Meanwhile, Jegun and Ramza finally landed in the chamber where they left.

Zemeth was sitting on the edge of the bed when his friend appeared carrying a woman in his arms. At first, he thought it was Kate, but to his astonishment, it was no other than his beloved Ivy!

"What's going on? What happened to Ivy? Where did you find her?" he asked, rushing to Ramza's side.

"She's already dead," Ramza replied sadly.

"What—!?" Zemeth exclaimed in shock.

Ramza gently lowered Ivy's body in the wooden bed and stepped back to give his friend a chance to be with his lady love.

Zemeth sits down on the bed and with trembling hands wiped the soil away from Ivy's face. He can't believe she's already dead! "I want to be alone with her...please gives us privacy...guys," he pleaded.

Jegun saw the extreme sadness in Zemeth's eyes. He looked at Ivy's face...there's something he noticed about her face and body.

"Wait...let me check her pulse..." Jegun offered and went to Ivy's side.

Zemeth stood up to give room to the old man.

Jegun immediately checked Ivy's pulse, his eyes widened. "Oh, she got a pulse...but so weak! Her body is warm, not cold!" he exclaimed.

"W-what do you mean?" Zemeth asked, his hope rising.

"She's not technically dead, but looks dead..." Jegun declared.

"Huh?" Ramza's brows furrowed in confusion. "Huh? Can you be more precise, don't give my friend a false hope!" he demanded.

Jegun released a heavy sigh. "It's hard to explain in words. Wait here...I'll see what I can do!" he left the bed and exited the chamber in a hurry.

Zemeth went back to the bed and removed the rest of the soil from Ivy's body. He picked up her hands and brought it to his lips. "Ivy, please, you have to live for me! For us!" he begged, his voice filled with raw emotion.

Ramza was standing nearby watching the emotional moment. He'd never seen his friend acted this way before, he looks like a lost soul. He went to Zemeth's side and patted his shoulder in sympathy.

Jegun returned in the chamber holding five chewable gum in his hand. He immediately went to Ivy's side and began putting the chewable gum into her mouth one by one.

"Do you need water, guys? I can get one," Ramza offered.

"No need. The gum will dissolve itself," said Jegun.

"What now?" asked Zemeth.

Jegun shrugged his shoulder. "I dunno..." he said.

"Huh? What did you just give her?" asked Zemeth.

"The same herbal medicine I give Ella earlier," Jegun replied.

"But it's only for blood, right?" Zemeth said.

"It has many uses...but I'm not sure if it can stabilize Ivy's condition. The strange this is that her heart isn't beating... wait...Zemeth pressed your head on her chest and find out if her heart is beating, quick!" said Jegun.

Zemeth obeyed and pressed his head on Ivy's chest. His eyes brighten up. "I can feel faint beating!" he beamed.

Jegun was pacing the chamber. "Weak pulse and weak beating of her heart are not sufficient for survival. If she continues like this she will eventually die for real within 24 hours," he said.

Zemeth's face showed extreme distress. "So...what do we do now? Is there anything I can do to bring her back to life?" he asked the old man desperately.

Jegun shut off his eyes, wracking his brain, thinking what else he can do for the dying woman? All of a sudden...he remembered his conversation with the king of the dwarfs a long time ago. The king was bragging to him about a magical healing potion passed to their family, generation by generation.

The magical healing potion can restore a person's life on the brink of death!

"That's it!" Jegun said excitedly. He sauntered hurriedly towards the entrance.

"Where are you going old man?" asked Zemeth in panic.

Jegun paused and looked at him. "Don't leave the woman alone. Massage her body parts while I'm away to circulate her blood. I'm going to find the king of the dwarfs, he got the cure to Ivy's illness!" he said and left.

Zemeth obeyed and began massaging Ivy's arms, feet, legs, and head.

Ramza watched his friend's distraught face feeling sorry for him. "Is there anything I can do to help you, my friend?"

Zemeth released a deep sigh, he got a gloomy expression on his face. "This is killing me," he said softly. "Seeing Ivy in this crucial state is torture to me...I feel so hopeless and useless!" he groaned in a frustrated voice.

Ramza patted his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Be strong for Ivy and yourself as well. Don't lose hope yet," he said sadly.

"I feel so pathetic, I can't do anything to help her!" Zemeth grumbled.

