Maximilien was a master of alchemy.

This granted him the ability to freely transmute Grade 3 or lower alchemic materials.

His mana swiftly dismantled and reassembled transmutable materials upon contact, bending them to his will.

However, this in itself was not inherently impressive.

The scale and speed of alchemy purely relied on the ability to manipulate mana.

Alchemy, was thus dependent on infused mana, and operated straightforwardly as long as someone had foundational knowledge.

However, it was powerless against items infused with others' Qi or mana.

However, Maximilien’s alchemy was unique.

It stemmed not from sheer mana or physical strength but from a perspective that viewed the world through a collection of gears.

His intellect enabled him to construct intricate structures from the ground up. The will to mimic everything, even reason, using gears.

These attributes combined set him apart as a formidable figure capable of constructing fortresses from scratch.

“Tsk. What a bad naming sense…!”

The Regressor tightened her grip on Jizan and lunged forward to fend off the onslaught of gears. Her trained instincts tingled with danger.

Something was falling.

The Regressor looked up.

She saw a huge shadow looming overhead.

“An arm of steel?”

Small gears scuttled across Maximilien’s form like a swarm of ants, ranging from tiny ones no bigger than a few inches to gears as large as human heads. They interlocked across his entire body, forming a grotesque, gigantic arm.

These gears functioned as muscles, joints, and bones.

They were meticulously assembled into a single mechanical appendage that resembled a crude imitation of a human limb..

The gears on his shoulder rotated.

Tick, tick, tick.

The rusted shoulder screeched, and the massive mechanical column, nearly three meters long, moved with the fluidity of a human arm.

The crude mechanical arm emitted sounds similar to waves crashing upon a shore of nails.

Even the metal foam was not noisy.

The sound was heavy and solemn.

Raising the steel arm, Maximilien shouted with delight.

“Dragon Slayer, is it? How refreshing! I have a brilliant idea! Let’s give it a try!”

The gears spun, and the steel arm descended toward the Regressor.

A giant saw blade aimed straight for her head.

“Dragon Slayer is nothing like that!”

The Regressor defiantly lifted Jizan to intercept the immense steel arm and its menacing saw blade.

It seemed reckless, like trying to halt a tidal wave with a mere stick, but Jizan was no ordinary weapon—it could withstand such force.

The impact struck both sides.

Shattered gears rained down on the Regressor, while the steel arm recoiled, jolting Maximilien to his core.

Amidst the deafening noise, both parties staggered back.

Maximilien bellowed as he reshaped the steel arm.

“The power of the Divine! Magnificent, truly magnificent!”

“I disagree!”

“Let’s stake our lives and fight!”

“If you want to die, do it alone!”

The Regressor shouted back, tightening her grip on Jizan.

In her peripheral vision, Maximilien’s newborn steel closed in.

The sound of its approach scraping against the ground was ominous.

If things continued like this, that steel saw blade would attack the automaton carriage.

For a brief moment, the Regressor hesitated.

｢I don’t have the leeway to deal with the Warforger’s toy! Yeah, I’ll trust my companion! This kind of toy can’t harm them!｣

Huh? Trust?

That’s flattering, but…

The Regressor’s trust manifested as a giant steel gear rolling roughly toward me and the automaton carriage.

“Uwahhh, what is that?”

The steel gear, glowing red from friction with the road, rolled toward us as if intent on crushing everything in its path.

Its overwhelming presence stirred a primal fear and intensified my urge to escape.

The burden of the Regressor’s trust is heavy, even terrifying.

If this is what trust feels like, I'd prefer not to be trusted at all.

I checked the condition of the automaton carriage.

The front section was severely damaged from the Regressor’s earlier kick to propel her forward.

Fortunately, the automaton carriage, designed for combat, was built to keep moving even if the front was destroyed, as long as the power source remained intact.

Currently, Tyr was providing that essential power.

This meant the power source wouldn’t run dry.

“Adding one more gear shouldn’t break it.”

I murmured as I twisted the control stick.

I directed the automaton carriage straight towards the oncoming steel gear.

“Huey?! That’s dangerous!”

Historia, perched atop the automaton carriage, exclaimed in a shrill voice, but I ignored her warning and pressed onward.

The steel gear scraped repeatedly against the automaton carriage's front.

Clang-clang-clang.

The sound of Alchemic Steel clashing reverberated.

But the automaton carriage still endured, sustaining only minor damage, easily withstanding the steel attack of the steel gear.

“It’s fine. The Alchemic Steel reinforced with Tyr’s power is approximately level 4. A hastily constructed level 3 Alchemic Steel can’t even scratch it. Only an Azzy missile could break through, like the one over there.”

“Woof!”

Elsewhere, Azzy intercepted another steel gear with her Azzy missile.

She swiftly struck it from the side, causing the massive steel gear, which seemed poised to engulf everything, to stagger helplessly.

Azzy proudly puffed out her chest as though she had perfectly defended us.

“Rotation itself is power. A wheel spinning with such force carries inertia beyond its mass. It’s easier to confront it head-on than to deflect it from the side.”

