A few days later.
The Overlord issued a challenge to Mejiro McQueen.
Mejiro McQueen answered.
And so!
A race beyond worlds, a race between the strongest and the strongest, was about to begin.
Across countless parallel worlds, a pop-up suddenly appeared on the phones that had been chosen.
A video began playing automatically.
"What is this?"
A girl on the train, who had been watching a livestream, could not help crying out when she saw the video.
The same thing happened across many worlds at the same time.
Some rational people immediately tried to turn off their phones.
But after seeing the Three Goddesses' icon and the umamusume on the screen, most of them could not bring themselves to shut it down. True, there was a very high chance that this unbelievable phenomenon was some kind of virus invading their phones.
But those were the Three Goddesses.
Music began to play.
A figure slowly stepped out from the darkness.
The scene in the video resembled the place where an umamusume entered the race venue.
But clearly, special effects had been added.
The surroundings had been rendered in darkness.
And as that figure stepped into the light, the scene suddenly changed.
This time, the image that appeared was from a certain race.
A captivating male voice narrated:
"The strongest, who has never once known defeat!"
It was a shot of someone charging across the finish line.
As the video continued, the umamusume at its center became more and more exaggerated.
At first, only faint rainbow glimmers appeared around her body.
But later, the effects became flashier and flashier.
Flames ignited in her eyes.
Wings of light spread open.
Eventually, even the track itself began to glow.
What an exaggerated promotional video.
Some viewers from normal-strength worlds could not help making that comment.
But they had to admit it.
The image really was different after the effects were added. It looked much better than an ordinary race.
But for viewers from certain super-level worlds, it was different.
They were completely certain that the "special effects" in the video were real.
Because that was their everyday reality.
But compared to the many effects shown around the video's protagonist, what truly defied understanding was the abnormal number of race records.
And more than that-
"They're all victories."
That was too astonishing.
One could not help feeling amazed and impressed.
Such a terrifying winning streak.
If an umamusume like this truly existed, then surely she was the real strongest.
At the end of the video, this umamusume stood in the center of the frame, with the phantoms of the Three Goddesses appearing behind her.
The scene seemed to imply something.
Unfortunately, most viewers could not understand it yet.
They simply thought it looked beautiful.
Just when everyone thought it was about to end, the tone of the music suddenly changed.
The darkened image gained new color again.
Footsteps rang out.
An umamusume wearing a coat like heavy armor walked step by step along a staircase.
Behind her, one umamusume after another collapsed and vanished into her shadow.
The scene had a somewhat eerie air.
The narrator's voice sounded once more.
"The king who holds power at its extreme now challenges the throne in the sky!"
At the end of the staircase was a throne suspended in the air like the seat of a god.
And upon that throne, a phantom similar to the protagonist of the previous video lounged there elegantly.
The image split between them.
One illuminated the sky.
The other spread darkness.
A scene like a mythic war froze at the end of the video.
Some [McQueens] and [Rice Showers] in certain worlds could not help widening their eyes.
Although the two protagonists in the video had different auras from them, those appearances...
There was no doubt.
Those were their own faces.
Just when people thought the video had truly ended this time, the narrator's voice suddenly sounded again.
"Now-"
"The race between the strongest is about to begin!"
"It will take place on a gorgeous stage that crosses time and space, where dimensions intersect!"
"You, who are watching this video right now-"
"Without a doubt!"
"You are one of the chosen people who have received an invitation."
"You possess the qualification to participate."
"Will you sign up as a participant and compete with the strongest for ownership of the throne in the sky?"
"Only you can make that choice."
"But please remember: you now hold a ticket to a new world!"
Although the narrator passionately tempted everyone, and some hot-blooded umamusume could not resist wanting to sign up immediately, most viewers remained calm.
Especially certain [Mejiro McQueens] who had just been wondering whether their image rights had been stolen.
At first, they had thought this was an advertisement for some special-effects film.
But after the video ended, an app appeared.
And on it was a race registration form.
One by one, they began to feel unwell.
No.
So you were not joking, and you actually intend to do this for real?
The two protagonists from that video just now looked like people who had already ascended to godhood no matter how one looked at them.
