Chapter 24

An Enderman's dying scream jolted Clara awake. She was panicking and the sleep couldn't clear from her eyes fast enough. What was going on!? Was Hero okay!? Was she being attacked!?

She was laying in the center of a battlefield. Zombies and skeletons battled something she couldn't see from this angle. Creeper explosions shook the earth and a single Ender teleported through the battlefield, swinging at its opponents with long claws. Clara scrambled to her feet and readied her bow, but she realized that she was not being attacked. Hero's doing, no doubt, but what were the mobs attacking?

A zombie collapsed to the ground with a sword sticking out of its back. The owner of the sword, a woman in full enchanted netherite armor, jerked her weapon out and looked at Clara with a sneer. Clara's heart fell out of her chest.

The Netherwalkers had found them.

"Where is he!?" the Netherwalker demanded.

"Jump into the void!" Clara shot back, nocking an arrow and firing it at her attacker. The Netherwalker deflected it with the blade of her sword. Clara drew her own sword, realizing that her bow wouldn't do much good at close range.

The Netherwalker attacked first. She swung at Clara, but she parried the blow and attacked in one fluid movement. Her blade glanced harmlessly off her opponent's armor and Clara swore under her breath. Netherite was practically indestructible; there was no way she was getting through it.

Their blades locked when Clara saw Herobrine out of the corner of her eye. He was just as frantic and panicked as she was. He screamed her name, but his cries were cut short by another Netherwalker running at him. Clara screamed, but a creeper snuck up on the Netherwalker and blew him up. The mobs were actively trying to protect Hero.

In her distraction, Clara's opponent was able to break through her defense. Clara hissed profanity at the sharp sting of a blade biting her shoulder and kicked the Netherwalker, causing her to stumble back.

"Hero!" Clara's blade clashed with the Netherwalker's, causing sparks to fly. Hero finally noticed her in the chaos. "Hero, run!" she screamed.

"Clara!" he shouted back. He started running towards her, but she shook her head violently.

"Get out of here! Run!" she screamed at him. The Netherwalker's sword sliced her stomach leaving a hole in her shirt. Blood began to leak from the wound. It was at this moment Clara realized that this was not a fight she could win.

"But—" Hero started.

"RUN!"

Herobrine finally turned, scooped up Crackle, and started running as fast as he could to the trees. The Netherwalker tried to follow him, but Clara hit her hard with her sword and stepped between them.

The Netherwalker sneered. "Are you really protecting that monster?"

"No, I'm not." Clara said. "Because the only monster here is you."

Their blades clashed viciously.

Victor stared out the window while Steve sat at the table. He had been in and out of sleep for the past several hours, but Victor showed no signs of fatigue. It was pitch-black outside but the faintest glow of red could be seen on the horizon. Dawn was coming.

"Victor!" the door burst open and Rowan ran in, wearing full netherite armor.

"Did you find him?" Victor asked.

"Well, kind of. We did find him, but he ran off again. But there was a woman with him who was protecting him alongside a bunch of mobs. She was fighting Natasha last I saw."

Oh no. Despite his best efforts, Steve's face went white. That had to be Clara. The Netherwalkers had found them.

Victor noticed Steve's expression and turned to face him. "Steve, who is this woman?"

"I have no idea—" Victor suddenly put the tip of his sword on Steve's throat.

"I won't ask again. Who is this woman? I know you know. Tell me or I remove your head from your shoulders."

Steve swallowed hard. He was torn between protecting Clara's life and his own. "H-h-her name i-is Clara," he stuttered.

Victor thought for a long moment, never once removing his sword. "You lied to me," he said.

"What?"

"Herobrine was never here to begin with. You were trying to distract me. You're trying to protect him." Victor sneered.

Steve opened his mouth to defend himself, but that was pointless. They both knew the truth and if Steve kept lying, he might lose his head for it. He closed his mouth and said nothing.

"Rowan, get the rest of the Netherwalkers. We're going hunting. As for you," Victor looked at Steve with a glare so cold it could freeze the nether over, "you're coming with me. You're going to help us find Herobrine and if you are useful enough, I might just let you live despite this."

Steve just nodded. He had no choice.

"Good. Now, let's go kill us a monster."