The brown-haired young man had a neutral expression on his face inside the cockpit of his machine as someone spoke over the radio, "Greetings, Collared Man. My name is Old King. I'm planning an attack on the Cradles…..are you with me? The Orca Brigade's revolution isn't enough to change things, and they will all die trying, wouldn't you say? I say we take down as many Cradles as we can. If we're all going to die, we're not going to go quietly."

The young man, once known as Issei Hyoudou and now known as the Strayed, then replied, "Let's do it, Old King."

Issei's machine then proceeded to fly up into Cradle Airspace. The machine he piloted, although it was in his garage, technically belonged to another LYNX who had fallen in battle. The White Glint used by Anatolia's Mercenary, once the defender of Line Ark, was going to be desecrated and turned into a bringer of death and ruin. Once Issei flew to just above the uppermost of the 5 airships that made up the target known as Cradle 03, he activated combat mode.

"Good, you came. How obedient of you. Fell the Cradles. All of them. Millions will die. Exciting, don't you think?" Old King spoke over the radio.

A female voice then chipped in to say, "Just know how to kill huh? Nothing else? That's too bad. It's time for you and I to go our separate ways."

Issei said nothing as he destroyed an engine on the Airship before moving on to destroy another one. He repeated this until 5 engines were destroyed, at which point all of the remaining engines exploded and the airship started its violent descent to the surface. "One down. 20 million dead." Old King stated.

Issei flew over to the next airship and destroyed 5 of its engines, also making it violently crash down as Old King spoke, "40 million."

Issei's mind briefly thought of his parents before he shook his head sideways and moved on to destroy the third airship. Once he was done with that, Old King chipped in with, "60 million."

Issei then flew to the fourth airship and destroyed the engines, making it violently crash down as Old King remarked, "80 million."

Issei's mind suddenly flashed to show a blonde girl wearing a nun's habit. Shaking his head again to drive it out of his mind, Issei flew on and destroyed the last airship of Cradle 03. This time Old King stated, "One hundred million. Done. There are still so many more lives to take. Our journey is just beginning."

Issei disengaged combat mode and flew down to the surface, fully aware of what he had done but knowing that he had gone too far to back down from the path that he chose to take. He returned to the garage of his hideout and initiated repairs on the White Glint. While the repairs started, he began to let his mind wander into how he became what he currently was.

Issei Hyoudou had only been a second-year student in High School when the National Dismantlement War broke out. He left school to join the fighting using a home-made Normal, earning much recognition and notoriety as a pilot. When the war ended, he upgraded to a NEXT and became part of a new generation of LYNX. His actions from here to the LYNX War were unknown. During the LYNX War, Issei fought across many battlefields for GA against the Bernard and Felix Foundation and its allies. He was so merciless during this time that one of the titles that he received was the Red Angel of Death, named for how his NEXT had a red paint scheme on it during this time.

Ten years later in the Economic War, Issei was an Independent LYNX, only siding with whoever was employing him at the time. He temporarily aligned himself with ORCA when he destroyed the Arteria Ulna facility and seemed loyal to Thermidor's plans, helping them take out the Arteria Carpals facility's defenses and defeating Noblesse Oblige. The League were wondering if he would continue to aid Thermidor when they discovered the Anti-Satellite Batteries, but were taken aghast by his decision to attack and destroy Cradle 03. Issei however knew full well that the League, built on the bloodshed of many innocents, had nobody but themselves to blame for making him their enemy.

During the LYNX War, Issei had encountered an Italian nun known as Asia Argento who had been displaced because of the National Dismantlement War. He took her in and she proceeded to assist him as his Operator during the conflict. However, near the end of the war, she was killed under mysterious circumstances. Issei investigated and for a long time, the investigation bore no fruit. It was during the ORCA Uprising and the chaos surrounding it that Issei was able to uncover the truth: Omer Science Technologies had ordered her assassination because of her origins. As Omer was part of the League, Issei knew that he would have to make himself a real threat to the League by any means necessary.

Issei was shaken out of his reminiscene by an electronic message informing him that White Glint's repairs were completed. He then checked his inbox to see a mission briefing. Activating it, he was greeted with a female voice stating, "Here is the mission.

"The objective is to take control of the large scale Arteria Facility, Carpals. This time, the details of the operation are up to you. You are simply to take out anyone or anything that gets in your way. Briefing over. The Union seeks only to secure the future safety of humanity and the planet. This mission is an essential step in realizing that goal. We trust that you will meet with 100% success."

Issei immediately suspected that the briefing was faked, knowing that the Interior Union was part of the League as well. He activated his radio and said, "Hey Old King, did you receive that mission from the Interior Union?"

"I did, lap dog. This is most certainly a trap. How about we humor them by accepting before making an example out of whoever they send to kill us?"

"Very well then, we shall head out to the Arteria Carpals." Issei spoke as he accepted the mission and took off in the White Glint again.

Occupation of Arteria Carpals - Time Taken: 00:18:45

The Arteria Carpals facility, once a shining beacon that sent power to the Cradles, was now nothing but a smouldering ruin. Amongst the wreckage were the destroyed NEXTs of Roadie, Wynne D. Fanchon, and Lilium Wolcott. The White Glint stood opposite of Statis, the NEXT of Otsdarva.

"Hmph, we meet again, Otsdarva. It seems that you were able to best Old King, but do you truly believe that you can defeat me?!" Issei spoke over the radio.

"You have sullied ORCA's name and it's high time that you pay the price for it with your life!" Otsdarva shouted back as he fired a shot that the White Glint dodged. No matter how hard Otsdarva tried, he simply couldn't hit Issei's machine. Issei on the other hand was opening fire on Statis with everything that he still had. It didn't take long before Otsdarva was destroyed, at which point Issei made his way to the bridge that connected the facility to the mainland before activating his overboost and flying into the sky.

A male narrator then said, "Soon after, the blood of the innocents would rain down from the Cradles, all at the hands of a single Lynx. One who will be the greatest monster mankind has ever seen, taking more lives than any other in history."