After giving the order, Noble took to the air. The explosions had happened close together, and the part of town was not far from the Academy.
Looking at the two plumes of smoke, Noble frowned. It wasn't toward the outskirts. Fires happened there all too often, and sometimes a factory explosion caused a whole area to be engulfed in flames.
While that would be regrettable, many fewer people lived there now, so the impact on the surrounding areas would have been minimal.
Instead, the fire was blazing in an affluent, highly populated area.
'That's not Clan Song or Clan Valor's stronghold.'
Despite the most fearsome warriors being in Godgrave, both clans kept the family homes tightly guarded against attack. Whether there were secrets there to find or it was simply the pride of maintaining their legacy, Noble couldn't guess, but both had the propensity to become fortresses if an assault were ever launched.
This home was in a different neighborhood from either of those manors. Noble frowned.
'Was it an accident?'
One might have been, but a second seemed unlikely. As Noble drew nearer, she could see people running from the scene, not moving toward it to help with the blaze.
She noted the fireline already being formed by a group of firefighters, and she dropped to the ground to inquire about the strange situation.
"Why are you back here instead of putting out the blaze?"
"If we get any closer, they might destroy our vehicles." One of the women in uniform answered.
"They?" Noble furrowed her brow.
She hadn't gotten a notification that a gate had opened, so the firefighter could not have meant Nightmare Creatures. That didn't make sense. There weren't even any walled-up gates in this part of town. The Legacies made sure of that.
Extending her emotional sense, Noble found the scene even more confusing. At the center of the flames were many people, some terrified and many angry. What was going on?
"I'm checking it out."
"You can't go, Ma'am. We haven't secured the area. The police aren't even here yet to..." The firefighter trailed off as she watched the Provost take to the sky.
Noble knew the police and firefighters would take time to take action, and she did not want to take any chances with the safety of both her students and the civilians of the NQSC.
Coming into the compound, Noble found that all of the buildings were set ablaze.
'This was more than just two explosions...'
In the center of the lawn behind the blazing gate, two Awakened were fighting fiercely against a third while a half dozen mundanes cowered to avoid both the flames and the fighting.
The man defending himself held a sword with a crossguard that billowed out like seafoam to protect his hand. His azure armor seemed to undulate like waves. The other two, a man and a woman, were looking for a weak spot in his armor by raining down blows.
"Let me get my family out, Seren! There is too much smoke. They cannot breathe!" The man in the azure armor pleaded as he blocked a strike from the woman and slid across the singed grass.
"You brought this on yourself!" The woman continued to strike at him with a thin blade not unlike the one Noble used to have. Only this one seemed to be made of seaglass, for it shone with the green of a waning tide.
The second assailant remained silent as he closed his fist around his mace. He jumped at the defender, ready to bludgeon him and put them both out of their misery.
Only instead of falling, his flight continued upward until he saw a wraith floating through the smoke toward him.
No, not a wraith, a woman!
"We took too long!" Seren shifted her sword toward the sky and spotted her companion. "Valith!"
Suddenly, her thin sword felt like she was lifting a mountain. As the flying figure approached, Seren dropped to one knee as she struggled against the weight.
"Why are you fighting? Don't you see the smoke?" Noble's voice carried with it the weight of her emotions. She was at a loss.
This was the middle of a city, not some distant battleground.
"He has betrayed us and his clan." Seren slowly lifted her blade. "He and his family must die before he can do more harm."
"I've done no harm to anyone! I am not a traitor!"
Noble could feel that the man was telling the truth. But the woman was also convinced of her version of events. The silent gentleman, staring daggers at her but remaining silent, also supported what his companion claimed. Seren's struggle and determination were impressive, but it was for naught. Noble weighed the sword yet again, making it unbearable.
"Is this how Clans solve matters? By shedding blood in a person's own home in front of his family? I refuse to believe this is so."
It felt strange lecturing a clan on how they should do business, but they had crossed a line by disturbing the peace of civilians.
As far as Noble understood it, both sides had an unspoken pact to leave the waking world out of the open fighting. What had brought the sudden change?
"If you need to settle this, bring him to a proper place and handle it there. Isn't this shameful?" Noble looked at Seren and Valith.
They looked like seasoned warriors but not cold-blooded killers.
"We were given instructions by our father." Seren hesitated. "We cannot leave this unfinished. It is not your concern."
Noble's gaze turned sharp.
"You made it my concern when you set my city on fire."
The floating Saint heard a cough and looked toward the gate. Three children were huddled against their elders, blocking the smoke with the fabric of their sleeves.
She came to a decision.
"If you cannot handle this matter civilly here. You will have to handle it another time."
The burning gates flew open, taking a large swath of the flame with them. A pathway opened, allowing the family to get to freedom.
"Go, get to the firemen and get checked out. These two won't follow you."
Passing between Seren and Valith, the man ushered his family out of the gate. He turned and held up his sword.
"Something is wrong with your father." The man shook his head. "He is not the man you or I once knew. Following him is folly. I hope you can see I am not your enemy before it is too late."
"I said no bloodshed," Noble reminded him.
"There won't be any by my hands." There was a sadness in the man's voice. "Not today. But if they come at me again, I cannot be so generous."
Noble thought about waiting for the police to arrive and have them sort it out.
However, she knew that the authorities would have their hands tied in an internal clan skirmish. Noble sighed. She would need to diffuse the situation herself.
Lifting the assailants, Noble threw them over the back side of the compound. If they decided to return, then she would know long before they got there.
But they did not seem intent on engaging with Noble a second time. Noble felt them head in the opposite direction.
"They are leaving," she told the man.
The man furrowed his brow. "For now. They will be back. Seren doesn't leave things undone, even if she knows I didn't do what she claimed."
Noble chewed her lip. The man believed he was innocent of the charge against him. And what was this business about the assailant's father?
"Which domain are you from? If you think they will come after you, then it might be worthwhile to consider your options."
The man's expression turned grim.
"I am from no domain, nor were those who attacked me. I am Triteon of the House of Night. My own clansmen have conspired against me. I have no idea why."