21 Chapter 21 - Hunting : First Contact

Sticking close together, nervously crouching through the forest shrubbery, Argon's hunting group was heading towards their hunting grounds. Well, apart from Spencer who was casually walking behind the group.

Unlike the others, he held no weapon and even refused to carry one as it would only be a hindrance to him since he had no idea how to use them effectively.

"This one is strange. He no carry weapon to hunt, and refuse to use it when offered." Argon thought.

Agron was constantly confused by Spencer's actions the longer he was around him. However, shaking his head, he decided to focus on the hunt for now as it was more important.

Reaching the hunting grounds which was a clearing located north of the tribe, Agron signaled the group to stay low and follow him.

Crouching down, Spencer followed Agron's orders and mimicked the rest of the group.

As they got closer to the clearing, Agron raised his hand, signaling the group to stop. The reason for this was that Agron spotted another one of those giant deers that Spencer killed and offered for the tribe.

He signaled the group to move to their specific locations. Quintus moved to the opposing side of the deer, Hagen went to the deer's left and Cassius went to its right.

This effectively covered all sides that the deer could escape. Dinah was ordered to simply follow Agron, they would be the distraction. Spencer was told to try and keep an eye on the animal in case it manages to avoid their ambush.

Once everyone got to their position, Agron signaled the group to attack the deer. The first to attack was Quintus, he threw his spear at the animal, followed by Hagen charging from the left ready to impale the creature with his.

Quintus's spear pierced the side of the animal, causing it to panic. The deer rushed in Hagen's direction who was still in the middle of his charge. Hagen could not react in time to the creature's sudden charge and was thrown back into a tree on impact, putting him out of the fight.

Within only moments of the battle starting, a member of their group was already badly injured from the creature's retaliation. Agron seeing this was angered and immediately threw his spear aimed at the deer's side. Cassius followed and did the same. Agron's spear punctured the creature's skin and proceeded to pierce its lungs, while Cassius's spear managed to hit the animal's front leg.

*SHRIEK!*

The creature shrieked in pain from the blood filling its lungs and slowly drowning it from the inside. It became frantic, and rushed in the Agron and Dinah's direction, trying to impale at least one of them with its horns.

Agron jumped to the side to avoid the creature's charge, thanks to his quick reaction and experience as a veteran hunter. However, he soon realized he made a fatal mistake, he remembered that Dinah was still following behind him.

Looking back he saw that the deer was now on a trajectory heading towards Dinah. He immediately tried to run and push her out of the way as she was not familiar with this kind of situation, this led to her being now frozen in fear from the deer's charge.

Agron realized that he wouldn't make it in time to save Dinah, Dinah could only raise her arms to protect herself.

Spencer, who was on the sidelines watching this all unfold decided to intervene. Using his immense speed, Spencer flickered from his previous location.

Dinah who still had her arms up was frozen, but after a few moments, she came to realize that the pain of being impaled never came no matter how long she was waiting for it, Agron was now next to her with his mouth agape.

What they saw was Spencer, he was holding the horns of the deer and keeping it in place, Quintus who was still behind the deer couldn't understand what he was seeing, the attack that had easily knocked Hagen into a tree was being stopped in its tracks.

"You okay?"

Spencer looked over his shoulder to see if the shivering woman was okay. Seeing that both Dinah and Agron were unharmed, he switched his gaze back to the deer that was struggling, desperately trying to free itself from Spencer's grip.

"Now, to deal with you…"

Spencer leaned back and swung the deer into the air, right before he slammed it back onto the floor. This single attack incapacitated the animal, rendering it unconscious and bleeding internally.

Quintus, Agron, Dinah, and Cassius had their mouth agape at this sight.

Letting go of the creature's horns, Spencer turned around and looked at Agron and Dinah.

"How long are you planning to stand there? Go check your friend!"

Agron and Dinah woke up from their daze hearing Spencer's shout. Quickly, they rushed over to check up on the unconscious Hagen. Quintus followed them and as they checked his condition and noticed he was still breathing the sighed in relief.

We should head back to the tribe." Spencer sighed.

He looked at the deer that was on the floor and was about to pick it up when Cassius's voice interrupted him.

"Wait! Let me help you!"

Looking to his left, Spencer saw Cassius offering his hand to help him carry the deer.

"Thanks, but there is no need for that."

