By the edge of a cliff, a figure stirred from slumber at the sound of approaching footsteps. Slowly awakening, he sat upright, his gaze still fixed on the mesmerising sight of the setting sun.

Without turning to see who had arrived behind him, the figure inquired, “What brings you here?”

The voice responded, “Have you calmed down?”

“...yeah,” came the reply.

“Smoking is quite the bad habit. At what age did you start? It seems you’ve been at it since a young age. In which department of revolutionary forces have you worked for? Why do you wear your mask? From where did you acquire your Teigu? What’s your Teigu’s name?” Leone fired off questions at Bane like a Gatling gun, as she seated herself beside him.

‘...........’ 

After being bombarded with questions, Bane remained silent, observing the person beside him. As he looked at the beautiful blonde girl, one thought crossed his mind: ‘The person in front of me is a high level of extrovert.’

Amidst the sunset’s ambiance, he wondered if he were hallucinating or if she truly radiated an aura of a social butterfly. 

However, he pushed these thoughts aside and responded, “I’ll only say that this cigarette is my medicine. You can inquire further questions from Najenda. And as for your last question, My Teigu’s name is ‘Jörmungandr.’”

Leone fell silent after Bane’s response before eagerly saying, “Okay, now it’s your turn to ask me anything. I’ll answer truthfully.”

Initially hesitant to ask, a sudden thought prompted Bane to inquire, “How did you locate me? I’m certain I left no tracks while coming here.”

Leone smirked upon hearing Bane’s question. “I have a keen sense of smell, partially attributed to my Teigu, ‘Lionel,’’ she explained.

She then proceeded to inform Bane about the decision regarding Tatsumi’s friends. “After the Night Raid members’ meeting, it was decided that they cannot be released from surveillance.

Instead, they will be sent to one of the hidden revolutionary bases where they’ll handle non-combat tasks with sufficient income. Additionally, after the boss offered Tatsumi two choices to work for us, he chose to join the Night Raid as a combatant.”

Bane was silent after hearing the information, but then he asked, “Do you see potential in him?”

Leone nodded. “Yes, despite his appearance, Tatsumi displayed exceptional resolve by killing his friend's torturer without hesitation. It was his first kill, yet he remained steadfast.”

Internally, Bane acknowledged, ‘Impressive.’ He recognized that not everyone could act with such resolve, as he himself had experienced tremors after his first kill.

“In the medical room, your attention was mainly on Tatsumi, except for the girl. Does he also trigger any memories for you?” Leone inquired suddenly.

“..........” 

Bane fell silent for a minute, contemplating the question. After reflecting on the situation, he finally responded, “He reminds me of my past self, but he’s also different from me……” Bane’s voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

“...........”

Leone remained quiet after hearing Bane’s words, sensing the weight behind them. 

To dispel the awkward atmosphere, Bane pointed at her lion-shaped belt and asked, “Is this your Teigu?”

Leone nodded,”Yes, that’s the Lionel I mentioned earlier. I acquired it at a low price on the black market. When I touched it, it simply resonated with me, and the seller foolishly parted with it for just a few copper coins. Quite lucky, don’t you think?" Leone laughed.

‘.........’

Bane remained silent, his gaze fixed on Leone as she spoke. Internally, he couldn’t help but think, ‘Good looks, combat prowess, exceptional communication skills, and incredible luck. The world truly is unfair.’ His mind wandered briefly to the struggles he endured to secure Jörmungandr’s agreement, a process that had been soul-numbing.

Hell, He had even endured the hardship of losing his weapons for various missions for years, without being able to find a suitable replacement, and the girl in front him just obtained it through ‘luck’.

As Bane remained silent, Leone’s attention turned to his white metallic belt, adorned with a serpent design featuring a crowned head and red eyes, with its tail biting its own tail.

Turning back to Bane, Leone remarked, “Don’t you think we have many similarities? Our Teigu designs, expertise in assassination, origins in the Border Capital Slum, our names ‘Leo,’ and even our genders.” She was unable to hold back her laughter at the mention of his gender, tears of amusement streaming down her cheeks.

Bane’s expression instantly hardened behind his mask at Leone’s incorrect mention of his gender. Taking a deep breath, he spoke slowly, “If you don’t stop laughing now, I’ll kick you off this cliff in an instant.”

Leone quickly apologised, “Sorry, sorry, I won’t do it again. You see, the green-haired guy you saw at the medical lab said that you must be a girl. He’s a lecherous fellow, so you must be careful while bathing.” Despite her apology, she couldn’t help but giggle again.

“If you’ve already asked Najenda about my real name and other information, then you should also know that I am a boy,” Bane started with a deadpan expression from behind his mask. He was seriously contemplating the consequences of throwing the girl off the cliff.

Leone ceased her giggle and offered, “As payment for laughing at your expense, let me share a joke.” After a brief pause, she continued, “When we told Tatsumi that we are an assassination unit deployed to take out important figures within the Empire, he asked us, ‘So, you people are assassins of justice?'”

After Leone finished her joke, both she and Bane looked at each other for quite a few seconds. But both of their shoulders started to shake after a few moment.

Bane, unable to hold back, let out a melodious chuckle. “Ha ha, what an interesting response. Where did he even get the idea that there’s any connection between ‘assassination’ and ‘justice’? If he steps into this murky profession, he’ll be solely responsible for his fate.”

Bane had never once justified his actions of murder as delivering justice to the bad people. He simply killed them because of completing the tasks given to him by the revolutionary army, and the individuals he killed till now met their fate because they were weak. 

If one day someone seeks revenge on him and that person is stronger than him, it would mean Bane’s end, simply because he was weak against that person. 

But he decided to abandon that line of thought. Instead, he reflected on how good it felt to laugh a bit.

‘When was the last time I laughed like this?’ Bane pondered in his mind

“But his ability to maintain his pure innocence and childlike enthusiasm even after experiencing his first kill is a charming aspect about him,” Leone remarked after she finished laughing with Bane.

Bane glanced at Leone and thought to himself, ‘Is she—no, what am I thinking? It shouldn’t be that.’ But he halted his thoughts as he noticed Leone focusing on something below the cliff.

“Intruders! Get ready for the hunt,” Leone declared as she transformed into her beast form, displaying her predatory fangs with excitement upon spotting prey.

“Yeah,” Bane responded. Internally, he commanded Jörmungandr to activate, preparing for the upcoming hunt.