About five kilometers away from the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, Lady Windup continued her unstoppable journey.
Thanks to Shinji's guidance, her efficiency had significantly improved, sweeping through the remnants of the forest of Einnashe with the force of a storm. Of course, part of this success was due to the forest of Einnashe's loss of the Crimson Core, leaving it unable to mount any effective resistance.
With Lady Windup handling things so well, Merem and the others, hiding inside the mecha, were enjoying some leisure time.
Merem, having somehow acquired a tea set, was leisurely brewing black tea.
Ciel, meanwhile, had found a room to give Caren a thorough check-up and systematic treatment.
After Caren took her medicine and fell into a deep sleep, Ciel left the room and returned to the living room where Merem was.
"How long are we staying here?"
"Conservatively, ten more hours."
Merem sipped his tea as he spoke and poured Ciel a cup.
"The Director's orders were to eliminate Einnashe. Since Child of Einnashe is Einnashe itself, not a single one can escape."
"Not a single one? Is that even possible?"
"In theory, no. After the Core is destroyed, the vampiric plants under its control should scatter or fight among themselves to choose a new leader."
"Then why are you still here instead of chasing after your princess?"
"I'm afraid you'd report me to the Director. The Director has been pretty idle lately; I can't give her an excuse to find fault."
Merem's straightforward response left Ciel at a loss for words. He wasn't wrong at all. If anything went wrong, Ciel would report it, and the same went for Merem. Members of the Burial Agency often interacted this way—pushing others into the spotlight to attract the Director's attention so they could stay safe.
So Merem had to do his job thoroughly to avoid giving the Director any reason to pick on him.
For a moment, the human and the Dead Apostle sat silently across from each other until Merem suddenly frowned, a hint of confusion crossing his face.
"Strange..."
"What is it? What happened?"
Ciel asked.
"Einnashe's resistance has suddenly intensified."
"Suddenly intensified?"
Ciel's brows furrowed as well.
This was unusual. The entire forest of Einnashe could be seen as an army, with the Crimson Core being the supreme and only commander. With the commander dead, the army should fall into chaos, and a swift attack would completely crush it.
Currently, Einnashe was in a thoroughly broken state, unable to organize any effective resistance—unless someone capable of turning the tide had appeared.
"Could they have chosen a new main Core? Or was the Crimson COre not destroyed after all?"
"Unlikely. If a new Core had emerged, I would have sensed it. If the Crimson Core were still intact, it wouldn't only be resisting this much—I'll try to observe further."
After speaking, Merem closed his eyes, appearing as if his soul had left his body, like a puppet. Fortunately, this state didn't last long, and he soon opened his eyes again.
"The increased resistance is just a secondary issue. The forest that had stopped moving has begun to move again, heading in the direction of the princess."
When Shinji blew up the Crimson Core, the forest of Einnashe stopped moving—more precisely, it stopped its coordinated movement. Now, it was moving again, and in the direction of Arcueid's location, which could only mean one thing.
"I think I've figured it out. The Crimson Core was shattered but only fell into a near-death state, not completely killed. At our level, vampire species have strong regenerative abilities. As long as there's a large supply of life force, they can recover quickly. The Crimson Core has likely regained some of its power by now."
In a near-death state, the Crimson Core couldn't control the army. But after recovering some strength, it could regain control of its subordinates. The forest of Einnashe's return to coordinated movement meant the Crimson Core was calling its forces.
Upon hearing this analysis, Ciel was exasperated.
"That idiot! Making one mistake is bad enough, but repeating it? And that Matou Shinji guy too
—he knows she's an idiot, so why is he following her lead? Could stupidity be contagious?"
After a few curses, Ciel felt a bit calmer and grasped a few Black Keys, saying, "Merem, let me go down there."
"At this moment? What do you plan to do?"
Merem asked, puzzled. Ciel didn't have any broad-area suppression abilities, so her strength wouldn't make much of a difference in a large-scale battle—it would be a waste of effort.
Ciel was aware of her limitations and explained, "Matou Shinji doesn't seem like the type to make such a mistake. I think something must have happened that allowed the near-death Crimson Core to evade their detection. I'm going to investigate."
Merem thought for a moment, then nodded, "That makes sense. This is your specialty, and you don't have to worry about safety—I'll send a flying daemon with you. You'll get there faster from the air, and your magic power can be replenished effectively."
"But earlier—"
"Earlier is earlier, now is now. Besides, how else can I witness the Knight's power? Haha, that kind of explosive attack—Brad, that blockhead, must be having a hard time dealing with it."
White Knight Blood, the Eighth of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors and the knight protecting the Black Princess Altrouge, was the captain of the ghost ship fleet, possessing the Reality Marble, Parade. Like the forest of Einnashe, he specialized in large-scale warfare. Shinji's targeted explosive attacks were the perfect counter to this type of strategy.
"Stop laughing. Where's that bird of yours? I want to leave as soon as possible."
Hearing Merem's cheerful laughter, Ciel hurried him while secretly grumbling—this guy is slacking off. I'll make sure to include this in my report.
"Go to the lookout on the left shoulder. I'll have it waiting for you there."
"Got it."
With that, Ciel got up and left the living room, never touching the cup of tea.
Merem didn't mind, casually picking it up and limping toward Caren's room.
"Better to make some extra preparations, just in case."
…
At the same time, members of the Chelon Canticle Brigade on the outskirts of the forest Einnashe also noticed the forest's unusual movement.
"What should we do?"
A newly recruited member asked a veteran. This was his first mission, and their initial orders were simply to observe and record.
Until a moment ago, everything had gone smoothly—they had even taken out a few stray vampiric plants. But now, things were taking an unexpected turn.
The veteran, much more experienced, quickly grabbed his stunned comrade and began running.
"We don't do anything. We retreat to a safe place! This isn't an enemy we can handle. Choosing the right opponent and battle strategy is a rule passed down by the former captain."
"Uh, and then what?"
"Then we report to the Lord. Don't forget, our primary mission is observation."
As he spoke, the veteran had already pulled out a specialized satellite communication device.
"Reporting to the Lord, the forest of Einnashe is showing abnormal activity. Specifically—"
Before he could finish, a commanding voice came through from the other end of the communicator.
"I already know. You're to board the helicopter and leave immediately. Leave the rest to us."
The members of the brigade, still running, exchanged bewildered glances.
How did the Lord know? They were at least three kilometers away from her location.
And who exactly are the 'we' she mentioned? Is there someone else involved?