Six hours later.

Zemeth was having a conversation with Jegun in the fruit garden while munching on fresh ripe fruits. They were deeply saddened by the untimely death of Immortal Vearah.

Jegun released a deep sigh. "Things happened so fast, I still have a hard time accepting the fact that Immortal Vearah perished just like that, what a waste!" he said, shaking his head over and over again.

"She died for a great cause protecting the girls," Zemeth said with a gloomy sigh. Then he remembered the immortal's spirit animal, the breathtaking butterfly that formed after Vearah's body disintegrated in the air. "Where do you think Vearah's spirit animal will go?" he asked all of a sudden.

Jegun remembered the beautiful butterfly as well. "If Immortal Vearah is powerful enough, she can come back to life because her spirit animal is intact. I'm just not so sure, where that butterfly has gone too. We should have captured it before it disappeared completely," he said.

Zemeth eyed the old man, raising a brow. "How can Immortal Vearah returned to life if her body was already destroyed?" he asked in confusion.

Jegun sighed. "Child, there's more than we don't know about the world of Immortals. After we will put the issue with the castle behind us, I would like to cultivate immortality so that I can prolong my life years after years and enjoy the things that I've missed because I stayed in the cave inside the castle guarding and raising Agran," he said wistfully. "I just want to experience being young again and enjoy life," he said smiling a little.

Zemeth smiled. "I wish you good luck in your quest for immortality, Grandpa! Don't worry, we will finish the problem with the castle as soon I rescue Ivy so that we can continue our lives and not forever bothered with that forsaken castle. I just hope that Granny Esmeralda will recover from the depression of losing her mentor soon. We need her to be in her right frame of mind before we resume our plan in rescuing Ivy and bringing an end to the castle," he said.

Jegun was shaking his head feeling a bit bothered by the state of Esmeralda's mind. "If Esmeralda's mind is unstable, Ivy is in grave danger. I'm afraid that Esmeralda will just go directly to the castle and commit suicide since she already lost the person closest to her. Her anger might push her to do stupid things against our plan. I'm really worried about her current situation," he said anxiously.

Zemeth agreed. "We are still in the middle of a war with the monsters. We have no idea when the castle will release another batch of monsters and how worst the situation will turn out to be."

Jegun took a deep breath. "I can assure you there are tens and thousands of monsters in the pit. And if the vampires are crazy enough they can release monsters day and night and if they do that how are we gonna kill all the monsters? Unlike the monsters we can feel tiredness...we need to rest every day...and how about Ivy? Can her body keep up with the constant cutting of her flesh to activate the dagger?" he voiced out his concerns.

Zemeth released a deep sigh, their situation is indeed difficult and only one person can put the castle to its knees, Esmeralda. Her life can end all the madness that the vampires were doing right now inside the castle. But if Esmeralda has to sacrifice her life, she has to make it worth her time. "I wish there is another way how to end the castle without losing Esmeralda. We already lose Immortal Vearah, we can't afford to lose another ally," he said in a tense voice.

"In the war between good and evil... there are always casualties on both sides. We already lost one life...I wonder who's next?" Jegun asked, he can't help feeling perturbed.

Zemeth can only sigh. His mind always wanders back to his beloved woman inside the castle. He can't help himself but worry a lot. Ivy can't defend herself, he was worried to death about her situation right now inside the castle. Thinking of her trapped inside the castle surrounded by enemies is making him crazy with worries. He will make sure he won't fail in rescuing her the next time around so that his mental suffering will end.

He looked at the old man. "Grandpa, let's not talk about who will lose his life next. As much as possible we shall try to avoid losing our lives. Although we will fight to the death, if there's a chance to win we will go for it!" he said as the fire of determination was flashing in his eyes.

Jegun sighed. "When we exited the castle I thought our life will be easier. I was looking forward to living in seclusion on the island surrounded by nature's blessing every day. I never thought that we are going to be embroiled in a war against the monsters," he said.

"Well, it's never our fight in the first place. We can always go back to our world and live in peace and just let the human deal with the monsters and the vampires in the castle. But I'm sure we will never be able to live in peace knowing that innocent humans will die in the hands of the monsters. Especially my case, now that Ivy is trapped inside the castle I will never rest in peace unless I'll get her out!" Zemeth declared.

