"Go, Kitasan Black!"
"Pass her! Just pass her!"
The race had hit its climax. Kitasan Black's sudden surge sent a crowd of bloodthirsty spectators into frenzied screaming, and the people sitting next to them thought the scene looked downright dangerous.
"Number 2, Kitasan Black, is hitting her stride — what an explosive burst! She's blown past numbers 7 and 5 like a lightning bolt and she's now in second place!"
Ms. Musashi sounded genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected a runner with a blank stat panel to display such overwhelming strength — both Gold Ship and Tokai Teio, who had performed so brilliantly in the last tournament, were being completely overpowered.
And unless her eyes were deceiving her, the skills Kitasan Black had been firing off all seemed to belong to other runners. How on earth was she doing that?
"That Kita is incredible!"
The Team Spica members from World -01 — the animated-timeline world — were watching from the stands too.
In fact, if you looked around the stands, you could spot several **[Kitasan Black]**s at different ages, each of them fixated on the [self] running down on the track.
"So this is what I'll be like when I grow up?"
The [Little Kita] from World 0, her native world, had wonder and longing written all over her face.
She didn't understand why her older [self] had said all those defeatist things earlier — but surely a [me] this strong had to be able to make her dreams come true.
Down on the track, Kitasan Black was steadily closing the gap to Mejiro McQueen. There was no denying it — this mutated Flow, layered with stacked skill activations, was genuinely terrifying. She actually looked like she might catch McQueen.
'No way — she actually caught up?!'
Gold Ship stared in shock.
She'd always assumed that in the front-runner style, McQueen was the fastest. That no one could possibly outrun McQueen in that playbook.
Because McQueen had mastered the perfect skill combination, and her ZONE was the always-on passive type, allowing her to continuously pile on speed throughout a race.
The whole reason Gold Ship had developed the dangerous Overload Mode in the first place was that only that kind of reality-warping explosive power — the kind that forced the impossible to become possible — had any chance of catching McQueen.
But Kita was just too abnormal.
That explosive power, mimicked from both Teio and herself — it was terrifying. That kind of burst should never have been something a front-running racer could produce.
'Interesting. Can you actually crack McQueen's invincibility?'
The Demon King's lips curled upward, her blazing gaze rolling with fierce resolve. She was waiting for her moment!
A dark-red aura flared around Gold Ship.
Using ZONE's mental amplification to push back against the interference sapping her, she unleashed a new effect at the same time, dragging the other runners into the Demon King's [quagmire].
"Gh!"
Tokai Teio let out a pained cry. For a moment she actually failed to hold her position, dropping behind Gold Ship — something that should have been utterly impossible for this all-around prodigy.
But there was nothing she could do. Three Flash-tier interference skills were hammering her in succession, leaving no room to breathe. Even a genius like her felt as though her limbs had been bound in chains.
The crushing weight — tenfold, maybe ninefold gravity — made it feel like she could barely draw air.
'Damn it!'
Tokai Teio glared furiously at the Demon King's back. As if sensing her mood, Gold Ship planted a hoof hard, kicked up a clump of turf, and flung it back at her.
Dodging the Demon King's cheap shot, Tokai Teio thought, face streaming with sweat: 'Should I use that move here?'
But Gold Ship, that absolute menace, still had unused interference skills in reserve.
And Rice Shower had her own high-tier gate skills — not to mention [Fusion]!
The more she thought about it, the more agitated Tokai Teio became.
This was a hopeless situation.
Even her mind couldn't calculate an equation that led to victory.
On their own, the interference skills of Gold Ship and Rice Shower were already absurd. Either one of them dropped into any other race would run riot through the entire field — never mind both of them appearing in the same race.
And now Kita could imitate the originals on top of that, which was like having two Demon Kings on the field simultaneously.
On top of that, it seemed Kita wasn't limited to imitating just one person's abilities either.
Watching Kita ahead of her unleashing skill after skill, Tokai Teio had a very bad suspicion.
Kita's imitation wasn't the kind limited to just one person's kit. She could probably use all of their skills at once.
It was a terrifying hypothesis, but Tokai Teio was almost certain it was the truth.
Which meant her earlier estimate of five Flash-tier interference skills in this race had probably been an undercount!