“Woof?!”

Azzy, not understanding the force of rotation, looked perplexed at the still-balancing gear.

In her confusion, she dug her forepaws into the ground, pivoted her body, and kicked it with her hind legs.

The spinning gear couldn’t withstand the full force of Azzy’s four legs and was sent flying, crumpled.

Indeed, a strong body can compensate for a simple mind.

“Well, it’s the same here. Tyr, can you hold on?”

[No problem. But this self-rolling gear is quite a unique object. I can not guess its use, where might it be used?]

“It’s for crushing us.”

[Ah, I see.]

Screechh.

The automaton carriage collided with the rolling gear.

Normally, collisions on the road would inflict severe damage on both sides, but the automaton carriage, reinforced by Tyr’s authority and powered by the Progenitor, plowed ahead undeterred by the impact.

The gear's saw blade had wedged between the driver’s and passenger seats but failed to penetrate further, and fell silent.

The spent gear became an ornament embedded in the carriage's front, though the front wheels seemed completely wrecked.

Hmm. Since the front wheels are already broken, let’s do a quick fix.

“Alright. Historia! Come over here and take the wheel.”

“…Wait! Hold on!”

The best way to get someone else to take the steering wheel was to let go of it myself.

Someone had to steer, so if I abandoned the task, someone else would step up.

As I released my grip and stepped aside, Historia hurriedly slid into the driver’s seat to fill the void.

“Hey! How could you just let go of the steering wheel?!”

“It’s fine. Someone else will take over, like you.”

“You’re so reckless…!”

“Oh, and I need to fix the wheel quickly. Could you pull it out for me?”

“You’re going to fix the steering wheel while driving? With all this damage?”

Despite her doubts, Historia followed my instructions.

She wrapped her legs around the steering column and straightened her knees, pulling it out in one swift motion.

The front wheels, having lost control, clattered wildly.

Meanwhile, I retrieved a skewer and approached where the saw blade had lodged.

It wasn’t an overly complex structure.

Maximilien, a master of gearcraft, knew that simplicity often meant superior durability and functionality.

Whether he liked it or not was another matter.

“This looks doable.”

I inserted the skewer into the joint between the gears.

While the eye of a storm is known for its calm, it harbors immense latent power.

The skewer trembled like a sailboat trembled in a storm.

“That’s a gear created by Director Maximilien. You can’t analyze its structure so quickly….”

Couldn’t I?

If I were alone and stumbled upon it in the middle of nowhere, maybe not.

But this gear was created by Maximilien.

He had conceptualized and assembled its structure in an instant.

Thanks to reading his thoughts, I knew a bit about its design.

While I couldn’t replicate it due to my lack of mana, I could modify an existing one.

“Realke.”

The structure crumbled as I infused my mana into it.

I wedged the skewer into the gap.

Removing some gears, I jammed the power unit into the broken axle.

It was misaligned because it didn’t meet the standard.

But combat alchemy involved forcefully adjusting such minor discrepancies.

Gathering my mana reserves, I reshaped it.

Even though I wasn’t creating it from scratch, just modifying it drained my mana.

Those with abundant mana are lucky.

I grumbled while firmly securing the broken axle.

I heard a click as it locked into place.

Though makeshift, it transformed the automaton carriage into a fantastical machine with a massive saw blade instead of front wheels.

Historia frowned, reattached the steering wheel, and gave it a twist.

The saw blade obediently followed.

Historia muttered in disbelief.

“…Combat alchemy. But you can’t use it without knowing the structure.”

“The structure is surprisingly simple. It looks complicated because of the many unnecessary gears. As long as there's enough power, it will move somehow. Even if the efficiency is only 10%, it’ll work with enough force.”

And right now, this automaton carriage was powered by the Tyr engine.

The saw blade spun again.

This time aimed towards the enemy.

Gears are impartial.

They do not know their creator, only their purpose.

“So. What do you plan to do with this saw blade? Ram it into someone?”

“Wow, great idea, Historia! I hadn’t thought of that!”

“What?”

Historia might have intended to mock, but she hit the mark perfectly.

My intention was indeed to target Maximilien with it.

“The Director is faster than the automaton carriage due to the gears on his feet. We can’t catch up to him.”

“Then you just have to increase the output.”

Unlike other power sources, ours grows stronger the more we push her.

“Tyr! Time to move to the next phase! Spin it faster!”

[…Faster, you say? But Hu, no matter how much force I apply, I am turning this with my hands. As long as my body remains human, I cannot go faster than this.]

True.

Strength doesn’t always equate to speed.

Tyr’s power is effective within her body, but it doesn't translate into high speed.

To move fast, one must explode with energy to propel or pull against the ground.

Just as one cannot push oneself, no matter how strong Tyr was, she couldn’t achieve great speed with her short, thin limbs.

It was structurally inefficient.

We used the automaton carriage to compensate for Tyr’s slow speed and her racial issue with the sun.

But there’s more we can do.

This wasn’t the automaton carriage's limit.

Look at Maximilien.

Controlling the gears on his body, he matched the Regressor’s swift movements.

