Three days later.

Zemeth, Agran, and Jegun returned to the island.

The men rejoiced upon learning that Zemeth returned with the bounty that they were promised upon completing their mission.

Zemeth gives each man the agreed amount of treasures which consisted mainly of gold and silver.

The men went to the town and brought things that they wanted to buy. They brought food to the islands to have a feast.

They have a sumptuous feast that evening on the beachside, sharing laughter and wine while enjoying each other's company.

~

Back in the mountain.

Esmeralda and Vearah were preparing themselves to go to the castle. They wore a white cloak over their clothes.

Four hours to go and Jegun has not arrived yet.

"Where is that old man?" Esmeralda asked.

"Maybe...he will arrive here before midnight, Granny," Kate answered. She looked at her younger sister already dozing off in the chair beside her. "You go now and sleep in the bedroom, Ella," she said.

Ella opened her eyes and stood up. "Okay," she replied and went to the bedroom.

"Let's just wait for Jegun two hours more, if he's still not here, we will proceed to the castle without him," Vearah spoke.

"Okay," Esmeralda agreed.

~

Inside the castle.

Maxwell appeared in Ivy's room holding a black cloak in his hand. She was lying in the bed with a blank expression on her face.

He addressed her. "Get up my love, I will bring you somewhere!" he commanded.

Ivy sighed, she got up from the bed and faced him. "Where are we going?" she asked him, her eyes lacking interest.

Maxwell put the black cloak around her. "Surprise! You will know after we arrive there..." he said and reached for her hand. He wastes no time in summoning the grand carriage for his Queen. Teleporting is a much faster means of transportation.

A few seconds later, they disappeared from the room and

appeared outside the vampire's den. To be precise, they landed in the area where the blazing barrier can be seen. The same area where Esmeralda and the others escape the castle in the past.

Ivy's eyes widened upon seeing so many dark armies hovering in the air, then her heart was gripped with extreme fear upon seeing hungry looking monsters nearby. "Why they are here?" she asked him in a horrified voice.

Maxwell grinned and looked at the monsters. "Ah, them? We will have a grand party tonight!" he replied excitedly.

Ivy's heart was beating faster in her rib cage. "W-what do you mean?"

"I told you before that I will release 100 monsters tonight. I changed my mind, I will release 200 monsters today. These are just the first batch!" he said laughing maniacally.

Ivy gasped in shock! So he was not joking at all with his sinister plan! He intended to do it right now. She was looking for an escape but found none. She doesn't want to be the instrument of his evil intentions, but what she's going to do now?

Maxwell summoned the golden dagger and it appeared in his palm. "Let's start the party!" he said. He nodded at his two brothers that were standing nearby to witness this momentous event.

He grabbed Ivy's right arm and cut her skin using the dagger.

Ivy flinched in pain, she gritted her teeth.

The golden dagger was now coated with Ivy's blood... it starts to produce blinding light and transformed into a sword.

Maxwell rose in the air and sliced the blazing barrier, making a square opening, the same process as to how it was done by Ivy's lover in the past. He grinned happily after seeing the blazing barrier opened up easily...

He addressed the monsters..."Go outside! Hurry up! Unleash terror to the masses!" he shouted at them.

The monsters were ecstatic...they waste no time and bolted into the opening... exiting the castle towards their freedom.

The vampire's brothers are watching the spectacle in glee. What was used to be an impossible dream is now a reality!

Ivy watched in horror as the remaining monsters were finally exiting the opening...then the blazing barrier began to repair itself and completely shut off.

"It's a huge success, Ivy, my love!!" Maxwell was laughing hard, super delighted by the success of the first batch of monsters that he unleashes to the public.

Ivy closed her eyes in defeat and sorrow. She was powerless to do anything to prevent the disaster. She was deeply worried about the people in the neighboring areas 'coz they are about to face the horrifying monsters that will attack their homes without mercy.

If only there is somebody out there who can warn the village people that were living near the castle to flee! Alas, there's no one!

Ivy's heart was filled with anguish. She finds it hard to accept that her blood and the golden dagger became an instrument for mass slaughter.

She was watching Maxwell's animated face. He was planning to release another 100 monsters in the next few minutes...she must find a way to prevent it! But how? In what way?

~

Meanwhile, in the mountain.

Expecting that Jegun will no longer come, Vearah and Esmeralda, exited the house to open the portal going to the castle.

Just when they are about to open the portal...another portal opened outside the house. Zemeth, Jegun, and Ramza exited the portal.

"Sorry for the delay, ladies," Jegun apologized.

"We're about to go..." Esmeralda said. She looked at Zemeth and Ramza. "Are you guys coming with us to the castle?" she asked them.

"Yes!" Zemeth and Ramza replied in chorus.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's go!" Vearah said.

