[Author: Mikan Citrus]

Story Arc 1: The Hero’s Journey

 

   Violet and I arrived at the AMT police headquarters. In an intense siege against the demons, the precinct had a heavy paramilitary presence all throughout the targeted zone. Numerous police officers blocked off the roads leading up to the enemy-occupied police station with metal barriers and patrol cruisers acting as blockades, the roads and intersections being effectively blocked off with a perimeter setup. There were helicopters hovering around the territory, and more law enforcement units were on the way as their sirens blared throughout the metropolitan district.

 

   Violet gently swooped down to ground level and landed on the sidewalk. I hopped out of her arms and stood back on my own two feet as I looked around the scene of the urban siege. The trip on the way here was nice, but now it was time for my first mission on the job.

 

   Those that were allowed further within the perimeter were a group of what I assumed to be government agents. There were men and women clad in formal suits and long coats, while others were in more obvious tactical gear that encompassed equipment such as armor plate carriers, load bearing vests and all black clothing or camouflage patterns. They were armed with various modern weaponry as well, ranging from pistols and SMGs held in their holsters, to rifles and shotguns hanging down from long gun slings.

  

   “Let’s go meet up with the others now,” Violet said as she glanced at the group of ARIA operatives and police officers, all rounded up at the armored convoy of vehicles.

 

   “Yeah, like you said, we shouldn’t keep them waiting,” I said as I followed alongside Violet, the two of us moving at a brisk pace. All of these people were new and unfamiliar to me; I wasn’t exactly the best at meeting so many strangers at once, but I wanted to try and ease myself in.

 

   “I see that a lot of us are here, even Shiki herself in the flesh,” Violet said as she looked around. I tried keeping up with the vision of my senior officer, but I still didn’t know who was exactly who here.

 

   “Hello Violet, this must be your new recruit.” A woman with long and straight black hair stepped out from the group and greeted us. The hairstyle itself was of a hime cut, a traditional look of noblewomen from the cultures of Arisaka and Japan.

 

   “Yes, this is the man himself.” Violet stood next to me and patted my back as we faced the woman.

 

   “I’m Shiki Tachibana, the Director of ARIA. Well, there are other individuals, but I am considered to be one of the main heads within the Agency. Now who might you be, young man?” The woman extended her hand toward me. If I had to describe her, the first thing I noticed was the absolute power that she exerted from her very soul. I had a knack for evaluating how strong someone was, and the aura surrounding her was no joke. The strength she possessed was off the charts; I haven’t even seen her ability in play yet, but I could feel that she was hiding something devious. She definitely gave off the impression of being ARIA’s Director alright, her existence alone would be able to scare off most bad guys with any shred of common sense.

 

   “I’m Hero Dimalanta, Violet’s new recruit.” I accepted the gesture and shook Shiki’s hand. As for other aspects of her appearance, her eyes were of a natural deep red, similar to the color of fresh blood or neon lights in the city. In fact, her eyes could be even compared to the symbolic red sun on the Arisakan flag itself. She was quite tall for a woman too; her height reminded me of my Aunt Lucy, who herself was six feet and four inches tall, or 194 centimeters for the incompetent people that didn’t land on the moon first. Another factor of distinction was her clothing: in essence she was wearing a suit, but her jacket was much longer and more akin to a coat, as if to highlight her impressive presence as a strong leader.

 

   “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mister Hero, I look forward to working with you. I can even see that Violet has already taken a deep liking to you, which is more than good enough for me.” Shiki displayed a subdued smile after finishing our handshake. 

 

   “Me too, I might be new to the job, but just like my promise with Violet, I can prove I’ll do well.” I looked directly into Shiki’s red eyes as I assured her of my commitment.

 

   Good to know, it’s always a pleasure to see the younger generations having such lively vigor.” Shiki nodded and glanced at the purple-haired angel woman. “You’ve caught a great find Violet.” I had to say though, Shiki referring to us as part of the new generation was a dead giveaway to how old she actually was, but it was impressive that she had maintained her youth in both mind and body despite the erosion of time. 

 

   “Oh, thanks Shiki. Yeah he really is great!” Violet showed a bright smile as she inched closer toward me. After introductions with the boss here were finished, it seemed to be time to deal with the mission itself now. 

 

   “Yes, I can very much tell that he has great potential, the type that will shake the universe’s entire foundation. Also, Mister Hero? You have lipstick on your face,” Shiki said, then let out a giggle as she grabbed a pocket mirror from her coat and handed it to me. Within the reflection of the compact glass I saw my own face, which had a subtle but noticeable light pink mark of lipstick upon my cheek. 