Jegun patted Zemeth's shoulder. "We are entangled with the castle one way or another, I wonder how it will end?"

"It will end well, I'm sure of that," Zemeth replied.

A few minutes later.

The men agreed to take a break from discussing problematic issues regarding the castle, they resumed picking the fruits they like in the fruit garden.

~

Back in the house.

Aspen came out from the portal opening and entered the house. He saw the sisters sitting on the chair in the living room, profound sadness was etched on their faces. "W-what happened, girls? Why do I see so much sadness in your eyes? Did something happened here?" he asked.

"Yes, something bad happened here," Kate replied miserably, her eyes watered.

"Huh? What is it? Tell me now before I die in suspense!" he demanded.

"Immortal Vearah d...died..." Kate stammered.

Aspen's eyes bulged saucer-like. The devastating feeling was like he was hit by a bomb. "Whaaat-? Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, that's true," Ella seconded.

"B-but how it happened? Who killed her? The monsters?" he asked unable to grasp anything.

"The woman that Zemeth rescued from the castle is not Sister Ivy, she is a fake one! She is an impostor, a vampire woman who disguised herself as my sister! Immortal Vearah caught us when we are about to leave this mountain due to Sister Ivy's claimed, scaring us...telling us that we need to hide away because the monsters and vampires are coming after us. Granny Vearah cut the impostor's neck with her dagger. But before the impostor died, a cloud of black smoke came out of her mouth and enveloped the immortal and she was frozen on the spot like a statue. Then a few hours later, her body disintegrated into particles in the air and formed into a beautiful butterfly and disappeared," Kate explained.

Aspen's mouth was opened the whole time, he was not able to get over the shock immediately after hearing the details of Vearah's tragic end. It's so surreal! So unbelievable!

"I can't believe this! I refused to believe this! Tell me it's a joke, girls!" he said over and over again, refusing to believe that such a beautiful and kind creature perished away just like that? So f*cking unbelievable!

"Immortal Vearah died saving us. We owe her our life," Kate said sadly, tears shimmered in her eyes.

"I feel guilty. We doubted her at first when she told us that sister Ivy is an impostor. We didn't believe her," Ella sobbed.

"Oh, don't cry girls. Don't blame yourselves. It must be pretty hard for you to witness with your eyes when Immortal Vearah killed your sister. That would be devastating to watch. If I'm in your shoes, I will feel the same. I'm sure Vearah understood your feelings girls," Aspen said trying to console the girls.

"We still feel guilty, me the most," Kate said in tears.

"By the way...where is Esmeralda?" asked Aspen.

"She's been staying inside her room since this morning, she was devastated and heartbroken after seeing Immortal Vearah's body disintegrated into the air. We can't console her no matter how hard we try. We are afraid that she blamed us for what happened to her mentor," Kate said in distress.

"Oh, don't say that. Esmeralda is not that kind of person. If she was in Vearah's shoes she would do the same. Just that Esme is heartbroken... it's not easy to get over the death of a loved one, especially that it only happened today! Everything is fresh, the pain is still raw. It takes time to heal the wound," Aspen explained.

Still, the girls continue crying.

Aspen sighed. "Alright, I'll try to talk to Esmeralda in her room. By the way...where is the body of that impostor!?" he asked, gnashing his teeth in anger.

"The vampire woman was reduced into ashes after the sunlight hit her body," Ella answered.

"Good! Or else I will be the one who will burn her body to smithereens!" Aspen said in an enraged voice. "Please, girls, take it easy. Don't blame yourself, okay?" he said and left the girls going to Esmeralda's room.

Aspen knocked at Esmeralda's door. She wasn't answering. He pushed the door a little bit... it opened slightly. "Esme...may I come in?" he asked.

Esmeralda glanced at the door. "Come in..." she said.

Aspen entered the door. "Is t...this true? Immortal Vearah was already gone? As in dead?" he asked for confirmation.

Esmeralda nodded her head, confirming Aspen's questions, then she burst into tears.