Gears not only transmitted power but operated independently, granting him speeds beyond his natural limits.

“That applies to us too! Tyr! If the automaton carriage is the body, the gears are like muscles! Move them like blood flows into muscles!”

[Oh my. I see. Let us try your method.]

Tyr's response was immediate, and a veil of darkness enveloped the chassis.

Until now, Tyr only reinforced the structure but didn't think to move it with her power.

Well, I didn’t fully understand it either back then.

But now, reading Maximilien's thoughts changed everything.

“And turn them all! From the central shaft to the wheels! Simultaneously!”

[Retainer of darkness, I rule over thee.]

A dark aura emanated from within the chassis.

The automaton carriage surged forward.

The wind hit my forehead more strongly.

I squinted, aligning my aim with Maximilien as he closed in for his fifth clash with the Regressor.

“Historia! You’re holding the wheel! Decide who to hit!”

“Huey, do we have to go this far? Once we attack, there’s no turning back.”

“It’s already too late! You must choose. If you don’t, we’ll just fight and die!”

The Regressor and Maximilien drew nearer in their duel.

Guided by the Progenitor’s control, the automaton carriage gained terrifying momentum, now armed with a menacing steel saw blade.

Historia clenched her teeth.

“…You, Shiati, and everyone. Always pushing to the very end…. Always trying to finish things! Why don’t you know when to stop…!”

“Didn’t you know? People push harder when someone tries to stop them!”

There was no more time to hesitate.

If the direction wasn’t changed, they’d both be hit.

After a brief hesitation, Historia abruptly jerked the steering wheel.

The direction was… towards Maximilien.

｢Director Maximilien will kill Huey and Shiati without hesitation. But at least he won't do that to the Princess. When push comes to shove, I have no other choice.｣

The saw blade, now our front wheel, surged forward with a fierce momentum.

Spotting the sudden approach of the saw blade while fighting the Regressor, Maximilien's eyes widened.

“M-My steel newborn… against me?!”

“Hah! How does it feel to have your precious gears used against you?”

Maximilien tried to evade. But the Regressor didn’t miss the chance.

“Where do you think you’re going, you hunk of steel!”

The Regressor drove Jizan into the ground.

Terra Firma Art, Magnetic Edge.

Earth, the largest magnet, held even the light firmly.

Jizan, the earth's blade, possessed such attributes.

Shattered gears, metal dust from the clashes, and Alchemic Steel fragments floated towards Jizan.

The remnants of metal connected to Jizan’s hilt, as if it were a dangling thread.

The Regressor extended magnetic force to bind Maximilien.

The gears enveloping his body responded to the magnetism and were drawn in.

“Stay put!”

Her power bound his entire body in an instant.

Caught by his own gears, Maximilien couldn’t escape in time.

The automaton carriage, with its steel saw blade, rammed into his solid body.

The rotating saw blade struck his shoulder and chest.

A resounding thud echoed from the carriage's front, scattering shredded fabric in the air.

I clenched my fist and shouted.

“Did we get him?”

Not a chance.

Even as the saw blade continued rotating, Maximilien continued to move, seemingly unfazed.

Apparently, the gears attached to Maximilien’s body were made of Grade 4, or maybe even Grade 5 Alchemic Steel.

“Ugh…! Realke…!”

Amazingly, Maximilien didn't collapse despite being hit by the automaton carriage.

Regardless of strength, his body weight should have been much lighter, yet the Star General withstood the charge from the automaton carriage.

As he was dragged, he released mana throughout his body at the moment of impact.

With each saw blade strike, the penetrating mana disintegrated the gears into shards, scattering them onto the ground.

Historia murmured as if she had anticipated it.

“Director Maximilien is called the God of Gears… using gear won’t work against him.”

Maximilien panted heavily.

With each breath, the golden gear visible through his torn clothes rotated, emitting a grating sound.

Tick, tick, tick.

For a moment, the gears fell silent as he surveyed the scene.

With burning eyes, he looked up. Maximilien, filled with excitement, scanned the object that attacked him and those controlling it.

Then, his expression contorted.

“You dare…! Modifying my gears and using them against me…!”

Somehow, his lens focused directly on me.

Feeling uneasy, Historia whispered.

“Huey, get behind me.”

｢The Director absolutely hates when individuals without power or authority interfere out of their own 'will'. He doesn’t acknowledge subordinates having their own will. If he attacks Huey… I’ll have to stop him.｣

The battle with the Regressor was already a difficult one for Maximilien.

Jizan outweighed all his gears combined, and his proud strength was rendered useless.

If it wasn’t for his ingenuity to create necessary items on the spot, he would have fallen long ago.

He must be furious about being interrupted in such a tense, inspiring battle… or so Historia thought.

But she got it wrong.

This madman tried to align even reason with gears.

Even though I couldn’t fully read him, at least I could fit him into this equation.

“You dare…! Disassembling my gears, piece by piece, and attaching them to this cheap automaton carriage…!!”

Growling as he recalled what happened, Maximilien smiled broadly at me.

“Impressive! Very impressive!”

He acknowledged me.