Aspen left the conversation and went to Esmeralda\'s room.

She was sitting on the bed. "Are you guys talking about me?" she asked him directly.

He asked, "What-? Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "Not really," she answered. "So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Well...we are indeed talking about you, about the late Immortal Vearah, about the villagers and the monsters...since we have no idea what are the vampires were planning in their heads we can only assume that they will be releasing more monsters in the coming days after they discovered that all the monsters they have released have died... they will get mad for sure..." Aspen narrated.

"Ah...I see....just the usual stuff... I thought I\'m missing something. So, why are you talking about me?" Esmeralda asked again.

"The boys and I...we\'re thinking what is good for you..."

Esmeralda raised a brow in confusion. "What is good for me-? Spill!"

Aspen sighed. "We decided that if the castle will release monsters again...you shouldn\'t participate this time," he said.

A frown appeared on Esmeralda\'s forehead. "And tell me why-?"

"Because...you are still grieving mentally, emotionally, and psychologically due to your mentor\'s sudden passing...you might make mistakes and the monsters will get you...we don\'t want something bad happening to you out there. But after a while, if you\'re okay, you can join us again in hunting the monsters," Aspen explained gently not wanting to offend her.

Esmeralda released a deep sigh. "I see...you\'re afraid that during the battle I will show my weakness and something bad will happen to me...well...you\'re wrong! I might be grieving for my mentor but I\'m emotionally alright, I\'m honestly fine. Life must go on. It would be waste of time if I can\'t use my power to help the greater good. Besides, I feel bored just doing nothing here, I need some action too!" she said positively and confidently.

Aspen surveyed her face looking for the truth in her words. He only saw the sincerity in her eyes. "Good! If you want to help then I won\'t stop you. On one condition, you will stay by my side so that I can protect you," he said.

"No problem..." she said and got up from the bed.

"Where are you going?" asked Aspen.

"I\'m going to the room outside the house where my mentor hides the poison powder, we needed it to help eliminate large numbers of monsters. I plan to sprinkle the poisonous powder near the entrance of the blazing barrier so that we can eliminate more monsters that way..." Esmeralda explained.

Aspen\'s eyes sparkled. "What a brilliant idea! The first thing the monsters inhales the moment they exited the opening is the poison power, they can\'t go on father that way, they will die during their first few steps outside the castle! Amazing plan, Esme! I\'m impressed!"

"Okay, I\'ll go now...See you later..." she said.

"Okay, I will also go back to the town and spread the news to the villagers about the relocation," he said.

Esmeralda halted on her tracks. "And what if the people wouldn\'t listen?"

Aspen shrugged. "It\'s up to them.... the important thing is that I already warned them. Some will follow, some don\'t... I expect that already," he replied.

"Just tell the others who are not willing to leave their properties to dig a hole enough for the entire family below the floor of their houses and make a firm cover. Just in case the monsters will come to their houses, they can hide in it. I noticed that the monsters only eat the humans and animals they can see with their eyes. Anything that moves they will attack it... thinking it\'s food...I think their sense of smell is very weak, the people can take advantage of that," Esmeralda said.

"Hmm...sounds a good idea! I will go now...and I will also buy a spray bottle...we can put the poison powder in the spray bottle and voila! It\'s more convenient that way," Aspen said excitedly.

"Okay....let\'s go our separate ways!" Esmeralda said.

They left the bedroom.

Esmeralda went to the living room where Zemeth and Jegun were still in deep conversation. "Hello guys, just feel at home okay? I can\'t talk to you right now because I\'m going to the storage room, which is where my late mentor was making the poison powder. I need to get ready for the monster\'s attack. Don\'t worry, I\'m perfectly alright, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically," she said with a smile.

She didn\'t wait for their reply, instead, she turned around going to the door that will lead her to the back of the house.

Zemeth and Jegun watched Esmeralda\'s retreating form.

Aspen joined the men. "It\'s okay, I told her that we are worried about her mental state and she told me that she\'s perfectly alright and she wants to fight the monsters alongside us. So, yeah...making the poison powder was her way of telling us that she\'s perfectly alright," he said.

Jegun shrugged "Okay, I think she knows herself better than us..."