 

“Ahaha! Don’t mind that Hero. Here, I’ll wipe it off.” Violet took out a handkerchief from her jacket’s pocket and cleaned off the pink mark on my cheek. 

 

   “You two are so lovely together, but just make sure both of you are ready for when the operation begins.” The ARIA Director displayed an amused smile, then walked back toward the group of government officials that she was with. 

 

   “Sorry about that.” Violet smiled at me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

 

   “It’s okay!” I raised both of my hands as a reassuring gesture to Violet. “Let’s just focus on the job for now, we can do more personal stuff later.” I took a glance at Shiki; at least she appeared supportive of the relationship between Violet and I, one that she knew would blossom into something even deeper very soon. 

 

   “Y-yeah, let’s do that.” Violet cleared her throat and walked up to where Shiki stood, with me as her junior officer following right alongside her. 

 

   “So what’s the game plan for this? This is my first time being involved in such a major operation,” I said as my eyes shifted around the group of government agents. While not directed toward me in particular, it seemed that my question was answered by someone else I was not familiar with. 

 

   “Your people are running this operation, right?” Another woman showed up, although she didn’t appear to be from ARIA, but rather was with a federal law enforcement agency. The most obvious indicator of this was from the silver colored badge in the shape of a shield attached to her coat. “Arisaka Heavy Response Team,” it read. This woman was of the world renowned LEO agency known as HEART; it was the gold standard for tactical police units and special investigators alike—a mix of SWAT and professional detective work all in one. She had silver hair that fell down all the way to her back, and eyes like the precious metal of the same name, but her irises had a shade of icy blue to them. However the most distinct features she had were a pair of wolf ears, and a large canine tail that was also silver. She was a demi-human of the okami variety, a literal K-9 officer of the law.

 

   “Yes Emilia, I came here in person for good reason—this attack on Arisakan soil is terrorism after all.” Shiki took a deep breath and faced toward the besieged Amaterasu Police headquarters. “I haven’t seen an organized attack like this in the capital since those Imperial Japanese remnants over 30 years ago. But even then, there weren’t this many fatalities in just a single day.” The black-haired woman placed her hands in the pockets of her coat as she analyzed the area. “They’re not asking for anything so far? Your LEO personnel don’t have any negotiators tapped into the headquarters?” 

 

   “That’s a negative, and judging from what the local police got, a group of demon insurgents literally just barged in and started raising hell. Apparently they wanted to steal some valuable intel and break out a few suspects in lockup—get some goods from the armory too while they were at it. According to the reports we’re dealing with at least over a hundred of them, what a way to support their little cause huh? But in the end we still got them hiding like a bunch of little rats.” The woman named Emilia let out a half-hearted chuckle. 

 

   Looking more directly at the premises, the grounds were tainted with a gruesome sight. Recently eaten corpses of civilians were littered across the premises, collapsed down next to them were the gunned down bodies of deceased police officers. Their blood pooled up on the roads and sidewalks with chunks of flesh carelessly scattered around, the formerly green grass along these pathways now stained with the grotesque red. It was sad to see: normal people getting slaughtered by such monstrous creatures for their appetite and bloodlust, and good cops that were only trying to defend their homeland from the demonic menace. There was just so much red scattered around, and I could even feel my chest tightening and stomach twisting from this gory scene. I’ve seen my fair share of violence, but I think I was already getting sick from the mere sight of all this carnage. 

 

   “I saw who was leading their little operation, that young demon girl Calla. From what I recall she is the cousin of Casmir Nomura,” Shiki said as she walked toward a black SUV and opened its trunk, revealing a small armory of various weapons, consisting of firearms that regular civilians from overseas countries could only ever dream of getting. But there was one thing I noticed: Calla? That name sounded awfully familiar, but could it really be that same person? At least I wouldn’t think so, or rather I wouldn't hope so.

 

   “Hero and I can deal with them!” Bringing me with her, Violet stepped up with a smile on her face as she peeked at the assortment of armaments. “Right Hero? I think we can get this done in a flash.”

 

   “Then I place the order of executive action on the target upon you Violet, and your trusty personal subordinate Hero,” Shiki said as she looked at the two of us, then grabbed her own firearm and ammunition from the vehicle’s storage.   

 

   “We’ve confirmed that hostages aren’t an issue, they weren’t holding any of them in the first place,” Emilia said as gripped onto her SPAS-12 shotgun; the 12 gauge firearm with a three inch magnum chamber had a fixed stock, red dot reflex sight for its optic, and of course the iconic heat shield for this particular model of the retro shotgun. 

