"They crossed the line! Almost at the same time!"
The commentator slapped the table and stood up. Affected by the heated atmosphere, he gripped the microphone tightly and said, "Please wait. Let us look at the video replay."
Heated discussion rose from the lively spectator seats.
"Who won?"
"The Demon King and King Halo's final bursts were way too fierce."
"What an enjoyable race."
"The results are on the big screen!"
In an instant, everyone looked toward the big screen.
In the replay, Mejiro McQueen's body entered the finish line half a head ahead. Next came the Demon King's long leg. Last was King Halo, almost side by side with the other two.
"The result is out! The umamusume who won this race is Mejiro McQueen! Let us congratulate this runner with thunderous applause for winning this tournament's championship and obtaining the honor of being the strongest across dimensions!"
Countless fireworks rose into the sky. At this moment, the sky of the entire world freely shifted into night. A shining list of results appeared on the big screen. The final race record had been released.
First place: Mejiro McQueen!
Second place: Gold Ship!
Third place: King Halo!
The three standing beyond the finish line looked at the race result, each wearing a different expression. The winner enjoyed joy, while the losers felt unwilling. That was racing. But no race was ever the last.
As long as one could continue to run, there would still be a chance for revenge.
King Halo clenched her fist, feeling the divine power that had vanished from her body. At this moment, her mind held only intense unwillingness and ambition. This result was outside her calculations, yet also within her expectations from the very beginning. After all, she had never been able to completely predict all of Mejiro McQueen and the others' data. Even if she calculated that she had more than a ninety percent chance of winning, variables could still overturn her in a race.
"I lost... but this will not be my end."
Even her original self had been able to keep losing throughout her career until finally winning her last and only GI at the very end. Then what reason did King Halo have to feel down over a mere single defeat? No. Compared with feeling down, she had something far more important to do: summarize experience, think of more tactics, and continue becoming stronger until the moment she finally obtained this victory.
"I should feel joy right now. McQueen, you opened up a new power and let us see a stronger path. Since you can enter that realm, I have no reason not to be able to do the same."
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Demon King Gold Ship stomped the ground hard.
"Just a little. Just a tiny bit!"
"Damn it!"
If the course distance had been a little longer, not much, just 50 more meters, she absolutely would have won that race in the state she was in. But she could not think like that. Because victory was victory, and defeat was defeat. The result was everything. She was not the kind of trash who could not even accept her own defeat. After venting for a while, Demon King Gold Ship's expression returned to that arrogant look.
She felt the divine skill leaving her and remained expressionless. There was even some disdain in her eyes as she thought, Hmph, if you're leaving, hurry up and leave. What invincible power? How stupid. In the end, it's only useless external power. Garbage like this isn't the strongest power I seek. McQueen!!! Don't get smug! Next time, I will win!
Feeling the "passionate" gazes of the two of them, Mejiro McQueen's mood became even more pleasant. This was the taste of victory.
Compared with rewards and prizes,
the most important thing was victory itself after all.
Mejiro McQueen did not have much interest in the divine skills she had obtained. After all, those powers did not completely belong to her.
Tokai Teio watched the three from the side, her expression somewhat serious. Although she had felt it before, now she had truly been completely left behind by McQueen and the others. Even the youngest, King Halo, had already walked farther than her. Her identity as the former ultimate one really seemed somewhat ridiculous. What path should she take from here?
"Although I have no dissatisfaction with my current life, continuing to lose to you all like this isn't my style."
"You go ahead first. I'll catch up soon."
Thinking this, Tokai Teio's expression returned to normal in the next instant. She was not so weak that she would be struck into psychological darkness by this. Rather, as the next student council president of Tracen Academy, her mental fortitude was honestly too strong. Perhaps it was precisely because she lacked a sense of tension that she had fallen behind the others. But continuing forward at her own pace even so was exactly what made her the perfect, handsome, ultimate Teio-sama.
Rice Shower saw off the goddess's blessing.
In her heart, she discussed this race with the Conqueror.
"The oneesamas really are strong."
"Rice Shower, you should know that we can do it too."
The Conqueror's tone sounded somewhat dissatisfied.
If Rice Shower had fully released the power of Fusion instead of using it with such lukewarm attitude, she could have evolved into an even stronger state. Even the so-called Three Goddesses might have become food for her evolution. But Rice Shower had used that invincible power as a simple skill. This loss was truly too unjust.
"Did you not enjoy racing with the oneesamas?"
