Ella rose to her feet. "Okay, I\'ll get the leaves." She was about to proceed to the entrance of the chamber when the men returned and crowded the chamber, the leaves also joined the gathering.

Jegun glanced at Ivy. "How are you feeling? Did you finish drinking the magic healing potion already?"

Ella showed them the empty bottle of the potion.

"Good!" said Jegun.

Ivy smiled brightly at the men. "Thank you guys for saving me, I owe you my life," she said as her eyes landed on the guy who was personally taking good care of her.

Their eyes locked for a moment.

Zemeth\'s heart was beating faster inside his rib cage, he was captivated by Ivy\'s charming smile. He felt that she was specifically smiling at him only. He was elated that she\'s already recovering nicely.

"Guys, don\'t worry about me. My health is fully restored thanks to the magical healing potion. Can you all go out for a moment, please? I want to have a private moment with the leaves. I want to ask them something important..." Ivy requested.

The men left the chamber feeling relieved that Ivy was already safe from danger and their efforts paid off.

The leaves stayed.

Ivy glanced at her sister. "Ella, please, leave as well..."

Ella pouted and grumbled. "Why are you sending me away? Go ahead, talk with the leaves, just don\'t mind me. I won\'t interfere with your conversation."

Ivy sighed, feeling annoyed that her sister is acting stubborn. She looked at the leaves. "Did Kate, Granny, and the tree escaped successfully from the blazing barrier?" she asked.

"Yes. We saw the barrier opened up after our master splattered your blood into the barrier then the crack took place and made an opening good enough for a person to pass through. They bolted towards the hole passing through the opening successfully and the barrier closed again. That\'s the last time we have seen them," answered the leader of the leaves.

Ivy smiled at the leaves feeling happy and satisfied that her sacrifice paid off. "Thank you leaves, you may lave now," she said.

The leaves left the chamber.

Ella\'s eyes widened and her brows knitted together trying to fit the puzzle together. "W-what blood? Your blood was used to open up the invisible barrier surrounding the castle?" Then slowly it dawned on her that her older sister must have sacrificed her life, her blood, to open up the barrier that\'s why she died.

The siblings looked at each other.

When Ivy didn\'t say anything, her silence says it all.

Ella sighed heavily. "How did our simple life turn to a nightmare?" She looked at her sister. "You died to save sister Kate with your blood and now after the monster\'s bite, my physical appearance turned to this. I become an old woman overnight and maybe I will die soon inside this castle," she said sadly.

Tears shone on Ivy\'s eyes, she pitied her sister and hugged her sister affectionately. "Shh, don\'t say that. I will offer my life and blood again so that you can leave this castle alive," she said in a serious voice.

"No. I won\'t leave this castle alone. We should escape together!" Ella insisted.

Ivy shook her head. "But a lot of blood is needed to open the barrier! That is why I can\'t go out with you. You must continue living for me!"

Ella sighed. "Sister, since I\'m an old woman already, I should be the one who will sacrifice my blood and my life. You\'re still young, you and Kate will live for many years," she said adamantly.

"No. I should be the one to sacrifice my life because I am the oldest and it\'s my responsibility to take care of my younger sisters!" Ivy stands firm with her decision.

Ella was breathing hard. It\'s not right that she and her sister were arguing. "There\'s got to be another way we can escape this castle together," she murmured to herself while racking her brain like crazy, thinking of a way how to do it.

Ivy shook her head. "The tree emptied the blood from my body just to create a small size opening from the barrier enough for an adult human to pass through. One of us must make the sacrifice so that the other can escape safely," she said.

"Actually, no one has to die this time. We can escape the castle together without leaving anyone behind!" Zemeth\'s voice thundered inside the chamber. "Sorry to eavesdrop on your conversation, girls. I just want to put an end to your pointless arguments," he proclaimed.

The sisters stared at Zemeth, confusion flashing in their eyes.

"How can we escape together without sacrificing a life?" Ivy asked quizzically.

Zemeth smiled, he opened his hand and the golden dagger appeared in his palm. "We can escape with this! We only need a little amount of blood from Ella and smear it on this dagger. We can slice a nice opening in the barrier using this dagger," he declared.

The sisters\' worries finally dissipated. They hugged each other happily.

