Syrlya narrows his eyes as Ignatius is pinned back, but it buys them time. It's not unlike fighting in Elder Dragon, that his raw strength will be enough alone--but Rita managed to pull some resemblance of Creation forward again, and Strange did once tell him he felt traces of the Blue Rose shortly after he wielded it. Rita has his bloodstone, so he needs a new catalyst.

"I don't have the Blue Rose, but I have enough of its power." He reaches back, gripping the but growing at his ponytail and snaps the stem. It immediately begins to grip his left arm again with vines, just as the real Rose had done for him. Its power could be stored in some sort of glowing orb, why not an imitation of it as well? He has to believe it'll be enough.

The water is actually beneficial in giving them a very obvious tell that the metal is coming forward. It takes less than a second when Syrlya registers them for a purple bubble to sound them, translucent like a faceted glass. It's feedback--if the metal hits the bubble, it almost seems to be absorbed before reversing its direction right back to Ignatius.