Simuz and the rest of the men landed at the base of the castle near the location of the blazing barrier. "Guys, let's check the woods, the villages, and other places nearby. We will meet here after two hours to report on our findings," he said.

"Noted," the three men replied in unison.

They began looking for any sign of Jegun all over the place and other neighboring areas. They were checking the trees, woods, holes, and other areas where a body can be hidden from plain sight.

~

Two hours later.

Inside the castle. Maxwell just finished conducting the ritual involving the birds. The birds were now equipped with a deadly poison. All the birds needed to do is drop the poison in the skin of those Nephelim assassins, and they are done for good. The deadly poison will penetrate the skin and travel through the bloodstream, destroying the blood cells in the process, making the poison carrier unconscious within minutes, unable to move his entire body until he dies a few hours later.

The body that was infected with the poison will die within two hours if the antidote can't be administered right away. Of course, Maxwell had the antidote, because he made the poison himself. But the enemies won't get the poison from him, and they will die!

He left the ritual room holding the birdcages in his hands and left the birds outside the door of Ivy's room.

He entered the room.

Ivy was sitting on the bed, combing her hair when he entered the room. She smiled at him sweetly. She always has a ready smile for him.

"My dearest, I need your blood," he said. He opened his palm, and the dagger appeared in his right hand.

"Okay," Ivy smiled and presented her right arm to him. Then she closed her eyes, expecting the pain to hit her any moment.

Maxwell waved his hand over her face, freezing her in the process this way, she won't be feeling any pain at all. He holds the dagger in his right hand and held Ivy's arm to steady it. Then he proceeds to cut a section of her arm using the dagger - he makes sure the blade was smeared with Ivy's blood... he's done in seconds.

He lowered his mouth and licked the rest of the blood from Ivy's arm. After cleaning her wounded arm using his tongue, he waved his hand over her face, unfreezing her on the spot.

Ivy opened her eyes. "Is it done?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll take my leave now to do some important task outside. I'll visit you later," Maxwell said and left the room.

Outside, he picked up the birdcages from the floor and moved to the waiting room. There he raised the dagger in the air, it turned into a sword. He proceeds to make a square cut on the blazing barrier, creating more than enough space for the birdcages to pass through. He put the cages on the floor and pressed the bell button on the wall signaling the servant that he has a task for him to do.

Damazo appeared in the doorway and looked at the bird cages. "My Lord, what is it?" he inquired.

"Bring the cages outside the castle and release the birds. Just left the cages where you freed them, they will return to it after they're done with their mission," he instructed the servant.

"Yes, my Lord," Damazo replied. "Anything else?" he asked before leaving.

"That's all for today..." Maxwell said.

"Okay...I'll take my leave," Damazo said. He picked up the cages and left the room.

Maxwell grinned and left the waiting room going back to his bedroom. He entered his room and lie in bed. He put his mind in a deep state of relaxation then access the bird's eye view through his mind that was connected with the bird's consciousness.

Since it's daytime...he can see the surrounding area of the castle with clarity. The birds flew towards the trees at the base of the castle and landed on the branches of the tree.

Maxwell wore a broad smile on his face. Wow! He hit the jackpot today! There they are! Just below the tree was the four Nephilim assassins, they seemed to be resting, discussing something...

What a perfect opportunity to strike and drop the bomb!

He commanded the four birds to release the poison on the men. Just one drop on the skin is enough.

The birds released the poison from their mouth at once, all the drops landed perfectly on the skin of the Nephilim men.

Maxwell watched with glee as the scene starts to unfold in his eyes. The men began to notice something wrong with their breathing. They looked at each other in shock and fear.

A few minutes later, the men crumbled into the ground unconscious.

He commanded the birds to return to their cages that were placed outside the castle.

"Success!" Maxwell uttered the words loudly, his voice vibrated around the room. "You guys will die and no one can rescue you! Good riddance!" he added happily.

He rose from the bed and went to Ivy's room to spend some lovey-dovey moments with her, celebrating his success.

~

Back on the island.

Ramza returned to the island with Aspen.

Zemeth never leaves Agran's side, consoling him. The boy was looking distraught. He looked at the newcomer. "Any news, guys?" he asked them eagerly, hoping for a piece of good news.

The newcomers shook their heads.

"Grandpa Jegun never set foot on the mountain since last night," Aspen replied.

