Rupert was shocked, but the three Protectors fighting Felix were totally freaking out. They knew for sure that Felix hadn't activated Lone Paragon. As martial artists who had spent years training to become incredibly powerful, they could have easily spotted it if Felix was just faking weakness.

But without Lone Paragon in the picture, they had no explanation for what was happening. They'd never heard of any martial arts technique that would slowly grow stronger during battle. It made no sense.