---o---
"Is no one going to say a word for me?"
Silver Wolf looked at the heartless group with a sorrowful expression. She still had an arrow sticking out of her forehead, you know!
In the end, it was Screwllum who offered a humanitarian, "You have our thanks for your hard work."
"Since the experiment was a success, let's go. Time to settle the score."
Fu Zhu was the first to dive into the portal, with Herta and the others close behind.
---o---
The moment they entered, they saw the Ender Dragon circling above the main island. It saw them too, but it didn't initiate an attack.
Seeing that the Ender Dragon had no intention of attacking immediately, Silver Wolf couldn't help but quip, "This is probably the most docile boss I've ever seen."
"You wouldn't be saying that if you'd taken a beating from it."
Fu Zhu drew his bow and aimed at Screwllum. "Alright, it's up to you guys now. Remember, the Ender Dragon's health is much, much higher than Silver Wolf's. Keep accelerating the arrow for a while. I'll create an opportunity for you."
After releasing the arrow toward Screwllum, Fu Zhu equipped his Elytra and flew toward the main island. While Herta and the others were busy accelerating the arrow, he needed to hold the Ender Dragon's aggro and create the perfect opening for the shot.
---o---
Meanwhile, the trio of Herta, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum, standing on the obsidian platform, began using explosions to accelerate the arrow while slowly ascending into the sky.
While accelerating the arrow from the obsidian platform was the safest option, its distance from the main island meant the arrow would lose a significant amount of velocity during flight.
Ruan Mei looked with some concern at the arrow they were continuously accelerating. "Will this arrow really be able to harm it? It casually blocked even Herta's attack with its wing. Logically, it should be able to block something like an arrow just as easily."
"Trust Fu Zhu," Herta said, concentrating on accelerating the arrow. "Since he said it will work, then it will definitely work."
"Alright then."
---o---
On the main island, Fu Zhu landed on the ground, looked up at the Ender Dragon in the sky, and fired an arrow at it. The arrow struck true, causing a single pixel of the dragon's health bar to disappear.
Seeing the change in its health, Fu Zhu couldn't help but complain, "Tsk, this health bar is definitely on the level of an RPG modpack."
If he had a bit more time to prepare, he wouldn't have needed to waste time having Herta's group research a Genius Club version of the Skyfall Dragon-Slaying Cannon. He could have just gone up and killed it with a single slash.
The Ender Dragon, suddenly struck by an arrow, stopped its lazy circling. With its target clearly identified, it dove straight toward Fu Zhu.
Unflustered, Fu Zhu ate a golden apple, held a Totem of Undying in his main hand, and raised his shield with his off-hand.
His current mission was to keep the Ender Dragon pinned in one location for as long as possible while ensuring he stayed alive. If he died, the Ender Dragon would lose its aggro and resume flying around in the sky, which would make things much more difficult for Herta's group.
The Ender Dragon slammed into the ground with a diving attack. Fu Zhu blocked it with his shield, took two steps back, then switched to his Slash Blade and began to wear it down.
The Ender Dragon, in turn, relentlessly swiped at him with its claws and spewed dragon's breath. Its movements were so fast that Fu Zhu had to constantly use Ender Pearls to reposition himself. However, the dragon's breath coated the ground everywhere, restricting his movement.
Soon, the Ender Dragon had backed Fu Zhu into a corner, its massive body blocking any chance of him throwing an Ender Pearl to escape.
Fu Zhu assessed his current situation. He wanted to equip his Elytra and fly away, but then he reconsidered. He only had this one Elytra. If it took a hit from the Ender Dragon, its durability would surely be vaporized.
After weighing his options, Fu Zhu decided to stay put and fight the Ender Dragon head-on.
The Ender Dragon once again unleashed a wide-area breath attack. Fu Zhu could only raise his shield to block, but the shield shattered in less than half a second from the high-frequency attacks.
In that instant, Fu Zhu was exposed to the dragon's breath.
Boom!
[Achievement Unlocked: Post-mortal!]
[Received 20 Achievement Points]
The moment the totem shattered, Fu Zhu's health was instantly restored to half. Seizing the opportunity, he threw an Ender Pearl and even managed to shoot a grin at the Ender Dragon.
"This time, I win again, you know."
The next second, Fu Zhu's figure vanished from in front of the Ender Dragon. The dragon seemed to realize something and looked up. High in the sky, Herta's group was flying in a triangular formation.
A white streak of light descended rapidly. The Ender Dragon merely glanced at it, making no move to dodge.
The next moment, the arrow, accelerated to a terrifying velocity, accurately struck the Ender Dragon in the back. Its health bar was emptied in an instant.
---o---
Seeing the Ender Dragon's health bar empty, Fu Zhu breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to relax, he noticed something.
The achievement for liberating The End hadn't popped up! The Ender Dragon wasn't dead yet!
Fu Zhu immediately whipped his head around to look at the Ender Dragon's position. It was looking back at him, and was that... a faint hint of a smile in its eyes?
Just as Fu Zhu was trying to figure out what was happening, the Ender Dragon's health bar suddenly refilled at an incredible speed. Even more bizarrely, the arrow that had been lodged in its back shot out and flew back into the sky, as if time was playing in reverse.
The surrounding scene also began to rewind. The arrow flew backward, all the way back to Herta's group.
Something was wrong!
Fu Zhu looked toward Herta's group in the sky. They didn't seem to have noticed anything, and were still in the process of accelerating the arrow.
Then, they too began to move in reverse, their bodies rewinding in a strange manner all the way back to their starting positions on the obsidian platform.
Only then did Herta and the others snap out of their stupor, looking with bewilderment at Fu Zhu, who was already on the main island of The End.
Herta sent a telepathic message to Fu Zhu in confusion. "Fu Zhu? How did you move so fast?"
Fu Zhu was equally bewildered. "You didn't notice what just happened?"
"What happened?" Herta frowned. Fu Zhu's words confused her, but at the same time, she felt a nagging sense that something was wrong. Fu Zhu wouldn't say something so nonsensical at a time like this. The only possibility was that something had happened that even they hadn't noticed.
Before Fu Zhu could explain, the Ender Dragon suddenly threw its head back and let out a long cry. The next moment...
[Player Herta was slain by the Ender Dragon]
[Player Screwllum was slain by the Ender Dragon]
[Player Ruan Mei was slain by the Ender Dragon]
[Player Silver Wolf was slain by the Ender Dragon]
Herta's group, who had been standing safely on the obsidian platform just a moment ago, all died suddenly. The scene left Fu Zhu utterly stunned.
This ability of the Ender Dragon's was definitely not from any mod he knew. He had never seen an Ender Dragon with such power. The only possibility was that this was a new ability it had gained after acquiring the power of the Path of [Finality].
Judging by the abilities associated with the Path of [Finality], Herta and the others had likely been rewound to the time of their previous deaths.
The only good news was that the Ender Dragon's [Finality] didn't seem to affect him. Even here, in The End, the Ender Dragon's home turf, his control over this world was still greater than its.
After completely ejecting Herta's group from The End, the Ender Dragon slowly lowered its proud head and looked at Fu Zhu, who was standing where he had been all along.
"While you were playing with time, time was also playing with you."
Fu Zhu slowly straightened up, looking back at the Ender Dragon with some surprise. "So you can talk?"
"I always could. Both now, and across countless timelines before. You simply never paid attention."
---o---
PS: This chapter has been revised.