isn't he helping?"

Griffon: "Watch, and we might find out." The three go back to watching.

Back at Atlas, the battle rages on. Some of the soldiers comment on the strange cloud formations, but the action draws them back. Watching from overhead, Hawk watches as both sides throw everything at one another.

Vergil: "Even after millennia of their war, they still can't end it, pity."

Hawk: "Don't pity those who stood by and watched as my entire life was ripped from me. The only thing they deserve is a painful end."

Vergil: "You haven't fully explained why you brought us here."

Hawk: "This battle has both Ozma and Salem in the same place as well as the eyes of the whole world. I've spent my entire life looking to be accepted by the world, yet they still look to me with fear and contempt. It's time I do something about it."

Vergil: "Whatever you plan to do, be warned. I sense a great deal of magical energy being expended at the moment."

Hawk: "Then it's time we made our entrance."

Hawk begins to focus his demonic energy pulling it from the lighting surrounding him within the cloud, from the Yamato, and from within himself. Atlas soldiers look on as the red from the clouds dissipates, and a single bolt of red lightning shoots into the giant whale Grimm.

Smoke and ash fill the air as the battlefield is silent, only the echo of the thunder following the lightning. From the wreckage of the explosion, Atlas soldiers begin to pick themselves up, recovering from the blast. As they start to try and regroup, a pillar of blue light shoots from the pile of ash that used to be the whale Grimm.

The pillar blows away all the smoke as they can all see in the center of the post stands a figure clad in dark red and black armor. Hawk turns to the soldiers that watch him; he sees their faces. Faces mixed with awe, confusion, and most of all, fear. Throughout Atlas and the world, people watch from their scrolls, TVs. Anywhere they can see the battle at Atlas, they now can see Hawk, and he knew this. Looking through the crowd, he recognizes specific faces, people he saw at Atlas Academy. Spotting Winter, Ironwood's second in command, mixed within the group. He begins to walk forward, a stoic expression covering his face, but underneath, he hides nothing more than disgust. As he approached, the soldiers started to back away; they could see the dark red energy swirling within his eyes. Hawk stopped as he felt a weak hand grab his boot; looking down, he saw a young boy with a busted trumpet in his hands. It seems as though his leg was broken from the blast; for a moment, Hawk saw Jaune replace the young boy, but it was only a memory. Holding his hand out, he helped the young man up.

Hawk: "You...what's your name?"

Flynt: "Flynt...thanks for saving us, don't feel bad about my leg. It's better than being dead." Hawk looks up to spot the multiple camera drones circling.

Hawk: "Smile, Flynt, you're on TV."

Flynt: "Say, that's a pretty cool sword you got there." His words were strained as he tried to stay upright while leaning on Hawk.

Hawk: "Oh, this?" Holding out his hand, the Yamato flew from the sheath and into his hand. A blood-red coloration had now replaced the once silver steeled edge. "This is the Yamato. The Relic of Destruction...and with it, I'll send a message the world will never forget." Flynt growing a worried look. "So smile, Flynt...it'd be a shame if you died scared."

The red eyes of Hawk flared up as with an upward slash of the Yamato, Flynt's headless body toppled to the ground. Hawk could hear the screams of panic and terror from across Remnant as the people of the world witnessed the practical execution of a young boy. Looking out to see the soldiers looking on with fear and terror, some running, others too scared to run.

Hawk: "People of Remnant, my name is Hawk Branwen. Son of the deceased Raven Branwen, for those who don't know who that was, she was the deadliest woman on the planet. But due to this foolish war taking place longer than the kingdoms have existed, she was murdered. But as of today, I am here to end this war, not by eliminating the Grimm and restoring the kingdoms. No, I am here to destroy a system that has been the ruin of thousands of people just like me. People whose lives have been ruined by a system that has been manipulating everyone into fighting and have done this by hiding the truth from you. So now I shall reveal said truth. The Grimm are not mindless creatures they have a leader, a Queen, a person named Salem. She was created by a man named Ozma, who, through his in-action, has resulted in her leading the Grimm to wipe out humanity, and you might be wondering what Ozma has been doing to stop her...nothing. He chose to hide the truth, created huntsmen to act as soldiers in his secret war. A war that has devastated this planet, a war that has taken the lives of countless innocent and destroyed families alike. And after all this death and destruction, what does Ozma do...he recruits the headmasters of every academy. The people you thought could train your children to be heroes have lied to you and have made all of your children into soldiers, soldiers that can be swapped out and replaced. Well, that ends, NOW!! As of today, I am issuing a call to arms for those that wish to see this war end. Throw down your arms and join me. And for those that wish to oppose me or try and kill me like they did my mother, I warn you what you witnessed today..." Transforming into his Crimson Tyrant form. "Is nothing compared to what I can truly do."