Final phase.
The Overlord's domain had already caught [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio]. The two of them instantly realized that their strength was draining away little by little, and the speed was still increasing.
"You're kidding, right!"
[Mejiro McQueen] tried to use a cleansing ability, but it had no effect. The Overlord's domain effect was not an interference ability in the true sense. Cleansing effects could only remove Debuff states, but Fusion itself did not apply a negative status to the opponent.
"Damn it!"
[Tokai Teio] tried to resist with an indomitable effect, but instead felt as if even that fighting spirit was about to be sucked away by the black hole behind them. Panic immediately appeared in her eyes.
"It's useless."
Demon King Gold Ship laughed mockingly.
Tokai Teio sighed helplessly.
Fusion's effect was extremely unreasonable. Although Fusion possessed a very powerful interference effect, in terms of its essential nature, it was not a blocking skill that acted on the opponent. Strictly speaking, this ability amplified the user's own power. Therefore, resistance to blocking skills, such as super-armor cleansing, could not oppose Fusion. At present, the only things capable of resisting Fusion were McQueen's untargetable state and Tokai Teio's time rewind.
But [Mejiro McQueen] and the others had no such abilities.
In the race, the two of them were still struggling bitterly.
The finish line was already in sight.
How could they fall here?
How could they fall here!
It was not over yet!
The race was not over!
Facing such a powerful Overlord, facing this monster-like existence, [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio] did not give up.
Their power truly was being drained away little by little, but as long as all of it was not taken in an instant, they still had a chance. They only needed to cross the finish line before that person completely stole their power. Perhaps if they won the race, they could reclaim the power the Overlord had taken.
"I can do it. I should be able to do this!"
Shimmering wings unfolded. As the original body once possessed by Mejiro McQueen, [Mejiro McQueen] had indeed inherited part of that strongest girl's power. As long as she had these "wings," she would not lose to any opponent, because these were the wings of victory that led to triumph!
[The Noble Mission Still Awaits Completion (Flash)]
[Until the End of the Sky (Flash)]
I can keep running!
After seeing [Mejiro McQueen]'s performance, [Tokai Teio] could not help admiring her. That's right. This is the worthy rival I acknowledge. The race is still continuing. If defeat has not been decided, how could we possibly admit defeat? You want to steal our power? If you can, then come and take it, monster!
The flames of the heart burned.
Blazing fire erupted.
[Absolutely, It's Me (Flash)]
[Ultimate Teio Step (Flash)]
A white figure and a red figure ran ahead.
Their shining radiance was the symbol of the dreams of umamusume.
So brilliant.
"Will..."
Even Demon King Gold Ship was somewhat surprised.
She had not expected that this backward world could also give birth to such light. True, it was because of interference from transmigrators like them, but that brilliance undoubtedly came from the two girls themselves. In that sense, they could at least be considered above the level of useless trash.
But...
"It's still not enough."
Seeing Nishizaki Ryu and the others look happy, Tokai Teio could not help pouring cold water on them.
"Although [McQueen] and the other me have indeed broken through during the race, the Overlord's strength is far beyond what she has shown so far. In fact, up to this point, aside from her domain, the Overlord has not used a single skill."
"..."
Everyone froze when they heard this.
No way, right?
That performance from the Overlord had not involved any skills?
But that was the truth. From the start of this race until now, the Overlord had only used one move, and that was Fusion. It was not because she was showing mercy, but because she did not want to waste strength on the weak.
So even if the current [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio] had broken through, it was useless. They were facing an opponent they could not possibly defeat.
In the race, the Overlord watched the two of them break through their potential, her expression unchanged.
Her cold gaze was like that of someone watching the dead.
With the sound of a bell, fantastical blue roses fell from the sky. The instant they touched the ground, they transformed into pitch-black flames. It was a road to hell leading into the abyss. With the appearance of that road, the two ahead immediately felt their stamina draining rapidly. This was the true interference effect of a blocking skill. Unfortunately, they had already wasted their anti-blocking abilities earlier.
