Cavalry

Some were on foot while others rode on horseback. It wasn't exactly a cavalry, but it was something. They numbered around twenty, clad in armor with swords and shields at their sides. From their attire, they looked like knights, though Savin had no clue what a knight was. All he knew was that they bore a large red cross on their chests, and he had never heard of a fraternity, clan, or guild that dressed like this.

'Maybe they're new or just not that well-known,' he thought.

Still, they had good gear from the look of things. Surely, they could handle the Enigma.

His heart soared with relief as he rushed toward them, waving his arms and signaling before they even reached the village.

He waved his arms frantically, his voice cracking as he shouted, "Hey! Over here!"

The group of warriors slowed, some raising their weapons in caution. The ones on horseback pulled at their reins, bringing their steeds to a halt as dust and gravel scattered beneath their hooves. The warriors on foot fanned out slightly, their eyes scanning the ruined village with hardened focus.

Savin didn't care if they were suspicious of him—he just needed them to see the real threat. He pointed back toward the wreckage where the Enigma had crashed. "There's an Enigma back there! A big one! You have to—"

Before he could finish, the ground rumbled behind him, accompanied by a deep, guttural bellow. The Enigma had recovered.

Savin turned his head just in time to see the writhing horror clawing its way from the debris, its shifting form pulsating with renewed rage. The warriors tensed. Some drew their swords, others adjusted their shields, and those on horseback readied their spears.

One of them, a man with a thick beard and a deep-set scowl, barked an order. "Formation! Shields up!"

Savin stumbled back, breath hitching. His desperate hope had turned into something else entirely—fear, uncertainty. Would these men truly be able to stop it? Or had he just led twenty more souls to their deaths? Wait, no he didn't lead them here so technically he had no fault right?

'Yes, it's not your fault. Let's just find a way to get out of here.'

To leave the Arch World Savin would need to find a Monument and a Pass, both of which the Seekers claimed were hard to obtain. These Monuments served as gates that allowed the Seekers to enter and exit the Arch World and the Passes... well as the name suggested they allowed Seekers to activate the Monuments and also anchored them to the Arch World.

Whatever authority was guiding them did not force Seekers to come back to the Arch World, never. They were given their own free will to come and go as they liked, provided they had a Pass. Each Pass was tied to a Seeker's soul and whenever they left the Arch World, it helped sustain them, keeping their body, soul, and mind together. But as time went by the Pass would expire and when it did the Seekers' bodies would start to rot from the inside out, experiencing pain unimaginable. As such they were forced to come back to the Arch World to search for more Passes. In short, the Passes were some sort of Seeker oxygen, or maybe an addictive drug.

Savin stared at his saviors and looked toward the way they came, a forest path. He decided that these men would have surely had a Monument nearby if they were able to come here looking so unscathed and was about to make a break for it when one of them suddenly grabbed him by the collar. For a moment, he was airborne and the next he descended to the ground.

His back slammed into the ground, and for a moment, he swore he tasted blood. Damn Seekers. They were nothing like ordinary humans. Their bodies were strengthened by that unnatural, suspect energy—Ether. It made them faster, and stronger and even extended their lifespans. Well, Savin had become one of these foul beings, and he had no choice but to live with it.

The men before him were clearly seasoned fighters. Compared to them, he was still weak. Savin grimaced, lifting his gaze to meet the Seeker's as pain tore through every fiber of his body. The sheer force of the pull had rattled him so badly that, for a moment, he struggled to breathe.

"Hey, you. What the hell is that thing?!" The man who seemed to be their leader barked.

He was speechless for a moment and when the words finally came to him.

"Huh? What kind of stupid question is that? Is it your first time in the Arch World?"

"Answer me! You just came from that village, what the hell is that thing?!"

Savin stared at the man in confusion for a few moments and from the horrified look on his face, he clearly didn't understand the situation. But if this man was this confused then...

Savin raised his head and turned to the men. The way they stood, prepared to face the terror and the horror on their faces, their general aura, these men weren't Seekers. Then who were they?

But now wasn't the time to be asking questions or answering them, because right in front of them, a creature with a figure that promised death, and of which its origin wasn't known, had opened its maws and was ready to devour them all. Time seemed to slow. Savin wanted to jump out of the way until, to his surprise, a soldier surged forward. He carried a spear in one hand, a lit Molotov cocktail in the other, and a shield strapped to his arm.

He took the full force of the Enigma's attack head-on. The impact sent him flying back, but he stopped himself by driving his spear into the ground. Leaning forward, he ripped the weapon free and jammed it into the walls of the Enigma's mouth, stopping it from closing its mouth. The monster bellowed and the next moment, a tongue—an extremely long one—shot out from the depths of its throat at the soldier.

It went for his face and the soldier tilted his head. The tongue missed him but still grazed his face a little and his helmet flew off, revealing blonde hair beneath. The tongue didn't seem to have any form of sharpening but upon closer look, the soldier realized that its buds were as sharp as blades. As blood escaped his wound he gritted his teeth, leaped back, and hurled the Molotov straight into the Enigma's open maw.

Savin heard the shattering of glass and the next moment the Enigma bellowed as flames razed it from within. They were not too visible through its translucent skin but visible enough for Savin to know that the creature was experiencing extreme torment. It twisted, turned, and rolled all over the ground in an attempt to extinguish the flames but all its efforts proved futile. The soldier who had faced the Enigma took some more steps back to join the others and fell on one knee, panting heavily.

Savin was in awe about how a single person was able to face that thing. Even if he didn't kill it, it was still something. To be able to withstand the force of the Enigma's attack in the first place without having some broken bones was not something a normal person should have been capable of. 

'Amazing.' He thought.

A moment later, the noise that came from the Enigma called his attention to it once more. It was bellowing initially but now... it was screaming?

Every person present was surprised and a little bit of fear radiated from their facial expressions —maybe not so little—as the creature made human sounds of agony. For a moment, Savin almost thought he heard it say something and was about to listen more closely when he saw an eye form on its body that didn't close. To his dismay, the eye teared up and he thought he had gone mad. How could an Enigma be crying? That was just plain stupid, so stupid that other Seekers might jump him if he said something like that. But even if it really was crying, he didn't mind. Rather, it made him feel good. The bastard tried to kill him after all.

'That's what you get dumbass.'

Unknown to Savin, he would later come to regret these words.

Savin was still savoring the Enigma's suffering when the sound of clinking metal and shifting weapons pulled him back. He turned around, only to find himself staring down the tips of blades, spears, and arrows—all aimed at him.

"Now... as for you..." The leader said.