“Where are they?” he screeched, his high-pitched voice scratching at the ears of those nearby.
“We don’t know,” one of his wither generals responded.
Erebus looked down on the floating half-skeleton. The creature was difficult to see in the darkness of night. During the daytime, its dark bones would have stood out in stark contrast to the rolling grassy hills that surrounded this village, but the dark embrace of midnight made this difficult. The King of the Endermen could just make out the three skulls that sat atop its bony torso, two of them scanning the area in all directions, looking for threats, while the center head focused on Erebus.
“This is the third village our scouts have found abandoned,” the wither general reported. “They were all completely empty, with no evidence of battle. It’s like all the NPCs just moved out.”
“Some of these villages housed at least a hundred NPCs. Didn’t you see their tracks on the ground and follow them?” Erebus asked, his rage barely held in check.
They stepped into one of the houses, the blacksmith’s shop, and looked around, Erebus having to stoop so that his head wouldn’t hit the ceiling. At one end of the room sat a chest. The top was flung open and the contents gone, as if someone had left in a hurry . . . but to where? Erebus teleported from the doorway to the open chest and looked inside, then slammed the lid closed, the box shattering upon the force of his blow. Wooden splinters flew into the air and rained down on him, making the boiling rage within him even greater.
Swallowing his anger, Erebus moved back outside. He could see the tall, castle-like tower at the center of town, its tall structure looming over the area. He headed toward it. Every village had one of these structures; it was their lookout post. The memory of Gameknight999 standing atop one of these towers on the last server during that terrible village battle still haunted the enderman’s mind. That annoying User-that-is-not-a-user had actually gotten the villagers to somehow fight back. He had stood up there at the top of the tower as Erebus’ own army of monsters had approached the fortified village. Erebus could remember the burning hatred he’d felt for him almost immediately, and his own defeat on the last server had only fanned the flames of his anger.
“I’m coming for you, User-that-is-not-a-user,” Erebus said quietly in his screechy voice, to no one in particular.
He reached the tower quickly, the monster horde following at a distance, never wanting to be too close to their easily angered leader; only withers dared to be within arm’s length. Erebus could still hear Gameknight’s mocking laugh from the end of that battle, as well as the insults he’d cast at the King of the Endermen; the memory was still vivid. All the villagers had stood on the walls they’d erected around their village cheering for the User-that-is-not-a-user, many of them also mocking Erebus as he watched the remains of his army retreat back into the shadows. The memory made him angrier and angrier. This tower was clearly a symbol of that defeat. It had to be destroyed . . . NOW.
“Creepers, forward,” he commanded.
A group of mottled green creepers scurried forward, their tiny feet a blur of motion. They all ran up to Erebus and looked up at him with their cold, black eyes, their perpetually frowning mouths agape.
“I want twelve creepers inside that tower right there,” he commanded. “Look for any villagers. Keep looking until I order you to come out.”
The creepers, knowing refusal was fatal, moved quickly through the open door and crammed themselves into the ground floor of the tower. A few started to ascend the steps to the second floor, searching for villagers that the King of the Endermen knew would not be there.
He could still hear Gameknight laughing in the back of his mind—his fury over the defeat at the village still strong. Turning to look at his general, he spoke two quiet words, only meant for the wither commander’s ears.
“Ignite them,” he said.
“Sir?” the wither general asked, confused.
“What don’t you understand, wither?”
Erebus disappeared and instantly reappeared on the creature’s opposite shoulder, then teleported so that he was directly in front of the three-headed skeletal beast, and again so that he appeared at his back, each time rapping ever so slightly on the monster, letting him know that he could be destroyed at any instant. Returning to his original spot, the King of the Endermen glared down at him again.
“Do I need to repeat myself?” Erebus asked, his rage hanging by threads.
He could still see Gameknight999 standing atop this tower in his mind, smiling a stupid grin at him. The memory drove all sound reasoning away.
