Evening comes.

Esmeralda and Aspen just finished dinner with the girls. They were currently preparing their weapons to be used just in case the castle will release monsters tonight.

They acquired this mentality that once they leave the house they\'re ready for war against the monsters, anytime.

Esmeralda looked at the girls. "Aspen and I are going to the castle to patrol the area. Girls, you are safe here. Don\'t leave this place no matter what," she said. She looked at Kate. "Just in case something goes wrong...used the bracelet I gave you....drop it on that jar filled with oils that I gave you. It will alert me if your girls are in danger. Once you are done with cleaning the kitchen, go to my room and stay there, don\'t come out unless I come back home. I protected my room with my power. You will be safe inside my room for at least two hours. If I can\'t still return, you can open the portal going to your village or on the island to your Grandpa Jegun\'s place. Did you understand me, girls?" she asked them.

"Yes, Granny!" the girls replied.

"Good! Aspen and I are leaving now, take care of yourselves," Esmeralda said.

"By Granny, bye Aspen," the girls said in unison.

Esmeralda and Aspen walked away from the girls. They descended on the staircase and exited the house.

Aspen looked at his friend. "Why are you panicking about the girls\' safety?" he asked.

Esmeralda sighed heavily. "It\'s for the girls\' safety. Remember that my mentor already passed away. Four of our friends were missing as well. We don\'t know for sure if they are already dead or still alive. I dunno who\'s next among us. There are only six of us now. It\'s gonna be tough from now on..." she said worriedly.

Aspen nods his head. "I agree with you, Esme," he sighed and looked at the sky. "What a beautiful night! The majestic full moon and the millions of stars adorning the sky is a joy to look at," he murmured.

"Let\'s teleport to the castle now!" she said, not in the mood to waste her time admiring the beautiful sky when they have a pressing matter that needed their full attention. She disappeared from Aspen\'s side in just a blink of an eye.

"Esme, why did you leave me?" Aspen grumbled and teleported to the castle.

They appeared in the castle in a few second intervals.

Esmeralda\'s face turned sour after seeing the guys resting under the shade of the tree. Why aren\'t they listening to her advice? Are these men stupid?

"Hello Esmeralda...!" Jegun smiled. He noticed the scowl on her face.

"Guys, aren\'t you scared of those venomous birds?" she asked them in a hard voice.

Jegun smiled. "Ah, regarding those birds... you don\'t have to worry anymore. I coated my self and the boys with my invisible protection shield. The next time the birds appeared and shower us with their venomous saliva, their sticky fluid will only slide in our body and get wasted on the ground. They can no longer harm us," he said smugly.

"Really?" Aspen asked in curiosity.

"Yes, I can make you a body shield as well, for protection against those birds\' venom. Just for our body protection because we don\'t know when the castle will release the birds again. When we are in the middle of the battle, we might not notice those small creatures approaching us anywhere. It would be a shame if we just give our enemies the victory easily without fighting to the death," Jegun said.

Aspen gave the old man a thumbs up. "By all means, make a body shield for me as well, Grandpa!" he said excitedly.

"Okay, stood still, lad!" Jegun said. "It\'s just my little contribution for you guys. Hope my little shield can protect you from the birds\' cunning attack!" he said. Wielding his power, he waved his hand all over Aspen\'s body, creating an invisible protective shield.

A few minutes later, he was done with his creation.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Aspen conveyed his thanks to the old man.

"You\'re welcome," Jegun replied. He looked at Esmeralda. "How about you, Esme?"

Esmeralda smiled. "Why not? Since everyone got it then why should I not take advantage of your protective shield? I don\'t want any regrets later," she answered.

Jegun smiled. "Alright, stand still, and don\'t move!" he instructed Esmeralda. He repeated the same process to her.

A few minutes later, Jegun was done coating Esmeralda\'s body with the protective shield. "Alright, since you guys are already here, we will take our leave now. Remember to alert us if the castle will suddenly open up," he reminded them.

Aspen nodded his head. "Noted, Grandpa! Rest well and good night," he said.

