Everything happened at once.
The guard was being healed.
The Core Disciple attacked.
Gravis attacked.
A new Cultivator appeared, shouting about a dead captain.
A vast explosion of lightning appeared around Gravis as he absorbed just enough lightning to not get noticed while also protecting the guard.
Gravis was among humans again, which meant that he had to keep most of his powers secret. If they knew that he was inside a beast's body, they might decide to kill him directly since they would think that he was a beast.
If they knew that he could remotely control lightning and even absorb it, they might also decide to capture him to learn his secrets. These were very experienced Cultivators that had lived for over a thousand years. They knew what was normal and what wasn't.
The explosion of lightning vanished, and space calmed down again.
