Vearah had just finished grounding the poisonous roots of Drilizir Tree, and it's already ready to use. Later, she will add other components to the powder to produce an even deadlier result. She was expecting the vampires to be bolder and released more monsters, which means more poison powder is needed to kill more monsters in one go.

She exited the restricted room that she had erected in the backyard of her house a long time ago. She used that room to experiment on many things, which include concocting herbal medicines and poisons.

Outside, she found the girls catching fish in the pond. "Need help, girls?" she asked them.

The girls smiled. "No need, thanks, Granny. We can manage," they replied in unison.

"Ah, girls. Don't enter that room over there, okay? I'm preparing the poison powder in there that can help kill more monsters quickly. That room is dangerous! The fumes in there can kill humans in seconds, BEWARE!" Vearah warned them.

"Yes, Granny!" the girls said.

"Where is Esmeralda?" asked Vearah.

"She is in the flower garden, relaxing..." Kate answered.

"Okay, I'll go there," Vearah said. She proceeds to the location of the flower garden. She found Esmeralda having a serious conversation with Aspen. She went to their side and sat on the wooden bench. "What are you talking about, guys?" she asked.

"We're just talking about my impending return to the castle," Esmeralda answered.

"I offered Esme to accompany her inside the castle. When she faced those vampires, I have to be there by her side. Who knows what the vampires are planning behind our back. I'm sure by now they already knew that the monsters they released to the public were already dead. They're furious and would retaliate with a more aggressive approach to counter us. Although they can't kill Esmeralda, they won't hesitate to capture her and imprisoned her somewhere, and it's something that I can't allow to happen," Aspen explained.

"So...what is the plan? Are there any changes?" Vearah asked.

"The original plan still applies... but I'm proposing something to Aspen...and with what I have in mind...it will solve everything and bring an end to the vampire's madness, " Esmeralda said.

"What is it?" Vearah asked as curiosity was mounting on her mind.

Esmeralda looks at her mentor in the eyes. "Do you have a dagger or a knife, teacher?" she asked.

Vearah's brows knitted together. "Huh? Why do you need a knife or dagger?" she asked in confusion.

"If something goes wrong the moment I will face the vampires, I want Aspen to stab my heart with the dagger so that my heart stops beating, but he has to do it after Zemeth and Ivy exited the castle. These things should be done in perfect timing, or else ending my life too soon while Ivy and Zemeth still inside the castle will kill them as well. That would put my sacrifice in vain," Esmeralda said.

"Are you sure about your decision-?" asked Vearah.

Esmeralda sighed. "After witnessing the monsters killing innocent villagers, I finally made up my mind to end my life so that mass slaughter won't happen again. My death will kill everyone inside the castle and will put an end to everything. So far, this is the wisest decision I could think of..." she said misty-eyed.

Vearah sighed. "Alright, if this is what you want, then I'll respect your decision. I have some dagger in my bedroom..." She rose to her feet and looked at Aspen. "Come with me to my room...I'll give you the dagger," she said and walked back towards the house.

"Okay," Aspen replied and followed the immortal inside the house.

When they arrived at Vearah's bedroom, she immediately opened the drawer inside the cabinet and took one silver dagger still attached to its sheath. "Use this to stab Esmeralda right into her heart. I'll give it to you now because we might no longer have free time later, just in case they will release the monsters any time you already had the dagger with you." She handed the dagger to him.

Aspen inspected the dagger in his hands. "So...this is it! After waiting for so long, finally attaining freedom, and yet the ending still death. I feel sorry for Esmeralda," he said sadly.

"Me too...I feel sorry for my student. She only enjoyed short freedom outside the castle, yet in the end, she still has to die inside that place that she wanted to leave behind," Vearah said, she wore a sad grimace on her face.

Aspen released a deep sigh and shook his head. "I have one fear. I don't want to end Esmeralda's life too soon or too late. I have to grant her last wish, which is to end her life after Zemeth and Ivy were already outside the castle. But I might panic and make a mistake along the way since the vampire's moves are hard to predict," he said wryly.

Vearah patted his shoulder. "Don't panic...you must be alert when you're already pacing the vampires...you must be quick to analyze their moves, or else Esmeralda's plan will end in vain. Do you understand me, Aspen?" she asked him.

"Yes, I understand what you are trying to say, Immortal Vearah," Aspen replied.

