Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"This is it, huh?" YuWon mumbled.

Lycaon's skeleton had led them to a secluded tunnel. Even the Elder Centaur did not know about the cave's existence. Moreover, it had carving all over it, which the elder told them was the doing of the Chiron.

It wasn't easy to get there either. They had to locate their way through a maze. Every entrance led to five others, and they had to cross five such clearings. The probability of finding the correct path was around 0.032%.

Thankfully, Lycaon was dead and couldn't betray them, or else he could have easily gotten them lost in the maze, where they'd die from natural causes.

"No wonder it was impossible to find them," Anna mumbled, touching the cave's wall.

"If someone doesn't want to be found, then this is the best way to keep anyone from trying," YuWon added.

They were at the gates, but they all knew their journey ahead wouldn't be easy. The Chiron had gone through so much trouble to hide themselves; it was obvious the maze wouldn't be their only defense.

"Let's go," YuWon instructed, and Soo-Ah made Lycaon's skeleton to take the lead.

Sure enough, that was the case, but no one expected to see werewolves waiting inside the cave. But they weren't like the ones they had fought before.

These werewolves were more like skeletons. Hunger gnawed at them, and their eyes were filled with insanity. More importantly, they had strange collars around their necks.

"They must be the werewolves who got captured during Lycaon's attack," the elder mumbled. "...the Chiron are more fearsome than I thought."

"Are you sure they'll... help us?" Yeji couldn't help but ask.

Who could blame her? The Chiron didn't look like someone they'd get involved with. Besides, the centaurs had made it clear their kind didn't look kindly on the humans.

"They will help you," the elder nodded, though he didn't seem confident. "Even the Chiron are bound to obey the rules of the world tree. They wouldn't dare offend an angel."

"But what happened to these werewolves?" Gina commented, looking at their skeletal frame.

"The king's curse is powerful. Even if they don't eat, they'll never die from hunger or weakness," the elder explained. "Instead, they just… keep going, like empty shells. It seemed the Chiron knew about it and turned them into guards."

YuWon didn't comment on it, but even he was in awe. These Chiron weren't just strong, they were terrifyingly powerful. Not only did the Chiron defeat the werewolves, but they even turned them into their mindless guards.

But that thought also made him nervous. Even with the power of two disaster's hearts, YuWon couldn't hold his own against a pack of werewolves, at least not without significant risk.

But the Chiron made it all seem so easy. If he made any mistake during their meeting, things wouldn't end well for them. The thought of having a collar around his neck and being forced to guard the Chiron caves like one of these werewolves made him uneasy.

Let's get rid of these werewolves first.

"Subdue them," YuWon mumbled. "Since the Chiron own them, they won't be pleased if we killed them."

"Alright."

Anna swung her sword at the first werewolf that came close, slicing its side, but the creature only staggered. It showed no signs of feeling pain and kept attacking.

"What the hell!?" she exclaimed, kicking away the creature.

"It's their hunger," the elder exclaimed. "With food in sight, they don't care about getting hurt."

"Makes sense," YuWon replied.

It made sense, but it didn't make their work any easier. The easiest way to get rid of them would be to kill them. But YuWon didn't want to take that chance.

A way to deal with this mess...

YuWon's eyes fell on Lycaon's skeleton and got an idea. He turned to Yeji, who was fending off a werewolf with a spear of blood she had conjured.

"Yeji! Can you control them with your blood magic, like you did with Lycaon?"

"What do you think?" Yeji replied, glancing at the blood on the ground left from the werewolves' attacks. "I did it before, but Sekhmet was guiding me. I don't know if I can do it—"

"We won't know unless you try," YuWon cut her off, kicking away a werewolf.

Yeji nodded. Since they wanted to keep Sekhmet out of her body, she would eventually have to use her powers. The sooner she started, the better it'd be.

With that thought, Yeji raised her hand, and her eyes turned blood red like before. All the chaos around her disappeared as she focused on the blood on the cave floor.

It took a moment, but the blood on the ground began to ripple and swirl, slowly rising into the air. Yeji narrowed her eyes as she forced the blood into the shape of long, thin needles.

It was taking a lot of struggle on her part. She couldn't believe it was so easy to control it before. But slowly, she gained control over the needles.

"Here goes nothing..." she mumbled.

She flicked her wrist, sending the needles flying straight at the werewolves. The blood needles struck the werewolves in their arms, legs, and shoulders, piercing through their skin.

The wolves barely reacted and kept fighting. But in time, their movements got slower, and eventually, they slumped against the walls.

"Hurry!" Yeji called, her voice strained. "I don't know how long I can hold them!"

Without wasting time, they knocked the werewolves out before tying them up with the supplies the elder had brought with him.

"That should hold it," Anna mumbled after tying up the last werewolf.

Only then did Yeji let go of the needles and collapsed on her knees. Sekhmet had made it look so easy, but after trying it alone, Yeji realized how difficult it was to control her powers.

As the red glow faded from her eyes, the needles lost their solid form and fell to the ground.

"It worked, huh?" she smiled weakly.

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