At this moment, neither of them had the power to resist this move.
"This is bad!"
"How can this be!"
Damn it.
They had subconsciously refused to think about that possibility before.
But this person really had been holding back. How could she be so strong? Why had someone like this not appeared in the previous event? If she had, she should have shone brilliantly.
The pitch-black figure caught up from behind. Her burning golden eyes looked coldly ahead, and she mercilessly crushed past her opponents. In that instant, [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio] both seemed to feel a violent gale, shaken by the Overlord's pressure.
[Withering Rose Road (Flash): Reduces the stamina of runners ahead and gains corresponding speed from it!]
"She's charging up! The Overlord has completed an astonishing overtake from last place to first! What incredible strength!"
The spectators all wore expressions of disbelief.
"You're joking, right? Hey, hey, is something like this even possible? I remember she was far behind after the race started. How could she make a comeback from that situation?"
"She's too strong! Is she really an umamusume from our world? Could she actually be an umamusume from another world?"
"Impossible! How could [Mejiro McQueen] lose?"
"Catch up, [Mejiro McQueen]!"
Many spectators hoped to see [Mejiro McQueen] rally. After all, they had all come to watch [Mejiro McQueen] challenge the Spring Triple Crown, so they could not accept her losing like this.
But [Mejiro McQueen] could no longer respond to her fans' expectations. The instant the Overlord passed her, the power that had originally been draining little by little suddenly burst open like a great hole had been torn in it. In almost the blink of an eye, it all drained away.
Her vanished power.
The Overlord, who had become even stronger than before.
Under these circumstances, how could there still be a turnabout?
The Overlord's power answered that saying perfectly:
"Opponents who fall behind me are no longer my opponents."
If one wanted to defeat the Overlord, one had to keep leading the Overlord the entire time, or else choose to start from a position even farther behind than the Overlord. Although the Overlord's Fusion was a constant effect, it also had range limitations. Only by seizing that point was it possible to defeat her.
But clearly, [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio] had failed to do that.
Now that they had fallen behind, they had been completely eliminated.
The Overlord alone charged toward the finish line.
Darkness devoured all light.
"Across the line!"
The result was decided.
"An overwhelming victory! Such strength!"
Every spectator stared at the results board in disbelief.
Behind the second-place finish were two bright-red "huge margin" marks.
Before the race began, no one could have imagined that [Mejiro McQueen] would lose, much less that she would lose this badly.
The Overlord glanced at the result.
Then she turned and walked outside.
Having accomplished her objective, she had no interest in staying here. She did not even intend to appear on the Winner's Stage. These so-called rules meant nothing to her.
[Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio] stared blankly at the results board. At this moment, the fatigue in their bodies could not numb the loss in their hearts. They had never imagined such an outcome.
And...
"My power really was taken."
[Tokai Teio]'s face was full of unwillingness.
She could feel it. Her ZONE, her skills, even the physical ability she had accumulated through ordinary training, had all weakened at this moment.
So this was a so-called dark race?
[Mejiro McQueen] felt even worse.
After all, the power taken from her had been inherited from the other version of herself. Now all of it had been stolen by that monster called the Overlord. What was she supposed to do from now on?
They were still in shock.
Otherwise, they might already have been so upset that they started crying.
The other participants also wore faces of despair. Although the Overlord had taken power, not left them crippled or anything of the sort, and they could still train that strength back, for professional umamusume like them, this was far too despairing.
...
Participants' backstage.
Demon King Gold Ship applauded the Overlord and said, "That was a very nice race. You let me watch a good show. Just thinking of that useless girl's expression earlier makes me very satisfied. So what will you do next? There aren't many people in this world who can become your targets anymore. Or are you going overseas to look for those retired old-timers? If you need help, I can assist."
The Overlord's Fusion could only produce a better effect when used against opponents whose panel stats were higher than her own. By contrast, targeting weaklings with stats below hers was merely bullying the weak, and did not improve her much. The Overlord probably was not interested in bullying the weak, which was why Demon King Gold Ship asked.
