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Noin noticed how serious Mira looked and asked about it, so she briefly explained what the Spirit Bomb was.

“…They made such a messed up thing…”

He was left horrified hearing that, shocked that someone would even think of turning spirits into bombs, while also becoming enraged, both at whoever the twisted individual who came up with that idea was, and at those who used it.

That kind of power was not something to take lightly, and they really could not stop the man in the coat anymore.

“Yes, stay there and don’t even think of moving, unless you want countless people to suffer for it.”

Saying that, the man in the coat handed the Spirit Bomb to the assassin, mentioning, “I’m sure you’ve seen how strong his arms are.”
He was hinting at the assassin’s proficiency with throwing weapons, which also meant he could throw the Spirit Bomb at any location within the city from there.

“Damnit…I can’t deal with something from the air now.”

If the Spirit Bomb detonated in the training area, Noin still could try to diminish its effects. But if he had to chase after it outside, all of the guards would be in danger instead.

“I guess we have no option but to step back.” Mira’s shoulders slumped as she said that with a firm voice, placing a hand on Noin’s shoulder.

“…Yes, you’re right.” Noin frowned and tried to protest at first, but barely a moment later he nodded and stepped away as well.

“Good, you made a wise choice.”

Seeing Mira and Noin retreat brought an ominous smile to the man in the coat. He seemed to really enjoy having gained the upper hand against one of the Twelve Apostles.

“But I can never be too safe, I guess.”

As long as he had the Spirit Bomb, Mira and Noin’s hands were tied. But despite that, the man in the coat still activated all those Purgatory Blazes he had scattered around.

Instantly tall pyres of crimson flames stretched high into the sky around them.
The training area was plunged in a sea of flames, their heat only increasing with every Purgatory Blaze that was activated.
There were even whirlwinds of flames dancing around as a result.
But despite all that fire, Mira and the rest remained safe.

“That b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲…!”

It was only thanks to Noin, as his barriers were strong enough to stand even against all those flames.

The man in the coat likely knew that much too. That fire was not meant as an attack, but more of a smokescreen to conceal their escape, and a way to delay any pursuers.

The moment anyone stepped away from Noin’s range, they would be consumed by the flames. So all they could do was to stand still and wait for the fire to subside.

“I swear, the repairs are going to cost a fortune.”

Despite all that, Noin did not appear defeated, instead looking more concerned by all the damage caused to the training area. And the reason for his composure, even if the enemy was escaping, was obviously Mira’s presence.

As the assassin and the man in the coat escaped from the burning training area, they turned around to look at the destruction with delight.

“You really showed them, Master. Did you see how pissed that Apostle guy was?!”
“Yeah, that felt really good.”

The two laughed again, recalling how Noin looked when he realized there was nothing he could do.

Being able to turn around a situation like that was always exhilarating, no matter how many times they did it. So in a much better mood, the two headed to their escape route. Just getting into the palace was a big feat in itself, and they had only been able to secure a single escape route through their insiders there.

It would take five minutes until the Purgatory Blazes in the training area died down, giving them plenty of time to get away.

Noin would not move from that spot until the time was up, so the two were certain they were free. So it took them some time to understand what they were seeing ahead of them.

“Wait…where did he come from…!”
“M-Master…who’s this…?!”

An Ashen Knight had just jumped down to block their way. It was clear it had fallen from a high altitude, followed by another, and another one, all of them jumping off the tall walls on the sides.

There were heavy thuds with each landing, and a total of five of them surrounded the two men. The assassin was clearly confused, unsure of what to make of the situation, while the man in the coat narrowed his eyes, examining the Ashen Knights.

“What unit do these knights belong to…?”

They all had gray armor, tall shields, and greatswords, standing imposing and proud. Clearly not the stance of low ranking knights.

The man in the coat was both wary of them and confused by their appearance.
He had studied every knight unit of Nirvana, their loadouts, and their armor designs. But the Ashen Knights did not resemble anything he knew about, so he was very suspicious of them.

“…I get it now. These are Armor Spirits. I’m assuming the Spirit Queen left them here ahead of time.”

Finally the man in the coat realized what was happening, identifying them as Mira’s summons, while also appearing a bit confused.

“As far as I know she wasn’t supposed to be much of a threat, but seeing these…”

The Spirit Queen had taken Noin’s place as the oracle’s bodyguard, so the man in the coat had used his information network to gather information about her, and believed he had a good idea of her power.

He saw her as a rank A adventurer who had gotten that position through nepotism and the Spirit King’s name.

On top of that, August had also learned a few things through the oracle, like the fact that the Spirit Queen had only left a single Cait Sith to guard the oracle. But just seeing those Ashen Knights was enough for the man in the coat to realize that he had been misinformed.

“Be careful, these look like trouble.”

He knew his information was largely hearsay, but he had not expected there to be such a big discrepancy. At the same time, he realized that Mira was definitely worthy to be a rank A adventurer.

“Okay, I’ll be-”

As master and pupil got ready to fight, they were briskly interrupted.

“-Ghah?!”

There was a loud collision and the assassin let out a groan before being flung away and rolling on the ground.

“How did you get here?!”

The man in the coat turned around, looking at Mira without letting his guard down. The fire from the training area was still visible in the distance, so he could not understand how she had escaped to follow them.