Maxwell entered the ritual room. He placed Ivy's body in the stone bed. The room was surrounded by candles. It was a dark and eerie place.

Maxwell touched Ivy's head. "My dear Ivy, after I'm done with my ritual, your heart and mind will forever be mine. You will forget your sisters, your aunt, your lover. The only person you will remember is me! I will plant a fake sweet memory of you and me. Tomorrow, when you wake up, you will look at me with love shining in your eyes. You will adore me, love me, and become loyal to me because you are mine! Mine only!" he said and smiled wickedly.

He holds one cup of dry roots of the Abyss Cedar Tree which he cuts and ground into tiny pieces until it transformed into powdery like state, he put it in a bowl, then add a black liquid called The Elixir of Forgetfulness, and mixed the ingredients thoroughly. He holds the ritual book from the cupboard and began reading the incantation.

After one hour of reading the incantation, he began feeding the mixed potion of Abyss Cedar Tree and The Elixir of Forgetfulness into Ivy's mouth.

Maxwell put her in a deep sleep to succeed with his plan of erasing her memories.

A few minutes later, he finished feeding the potion into Ivy's mouth and wiped the excess black liquid from her mouth with his fingers.

He continues reading the incantation until a black smoke swirled around the room and entered Ivy's mouth.

Maxwell proceeds deeper with the ritual process that would take a few hours to finish, he just started the initial phase.

Meanwhile, outside the ritual room.

Lothaire and Xenon were grumbling while talking to each other.

"What is our brother doing in the ritual room?" Lothaire asked.

Xenon shrugged. "I have no idea!"

"I can't believe that he postponed releasing another batch of monsters today just because of a ritual!" Lothaire said while shaking his head in annoyance. "Why don't we open the blazing barrier on our own? We just need the golden dagger and Ivy's blood," suggested Lothaire.

"Nah, that won't work. We don't have Ivy and we have no idea where our older brother hides the golden dagger," Xenon replied.

"We should already be outside the castle right now if brother didn't change his mind. I wonder what he was doing inside the ritual room?" Lothaire said while tapping his fingers on the chair's surface.

"Let's ask him after he gets out of the ritual room tomorrow," Xenon responded.

~o0o~

Outside the castle.

Zemeth, Jegun, Ramza, and Agran arrived at the base of the castle. They sent Simuz and the others back to the islands to rest for the night. They will be the ones patrolling around the castle tonight just in case the vampires will release another batch of monsters today.

"The castle looks calm today, isn't it?" Ramza told his friend.

Zemeth nods his head. "Yeah...the night still young. They might release the monsters later... near midnight," he replied. "If you want, you can doze off under the tree nearby. I will just wake you up if I notice something unusual around here. Besides, Grandpa Jegun and Agran were patrolling around the castle to make sure the vampires were not using other areas to release the monsters to mislead us," he suggested.

"Alright, I will doze off for a few minutes. After I wake up, it's your turn to rest," Ramza agreed.

"Okie Dokie!" Zemeth remarked.

Ramza flew towards the tree and sat on the trunk, after making himself comfortable, he closed his eyes and dozed off.

Zemeth watched his friend closed his eyes. He hovered in the air and rose higher above the trees, scanning the areas nearby. If the vampires will release more monsters that they can handle, he will instruct Aspen to inform the villagers nearby to evacuate and find another place to erect their homes temporarily just to be on the safe side.

It's gonna be hard for the village people to leave their properties and homes, but if the situation will get worst, it's the only solution he can think of to minimize the damage of having innocent people slaughtered by the monsters. Once he and the team can finally eliminate the enemies living in the castle, the people can always go back to their old homes and continue where they left off.

His mind wondered to his beloved Ivy. 'How are you now, Ivy? Please wait for me, I'm coming to rescue you,' he whispered to the air while staring at the castle. His beloved woman is somewhere out there waiting for his rescue. He encountered an epic fail the first time he rescued the fake Ivy resulting in Immortal Vearah's sudden passing, that was a tragic failure that he will never forget in his entire life, he will always carry that heavy guilt in his heart until he dies.

He was hoping that Immortal Vearah can forgive him, because of his carelessness, she suffered an untimely death.

He saw Agran and Jegun hovering in the air, approaching his location.

"Lad, did you notice anything unusual today around the castle?" Jegun asked him.

Zemeth shook his head. "Nothing so far..." he answered.

"Where is Ramza?" asked Jegun.

