Time slowed to a crawl as Shawn watched the claws descend towards his body. A shadow flickered above the creature and a light, brighter than the sun, sprang to life directly behind the blue demon's head. Still in slow motion, Shawn watched the creature hesitate and turn. A pair of white wings sprang outwards, seemingly owned by whatever was casting the bright beams of light. Shawn blinked as his eyes strained to adjust to the scene before him. The demon crouched low, giving Shawn the first view of the winged newcomer.

It was a griffin. Despite already fighting with demons today, Shawn was unprepared for the mythical creature to appear in front of him. His jaw fell open and grew slack as he gazed at the armored steed. It's eagle-like head and shoulders had a full set of tough, but flexible steel armor. The feathers tapered off to give way to the lion body. Complete with razor sharp claws and powerful beak, the griffin flapped its mighty wings a few more times as it set down a few feet away from where Shawn and the demon stood.

Is this the cavalry we were waiting for? Shawn waited for the griffin to attack but the armored mount remained in a defensive stance.

A dark figure that Shawn hadn't noticed yet jumped gracefully from the griffin's saddle down to the ground. The rider was just as armored as their mount. Full body covered by plate mail armor. The metal was dark but accented by red trim on the edges of the various steel pieces. It was elegant, deadly, and intimidating. In the knight's hand was a long blade. A sword that glowed with a holy light. As Shawn watched, the bright light that had drawn the demon's attention began to fade. The dark material of the sword matched the color and style of the armor, though, the blade had a deeper crimson red that covered a much larger area along the edge. A full helmet, face visor, and narrow vision slit made it impossible for Shawn to see the knight's face. Unfazed by the knight's appearance, the blue demon released another blood chilling roar.

The effect of Inspiring Presence has been overcome by Advance Fiend Roar. Status effect Fear has now been imposed.

Shawn felt his blood freeze in his veins as an aura of darkness began to emanate from the demon. Though the demon's back was to him, Shawn still felt the urge to get up and run as far away from the blue fiend as he could. Heart thundering in his chest, Shawn forced himself to stay in position and his hands fumbled with the AB-rifle as he attempted to clear the jam.

The blue demon slammed its arms into the ground and lurched towards the armored knight and the griffin. To Shawn's surprise, the griffin took a few steps back. It didn't look intimidated by the oncoming foe, on the contrary, Shawn thought the creature looked indignant at the show of hostility. The knight, on the other hand, was unreadable as they slipped into a ready position. The dark blade lifted and was held motionless as the demon rapidly closed the distance. At the last moment, the knight took a single step forward, ducking both of the demon's arms and stabbed directly up into the demon's chest. The sword was thrust with enough force for Shawn to see it cut cleanly through, the tip of the blade visible poking through the back of the creature. The blue demon coughed, gurgled loudly, and dropped to the mud next to the knight.

The source of the status effect Fear has been eliminated. Status effect Fear has been removed.

The chill in Shawn's veins vanished and he let out a shaky sigh of relief.

The other squad!

Shawn whipped his head around to the south and saw that the two other demons had already been taken down. Though, Shawn felt his stomach dip as the squad they had tried to rescue had been reduced down to two survivors.

"Are you the traveler?"

It took a few moments for the feminine voice to penetrate Shawn's thoughts. He turned to find the knight stepping slowly towards him, sword sheathed at their hip.

"What?" Shawn asked, unconvinced that the voice he just heard had come from the knight in dark armor.

The knight lifted a gauntleted hand and removed the helmet. Short brown hair, almond eyes, soft cheeks, and one lifted eyebrow. Shawn took a full two seconds to stare at the young woman in front of him before she spoke again.

"Are you the traveler?" she asked again in the same tone. "The one sent to our world?"

This time it wasn't her looks that gave him pause.

"How... I think so. Yes."

The girl nodded and tucked her helmet beneath her left arm.

"My name is Anisha Goldrin." She gave a slight bow. "I've been sent by the divine to assist you."

"The divine?" Shawn's response was cut short by corporal Barnes limping up to the pair.

"Lady Goldrin!" He snapped to a brisk attention, wincing as he did so. "I didn't realize you were riding with the cavalry today."

Shawn noticed a slight uneasiness enter Anisha's eyes as she turned to the corporal.

"I'm not. The cavalry is still on its way. I'm here on..." She shot Shawn a sideways glance. "Other matters."

Shawn couldn't help but marvel at the stark contrast between the two standing before him. Corporal Barnes in his mud coated brown military gear and Anisha in her medieval style plate armor. Not to mention the armored griffin standing a few more feet away. Once again, Shawn was left shaking his head.

