Omega Manual chapter 32

 Burning

Shelley ran over, out of breath, his flashlight flickering over Irey. “Are you okay?”

“Just bit my cheek.” Irey wiped his mouth with one hand, still holding the thief tight with the other. “He passed out. Check his pockets for anything.”

Shelley hesitated. “Isn’t that wrong…”

“He stole your wallet and you’re worried about being polite?” Irey said impatiently. “Do it.”

So, Shelley said no more and carefully searched the thief’s pockets.

The thief must have hit his head when he rolled down, his head slumped to one side. Shelley felt like he’d seen this face somewhere before, but couldn’t recall where.

The thief’s clothes were tattered but had many pockets, from which Shelley pulled out a flashlight, a lighter, blades, wire, and lock-picking tools—definitely a thief’s kit. But no wallet.

Shelley stood up, frowning. “Maybe you got the wrong guy? My wallet isn’t here.”

“No way.” Irey said firmly. “It’s him.”

“Maybe he got rid of it or took the money and tossed the wallet.” Shelley suggested.

“No, it shouldn’t be. Your wallet is clearly expensive, tossing it would just make it obvious he stole it. He wouldn’t fence it off so quickly either; he’d wait a few days. Unless he got scared after I chased him last time and tried to destroy the evidence…”

Before Irey could finish, they both thought of the bonfire.

“Check that fire!” Irey raised his voice.

No need for Irey to say, Shelley had already started running.

Despite repeatedly claiming the wallet had nothing important, the possibility of retrieving it made Shelley run faster than an arrow, almost outrunning Irey.

The fire still burned brightly under the tree. Shelley impulsively reached into the flames.

Irey, startled, grabbed Shelley’s wrist. “Boss!”

He picked up a branch and poked through the fire, finding something among the burning leaves. He pulled it out and stomped on it, extinguishing the flames.

It was a half-burnt leather wallet.

Shelley ignored the heat and grabbed it. Though he dropped it several times due to the heat, he persisted, eventually tearing open the charred layers and pulling out a small photo.

Irey, panting, crouched beside him, shining the flashlight on Shelley’s hands.

Fortunately, the photo was only slightly singed at the edges, largely undamaged.

The picture was of a beautiful woman with golden hair, dressed elegantly, sitting gracefully on a chair with a gentle smile.

Even Irey, who prided himself on meeting many people, had to admit that the woman in the photo was the most beautiful he had ever seen.

Shelley first held the photo and checked it repeatedly, finally exhaling in relief when he confirmed it hadn’t been irreparably damaged. He sat down on the ground covered in dry leaves, making a crisp sound.

Leaning against a tree trunk, he glanced at Irey and smiled, “Thanks.”

Irey squatted beside him, “What is this…”

“It’s a photo of my mother,” Shelley said. “She passed away when I was very young, and this is the only picture of her left.”

Irey frowned, “And you call this ‘nothing important’?”

Shelley fell silent for a moment, pinching and releasing the photo with his fingertips. “She’s been gone for so long, long enough for nobody in the Manta family to remember her. Even her grave slid into the river along with the landslide after the disaster… Anyway, the dead can’t come back to life, so maybe keeping this photo doesn’t mean much.”

“Sometimes I really don’t understand what’s going on in your head,” Irey grabbed Shelley’s hand, closing his fingers, “It’s precisely because everyone else has forgotten that you should remember her even more. If even you forget her, she truly disappears from this world.”

Irey’s words struck a chord with Shelley. He tightened his grip on the photo, took a deep breath, and nodded.

Irey patted Shelley’s shoulder and stood up in front of the campfire, “I’ll go check if that dog woke up.”

Shelley carefully tucked the photo into the pocket of his coat and followed Irey back.

The thief was still lying there, emitting some muffled groans of pain. Irey walked over and lifted him up like a chick. Suddenly, he noticed a dirty cloth wrapped around the thief’s neck, tightly constricting it, leaving no skin exposed.

Irey frowned and pulled out a sharp spring piece from his pocket, swiftly cutting the cloth.

The cloth had been wrapped around the man’s neck for who knows how long, almost melding with the skin. As the cloth fell away, both Irey and Shelley smelled a pungent odor, like something had been rotting and fermenting for a long time, no longer discernible from its original scent.

