Kenji
"What should I do today?" Kenji thought to himself.
It was summer now, so that meant it was a rare day off from deliveries. Sadly for him, he never had plans for days off.
He didn't really have many friends to hang around with anyway, and he was never the kind of guy to get involved in something just for the sake of it.
He was fond of people, of course. But he was never able to connect with them well.
So he decided to just go to the mall alone for some change of pace.
The moment he entered the mall, he was hit by a wave of cool air, along with the voices of countless people walking about.
Kenji walked through the aisles with his hands in his pockets. He'd pass by groups of friends who were laughing and families who were having a fun summer.
It certainly reminded him of his own family that he had left behind.
Every now and then, he had a thought of… it was difficult to describe, a sort of heaviness, not sadness but not far from it.
'Guess it'd be nice if I had someone to hang with,' But the thought disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Ah, who am I kidding? I probably would have complained about having to go out so much." He chuckled, gaining weird looks for suddenly laughing by himself.
Kenji kept on roaming around the shops, grabbing some snacks from here and there, window shopping in the tech section, and finally being caught up in a book shop.
He scanned a few novels and then found one that was somewhat interesting. He walked around for a bit more and then came to the food court, drinking his beverage as the day slowly turned into evening.
As the sun set on the horizon, the warm light started to shift, casting orange and gold shades over the interior of the mall.
Kenji checked his phone and realized it was about time for sunset, and decided that he had had enough of his solo adventure.
He stretched, picked up his bag, tossed his cup in the trash, and walked to the door, prepared to go home.
As he was getting close to the exit, he began to shiver and shiver. It was as if his body was trying to tell him something.
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There was a sense of dread in his stomach, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
"...That's weird." He took a hesitant step forward, clutching his stomach, trying to figure out what he was feeling.
Then came a scream.
The sound cut through the air, startling Kenji from his stupor. His heart thumped in his chest, and in the midst of his terror, there was an alarm that rang out loud.
Everyone around him almost immediately went into a frenzy at the loud sirens. Emergency lights started flashing along the walls, creating a menacing atmosphere throughout the mall.
He even started to hyperventilate a little. All the running and pushing started to make him disoriented, so he stepped back and leaned against a nearby pillar, trying to make sense of whatever was happening.
'What the fuck is going on?!'
CRASH.
A loud sound boomed from somewhere in the mall, followed by what sounded like heavy footsteps. Looking ahead, he finally noticed the source.
Monsters twice as large as he was lumbered through the glass doors of the stores.
Honkai Beasts
Kenji had been in this world for so long, but this was the first time he had actually met a Honkai Beast face to face. Which was pretty lucky, all things considered.
The beasts went on, each step making a slight tremor and cracking the polished tiles. They didn't look like they had eyes, but it still felt like they were staring straight at him.
'I need to get out of here!'
Almost at the same time, the beasts roared and charged into the rushing crowd that broke apart in all directions. Some people rushed into shops, hid in bathrooms, and just tried to find any kind of cover.
He wasn't far behind, his instincts making him rush towards the nearest store, which was an electronics store just to his left.
He stumbled inside and took refuge under the cashier's desk. His heart was pounding, and he tried desperately to calm his breathing, lest the beasts hear him.
After calming down a little, if just barely, Kenji finally noticed the people who had also found themselves in the store.
Individuals and families huddled up quietly to stop any chance of the Honkai Beasts finding them. Kenji could see an old man muttering some prayers under his breath, while a mother tried to console their child through their own fear.
The sounds outside had died down just slightly, so Kenji took the chance to peer over the cashier's desk and at the entrance, hoping there was a chance for him to run out. But that hope was soon extinguished.
A family held onto each other as they tried to run out of the mall's entrance.
Parents and two small children.
Kenji stood helplessly as he watched the father try to grab his loved ones, but a Honkai Beast had noticed them.
In a few seconds, the creature lunged and caught them. Kenji's stomach tightened as he heard their screams cut off, followed by a squelching sound that made him want to throw up.
'Oh god, I'm gonna die!' His world became blurry as his heart beat drummed constantly. 'What am I supposed to do here? Hide and hope they don't find me?!?
The beasts roamed through the mall, each one moving as if it knew where the people were hiding. Each one of their steps shook the ground as they demolished everything that stood in their way.
