A/N: Hi! Sorry this chapter took a while, I wanted to finish some stuff before I finished this chapter. Also, Thank you to all of you! We just hit 300 views and that's a pretty big number for me. So thank you like really. And oh, the sketch for Kent Levins can be found in my profile with the link with a preview of his team for this story.

note: Since there wasn't much known about the previous maidens I decided to make one myself. Well, only the spring maiden. Other than that hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I tried to make Raven a little less cold. Well, without further ado, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3: Kent Levin (II)

"Ugh!" Kent groaned aloud, now sitting on the floor. It seems that he had lost his balance from defending an onslaught of attacks from Raven.

"I told you, keep your shoulders and head up, don't hesitate! One more time!" the black-haired woman shouted at him.

"You're just gonna win again, auntie!" The boy replied with an irritated tone and expression as he stood up.

It was another day of training for Kent with Raven. As it had already been four years since Kent was taken in by the Branwen Tribe. He had gotten comfortable around the tribe, especially with the tribe leader, Raven Branwen. I mean, Raven did save him back then.

According to what Raven had told him, she just so happened to be passing by the area before being blinded by a bright white-light and nearly getting shocked by an intense shockwave coming from deep within the forest. She wondered whether it was an attack from an enemy or something that she and a few other people have knowledge about.

Letting her curiosity take over, she headed over towards the direction of where the light came from. To her surprise, in the middle of all the wreckage, a kid wrapped in a black robe, holding a broken weapon, passed out on the ground.

As she approached the young boy, Raven contemplated whether to leave him be or just take him with her. The black-haired woman would usually decide not to waste her time taking in another child into her tribe as she was already dealing with a lot of people to take care of. But seeing the helpless passed out boy had somehow touched the pushed-back motherly side of her, making her decide to take the child with her in the end.

Carrying the passed-out Kent, she'd been noticing small sparks from his body, acting as if it was protecting him even though he was unconscious. She could also feel the enormous amount of aura the young boy possessed, which the black-haired woman found intriguing.

After taking the boy in, she had been training and taking care of him for the past few years and watched him improve drastically with each day. What had taken her interest in the young boy was his raw talent in fighting paired with his natural instincts and quick-thinking.

In her eyes, the young Kent was leagues beyond anyone his age, hell she could even admit that the eleven-year-old boy could go toe-to-toe with an experienced huntsman if he were to go all out.

"No complaining! Your enemies will be ruthless, and won't give the slightest care whether you're a child or not!" Raven replied with a serious tone in her voice.

"Guard up. Now, come and try to land one solid hit on me." She said as a cocky grin appeared on her face, preparing her stance once again.

"One? Heh, all right." Matching the grin Raven was showing him as he prepared his stance, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

The area around the two went quiet as both tried to think and predict what the other would do. The wind was blowing as the leaves fell from the trees, as one leaf slowly floated down, Kent gripped his repaired Katana tightly while activating his semblance, surrounding his body with blue sparks.

At the exact moment the leaf reached the ground, Kent's body disappeared into thin air as he bolted towards the black-haired woman, appearing behind her in seconds. He then attacked with a downward slash, though it may have seemed the latter was caught slightly off guard with the boy's newfound speed, she managed to react just in time to the former's attack, blocking it with her longsword.

"So, you've been hiding this from me?" Raven asked as their blades clashed with both fighting for control, leading to a deadlock.

"Well, you did say not to hesitate."

Kent then stepped back to prepare for his next attack. Without a second to waste, he dashed around her, circling her with fast speed. His quickness could give trouble for an inexperienced enemy since it was just difficult to keep track of him.

Fortunately for Raven, she had spent a long time training him. She had become accustomed to the young boy's habits and quirks when fighting, making it easy for her to read his attacks and moves... or so she thought. Kent had drastically improved yet again, and it seemed that he has taken an unpredictable approach to their battle.

As the brunette circled the crimson-eyed huntress, he'd been moving in and out attacking the latter, who was easily blocking all of his attacks, all while maintaining his speed. Kent continued his attack, but soon noticed Raven moving towards the place where he was about to pass by, slicing her sword downwards.