Where am I?

"What is your name?" Anisha asked.

"Shawn. Shawn Driggs."

Anisha nodded, her face remaining unchanged.

"We should get going." Anisha turned and began to approach the griffin.

Barnes shot Shawn a confused glance.

"Shawn here took a bit of a shot earlier today, lady Goldrin. He might need to see a doctor before going anywhere too far."

Anisha turned back, a small frown forming on her lips.

"I uh, I may have told him that I was from another world." Shawn explained sheepishly.

A light of understanding flickered in her brown eyes and her frown curved upwards gently.

"Noted. Thank you, corporal, but I think we will be fine."

Barnes didn't look convinced, but he gave another salute. The griffin shook its head lightly and leaned forward as Anisha approached. She placed a friendly hand on the feathered neck and rubbed it affectionately. The griffin closed its eyes in utter contentment at her touch. Shawn took a step towards the corporal and held out his hand.

"Sir." Shawn shook Barnes' hand firmly before bringing his hand up into what he hoped was a proper salute. "It was an honor being a member of your squad today."

Barnes returned the salute with nothing but a curt nod. As Shawn made to follow Anisha, Barnes held out a hand to stop him.

"There's something about you I didn't notice before Shawn." Barnes studied him carefully. "If the lady here didn't take you, I'd request you to be transferred into my unit."

"Why is that sir?" Shawn asked, curious at the newfound interest Barnes had in him.

The corporal shook his head. "I can't place it. Can't really describe it either. I just feel like you're going to do great things. Make some real change happen."

Shawn shrugged. "Hard to say from this side of things, sir."

Barnes cracked a sad smile. "I suppose so. I hope we cross paths again."

Shawn glanced down at the soldier's injured leg. "I can take a look at that now."

"I've had far worse kid." Barnes chuckled darkly before tilting his head towards Anisha. "Better not keep the lady waiting."

They shook hands one last time, and the corporal began to limp away. Shawn turned to find Anisha already mounted and waiting for him to be finished. As Shawn approached her, the griffin lowered its head and stared directly at him. Shawn paused, sensing a fierce aggression from the steed.

"Easy Cherry." Anisha ran a soothing hand down the griffin's neck. "Sorry. She's slow to trust."

Cherry continued to stare at Shawn. Swallowing hard, Shawn gave a slight bow of his head.

"May I?" He asked the griffin, unsure how else to gain her permission to approach.

Cherry maintained her fierce gaze for a moment longer before dipping her head lightly. Shawn looked to Anisha, wanting a second opinion before he interpreted the griffin's message. Anisha rolled her eyes with a small smile before gesturing for Shawn to climb aboard. Cherry pointedly ignored Shawn as he cautiously approached, she may let him ride but Shawn got the sense he still had a lot to prove to the proud animal. Anisha donned her helmet and reached down to help Shawn up. After getting situated behind Anisha, Shawn placed his hands around Anisha and tried to prepare himself for takeoff.

"Hold on." Anisha instructed just as Cherry began to beat her wings.

Shawn redoubled his grip as he immediately almost slipped off the polished steel armor Anisha was wearing. Cherry gained altitude rapidly before flying eastward. They hadn't been airborne for longer than two minutes when Shawn spotted a large group of silhouettes high in the air above them.

"Is that the cavalry?" Shawn pointed up at the dark figures passing them overhead.

Anisha glanced up briefly and nodded.

"Intel had the offensive happening further North. High command had them stationed where the main demon force was supposed to hit but, obviously, they were wrong." Anisha's voice was a bit muffled and hard to hear given her helmet and the wind whistling passed Shawn's ears.

"You said you're not with the cavalry? How come you have Cherry then?" Shawn asked loudly.

"I'm not with them. I'm actually not even supposed to be near the frontline." Anisha shifted positions in the seat in front of Shawn. "Look, I'll explain everything once we've landed. I'm sure we both have a lot of questions."

"Okay." Shawn replied and left the conversation there.

The griffins above them were rapidly descending towards the trenches behind him. Shawn turned back and could just make out rifles slung over the shoulders of the nearest cavalry members. Shawn felt his desire to ask Anisha questions grow tenfold.

If the cavalry is using 'modern' weaponry, then why is this young woman reverting back to older forms of combat? Shawn's eyes dropped down to the sword at her hip.

His mind was drawn back to events a few hours ago.

You've unlocked the blade skill. Level 1. Access more information in the skill's menu.

Blade skill. Shawn mused. Maybe this is what the administrator meant when she promised me strength of a different kind.

Cherry continued to fly them eastward, away from the war-torn landscape as Shawn opened up his skill menu for the first time.