Huntar and Zena pulled out their weapons and charged toward Horde. The big ape man raised his hammer and slammed into the stone floor, sending a lightning bolt toward them.
Zena tripped after the lightning hit her hoof feet, but Huntar jumped over it. He landed in front of Horde and rolled away, dodging Horde’s hammer.
The ape missed as Huntar scrambled to his feet. He raised his sword and swung it toward Horde’s exposed neck.
The ape man held up his hammer and blocked Huntar’s sword.
After Torag helped Zena up, he glared at Horde and charged toward the big ape. “Torag!”
When Horde turned toward the rhino man, Torag rammed into Horde, pushing him to the floor.
With his chance, Huntar jumped on Horde and pointed his blade at Horde’s neck.
“You are finished!” Huntar shouted.
Horde growled and tossed the lion man off him.
When he got up, Zena jumped and kicked Horde’s face. He got dizzy, but he shook his head quickly.
Zena charged, pointing her battle staff at him. Horde swung his hammer, knocking Zena’s battle staff away before it touched him. He sharply kicked Zena into her torso, pushing her back as she cried in pain.
Horde marched toward her until Torag rammed him. He pushed Horde away from Zena and body-slammed on him.
While the battle continued, Jenny turned her attention toward the Star Crystal, resting on the panel. She glared at it. “I have to get the crystal off there! Perhaps that will make the weapon stop.”
She charged toward it. “Here goes nothing!”
Horde pushed Torag off him and spotted Jenny running toward the panel. “No!”
He got up and charged toward her. “Get over here, little girl!”
Jenny stopped and looked back.
Horde raised his hammer up as he approached her. Jenny's legs shuddered while coldness crawled through her skin. The moment Horde will strike her, she will be dead.
Huntar jumped on top of Horde and bit his neck.
“Go!” Zena grabbed Horde’s arm while Torag grabbed the other arm. “We will hold him back!”
Jenny nodded and dashed toward the panel.
“No!” Horde shouted.
When the palm of her hands touched the crystal, the crystal glowed brightly as it turned warm. Jenny ignored the light and pushed the crystal.
While pushing, stings of white light grew through her arms from the crystal. The light boiled her blood and warmed her body up.
Whatever the crystal was doing to her, she couldn’t stop pushing it.
The crystal soon rolled off the weapon, and then the weapon stopped. It vibrated as if thunder struck through the structure.
After the warmness in her body stopped, Jenny looked down from the ledge. The bottom crumbled while stone block pieces fell to the ground. “We have to get off this thing!”
Horde pushed Huntar and the others off him. He grabbed his hammer and charged toward Jenny. “You will pay for this!”
Before he reached her, the floor collapsed below his feet, making him fall, screaming. "Damn you all to helllllllllll!!!"
Jenny fell down next, but Huntar grabbed her hand while he stood on a falling block. After he pulled her onto the block, she climbed onto his back, and he jumped down across the falling blocks.
He leaped from rock to rock until he landed on the ground. Then he dashed forward before the rest of the debris landed over them.
They reached a tall hill far from the impact. When they got there, Zena and Torag approached them.
“Are you alright?” Zena asked.
Jenny nodded her head and watched the rest of the weapon slammed into the ground, leaving a giant cloud of dust exploding into the air.
“Do you think Horde survived?” Jenny asked.
Huntar shrugged. “I am not sure. Hopefully, that fiend didn’t.”
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Jenny nodded. “If he did survive, we will be ready for him.”
*****
On a boat in the middle of the ocean, Jenny pushed the Star Crystal into the water and watched it sink to the bottom. It descended into the blackest depths of the sea until it disappeared.
Jenny sighed. “Will it be safe down there?”
Huntar crossed his arms. "Who knows. Maybe a fish tribe will find it. But clans on the surface will never reach it. We can only hope the crystal will remain down there for good."
Jenny smiled. “So what are we going to do now? I am stuck with you since I can’t go back home.”
Zena stepped toward her. “Well, we could start our own clan, or become adventurers. There are plenty of tribes out there, requesting for help."
“That sounds exciting to me,” said Huntar with a deep grin.
“Okay, but I am not sure if I can last long with you,” said Jenny.
