Chapter CCCLXXXVIII: Artillery ~Multehx

The demons slowly, cautiously took a step closer to the weakened mage. His sword shone brilliantly, but they only hesitated, slowly beginning their steady advance yet again. Redaz cursed under his breath. Closer and closer the beasts drew, fangs glinting, claws awaiting the slaughter, weapons borne.

"YO! FREAKS!" a booming shout came from somewhere behind their ranks.

Slowly, some turned to look, those closest to the mage still slow, but sure in their advances. At the eastern entrance to the square stood the golden mechanical behemoth, Ratch. He snarled, clenching his three prongs for fingers tight. "Listen here: just 'cause I haven't done it in awhile means nothin'! I'll go full berserker on yer asses, ya **** droolin' monsters, if ya take another step!"

The demons who understood hissed fiercely in their agitation, numerous getting the message from the robot's hostile tone and joining the murmur of rage. A few of the demonic beasts in the front row ignored this warning, and made another advancing step.

Ratch growled, his metallic jaw shaking from the vibration. With a mechanized whirring, his cylindrical wrists withdrew on his arms, rotated around, and came to rest upon his shoulders. From a new hole in the bottom of either one sprung two new arms, wrists flaring out, ending in metallic, red hands.

"You pissed off the wrong robot, ya bastards!" he growled, the prongs of either shoulder mounted wrist springing open and folding back. Twin cannons. The wrists sans digits had realigned in this state to become a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons, the center of each host to a clear, blue, now glowing brilliantly, lens. A shrill drone filled the air as the robot crossed his chest with his arms, and then threw them out to either side.

The air rippled with the heat as two tremendous blue beams shot forth from either lens, shredding the cobblestone street as they travelled outward. Numerous demons screamed in agony as newly formed holes graced them and they eroded from the wound out. Some unfortunate few stood in their paths, and were carved symmetrically, collapsing to the stones. Redaz managed to roll away as a blast tore reasonably close on either side of him.

As the beams dwindled, the robot snickered. Hatches upon either shoulder popped open and released into the air a hail of canisters, trailing brilliant blue light. As they screamed into the air, they arced about, coming down with shrill whistling. He snickered as, upon impact, huge domes of explosion formed, atomizing all within them. The energy given off overloaded the Electrophorms and caused them to explode in a burst of brilliantly blinding light, and the Mechna Knights came apart at the seams, their armor clattering in every which direction before succumbing to similar breakdown as that of their companions.

Ratch snickered with a slightly cruel undertone to his voice, red pupils narrowing for a moment before returning to normal. His arms and new hands deftly retracted and his old ones swung about into place again. This happened in the span of a few seconds as he walked over to the mage. Looking down at him he bore a serious frown. "Com'on," he said in a soft but gruff voice, "let’s move it. That probably got some notice."