Chapter 3599 Standstill (Part 2) "I said careful, you moron!" The female voice sounded again. "Do you want this place to cave in on our heads? Awakened are hard to kill, not immortal!" Nalrond inwardly cursed but kept his pace steady. He couldn't afford to trigger one of the alarms or alert the enemy of his presence. "Can't you deactivate these gods-damn arrays? They keep getting in the way of our spells." "Yeah, right." A male voice scoffed. "Then what would stop you from killing me the moment we catch our prize? You have brought along your precious disciples, whereas I'm alone. I won't give you any more advantage." Nalrond turned around, his face twisted in honest confusion. His companions shook their heads. None of them knew the people to whom the voices belonged. 'Solus?' Lith asked. 'Still too far away for the Eyes, I'm sorry.' She replied. 'Mom?' 'It doesn't look good, dear.' Menadion moved ahead of the group and shared her senses via the black chains with Lith. A large section of the mines' walls had been blasted open to reveal the Rezar's safe house. It was a space much wider than the previous hideouts, enough to comfortably host twenty people the size of an adult Rezar. Every piece of furniture was made of clay or stone, and they all lay scattered and shattered throughout the various rooms. Two richly dressed bright violet-cored Awakened and one Rezar stood at different corners of the cave in a triangle formation. One of the Awakened was a middle-aged man with grizzled black hair and beard who kept himself as close to the mines as he could. Tendrils of energy extended from the nearby array field, allowing him to draw upon its powers. Yet the Rezars had built the safe house outside the magical formations and expanding their area of effect past its natural limits put quite a burden on their master who could exert only a fraction of their true might. The other one was an old woman with white hair so clear that it looked silvery. The only colors she had left were the blue and black streaks of her elemental affinities. She was accompanied by five bright blue-cored younger Awakened. It was impossible to tell their age, but judging by their stunning physical appearance, they had been Awakened at a young age. Their resemblance with their mentor revealed they also had to be part of the same bloodline. The Rezar stood at the far end of the room, cornered against a wall. He had several missing scales and open wounds that were closing at a discernible speed. Four spheres of light orbited around him, reminding Menadion of the elemental god spells. 'I don't get it.' Ripha thought. 'What may have caused this standstill? Seven Awakened are more than enough to capture a single Emperor Beast with ease. Yet, cornering Salman like this should have been impossible. 'Why does he stand there like an idiot instead of escaping by merging with the stone wall like Nalrond does?' She could only rely on her regular sight since even Fire Vision would have lit her eyes up and revealed her position. 'Excellent question.' Lith passed the Eyes of Menadion to her, leaving the Ears to Friya. 'What's the answer?' 'The Awakened have coated the entire safe house with a thin layer of Spirit Magic that insulates it from the Rezar's bloodline ability and traps him.' Menadion replied. 'Yet they failed to capture him because he's damn smart. 'The old man must be the undead regional lord and the owner of these mines. Those spheres constantly draw and amplify the light element in the area, making him groggy-' 'That's one of our… I mean, Dawn's anti-undead spells, Daymare.' Nalrond cut her short, recognizing one of the most powerful techniques the Rezar bloodline had forced the Horseman to reveal. 'Nobody cares.' If grunts could punch, the Agni would have doubled over, puking his guts out. 'As I was saying, the undead is keeping the other five Awakened in check with the help of the mine's array field. 'Whoever makes the first move gets attacked by the other two.' There was no term on Mogar for Mexican standoff, but Lith and Solus exchanged a knowing look. "I have an idea." Salman's voice was deep, his words a low growl. "Why don't you let me go and take your time sorting your differences? The winner gets to resume the chase, and I get the opportunity to escape. Everybody wins." "In your dreams, Rezar." The woman scoffed. "I didn't come so far just to let you go because of a stubborn old fart." Then, she turned toward the undead. "You've done your part, Axiran. I'll take it from here. "Go home, have a cup of warm blood, and take your beauty nap. By the time you wake up, I'll have your share delivered at your door." "I just look ol,d whereas you are old, Iraka, if not decrepit." Axiran laughed a mirthless laugh. "We are the same age, but my body stopped declining centuries ago, while yours is but a shadow of what it once was. "I made a mistake by allowing you access to my mines during the day. I won't make another by letting you rob me of what's rightfully mine!" A snap of his fingers and a blood-red lightning bolt slithered across his body. It amplified his powers and made up for his weakened state, but it didn't affect the drowsiness that slowed down his reflexes and hindered his focus. 'That's no Vampire.' Menadion thought. 'That's a Blood Warlock.' 'I can more or less understand how they got to this point.' Lith pondered. 'Axiom came alone because none of the disciples he truly trusts can stay awake during the day. He and Iraka joined forces to capture Salman, but greed soured their relationship once they found him. 'The only question is, what use does a Blood Warlock have for Light Mastery?' 'You don't know?' Menadion was flabbergasted. 'I'll tell you the details later, but Blood Warlocks can use light magic much more easily than all other undead species. They can also conjure Spirit Magic without consuming the energy stored in their blood cores. They just need fresh blood.' 'I knew the second part.' Lith replied. 'I've faced a few Blood Witches and Warlocks, but they never used light magic against me.' "I may be decrepit, but you are senile!" Iraka retorted. "I did all the hard work. I chased this bastard for days. All you had to do was lift the arrays barring access to this gods-damned labyrinth. "The Rezar is my prisoner, and you should be grateful I share anything of his knowledge with you." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 "My mines, my turf, my prisoner." Axiran sneered. "I owe you nothing. You should thank me for not reporting you to the Awakened Council. That brat of yours tried to kill me the moment the Rezar weakened me with his weird spell." "It was just an accident!" She glared at her disciple, not for the attempted murder but for the failed murder. "If that's true, then I'm still alive!" The Blood Warlock conjured a thick barrier protecting him from Salman and a thicker one protecting Salman from Iraka's group.