With their own level of strength, how could they possibly compete against umamusume like that?
Even so, after seeing that they could participate in this race, quite a few people miraculously registered or reserved a place.
Whether it was really some kind of prank or not, the video had indeed drawn everyone's interest.
The countdown ticked away second by second.
Finally-
The day of the race arrived!
The viewers who had been waiting for a reply suddenly saw their entire phone screens begin to glow.
No.
It was not as simple as the screen glowing.
That light passed through the screen and appeared in reality.
Like a flashbang exploding.
Everyone instinctively closed their eyes.
The next moment, the ground beneath their feet suddenly vanished, and a sensation of weightless falling overtook them.
When everyone recovered their vision with their hearts pounding, all of them were stunned by the enormous race venue before their eyes.
"Is this for real?"
"In an instant, we really arrived at the race site."
Such an unbelievable event filled people with curiosity and awe.
At that moment, the giant screen directly in front of the stands suddenly lit up.
Close-up shots of the participating runners appeared on it.
A girl with blue twin-tails and heterochromatic eyes came back to herself.
"Hahaha, Turbo really is one of the chosen people!"
"This time, Turbo is definitely going to win!"
At the same time, her information appeared beneath the screen.
Participant: Twin Turbo (No. 3)!
In the stands.
Some acquaintances who recognized this umamusume could not help covering their faces and sighing.
No, how could that idiot possibly be among the participants?
Did the organizers here not screen the racers beforehand?
"Huh?"
"What kind of joke is this? How did that useless thing sneak in here?"
Demon King Gold Ship had first thought she was seeing things.
But after confirming that this really was Twin Turbo, she immediately looked at her with eyes that wanted to kill.
Damn it!
Letting someone like that slip into the race lowered the whole scale of the event!
And...
If trash like this could sneak in, wouldn't she be finished later?
"Wah! Who are you?"
Twin Turbo was clearly startled at first.
But her attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.
"Are you Gold Ship?"
At that moment, Twin Turbo was genuinely shocked.
Wait, was this really the famous Gold Ship?
"Shut up, you're noisy, idiot!"
Gold Ship shouted.
"And don't lump me together with that weird umamusume!"
Participant: Third Favorite! Gold Ship (No. 7)!
"Interesting."
A dark-skinned foreign umamusume watched these young people with great interest from one side.
Participant: Rigantona (No. 5)!
At first, she had only signed up because it seemed amusing.
But now, she truly felt interested.
"The presence of strong opponents. How exhilarating."
A flash of rainbow light crossed her eyes.
Likely a world-class runner from some higher-level world.
"I never thought I would get to race with seniors from the past. I'll treasure this chance."
A girl with stars in her eyes curiously looked over the other participants.
Participant: Almond Eye (No. 4)!
"How is this possible? Are these people all monsters?"
A regional umamusume who had only recently debuted was frightened by the atmosphere around her.
She had thought she would not be weaker than umamusume from Central.
But...
"So this is what Central umamusume are like?"
Participant: Fujimasa March (No. 2)!
In the stands.
When Fujimasa March's Trainer heard his own umamusume's jaw-dropping mutter, he could not help sweating.
"No, no, no. You definitely misunderstood. This is absolutely not Central-level strength!"
Right now, he held the same opinion as Twin Turbo's "relatives" from before.
Damn it!
Organizers, is there something wrong with your screening system?
Laughable.
There was no such thing in the first place.
"McQueen."
Tokai Teio greeted Mejiro McQueen.
Participant: Tokai Teio (No. 1)!
"..."
Mejiro McQueen nodded.
Almost no emotion could be seen on her face.
Her leisurely manner was like that of a young lady waiting for a tea party, not a participant about to join a race.
Participant: First Favorite! Mejiro McQueen (No. 6)!
In a corner, King Halo silently removed her glasses.
Her original literary-girl air transformed in an instant into that of a noble queen.
That scene, almost like a transformation sequence, made quite a few of her counterparts in the stands cry with envy.
No, we are all King Halo, so why are you the only one who can be this cool?
Participant: King Halo (No. 9)!
"Um..."
"Are you Kita?"
A Satono Diamond from a certain world looked curiously at Kitasan Black, who was yawning.
