Sunny's next words to Morgan only solidified Noble's fear.
He apologized to Morgan that she could not see him perform today.
Why would Morgan care unless she had a vested interest in his skill?
'I guess the Sword Domain was serious about the recruitment.'
This time, Anvil had sent not one but both princesses to speak to the enigmatic sellsword.
Noble remembered that Sunny had planned to align with Nephis to rot Clan Valor from the inside. If Morgan had wanted a display of his power before deciding if he was worth the price, then that explained her disappointment.
For better or worse, Sunny had made a fool of her and a mess of her plans.
'But how could she possibly have known a gate would form here?'
Perhaps it was just a golden opportunity that Lady Morgan was unwilling to ignore.
'Morgan couldn't have predicted the Gate opening ahead of the Obel scale, could she?'
Noble wasn't certain. She pondered the idea for a moment.
Around her, the strike team was finally coming out of its stunned silence. Having watched the Onyx beauty conquer a gate single-handedly, they had a lot to say.
"Have you ever seen anything so incredible?"
"I was excited to see the Sword Sisters, but this was beyond any expectation!"
"An echo taking out an entire gate. No one is going to believe this!"
The chatter went on even as new recruits arrived and needed to be told of the strange situation.
Noble ignored them. She hoped to catch Sunny's eye so that she might get an update on Rain. If Sunny saw her, he didn't show it.
Not that she could track his eyes at all behind that mask.
Not only did it look very similar to the back of the creature she had battled in her last Nightmare, but it reminded her of…
Noble's mind began to wander. What was she thinking about? She needed to talk to Sunny!
The distraction had cost her valuable time. By the time she came back to herself, Sunny and Morgan were heading towards a luxurious PTV while Nephis and Kai were saying their goodbyes closer to the gate.
Noble had almost forgotten that Lady Changing Star and Nightingale had been friends for many years. They were sharing a tender moment of goodbyes when Kai's emotions spiked.
He whispered something not even Noble could hear.
Not wanting to intrude on a private matter, Noble averted her gaze and focused on Sunny. What was the best way to get his attention?
Noble knew what to do. She sent him a bit of concern. The Saint was familiar enough with her influence to recognize it for what it was. He turned his head slightly in her direction and shook it almost imperceptibly.
Now wasn't a good time. He then made a fist and lowered one finger to his side.
Later.
Noble could understand. Stopping to speak while he was with Morgan would draw undue attention. And even if he had another incarnation with him to slip into her shadow, someone might notice.
She would wait.
Nephis left Kai and headed toward the other two. Her emotions were even more disquieted than Kai's.
'That can't be good.'
Sunny and Morgan noticed her change in demeanor a moment later and stopped to face her by a luxurious PTV.
'Oh!' Noble felt the emotional spike when the three-horned mask turned to look at the silver-haired princess.'That explains a lot…'
Nephis's response, however, was to deliver news that no one had expected.
Noble was certain about what she heard, even if she couldn't process what it meant.
'Did…did she just say she was about to be assassinated?'
A moment later, a mundane explosion tore apart the PTV. The men immediately around her were thrown back by the shockwave. But instead of being violently tossed into the armored vehicles, those nearest Noble were lowered gently to the ground like they had been floating on air.
Noble frowned, confused more than frightened by the turn of events. That small detonation would never have been enough to scratch Lady Nephis, no less mortally harm her.
Which meant…
Morgan turned her head expectantly toward the sky. Noble followed her gaze, and her eyes opened wide.
"Get…" She never got out the second word of her warning before the enormous arrow plummeted straight into Changing Star's chest. Nephis staggered back.
Sunny turned and dove toward the beautiful princess before the arrow had dissolved into a rain of sparks. Nephis was calm, pulling back her mundane clothes to reveal the chainmail underneath.
All around them, the world erupted into chaos.
'No!'
Nephis leaned as a second arrow tried to do what the first could not. It narrowly missed her body and headed straight for Noble and the soldiers around her.
The professor's eyes swirled as she redirected it enough to land in the armored vehicle beside her. It was so fast and heavy that there was no way to fully deflect it.
The reinforced PTV shredded as if it were made of paper, sending a confetti of alloy into the air. Noble did her best to contain the blast, sending the arrow into the already broken ground as it exited the back side of the vehicle.
A third arrow was already landing, but there was nothing Noble could do. Her powers were already pulling her in too many directions. She couldn't engage the next projectile without letting something else give.
Thankfully, she didn't have to. The projectile was aimed squarely at Morgan, and she sliced through it with ease. Her vermilion eyes sharpened as she watched the Memory be destroyed around her.
'Three down… How many…'
Noble looked up in time to make out close to a dozen other arrows of various shapes and sizes heading their way.
A fourth was caught by Sunny, who dug his heels into the ground and sent dirt and debris flying as he slowed the arrow's momentum.
The world had already been torn apart by a gate, and now it was being ripped to pieces by a secondary threat. This one was arguably worse, because no people had been harmed by monsters that were now a pile of corpses. The professor was determined not to let any humans be added to that heap.
Noble opened her mouth to direct those around her when a song drowned out any other sound.
The haunting melody from above formed an invisible wall. In barely a blink, the rest of the arrows disintegrated in the sky like fireworks.
Everything had happened in a few seconds, and just like that, it was over.
No one had died in the attack, but many were injured. Sunny checked on Nephis while Saint Kai took off in the direction from which the attack had originated.
Noble knew he wouldn't find the assassin. The professor had already spread her sense wide to search for the emotional signature of the attacker. The person who had caused the mayhem was gone before the first arrow hit.
Kai wouldn't find any clues, and she doubted anyone else would either.
Part of Noble wished that she were ignorant as well.
Unfortunately, she knew exactly who had done this.