In the meantime, Gloria and the kids remained at the house. 3 of the boys ran to the village to get some help. The grandma is panicking, her eyes filled with concern as she doesn't know what to do. Soon, the 3 boys came back with some villagers behind.
Man 1: "Ma'am… is everything ok?"
Gloria: "My grandson, Elzan… He…"
Man 2: It's alright, ma'am… the kids told us everything… I believe your grandson will be fine. We've already sent people to look for him.
Gloria nods in agreement, even though she is still concerned about her grandson.
Meanwhile, Elzan is still running in the woods. The atmosphere is surrounded by fog. He then rests at a nearby tree and lies with his back. While catching his breath, he heard the footsteps of multiple people. He quickly gets up and hides behind the tree. Soon, he saw the royal army looking for him.
Soldier 1: "It's already getting dark. I wanna go home…"
Soldier 2: "Can you stop whining… We've gone through here multiple times, so enough with your nonsense."
Soldier 1: "It's just… People kept saying there were monsters in the woods and…"
Soldier 3: "Oh brother, stop it, will ya? Let's just hurry up and get this over with!"
Soldier 4: "Yeah, let's speed things up before we run into the reve-"
Before the soldier could finish what he was saying, he was hit by a throwing knife to the back of the skull. Elzan witnessed it as well, he almost fell from the sudden attack.
Soldier 2: "AMBUSHED!!!"
The soldiers took out their swords for the sudden attack. One of them slowly kneels as he checks the man on the ground. He senses blood dripping from the back of the skull. They saw a shadow figure pass across one tree from another. While the soldiers are searching for it, the figure appears behind the one at the last and cuts his throat. When the others turned around, blood was already flowing from his throat, and he collapsed.
As the soldiers started to feel fear, they tried to stay composed as hard as they tightened their grip on the sword. However, one soldier is shaking in fear. The figure slowly unsheathes a hidden sword from beneath its cloak. Then, the soldiers charged forward, their swords raised for the attack. The figure swiftly moved behind a tree, and it vanished on sight.
Soldier 3: Where did he go?!
They quickly bled their eyes searching for the figure. Elzan is also watching intently from his hiding spot. But it is hard to spot the figure as the fog is in the way. Then, the figure lunged forward, diving the sword for the attack. The attacks were unpredictable for the soldiers as they couldn't see the figure's upcoming attacks. Before they could defend themselves, the sword passed through another soldier's chest, penetrating it. Elzan covers his mouth, trying not to panic. Even though he wants to run away for the escape, his curiosity won't let him move a single muscle.
The figure then attacks the soldiers. The soldiers defended themselves as much as they could. While the figure and a couple of soldiers are fighting, the coward soldier starts shaking, he looks at his sword, rethinking the decision he's about to make.
Soldier 1: "I-I… I can't do this… I…"
He then dropped his sword and ran away. The remaining soldiers saw his action as they felt betrayed. Before they could say anything about it, the figure slices off their neck. Blood flowed out before they collapsed on the ground.
Elzan had witnessed everything, he was too stunned to look away from the figure. His curiosity kept him staring at it. The figure then puts its sword back in its scabbard. Then the figure turned its head towards Elzan in a mili-second. Elzan's heart skipped a beat as he turned his head to the opposite direction, hiding behind the tree. He then slowly peek back. He couldn't see the figure. He then turned his head back and saw the figure was already beside him.
Elzan: "OH, GRACIOUS!"
He shouts in surprise.
Elzan: "I'm sorry… I didn't see anything, I was just trying to run away from them… Well… you see… I was just… um…"
Elzan is stuttering but the figure remains silent. It looks at Elzan for a while before walking away. Elzan was left surprised. When he looked back at the figure, it was gone.
Elzan returns home. When he stepped out of the woods, he saw a bunch of villagers, including his grandmother, who were looking for him.
Gloria: "Oh! Elzan!"
Grandma runs to Elzan and gives him a hug in joy. The rest of the villagers gathered around them. They were glad that he was safe.
Gloria: "I'm so glad you're ok… We were worried about you…"
Elzan: "It's ok, grandma… I'm back now… And…"
Elzan shows the bag he stole from Sharith. He took out the coins Sharith took from them and gave it to his grandma.
Elzan: Here, this belongs to us… now we have enough money for this month and also next month.
Elzan's grandma smiles in joy, but her facial expression changes in a few seconds; she feels worried about her grandson. She looks at her grandson, seeing him being praised by the villagers. At the same time but in a different location, the surviving soldier continues running to the castle…