'Where the hell did this world-breaker come from?!'
From what she'd gathered from McQueen earlier, she'd assumed Kita would at most measure up to the Miracle Generation from Kuroko's Basketball.
But no — she was another off-the-charts monster, just like [The Overlord, Rice Shower]!
Clenching her jaw, Tokai Teio stuck grimly to the Demon King's tail.
'Am I really this powerless in this race?'
If it were a one-on-one, she had confidence she wouldn't lose to anyone.
Even against McQueen in single combat, she'd put her odds at a solid thirty percent.
But in this race, she had already run the numbers — her win rate was zero.
Her trump cards were one-and-done.
Whether it was the hyper-acceleration or the time regression, each was a last-resort move that could flip the tide of battle exactly once.
Being able to master moves of that reality-breaking caliber — and two of them, no less — she had every right to be proud of her talent.
But now, for the first time, she realized what she lacked: endurance.
No matter how explosive her burst, if it couldn't sustain the rhythm of an entire race, it was meaningless.
Unless her opponents made a major mistake — but mistakes of that kind simply did not happen with racers like these.
Somewhere along the way, their strength had stopped being in the same tier as hers. A real gap had opened up.
And she, Tokai Teio, was the one being left behind!
'I've… already fallen this far behind?'
Tokai Teio's pupils trembled.
Gold Ship felt the struggling will pressing at her back, and the smirk on her lips held both mockery and expectation.
Hmph. The arrogant prodigy has finally caught on.
But it was already too late!
There was no stage for the likes of her in this race!
The second phase of ZONE's effect detonated.
Tokai Teio felt her strength drain away, her eyes going wide in stunned disbelief.
'Demon King!'
Of all the—!
Even with her refined upbringing, Tokai Teio couldn't help but curse under her breath. This damnable Demon King truly was the archetypal gate-specialist menace!
A single moment of hesitation, and Gold Ship pulled two full lengths ahead.
Tokai Teio knew that if she didn't use ZONE now, she really would sink to the same tier as the pacers dragging along at the back.
'Don't make me laugh — I might lose to anyone, but I refuse to lose to a gate-specialist menace like you!'
ZONE, unleashed!
The sun blazed with dazzling brilliance, and time itself rewound in that instant.
The gap that had opened up between them vanished. Tokai Teio was once again running ahead of the Demon King — while Gold Ship discovered that her own ZONE had been fully expended.
'So that's how it is — hahaha, so you're blowing your trump card right here!'
Gold Ship watched Tokai Teio's back with a delighted grin. Even knowing her own ability had been spent, she didn't care.
Because the gate interference and ZONE weren't her true trump cards.
The fact that just these two abilities had already forced Tokai Teio to burn her ace — that was a massive win.
'But well… whatever. I'll let you run in front for now. Kitasan Black, my adorable little sister, don't disappoint me!'
The Demon King watched the figure ahead of her, every muscle sheathed in glowing lines, with eager anticipation.
If Kitasan Black knew that Senior Gold Ship held this much 'faith' in her, she'd probably regret everything she'd ever done. But right now, her mind had no room for such distractions!
Now running in second place, Kitasan Black's gaze was locked fiercely onto McQueen's back.
'I've caught you!'
A whisper that sounded almost like a monster's rumble drifted through the air, and from Kitasan Black's cracked, shadow-filled eyes, an eerie phantasmal light spilled out.
Under the load of stacked skills, Kitasan Black could actually hear her own body creaking, and her stamina was hemorrhaging like water from a cracked bucket.
But right now, none of that mattered to her anymore.
She was going to take McQueen down!
That searing will transformed into a cold wind that swept forward, straight at the figure ahead of her.
Mejiro McQueen had started this race with the mindset of a mentor, looking forward to watching her kouhai grow. But when she heard those footsteps closing in on her back, her gaze finally shifted.
Her still-water composure wavered for the first time.
'This is—'
Her breath quickened.
This aura… it genuinely surprised her.
She'd known Kita's talent was immense, but this had gone beyond talent merely manifesting itself.
This wild, violent will, this raw hunger for victory — it was exactly the kind of thing that had long lain dormant deep within McQueen's own heart.
Because there had been no one left who could draw that will out of her.