"..."
The Conqueror felt Rice Shower's feelings and said no more.
In the end, Rice Shower still had not completely accepted her power.
Fusion and Fusion were different, after all.
Compared with Rice Shower, who purely enjoyed racing, the Conqueror had a deeper obsession with victory. Or rather, from the moment the Conqueror was born, aside from her care for Rice Shower, only the desire to become stronger and seek victory remained. But in the end, she was not the main personality of this body.
Rice Shower did not know the Conqueror's thoughts.
Although she had lost the race, she was already very happy that she had been able to give everything and shine together with the oneesamas during the race.
The Conqueror's spiritual body merely watched this scene coldly.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaa-"
When Kitasan Black reached the finish midway through the pack, she could not help clutching her head and wailing in pain. She really had no way to accept this result. A ranking near the bottom? My heavens. This was the first time since her birth that she had run such an awful result. So this was the feeling of being eliminated? It hurt. It hurt too much. At this moment, she finally somewhat understood why some people could not help crying after losing a race.
"I can't accept this. I can't accept it!"
Kitasan Black was unwilling.
How had her version been eliminated so quickly?
Wasn't she supposed to possess the strongest talent?
Wasn't this just the weakest tail-ender in history?
Damn it!
She had completely broken.
Kitasan Black's long-standing salted-fish mentality had, in the end, come from the idea that she might not be the strongest, but she absolutely could not be the weakest. Because she possessed transcendent talent, she had believed that even if she slacked off, she could still keep up with her seniors' realm. If Demon King Gold Ship's arrogance was the style of a king, then Kitasan Black's arrogance was that of a sinner who had committed original sin.
She had never truly worked hard.
And she had never truly failed.
But this time, she was finally completely crushed.
Not only had Rice Shower's Fusion smashed her to pieces, but she had also seen in each of her seniors the things she herself lacked. Even Teio-senpai, who had always been so busy, could become this much stronger after squeezing out a little time. As for Demon King-senpai, there was even less to say. Although Demon King-senpai was indeed a comedic figure in a certain sense, Demon King-senpai was truly strong. Even King Halo, the junior who came later, had caught up to the strongest stage.
And what about her, Kitasan Black?
Aside from [Mimicry], did she have anything she could present? In the end, [Mimicry] was only borrowed power.
"..."
"I'm not satisfied!"
Kitasan Black clenched her teeth.
She could pretend not to care. She could choose to give up.
If it were the past, she definitely would have done that.
But while clearing the story world, she had already understood her true feelings. In the end, she still wanted to become the strongest. She still wanted to stand on that stage as the winner.
Continuing to pretend not to see it, continuing to act relaxed and give up, would be irresponsibility toward herself. She might be a salted fish, yes, but like everyone else, she did not want this life to be full of regrets. In this life, she should leave no regrets.
Can't win?
At this point, that no longer mattered.
It was enough to know this feeling of "wanting to win."
Not enough...
"I'm still not strong enough."
Kitasan Black's gaze became serious at that moment.
If abandoning her weak self would allow her to become stronger, she would do it without hesitation. Because she absolutely did not want to experience this feeling a second time. She had not been born to be a loser.
Nice Nature, who had originally been satisfied just reaching the finish line of this race, felt that deep force and could not help turning to look at Kitasan Black, who had been near her during the race. She saw Kitasan Black's almost "awakened" eyes, and her previously relaxed mood was instantly filled with pressure.
"What is with this genius?"
She had clearly lost the race.
But this feeling...
At this moment, Nice Nature felt the essential gap between herself and Kitasan Black. Although she did not know what kind of person Kitasan Black usually was, she was clear on only one point right now: this genius's desire to become stronger was absolutely the strongest Nice Nature had ever seen among all umamusume. Those were the eyes of someone who only wanted to win.
"A girl like this... really can't be beaten."
Nice Nature thought with lingering fear.
At the same time, Duramente nearby could not help looking toward Kitasan Black as well. She could feel that this opponent had become somewhat different.
She looked regretfully at the top three.
In the end, she decided to treat defeating Kitasan Black as her goal for this stage first, because at present, those people were far too distant from her.
Although she had entered the final of this tournament,
Duramente only felt her own weakness more deeply. Between her and the truly strong, there was still a gap she could not see through.
Symboli Rudolf looked proudly at the results table.
Although she herself had been eliminated, being surpassed by her "juniors" was exactly her wish.
