Loading User Commands:
[X] Try to distract the guardian with your weapon.
[X] Push Sakuya out of the way.

---

"Get away from her!" cries Grey as he draws his weapon.

Against this monstrosity, the gun looks pitifully small in his hand. The Mauser C96 is an early semi-automatic pistol, and while effective against infantry, he seriously doubts its effectiveness against the guardian. The clockwork spider might be better compared to tank, in this case, and small arms don't do much against tanks. Unfortunately, he doesn't have anything else with him, so he doesn't have much choice.

Suddenly, Grey remembers the violin in his room. For some reason, he felt like he should have brought it earlier. He doesn't understand why he recalls it now; it's not like he can play something to soothe this obviously savage beast.

The guardian turns its head slightly toward the newcomer. It pauses before silently observing Grey, perhaps in order to size him up. After a few seconds, the creature releases steam from its joints, as if relaxing itself. The spider clicks its mandibles lazily as a strange mechanical device pops out from its mouth.

"Threat... level... minor..." it says with a rasping, mechanical voice.

"You don't belong in this world!" cries Grey as he aims the pistol at the beast's head. "Die, monster!"

In a few seconds, he manages to empty his weapon at the abomination. Only a few shots hit the head directly; most of them hit the larger body or miss completely. He continues pressing the trigger, not realizing that it has no bullets left. Unfortunately, the bullets just bump harmlessly off the creature's head and body. The creature clicks its mandibles excitedly, as if amused by his futile attack.

"What are you doing?" says Sakuya weakly as she manages to stand herself up against the wall. Without warning, she throws a knife at Grey, narrowly missing his head.

"Just get out of here, you damn idiot!" she cries out, in desperation.

Escape from this place alone? For some reason, just the thought of that cowardly option causes Grey to wince. It was his fault that they were in this situation. He insisted that there was something they needed to find in this cursed place, even if it was dangerous. And even if Sakuya's powers don't work here, even if she had no reason to believe him, she had trusted him completely.

The guardian turns its head back toward Sakuya. It bends its legs as it prepares to finish her off. With her injuries, there is no way she can survive this attack.

Sakuya trusted him, and now she was going to die. Was he going to just stand and watch? Was he going to run away without looking back? Was there anything else he could do? Anything at all?

Grey smiles, despite himself. Right then and there, he really wished he could do a diving tackle to get Sakuya and himself safely out of harm's way. Using his sudden and unexplainable martial ability, he would save the day, maybe even kick the guardian's head in just for laughs. He would walk out of the tower, shirt torn and battle-damaged, carrying Sakuya in his arms, and just as he steps out, doves would scatter all around them.

Unfortunately, he knows that he was far from athletic, and such a feat is reserved for kickass movies. Therefore, what he is about to do could only be described as completely stupid.

Grey holsters his weapon as he breaks out into a run toward Sakuya. Her eyes widen as she realizes what he is doing. She opens her mouth, but before she can argue, he manages to shove her away from the wall. A large shadow suddenly falls upon him.

He manages to smile at Sakuya weakly, and at that single moment, he notices something odd about the chief maid's face. He curses himself quietly as he watches her eyes grow damp. Is she crying?

"I really am an idiot," he manages to mutter to himself. Not only is he going to die, but he did the unforgivable - he made this elegant and perfect maid shed tears.

The guardian lands heavily upon him, crushing a large portion of the wall and floor into pieces. For some reason, he doesn't feel as much pain as he expected. His vision blurs steadily, then everything turns to black.