Luca moved.
He didn't think. He didn't plan. The sight of Grace, standing firm against the storm of Bruce's rage, reignited the fire in his own chest. His instincts, momentarily buried under pain and confusion, roared back to life.
He was a protector. He was the Hero, or so many people had called him such.
And that girl – that strange, impossible girl who he'd grown to call his friend – was fighting a battle that felt like it should have been his.
No. It was his. This wasn't a feeling, this was a fact.
He was beside her in a heartbeat. As he did, he channeled mana into the floor, causing pillars of stone to appear under Bruce. He dodged them easily, his expression still furious.
A second after that, Iris was there too.
Ice spread across the ground, a massive sheet that disrupted Bruce's footing. She fell into formation without a word, her expression cold. She did not need to understand what was happening to know there was a threat to be eliminated.