"Yes! We can finally leave this castle together, sister!" A happy giggle erupted from Ella\'s lips.

Ivy\'s eyes sparkled in jubilation. "It\'s good news indeed!"

Ella eyed Zemeth closely, throwing him an inquiring look. Her brows knitted together. "I have been wanting to ask this question for a long time. Who are you, people? Why did you suddenly appear in our lives uninvited?" she asked.

Zemeth released a deep breath. "It\'s a long story. Don\'t worry you will know everything soon," he said. "Can I talk to your older sister for a minute?" he said.

"Leave us alone for a moment," Ivy told her sister.

Ella was hesitating to leave her sister in the company of a stranger. "C-can we trust him?" she whispered in her sister\'s ear.

Ivy smiled and remembered how caring the guy was to her when she regained her consciousnesses in the grave near the stream. "I think we can trust him," she answered.

Ella raised a brow. "How can you be so sure—?"

"Woman\'s instinct," Ivy said. "Besides, without our blood, they can\'t get out of this castle alive, therefore, we are valuable to them, they won\'t harm us," she assured her.

Ella shrugged her shoulder and left the chamber.

Zemeth went to Ivy\'s side and lowered himself on the bed, his eyes never leaving Ivy\'s face. He used to just looked at her from afar, now they\'re finally talking and seeing each other, face to face.

"Who are you, people? And what is your name? You seemed to know me already," Ivy starts questioning him.

"My name is Zemeth. We are from the Nephilim Kingdom and you are also one of us," he said.

Ivy\'s brows drew together. "Huh? What are you talking about? What is this Nephilim Kingdom? I never heard of it," she said in bewilderment.

Zemeth smiled. "First, I wanna tell you that I\'m happy that you are already out of danger. You have no idea how happy I am!" His eyes sparkled.

Ivy smiled gazing into his handsome face. "Thank you for your concern and for helping me, I appreciated it very much," she said softly.

"It\'s my pleasure, Ivy," he said looking meaningfully into her beautiful orbs.

Ivy rolled her eyes. The way he looked at her was full of devotion, his eyes spoke of volumes, she coughed a little. "Can you begin your story now? So that I can finally understand everything..."

"Okay," Zemeth begins his narration.

"Long time ago, in the Northern part of the Nephilim Kingdom, there is a tribe of healers famous all over the kingdom. Their Chief aside from being a healer he was also a master of making complex formations. One day, the tribe was attacked by monsters prevalent in those eras.

The whole tribe was massacred, only the Chief survived. He believes that his wife and three young daughters were also killed, little did he know that only her wife died, but before the wife died she was able to escape the slaughter and brought the children outside the Nephilim Kingdom and left the children in the forest where a human couple saw the children crying abandoned by their mother who during that time was trying to go back to the Nephilim Kingdom to rescue her husband, she met monsters on the way and was killed instantly. That was the rumors of what happened on that tragic day.

There were also other rumors, another version, that the Chief\'s young daughters were frozen by the powerful fairy of the forest and keep them in her place for centuries and recently released them into the mortal world to a human couple so that they can live normally. There are many rumors, and so far that\'s the only closest rumors that are credible that I heard of.

Your father the Chief vowed to avenge the entire tribe and make a complex formation and together with his three best friends the elders of the Nephilim Kingdom, they forged the blazing barrier imprisoning the monsters inside the castle for centuries.

Your father\'s blood was used in the transformation, therefore when you and your sister\'s blood is used to opening the barrier, it somehow acknowledged the same blood type then made an opening for a limited time only.

That is the only explanation I can give you since I was not yet born during those times. What I know is second-hand information because we both know that rumors can sometimes evolve when told by different generations," he concluded his story.

Ivy was silent the entire time feeling tired and overwhelmed all of a sudden. With so many things happening around them and these new revelations about their identity, it\'s tiring to process everything in her mind. She doesn\'t know if she will believe him or not?

She\'s feeling tired and sleepy all of a sudden, she had information overload. She looked at him. "Thank you for telling me everything, Zemeth. I want to sleep for a while," she said and lay down on the bed, then closed her eyes.

Zemeth wrapped the blanket around her body. "Sleep well," he said softly and left the chamber.