Well, what now. His initial thoughts were that he was just going to die, but now that he thought about it this worked fine to a degree. If this guy stalled for a few minutes, someone decent could appear. At the very least, he should be able to keep everyone alive.
Kilian would watch as the guy did a few spins, his blade glowing a feint red.
"Take this! Spiral Slash!" He cried out, stopping his spin and unleashing his attack...only for it to go in the wrong direction. The energy slash would slam against the other pillar, cutting it down. Trying to stay composed, he seemed to have wanted to try again. The monster didn't give him a chance, a sludge hand being sent forward. It would condense and change shape, becoming something more akin to a wrecking ball. The Preserver would raise his blade to block, only for it to be too strong and be sent into the wall behind him.
This...seemed about right. If the monster was able to make it into the city in the first place, he had to have been on a level of a ranked Preserver. Someone like this didn't stand much of a chance on his own. It was frustrating. How in the hell did someone like this get such power, even if it wasn't much compared to other Preserver groups.
Red Spiral would cough what Kilian assumed was blood, his suit damaged from the blow. His visor was cracked slightly, and he struggled to get to his feet. A single hit and he was almost down for the count, that much was clear. Still, they had to have faith, right-
"F-Fuck..."
His tone shifted probably from him getting the wind knocked out of him. Groaning, he'd try and get back in his "iconic" pose.
"I won't go down that-"
There was a scream, only to be silenced as the monster crunched down on another civilian. Suddenly, his body would condense more and look more humanoid. Was that what was happening?
"Ngh-ah..." He started forming more of an actual face. "A f-few moarge...." His words were slurred, making it hard to make out what he was fully saying. The Preserver stepped back at the sight, though he seemed to have come to his senses. "
Fiend! Spiral Blast!" He called out, his sword releasing a flurry of spinning blasts that were sent in its direction. The monster let out a gurgle as tendrils escaped from its front, knocking against the blasts and sending them away. They would cause explosions throughout the museum, more cracks and falling debris running along its walls. Again, the two would clash.
It was pretty one sided. Kilian would have figured that he was stalling for someone to save them, but if he kept this up, he'd end up bringing the building down. He'd watch as they battled throughout the hall, and he didn't know what to do.
At the very least, the situation gave him the luxury of not acting without thinking.
There was that hole in the wall the monster made when it entered. It was across from them, and it was a father run than what he had to do to get over to where he was now. Even then, with the energy blasts and sludge being slung around, he'd be done for if he got hit.
Groaning under his breath, he'd look around at the bodies on the floor. Some weren't dead, just pinned to a surface due to the monster's sludge. It was probably going to eat them too, if he made it past the Preserver.
Again, the building would shake. Looking back at the fight, he'd see the Preserver being rag dolled. A tendril wrapped around his leg, he was slammed into a wall, then flung against the opposite one.
Before he was sent through the roof, that red energy would slash at the tendril to let him freefall. Hitting the ground with a hard thud, the man would cough as he got to a knee. His visor was shattered now, showing how utterly bruised and bloody his face really was. He didn't look that much older than Kilian, from what he could make out. This guy was specifically chosen by an Entity. With how this was going, it was hard to believe.
"D-Damn it..." He let out a frustrated curse, standing up with the help of his blade.
The monster went to grab at another civilian to feast on, and what Kilian saw left a horrified expression on his face.
"No, you don't!" Maybe the Preserver came to the same conclusion, that eating humans made the monster stronger. But instead of cutting the tendril, the blast would hit the terrified staff member. She'd explode on impact, her remains splattering against the monster.
That...didn't seem like an accident.
The man would charge again, the reward being more of an incentive than anything else.
If the monster grew stronger from eating, then his solution was turning the person to a paste before they could eat them. The battle would rage on, and the two would start moving closer his way. With the way it seemed to fight, a single swing of its tendril trailed across most of the floor. Even though the Preserver dodged, it still left those pinned to the ground stuck.
Maybe he peeked too long, but he eventually heard a voice over the screams. Luckily, it wasn't from the monster. Instead, it was from someone pinned to the ground a few feet away. His foot was covered in the tar, and they kept struggling to get out. He was familiar to Kilian. He wasn't a classmate, though he recognized the voice.
"H-Hey! Hey!"
Kilian couldn't remember his name.
"Terrance?"
"Wha-no! Tom. But please, man. I'm not about to die here, help pull me out of this!" He was speaking in more of a screaming whisper, not trying to catch the attention of the two clashing.
This was a lot harder of a choice to make. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but actively putting yourself in harm's way to save someone...it was a lot easier when instinct took over, like what he did before when he dived.
They were getting closer too...
He thought back to years ago. The fire, the roar of a horror beyond human means. It was like he was there again, staring at the back of someone who really was willing to rush into danger. Before, he extended out a foot as if to follow, only to step back.
Now?