But the Overlord said, "Tokai Teio wants to stop me, doesn't she? Then let her try."
"..."
Demon King Gold Ship froze for a moment.
"Are you serious?"
Although she did look down on that useless girl, she had to admit one thing: that useless girl's strength was indeed not bad. And that useless girl's ability was quite the counter to the Overlord. Could this person really have gotten carried away just because she had beaten an original body once possessed by McQueen?
"Yes."
The Overlord's expression did not change.
Tokai Teio was strong. She knew that.
Tokai Teio's time rewind could counter her Fusion. She knew that too.
But if she wanted to become the strongest, she had to challenge the strong. Only by turning the power of those powerful ones into her own would she have hope of challenging Mejiro McQueen, who possessed the power of the three gods.
This time it was Tokai Teio.
Next time...
It would be you.
The Overlord glanced at Demon King Gold Ship.
She had never regarded Demon King Gold Ship's help as a favor. In the end, she had never asked Demon King Gold Ship for anything. Demon King Gold Ship had come to her on her own and asked to cooperate. In that case, Demon King Gold Ship must already have prepared herself to be bitten back. No one could control the Overlord forever.
After separating from Rice Shower, she had only one goal.
To challenge the strong again and again, until she became the strongest.
That was the meaning of her life.
And whether it was Tokai Teio, Demon King Gold Ship, or even Rice Shower, all of them would become food for her climb to the strongest.
"Fine."
Although Demon King Gold Ship felt that the Overlord had gotten carried away, she did not care. She had only come here to seek amusement and confirm Fusion's potential and limits. Whether the Overlord lost was not something she considered at all. She merely viewed the Overlord as a chess piece.
As for the Overlord's ambition, she naturally knew that too.
After all, not liking to use her brain did not mean she was an idiot. The fact that she could become the Demon King who ruled a world was enough to prove that Demon King Gold Ship had a very good head on her shoulders. She simply did not like using that wisdom most of the time. If she could crush things with power, why use her brain?
"All right. Pick one."
Demon King Gold Ship pointed at the stage outfits nearby.
Overlord: "..."
She had originally planned to pretend this matter did not exist. Why would this Demon King bring up the Winner's Stage herself? Did this person deliberately want to make a joke out of her?
"What, none of them satisfy you?"
Demon King Gold Ship asked.
"What do you want? Say it. I'll make sure you're satisfied!"
Although her influence in this world was not as strong as in her own world, anything that could be solved with money was not a problem.
After a long silence, the Overlord pointed to the stage outfit that was less revealing and said, "That one."
"Unexpectedly plain. I thought you'd prefer something more gorgeous." Demon King Gold Ship sounded rather dissatisfied.
"No. I think this one is good."
The Overlord could not see through this person.
Was she truly missing a screw, or was it deliberate?
"Fine. But once we go back, I'll still find people to design a few stage outfits for you. Always wearing these mass-produced goods is far too embarrassing. At any rate, you are this Demon King's top disciple."
"..."
I never agreed to that relationship.
The Overlord no longer wanted to speak with this person.
She was clearly someone with an astonishing sense of smell, often displaying extraordinary wisdom. Yet sometimes she revealed an extremely childish and bizarre side. It was truly impossible to see which part of her was real.
Unfortunately, the Overlord had no one to whom she could confide this question.
Otherwise, perhaps everyone would have answered unanimously:
That was the terrifying thing about Gold Ship's body.
While the Overlord was being forced by Demon King Gold Ship to prepare for the Winner's Stage, Spica's camp was deathly silent. After seeing the miserable state of [Mejiro McQueen] and [Tokai Teio], Nishizaki Ryu already regretted not listening to Tokai Teio's earlier suggestion and choosing to avoid this race. Who could have imagined that, despite being weaker than [Mejiro McQueen] before the race began, the Overlord could use this method to seize victory?
...
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