"These children actually possess this kind of talent. Although my juniors may not necessarily be exactly like them, as counterparts from different times and spaces, they should possess similar talent, right?"
She began considering how to train her juniors.
On the other side,
Secretariat accompanied Dancing Brave and silently watched Dancing Brave's child.
This Dancing Brave was the Dancing Brave from a past timeline. She had already learned everything from her future self. However, even if she knew the future story, she could not change the future.
According to the organizers, they were existences like projections pulled from past timelines. After they returned, they would be loaded into their present selves as a piece of information, but the current world would not be affected by past projections. Therefore, her feelings toward King Halo were complicated. In the future, she had never seriously paid attention to this child. This child had walked to this point by herself.
"Aren't you going to talk to her?"
"No need. You and I are only shadows."
"Sigh..."
Secretariat looked helplessly at this junior.
What an awkward person.
Dancing Brave then added another sentence.
"And the important one is not me, but the current me. I think I need to have a proper talk with my present self."
Hearing this, Secretariat was somewhat surprised.
She had thought Dancing Brave would play the coward.
She had not expected Dancing Brave to have considered so much.
At this moment, Dancing Brave was already thinking about how to have a proper talk with herself. To think she had paid not the slightest attention to her own daughter. What kind of parent was that? And according to what she understood, the versions of herself in other worlds clearly were not this useless. Could she ignore her just because her daughter matured earlier?
Although everyone's thoughts were different,
this event finally reached its final curtain.
On the enormous Winner's Stage, the finalists appeared as a group, using their performance as the final program of the event.
After the performance ended,
Mejiro McQueen finally could not hold back her tears.
Her teammates could only all go up to encourage her.
Even [Tokai Teio], who had originally wanted to mock her a little, had no choice but to quietly accompany her at this moment.
Scenes like this were not uncommon.
Some friends who had met during this event reluctantly said goodbye to one another. Because after this farewell, no one knew how long it would be before they met again. Perhaps it might be a lifetime.
After all, they lived in different worlds.
As everyone chose to exit,
one figure of light after another turned into shooting stars and left this stage.
Mejiro McQueen and the others watched this scene from the platform.
Kitasan Black sighed. "It's over."
"It is," Tokai Teio said, placing a hand on Kitasan Black's shoulder. "That child named Equinox. You'll definitely meet her again someday."
"..."
Kitasan Black was speechless.
Her friendship with that child had not reached that point.
Besides, the girl had her own Kita-senpai too.
"Hmph. This kind of thing has no meaning. I'm going back."
Demon King Gold Ship felt their sighs were nothing but the thoughts of the weak. She looked toward Mejiro McQueen, who was standing alone and watching the "meteor shower" in the sky.
"McQueen! Continue existing as the strongest. Before I make my move, you absolutely cannot lose to anyone!"
Without waiting for Mejiro McQueen to answer, Demon King Gold Ship turned and left on her own. She had to return immediately to begin new experiments.
King Halo saw Mejiro McQueen's attention shift from Demon King Gold Ship to herself. She did not speak. She merely returned a firm gaze, then turned and left as well. The current her had already lost the divine skill and was even weaker than she had been during the race. For the sake of the next challenge, she needed to become stronger.
Because McQueen had not only become stronger now,
she also possessed all three great divine skills.
This was not a gap that could be caught up to easily.
Not a single moment could be wasted.
"Everyone's leaving, huh. Then I'll head back too."
Tokai Teio saw this and also chose to leave first.
"Oh right, let's find a time to have a meal together and celebrate McQueen's victory." When she reached a door, she suddenly remembered this. A race was a race. It would not affect everyone's friendship.
They still ought to hold a celebration party for the tournament champion.
As each person left one after another,
only Mejiro McQueen, Rice Shower, and Kitasan Black remained.
Kitasan Black planned to return to the system space afterward.
Rice Shower had nothing else to do even if she went back.
As for Mejiro McQueen...
She was actually thinking about how to maximize the rewards from this tournament. Speaking of which, she still had not used the rewards from the previous system tournament. A new race outfit plus an exclusive skill had not held much meaning for her before, because she already had so many skills she could not use them all in a single race. If her spirit and willpower were not strong enough, possessing so many skills would instead affect her judgment during races. That was why she had not used the rewards before.
But now...
Perhaps she could try to go one step further.
The ultimate form of ZONE, plus divine skills.
Mejiro McQueen felt that she still had a great deal of room to rise.
...
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