"Good! Make no mistakes since Esmeralda trusted you with her life. Make her life matters and her wishes granted, so that in the end, we can all have peace of mind leaving all these behind us," Vearah said.

Aspen stared at the dagger in his hands for a few minutes, then he wielded his power, made the weapon disappeared from his hand. It will reappear later after summoning it at the right time.

"We're done here. Go back to the flower garden and accompany your friend, spend quality time with her 'coz it might be your last time with her. I'll go back to my laboratory and finished concocting my poison powder so that we can have lots of ammunition to use when the castle starts releasing another batch of monsters," Vearah concluded.

They exited the bedroom and went their separate ways.

Aspen went back to the flower garden. Esmeralda was still sitting on the wooden bench, enjoying the beautiful view. He lowered himself beside her. "Immortal Vearah had given me the dagger as you requested," he said.

"Can I see it?" Esmeralda said.

"Sure!" Aspen replied and summoned the dagger in his mind. He opened his palm, and the weapon appeared. "Here it is..."

Esmeralda picked up the dagger and held it in her hands. She examined the object for a few minutes. "So, this is the weapon that will finally end my life? It's ironic that right now, I'm staring and holding the weapon that would eventually put an end to my precious life," she spoke, sighing.

Aspen rubbed Esmeralda's back. "I'm sorry, my friend, while we're still inside the castle, we both dreamed of this freedom that we are enjoying right now. I did not expect that our freedom is short-lived. There are still so many things that I wanted to do with my life, like traveling the whole world, visiting places, meeting different kinds of people and eating all types of dishes. It's fun to be alive. However, all this is going to change any minute," he said teary-eyed.

Esmeralda hit him on the arms. "Huh? Why are you so very emotional? You are not the one going who is going to die - I am! So, please stop being an emotional wreck!" She pinched his side, smiling in amusement.

"Of course...I will die with you! Do you think I can escape the castle after stabbing you? The blazing barrier will burn everyone to ashes after your heart stops beating. I might not be able to exit the barrier on time 'coz the barrier will burn me immediately, and I will perish alongside with you. I already accepted my fate, which is to die along with you. So yeah, let's die together, my friend!" Aspen said morosely and snatched the dagger from her hands.

Esmeralda breathed deeply. "You don't have to do it! Just give that dagger to me! I will stab myself if the time calls for it. Just wait outside the castle and help the others annihilate the monsters. This way, I can secure your safety," she suggested.

"No way!" Aspen argued. The weapon vanished instantly by his command.

"Where is the dagger? Give it back to me, Aspen!" she demanded, glaring at him.

"I said, no way! I already made a decision. I will die with you! Whether you like it or not, you won't be on your own facing those vampires. You won't die alone in that forsaken place! We will die together. Maybe, we are going to be reborn again in another time, and in that time, somewhere out there, we are no longer a prisoner of the castle. We will be living a happy life in our next life. Isn't that worth looking forward to during the time of our death?" Aspen grinned.

Esmeralda erupted into peals of laughter. "You're awesome, my friend! Even if we are facing our impending death, you still manage to make me smile and give me a reason to look forward to after we die. Yeah, you are right. In this life, we will meet our doom too soon. But maybe if we are reborn again, our life will be different. So...yeah...no reason to feel sad anymore," she said with a smile.

"If we are reborn, what do you want to be? Do you want to be reincarnated as a human being, Nephilim being? Animals? Plants? Birds or what?" Aspen asked her.

"I just want to be reborn as an immortal being like my teacher," answered Esmeralda.

Aspen clapped his hands in glee. "Alright, I want to be an immortal too, just like you and Vearah!" he said, smiling.

Vearah approached them. "Wow, what are you laughing about, guys? What is there to be happy? Care to share it with me?" she asked curiously.

Aspen laughed. "Ah...we're just talking about our impending death. Esmeralda and I wanted to be reborn as immortals in our next life just in case we will perish together inside the castle," he answered.

Vearah smiled. "Hmm...your wishes are not bad..." she commented while staring at the colorful flowers in front of them.

A moment later, Kate informed them that the meal is ready at the dining table.

They left the flower garden and entered the house to eat their meals.

...

Inside the castle, the vampire brothers were also discussing a plan of their own.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Guys, please buy my privilege chapters, I will appreciate it very much!

Thank you!