Third-person POV
The war continued on. Karolo and his combined team fended off and parried the Deathcallers and their guards and summoned monsters and zombies. As a result, many in the OD took noticed. Nyan Myan, a 22-year-old OD commander with a pair of red shades (as a commander), black hair, and green eyes, was shocked that Dan and Vanda, who were his masters in the OD's hierarchy, are now in Steein's side with a teenager who wore the attire of the OD soldiers and upon closer inspection, he noticed that the attire had the OD sigil torn off.
"What the hell…?" he roared. "That's our gear!"
Meanwhile, Riccardo Taşçı, a 20-year-old OD soldier with blue hair and black eyes, was shocked to see that. In his OD soldier lineup, his was different from Karolo's scavenged one: a durable, form-fitting tactical combat uniform in deep charcoal black and crimson red. The durable material is a woven ballistic nylon blend designed to resist unexpected tears and provide minimal infrared signature, perfect for night operations and urban camouflage. This attire features light but durable articulated plating around the shoulders and joints for unhindered and tactical movement. Prominently displayed on the chest plate is the stylized sigil of the OD, functioning both as an identity and a scare to the enemies. The headwear consisted of a hardened tactical patrol cap in black and red, and it had an integrated modular active communications headset featuring protection for the ears and a noise-cancelling microphone boom for communication.
The facial mask is consisted of a lightweight, breathable black balaclava covers the lower face and neck, providing operative anonymity and providing a nice degree of environmental particle filtering and protection from smoke and dust. The hand and arm wear consisted of a pair of black operational gloves with grey reinforced knuckle guards and textured palms, good for superior weapon grip and tactile sensitivity. These gloves feature a custom data-port on the left wrist to monitor the user's vital signs and other connected equipment. The footwear was a pair of dark grey and black, heavy-duty, waterproof leather and ballistic mesh made-for-combat boots with advanced lug soles. This provided silent treading and strong ankle support for rugged terrains. The armor inserts consisted of black reinforced, impact-resistant composite knee and elbow pads that were integrated into the suit's fabric at the joint stress points.
A complex, MOLLE-compatible (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) chest rig and a dark grey and dark brown padded duty belt secured his necessary equipment of a pistol and a set of smoke canisters with the logo of the OD. His gun was an AK-47.
In desperate, Riccardo threw a smoke canister at a Steein gunner, only for Dan to shoot his leg in response. Riccardo shrieked in pain before taking cover in a raided café, the smell of spilled coffee and metal lingered the wrecked interior.
It is not only he and Nyan who were shocked at the combined teamwork of Karolo and his combined team. Nobutoshi Tüfekçi, a 24-year-old OD heavy gunner with green hair and blue eyes, was shocked to see that resistance. His OD guard-ranked attire was more deadly and tactical: the entire attire provides almost protection while maintaining scary and visual intimidation. The tactical hood and cap consisted of a deep black and red hood, echoing a medieval-style scary monk. Crucially, the brim is reinforced with a semi-rigid black and red 'X' pattern, providing significant cranial impact protection and a scary, stern, faceless profile. The full-face ballistic mask beneath the hood is a sleek, smooth, black, full-face mask made of iron and was painted with a white skull, providing both ballistic protection to the face and eyes (via a single, narrow visor slit) and absolute intimidation to the foes.
The main body of the attire uses heavy, layered plating with OD's distinct color scheme of red and black. Over a charcoal-black combat uniform, the operative wears extensive segmented plate armor on the torso, painted a main black and red stripes. It is not flexible weave; it is rigid, articulating plating designed to stop the heavy-caliber rounds from hitting the wearer. Integrated over the black and red cuirass is a modern black load-bearing vest (LBV). This vest features a central chest plate adorned with sigil of the OD. The black vest features four large, prominent, black and dark grey utility pouches on the chest. These are optimized for storing smoke canisters, small magical bombs, and grenades. Both shoulders are capped with robust, black pauldrons. These provide additional ballistic protection for the joints and act as anchoring points for the heavy weapon system tethers of the wearer.
The lower body of the attire combines mobility with specialized protection for a support-class and assault role. The operative wears black-plated cuisses (thigh armor) over white trousers. The knees are protected by integrated rigid black knee pads. Directly below the black belt is the most unique piece of this specific armor class: a wide, rigid, black and grey armored panel that hangs like a tactical tabard. This provides crucial groin and femoral artery protection while simultaneously mimicking a medieval-fantasy surcoat, reinforcing the operative's crusader-style identity. The boots are fully armored black and dark green greaves (shin protection) and sabatons (foot protection), designed for stomping through dense debris and maintaining a stable firing platform for the heavy weapon (in Nobutoshi's case, is a minigun).
Of course, the heavy attire is not complete without its core tactical component, transforming the deadly-looking operative into a mobile fire platform. The operative wears a robust tactical backpack in black, grey, and red. The true significance of this attire is the massive, flexible metal ammunition chute (an ammo-belt "cobra") that feeds directly from the backpack's high-capacity magazine (unlimited thanks to Arme), over the heavy operative's right shoulder, and into the primary weapon. This is the heart of the "Heavy Suppression and Assault" role (in the OD's rank of soldiers, it called the Lead Rainer), allowing for almost continuous fire and assault with bullets.
Meanwhile, as Darkhtan's battle was still ongoing, two figures from Steein's Lightness Church arrived with a crusade team of 100 Holy Knights, who wielded both blades and guns. Steein's assigned generals, including Berekhyah, revealed the info of Karolo's involvement in the battle against the OD and the three rogue members of the occult group. The two saints of the church, Hiroto Iskra (from Stea-Kaijō) and Lakshay Rousseau (from the river delta-located Personnelle, Steein), were surprised yet took this as an opportunity for alliance. These two are among the saints that can send the Four Horsemen (all 4 giant horses in 4 different colors of fire) back to the Realm of Fire.