Spencer effortlessly picked up the animal's body and threw it over his shoulder, shocking the man once again.

"Let's go!" Spencer exclaimed.

Saying this, he began walking back to the tribe's grounds with the deer over his shoulder. The rest of the group was still amazed by how strong Spencer was and they held many questions, but they had to focus on Hagen as he was in critical condition.

Making their way back to the village, the four tended to Hagen while Spencer carried the deer.

Finally arriving at the village, the tribe quickly began tending to Hagen's wounds the moment they saw his condition, Spencer casually threw the now-corpse of the deer at the center of the tribe and began making his way back to his tent.

"Wait!"

Before he could reach his tent and relax, Agron called out to him and walked towards him. Dinah could be seen following behind.

"Thank you for helping us." - he said.

Agron thanked Spencer for saving their lives earlier in the battle. Taking a deep breath, Dinah walked in front of the man and looked Spencer in the eyes.

"I HATE YOU FOR KILLING BAAL!" she shouted with anger. Then before Spencer could react, she lowered her gaze and with a lowered tone, she continued.

"But, thank you for saving me." - she muttered.

Looking at the woman with a questioning gaze, Spencer asked with confusion visible in his tone.

"Baal? Who's Baal?"

Seeing that Spencer didn't know who Baal was, the anger returned to Dinah's eyes. Looking at Spencer in the eyes she shouted.

"Baal was my mate, and you KILLED him!"

Connecting the dots, Spencer finally could put a name to the indignant man he killed when he first made contact with this tribe.

Looking at the raging woman, he sighed, then turned around. Taking a step forward, he once again turned his head sideways.

"Sorry." He curtly said with no emotion in his tone.

As the words left his mouth, he stepped inside his tent, leaving the still raging woman and Agron behind.

"Wait!"

But, once again he was interrupted. This time the one who called him was Cassius.

"What is it?" Spencer asked as he turned around with slight annoyance in his voice.

He just wanted to go back to his tent and relax for the day but they just wouldn't let him.

"During the hunt. You killed the deer with your bare hands. How?" Cassius asked with great interest plastered on his hairy face.

Hearing the question, Spencer didn't know how to answer. He knew he couldn't just say that something as primitive as that deer was of no harm to him; that would degrade their efforts greatly and possibly ruin his own already brittle standing with them.

"Uhm… The deer was already greatly weakened by your attacks. I simply finished it." He said after some thinking. Then without waiting for their response, he entered his tent, leaving the group behind.

The answer would have been acceptable if Cassius didn't also see Spencer picking up the deer before slamming it into the soil. That feat seemed impossible, even if the animal was injured.

However, before Cassius could carry the topic any further, Spencer vanished into his tent, leaving the group in silence with all their questions remaining completely unanswered.

---

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the group was a continent shrouded in an everlasting mist. This continent that had the same size as Australia, was the home to a certain civilization. These beings, who were strikingly similar in appearance to the modern-day Homo Sapiens, proudly referred to themselves as Atlanteans.

They were not beings originated from this Earth but came from a distant part of the universe. Their predecessors were the Hunters that came in the hope to claim this as part of their empire.

They sent a group of colonists to claim the planet's resources. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, the colonists' connection with the Hunters was cut short, and they were left to their own devices.

As the years passed and there was no hope of them ever leaving, they started to look forward and plan their lives in this new environment. Founding a peaceful, separated mass of land, they claimed it, capturing the primitive inhabitants, the Homo Erectus in the process.

As the years continued to pass and the centuries and piled up their race changed, evolved with the constantly planned breeding with the captured inhabitants.

Some, who refused to mate with the primitive humanoids and instead experienced the creatures of the seas. Their descendants later left the grounds and formed their colonies under the water.

The Atlanteans named the land as Atlantis while the city they created, Hy-Brasil.

Inside the city of Hy-Brasil, in a temple reminiscent of those of the Mayan Empire, a man wearing tribal clothing and long brown hair finally achieved success. Following the incomplete instructions left behind by their predecessors, he finally managed to harness the energies from the ether!

Using strange, ritualistic movements, his hands glowed in purple light as a dark globe of energy formed around it. As he continued his movement, soon the glow faded from his hands, as the magical energies vanished into the air...

However, he wasn't told that he failed with his spell. No, he was delighted, just like the army of priests surrounding him. They were happy because they felt the presence of someone from the other side!

Their god has answered their prayers!