Unlike most counterparts, this was a young lady who could truly be called a winner in life.
Under the guidance of an excellent Trainer, she had not only broken the Satono family's curse, but had also won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
At the end of her racing career, she had even taken both Kitasan Black and the Trainer back to the Satono family.
Now, seeing Kitasan Black still in her girlhood, the already mature Satono Diamond felt a little moved.
Participant: Satono Diamond (No. 8)!
Kitasan Black: "..."
She felt a strange chill.
Was there killing intent coming from the stands?
Was it her imagination?
She had not originally intended to pay attention to Satono Diamond. After all, the other party's gravity had left childhood trauma even in her.
But seeing Satono Diamond like a warm older sister, she still could not help being charmed for a moment.
She had to admit, this person's appearance really was beautiful.
And she looked like she had absorbed her nutrition quite well.
Kitasan Black could not help glancing at that impressive chest, then felt her own thoughts were truly terrible.
Begone!
"Sorry. I may be a little different from the Kitasan Black you know."
After smacking herself hard, Kitasan Black returned to her usual state.
She gave Satono Diamond a gloomy sneer.
She probably had no chance in this race.
However...
These "passersby" randomly dragged in by the system would surely face even more miserable trampling.
Participant: Kitasan Black (No. 10)!
And the final participant-
Was naturally the Overlord, who waited over there with her eyes closed for the race to begin.
Participant: Second Favorite! Overlord Rice Shower (No. 11)!
Because Rice Shower had not yet fully recovered, she was absent.
As the music announcing the start of the race played, the runners left the waiting room, walked through a long passageway, and arrived at the radiant stage.
The race venue was a 3,200-meter turf course.
The track ran counterclockwise.
There were two large slopes and three small slopes across the whole course.
Although the weather was good, the sun could not be seen. It was hidden behind the clouds.
"They're entering now."
"Ohh."
"I wonder what kind of race we'll see later. I'm so excited!"
The commentary had not even begun, yet the spectators' emotions had already been stirred up.
Then, as the sound system test rang out, the commentator and host finally took their positions.
"I, James, will be handling commentary for this race!"
"I'll leave hosting to you, Miss Jessie, and our special guest, Meowth!"
"Meowth!"
"All right."
The childhood-star trio appeared once again.
"Then, welcome, everyone, to the new Dimensional Tournament. Let us quickly get to know the key runners participating this time."
At that moment.
On the racecourse, before the gates.
Two invisible pressures were already clashing.
The race had not even begun, yet two runners had already started fighting.
The aura formed by their pressure even made the magnetic field in the area tremble.
Some runners immediately felt terrifying pressure, and their expressions began to change.
"...Turbo, Turbo won't lose!"
Twin Turbo's eyes lost focus, and her voice trembled as she shouted.
Gold Ship clicked her tongue nearby.
It was getting a little hard to watch.
But since Twin Turbo had decided to hold on herself, all Gold Ship could say was that she had brought this on herself.
With a cold face, she entered the gate.
"Now entering the gate is the third favorite of this race, Gold Ship!"
"She is quite a capable runner. I look forward to her performance."
Although Demon King Gold Ship's race results were indeed a little poor, one had to admit that her stat panel looked excellent.
That was also the reason the system gave her the evaluation of third favorite.
Unlike real races, the system calculated the top three favorites through stat values.
However, this evaluation made Demon King Gold Ship extremely displeased, and what made her even more unhappy was that she could not refute it.
Unwilling, she looked toward that figure.
Today's Mejiro McQueen appeared wearing a white race outfit.
Although real race outfits did not change skill effects, outfits blessed by the Three Goddesses did subtly provide a tiny boost to stats.
This pure-white race outfit was one Mejiro McQueen had previously obtained through a Dimensional Tournament prize. That said, in truth, it was only something she had casually chosen. Her closet contained far too many race outfits, because she had never lost.
Once too much honor had accumulated, the sense of achievement that came from honor gradually faded as well. By now, Mejiro McQueen had long since lost the fluttering excitement she had felt at the beginning.
But precisely because she had lost that passion and could still remain as fixated on one thing as a machine, she was terrifying.
Her selfishness and hunger for victory.