He quickly reacted by jumping in the air to avoid the incoming strike from Raven. Landing back on the ground, he saw Raven still showing off a cocky grin. Kent, though visibly annoyed, he kept his cool, as he came up with another tactic. Taking a deep breath, and as he exhaled, he created a lightning copy of himself, surprising his mentor.

Though Kent could make a copy of himself, his copy had limits being that he had just learned it the other day and had yet to fully master it.

The two Kents then swiftly rushed towards Raven. The real one slid down, aiming to attack his mentor's legs, with the clone jumping up to attack from above. Raven managed to see through his attack, deflecting the clone's attack following it up with a straight stab, penetrating her sword through the clone's chest, making the clone vanish before side-stepping out of the real one's attempt to hit her legs, kicking him in return.

Not letting the crimson-eyed huntress gain an advantage, Kent quickly jumped up, vanishing once again, appearing beside her. It was quickly followed by an onslaught of attacks, a mix of both slashes and kicks, which Raven defended by parrying most of them, with a few landing.

Kent was already reaching the peak of his frustration, as he decided to focus more on attacking with his katana. With each hit, she felt the weight of the strikes getting heavier and heavier as the ground below them slowly caved in. Kent continued relentlessly as he could feel the adrenaline rushing throughout his body, not letting his mentor have a chance to counterattack.

Their blades clashed once again, letting both mentor and mentee share a glance at one another. With their swords at a stand-still both as they fight for control among the other, Raven then noticed the flickering of silver and blue in Kent's left eye with a determined look in his face.

The sight in front of her made a rare warm smile appear on her face, satisfied and proud of her mentee's growth. She closed her eyes as she stepped back, causing Kent to fumble forward with his momentum before getting smacked in the back with Raven's handle, crashing his whole body to the ground.

"Okay. That's enough for today, Kent." Raven said as she sheathed her weapon.

"What?! But I didn't even land a hit yet!" Kent replied as he slowly stood up, still recovering from Raven's attack.

"You can try again another time. It's getting pretty late, and I still have another errand."

"I'll definitely land that hit next time, auntie!" Kent said energetically while pointing at her face.

"I'm sure you will. We should head back now." Raven simply giggled at the boy's comments before patting his head.

After a short walk, the two finally returned to the camp and were welcomed back by the people. Kent had decided to go ahead of Raven, seeing as she was busy talking with a few tribe members.

Kent then walked back towards the big tent in the middle. Inside the tent revealed a young girl enjoying a warm coffee cup, soon noticing the former's presence as he entered.

"Welcome back, Kent." The young girl with light green hair said with a warm smile on her face. She was wearing a white sweater and black leggings. She also wore a few bracelets on her right arm and had dark green eyes.

"Hey." He waved at the girl while also returning a warm smile before sitting next to her. "You feeling better, Chloe?"

"Yeah. But the recent training sessions have been rough for me lately."

Chloe Spring, she had also been taken in by Raven when she found her in an abandoned village near Haven Academy. She ran away from the school as she felt scared and afraid of carrying a heavy burden that was given to her.

Unlike Kent, Chloe didn't want to be a huntress. She only wanted to live a normal life with a normal family. Instead, she was given the task of being the Spring Maiden.

Raven knew this, of course, with that being the main reason for her taking Chloe in. Despite running away from Haven, Raven had given her training once again, with the latter being stricter compared to how Raven treats Kent.

Trying to persevere the rigorous training, Kent soon entered the picture making her life more tolerable, knowing she had someone to talk normally with after her sessions with the strict tribe leader.

"It's alright. Auntie can be rough and mean sometimes, but she's actually nice and caring deep inside, you know?" Kent playfully spoke while rubbing her back to comfort her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Chloe replied as she finished her cup of coffee.

"Hey, Kent. I've been wondering, why do you call the tribe leader, auntie?" She asked with curiosity.

"Hmm… well, I don't really have a family anymore. My parents passed away, and I don't have any clue where my older sister is." Kent replied as he looked down and was visibly sad recalling the incident.

"I guess… I call her auntie because… Well, I guess I see her as my family now as well." looking back at Chloe with a small smile.

"She was clearly against it early on, but I guess she grew accustomed to it in the end."

