A piece of chocolate fell to the ground with a smack and shattered into pieces.
Syura dragged Kijie by the arm as he walked away.
The corners of his mouth curled upward. He could hardly wait to get started.
But before Syura could enjoy himself for more than a few seconds.
A blur flashed past in the distance, accompanied by a howling gale.
Syura's pupils contracted slightly. He immediately released Kijie's arm and crossed both arms in front of himself.
A dull thud rang out, and his body was sent flying backward.
Amid the shower of debris, Syura slammed into the wall like a doll struck by a battering ram, embedding himself into the stone.
Uesugi Ryu had appeared exactly where Syura had been standing.
His hands were in his pockets as he slowly lowered his raised left leg.
"Are you alright?"
Kijie's mouth fell open slightly, her brown hair whipped about by the violent wind.
"Mr. Uesugi!"
Bricks and rubble crashed to the ground with sharp clattering sounds.
Syura pulled himself out of the wall.
His expression twisted viciously as he snarled,
"That hurt, you bastard! Have you thought about the consequences of opposing me?"
Even Uesugi Ryu had not expected Syura to return this early.
Still, fortune favored the bold. A brilliant plan suddenly came to mind.
A faint smile curved Uesugi Ryu's lips as he looked Syura up and down mockingly.
"Being this arrogant at Jaegers Headquarters, I can't exactly ignore it, can I, darkie?"
Syura's skin was dark, but certainly not black.
This was pure personal attack.
Syura's expression darkened immediately. Veins bulged at his neck as he shouted back,
"You country bumpkin. This is a healthy tan!"
"So you're Esdeath's new subordinate."
Syura brushed the dust from his head and sneered.
"You're fast, but your kick was weak. Hits like a woman."
Uesugi Ryu glanced at him indifferently. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.
He had deliberately held back earlier so as not to scare Syura.
Opportunities to injure him legitimately did not come often.
Bols, Wave, and Kurome quickly arrived as well.
Seeing the state of his wife and daughter, Bols immediately understood what had happened.
The guard promptly released Logue and stepped aside.
Kurome shot him a cold glance before crouching down to comfort the little girl.
"Logue, are you alright?"
Logue's face was covered in tears as she threw herself into Kurome's arms.
Bols was already at Kijie's side, comforting her.
Wave's expression darkened. He moved beside Uesugi Ryu, his gaze fixed firmly on Syura.
His hand rested on his sword hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
"Mr. Uesugi..."
"Step back. Trash like this is enough for me alone."
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Uesugi Ryu blurred forward, crossing paths with the guard.
In the next instant, the guard's sword was in Uesugi Ryu's hand.
Syura also drew his Teigu, Dimensional Formation: Shambhala.
A thick killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"For Big Sis's sake, I'll only beat you half to death."
The blade left its sheath with a crisp metallic hum.
Uesugi Ryu remained expressionless, his gaze lingering on the Teigu in Syura's hand.
He casually spun the borrowed sword before saying,
"Then let's see. For the Minister's sake, I can spare your life too."
Bols gripped his flamethrower tightly, his fury nearly visible even through his mask.
His wife and daughter were the greatest reason he fought for the Empire.
Now that what he cherished had been threatened, there was no way he could tolerate it.
"What do you think you're doing!"
An angry roar rang out as General Budo arrived.
Looking at the wrecked courtyard, his expression turned ugly.
He did not care if Syura and the Jaegers tore each other apart.
But damaging the palace grounds was absolutely unacceptable.
Budo looked at the tense standoff and suddenly realized this was an excellent chance to weaken both sides while gathering information.
Now that he had resolved to act, both Honest and Esdeath were future enemies.
Uesugi Ryu and Syura were both important members of Honest's faction.
Learning more about them could only be beneficial.
Budo snorted coldly and said in a deep voice,
"If you want to fight, take it to the training grounds. I don't care which one of you dies."
Syura had already heard from his father that Budo had changed.
The fact that Budo was actively proposing a solution was certainly interesting.
Still, Syura did not fear him.
When you could teleport through space, confidence came naturally.
Uesugi Ryu tossed aside the sword and proposed,
"Then no weapons or Teigu. Hand-to-hand only. How about it?"
He raised an eyebrow and flashed a provocative grin.
"Got the guts, darkie?"
A smile spread across Syura's face.
What he excelled at most was martial arts.
During his travels across many nations, he had integrated countless fighting styles into his own.
Did this idiot really think speed was everything?
Syura put Shambhala away and scoffed.
"Why wouldn't I? Just don't scamper around like a rat when the fight starts."
Uesugi Ryu ignored him completely.
Soon enough, this brat would learn the beauty of overwhelming stats.
Bols was still comforting his frightened wife and daughter.
At the end of the day, this was his problem.
As a husband, hiding behind someone else would be humiliating.
He looked at Uesugi Ryu and said firmly,
"Let me handle this instead..."
Uesugi Ryu naturally knew what he meant.
Bols was strong, but defeating Syura was absolutely impossible.
He waved him off, leaving only his back to the others.
"Leave it to me. I'll make sure this bastard learns a painful lesson."