"Everyone, this is my mentor's clothing! Watch what I'm going to do with it..." Esmeralda said, she rubbed her late mentor's clothe vigorously on the crystal ball while reciting the incantation silently.

"Crystal ball, show me the last hour of Immortal Vearah!" she commanded aloud.

A few minutes later. The crystal ball produces a shimmering light...then it starts to reveal the scenes of the remaining time of Immortal Vearah's life on earth like a video clip.

Everyone was wide-eyed and speechless.

"Wow! This crystal ball is handy!" Kate said in amazement.

"Indeed!" Jegun said.

"Now I finally had seen with my own two eyes how Immortal Vearah met her tragic end, so sad and heartbreaking!" Aspen spoke in a gloomy voice.

A few minutes of silence passed between them as they remembered the immortal's kindness and generosity.

After a while, Esmeralda broke the silence, they have to hurry up to find out what happened to the four Nephilim assassins. She looked at Jegun. "What are you waiting for, old man?" she asked him.

Jegun smiled and nodded his head. "Alright, I'll go back to the island and get the men's clothes..." he said. He rose to his feet and left the house in a hurry.

Once he was already out of the house, he teleports back to the island.

When he arrived there, the house was deserted. He went upstairs and rummage on the men's things. He took one clothes each and put them in a duffel bag made of sheep's skin.

Done with his business on the island, he teleports back in the mountain.

A few seconds later, he reappeared outside the house. He entered the abode and rushed to the living room where the group has gathered, waiting for his arrival.

"Guys, I'm back!" Jegun said and open the duffel back. He grabbed the men's clothing and placed it on the center table. He looked at Esmeralda. "Shall we begin now?" he asked.

Esmeralda nodded her head "Yes, of course!" she replied eagerly. She picked up the garments and arranged them on top of one another over the crystal ball. Done, she began rubbing the clothing on the crystal ball in a back and forth motion while her mouth silently recited the incantation to activate the magical ball.

Done, she took the clothes away and put them down on the center table. She stared at the ball. "Crystal ball, show me the last hours of the men's life!" she commanded.

A few minutes passed by...

The people surrounding the center table didn't blink their eyes, eager to know what the magical ball will show them.

The crystal ball produces a shimmering light...then gradually the men can be seen hovering from different directions in the air...then they met above the trees and landed on the ground...they gathered under the shade of the tree and conversed to each other. Then the ball showed birds hopping in the branches of the tree above the boy's head. Then the birds released a dark liquid from their beaks that landed on the unsuspecting men's head and arms. The birds flew away, heading to the location of the mansion.

The crystal ball showed the boy's faces gasping for air. It looks like they were having a hard time breathing! Then their bodies went still, they look like they lose consciousness.

Then the magic crystal ball went blank...

It's no longer showing anything.

The people looked at each other in confusion. Sadness and horror were flashing on their fear-stricken face. They already feared the worst when it comes to the missing men. They were devastated beyond words.

"That's it-?" Jegun asked, disappointed.

"That's all?" seconded Aspen.

"Yes!" Esmeralda answered. "Sadly, that's all there is to it. It seemed the boys were killed by the birds that were manipulated by someone from the castle. That is my theory," she said. "How about you?" she asked Aspen.

"Hmm...that is also my theory..." Aspen replied. He looked at Jegun. "How about you, Grandpa?"

Jegun was pondering the whole situation. "I have the same theory with you, guys. What I wanted to know right now - where are the men's bodies? We have searched those trees near that area. We didn't find their bodies anywhere on the ground. What happened to them? Where are they right now?" he asked in confusion.

"Me too! I want to know where are they right now?" Aspen said sadly.

"Maybe they were already eaten by the monsters!" Ella said out of the blue. Her face registered fear and horror.

Everyone stared at Ella.

"Maybe - their bodies were taken inside the castle?" Kate voiced out her opinion.

"Could be...but for what purpose? Are they going to use those bodies later? We don't know for sure at this moment." Esmeralda released a heavy sigh, feeling sad about what happened to the missing men. She looked at Jegun. "Why don't you go to the castle and warn the rest of the boys to get wary of the birds. Much better if they don't stay under those trees, we don't know what's lurking up there in those branches," she suggested.