"I see, I'm sorry for bringing up the past, Kent." The green-haired girl stated with slight regret of maybe hurting the brunette.

"It's fine, Chloe. I'm sure Mom and Dad are looking at me from above and watching over me." Kent replied with a smile on his face while looking at the ceiling.

Both Chloe and Kent then continued their wholesome conversation the whole evening, slightly making the former's troubles go away as she smiled more and more as their talk went on.

Raven soon joined in on their conversation, having brought food for the three to indulge in. Soon, the three turned in for the night after Kent had cleaned up their mess.

-=O=-

~A few months later.~

"Get up, Chloe!" Raven shouted at the green-headed girl who was on her fours gasping for air.

"You've been training for five years now! Why can't you harness your power?!" Raven continued.

The pair had an unsuccessful training session the whole afternoon. Chloe had been struggling to maintain control of her powers, which clearly made Raven unimpressed and frustrated at the young girl's stagnant growth.

"Chloe, you're a Maiden. As much as I hate to say it, you and I both know that you will be hunted for the rest of your life. With the state that you're in right now, you'll easily be killed." The black-haired stated with a serious tone in her voice.

"Then… just kill me now! I'm sick of it! All of it!" Chloe shouted as she was still on her fours with tears flowing down her face.

"I didn't want to be a maiden, Raven! I wanted to live a normal life! So, please… just end my suffering…" The green-haired girl pleaded as tears continued to flow down.

"Chloe…" Raven softly spoke. She knew it was wrong, but it had to be done. The consequences of having Chloe unprepared for the 'truth' of the world far outweigh the immoral act she was about to commit.

The black-haired woman then approached the crying Maiden, "I'm sorry, Chloe." pulling her into a hug.

"It's… alright… I wasn't prepared for this life that I was given. You're better off with this power than me." Chloe spoke, stuttering in-between her sentences, as her tears continued to pour down.

"Please… take care of Kent." managing to give a weak smile, as the latter gave a nod in reply.

As Raven unsheathed her sword, Chloe closed her eyes as she prepared for her death. She swiftly stabbed the green-haired Maiden wanting to make her end, quick and painless. With the blade now impaled in the latter's chest, she then fell forward lifeless on the ground right after the former retrieved her sword. Raven then felt the Maiden powers of Chloe, surging throughout her body.

"CHLOE!" a familiar voice shouted.

Unbeknownst to Raven, Kent had recently arrived to bring snacks for both her and Chloe. Unfortunately, Kent had just arrived at the sight of the former clearly impaling and killing his close friend. The young boy quickly rushed towards the former maiden's body.

"Chloe! No… no… not again…" he softly spoke as he held Chloe's body close. "Auntie… why? Why… did you kill her?"

"Kent… it isn't what it looks like," Raven spoke, unsure of how to explain what had just happened.

"I saw it, auntie… You killed her." The boy softly spoke with tears now falling off his face, slowly releasing his grip on Chloe, resting her head on the ground as he closed her eyes.

"It's… the same thing that happened back then."

Though Raven had been telling the truth, the brown-haired boy couldn't help but feel betrayed, again. The current situation had caused troubling memories to flashback in Kent's mind as tears started pouring from his eyes.

"Kent?" Raven called out to the grieving boy as she slowly approached him.

"Don't come near me!" the boy shouted as he stepped away from his mentor.

"I can't… trust anyone anymore." He muttered as he reached for his Katana.

"I… I'll kill you." He spoke with an edge on his voice, staring daggers at his mentor.

Raven could only sigh and feel upset that it had led to these circumstances. She then proceeded to ready her stance. "Then so be it, Kent."

Though Kent knew he'd lose to Raven if she went all out, he had no other choice and nothing left to lose. Without hesitation, Kent quickly activated his semblance, taking the offensive early on, vanishing towards the black-haired woman. He then attacked with an onslaught of slashes from all directions with the help of his semblance. Though Raven easily parried a few attacks, as his onslaught continued, she felt a few hits land on her as his speed increased steadily throughout his attacks.

Noticing her disadvantage, using her newly possessed powers, she shouted aloud as a protective field pushed the young brunette back, sliding across the grass. This didn't bother the determined blue-eyed boy as he again went straight for Raven. With the latter predicting the former's attack, she simply stepped to the side, avoiding the strike, forcefully punching the vulnerable boy's stomach, making him cough out saliva, as the punch launched him towards a tree breaking it in the process.