 

   “No joke, those disgusting freaks are feasting on every human in sight. Such diabolical creatures never cease to show their true nature of evil,” Shiki said as she inspected her firearm. She had a Model 29 for her choice of weaponry; it was an old-school six-shooter chambered in the iconic .44 Magnum cartridge, the classic image of a large frame revolver common throughout the 20th century. 

 

   Personally for me, I was still carrying my reliable Ikazuchi 1911, but now that the realization hit me, where was my anti-material Mikazuki rifle? 

 

   “Don’t worry Hero, I was keeping that big custom rifle of yours safe.” Violet smirked as a divine sphere of light appeared midair in front of her. My AR style .50 BMG rifle then floated up above the esoteric beam of light with a holy aura surrounding it, appearing as if it was a legendary weapon exalted by a literal angel—which it was from Violet herself. 

 

   “You have your own pocket dimension? Well that sure is one heavenly presentation.” I took the DA-50 Mikazuki from its podium of divine light with grace in my movements, as if it were some type of religious or spiritual Arisakan Shinto ritual performed by the angel girl and I. As a gesture of respect and honor, I bowed my head toward Violet. “I thank you for the blessing, and wish for my guardian angel to continue protecting me.” 

 

   “Why thank you as well Hero, it’s only natural for a guardian angel girl like me to look after her precious human boy.” Violet let out a giggle, then patted me on the head as I had bowed for her. I raised my head and looked back at the holy woman with a mutual feeling of delight. “And of course, it’s just mere common sense to make sure my junior officer is well-armed.” She playfully nudged her elbow against my stomach. 

 

   Violet then summoned another firearm from the sphere of light, one that clearly belonged to my angelic superior officer. The exotic rifle she held in her hands was a Tsubasa Arms D416 “Daitenshi” model, or A416 “Archangel” in English. The Tsubasa 416 is an Arisakan made AR-15 that took inspiration from the American P416—both of which were superior to the snobbish German counterpart. The gun was chambered in 6.5x51mm ARIS, a domestic rifle cartridge that was standard across all of Arisaka, and its base power being a bridge between the American .223 and .308 calibers. It was customized with the usual modern tactical furniture: a 20 inch cold hammer forged barrel, 15 inch quad rail handguard, holographic sight, retractable stock, vertical foregrip, flash hider, and all of that other cool gun stuff. However, what stood out the most from the entire rifle was its long and wide magazine. It must’ve been a quad stack; this type of design allowed for a firearm’s magazine to hold a significantly higher amount of ammunition without taking up much more volume than a traditional double stack. Although upon further observation, with how long these particular magazines were that Violet was using in her kit, they all had to have a capacity of at least 100 rounds in each one. At that level of firepower, it basically acted as her own personal machine gun. It was the type of idea that made dirty communists, socialists, and other tyrannical scumbags seethe at the mere knowledge of it being owned in civilian hands, and I absolutely loved it! The Republic of Arisaka had a populace filled with lovers of liberty, which was part of the reason why it had a great nation to the west with similar values as such a close ally: the United States of America. 

 

   “I’ll tell my tactical units we’re making our move now, time to get this show on the road!” Emilia clapped her hands then walked off to order her federal LEO agents around; those HEART operators under her command were the ones clad in full-on tactical gear. 

 

   “How are you feeling Hero? You’re not too nervous about your first ARIA mission I hope?” Violet asked as she stepped in front of me. 

 

   “Is it too late to say that I kind of am?” I said with a shaky voice, and it was true. No matter how determined I was, I could still feel that sense of anxiety and worry in me. My breath was heavier than just a few minutes ago, my heart pulsing faster as I felt my chest having a slight burn. Maybe it was just the adrenaline kicking in, but I had a feeling of nervousness too; it was to the point where my body physically shook from it. And I think from deep down, that sense of worry was also because there was the possibility this target could have been her from my past, that same disgusting tramp. 

 

   “It’s okay, it’s completely normal to feel anxious.” Violet met my gaze with direct eye contact and grabbed my hands, interlocking our fingers together as she looked at me. “But you must overcome them. Accept that you have deep-seated fears and worries, then tackle them head-on.” She smiled, her bashful cheeks tinted with a colorful red hue as she leaned closer and whispered in my ear, her angelic voice sounding smooth and sensual. “And if you do a good job for me, I’ll give a special reward just for you Hero. It’s something amazing that I want to show only to you.” Violet slightly moved her head back and showed off her huge smug grin, then bit her lower lip with a sense of playfulness.

 

   “A special reward just for me...?” I asked with a curious voice as blood rushed to the cheeks of my flustered face.

 

   “Yup, just for you Hero. It’s a promise, and I’ll make sure it’ll be wonderful!”

   ‘Violet... At this point my heart is going to explode with this girl!’