“Why are you still just standing there, doing nothing? DO IT!”
And at that, the wither launched a stream of flaming black skulls into the open doorway, striking the nearest creepers and starting their ignition process. The green beasts started to glow white and expand, growing bigger and bigger, their bodies becoming white hot, until . . .
BOOM . . . BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
A chain reaction of explosions shook the village. The creepers that detonated first lit the fuse on the remaining creepers, creating a series of explosions that tore into the tower with an explosive fist. Blocks of cobblestone rained down across the village as a mighty gash was torn into the surface of Minecraft. When the blocks settled and the smoke cleared, Erebus stared at the remains of the tower with glee. The thing that reminded him so much of that humiliating day, that terrible defeat, was gone, and now only a deep crater remained.
“Wait a minute . . . what is that?” he asked, pointing into the crater with one of his long, dark arms.
At the bottom of the smoking crater was a dark hole that plunged straight downward. It was clearly something built by the villagers, the shaft cut perfectly vertical, with the remnants of a ladder dangling on one side. Erebus teleported to the bottom of the crater, a cloud of purple particles floating about him for an instant after he’d materialized. The ground was still warm. The acrid smell of sulfur floated all around him, the wafting remains of the creepers filling the air.
He stooped down and peered into the tunnel. The ladder attached to the wall stretched down into the darkness; the end of the tunnel wasn’t visible even to the keen eyes of an enderman.
Clearly this was made for those foolish NPCs to go from their pitiful village to something underground, he thought to himself. But why? What is down there?
Standing, he found that his army now ringed the crater; zombies, skeletons, creepers, endermen, spiders, and slimes were all looking down at him. One of the withers floated to him, its blackened skeletal form standing out against the gray stone and brown dirt that lined the pit.
“What are your orders, sir?” the wither asked with a dry, crackling voice.
Erebus’ eyes scanned his troops on the crater’s rim. Spying a group of skeletons, he motioned them to come near. The monsters glanced at each other, their featureless black eyes still somehow looking terrified. Slowly, hesitantly, the group of four skeletons moved to their leader, the sound of clattering bones echoing through the air.
“Go down this ladder and find out where it leads,” Erebus commanded. “Once it is known, one of you will return and report to me while the others stay behind to keep everything secure.”
Moving quickly, the skeletons clambered down the ladder, disappearing into the darkness. After about ten minutes, one of the skeletons returned, its head sticking up out of the tunnel like a disembodied trophy.
“There is a great chamber below,” the skeleton said, its rattling voice sounding like the grinding of bone against bone. “Perhaps twenty crafting benches cover the cavern floor and a series of minecart tracks lead off into tunnels. They go in all directions—maybe thirty or forty tunnels in all, with minecarts lying about in open chests.”
“So this is how they do it,” Erebus murmured.
“What, sir?” asked his wither general.
“The NPCs,” the King of the Endermen answered. “They were able to quickly communicate with the
other villages, move people from one place to another without walking across the landscape. They must have had a minecart network.”
His voice started to crackle with indignation. He suddenly realized that this network was part of his defeat on the last server, and this knowledge filled him with boiling anger and a desire to kill.
“Do the minecart rails look to be in working order?” he asked, his screechy voice conveying his vexation.
“I believe so,” the skeleton replied meekly, knowing that if he were wrong, it would likely cost him his life.
“Very well,” Erebus replied, then turned to address his troops. “The villagers have been keeping this secret from us, the mobs of the Overworld. While they can move from village to village underground, we must risk traveling across the landscape, always in fear of being caught in the sunlight—something that we all know is fatal to some of our brothers and sisters. These NPCs kept this secret from us, knowing that it would cost many of us our lives.”
Some of the mobs started to mumble amongst each other, clearly agitated. Erebus disappeared, the reappeared at the crater’s edge, his body surrounded by sparkling purple teleportation particles. He stood before a group of zombies.