Huntar placed his hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “Then we will train you. It will be haste, but you will become stronger."
“But... what if I can’t?”
“Do not worry,” said Zena. “You are now one of us. We won’t let anything happen to you. You will become as strong as your father. This is your new life. The only way to live through it, you must move on.”
“Zena is right, Jenny,” said Huntar. “Don't lose faith now."
“Torag!” the rhino man shouted.
Jenny wiped a tear off her face and smiled at her new friends. “Okay... Let’s seek a new adventure.”
The group cheered and released the sails on the boat.
Jenny stared at the setting sun as the boat drifted across the sea. “Sorry, mother and Eddie. This is my new life now. My new world.”
*****
A hand raised from the rock debris, shaking like a freezing snake. Another hand raised up and grabbed onto a rock.
When the hands gripped on the rock, a body pulled itself out from the rubble.
Horde growled after he climbed out from the fallen stone pile. His armor was dented, and sand coated his fur.
None of his bones were broken, but his head was spinning. He felt like a million boulders had crushed him, yet somehow he survived.
He could have landed on a few rocks that slowed down his fall, and few stones landed on him to crush his body.
Indeed, he was the strongest among his clan.
Horde stood up and brushed the sand off his armor suit.
In the desert, he saw nothing but rocks around him. Some were in large piles, and the others laid flat on the ground.
Horde growled.
He knew what those rocks were. They were what remained of the Doombringer.
Years of construction have collapsed before his eyes. All ruined by four enemies he should have killed.
Horde stared at the sky and roared. He roared so loud; the ground rocked below his feet.
How could a weak female human defeat him?
Her companions were the ones who distracted him. Controlling the weapon alone was a mistake. He should have kept some guards with him as he flew his weapon.
With a defense, he could have succeeded to keep the Doombringer flying.
But now it was gone. Gone to join his father.
At least Horde still has his life, and he could return to his clan.
But what could he say to his tribe? How could he explain what happened without letting them lose his faith?
Maybe they will accept his defeat, but he will still promise them their own world. He will find another way. As long as he lives, he will find another way to conquer the world. And if he meets the four who defeated them, he will finish them, once and for all.
Horde climbed out of the debris and walked across the desert. Vengeance and conquest will still be in his grasp, no matter the cost.
Behind him, Horde noticed a sparkling blue light expanding into an enormous blue sphere. After it stopped growing, five figures stepped out, wearing strange armor suits. Their helmets shielded their faces, making them unrecognizable.
With arms and legs without tails, Horde realized they were humans, but where did they come from?
The figures stopped and pointed long-barreled firearms toward him.
“Sir! There is an unidentified organic here!” One of them shouted. “It looks like a gorilla!”
Horde growled and charged.
If they were humans, then they deserved to die!
“Capture it!”
The strange humans blasted electric bolts at him. Each bolt hit Horde’s armor, zapping him through his skin and bones.
He roared until he fell to the ground, blacking out. The humans gathered around him as his vision slowly faded away.
*****
Walter Freeman stepped into the desert from the time portal, wearing his armor biohazard suit. The antiseptic and plastic smell flooded his helmet, but his breathing didn't fog his glass face shield.
The desert looked amazing. Golden since the sun was setting behind the tall rocky mountains in the distance. Sands and rocks coated the ground like a giant sandbox. Too bad there wasn’t much that could astonish Walter more.
He expected to see an advanced civilization in the distant future. But there could be more to explore further.
"Excuse me, sir." One of his private soldiers approached him. "You better check this out."
Walter followed the soldier toward a red armored creature, about eight feet tall. Not only it has hands, but feet as hands too. It must be a primate.
Walter grinned. “Take this thing back to the lab in the present. I want it fully analyzed.”
“What about the expedition?” one soldier asked.
Walter stared at the mountains. “Set up camp and survey as much as possible. Bring back whatever you can find and eliminate all hostiles.”
The soldier saluted. “Yes, sir!”
Walter had waited for a while to rebuild the Transgate and see where the portal goes without the second gate. With this new opportunity, his corporation could collect future technology and bring them back to help mankind evolve faster. As for the primate creature, it might become useful for him to learn about the new world.
Walter chuckled at the orange. “Welcome to the next frontal.”