He didn't take a step forward at all, rushing backwards and turning around into the exhibit.
"Wha-no! Hey!" It made sense; it was the right reaction of someone who practically left you to die.
Kilian would go through the small exhibit, seeing the boxes stacked. Probably full of other things they were going to display or hang up. He didn't have anything to open them. It wasn't like he was strong enough to shatter wooden crates like in a game.
Though, something did catch his eye instead. There seemed to be something already on display, a stone necklace of sorts in a glass container.
"There we go..." He muttered, stepping toward it. It was then that he remembered he wasn't alone. The classmate he saved was still panicking in the corner. Though, the initial shock seemed to have passed.
She was aware enough to where she looked at him with a confused look. It looked like she lost her glasses when they suddenly dived, causing her to squint slightly at him as he stood in front of the display.
He clenched his hands together and put his elbow against the glass.
"W-What are you doing!?" She said in a panicked whisper, hushed in fear of being noticed.
Kilian would take a breath.
"Proving something to myself...I think." Even he didn't know what motivated him to do this. A genuine desire to help? His ego not letting him remain as someone he didn't want to be? Maybe he thought that he was proving someone wrong, that he did have what it takes.
Regardless, he reeled his elbow back and slammed it against the glass. This was his moment!
...It barely cracked.
He reeled in pain, clenching his elbow.
"A-Ah...shit! He cursed, stepping in circles as he tried not to show how bad this hurt. Now that he thought about it, this was a museum. They wouldn't just use some fragile glass, would they? Still...
SLAM!
"F-Fuck!"
SLAM!
"Damn it..."
SLAM!
"I-I think I broke something...." He kept going, the cracks getting more prominent. Though, it felt like he was the one shattering as pain surged through his body. He couldn't turn around to look at the expression this girl must have had, seeing him fail to break this thing time and time again.
Right after he looked sort of cool, in his opinion.
Taking a breath, one more slam of the elbow would finally do it. Well, it didn't shatter into pieces like he thought it would. But the side he broke left enough to where he could use his fingers to break a chunk off. Maybe he gripped it too hard or moved too fast when he tried to pull the shard out.
He cut himself against it, droplets of blood landing on the artifact. There wasn't anything describing what it was, he figured they hadn't gotten around to it. Taking a breath, he'd start walking back out. It had taken a bit more than a minute to break, and things were looking bad.
Their supposed savior's armor was torn in places, his sword cracked. The hall was practically in ruins, blood covering the floor from civilians being caught up in their battle. Luckily, the classmate was still alive.
Kilian would do a double take at the battle a few feet away.
He took a moment to psyche himself up, before finally taking that step. Dashing out and sliding to his knees, he'd cautiously kept an eye out to avoid any stray shots.
"Thank god, man." Tom would let out a strained sigh, seeing some form of hope in the situation. Kilian wouldn't touch the weird tar, instead using the shard of glass to try to cut the student's leg free. Interesting enough, it looked like this stuff hardened slightly? It was soft enough to where he could dig the shard in, but not hard enough to where it would just get stuck.
It would take a bit, but he thought he could do it. As time went on, he even grew a bit more confident. He was right! He did have what it takes.
As long as things continued like this, things could work out for him.
Maybe it was the universe humbling him, or fate being cruel. But the sound he heard made him freeze in his tracks. Rather, it was the lack of sound that terrified him.
Glancing to the side, he'd see the Preserver pinned to the wall, pierced in the chest by a hardened tendril.
That fear did turn into relief, figures standing in front of the collapsed wall the monster came through. Blue and yellow men in the same sort of uniforms as the red one. Kilian couldn't see their faces, but their body language spoke for itself.
They were frozen at the sight of their leader gone limp, a horrific monster turning.
"Fuck this..."
Those words might have been more terrifying than the monster killing the Preserver. The Blue one would take a few steps back, and the Yellow would follow.
They ran.
They ran, and a sense of dread washed over who was left alive.
Gritting his teeth, Kilian started cutting with greater force, not being as careful. Damn it if the guy not cut, didn't matter if they were both eaten.
He was panicking, what was going to happen now? Where in the hell were any of the decent Preservers?
If he stayed, he was dead.
His frantic efforts to cut his peer came to a stop, his bloodied fingers letting go of the shard. The monster would turn, and it seemed someone else wasn't stuck in sludge as they tried to run for their lives.
Kilian did the same, rising to his feet and taking a few steps to dash. There was no thinking, instinct taking over. The monster would send a tendril at the other civilian trying to run, swinging it in an arc.
Letting out a roar, he'd slam the guy against one of the pillars. That seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, the building shaking with an unforgiving force as walls started to crumble.
That's what led to where things were currently.
Kilian, turning to see said pillar falling over. People who were supposed to be his protectors running away, and everyone screaming for their lives.
He couldn't even blink before his own screams were silenced.