“These NPCs would gladly see all of you suffer the flames of daylight so that they can have more of the Overworld to themselves. They delight in your suffering, revel in the knowledge that we, the monsters of the Overworld, must live underground, only getting a morsel from the banquet table that is Minecraft.”
More mumblings of discontent from the mob could be heard as their anger grew, but they weren’t where he wanted them to be yet, so he continued.
“We have shared the smallest slice of this world for too long,” he screeched. “And this minecart network will allow us to move across this world with impunity, free from the ravages of the sun.”
The zombies and skeletons started to snarl and cheer, followed by the clicking of the giant spiders. Excitement and anger were both about to boil over.
“My army will flow across this world like a flood, drawing savage revenge upon the NPCs and users until all are extinguished. Once they are all dead, we will cross over to the Source and free ourselves from Minecraft’s limitations and take over the physical world!”
His army was now cheering, and the chant, “Destroy the NPCs . . . Destroy the NPCs . . . Destroy the NPCs . . .” echoed across the landscape.
“Now, my friends, FOLLOW ME TO OUR DESTINY.”
And at that, Erebus teleported to the tunnel opening and dove into the darkness, his army of monsters flowing down into the crater, a relentless flood of angry monsters with only one thought in mind: destroy.
CHAPTER 17
THE CLASH OF KINGS
E
rebus and his army moved from village to village through the minecart network, unconcerned about the time of day. The first village they came to was empty, the crafting chamber completely deserted, discarded belongings scattered across the stone floor. Erebus sent some of his sun-resistant monsters to the surface, only to have them return with reports of an empty village.
Erebus grew angry . . . Where were the villagers?
The mob gathered about the minecarts and piled in again, moving to the next village, and the situation repeated itself; the village was abandoned.
Erebus grew even angrier . . . What was going on here?
“Perhaps we should split up,” his wither commander suggested. “These villagers pose little threat to us.”
“No,” snapped Erebus. “The User-that-is-not-a-user is out there, somewhere, and he is preparing his pieces in this game. We cannot risk dividing our forces.”
“But the villagers cannot fight back,” the wither insisted.
“They can, you fool. Don’t you know anything? The presence of the User-that-is-not-a-user changes everything, even the rules of war. He cannot be underestimated. I made that mistake once. I will not make it again. We stay together.”
The monsters piled into the minecarts again, the withers and endermen going first, followed by skeletons, creepers, spiders, zombies, and slimes protecting their rear. Erebus was at the column’s head, acting as the tip of the spear. The army easily flowed through the minecart tunnel, their discontentment building with every deserted village they encountered. Erebus could sense some kind of pattern here—could feel Gameknight’s involvement.
“I’ll find you soon, User-that-is-not-a-user,” he said to himself as he zoomed through the minecart tunnel, the darkness comforting him.
And then he could see it . . . a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Turning backward, he motioned to the withers behind him, signaling them to be ready. As they burst into the brightly lit chamber, Erebus was greeted with a wonderful, joyous sound that was simply the best music to his ears . . . screams of terror.
“Mobs in the crafting chamber!” yelled one of the NPCs. “Everyone, RUN!”
Before anyone could leave, Erebus teleported to the other end of the chamber. Grabbing the dirt blocks on which the minecart rails were attached, he removed the blocks, making the rails fall to the ground, closing off that avenue of escape. Teleporting from rail to rail, he destroyed all of the tracks that led out of the crafting chamber, sealing off the inhabitants, escape route.
The withers then entered the chamber and began throwing their deadly black skulls, the flaming blocks slamming into the NPCs without remorse, killing the recipients and damaging those nearby. More monsters flooded into the chamber as the terrified cries of the NPCs filled the air. The clattering sounds of bones started to echo throughout the space as skeletons entered the fray, their pointed barbs of death streaking through the air and biting into flesh.
Just as the rest of Erebus’ army flowed out of the minecart tunnel, an explosion shook the ground—a massive explosion—followed by the thud, thud, thud of smaller explosions. And then suddenly, the door at the top of the chamber burst open, and Erebus couldn’t believe what he saw . . . a ghast with blood-red eyes.
