James looked at the palace. He opened the faceplate and the silhouette of a humanoid dinosaur with a broad chest, muscular arm and legs and a long tail. He thought Humungousaur. He thought that was a classic one. He thought Tsukiumi and Akitsu would be here as well.
He slammed down the faceplate. His body was engulfed in a brilliant, pulsating light. The air crackled with energy. James' body distorted, his limbs elongated. In a surge of radiant energy, James` features reshape, and his form took on a colossal, imposing stature. His height increased, his limbs became more robust, and his head changed into a massive, reptilian head. "Humungousaur," he said. "Lets go," he added as he grabbed Akitsu and jumped towards the room.
A few moments before, Carlotta, Nell and the rest of the girls with the guards stormed into the Royal Throne Room.
"We've finally made it," Shizuka shouted as she was hovering above the floor on the magic carpet Carptie.
Tsukiumi had water swirling around her body. "Most of the outer guards surrendered the moment they saw us," she said as she raised a hand to blast a knight back with a high-pressure jet.
Carlotta stepped forward. "Prince, you are under suspicion of high treason and rebelling against the Crown. Surrender quietly!" she ordered.
The Prince looked at them. His eyes were hollow. "So, you have come, rebels who wish to see this country rot," he said. His voice was strangely hollow. "Arrest them all! Do not let our kingdom fall to their ancient, decaying ways," he said.
The remaining knights charged. "Water Arrow," Tsukiumi said as she created a bow of pure liquid and fired a barrage of piercing blue arrows. The water arrows flew across the room and hit the knights in the chest. Their armor had a dent on the moment of impact and was sent flying back.
Nell swung her blade. She knocked a guard unconscious with a heavy blow to the helmet. "Something is wrong with his eyes," she remarked as she looked at the Prince.
Saya aimed her Ray Gun at a massive marble pillar and fired. The red energy beam disintegrated the stone base and caused the pillar to collapse on top of a squad of advancing knights. "His eyes are hollow," Saya noted.
Nell thought she had to focus. "Do you think James is okay?" Nell asked anxiously.
"Akitsu is with him," Tsukiumi responded. "A Sekirei must never let anything happen to their Ashikabi," she added.
Nell was not sure what that meant.
"He might not have looked like a cute bunny but he is strong," Shizuka added.
"He'll be fine," Yuriko said. She aimed Jackal and squeezed the trigger. A heavy-caliber round fired. It went through the air and hit the knight`s leg. The knight`s leg shattered and dropped him instantly. "He knows what to do and when," Yuriko remarked.
Suddenly, the massive stained-glass window behind the throne shattered inward. Humungousaur came crashing through and glass shards glistened in his brown, scaly skin. He caught the scent of something foul behind the throne.
"Gigantify," Humungousaur said as his body swelled. His muscles bulged as he grew taller. There was a series of small spikes appearing on his back. He brought a massive fist down and smashed the floorboards. He felt the satisfying crunch of bone as his strike connected with a hidden figure.
"He's huge!" Shizuka gasped as she looked at his size.
"Who is that creature?" Carlotta asked as she shielded her eyes from the dust.
"That's James," Saya responded calmly.
"Mister is incredible," Nell remarked.
Humungousaur looked at his fist which had dark blood. He saw a cloaked man scrambling out from the wreckage. "You," the cloaked figure spat.
"Finally you have decided to come out of the shadows?" Humungousaur growled as he looked down.
Akitsu jumped down from James's shoulder. "Icicle Snow Storm," said as she raised her arms and summoned a swirling vortex of frost and razor-sharp ice. The storm expanded into a shimmering dome and froze the air. The ice went towards the cloaked man.
The figure suddenly sprouted leathery wings and took flight as he narrowly avoided the ice. "You're not getting away," Humungousaur roared as he swiped a massive hand through the air. However the man was too agile and dodged the attack.
"Stop right there," Tsukiumi said as she leapt into the air. "Water Festival," she added as she summoned a massive, roaring dragon of water that surged toward the flying sorcerer.
The cloaked man maneuvered frantically and dived through the air to dodge the dragon's maw.
Yuriko aimed Jackal. She pressed the trigger and a bullet tore through the air. It clipped his left wing and shredded the membrane.
"Good shot!" Shizuka cheered.
The cloaked man gritted his teeth in agony. "Demons," he said as flew through the opening in the roof and escaped.
"He got away," Saya muttered.
"It's fine," Humungousaur said. "We have a more immediate problem," he added as he looked toward the Prince, who was approaching King Reyd with a dagger drawn.
"Stay back, Prince," Carlotta warned as she had her sword thrown.
"He's already dead," Humungousaur interjected coldly. "Kill him," he ordered.
"Icicle Thrust," Akitsu responded instantly as a jagged spire of ice erupted from the floorboards and impaled the Prince through the chest. His body slumped over the ice shard.
"How did you know?" Nell asked as she looked horrified.
"He was wearing a Ring of Falsehood," Humungousaur explained. "It's a high-level illusion item used to hide a person's true status or identity. He was dead for a while," he added.
"You're right," Carlotta confirmed as she inspected the shattered ring on the floor.
"So that cloaked man was pulling the strings all along," Saya remarked.
"We should chase him down," Tsukiumi said.
"No, look," Humungousaur said as he pointed to the center of the room. A bright, sickly yellow light began to pulse from the floor. It formed a complex alchemical circle.
From the light emerged a hulking, monstrous humanoid. Its muscles were grotesquely exaggerated. Its skin was leathery and cracked like old parchment. Its head was tiny compared to its massive shoulders and featured a wide, toothy grin and hollowed-out eye sockets.
"What on earth is that?" Shizuka asked, stepping back.
"A Homunculus," Humungousaur responded. "A man-made monster," he added.
"It never ends," Saya sighed.
"I am getting old for this," Yuriko remarked.
"Let's destroy him," Humungousaur said.