Shelley took a few steps back involuntarily, while Irey pinched his nose and lifted the thief’s dirty hair, shining a flashlight on the back of his neck: a swollen gland, grotesquely protruding, had already ulcerated, emitting a foul smell caused by the gland rotting and ulcerating after being bound for a long time. In this stench, it was almost impossible to discern what the original pheromones smelled like.

“He’s an Omega,” Irey muttered after a long silence.

Shelley didn’t know how to react. Just then, the thief struggled and began to regain consciousness.

He first looked at Shelley in the distance, then at Irey in front of him, quickly realizing that something had been torn off his neck.

“Let go of me! You fucking dog!” He suddenly began to struggle violently, cursing incessantly, “Fuck you—”

A strong beam of light suddenly shone over, making Shelley unable to open his eyes, followed by a stern voice.

“What are you doing! What are you doing!”

Shelley raised his arm to shield his eyes, barely seeing a person coming wearing a uniform.

It was a patrolman from the Leisau district.

Not only that, but several passersby who had come to see what was happening followed the policeman, apparently hearing the commotion and calling the police.

The arrival of the police made this remote place even more lively. The nearby houses, originally dark, gradually lit up, and more and more people gathered around.

Irey grabbed the struggling thief’s arm and stood up, looking at the policeman, “It’s nothing, just playing around.”

“Playing around in the middle of the night?” The patrolman obviously didn’t believe this explanation, rudely separating the two, shining his flashlight alternately on their faces, “Who are you three? Give me your names!”

“I’m Irey Halton.” Irey spoke first, then pointed at Shelley, “This is my… my Omega, Shelley Manta. We’re passing through here on a tour, not locals.”

The patrolman shone his flashlight on Shelley’s neck, nodded in recognition after seeing the obvious marking, then moved the light to the face of the young thief, “And what about him?”

Neither Irey nor Shelley spoke.

Shelley didn’t know what Irey was thinking, but at this moment, he suddenly didn’t know whether he should tell the patrolman the truth of what had happened.

The education he received from childhood told him that people who break the law should be punished, and someone who steals should naturally face consequences.

The person in front of him was a policeman, a representative of justice and law. Handing over the thief to him should be without any problem.

However, the young thief who stole was an Omega.

Before they could say anything, the next second, the young man, illuminated by the flashlight, bolted. However, after just having a chase with Irey, his stamina was not as good as before. He had barely run a few steps when the patrolman grabbed him by the collar.

“Where do you think you’re going, stop!” The patrolman forcefully pulled the young man back, and at the same time, the rotten and foul smell spread.

Not only could the patrolman smell it, but all the bystanders around also covered their noses.

Whispers came through.

“It stinks, what’s that smell?”

“Is he an Omega? How can an Omega smell so bad?”

“I know this person! He stole bread from my shop before and I didn’t catch him!” A shop owner whom Shelley had seen during the day shouted loudly, “This time he must have been caught stealing something from someone!”

The crowd began to stir.

“Why would an Omega need to steal when they can just find an Alpha?”

“With a smell like that, no Alpha would want him.”

The patrolman held the young man’s collar with one hand and poked him hard in the abdomen with his baton, forcing him back, “Unregistered Omega, stealing? Do you know how serious this is? Lower your head, hands behind your back, come with me!”

Shelley’s head buzzed, subconsciously reaching out towards the patrolman, “Wait…”

But Irey grabbed his wrist, forcefully pressing it down, silently shaking his head.

Irey wore that expression Shelley disliked again, but he knew he was always right at times like this.

The young man struggled violently, even biting the patrolman’s hand with his mouth. The patrolman, caught off guard, cried out in pain and released his hand, allowing the young man to create some distance between them.

“Still want to run!” the patrolman shouted, “The city is surrounded, do you think you can escape?”

Then, to everyone’s surprise, the young man laughed.

“I know I can’t escape, and I didn’t intend to. I’m going to hell, and all of you are the architects of this hell.”

Then he took a step back, pulling out a handgun from his tattered boots.

Everything happened too fast, and no one reacted. The young man effortlessly aimed the gun at his own temple, as if casually wiping sweat from his forehead, and with a bang, blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.