"Hey, don't say that. Your being by her side right now is good enough to show to her that your feelings for her are real," said Ramza.

Zemeth released a deep sigh and continue massaging Ivy's body parts, it's the least he can do for his beloved. They were never given a chance to know each other and now they meet again the second time around and yet she was about to die. What a tragic fate!

Ramza coughs a little. "Do you want me to bring Ella here to see her sister?" he suggested.

Zemeth shook his head. "No. Not yet. Ella might only feel more devastated to see her sister like this. That poor girl has already had enough in her hands. Let's wait for the old man, maybe he can bring a miracle to Ivy..." he faltered on his words. He knows that if Jegun failed to bring something when he returns, Ivy will die for real.

"Y-you want me to go out?"

"No, just stay here," Zemeth answered in a low voice. He continues massaging Ivy's body parts, feeling miserable, fighting back tears from falling down his face.

~

Meanwhile, inside the chamber of the king of the dwarfs...Jegun was waiting patiently for the king's presence.

The king's trusted aid told him to wait for a few minutes because the king was inside his private chamber and once he's inside it, he doesn't want to be disturb.

Jegun was getting restless. Ivy's life was hanging by a thread...any delay can send her to eternal death!

He was pacing inside the waiting chamber, getting restless with every moment that passes by.

A few minutes later, finally, the king's voice echoed in the waiting room.

"How are you my friend?" said the king, smiling. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Jegun smiled brightly. "I have good news for you!"

"What is it?" asked the king curiously.

Jegun smiled. "We are going out of the castle soon!"

The king's lips erupted into a wide grin. "Really! That's incredible news! When?"

"A few days from now, don't worry, I will inform you of the exact time and the exact place," said Jegun.

The king's smiled "Wow! That's the best news I have received so far! Can I bring my entire family?"

"Yes! Not only your entire family, but you can also bring along 300 of your people!"

The king's face broke into a mega-watt smile. "Fantastic! I'm so happy to hear that!"

"But there is one problem, the girl who's blood can open the barrier is dying..."

The king's happy face turned sad instantly ."Huh? But why? Is she dead already?" he asked worriedly.

"No, not yet. Currently, she has a weak pulse and a weak heart beating. Do you have any potion that can bring back life? Or shall we say restore her body to its optimum health?"

The king of dwarfs was thinking for a moment. "Yeah, I have!"

"Then hurry up! Give me the potion! We need to save the girl or else we will never get out of the castle alive!" Jegun said urgently.

"Alright, I'm going to my chamber now!" the king bolted back to his private chamber.

A moment later, the king reappeared holding a potion in his hand and handed it to Jegun. "Hurry up! Go! Empty this potion into her body. It tasted bitter, but if you want her to live, forced feed it to her!"

Jegun's face brightened up. "Thank you, and one more thing. Prepare a vehicle or transportation that can speed up the process while we are escaping this castle. I don t care if you make a flying carpet, flying cart, or flying leaves! Just get them ready. Your people will use it to escape! I'm leaving now..."

Jegun was gone from the waiting chamber in seconds.

The king was left alone...thinking about flying carpet...flying leaves or flying cart?

~

Back in the chamber.

Zemeth and Ramza were panicking because they can no longer detect any pulse and heartbeat on Ivy and her body starts to get cold, worst Jegun has not returned yet!

"What to do!? Ivy...Ivy...Ivy! Don't die on me!" Zemeth was screaming like a mad man, tears shimmered in his eyes. He was already frantically applying chest compression on Ivy for a few minutes still nothing works!

Ramza patted his friend's shoulder, comforting him. "Enough! She's already dead. There's nothing you can do anymore..." he said sadly.

Zemeth groaned and howled in pain like an animal wounded. He refused to let go of Ivy's hands but he was no longer trying to apply chest compression on her chest. "I lose her...this time for good," he said in a devastating voice.

Ramza stares at Ivy's lifeless body. She's gone!

He was blaming himself. He should have not brought Ivy here and die in Zemeth's arms, now his friend is looking distraught. If he just allows Ivy to be buried in her grave peacefully, his friend might not be broken like this.

Zemeth stared at his beloved woman's cold body. "She died in my arms, I was not able to help her. I'm so useless!" he murmured to himself. His heart was filled with shame and guilt.