Zemeth sighed. "Alright...let her be."

"Don\'t worry guys, during the battle, Esmeralda and I will not separate so that I can monitor her actions and protect her from harm as well," Aspen assured them.

"Good! I feel much better now," Jegun replied.

"Okay, since we are done here, we should head back to the island," Zemeth said, he rose to his feet.

"And what about the others?" Aspen asked.

Zemeth shrugged and smiled. "Well...Ramza is with Kate and Agran is with Ella...go figure!"

The men chuckled.

"Ah...let the lovers spend some quality time together... besides they knew the right time to go home. They will be there on the island before the night gets deeper," Jegun said.

"Let\'s go!\' Zemeth said and moved forward.

The men went downstairs and exited the entrance of the house. Aspen activated his portal and disappeared from the place.

Jegun and Zemeth activated the teleportation in their mind and reappeared on the island a minute later.

~

Back in the mountain.

Ramza was cradling Kate above the banana leaves. She had fallen asleep for the last thirty minutes. She told him that she hadn\'t had a good sleep since Immortal Vearah\'s passing because she keeps dreaming of the nightmare she witnessed on that particular night.

So, he feels contentment just holding her and singing a lullaby until she falls asleep in his arms like a baby.

He smiled affectionately at his lady love. He recalled the times when they kiss each other one last time before she climbs the hill going to the castle and she disappeared behind the gate and never came out. He thought that was the end of their short love affair. He thought she was already dead by then. Thanks to the miracle, she was saved by Esmeralda. And at present times, they\'re back in each other\'s arms. He was more than happy to hold her like this again, feeling happy and contented with her lovely presence.

Occasionally he would kiss her forehead and her lips.

He looked heavenward and saw birds flying in the sky. Such a lovely place to relax and unwind. He closed his eyes joining Kate in a slumber.

~

Meanwhile.

Agran and Ella were having a good time watching the fishes in the fish pond.

"Dang! I have forgotten... I should have brought fresh fish from the sea with me when we come here," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Look at these fishes in this fish pond, they\'re still small! You guys already harvested the big ones for cooking. You will have no fish anymore in the coming days," he explained.

Ella smiled. "It\'s okay - no problem. We will stop making fish dishes for a while and just wait for the fishes to grow bigger before we will harvest them again," she replied.

"The ocean on the island has an abundance of fish. Don\'t worry, I will bring more fish here tomorrow when I\'ll come back to visit you," Aspen said.

"That would be nice!" her eyes sparkled.

"You didn\'t miss the island?" he asked her.

"I miss the island, of course! I would like to visit it again, but I can\'t leave my sister here in the mountain," she responded.

"Ah...about that...I will ask your sister\'s permission so that you can visit the island for a few hours," he offered.

"Nah, I will ask her myself," she said.

"Okay... since I already know this place...I can visit you anytime," he said.

"Really-? How? Are you going to pester Grandpa Jegun every single day just to visit me?" she eyed him in disbelief.

"Ah, no need to bother Grandpa. He already taught me how to teleport the other day. Now that I already know this place, I can easily return here anytime I want," he grinned.

"That\'s amazing!" Ella clapped her hands in glee.

"Are you looking forwards to my frequent visits? You might get tired of seeing me more often," he asked, teasing her.

Ella giggled. "Of course! I\'m looking forwards to your visit! I will never get tired of your face!" she said.

Agran smiled. "Nice to know that," he smirks. "So...tell me...what are the things you want me to bring with me when I\'ll visit you again?"

Ella pondered for a moment. She doesn\'t want to impose anything on him. "Just fresh fish!" she finally said.

Agran smiled. "Alright, I will grant you your wish. You will have fresh fish from the ocean tomorrow," he said.

"Okay...we\'re done here. Where else do you want to go next?" Ella asked him.

"Can we go back to the fruit garden? I\'m getting thirsty all of a sudden. I want to eat oranges and grapes!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, let\'s go back to the fruit garden!" Ella said.

They sprinted towards the location of the fruit garden. When they arrived there, Agran grabbed five oranges hanging from the branches of the tree and began eating them one by one. "This is amazing...so sweet!" he raved.