The explosion hit the shields.
The outer layers cracked immediately under the force, the cursed energy fracturing in a spiderweb pattern across every panel.
Lukas was already pushing mana into the replenishment when the second wave of the blast finished the job, the remaining layers shattering entirely.
In the half second before he could rebuild them, an Automaton dashed through the gap.
It hit him full in the chest.
The force picked him up and drove him backwards into Akira, both of them going down together in a tangle of limbs and weapons on the stone street.
The impact jarred through his back and shoulders and he heard Akira's involuntary drawn breath at hitting the ground beneath him.
But before the Automaton could attack, an arrow swished through the air above them. It hit the beast in the chest, the force staggering it back two steps.
