Back in New York, a few hours had passed since Marcus tried to put up a new barrier. Sweat covered his body as many Slayers, including Dragon, protected him.

The raid of the low and mid-level ghosts had ended an hour ago, and some of the Slayers took a rest to replenish their Spirit Power that got depleted from a long fight.

Only Dragon and Griffin were still able to stand up on their legs, still having some Spirit Power to handle new attackers if they showed up.

"Is it not done yet?" Griffin asked in annoyance as he turned to Dragon. "I have a date tonight! Tiffany will kill me if I don't show up in 2 hours."

"Just wait a minute, boy! It's almost done! Also, who cares about your date with that slut, by the way?"

"Hey! Don't call Tiffany a slut! She's a pure girl who only slept with me her whole life!"

"Hah! I don't believe that!"

Dragon sneered at Griffin. Who would believe a girl in their twenties not to sleep around with other men in New York City? No one.

"Anyway, you can just leave if you want to. This old man will finish in about a minute. Look, his Spirit Power started to spread all around New York, connecting the five centers of leyline and fixing the destroyed cornerstones."

"Hmm?" Griffin hummed, closing his eyes to concentrate on feeling the Spirit Power spread around New York.

Just as Dragon had said, a thin layer of Spirit Power and five condensed ones were already put in the right place. The rest was just to consolidate their position, and the barrier was ready.

"You're right. I guess I can wait for 5 more minutes." He nodded. "But still, I believe Tiffany is loyal to me, you old hag!"

Due to frustration, Griffin raised his middle finger at Dragon, and that didn't end well.

Dragon took down the barrier she put up to protect Marcus and smacked the young Slayer in the head, slamming him against the ground and creating a thunderous sound.

Bam!

"Who did you call an old hag, huh? Look at my fucking sexy body! It's even better than your slut, you little boy!"

"Fuck!" Griffin cursed as he slowly raised his head. It was bleeding, and the rooftop under him was cracked. "That hurts!"

"Of course! What? You want to complain again?"

Looking at the vein that popped up on Dragon's temple, Griffin immediately shook his head.

"N-No. T-That's enough." He said, crawling away from the old lady. "A-Also. Is it okay to take down your barrier?"

"It's fine. He's already done." Just as she said that, Dragon looked at Marcus.

The five black Talismans that hovered around him shot toward the sky in a golden light before flying to their respective places to act as the core of the cornerstones. Their speed was even faster than sound, and they arrived at their places in less than a minute and fixed the barrier.

Marcus slowly opened his eyes, breathing roughly and gasping for air. "Fuck."

The first word he said after he finished the ritual of creating the barrier was a curse. "That was taking a fucking lot of toll on my old body. But.." He looked up with a satisfied smile. "The barrier is fixed, for now."

"For now?" Dragon asked curiously.

"Yeah." Marcus nodded, standing up slowly under the respected gaze of the other Slayers that got up after hearing the thunderous sound earlier. "I didn't fix it perfectly. My strength isn't enough to do that, so I only made a temporary fix."

"Is that so? So you're really gotten weaker, huh?" Dragon smirked at him.

"It's not that, bitch. I am not like you, who spent half of my Spirit Power to stay young, hah!" Marcus scoffed at the old lady, causing her veins to pop up more.

However, he didn't care about that and only looked at her with a straight gaze.

"There is something that I didn't expect when I fixed the barrier. My daughter did a fucking good job that I can't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?"

The mention of Marcus' daughter was enough to keep Dragon calm down. Griffin looked at Marcus curiously while crawling away from Dragon, hiding behind the other Slayers to lay low.

Meanwhile, the other Slayers also looked at them curiously. They noticed some kind of relationship between the two, but they had no idea who Marcus was because he had hidden himself for more than 10 years.

"There is something sealed in the fifth cornerstone." He replied to Dragon calmly as he walked to the edge of the roof, looking at the stone that served as the fifth cornerstone with a narrowed gaze. "And I won't touch that for now. It will unseal itself when it is ready or when something bad happens."

"Is it related to the brat?" Dragon guessed, approaching the old man and crossing her arms under her ample breasts. "No, it is related to the brat, right?" She changed the question to confirmation.

Every time the old man put on a solemn and longing face, it would always be related to his grandson, his only family that he thought of as important. That was why it was easy to guess.

Marcus nodded slowly. Then he pulled up a soundproof Talisman from his soaked shirt and activated it. He didn't want the other Slayers to hear about what he wanted to say next.

With the presence of the soundproof barrier, Dragon was also able to talk a bit more freely.

"What is it, Marcus? What did my daughter-in-law seal in that cornerstone?"

"It is a memory," Marcus replied almost immediately with a frown. "Kai's memory about what happened 10 years ago, to be exact."

".." Dragon didn't say anything and only glanced at Marcus, shocked. Then she noticed how the old man clenched his fist until it bled.

'What actually happened in New York 10 years ago?'

"I know that my daughter sealed Kai's memory, but I don't know that she sealed it in this place. I don't think it is the perfect time to unseal it yet, especially when that monster started to move."

"Oh? So the Boogeymen have moved?"

"Yeah. My familiar just contacted me earlier. Gozu is just that efficient."

"Aha!" Dragon beamed with a smile. "The ogre belonged to Ashiya Douman, your ancestor and the rival of the strongest. It's a wonder why that kind of creature followed you willingly."

"I am just that fucking amazing." Marcus showed a big grin as he took down the soundproof barrier he had put up earlier. "Anyway, ask the Slayer Organization to move. The Dragon King is also there, so prepare for a big storm."historical

"Yeah." Dragon nodded slightly, looking at the sky. The Slayers had put the barrier down, and the dark sky replaced the purple one from the effect of the barrier. "I hope there will be no flood."

"Yeah. I don't want to renovate the restaurant yet."