Noble tried not to panic. Everything in her body was screaming that this was all very wrong. The only times her levitation had truly failed her before were with people like Nic, who had a Memory or Ability to counter her, or with a far heavier or more powerful enemy.
But even then, she had been able to feel the being that opposed her. She had just been unable to exert her power over it.
This was entirely different.
Her Ability could not sense the people or even fathom that they were there. Even their emotions seemed to vanish into thin air.
She sensed nothing, felt nothing from them, and nothing she did was going to make them float again.
What magic were these people using to evade her so absolutely? Was it some kind of sorcery or an innate power? Somehow, Noble didn't think it was one person who was doing it.
They all seemed to have absolute control over their disappearance from her emotional detection. The lack of substance for her to grab and lift also seemed to be controlled by each one separately.
What had happened to them to give them this quality? Was it from when they were on the island? If so, did Mae have the same trait?
What could have happened to her and her crew for this to be the terrifying result?
For better or worse, Noble did not need to feel the soldiers' emotions to know that they were angry and murderous. Their actions were pretty clear.
And just now their actions included mobbing Noble for the second time in as many minutes.
But at least this time, she saw them coming.
Throwing off whatever Abilities she could no longer use, Noble fell back on her roots: her years of experience in the Dreamscape.
She had fought in melee battles and also in a team with Fireshing against bad odds. The few times Sarai had been knocked out of commission inside the ring, Noble had needed to finish the job solo.
Even if she had lost certain facets of her most useful assets, Noble still had more than enough to take on the motley crew.
Indeed, even before the four came at her all at once, Noble had already taken advantage of the battlefield. The wall behind her limited the angle from which the assassins could approach.
This was something they did not seem to realize until they bumped each other in their fervor to reach her.
'Not a coordinated group.' Noble noted. While she could guess that each might be deadly on their own, they were not a cohesive unit.
The woman was the winner of the competitive struggle, and her blade crashed against Noble's with a mighty clang. It was easy to deflect, but the woman did not seem concerned by that fact.
Releasing her sword with one hand, the warrior reached out her fingers and touched Noble's gauntlet. Noble leaned forward and pushed the woman with her shoulder.
"Ah!" Noble took the air, letting the bundle of bodies deal damage to one another instead of her. Just because she couldn't pick up her enemies did not mean she couldn't evade them.
But her outcry had nothing to do with her sudden flight. It was from the woman's unwelcome touch.
She looked at her gauntlet, and her eyes opened wide. The four fingerprints were etched into the metal. They deepened and widened, eating away at the armor, like rust.
Noble did not doubt that in a moment it would begin to eat away at her skin as well. She dismissed the gauntlet before she could find out if her hypothesis was correct.
"Get back here!" The man with the broken nose removed his helmet, calling her like a disobedient puppy.
But the words seemed to have unexpected weight to them, and an invisible rope latched around her foot to pull her down. Slashing with her Zenith, Noble filled the blade with essence.
The edges became tinged with poison, slicing through the air and severing the invisible connection.
Her body was free, yet she did not flee. These people needed to be stopped.
However, she did not go on a rampage to destroy them.
'I need at least one of them alive…'
Noble didn't like to kill people. Indeed, she never put a human to death outside of the Dreamscape. But her reason for preserving their life did not lie in any sentimentality. If Mae were smart, she would hope for this battle to end one of two ways. Either with Noble's death—clearly her preferred method—or with Noble killing all four soldiers.
Without anyone to corroborate that they attacked first, Maelys would be able to point an accusatory finger at Noble and place a wedge between her and Syrce. Even if it didn't end in a harsh punishment for Noble, it could easily wreck the trust she had built with Syrce over the weeks.
The only way to foil Lady Mae entirely was to keep at least one of them alive and make them confess to their crimes.
'And not die in the process…'
The latter was less of a problem now that she was overhead. These people were Awakened at best. Their biggest advantage had been the element of surprise, and now that it was gone, their chances of success dwindled to almost zero.
But that didn't stop Noble from feeling uneasy about her opponents. Two of their powers were still unknown, and the two that she knew were not easily countered by her innate skillset.
"I said, come back," the man tried again, his voice becoming more forceful. Two invisible lassos anchored around Noble's wrists.
More essence flooded into the Zenith. More power flooded into Noble's whole being. A righteous anger overtook her. She cut the ties binding her, only to have more take their place.
The new bonds, however, were not ethereal strings. They had substance like that of a spider's web and came from the second man's wrists.
'Ugh, I think I saw this in a show once.' Noble clicked her tongue dismissively.
Releasing her sword, the Zenith flew on its own and severed the binds close to the source. Then the animated blade went straight for the man who was shooting the sticky substance. He ducked with a cry, but the blade pursued him. The female assassin dove for the hilt, grabbing it firmly to dissolve it with her touch.
But she was in for a shock.
Since Noble could not feel the woman, her powers did not acknowledge the other lady's control over the blade. Noble levitated the Zenith across the expanse between the buildings, dragging the assailant behind it.
Pebbles came from every direction, pelting not only her, but her companions as well. The men tried to strike out at the floating Master, the last of the assassins throwing his blade at Noble with deadly aim...that she easily avoided and sent back at the man with a vengeance. Blood flowed from the breach in his armor as the sword maimed his side.
Each attempt by the assassins fueled Noble's anger. Her eyes swirled with indignation. With each breath, the wrath growing in her was more profound. With each action, the floating Master felt closer to giving in to the feelings overflowing in her soul.
The Zenith lifted into the air, finally freeing itself from the woman of decay and returning to its mistress's hand. It had not been affected by the poisonous woman. It was made for poison, too.
The Awakened woman swayed, suddenly feeling drained of her powers.
Noble took hold of her faithful blade and power, unlike any she had allowed herself to feel before, ran through the veins like essence.
Just as Noble felt on the edge of losing herself to the drunkenness of the Zenith's influence, she tried something she had never done before.
She became an emotional bomb.