And yet, what Kita was displaying now was McQueen herself, from long ago.
'Ah — is it [me]?'
Mejiro McQueen's heart shook.
If the strongest was invincible, undefeatable, then how did one defeat this strongest?
The logic was simple.
One only had to become that strongest oneself.
Only the strongest could surpass the strongest!
The Kitasan Black running at this very moment was McQueen in her earliest days.
That savage expression, that extreme self-absorption — it was the McQueen of old, at the peak of her potential!
Making her opponent's power her own!
Unlike [Fusion] — this ugly [Imitation], this was Kitasan Black displaying the survival posture of one who had descended into the realm of carnage!
"She's caught her! Number 2, Kitasan Black, and number 6, Mejiro McQueen, are separated by only half a length!"
Ms. Musashi's voice spiked with excitement.
From the middle stage through the third turn, Kitasan Black's mad charge had revealed astonishing explosive force. The visual impact of her burst was nothing short of earth-shaking.
"Ohhh!"
"That's our Kitasan Black — the most beautiful uma musume!"
The World 5 spectators were practically vibrating with emotion.
The sight of them made you seriously wonder if they'd all stood up in their pants.
Mejiro McQueen's expression turned solemn.
This was no longer a race about guiding a junior — Kita had become her genuine opponent!
ZONE, full deployment!
The speed she'd been building erupted all at once.
Just when it looked like Mejiro McQueen was about to pull away—
A thunderous footfall crashed through the air, and several of the uma musume around stood dazed, listening to what sounded like something shattering, staring in disbelief at the figure whose entire body was now engulfed in flame.
The stone gate of ZONE had been bashed open by sheer force.
The monster let out an exhilarated laugh, and the very next instant, the same ability activated — one after another.
Mejiro McQueen felt an aura behind her identical to her own, and for a moment she was genuinely unnerved.
'That's… my ZONE?'
A moment later, the aura shifted again.
Even [The Overlord] and Rice Shower, who had been preparing to move, were momentarily stunned — because they saw Kitasan Black's form transform completely into theirs!
[Fusion]!
One skill after another was devoured as fuel, then unleashed as power of a far greater magnitude.
And in the very next instant, as that blinding light flashed — the world froze!
Tokai Teio stared at the familiar frozen world around her, stunned. Wait — that was her Hyper-Acceleration?
Mejiro McQueen, eyes trembling, crept forward through this stilled world. But even though she could barely move at all, she couldn't possibly maintain her original momentum here.
So all she could do was watch, helpless, as the wild figure blazed past her. The next instant, time resumed its flow — and Kitasan Black had completed her pass on Mejiro McQueen.
'!'
Mejiro McQueen's expression shifted violently for the first time.
'I… got passed?'
The combo had been too fast — so fast she hadn't even been able to react.
And at this very moment, Kitasan Black's ZONE had awakened as well. Its effect? Flawless, perfect imitation.
But calling it imitation was underselling it — this was mastery!
This was a domain capable of commanding the domains of every other runner!
In that single instant just now, Kitasan Black had first unleashed Mejiro McQueen's domain, then Rice Shower's, then Tokai Teio's Hyper-Acceleration.
The power she generated wasn't additive — it was multiplicative, compounding upon itself.
In that fleeting moment, the explosive force Kitasan Black displayed could only be summed up in one word: invincible.
'Nice work!'
"Hahaha!"
Gold Ship, watching from behind, burst into laughter, then without hesitation activated Overload Mode and began her own charge.
She was going to take advantage of McQueen's momentary lapse and rush forward!
Tokai Teio watched Gold Ship blaze past with a face full of chagrin, but there was nothing she could do now. Her Hyper-Acceleration was no longer enough to flip the situation.
But just as Gold Ship was exuberantly surging forward, a terrifying aura suddenly descended on her.
'Wait — Rice Shower, don't come over here!'
[Fusion] activated!
"Gack!"
The Demon King rose, then the Demon King crumbled.
[The Overlord] and Rice Shower began fusing and charging forward.
Mejiro McQueen recovered her composure and silently watched Kitasan Black's back.
She could sense that Kita's body had already surpassed its limits — after passing her, Kita's speed had begun to drop off in a straight line.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"