"Okay, I'll do that right now. I'll inform them on what happened to our comrades," Jegun replied. "See you tomorrow, guys. I'll visit you here if I have free time," he said.

"Take care, Grandpa Jegun, and give our regards to them!" Kate said.

"I will!" Jegun responded and walked away from the living room going downstairs.

When he reached outside, he wastes no time, he activated the teleportation in his mind and vanished from the mountain.

Jegun reappeared at the base of the castle and went to look for the men.

He found Zemeth and Ramza resting under the shade of the tree where the four missing men used to occupy before they were killed by the birds.

"Guys, stay away from the trees! It's dangerous!" Jegun shouted at his companions.

Zemeth and Ramza stared at the old man in confusion. The first thing that flashes in their minds is that the old man must have gone crazy because they have taken refuge under the same tree countless times in the past and nothing bad happens to them.

"But why-?" Zemeth asked, raising a brow.

"Just do it, guys! I'll explain later after you leave the trees!" Jegun said urgently.

"Alright," the men replied in unison and left the forest.

Once they're already outside the vicinity of the trees. Jegun began his narration.

"I have bad news for you, guys! We know already what happened to the four men, they got killed by the birds!" Jegun revealed the sad news.

Ramza and Zemeth's eyes widened.

"Whaaat-? The boys got killed by the birds? How? Where are their bodies?" Zemeth asked in alarm.

"Grandpa, you must be kidding us! I refused to believe that the boys got killed by mere birds!" Ramza said in disbelief.

"Guys, believe it or not! But I saw with my own eyes what happened to our friends!" Jegun said.

"Grandpa, hurry up, tell us where did you find the boys?" Zemeth said, his body was shaking due to shock. He knows that the old man won't tell a sick joke like this. Not when they're going nuts looking for their missing friends.

"If you want to see with your own eyes, you got to go to the mountain right now. Esmeralda has a magic crystal ball that shows how the men died!" Jegun told them.

Zemeth and Ramza looked at each other.

"By the way, where is Agran?" he said looking for the boy around the area.

"Agran was patrolling around the castle," Zemeth replied.

"Go now to the mountain and see for yourself! Agran and I will watch the castle while you're away," Jegun said.

"Alright, we're going there!" Ramza responded. He opened the portal and grabbed Zemeth's arm who is currently in shock.

A few seconds later, the portal disappeared from Jegun's vision.

He roamed his eyes around the surrounding area, expecting the birds to appear anytime soon. He won't let his guard down this time. He waved his hand all around his body creating an invisible coat that covered his entire body, this way, even if the birds will drop a deadly liquid anywhere on his body it won't come in contact with his skin, instead, the deadly substance will slide from his body and fall into the ground creating no harm.

Where is Agran? He will do the same to that boy so that they will be protected against the deadly birds' venom.

He hovered in the air looking for Agran in the nearby areas.

~

Meanwhile, Zemeth and Ramza appeared in the mountain.

They rushed inside the house and found Esmeralda sitting on the wooden bench alone, facing the magic crystal ball.

She raised her head and looked up at the newcomers, they came as expected. "Guys, please sit down..." she said calmly.

The men lowered themselves on the wooden bench facing Esmeralda.

Zemeth looked at the old woman. "Granny, is it true? Your magic crystal ball can show us what happened to my men?" he asked in a shaking voice.

"Yes, I can show you what happened to the missing men," Esmeralda answered sadly.

"By all means, Granny, please show us!" Ramza said.

"Okay," Esmeralda replied. She picked up the men's clothing and began reciting the incantation in silence while rubbing the garments vigorously on the magic crystal ball.

"Crystal ball, show me the last hour of the missing men!" she commanded.

Ramza and Zemeth never took off their eyes on the crystal ball.

Suddenly, the crystal ball produces a shimmering light...then gradually...the scenes depicting what happened to the four missing people on their last hour unfolded like a scene in a movie.

"No! It can't be!" Zemeth murmured in shock.

"What the hell is going on with them!?" Ramza asked in disbelief.

The horrified expression on Zemeth and Ramza's eyes shows it all.

They stared at the crystal ball, petrified. WTF! Their comrades were killed by the birds?

"This is unbelievable! Horrible way to die!" Ramza uttered in grief.

Tears were glistening in Zemeth's eyes as he clenched his hands in anger. "Grandpa Jegun was telling the truth," he said sadly.