Large beads of sweat soaked the young man's flaxen inner shirt.
The sound of hurried breathing woke the sleeping Leone, and she laboriously raised her eyelids.
The winding tree branches cast twisted shadows upon the ground as Leone spoke softly.
"Tatsumi..."
Tatsumi looked exhausted. After hearing Leone's voice.
He slightly slowed his pace.
"Boss, you're awake."
Seeing that so much time had passed without any trace of enemies, Tatsumi also relaxed somewhat internally.
He was no longer that inexperienced rookie from before.
He had gone through plenty of training in concealing his tracks and presence.
The chances of the enemy catching up were low. Tatsumi forced out a smile.
"But seriously, Boss, next time..... you should still lose some weight."
"So tired. Hah.... hah~"
Leone looked at Tatsumi, who appeared somewhat smaller compared to herself.
A small horse pulling a large cart. Tatsumi had truly been exhausted.
Leone yawned and slightly tightened the arms wrapped around Tatsumi's neck.
The two were pressed together like an intimate couple.
"Tatsumi, if you joke about your big sister's weight again next time, be careful of your....."
The remaining half of Leone's sentence stopped midway in her throat.
A sense of danger spreading from her spine throughout her body struck her.
Leone shoved Tatsumi away in one motion, and the two instantly fell in opposite directions.
"Boss??"
Tatsumi rolled across the ground and quickly raised his head.
Large white wings pierced into the hard stone.
Leone crouched halfway on the ground and once again entered her beastified state.
A pair of golden beast eyes stared tightly at the sky not far away.
Ran wore a faint smile at the corners of his lips.
"There's nowhere left to run. You should obediently stop."
Leone's gaze darkened as she shouted.
"It's you again! Tatsumi, run!!"
The beast claw that had previously been severed from Leone still had not recovered.
After sleeping for less than a moment, she had only regained a little strength.
Tatsumi's heart suddenly sank.
He swallowed down the unwillingness in his heart and released his grip from the sword hilt.
Turning around, he fled toward the abandoned stone temple not far away.
Facing an enemy with aerial superiority, he truly had no way to deal with them.
Staying behind would only mean both of them dying.
Tatsumi did not dare turn back for even a single glance.
He clenched his teeth tightly as strands of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Leone grabbed a chunk of broken stone nearby and leaped fiercely toward Ran.
The lion with the severed claw squeezed out the last trace of her strength as she charged toward the blond young man in midair who looked like an angel.
The clouds dispersed, revealing the massive pterosaur hovering high in the sky.
Uesugi Ryu casually played with the Observer in his hand.
His gaze rested upon Leone's struggle below.
"This Teigu really is useful. Using it to catch rats is truly a perfect match."
Najenda felt bitter inside. Back then, she had personally handed this Teigu over to him.
Now, hearing Uesugi Ryu's words, she only felt it was an immense irony.
But immediately afterward, Najenda's pupils suddenly trembled as she inwardly exclaimed in shock.
"Two Teigu???"
Each person could only use one Teigu. That was practically an iron law.
Najenda had never heard of such a thing before. Using even one Teigu was already an immense burden.
Two Teigu was not as simple as one plus one.
Not to mention Uesugi Ryu's own strength was already terrifying enough.
Strictly speaking, Uesugi Ryu's situation did not really count as dual Teigu usage, since he had never used them simultaneously.
It was not that he could not do it, just that currently no one could force him to use two Teigu at once.
Najenda was not stupid. There was naturally a reason why Uesugi Ryu was deliberately revealing these things to her.
Combining this with everything from before, she pondered for a moment before asking.
"What exactly do you want us to do for you?"
"Or rather, what can we do for you?"
Uesugi Ryu lightly laughed as though joking with a friend.
"So now you aren't calling me a greedy wolf anymore?"
Najenda froze. She had only ever said those words to Bulat.
Now that the person involved had exposed it directly, she felt somewhat frightened for a moment.
"As expected, future sight can peer into people's hearts."
"He probably saw me secretly muttering it in my mind earlier."
Najenda was also frank about it as she mockingly laughed at herself.
"At this point, there aren't any other choices left, right?"
"Compared to the Minister, you can at least be considered a good person."
Hearing that, Uesugi Ryu could not help but laugh.
It had been a long time since someone called him a "good person."
Najenda also laughed along, though there was some sorrow within it.
In this era, things had actually fallen to the point of comparing who was less evil.
Uesugi Ryu stood with his hands behind his back by the clouds as though feeling something.
"Most people are obsessed with distinguishing between good and evil, but I don't care about such things."
"Whether evil or good, it's nothing more than following the trend and pursuing profit."
Najenda had never been able to understand Uesugi Ryu's thoughts.
Honest was a venomous snake of power, and Esdeath was a witch of war.
She had privately believed Uesugi Ryu was simply a greedy wolf, but that was only the surface.
Najenda did not quite understand the core beneath it. Seeking profit was ultimately still for one's own desires.
What exactly did Uesugi Ryu want?
Just as she was thinking about it.
Uesugi Ryu slightly turned his body, silver moonlight scattering across his face.
His eyes gleamed as that gaze looked over.
Najenda took a step back, feeling a chill run down her spine.
Not human, but like some evil spirit.
That was the first thought to appear in Najenda's mind.
The battle below had long since ended. Leone, already nearing her limit, could not possibly be Ran's opponent.
Before the ruined stone temple, Tatsumi looked at Ran above with a face as hard as iron.
The pterosaur flapped its wings as Uesugi Ryu descended above Ran.
Najenda closed her one eye as though making an immense decision.
Then she spoke word by word.
"Tatsumi, put down your sword....."
Tatsumi raised his head and looked at the familiar figure.
His lips parted slightly as he even wondered whether he had fallen under some illusion.
Uesugi Ryu did not bother paying attention to such trivial matters.
Najenda jumped down from the sky, leaving only Uesugi Ryu alone upon the dragon's back.
He took out Shambhala and lightly rubbed the surface of the Teigu with his index finger.