Palademes rushed to Suria's aid, slashing at the shadowy crocodile. The creature wavered and dissipated.
"Lady Suria, art thou well?" he asked, concerned.
"Never been better," Suria answered.
From above, a colossal, shadowy crocodile lunged towards Palademes. Sensing the imminent danger, Palademes unleashed a powerful spirit attack.
The attack pierced through the shadowy crocodile, striking the real Simalaun, who was phasing through the shadows. Forced to materialize to avoid further harm, Simalaun became vulnerable to Palademes' assault.
Palademes lifted the injured Suria and leaned her against a nearby wall.
"Repose thyself for a time, fair lady. I shall deal with this fiend whilst thou recovers," Palamedes declared.
Then, raising his sword, a golden aura flickered around him, illuminating his eyes through the helmet's visor.
"All that hatred towards me? That's more to my liking! See, we are no different after all. Hahaha!!" Simalaun hurled his spear toward Palademes.
With a swift, effortless motion, Palademes caught the spear and thrust it back towards Simalaun, aiming for his chest. However, crocodile scales materialized around Simalaun, deflecting the attack.
Simalaun, his eyes burning with malevolent intent.
"You think you've stolen my secret? It was a foolish endeavor. Your life will end first." He unleashed a blast of destructive energy with a monstrous roar, leveling the surrounding structures.
Transforming back into a shadowy crocodile, Simalaun flicked his tail, sending Palademes crashing to the ground, cracking the floor beneath him.
Palademes rose and counterattacked, repeatedly slashing his sword at the swirling dark aura within Simalaun.
"Persistent fool," Simalaun growled, "I'll end you now!"
A deafening roar, Simalaun's battle cry, echoed through the shattered ruins. Simalaun retreated to a safe distance; his dark aura swelled around him. The fallen orbs of his underlings were drawn into a coalescing black sphere enveloping his body.
Seizing the moment, Palademes charged, his swords ablaze with golden energy. He swung, aiming to cleave the sphere, but the attack was ineffective. Undeterred, he struck again, only to meet the same result.
In another part of Avalon...
Gema and the knights clashed with three monstrous golems. The golems, colossal behemoths, unleashed a storm of destruction, each striking a cataclysmic event that shook the very foundations of Avalon. The once pristine floor was shattered, and the knights were scattered, isolated in their desperate struggle.
Lancelot and Kay fought with unwavering courage. Their elemental auras, blades of light and shadow, danced across the golem's hide, but the creature's resilient skin absorbed their attacks.
Rather than wasting precious energy, they retreated into a defensive stance, buying time for Arthur or Gema to break through the enemy lines.
Despite its gargantuan size, the golem was surprisingly nimble, its heavy blows delivered with surprising speed and precision. Its thick, impervious hide was its shield, deflecting the knights' attacks while its strikes threatened to crush them.
Sensing the surge of Arthur's power, the golem began hurling chunks of buildings at him in a furious barrage. With graceful agility, Arthur raised Excalibur, slicing through the debris effortlessly. Advancing toward the golem, he dodged and cut through the barrage of stones and iron gears.
As he closed in, Arthur leaped, aiming for the golem's head. The golem tried to block, but Arthur severed its right hand in a clean stroke. In retaliation, the golem struck him with its left hand, slamming him through a building, and Excalibur became lodged in its hand.
The golem stomped down to pin Arthur further into the ground, but he caught its foot, letting out a mighty roar as he gathered his energy. With a surge of strength, he threw the golem off balance.
A powerful lightning bolt struck the golem from above, coursing through its body. The force shattered it into an explosion of rock fragments, scattering violently in all directions.
Behind the explosion's cloud of dust and smoke, Gema emerged, carrying Excalibur as he walked toward Arthur to help him.
"Gema...? By the heavens! Hast thou abandoned thy post to aid me?" Arthur asked, his voice strained from exhaustion.
"I destroyed mine already; I just lost my way until I heard some knight crying," Gema teased, offering Excalibur back to him.
"Hmph... ever the faithful retainer, my friend," Arthur muttered, taking the blade.
"… Now that thou hast vanquished the golems, Bota's true form should be nigh complete. Follow the path where the fragments are drawn."
He gestured to the stones, which were moving in the same direction.
"Depart, Gema. Thy delay will be our doom. Should Bota's form be whole before thou reaches them, my knights shall fall, a fate I shall not suffer."
"Hey, Arthur," Gema said sternly, "don't you dare vanish before handing that sword to me." He leaned Arthur against the wall and then rushed off to follow the trail of fragments.
Back at the Eastern Avalon...
The dark sphere enveloping Simalaun erupted in a shockwave, sending Palademes flying.
Simalaun's form transformed, his body covered in white scales, his head resembling a crocodile, and his size doubled. His red eyes locked onto Palademes.
With a burst of speed, Simalaun charged, hurling Palademes into the air. A powerful black aura erupted from his scaled wrist, slamming Palademes to the ground. Simalaun continued his assault, unleashing a barrage of dark elemental power.
Once Palademes crashed to the ground, Simalaun, now floating in the air, gathered a dark breath and unleashed it toward his fallen opponent. The black blast, a destructive force, intends to end Palademes for good.
A wave of blinding light intercepted the dark beam, causing an explosion that shattered half of the eastern Avalon area.
"...The hour has come for thee to join the fray, Suria... thy fate is sealed, Simalaun..." Palademes chuckled weakly, his energy depleted.
Simalaun turned towards the source of the attack, his gaze falling upon Suria, a figure shrouded in a mighty shadow.
Behind Suria, a guardian bird of colossal proportions loomed over the battlefield.
Delicate, almost ethereal armor crafted from unknown metals adorned its shoulders, waist, knees, and chest. An iron helm, intricately wrought, concealed its face, leaving only a narrow slit for its piercing eyes.
A waist cloth embroidered with a mesmerizing pattern of diamonds swayed gently in the draft. Its plumage was the color of burnished gold: a force to be feared, the legendary giant bird, Jentayu.