Aspen was the first to break the silence, he clutched at his chest. "Oh, my poor heart! I can't take this!" he said as fresh tears fell from his eyes.

Jegun closed his eyes for a few minutes, trying to block the tears from leaving his eyes. Now is not the time to grieve yet. They have to find the crystal coffin! He was already wracking his mind trying to think about how to find the crystal coffin containing Esmeralda and Ivy's remains.

Ella's face was already filled with tears, she looked at her sibling. "Does it mean that Granny Esmeralda and Sister Ivy died already? Is that true, sister?" she asked Kate as her heart was breaking inside.

Kate bit her lip, feeling stunned and devastated by what she had seen in the crystal ball. It's so depressing to watch. But the crystal ball doesn't lie. "I dunno...Ella. Unless we can see the coffins and their dead bodies we can never be sure if they already died," she responded on a positive note, trying to give herself a fake hope. What happened to her sister and granny is too tragic. It's too heartbreaking to even store those memories in her mind.

Aspen looked at grandpa. "What do you think happened to the coffins, Grandpa?" he asked.

Jegun took a deep breath. "That is one million dollar question that has several answers, lad. The coffin might already be destroyed by the fire by now and there are only ashes left..." he answered.

Kate's eyes widened, she threw the men a questioning glance. "Huh? Guys, why are you talking about the coffin being destroyed by the fire? The crystal ball didn't show us any fire at all. Please enlighten me!" she said in alarm. She would rather believe that granny and her sister was safe in the coffin and just waiting for rescue, but the blood she saw inside granny's coffin told her otherwise.

Jegun glanced at Aspen. "You tell her what happened to the castle, lad," he said.

Aspen looked at Kate in the eyes. "The castle crumbled to the ground and still burning in flames like a raging inferno until now," he told her the truth.

Kate covered her mouth in shock. "Whaaaat - the castle was engulfed with flames?" she asked in disbelief. Now her hope was gone in seconds!

Aspen nodded his head. "Yeah, we all know that once Esmeralda's heart stops beating, the blazing barrier will self destruct and burn the castle to the ground. That's what happened in the castle right now. It's already gone at the top of the hill, burning brightly and reduced to ashes later," he explained.

"No! I refuse to believe it!" Kate said, shaking her head in denial.

Aspen sighed. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Kate, Ella," he said sadly.

Kate and Ella were now reduced to tears, sobbing hard in front of the men. A minute later, Kate walked away pulling her sister with her, they retired into Esmeralda's bedroom to continue crying there.

Jegun released a troubled sigh while watching the distraught girls retreating form, entering Esmeralda's room. He was truly shaken by the turn of events. Tragic things happened one after another. He wondered why his heart was still able to carry on the emotional trauma that he undergoes ever since exiting the castle. His friends were dying one by one. Truly, the world is sometimes cruel, it won't allow you to feel complete happiness even for one year. He sighed deeply.

Aspen crunched his nose, his mind was racing trying to think of a way how to reach the castle now that its main entrance already disappeared and the blazing barrier already been destroyed. After a few minutes of brainstorming, he finally gives up. "Grandpa, I can't think of a way how to find the coffin. How about you?" he asked him feeling hopeful.

Jegun throws his hands in the air due to frustrations. "Me too! I can't think of anything right now, maybe later? My brain isn't cooperating right now. I'm a jumble of emotion. I still can't get over the shock of seeing Esmeralda stabbing herself with the dagger, that broke my heart," he said.

Aspen nods his head in agreement. "Maybe, we need a little break to calm our grieving mind and heart? What do you think?"

Jegun nods his head. "We should go somewhere relaxing," he suggested.

"Where?"

"How about the flower garden or the fruit garden?"

"Let's go to the flower garden. I feel so depressed right now, I wanted to see explosions of colorful flowers to cheer me up and bring back the sunshine in my poor heart," Jegun replied.

"Alright, let's go to the flower garden to relax a bit," Aspen agreed.