“What is happening to my prisoners?” the ghast boomed, its feline voice filling the chamber with fear.
A mass of blazes surged out of the blasted doorway as the ghast slowly moved out into the open air, hovering up high near the ceiling, its nine long tentacles twitching with excitement. Following the blazes were zombie-pigmen, then wither skeletons, distant cousins to Erebus’ wither commanders. The room was choked with monsters, all of them confused and unsure about what to do.
“These NPCs are not your prisoners,” Erebus snapped. “I am the King of the Endermen, and these victims belong to me.”
Malacoda’s gaze quickly snapped to Erebus, a venomous rage on his deceivingly innocent-looking face. “Listen to me, enderman,” Malacoda said with a sneer. “You don’t know what’s going on here. There is a war raging across Minecraft, and you are interfering with my plans.”
“Of course I know about the war, ghast.” Erebus stepped forward, allowing three glowing balls of XP to flow into him. The feeling of increased power was exhilarating as he leveled up. Smiling, he glared back at the creature. “I have already faced the User-that-is-not-a-user in battle on the last server plane and have followed him to this server to finish him off. I am going to drain this world of XP, then take my army to the Source, and you are in my way.”
Malacoda slowly moved through the air, then shot downward toward Erebus with a speed that most would have thought impossible for such a large creature. Wrapping his long tentacles around the enderman’s body, he floated back up to the ceiling, holding the struggling King of the Endermen high above the ground. A purplish glow started to envelop Erebus, but it was suddenly extinguished as the enderman was stopped from teleporting away.
“You cannot teleport while in my presence, enderman. I control the workings of all portals that are nearby, and your feeble teleportation skills are no exception.”
Malacoda waited to make sure that all eyes were on him. He wanted to make sure the Overworld mob knew who was in command here. His t
roops continued to move into the chamber as he held the King of the Endermen aloft, the blazes taking up strategic positions around the greatest threats, the withers.
“Now, I will release you, enderman.”
“The name is Erebus.”
“Fine . . . I will release you, Erebus, and then you will do as I command or suffer my wrath. Do you understand?”
Erebus grunted a high-pitched, screechy consent that sounded like the creaking of a rusty hinge, then stopped struggling. Malacoda floated downward a bit, then released him, allowing Erebus to fall the rest of the way. As he fell, Erebus tried to teleport away, but found that he was still being blocked, likely because of his proximity to the ghast. He hit the ground hard, taking some damage to his HP. A gasp of shock came from his troops.
Standing quickly, he shouted out orders. “Withers, attack the ghast NOW!!!”
Before any of the three-headed monsters could even move, a barrage of fireballs rained down onto them. The blazes were firing from their positions around the chamber. Then the smaller ghasts that had entered the room opened up, their fiery balls of death also seeking out the black, skeletal three-headed monsters. In seconds, ten of the withers were dead and small piles of coal and bone littered the cavern floor. The monsters of the Overworld all took a few steps back, lowering their gazes, hoping to avoid being the next example.
“Now let me explain to you how it is, Erebus,” Malacoda said, his loud, purring voice making the NPCs in the cavern cower with fear. “I am Malacoda, King of the Nether, and I am leading this war. I will share with you my plans for this world and for the Source, but only after you prove your worth to me.”
One of the skeletons moved to stand next to Erebus, a look of defiance on his bony face. Malacoda was there in a flash, wrapping his pale tentacles around the creature. Rising high up into the chamber, the King of the Nether squeezed and squeezed. Everyone in the chamber could hear a cracking sound, like a pile of sticks being stepped on by some giant . . . and then the noises abruptly ended. Releasing his prey, Malacoda dropped a pile of bones onto the ground, the small pieces scattering across the cavern floor, all disconnected. All eyes looked down at the remnants of the skeleton, then fixed back on the ghast.
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