'Come on, Kenji. Think. There must be a way to get out of this. Think god dammit!'
But all he could see was the chaos that was happening around him.
In the middle of it all, he felt so disgustingly small.
Another monster invaded a shop on the opposite side of the corridor, destroying the mannequins and shelves.
The sound made everyone near him freeze up. But one child shouted in surprise, making their mother quickly cover their mouth.
'Fuck.'
Kenji felt a chill crawl up his spine as the footsteps of the Honkai Beasts grew closer and closer.
'Oh God, please don't look this way.'
Even without looking, they could feel the beast turn to look at their location.
This could have been it. Any moment, and he would get torn to shreds like everyone before him.
Thankfully, something else caught its attention, and it moved on somewhere else deeper into the mall.
He let out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. The mall around them was still in shambles, and there was still no escape in sight.
Kenji took a final glance at the others, equally as terrified as he was.
They were just normal people, people who had come to the mall to shop, to hang out, to escape from their everyday lives for a bit.
They weren't soldiers or anyone equipped to handle this kind of event.
And he was like them. A nobody.
/ — /
There was another crash from somewhere deeper in the mall, the sound making Kenji flinch.
He didn't know how long he'd been there. He just wanted something to bring an end to this nightmare.
And it seemed like the world finally answered his prayers.
BOOM.
He heard a loud crash from outside, followed by a blinding light that erupted from the center of the mall.
Kenji hesitantly moved his head out of his hiding spot to see the source of the light. His eyes squinted, trying to adjust. But the moment it did, his eyes were greeted by a sight that would forever be ingrained in his mind.
The air of helplessness seemed to disappear entirely as the Honkai Beasts turned away from their hunt to face the new presence.
Through the haze of dust and debris, he saw a figure descending like a blazing comet. Her presence literally exuded overwhelming power.
Her long red hair streamed behind her, making her look like a flame against the night. She landed with an impact that sent a shockwave through the ground before standing up and glaring at the Honkai Beasts with a smirk.
For a second, Kenji lost the ability to breathe. He had no idea who the woman was, but there was one thing he was certain of.
'It's a Valkyrie!'
It didn't take the Honkai Beasts long to rush towards her. Bulldozing past what was left of the mall in a frenzy.
The woman didn't flinch at all.
With a hard grip on her greatsword, she met their charge head-on. The large weapon gleamed as she swung it at impossible speeds.
The beasts were no match for her raw power as she sliced through them like butter.
Every strike from her was precise, giving her room to follow up with another slash or use her weapon's weight to throw her at another beast.
One by one, the Honkai Beasts dissolved into nothingness as the woman made quick work of the monsters that had so easily taken countless lives.
Kenji watched, his fear melting away, replaced by a growing sense of awe. This woman, this Valkyrie, moved with a confidence he could hardly comprehend.
It was like watching a force of nature turned to flesh.
He felt his heart hammering, but this time, it wasn't from fear. He was unable to tear his gaze away from the sight of her as she fought.
With a swift kick, she sent one of the beasts crashing into a storefront, the creature's form crumpling almost instantly.
One of them made a lunge from the side, but she instantly stepped a little to the side and put her sword to work to split its torso in two.
It was like she was on a stage, performing some brutal, beautiful dance, and the monsters were little more than obstacles in her way.
He could sense the others around him finding their hope again, their eyes fixed on the Valkyrie as she made short work of the beasts.
Kenji didn't look away. His pulse was up as he took in one devastating blow after another.
For a brief, foolish moment, he imagined himself standing there in her place, wielding that same strength.
He could feel the faintest spark of determination flickering within him, a whisper of courage that he hadn't felt before.
Seeing her made him feel… different, like he could be more than he was, like he could be something beyond just an ordinary guy.
The last beast threw itself at her in a final attempt to kill her. Another slash from her weapon, and it was down.
Kenji was left gasping in awe.
She straightened, her sword lowered, her gaze sweeping over the ruins of the mall. She wasn't even a little bit winded.
He felt a strange, overpowering admiration blooming inside him, mixed with a faint sense of longing.
She was a symbol of everything he wanted to be, everything he'd felt too small, too ordinary to imagine.
And as she turned, glancing over the crowd of civilians she had just saved, he realized that he was seeing, for the first time, what it truly meant to be a hero.