The Ratman was already a giant but as it fully entered its Berserk State it began to pack on more muscle and grow slightly taller. It's fangs and claws also began to elongate with a much more polished sheen to them. The air around the Ratman also seemed heavier to the Slayers that were closest to it, but they paid it no mind as their minds were frozen in fear as the Ratmans aura seemed to spell their doom.
Lucielle especially felt the aura of the Ratman as it leveled its crimson gaze upon her. Her reactions where sluggish and her thinking dulled as she felt the full rage of the boss's Berserk State aura suppress her. 'I gotta move or else I'm dead!' Her body felt as sluggish as a sloths as she tried to move out of the way as the Ratman had darted towards her with its newly acquired claws stretched wide to slice her in pieces.
"SKREEEEEEEE!" The creature let out a resounding shriek as it was intercepted by Gat's Claymore which whistled through the air before burying itself into the Ratmans rib cage.
"WAKE THE FUCK UP! SNAP OUT OF IT UNLESS YOU WANNA DIE HERE!" Gat had rushed in towards the boss before giving the sword hilt a flat handed strike which caused the blade to sink deeper before he gripped it and wrenched the blade free while ducking under the approaching claws that had sought to rend him in half.
Seeing the one person that she gave a flying fuck about put himself in harms way finally snapped Lucielle out of her dazed state. "Quickly! We have to kill it before reinforcements come to back it up! Give it everything you got!" Lucielle had also dived in to engage the Ratman in close combat as it was solely focused on reaching her while only paying minimal attention to her companions.
Seeing the duo fighting the monster all on their own finally woke up the other Slayers and soon they too began to rain hell down upon the Boss before them. Lucielle dodged and weaved her way around the creatures claws as best as she was able as even in its Berserk State it had only just barely caught up to her in terms of speed and agility. 'Thankfully I poured all my points into agility otherwise this monster would have cleaved my head from my shoulders a long time ago.'
Lucielle continued to pelt the gaping wound that Gat had inflicted on the creatures rib cage area with her Hellfire which secured the Ratmans aggro on her. The other Slayers were also throwing their elements at the Ratman but they did minimal damage to the Boss in its Berserk State. 'We need to finish this soon otherwise the rats will appear for the horde rush.'
Just as she finished that thought however she heard scuttling coming from behind her as the Ratman had released a deafening roar. Before she could shout a warning to the rear line support Slayers, a rat slipped out of the darkness and sank its teeth through the leg of one of the archers. Screaming in agony the young woman collapsed as she lost the support of her leg. Alerted by her agonizing scream the rear line support Slayers turned as more rats began to swarm into the boss room. Arrows and elemental objects pelted the incoming rats.
"Long range Slayers focus on killing the rats while we keep the Boss busy! Be quick otherwise we will be overrun!" Gat shouted as he kept running interference for Lucielle as the Ratman kept focusing on her exclusively and the young lady was beginning to tire.
'I can't keep this up for much longer. I may be faster than it but it has greater stamina than I do. I doubt I'll last till the end of the Berserk State.' Her body was beginning to feel heavier with every movement she made but she knew if she stopped for even a moment that would be the end of her.'
The battle at this point was at its most chaotic as the other Slayers slayed the various rats that flooded into the boss room. Arrows and chunks of ice rained through the area with the occasional fireball from Lucielle as she sought to aid the rear line while also avoiding the boss. Everyone was lost in their own momentum as they desperately fought for their lives.
Lucielle's quick and elusive footwork kept her just out of range of those razor sharp claws of the Ratman but they edged ever closer to sinking into her tender flesh. Her amethyst eyes drilled into the Ratmans crimson ones. "Gat I need you to make that wound in its rib cage wider so I can get more of my fire in there!"
"Got it!" Gat had noticed how much damage the fire Lucielle used on the Boss caused so he was more than willing to oblige her request. He rushed in towards the Ratmans' side before plunging his blade into the creatures ribcage once more and began to drag the blade down in an attempt to gut the creature.
The Ratman finally shifted its gaze from Lucielle to Gat as the searing pain in its side drew its attention. Roaring loudly the Ratman swung downwards at Gat in an attempt bisect him into multiple pieces. Kicking off the hilt of his sword Gat almost managed to escape from the Ratmans clutches but he paid for his daring strike with the loss of his right leg. Gat crashed down onto the ground and began to crawl away from the boss as he gritted his teeth to keep from screaming in pain.
"NOOOOOOO!" Lucielle screamed as she saw the Ratman dash towards the fallen Gat with its mouth open wide to bite down onto the fallen Asian man. Lucielle brought both her hands together and pointed at the creatures gaping maw as she unleashed a flamethrowers worth of Hellfire into the creatures maw, causing the creature to snap its jaws shut but the damage was done. The creature collapsed beside the fallen Gat, who continued to crawl away as he didn't wanna be injured anymore by the creatures wild thrashing.
The Hellfire raced through the Ratmans insides turning everything within it to ashes. It locked eyes with Lucielle as it tried swiping its claws at her as she sidestepped it to reach Gat so she could cauterize his wound. The Ratmans gaze was filled with unwillingness as the fire within it slowly reached ever closer to its heart.
"Hey old man you stay with me ya hear? I don't want you dying on me just yet." Lucielle knelt beside Gat and turned him over gently so that he was facing her before applying her Hellfire to his severed leg.
Gats face twisted in pain and grew slightly paler but he didn't scream as Lucielle sealed his wound shut. "That flame of yours really did a number on that thing girl. Good thing we had you otherwise we probably wouldn't have made it." Lucielle snorted loudly as she finished cauterizing Gats would. "If I hadn't been here you could have finished it off with your power and you know it."
Gat shook his head while looking at the remaining Slayers and shook his head. "If I had there would have only been a fifty fifty chance that I'd be walking out of here. That Ratman was a tough beast and I doubt I could have taken him out with just my power alone."
Lucielle glanced backwards and was shocked to only find Chris, Brian, and Stark still standing. The remaining Slayers had been overwhelmed by the rats before Lucielle and Gat had managed to slay the Ratman, which caused all the lesser rats to disperse and retreat from the boss room. All of the remaining Slayers collapsed on the ground gasping for breath as the exhaustion they had built up over the ensuing hour rained down upon them. Even Lucielle sagged down besides Gat as she finally relaxed her body.
'That was really close. If Gat hadn't lost his leg and the Ratman hadn't pounced on him with its mouth open wide like that we probably would have been overwhelmed and eaten by the rat horde that was approaching us from behind.' Lucielle shivered at the thought but as she was resting there on the ground watching the Hellfire slowly cook its way through massive creature, a portal appeared in the center of the room.