Hardcore Survival (A Minecraft Story)

Victory or Defeat

The Enderman within me, Reginald, seemed to be cooperating for the most part. I did not enjoy this any more than he did, but we both knew this is how it would end up. He seems to dissipate, for now, relishing the slight freedom he has. I, however, face down the Wither King. My eye twitches, and I am swiftly behind him. I am mid-twirl in the air, aiming to slice at his spine. The King barely turns in time to stop me, and the impact makes him skid back a few blocks. Quickly, I rush at him, swinging my sword once more. He counters and parries each strike, until I teleport again, this time directly above him.

My fist slams down onto his skull, and he grunts from the hit. His sword lifts and slices my arm. With a hiss of pain, I teleport away. I can feel the Wither effect crawling up my arm. 'Hey, Reggie ole' boy. Got any bright ideas?'  I can sense his irritation at the nickname before I sense him again. 'Call me that again, and your body is as good as mine.' I ignore how... odd that sounds for now and push myself back from another attack by the Wither King. The Enderman eyes the situation then smirks. 'He has a blind spot. Directly to his left, and a foot behind.' I eye the spot he means, and he's correct. His armor obscures that spot behind him, and he attacks with his left hand as well.

Speaking of attack, a sword was coming straight at my face. I launch over it, flipping in the air to land on my feet facing his back. I had landed directly in the blind spot, and I take this chance to switch hands with my sword and slam my right fist into the side of his head. He stumbles to the side, and I begin slicing at him with my sword. Each hit reverberates back through the blade to me, but I can see dents and cuts starting to form on his armor. Whatever my sword was made of seemed to be stronger than netherite, and I was finally starting to make headway in this fight.

Until two skeletal hands stop my blade just as it was about to slam down again for another hit. I growl as the Wither King raises his head, black bubbling liquid falling from his wounds. His eye sockets narrow at me, and I suddenly feel the need to get a way. I teleport, but not before pain fills my gut. Stumbling, I lose grip of my sword and fall to my knees again. I hear shouting, so I roll to my right just in time. A smokey black skull had slammed into the area I was at before, exploding the second it hit the ground. I huff and look up, spotting the Wither King with two more of the skulls floating near his shoulders. 'So that's what he was hiding....'

'I don't believe the odds are in our favor....'

I silently growl and stand. I can feel the wither effect slowly creeping through my system, and my blood was severely pooling at my feet from the wound on my gut. An idea comes to mind, but it would be a very huge risk. I can tell that Reginald was already thinking the same thing. 'You honestly believe you can control it long enough...?' I growl again, ignoring the skepticism in his voice, and dodge another blast. Reaching into my inventory, I yank out a potion of health and hide behind a stalagmite. I quickly chug it and feel the wound start to heal, but the wither effect was still within me. I gasp as the main pain begins to fade. 'Only one way to find out. Do it.' 

I turn the corner and rush out, narrowly dodging another skull. I can feel the wither effect being drawn to the attack, and it feels like something inside me is moving. It's painful, like a rock being tugged around. However, I keep my eyes on the Wither King. As I near, I jump up over him and land behind him. Just as my feet touch the ground I teleport away. The ground explodes, but I'm next to him instead. My foot connects with his skull, and he stumbles away from me...

But I am already where he was falling towards.

I slam another foot into his back, teleport the way he was moving and slam my fist into his face. I keep up this dance, ducking between sword slashes and only just missing a few skulls that threatened to destroy me in one hit. Despite getting some hits in, the poison inside my system starts to make me slow down. I see a sword coming at my face, and I realize I don't have mine.