Shinji Matou at Your Service

Unlike other imaginary daemons, The Lady Windup is a very special entity.

Once one of Merem's imaginary daemons takes shape, it never changes, no matter how many centuries pass—except for The Lady Windup. Due to the nature of the mechanical doll, it has ample room for modification and upgrades. The Lady Windup herself is quite enthusiastic about self-upgrading.

It is said that when she first came into existence, she was only equipped with cold weapons like guns and swords. Now—

Well, let's put it this way: Before entering the Forest of Einnashe, Shinji considered himself a mobile fortress, but compared to The Lady Windup behind him, he was nothing more than scrap.

Take a look at the two pairs of mechanical swords on her arms—no, those have long since transcended the concept of swords. They're mechanical chainsaws capable of slicing through the earth.

Look at the specialized heavy-duty wheels replacing her legs—spiritual successors to the Type 59 tank and a guarantee of adaptability to any terrain.

Check out the cannons revealed when she lifts her dress (opens her armor plates)—a sight that the Multi-Turret Faith dreams of.

More is beautiful, big is better.

Caliber is justice, and turrets are truth.

Thousands of turrets, thousands of stars.

And then, take a look at her beautiful metallic body, slender yet angular, with a richly layered design—cough, excuse me, but all of The Lady Windup's appeal points hit Shinji's sweet spot, so his steel soul got a bit too fired up.

Her appearance shifted the battlefield's aesthetic from a prehistoric struggle between giant beasts to a clash of ultra-modern fantasy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Amidst the exclamations of a certain mecha enthusiast, Merem casually waved his phantom right hand.

"Go."

"Understood!"

A synthesized voice, metallic in tone, devoid of emotion or warmth, resonated from within The Lady Windup, perfectly matching the mecha-girl aesthetic.

"Target Lock! Fire!"

In the next moment, countless cannons all over the mechanical girl's body roared in unison.

What followed was a series of deafening explosions.

With just one round of barrage, the dense, seemingly endless horde of frenzied trees in the distance was obliterated.

Then, the mechanical girl raised her left arm, the twin mechanical chainsaws spinning wildly, shredding nearby giant trees along with the ground and the sea of flames.

If the Forest of Einnashe symbolizes primal savagery, then The Lady Windup is the pinnacle of civilization, the blade that slices through ignorance and backwardness. It's like those distant godly eras when early humans, still in a state of ignorance, ventured into the wilds, forests, mountains, and rivers under the guidance of heroes, fighting against nature with their bare hands and primitive weapons to secure humanity's future.

The tide of battle had turned.

Just a few minutes ago, the Forest of Einnashe was suppressing the King of the Land. Now, The Lady Windup was suppressing the Forest of Einnashe.

The reason was still—inherent incompatibility. The Lady Windup was a complete counter to the Forest of Einnashe in every way.

The Forest of Einnashe consists of blood-drinking plants, that feed on flesh and blood. The Lady Windup is a mechanical doll made of metal, with no blood or flesh, and her weapons are all made of metal and explosives. Conceptually, metal and fire are precisely what humanity relies on to conquer nature.

It's no exaggeration to say that most of the troublesome characteristics of the Forest of Einnashe are ineffective against The Lady Windup, making such a result only natural.

As the creator of this imaginary daemon, Merem clearly understood the traits and power of The Lady Windup. There was a reason he hadn't used her right away.

After a single round of barrage and sweeping away the tree horde, the giant mecha girl started rolling forward on her heavy-duty wheels, completely ignoring her injured master and his companions.

"Stop, stop now, you need to stop!!!"

Merem shouted anxiously, the aura of a seasoned expert vanishing in less than a minute.

However, no matter how much he shouted, the mecha girl showed no signs of stopping, continuing to charge ahead, leaving Merem red-faced with anger.

"That simple-minded idiot!"

Yes, this was the reason Merem was reluctant to use The Lady Windup—she's too dumb.

Whether it's due to the innate limitations of the doll or a flaw in Merem's design, despite looking like a cool goddess, she's an airhead. To put it simply, she's like an old-fashioned printer that won't stop printing even if you press the pause button, or like the oldest film projector that has to finish a reel before it can stop.

Adaptability is almost nonexistent for her—Merem says go, so she goes. As for any further orders, sorry, I'll finish the first one before anything else.

Watching The Lady Windup move further away, Merem glanced up at the sky and said helplessly:

"At this height, King of the Sky is useless. Caren, carry me—we need to catch up with that idiot quickly!"

"Yes, Merem-sama."

caren dropped her weapon and staggered over.

"How are you supposed to carry someone like this? Take care of yourself first; I'll carry Merem."

Before she could get close, Shinji had already hoisted Merem onto his shoulder and gave Ciel a look. The latter quickly caught on, picked up Caren, and chased after The Lady Windup.

The Lady Windup wasn't particularly fast, and after entering the forest, the resistance from the tree horde increased significantly. Although they couldn't deal any effective damage to the fully metal mecha-girl, they greatly slowed her down. Before long, Shinji and Ciel, with their superior physical abilities, caught up.

As soon as they got close, Merem shouted an order.

"Open the door, quick!"

Since the command to open the door didn't conflict with the command to go, Lady Windup followed the order.

The armor plates on her abdomen, which looked like decorative patterns, opened to reveal a glimmer of light. From within the light, a retractable ladder extended downward, leaving the other three stunned.

"You can fit people inside?"

Ciel asked.

"Why not?"

Merem countered.

"It was designed as a war fortress against the dead apostles. It can hold people and various familiars. Don't dawdle, get in quickly!"

"Ah, right!"

Ceil put aside her surprise, concentrated the last of her magical energy into her legs, and leaped onto the still-descending ladder.

Shinji followed closely behind, and within seconds, both of them had rushed into Lady Windup's abdomen via the ladder.

Then the ladder retracted, the door closed, and the war fortress was flawless once more.