In this alone, no one could surpass her.
And as the Overlord entered the gate, every runner who had already been preparing felt a spine-chilling sensation. It was like a feeling of weightlessness, as though something had firmly seized control of them. Their strength and determination seemed to begin fading in that very moment.
Demon King Gold Ship frowned and looked toward the Overlord's gate.
Even though she had long anticipated the Overlord's current strength, she had not expected her to display such a powerful aura just by appearing.
Was this the umamusume with the strongest domain, the one she had personally helped push forward?
This strength truly did not fail to meet her expectations.
Rather, it was almost too strong.
It had exceeded her expectations, making it somewhat frightening instead.
"This person... I probably can't restrain her anymore."
Cold sweat appeared on Demon King Gold Ship's forehead.
"The second favorite, who possesses both popularity and strength-"
"Overlord Rice Shower!"
"Oh, what an exaggerated presence."
In the stands.
Some people who knew the Overlord immediately showed fear.
The power the Overlord possessed was the symbol of a dark umamusume.
That dark domain, capable of completely sealing and plundering opponents, could be called an absolute tyrant. Just like her title of Overlord, it was the embodiment of tyrannical power.
"I have to admit, that person is terrifyingly strong!"
And when it came time to introduce the first favorite, the commentator suddenly became excited.
"Next to appear is my favorite umamusume. She has won countless major races, even claimed victory in the Divine Cup, and has never once tasted defeat since her debut. The strongest runner, who has always maintained an undefeated record-"
"Mejiro McQueen!"
"The first favorite! Fully deserved! She is, without a doubt, the strongest runner right now!"
The spectators saw the countless race records flashing across the giant screen, along with the glittering victory trophies behind them. Even though they had already watched the promotional video, they were shaken all over again.
Not every spectator understood the weight of those races, but with such a number of races and such a frightening winning streak, even the most ignorant viewer fell silent.
"Terrifying."
"So this is what they call the strongest?"
The runners finished entering one after another.
As the gates automatically closed, the previously lively stands also fell quiet.
The signal lights began flashing.
"All runners are ready."
As the signal light came on, the gates opened.
Every runner used her own method to start from the gate.
"The race officially begins!"
"In a race at this level, the runners' starts really are beautiful!"
Hearing the commentator's praise, some people in the stands had strange expressions.
If there had not been an idiot they recognized inside, they might have actually believed it.
"Go, go, go!"
"Turbo sprint!"
Twin Turbo went full throttle.
This was her usual running style.
Or rather, it was the only way she knew how to run.
Under ordinary circumstances, she should have successfully taken first place right now.
Because generally speaking, very few umamusume chose the Great Runner style.
Those who used that style in a race were either absurdly strong or idiots.
And in this race, both situations had gathered together.
Twin Turbo looked at the figure flying forward like a streak of light. Her expression stiffened, and she stared in disbelief at that figure, who looked like the protagonist on a stage.
"There it is!"
"Less than two seconds after the gates opened, Mejiro McQueen has completely broken out of the pack!"
"That start is on a completely different level from the other runners!"
"The first favorite! Mejiro McQueen!"
"Today, she has once again chosen her usual lead-running style!"
"Judging from past race records, no opponent has ever been able to solve her start and lead-running. I wonder what the other runners will choose to do next. If they let her go like this, Mejiro McQueen will open the gap in one breath!"
"The rhythm of the race has already begun to fall apart!"
Mejiro McQueen had not noticed Twin Turbo at all.
For her, taking first place at this speed was merely the normal development.
And...
It seems no one came to snipe me at the start today.
Are they all watching that child?
Then...
Overlord, what will you do?
In the stands.
Quite a few of [Mejiro McQueen]'s counterparts froze.
Wait.
Was this initial speed really something "I" could run?
The reason she had given up on the lead-running style was that her acceleration was inferior to runners with faster starts. In that area, her talent could only be considered average.
Her talent lay in the upper limits of speed and stamina.
In other words, she was the type who could steadily display her strength during a race.
But now, they were seeing a different "self."
That burst. That start. Without a doubt, it was something they had dreamed of.
"[I] can actually grow to that point?"
Shock.
Envy.
Longing.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"