Thump.
James watched as the "Phoenix" suddenly rolled her eyes back and crumpled to the ground in front of him.
The demonic Vibranium battle-axe in his hand had been about to come down, but he abruptly shifted its angle. It cleaved into the ground beside Jean, its blade buried up to the back, with only the silver-white metal skull at the end still showing.
The Phoenix flames wrapped around the girl's body dwindled away. Her long red hair spilled down, covering her smooth back; the curves of her figure and her long, slender legs were almost dazzling.
The throne room had been transformed by the power of Hellfire. Greatswords, warhammers, long blades, and flails jutted from the walls and ceiling.
These were the grotesque weapons James had casually forged from the Vibranium in the hall during the battle. As the Hellfire faded, they became rough, unfinished weapon shapes, decorating a palace scarred by blades and fire.
"Hah..."
The skull burning with orange-yellow flames slowly exhaled, spitting sparks mixed with black smoke.
The Ghost Armor on James's body had been reduced to battered silver-gray plates hanging from him in pieces. Even the ribs beneath the flames had caved in and were covered in cracks.
The flames on the bone crown no longer blazed with their initial fury, either.
Slowly withdrawing the broken, spiked Bone Blades from between his fists, the flaming skeleton crouched. The instant his fingertips touched Jean Grey's body, he dissolved like a tide into blue flames.
After pausing for a breath, James reached out and grabbed the great axe beside him. He melted it into a skirt of armor to cover Jean Grey's naked body, then carried her toward the sealed entrance of the palace.
"Hm?"
Erik, Laura, and the others, who were closest to the entrance, heard