As the border situated in northern Erebonia became lively during the darkness of the night, a different scene could be seen taking place around the same time.
Northwest Calvard.
On the outskirts of Emerose City.
"Shit, she ain't in her room.", A voice with a heavy accent said, which came from behind from several trees and shrubs beyond what appeared to be a housing complex. It was a large orphanage that was under the care of the Septian Church. From this particular position, the view of the left building was clear as day. The figure observing the empty building on the left side frowned.
"Aww man, today was supposed to be my big day to come back here together with Big Sis. Welp, I guess that's out the door now. Things ain't lookin' too good.", The figure said, who seemed to be a man with green and white hair which resembled that of an onion. Who else could it be but Kevin Graham? He let out a defeated sigh as he observed the ongoing situation. He currently had one of his hands gripping onto his crossbow. Even though it's been half a year, Kevin didn't expect he would potentially enter combat again so soon.
Kevin shifted his eyes from the room, only to land upon the large gate that currently led into the orphanage. It was presently closed, with a couple unmarked armored figures surrounding it. They had orbal rifles on their backs.
They were Jaegers. Just like the ones that showed up on the northern border of Erebonia, but this particular group didn't seem to have a name for themselves. They weren't affiliated with any group.
"Still, who in Gehenna's name was bright enough to hire Jaegers of all things to storm the Aster House? They're doin' such a sloppy job too. They chose daytime. If it were me, I would have already burned this place down. But perhaps that isn't their goal here.", Kevin uttered, wondering why Jaegers showed up at his orphanage. "Either way, that's a plus for me. I hafta take these guys on, alone.", Kevin continued.
Kevin seemed to be seventeen years old this year. He was amongst the other protagonists of the Trailsverse. He was still a squire at this point in time. He presently wore a red robe with magenta long sleeves. As stated prior, Kevin's iconic crossbow with a large bolt could be seen in one of his hands, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Kevin revealed a grin as he gripped it. He didn't immediately rush out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. Instead, he reached into one of his robe pockets, and took out a device of sorts. It looked very similar to a pocket watch. without any lace tied to it. He opened it, which revealed the special mechanism inside. Each of these slots were filled with some sort of crystallized spheres. If one had a close look at each one of the spheres, there were intricately-crafted circuit boards hidden deep inside. Each slot had a different-colored sphere. These were Quartz, and the device Kevin was holding was his own Combat Orbment.
It looks like he was about to use it!
With Kevin's crossbow in one hand, and his Combat Orbment in his other hand, Kevin suddenly traces along the Lines with one of his fingers, and quickly activated an Art. The traced Lines lit up in a bright, earthen glow, and soon covered Kevin's body.
"May these two bastards find their souls resting in the sands of Gehenna.", Kevin uttered softly.
Without hesitation, Kevin shot out with his crossbow, which launched the bolt outward. He wasted little time to reload, and launched a second bolt in succession. Wooosh!
The first bolt found its target, the first Jaeger on the left of the gate. They appeared to be both men. He felt something pierce right through his neck. It took a second for the Jaeger's pain receptors to sound the alarm.
"Bang.", Kevin uttered, a smile appeared on his lips as he said.
"Ahhh---!?", The first Jaeger tried to respond. The second Jaeger finally saw that his fellow Jaeger just got attacked. Worse. Shot in the neck.
"S-Shit, are we under att---!?", The second Jager tried to respond, realizing what had just happened. Unfortunately for him, he too found his neck suddenly pierced. After all, Kevin shot out two bolts, not one!
It was then Kevin took a moment to appear from the foliage nearby with a grin on his face.
"Now now, not another word out of ya.", Kevin said, causing the two Jaegers' eyes to turn wide in shock, only to realize they were in fact not alone.
As if responding to Kevin's words just now, the two Jaegers couldn't even reach down for their orbal rifles. In but a mere moment or two, their bodies began to stiffen. That's right, stiffen. From bottom upward. Their skin started to harden, and became solid rock. It happened so fast that the two Jaegers couldn't attack Kevin.