Jegun looked at Esmeralda. "Agran will be staying with you, guys, he\'s been here since morning," he informed them.

"Don\'t worry Jegun, we will allow Agran to take a rest under the shade of the tree," Esmeralda said.

"Thank you, Esme! We\'re leaving now!" Jegun said. He looked at Zemeth and Ramza. \'Let\'s go, guys! Time for a much-needed rest!"

The three men activated the teleportation in their minds and disappeared from their comrades\' vision.

Esmeralda looked at Agran. "Time for you to take your rest, Agran," she ordered.

"But Granny, I still want to patrol the surrounding area of the castle!" Agran protested.

"Don\'t be stubborn! You need to rest! Go that tree over there and take a nap. From now on, Aspen and I will be in charge. Don\'t worry, once we noticed something is wrong, we will wake you up immediately," she said.

"Okay, Grandma," Agran obeyed reluctantly. He went to the tree and lowered himself on the ground, resting his back on the trunk of the tree, shutting off his eyes to rest.

"Good boy! Granny knows what\'s best for you," Aspen said. He looked at Esmeralda. "I\'ll patrol around the castle. Have some rest as well, with half of your eyes open," he told her, jokingly.

Esmeralda nodded her head. "Go on! Be careful!" she said.

Aspen nodded his head. "I will!" he said and hovered in the air to start patrolling the whole area.

Two hours later.

Esmeralda glanced at Agran already dozing off, nestled in the tree trunk like a baby. She closed her eyes as well, but she has no intention to sleep. Her mind drifted back to her younger days inside the castle...until she grew old and realized that she wasted her life, her youth inside the castle.

That was the stupidest decision she ever made in her entire life.

When she was young, she didn\'t think much about her future, she didn\'t expect that her ideals will change.

The burning desire to leave the castle consumed her thoughts and waking hour. Until two of the sisters came into her life and changes everything. Now she\'s free from the castle at last, but her freedom was bittersweet, it was tinged with a curse, killing her mentor in the process. One of the persons that she holds dear in her heart.

If only she can turn back time and know that this will happen, she might no longer be wanting to be free from the castle. Her freedom caused the death of some innocent people. Her guilt was great.

If the war against the monsters will keep dragging for a long time, sooner or later, no one will be left standing still in the end, now that only six of them were left alive. As for her, she was confident that the vampires won\'t kill her because of fear that when her heart stops beating the castle will collapse, burning everything within.

She was more worried about the others. Soon, the vampire brothers will be able to think of a smart plan that will wipe away all her companions gradually or in one go, just like what happened to the four missing men.

She was not much afraid of the monsters or the dark shadow armies because they can be seen with the naked eyes, she was more worried about Maxwell, devising a sneaky plot using a stealth attack while they are busy warding off the enemies.

After experiencing repetitive loss, she knows that Maxwell won\'t rest easy. Right now, he was probably thinking of how to strike his enemies in one single blow.

She was in deep thoughts when a figure landed on the ground and approached her location.

Esmeralda can sense someone coming... she opened her eyes and saw Aspen coming her way. She breathed in relief.

Aspen sat beside her. "I thought you were sleeping?" he asked.

Esmeralda shook her head. "This is the enemies territory, I won\'t sleep no matter what..." she replied.

Aspen looked at Agran. "Sleep well boy..." he murmured.

Esmeralda looked at Aspen. She knows that this friend of hers won\'t give her what she wants quite easily, but she will still insist on getting back the dagger that her mentor had given her. "Give me the dagger that my mentor has given me!" she ordered.

Aspen remained unperturbed with her command. He can\'t understand why Esmeralda was demanding to get hold of the dagger. They have agreed already on what to do just in case something goes wrong. He shook his head, sometimes Esmeralda\'s mind can change quickly like the weather pattern in the sky. He ignored her demands.

Esmeralda sighed. "Please give it to me, Aspen. Our old agreement may no longer work in these chaotic times..." she said calmly, trying to explain to him the changing times.