"There in the trunk of the tree dozing off," replied Zemeth.

Jegun smiled. "Good, I will join him in the ground. I want to close my eyes and rest a bit because I'm feeling sleepy," he said and looked at Agran. "Wake me up if something unusual happening around here," he said.

Agran nodded his head. "Alright Grandpa, rest well," he responded.

Jegun hovered down, his feet landed on the grassy ground, he went to Ramza's side and find a comfortable position and closed his eyes, a few minutes later he was already starting to drift into slumber.

Agran looked at Zemeth. "I will continue patrolling around the castle, I will report to you if I'll notice something unusual around that area," he said pointing at the eastern at of the castle.

"Okay, go ahead, lad. Since you are the youngest of us here, your contribution is very much appreciated," Zemeth nodded his head.

"I'm glad to be of help to you guys," Agran said and hovered away and went to the eastern side of the castle to find anything unusual there.

Zemeth stays in the same area where he can watch his friends dozing off, he will guard and protect them. He shall remain on the same spot because he believes that this will be the same area where the vampires will release another batch of monsters tonight.

He looked heavenward...there is no moon tonight and the stars were hiding behind the clouds. It was a gloomy night without stars.

Hours passed by quickly.

At midnight, Jegun and Ramza finally awaken, they saw Zemeth wide awake sitting beside the trunk of the tree a few meters away from them.

"Nothing happens, lad?" Jegun inquired.

"Nothing so far..." Zemeth replied.

"Where is Agran?" asked Jegun.

"He's out there patrolling around the castle," Zemeth replied.

"Grandpa and I are awake now, it's now your turn and Agran to rest," Ramza said. "We will patrol the whole area until the break of dawn," he said.

"Okay," Zemeth said and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, they saw the bushes moving nearby...they stand upright scanning the bushes... already in fight mode. Even Zemeth'e was already wide awake.

Suddenly...the King of Elves materialized in front of them carrying a small bundle behind his back.

"My friends...it's me! Sorry to scare you guys...I just want to say hello to you..." the king of elves said smiling brightly at Jegun and his friends.

Jegun broke into a dazzling smile. "My friend, how are you!? Nice to see you again! Come here join us, let's talk..." he said, beckoning his friend to sit beside him in the trunk of the tree.

Zemeth lowered himself on the ground and closed his eyes again.

Ramza, Jegun, and the king of elves distance themselves a few meters away from Zemeth to avoid disrupting his sleep. They resumed their conversation.

"I heard of the castle releasing monsters and killing innocent villagers that is why I came here to investigate. Why it's happening, guys? What's going on?" the king of the elves asked worriedly.

Jegun sighed heavily. "It's because they have one of the girls and they also stole the golden dagger, that's why they can easily open the blazing barrier anytime they like and unleash hell in the neighboring areas," he explained. "Have any of your kin fall victim to the monsters?" he asked.

The king of elves shook his head. "Thankfully, the monsters didn't reach our headquarters because we are living in the cave far away from here so we're all safe from the monsters," he answered.

"Just tell your family and kin to stay away from the areas near the castle especially during nighttime. The castle can release monsters anytime to create carnage to the people and even to animals," Ramza warned the king.

"Okay, noted my friend. I specifically come here to ask if you need anything? I am willing to help you in any way I can, that's the only support I can give you, guys," the king said.

Jegun shook his head. "Nah, thank you for your concern, my friend. But I advise you that during night time don't come near this area because when the blazing barrier opened up and the monsters are rampaging out of the castle...this area around here will become a battleground between the forces of good and evil. It's not the safest area to be in during that time," he said.

"Okay, I will remember your warning, friend. Since you guys are always facing danger, I will just leave these bottles of magic healing potion and another set of the medicinal bottle to treat all kinds of open wounds just in case one of the boys will encounter a mishap or got beaten by the enemy. Just pour the healing liquid in the open wound and it will do wonders and speed up the recovery process of the open wounds," he said. He placed the bundle of medicine in Jegun's hands. "I'm sorry, that's the only contribution I can give you, guys," he said apologetically.

Jegun smiled and feeling grateful for the gift. He looked at the bottles of medicines inside the bundle. "These medicines are more than enough contribution, my friend," he said. "If nothing else...you may go now...I'm afraid that the castle will release the monsters anytime now," he said worriedly.

"Okay, nice seeing you again, my friends, take care of yourself. I'll take my leave now," the king said. He bolted towards the bushes and disappeared from their view.