"Kent, please. Don't make this harder than it has to be, I can explain every-"

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear it!" The boy shouted as he recovered from the impact.

His body was now surging with more potent electricity, the same as that one night, as he felt a familiar pain in his left eye, which he tried to pay no attention to. With the boost of his hidden power, he roared aloud as sent out a shockwave towards Raven, pushing her away.

The clouds in the air then started to have an overcast, possibly by Kent's doing. With another roar, he summoned lightning from the overcast aimed right at Raven, which she narrowly avoided. Kent then again vanished towards Raven faster than ever before, all while summoning lightning, infusing it with his Katana attacking with a forceful downward slash.

Raven quickly acted, using her newly acquired Maiden powers again to clash with blue-silver eyed boy's weapon.

The clash caused a massive shockwave and big explosion, making their surroundings tremble from the sheer force of their powers clashing as a large smoke covered the battle.

As the smoke cleared, the scuffle had ended with Kent lying on the floor, unable to match Raven's new strength. She had overpowered the former as her Maiden powers proved too powerful even for the brunette's hidden power.

"Kent, I'm not stopping you from hating me. I just want you to listen to what I have to say, then you can decide what you want to do afterward."

"Fine…" the boy said, groaning in pain, slowly sitting up from where he was.

Raven soon explained what had happened with Chloe and her circumstance. She made sure to avoid the topic of her being a Maiden, making up another reason for what had happened to avoid Kent from being dragged into that dangerous world.

"So… she was suffering all this time." Kent spoke with a shaky voice as he looked down, upset that he had not noticed his friend's pain.

"I'm sorry for coming to conclusions. But… It's still hard for me to stay here knowing what happened, auntie."

"I understand, Kent. It's your decision." Raven said as she approached the boy sitting beside him.

"I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. You are my best student, after all." She said as she looked at Kent with a warm smile.

"Thanks, auntie." The boy replied, returning with his own smile.

Both of them spent the afternoon together, chatting as they stared at the sinking sun after they had found a place to make a burial for Chloe. With the moon rising, they started walking back to the camp.

During their conversation earlier, Raven had informed Kent that if he were to leave, it be best that he left with the tribe not knowing. Since leaving would be considered as betraying the tribe, it would leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth if he were to inform everyone.

Taking that into consideration, Kent had thought of a plan of him leaving at dawn while everyone is asleep while avoiding the guards that were on shift. With Raven agreeing with the brunette's plans, she helped the boy with his preparations for the rest of the night.

"So... this is it huh?" Kent spoke with a sad tone, his back turned on the black-haired woman as dawn had finally arrived.

"I believe so."

"Hey... thanks for everything." Turning back to face his Raven. "Take care of yourself, auntie."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around, kid?" Raven chuckled, slightly disheartened at the boy's decision. "Try not to die out there, Kent."

Kent - That name... it felt like it echoed through his head. His face in shock at the mention of his name by the latter, the first time she has mentioned it since she took him in.

The tent was filled with silence before it was broken by Kent's footsteps as he rushed towards Raven, tackling the black-haired woman as he embraced her. "I'll miss this..."

Raven was surprised by the brunette's actions but slowly gave in as she also embraced Kent.

"You know, you're seriously one weird kid." Raven mused as the two held one another before shortly releasing their embrace.

"You're weird too, auntie," Kent answered back with a smile as he eventually parted with the tribe leader. "See ya!"

With that, Kent was soon gone from Raven's field of vision as he dashed through the forest with his semblance. Now with him leaving the Branwen Tribe, a new journey awaits the young brunette as he continues his search for his older sister, Rayna - I'm coming, sis.

A/n: Damn, Kent had such a rough childhood. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Only one backstory chapter left for Kent before we progress with the story. I want Kent to have a solid backstory before continuing with the story. Thanks again for checking this story out! It really makes my day seeing people follow and favorite my work. So thank you really.

note: Just reminding y'all that the links for the sketches have been posted in my profile, with a preview of the incoming original characters for this story! Hope y'all like them. xoxo