The men walked downstairs and exited the entrance of the house going to the flower garden. They brought with them a magical crystal ball and Esmeralda's clothe.

They sat on the wooden bench and admired the breathtaking splendor of the flowers for a few minutes. Then they re-watch what happened to Esmeralda and Ivy in the crystal ball several times, trying to find answers to their questions.

~~~

Meanwhile, back in the burning castle.

Zemeth, Ramza, and Agran were still floating in the air while watching the burning castle below them.

A frown appeared on Ramza's forehead. "Why is the castle still burning until now? It was already destroyed. Where the flames come from? Everything turned to ashes already, the flames should already stop burning right now," he asked, rubbing his chin in confusion. He finds the source of the flames very perplexing.

Zemeth sighed heavily while watching the raging inferno below them. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. He desperately wanted the flames to stop burning so that they can start searching for Esmeralda and Ivy's remains. He wants to give the women a proper burial. It is the least he can do for his beloved woman and for Esmeralda who sacrifices herself to bring an end to the vampire brothers' evilness. "There is nothing we can do but wait for the flames to subside," he told his friend.

Aspen looked at the horizon, the daylight was already spreading quickly all over the land, a start of a new day. "Guys, I will go back to the island to prepare breakfast. You can go back with me to the island, let's just return later after we are done eating breakfast and cleaning ourselves," he suggested.

Ramza nodded his head agreeing to Agran's suggestion. He looked at his friend. "Bro, let's go to the island and return later. Maybe, after we come back the flames already died and we can finally start looking for their remains," he said.

Zemeth breathed heavily while looking at the raging inferno in front of them. "Okay," he finally relented.

"Let's go!" Ramza said. They were about to teleport back to the island, when suddenly...the earth below them trembled and the trees were shaking in the ground.

"Look at the trees, they were shaking!" Agran pointed his hand at the trees below them.

"Was there an earthquake?" asked Ramza, his eyes sweeping the surrounding.

Then suddenly...the top of the hill starts moving, cracking and crumbled into the ground.

What happened next blows their mind away!

The hill began to dissolve... flattening into level with the ground...as if an invisible hand was creating a crater in the middle. The hill where the castle was used to no longer exist. Instead, a one-hectare wide crater was created...then slowly... black gushing water sprang from the earth producing black lava water, now the ground was turning into a blazing lake, complete with burning flames on the surface.

The group was stunned by what they have just witnessed with their eyes. A baffling phenomenon just occurred in front of them and they were flabbergasted by the hill's mind-blowing transformation.

"Oh no! Watch out!" Zemeth said as he dodged the rock the size of a fist almost hitting him on the head.

"What's going on!"

"What the heck did I just witness?" Agran said, his jaw opened in shock.

Ramza glanced at Zemeth. "What do you think is that black water that filled the whole area? Where does it come from?" he asked while his eyes were glued on the spectacle happening in front of him. They were now witnessing a lake being created out of nowhere. A lake made of the castle's remains. The flames still burning brightly on its surface.

Zemeth was slowly digesting the phenomenon happening in front of them. "Did we just witness a volcano-like lake being formed in front of us?" he looked at his companions for confirmation.

"More like it," Ramza replied.

"And what is that black liquid spewing out from the bottom earlier?" Agran asked in confusion.

"I think it's the souls of those evil creatures trapped in the castle, they were being pulverized by the blazing barrier," Ramza took a wild guess.

"And now it's even harder to find Esmeralda and Ivy's remains," Agran murmured.

Zemeth nodded his head agreeing with Agran's remark. "But I won't stop..." he said. He halted in his words because he no longer knows what to do anymore. The hill has no more burnt skeleton to dig. How he was supposed to find the women's remains? In front of him was just a lake of black liquid and burning flames. He released a deep sigh of frustration.

Ramza saw the frustrations in his friend's face. He patted Zemeth's slumped shoulder. "Come with us to the island, bro. You desperately needed a long rest," he said.

Zemeth finally agreed. "Alright, let's go!"

The men activated the teleportation process in their minds and vanished from the area in the blink of an eye.