Disclaimer: I do not own Bandai Namco's character in the god arc world. I do however own original characters.
Resolve
The upcoming mission would be the first time they'd go into the field without Julius. While this made sense as he was busy in a meeting with one of Blood's benefactors (a portly general that Damien wanted to punch in the face the second he saw him) what did not make sense was the designation of power in his stead.
As it turned out, the really good looking girl that he saw not too long ago was the vice captain of the blood unit Ciel Alencon. From their subsequent meetings, he gauged that the girl was a very by the books person which matched Julius' style. She was also well versed in combat procedures and possessed a strong knowledge on aragami hunting techniques.
So it made no sense in his mind to be assigned the role of leader in the mission against an aragami known as a Kongou but was now more commonly called as a monkey due to the resemblance. When he asked about why it had that nickname to Nana, she casually replied "It's a trend that started out in Fenrir's far east branch division".
"Whoa", said Damien in surprise "The far east branch. I heard that place is full of legends".
"Meh not sure myself", said Nana wiping the dust off her hammer which had not seen much action since their first mission together.
Damien remembered his training days and the stories he heard about the far east. It was the front line of the aragami invasion so only the best of the best were assigned there. He'd often day dream about meeting his heroes and how he'd react when he got to see the Cradle Unit in person.
Shaking his head a little, Damien met up with Ciel and Romeo and along with Nana and himself, they headed out to the mission area to meet the monkey.
"Alright we're finishing this mission off quick", said Damien on their way to the location "That said I want everyone to go on the offensive from the very start. Ciel, I heard you scored in the ninetieth percentile on the shooting mission so I want you to alternate roles between close and long range attack."
"The aragami we're facing is pretty standard but that doesn't mean we can take things easy", he continued "Focus on the mission and we all get to go home safely".
They met the monkey in due time and the team started with Ciel firing the first shot. The monkey tried to beat its chest a little but Romeo's attack stopped that.
"Romeo circle round and aim for the cannons", called Damien and the teenager nodded. He dashed to the side then struck the cannon and the aragami staggered back. Damien came in immediately and landed a few cuts on its underside.
The aragami tensed about to attack with a right fist but it's arm was nearly blown back by Nana. The otherwise petite and dainty looking girl, displayed incredible strength when she hit her hammer against the aragami's fist and sent it reeling back.
'Whoa', thought Damien but now was not the time. Ciel fired a bullet that caused paralysis which was what he needed. Damien ran forward and shoved his sword into the aragmi's face, breaking the bonds there and weakening it greatly.
The aragami could see that it was terribly outmatched in this situation so it raised its fists up and fell to the ground creating a shockwave. This momentary lapse caused everyone around it to lose their footing which the aragami immediately capitalized on by making a break for it.
"Oh not a damn chance", hissed Damien standing up and pursuing it. He looked ahead of the aragami and figured out what it was aiming to do.
"Ciel, Romeo; the building in front of us, aim for the third floor", he called out. The two he spoke to exchanged questioning looks but nodded in agreement. They both fired just as the aragami leapt up at exactly the right time to take the shot.
While that happened, Damien ran to the building then ran up it before kicking against the wall so that he positioned himself directly over the falling aragami.
"From me to you", he said with a smirk then fired a barrage of bullets into the aragami's chest before switching to his sword and ramming it through the aragami's head, ending it once and for all.
"Holy cow that was amazing", cried out Romeo.
"Yes", added Ciel "I am particularly interested in how you were able to predict the aragami's movements and counter it".
"Ah well that was because I did a little research", said the boy walking away from his fallen prey with a smile on his face "Now a days aragami are known to run away if the situation gets tough so that they can recover their injuries and come back for round two".
"But that aside", he said with a desire to address something of importance "Damn Nana, that was totally awesome how you hit the monkey with your hammer".
"How were you able to push it back?"
"It's all thanks to me super awesome oden sandwiches", said Nana cheerily "I told you they're amazing".
"At any rate", added Ciel "We should get going soon, it's going to start raining".
She pointed to the skies behind them and the team turned around to see the red clouds forming in the sky. Not wanting to risk it, Damien gestured for the others to find a shelter while they waited for the helicopter to return.
As he saw the ominous clouds forming in the sky, he thought back to the first time he heard the announcement while he was training.
'Red rain', a somewhat obvious name given to the red clouds that would pour crimson coloured water upon the ground, a weather phenomenon that only formed in the past 3 years and had unfortunately led to the death of at least ten thousand lives.
The rain apparently was filled with oracle cells that induced a radical and terrible mutation should it come into contact with human skin. It would cause the humans body to mutate overtime turning them into aragami. A terrible disease made worse by the fact that there was no cure or treatment available despite the efforts of the best doctors in the world.
And of course the caveat for such a terrible change to take place was simple. One drop, all it took was a single drop of red rain to come into contact with human skin and it was over. Thanks to that, whenever anyone saw red coloured clouds forming in the skies, a warning is immediately issued in small settlements to have all inhabitants head inside their houses and stay there until the rain had completely subsided.
Thankfully, the team got inside well before the rain started to fall. Once safely inside, Damien made it a point to give his report of the mission to Julius. Luckily for him, that fat general was not around but he was instead speaking to a red haired curvaceous woman. She noticed his arrival and said her goodbye to Julius, allowing Damien to give his report.
"Excellent work Damien", said Julius with a smile "Guess this means I can rely on you more when I have other missions or work to take care of".
"Wait what?" asked Damien looking confused "You want me to do…. More?"
"Yes, you have shown good leadership skills and have shown a marked change in how you carry yourself in the field", he explained.
"But what about Ciel? She is way ahead of me in terms of experience".
"Yes but she's stated many times that she's fine in the role as vice captain. You can co-ordinate with her when it comes to upcoming missions however I'll be relying on you to lead the missions when I'm not available".
"Yes", said Damien confidently with a salute "I shall do my best".
"Good because we have a new recruit coming in and a second god eater on loan to us from the far east", said Julius sitting down and pouring two cups of tea. He held on and offered the second one to Damien.
"The far east?" repeated Damien trying to hide his excitement
"He'll be coming here and seeing how we run operations and will go with blood on a few missions as well", he explained "The new recruit is another story".
"He's been known to be a handful but is very skilled with a god arc and according to a recent check-up he also possesses the blood ability like we do".
The two of them continued talking about the new recruits. Throughout the conversation, Damien could tell that Julius had a lot on his plate. Handling the blood unit as well as everything else that entailed with being a leader must have taken quite a toll on him which was why by the time they finished, Damien understood that he shouldn't shirk from his duties.