I gave a small smile.
'Yuna, it's Ruyi Bang.'
"Ruyi Bang?"
'Yuna, it's the replica of the staff of the Monkey King, who is the Overseer of Earth.'
I twirled it once before planting it beside Frank's corpse.
"What is this this supposed to do?"
'Yuna, the Monkey King has a habit. He leaves a replica of his staff at the site whenever he deals with people who break certain laws. It's like a warning.'
Understanding flickered in Yuna's eyes.
"So, anyone who finds this will think he's the one who did it."
'Exactly.'
I took a step back, looking at the scene.
The broken ground, the bullet holes, the blood, and now the staff. Everything looked chaotic enough to match one of the Monkey King's messages.
"Since Monkey King is the Overseer of this world. He must be the strongest Exorcist. Whoever investigates Frank's death, and tries to locate you won't risk picking a fight with the Monkey King."
'Yuna, yes, that's the plan,' I said, brushing dirt from my hands. 'They'll think he came here, found Frank guilty of something, and punished him.'
"And you?"
'They'll never know I was here.'
The exhaustion hit me again.
My body felt heavier by the second.
My vision blurred at the edges, and my knees almost buckled. I caught myself against the tree and took a deep breath.
"You need rest," Yuna said.
"I know."
Yuna was still sneaking glances around.
I didn't explain to her that Frank was from the Daelthorn family.
One of the rules Monkey King, the Overseer of Earth, created was: No Exorcists shall interfere with life of normal people.
People only broke that rule when they were confident the Monkey King would not find out about it.
'If dad was really a member of Daelthorn, and he was exiled, then they must've destroyed his dantian before exiling him.'
'It means he can no longer use his Exorcist abilities.'
'Now he is counted as a normal human.'
Frank's attack on our normal family was a clear violation of Monkey King's rule.
'House Daelthorn wouldn't be able to take revenge on us even if they are angry with Frank's death.'
The replica of Ruyi Bang I created would make sure of it.
'Wait…'
A sudden thought came to me.
'So this is why there were no records of dad and Frank in House Daelthorn's records.'
'House Daelthorn erased their records because they didn't want Monkey King to find out what Frank had done.'
All of it made sense.
It was even better as this showed the fear and authority of the monkey king.
Leaving Ruyi Bang here would make sure the monkey king doesn't come after my family.
'There is only one problem.'
'If Monkey King finds out someone faked his symbol, he will hunt me down to the farthest corner of the world.'
I sighed.
'Well, Monkey King isn't on Earth right now, and it will be a few decades before he can come back.'
'I don't really need to worry about him finding out what I did.'
The fact that Monkey King wasn't on Earth wasn't known to anyone but me at this point of time.
People would find out about it in the future.
The disappearance of the Overseer had allowed another planet to invade earth during my last life.
I had to come back to protect Earth because of that.
It was why I knew so much about Exorcists who were living on earth.
'This should be enough.'
I looked at the replica of Ruyi Bang.
'It would deter House Daelthorn from attacking us.'
I was dead tired, and on the verge of losing consciousness.
Still, I didn't return home immediately.
No matter how tired I was, leaving the scene without collecting everything would be idiotic.
I forced myself to move and dropped down to the forest floor.
"What are you doing, Lord of shadows?"
'Taking loot.'
Yuna's smile stiffened.
I ignored her reaction, and I floated Frank's sword and the amulet he'd tossed earlier.
Both were heavy.
I couldn't identify them properly right now, but they were clearly powerful Relics. Maybe even Rank 2 Relics.
I pulled them closer with telekinesis and stored them inside the Inventory Rune on my palm.
Next was the spear used by Liana's twin.
Then the sniper rifle, still warm from Vi's last shot.
Both went into my inventory as well.
I also found a medium-sized shield near the front of the SUV, probably belonging to the driver I'd taken out at the beginning of the ambush.
'Not bad. This is a good haul, especially Frank's sword. It's a legion sword.'
Three weapons, a shield, and two useful Relics.
Even if I couldn't use them yet, I could sell them for good money.
I turned my eyes toward the notifications flickering quietly in the corner of my vision.
Spirit: 18 → 19
Magic Bullet: 1-Star → 2-Star
Telekinesis: 1-Star → 2-Star
Shadow Summon: Level 5 → Level 6
One stat up. Two spells ranked up. And Shadow Summon leveled again, despite it already leveling twice earlier today.
'High-intensity combat really is good for growth.'
It came at a cost, though.
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
Sweat soaked through my shirt.
I could barely feel my fingers.
The post-battle crash was hitting me hard.
My vision kept blurring at the edges.
I needed to go back before I lost my consciousness.
I opened a portal to my room.
Covering that much distance from the forest to the mansion on the city's outer area was brutal on my remaining mana, but I didn't have a choice.
The backlash hit me the second the portal opened.
It felt like someone had driven a spear through my ribs.
I stumbled through the portal and collapsed onto the floor of my room. I didn't even make it to the bed.
The last thing I saw was the faint glow of the inventory rune fading from my palm.
Then darkness.
…
Lyra (MC's Mother) POV
Lyra woke with a jolt.
Loud, frantic knocks echoed through the hallway, sharp and uneven.
She sat up right away.
"Lyra? Why are you so loud first thing in the morning?" Marianne mumbled from beside her, still half asleep and rubbing her eyes.
The knocking came again, faster this time.
Lyra threw off the blanket and ran to the door. Marianne followed quickly, more alert now.
When Lyra pulled the door open, she froze.
Seris stood there, trembling.
Her cheeks were wet with tears. Her eyes were red and swollen.
She was crying so hard her words came out in hiccups.
Lyra bent down, her voice soft but shaky. "Seris? What's wrong, baby? What happened?"
At the sound of her voice, Seris cried harder.
Marianne crouched down beside her daughter and pulled her into her arms.
"Shh, sweetie. You're okay. Tell us what's wrong."
Seris tried to speak, but her voice broke every few words. Lyra only caught fragments—"blood" and "not waking up."
A cold fear gripped her chest.
She and Marianne locked eyes. Neither spoke, but both knew something was very wrong.