"Other than the mountain and the castle, this island was his only home. Where could he be at this time?" asked Ramza. He was deeply puzzled why the old man's sudden disappearance. If he was accidentally eaten by the monsters, there should be some parts of his body that are loitering around the castle. But he doesn't want to tell the others what he was thinking in his mind right now. Agran would feel heartbroken and devastated.

Aspen and Ramza looked at each other.

A few minutes of silence descended upon them. They were worried about Jegun's whereabouts.

"How about the others?" Ramza asked.

Zemeth sighed. "They have not returned yet, which only means one thing, they failed to find him until now," he said sadly.

"I'll go to the castle and help the others in finding Grandpa Jegun," Ramza said.

"Me too, I'll go with you!" Aspen spoke.

Agran looked at the men. He can't stay idle on the island, doing nothing, just waiting for Grandpa Jegun to return. He's already swimming in agony. He must find a way to locate him. "I'll go with you, guys!" he said.

"Alright, let's all go back to the castle and find Grandpa Jegun!" Zemeth said.

Ramza activated the portal. The neon portal opening appeared in front of them. They waste no time and entered it. The portal disappeared from the island in seconds.

~

Two hours later.

A portal opened on the island. Grandpa Jegun exited the neon opening and walked towards the house.

"Hmm...the house looks deserted. Where are they-?" he asked aloud. "They must be upstairs sleeping..." he answered himself.

He entered the house and went upstairs. He searched all the room on the second floor, but he can't find a single soul! Why is it that the house is empty? Where are the others?

His brows knitted together. "Where are you, guys?"

He was expecting that they already come home due to the tiredness and fatigue of nonstop slaughtering the monsters last night, but why is it that he can't find a single soul on the island?

Oh no! C-could it be that they were all annihilated by the enemies?

Nah, that won't happen! His companions were gifted with powerful skill, they won't be eliminated easily by the enemies.

Hmm... instead of thinking about negative things.

"I will go to the castle and check the others," he said aloud.

That's right!

That's the best thing to do rather than keep waiting on the island and being tortured by his hyperactive mind.

He teleports to the castle and was gone in seconds from the island.

~

Jegun appeared at the vase of the castle, near the location of the blazing barrier. He looked around him and saw no one.

He saw some movements in the trees nearby, he went to check. He found Zemeth, Agran, Aspen, and Ramza looking for something...

"Guys, what are you looking for?" he asked them loudly.

Everyone turned their heads after hearing Jegun's voice, their faces broke into happiness as huge relief washed over them after seeing the missing Jegun alive, standing in front of them.

"Grandpa! You're back! You went missing!" Agran rushed to Jegun's side and hugged him tightly, knocking the breath out of him.

Jegun has difficulty breathing. "I'm alright, son. I'm here now, no need to worry about me," he said.

Agran pulled away from his grandpa and looked at his face, he was checking his body for injuries but found none, he felt relieved. "But why did you went missing? What happened to you?" he inquired.

Jegun shrugged. "I was hovering after this monster...he went in the woods...so I have to find him by foot, unfortunately, I fall into a rabbit hole that knocked me out, when I opened my eyes it's already daytime. I hovered out of the hole and went back to the island only to find it empty, which got me worried, so I return here to find you, guys. That's what happened to me - that's the reason why I went missing for several hours," he narrated.

"Ahh...we thought you're already eaten by the monsters!" Ramza voice out his fears.

Jegun laughed, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "I will fight the monsters to death before he can bite me!"

The men laughed along with Grandpa Jegun. They feel the tension that grips their hearts a few hours earlier began easing away after seeing him alive and well.

"Alright...welcome back, Grandpa! Let's go back to the island now so that we can have a rest," Zemeth said.

"How about the others?" Jegun asked.

"They were also trying to find you all over the place, but they will go back to the island after a few hours to report. Let's wait for them on the island," Zemeth replied.

"Don't worry, guys, I'm going to town to visit someone. If I see them along the way, I'll inform them that Grandpa Jegun finally returned to the island safe and sound," Aspen volunteered.

"Thanks, bro!" Ramza said.

"Let's go now!" Zemeth told everyone.

Aspen hovered in the air and left the place.

Zemeth opened the portal, he and his entourage went inside the neon opening. A few seconds later, the portal disappeared from the place.