The chaos of battle washed over James, fellow epics falling in and out of sight as the fight raged on, the display of powers a truly spectacular sight, or horrifying based on which side you were on. A woman approached him part way through, ducking and weaving through the remnants of the swarm, he mistook her for a civilian at first with the way she was dressed.

"You have to get out of here, it's not sa..." He half got out before she cut him off with her introduction, laying hands on him before he could object, they gave off a strange heat that seemed to sink into his flesh, quite unnerving really. The warmth flourished within his core sending tendrils of this heat to flow throughout his body culminating in his fingertips, this was quickly followed by a sense of refreshment, and he noticed the tiny nicks and cuts on his body slowly started to fade as the flesh knitted itself back together.[i] I feel strangely violated.[/i] He thought to himself, looking up to give the lady his thanks, only to find she had already buggered off elsewhere.

"Seems about right." He muttered to himself, flexing his finger in front of his face, adjusting to the strange floating sensation that now took a hold of him. Rolling his shoulders, James stepped back into the fray, but he had only taken a couple of steps forward when his fellow Epic Traveler, whom he didn't know by name, but instead recognized from the party, briefly materialized into view, giving a little wave before disappearing once more. [i]She looked a little worse for wear, hope she's alright.[/i] Was the brief thought of concern, he gave a quick look around for her, biting the inside of his cheek with worry til he realized there was little he could do. [i] Just gotta hope she can look out for herself.[/i] His eyes flickered forward coming to rest on the Rat king itself, the grotesque mutant screeched orders at what remained of the swarm, some seemed to heed it and return to the fight, but even more fled from the carnage the Epics had sowed here tonight.

From the corner of his eye he noticed a figure launch free from the dying inferno to his left, a swirl of flame that had left many a charred body in its wake. The wind turned and James was met with the smell of cooked flesh and burned hair, a rather unpleasant mix that strangely left his mouth watering. [i] I am definitely grabbing a kebab after this. [/i] The figures arm burst into an intense claw of fire, swelling in size as he descended upon the swarm, he made quick work of them before he charged at the Rat king, leaping heroically to spear the beast with his power. [b]Ka-Rack![/b] Was the burst of sound that followed, he wasn't sure if his eyes were deceiving him, but it had looked liked the Rat king had been hit from two sides with the way it's body snapped about like that. [i]Either that, or that kid packs one hell of a punch.[/i] The one body that had been struck, flailed about limply, still attached to its fellows. The other three let out blood curdling screams that sent a shiver down his spine, swinging their clubs wildly as they charged at whatever was in sight.

"Use the portal! Hit the tails from the blind spot, it's got to be the weak spot!" Someone shouted from the back lines, he had barely picked up on it but connected the disjointed words when he saw the portal at the edge of the battlefield, it opened up above the rampaging creature that was caught in a blinding fury, the perfect flank. Wordlessly he charged toward the portal, steeling himself for the job ahead as he dived head first into the gateway. There was a shift in his equilibrium as he dove through, the ground rising up fast to meet him as he fell atop the Rat king, gripping onto the first thing he could to stop him from crashing into the ground. Unluckily for him, he had missed the mess of tails connecting the creatures and now hung instead from the neck of one of them. [i] Shit shit shit shit....[/i] Raced through his mind at the realization of were he had landed, gritting his teeth as he begun to tighten his grip around the surprised beasts neck. The creature tore about more violently as he choked it for air, for a moment he believed he could make a good go of this until another of the heads snapped around and swung his massive club toward him. The club splintered into a thousand pieces over his body, James grunted from the force of it, his world spinning in front of him as he lost his grip and went cartwheeling to the dirt.

The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as he found his feet, glaring at the Rat king that now charged toward him. He gingerly ran his fingers over his chest where he had been struck, wincing from the pain. [i] That's definitely a cracked rib. [/i] He reflected bitterly as the Rat king closed in, the one that faced him held a club over its head, a malicious look in its beady little eyes as it prepared to strike.

"Fuck you too buddy" Was his reply to the charge, biting his lip til he drew blood, the only thing that kept him from screaming out in agony as he bent down to slide of his boxers. The Rat king swiped wide with its club in an attempt to detach his head from his shoulder, James ducked down in just the nick of time, feeling the wind off the club as it swung past him. [i]Bugger me.[/i] He thought wide eyed as he watched it swing past, it seemed to travel over him forever, like time had slowed down. His eyes flickered to the mess of tails that sailed ever nearer as the Rat kings momentum carried it over the top of James, with both hands he reached up to grab hold, the adrenaline flooding his body to wash away all pain, if but for a moment. They felt scaly beneath his hands, with the occasional bristly hair tickling the inside of his palms, with a roar of determination James set about tearing the tails apart. His muscles felt like they were on fire and he grunted from the strain as he pulled, a cacophony of squeals rose up from the remaining heads, piercing his mind like sharp knives. The harder he pulled the more intense the pain from the squealing was, his brain was on fire. James let out a final yell of anguish as he gave it his all, a ripping sound, like the tearing of paper accompanied his efforts. The Rat king lay dead on the ground.

James had little chance to savor his victory, his vision blurred and blood ran from his nose as he collapsed along side his foe, his consciousness fading.