Kevin shot out two petrifying rounds. What replaced the two Jaegers were now stone statues with looks of shock in their eyes. It was as if their entire life flashed through them. Any heartbeats that echoed no longer made a noise. The orphanage now had a flutter of wind pass by in silence. Kevin took a moment to look at the two. He had just killed two people. But for what, exactly?
To protect his home?
"Perhaps the Church put me through the wringer, but I feel little for you guys. Ya reap what ya sow. If it weren't for Ries and Big Sis, I likely would have drowned in that feeling, back in that alley...", Kevin uttered. "But now, I couldn't give a shit. Ya dare try harmin' Ries, so ya gotta pay for the consequences. And now that I think about it, Jaegers are always ready to stare death right in the eyes, arent'cha?", Kevin continued, still grinning at the two statues.
Wooosh! Wooosh!
Without warning, Kevin struck out with his fists in the direction of both statues. Two muffled bangs struck his ears. In the next moment, the two statues were blasted into tiny bits and pieces of sand, not even leaving behind a solid corpse. They were Jaegers, so Jaegers dying was common on the battlefield. With the wind passing by, the sands were swept away, leaving behind nothing.
Kevin then proceeded to open the gate to the Aster House. Slowly but surely, he made his way toward the entrance in front of the large building in the near distance. It didn't take long for Kevin to hear a voice let out a complaint.
"Stop doing this!", An older voice said, yelling out. This voice was likely speaking to another.
"And what, you bitch? This little brat told me everything I needed to know. Ever heard of a hostage? I need to take her with me. A little give and take, yea? She'll do nicely as a shield, haha!", A scruffy voice replied to the first voice. Shortly after, a couple gunshots fired off inside the orphanage.
The moment those gunshots were heard, the voices of scared children cried out. The bullets didn't seem to hit anyone. They were likely warning shots.
But once Kevin heard these shots, he frowned. It lasted quickly too. The man's voice sounded more distant as time went on. A low rumbling struck Kevin's feet at this time, and the voice began to quiet down, likely heading into another area inside the orphanage.
Kevin felt the man's presence was no longer there, so he quickly opened the door. Seeing the door open, his eyes found an aged woman, who was surrounded by crying children. Further inside toward the left, a hidden room now could be seen open, which led into a hidden corridor beyond. The woman and the children didn't expect the front door to suddenly open like that. They spotted a sole figure now standing in the doorway. A familiar figure to them.
"K-Kevin! Oh thank Aidios you're back!", The aged woman said, greeting Kevin. Kevin quickly approached her. He saw that they were bound by a rope, so he unloosened it, breaking them free.
"Are you alright, Matron? I already took care of the goons outside. I'm glad everyone isn't harmed.", Kevin asked, doing a double check of the aged woman before him. She nodded, assuring Kevin that she was fine.
"Yes. The children and I remain unharmed, but they are frightened. Jaegers just attacked our orphanage out of the blue. They took Ries!", The Matron replied with a frown, obviously worried. Pointing her finger outward, the Matron pointed toward the open corridor. "They took Ries that way and vanished. Please Kevin, save Ries!"
"Shit.", Kevin replied, his eyes landing upon the open corridor. He was very familiar with this spot inside the orphanage. Not just anyone could head down that place. Only certain people belonging to the Septian Church knew how to open it. And since the Jaeger's leader kidnapped Ries, he likely forced her to open it.
Kevin didn't hesitate to chase after them. He wanted to rescue Ries, no matter what.
The only thing Kevin didn't know at the time was that a third person, Ries's older sister, Rufina Argent, also made her way back here to intercept the Jaegers.
That's right. This was the very same scene where Kevin eventually loses his way for losing his one and only role model, Rufina Argent, and awakens his Stigma. It would be from here that Kevin officially steps into becoming one of the Dominion of the Septian Church.
The Heretic Hunter!