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addressing:Bianca, Soldiers[@Hero][hr]

Justinian had thought that spiting on the Prince with his gift would make him feel at least a little less awful or moody—some brief catharsis to get him through the rest of today. Sadly, while he managed to put on a good enough showing during the procession, whenever a noble or businessman came to greet him during the party, the young Scion felt barely any better. If anything, the outburst made him feel worse as he looked back on it. As much as Lucas was an unsufferable shit, he had known Theo far longer than Justinian had. Throwing it in the Prince's face was the height of selfish entitlement, no matter what Justinian thought about the man's conduct.

And so, the scion was making his best impression of a wallflower with Bianca at his side, taking a sip of wine every so often, and debating on when would be a good time to leave and go home. At least then he could sulk in peace without having to put up a front. He watched the rest of the ballroom with some disinterest. People were chatting, the royals were fussing over the king, and business was as usual. The new scion of Time seemed to make a quick exit, but Justinian was done worrying about the man for now. Probably forever, if he could help it. An apology would not be welcome nor be fully genuine, and whatever his misgivings about his own behavior, Lucas was still an asshole of a high caliber. If they never had to speak to each other after this moment, all the better.

It wasn't until the lights started to flicker that he felt it. A prickling dread spread from his chest down to his arms, born from delving into dark caves alone, where the beasts of nightmares often tread. Something was coming—something bad. He could feel it. As the second flicker came, he turned to Bianca.

[color=darkorange]"We need to start moving people out of here."[/color] His voice almost cracked at the urgency in his tone, finger clenched as the lights flickered for the third time. In his mind, he could feel the door straining behind him. The splintering crack of wood and rock being crushed behind a creature of enomous strength. On instinct, he spread his senses through the earth, feeling the vibrations that resonated through the whole of the mansion.[color=darkorange]"Something bad is goi- HIT THE DECK!!"[/color]

His outburst came as the lights went out, causing some of the guests nearby to look at him in confusion. Then the soliders came through in a barrage of gunfire and broken glass, throwing the entire ballroom into turmoil. The Scion of Earth, however, burst into action. Amber mana spread through the marble flooring around him before it burst upward into a circular wall around him and the guests nearby. Reinforced by magic, it proved capable enough of resisting the barrage of gunfire that smacked into it soon after. However, through his vibrosenses, Justinian could see that the rest of the ballroom was not so lucky. There were so many soliders flowing into the room, people heading every which way in terror, and even more seemed to be coming by the second. The smart thing to do, he knew, was to stay put with his Templar and try to stay safe. But all Justinian could see in his mind was that thrice-damned door.

[color=darkorange]"Bianca, don't stop me."[/color]

Justinian strode forward into the wall, which cracked, bent, and shifted around his frame. The amber energy reshaped and catalyzed around the marble armor he formed, giving it a crystaline shine as the Scion of Earth approached his aggressors, Incepta's blessed sigl burning with great intensity upon his chest. His would-be captors, recognizing their target, moved forward as one, believing in their armor, their numbers, and the cover of the dark to aid them. 5 soldiers, Bianca as backup, and guests in the marble barricade to protect. He had to handle this quickly, then go help the others. He could already hear Maya calling out for Edmund as a bunch of guests and enemies were sent hurtling to the ceiling. He wasn't losing anyone else.

Not. Again.

Dropping into a low stance, Justinian made two motions. Lifting his arm up caused the marble to rise up around the solider's feet, clamping down with a vice-like grip that stopped them all in their tracks. They barely had time to react before the second motion—a practiced twist of the hand that he had done countless times before. It was a tactic he had used time and again on his monster hunts, taking advantage of the fact that most beings need their footing in order to move effectively. The sickening snap of bones that followed soon after was not something he was used to hearing this close, nor were the cries of agony that followed as his assailants fell to the ground. Bile rose in his throat, but he fought it back as he made another gesture to raise the marble up around the fallen soldier's hands and necks like shackles, keeping them tied to the ground.

He didn't waste time checking to see if Bianca was following behind as he quickly moved to engage the next group of soliders, another amber-infused gesture causing several marble tiles to rise up behind him, cracking and splintering into a barrage of hardened projectiles that he would send flying towards any enemy he could see, aiming mainly to disable arms and legs through targeted attacks to the joints. The creeping bile at the sounds they made when his blows struck home was fought back as he focused on the task at hand. He could deal with that later, but he had a job to do now. When he had a chance, he would raise makeshift barriers to try and protect any of the panicked guests he could, trying to cover their escape while cursing the fact that his access to Earth was so limited.