Somewhere in between the central states of the Federation, an armored military convoy was driving through its desolate highways. It was transporting two arrested criminals belonging to SIGIL Block 7.

Inside the container of the prison truck were two individuals, cuffed and shackled to the iron wall. They were the newest members of Block 7: Echidna and Hawk.

The ones who didn't resist the arrest of the military personnel.

"Did something happen to Miss Alastair, Mistress Echidna?" Hawk tilted her head, glancing at her cuffs, somewhat confused.

"Maybe... But the boss should be able to handle herself very well. Instead of worrying about her, we should be pondering our escape." Echidna's lips curved into a smile.

"Makes sense, what do I have to do, Mistress?" The masked little girl asked as Echidna thought about it for a moment. "Hmm... That's what I'm pondering about."

"We have already surrendered ourselves. It wouldn't be a good look if we escape from capture instead of evading it since the beginning."

Echidna sighed to herself and leaned on the iron wall of the container. The floor trembled for a moment as an idea struck her out of nowhere.

There was another way to escape, and that was to fake their deaths. Afterward, they could wait until the attention dies down or find Damien alongside that crimson-haired vampire.

But before she could present her proposition to her partner, a black-suited young man blinked into existence in front of them. The air cracked as he looked at them with a subtle smile.

"Sorry for being a bit too late," he remarked and glanced at their cuffs. "I expected something more to hold both of you down."

"These cuffs are different than the ordinary ones issued by the authorities. I don't know what kind of material they are, but they seem to be capable of counteracting Aether."

"So that type of cuffs, huh? No wonder they seemed confident." Damien shook his head and touched the cuffs on their wrists.

He could feel some weight, but it wasn't that much. It was comparable to the weight between a feather and a sheet of paper. Different and equal.

"Miss Alastair isn't actually in trouble even with these cuffs," he muttered to himself, a bit relieved. Although he was confident in his boss, it was better to not be ignorant of the situation.

As Damien shattered their cuffs into pieces, Echidna adjusted her wrist while Hawk bowed towards her senior, grateful for his aid.

He smiled at the masked little girl and patted her head. For some reason, she reminded him of Alice from the Howling Village. Or perhaps, Alice reminded him of her.

"Sir Damien, why did the Federation deem us as accomplices of a traitor?" Echidna questioned as she stretched her arms upward, a bored expression dawning upon her.

Damien sighed and replied. "There was some trouble within the northern fringes. I discovered a conspiracy that reached the high echelons of both Federation and SIGIL."

"I took care of the forces there while Miss Alastair handled the infiltrators. It appears that she had only taken care of those belonging to SIGIL."

Hearing his answers, Echidna nodded in understanding but asked. "And she let herself be tried in court, why?"

"Who knows what the boss plans to do. But she wouldn't let herself be arrested without a good reason." Damien was as confused as his junior about their circumstance.

However, this wasn't the best of places to discuss it.

"In any case, I believe that the three of us should take our leave," he remarked before snapping his fingers.

The three of them blinked out of the prison container, appearing near the outskirts of New Janus, where Gryphos and Hecate waited.

Echidna and Hawk were dumbfounded, feeling a bit sick in the stomach. This was their first time teleporting, and it tends to ravage one's senses for quite some time.

The masked little girl clutched her stomach but held back with great effort. On the other hand, the beautiful lady was greatly displeased by the lack of warning.

"A word would have been appreciated," she remarked as the black-suited young man chuckled at the sight.

Echidna took a deep breath and noticed the slumbering Hecate. Her eyebrows rose as she inquired. "What happened?"

Damien glanced at his sleeping partner and aptly responded. "Evolution."

"She will be out of the board for a few days, but she'll wake up much stronger afterward." It has been a while, though the fever was worsening.

He was ignorant of what the hell was going on with her body. Unfortunately, the ancient progenitor seemed to be down with her.

The two of them didn't utter a single response to him after they left New Janus. It was troublesome and worrying, but Damien could only trust her.

"A lot happened, huh?" Echidna took a deep breath, calming her heart that was pounding from the unexpected teleportation.

"What should we do now?" She looked at Damien, inquiring about their plans for the future. There was much they could do without lazing around like sloths.

"The chaos of her trial would probably attract some unwanted attention. Not only that, all of the Paragons would be attending the court."

"Once they made their way to the tribunal court, the balance of power would be tipped to the Federation," Damien answered and added. "But I doubt Miss Alastair would care."

"She is the strongest of humanity, after all. The White Devil. She wouldn't have such a name if she cared about the official authorities." Echidna agreed with the prospect.

"I will be heading to New York. I need to pick up something of mine over there," he remarked, earning the raised eyebrows of the gorgeous lady.

"I heard that the SIGIL Headquarters was wiped off the map. Can you even find something of yours in that wasteland?"

Damien chuckled and shook his head. "Don't underestimate, Miss Alastair. Destruction isn't the only thing she leaves behind."

"Alright, Hawk and I will be heading to the West Coast. I have some connections there, so it wouldn't be difficult to gather influence." Echidna nodded in understanding and continued.

"If you need our assistance, give me a large signal and I'll make my move."

His lips curved into a smile as the two of them shook their hands together. "I will keep that in mind. Take care, Echidna. You too, Hawk. Be careful, both of you."

"I'll say the same thing, Sir Damien. Compared to the two of us, you and your partner appear to have a knack for causing trouble. So, better be careful."

The two Jaegers chuckled as Damien teleported them back to New Janus to prepare for their journey to the West Coast of the New World.

An eerie silence pervaded the desolate wasteland as Damien gazed into the darkness that shrouded it. The black towers loomed over the distance, a symbol of the new era.

He walked towards Gryphos and patted its feathered mane. The Griffin shook its head and chirped, pleased by the attention its master was giving it.

"Our next destination is New York," he uttered in his cold breath, gazing towards the direction of the East Coast.

To take the next step in his plan, he needed to acquire an item that would conceal his aetheric background. It was time to don his fedora.

Leaping onto the feathered mane of Gryphos, Damien hugged Hecate tightly as the two of them soared into the skies with a single flutter of its vast wings.

The Griffin pierced through the skies, a streaking shooting star headed towards the Big Apple. Those below can only watch as a strip of light painted the shaded heavens.

---

Meanwhile...

Within the lustrous skylines of New York, Doctor Krieger observed the glittering lights of the cityscape behind the windows of her penthouse.

She took a sip of her wine, sighing at the catastrophe that had struck the SIGIL Headquarters a couple of days ago. Since then, the scientist has been on paid leave.

Truly an unfortunate circumstance.

The edges of her lips curved into a smile, grateful for the vacation the seventh Paragon had given her. No matter how much she liked creating new technologies.

Nothing was better than a paid vacation.

After all, she didn't consider herself a workaholic of some kind. She was but a normal lady, an eccentric genius who wanted to enjoy the world.

As she observed the illustrious skylines of the city, Krieger remembered her short conversation with the seventh Paragon before the arrests were made.

The doctor glanced at the fedora tucked behind a protective glass casing. It was her latest creation, capable of concealing the aetheric background of those who wear it.

Sadly, it was nigh impossible to create something that could cloak one's aetheric background to zero. Since it was built for that cute Aberrant, she based the technology around him.

For the fedora to be utilized to its utmost potential, one must have a potent average aetheric background.

The stronger the aetheric background becomes, the better concealed they would be.

It would be useless for average Jaegers, but for those who stood at the top? It might be an intriguing piece of item for them.

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