Esmeralda instructed her portal relic to open. "Portal! Take us to the base of the castle at the top of the hill!" she commanded.

The neon portal opening appeared instantly out of nowhere.

The group entered the portal. A few seconds later... the portal disappeared into thin air.

Kate entered the house and closed the door.

~

The portal opened up at the base of the hill.

It was calm in that area.

Then the group noticed something...

"Why there are uprooted plants here?" asked Esmeralda.

"I smell something fishy going on around here!" Jegun said. He saw more plants being uprooted everywhere as if a gazillion of horses were galloping through the area.

"What's going on here!?" Ramza asked in confusion.

Jegun looked at Zemeth and Ramza. "Who wants to go with me? We will patrol the neighboring areas. I have a bad assumption about these uprooted plants..."

"What do you mean, Grandpa?" asked Zemeth.

"These footprints here are not human footprints, it belongs to the monsters!" Jegun said.

They looked at each other in horror!

"Damn! Looks like they already unleashed the monsters!" Ramza finally said.

"Where are they now? Why we can't see them?" asked Vearah.

Esmeralda released a deep breath. "They are probably looking for something to eat. And for those hungry monsters... human meat is always tasty!"

"I will go with you, Grandpa!" Ramza volunteered.

"Okay, let's go!" Jegun said.

Ramza and Jegun hovered in the air.

Fifteen minutes later, floating in the air, they hear a blood-curdling scream from a distance.

"As I suspected!" Jegun said and zoomed towards the location of the sound.

Ramza followed behind him.

The men located the source of the scream and they were shocked to see dead bodies loitering around with body parts missing...and a few meters away...they saw more or less ten monsters busy munching on a human's bloody torso and arms.

They were shocked beyond words by the terrifying carnage they had seen in the area. Ten wooden houses...all doors were ripped opened by the monsters... dead bodies were scattered outside the houses... some of the bodies were missing its head, arms, and legs. Intestines and raw human blood can be seen splattered on the grassy ground...the raw blood produces a nauseating stench in the air.

They saw another group of monsters huddling in the corner...eating fresh human meat!

"Hmm, it seems our little friends here are busy with their food and they didn't bother to confront us, or maybe they think we are big birds and it's a waste of time to come after us since they can't fly," Jegun said. "So...what we're going to do with them?"

"Greedy hungry monsters! Let's burn them!" Ramza said indignantly.

"Okay...here's the plan. I will freeze anyone and everyone I see then you will burn them... we need to work fast because some of them may be already ahead hundred of miles from us," Jegun said.

"Alright, after you, Grandpa!" Ramza said.

Jegun began freezing the first group of monsters with his hands...and so on.

Ramza releases fires in his fingers...and directed the fire to the frozen monsters....their bodies start burning...then he moves on to the next group.

Jegun and Ramza repeated the same process to any monsters that they captured in the area...the freezing technique that Jegun applied to the monsters allowed Ramza to focus on burning them in batches and saves time, instead of chasing after them in circles around the area.

"We are going to hunt and exterminate these monsters all night long. I wonder how many monsters the vampires have released this evening? And how far they had already reached? I'm afraid they had already slaughtered many people in the neighboring areas," Jegun said sadly.

"That's also what I'm thinking right now," Ramza agreed, he wore a grim expression on his face.

"It seemed we already burn all the monsters in this area, let's proceed to the northern part!" Jegun said.

"Okay, after you, Grandpa!" Ramza replied.

The men zoomed to the northern part of the area, getting farther away from the castle.

~

Back in the base of the castle.

Esmeralda has been trying to use her power to reveal the location of the blazing barrier, but she failed each time.

Vearah did the same... even Zemeth joined the ladies attempt. Unfortunately, their combined powers didn't work. The blazing power won't reveal itself.

Esmeralda was shaking her head, feeling confused about why she can no longer make the blazing barrier reveal itself while it works when she was still inside the castle. "I don't understand why it's not working anymore?" she said scratching her head in annoyance.

"I think...the formation won't allow outsiders to see the blazing barrier. It's such a complex formation, I'm no longer surprised why we fail to make it appear this time," Zemeth spoke.

"Alright, since there is nothing we can do here...we might as well try to find out what happened to Jegun and Ramza, why they fail to return here? I hope nothing bad happens..." Vearah said worriedly.

"I think something bad happens out there because if nothing happens, they should have returned here by now," Zemeth expressed his worries.

"Okay, let's leave this place now..." Esmeralda said.

Suddenly, they heard a sound, and their eyes widened upon seeing a sword slicing the upper part of the space in front of them.

Zemeth recognizes the golden sword. "Oh no...they are opening the barrier! Let's hide behind the trees!"

They scampered towards the thick trees, hiding behind those big trunks, totally submerged in darkness.