"We're entering the final curve, and all competitors are giving it everything they've got! Currently in the lead are Team [ ]'s Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio—could the outcome of this race be decided right here?!"
Commentator Kojiro's voice boomed from the broadcast tower.
But neither Mejiro McQueen nor Tokai Teio, separated by three lengths, paid any attention to the announcer. They both knew full well that their opponents were no longer the other teams' runners!
McQueen, I'd expect nothing less from you. Even with everyone targeting you, you've maintained your lead this far. I'm guessing your plan is to use skills to lock in your stamina and stay ahead until the end. But—
As she flipped some internal switch, the world in Tokai Teio's vision began to slow. Everything seemed to freeze in suspended animation.
In the spectator stands.
At the commentary booth.
And every other competitor on the track.
All of them stared in shock at this accelerated mental realm.
What's happening?! The other runners fell into panic mid-stride.
Not only had time around them seemingly stopped—their bodies had too. Only their thoughts remained active.
But then they noticed: the two at the front were still moving!
Mejiro McQueen was shrouded in a rainbow-like aurora.
Even though her speed appeared significantly reduced, she was definitely still running forward in this near-frozen world.
Seeing this, Tokai Teio's confident expression wavered for the first time. This was beyond her expectations!
She's moving through sheer willpower and speed alone?!
That single moment of distraction widened the gap again. Teio quickly refocused and launched herself forward.
Even though McQueen's feet were still moving, she couldn't reach her normal speed in this state. The distance between them was gradually closing.
But as the gap shrank and time crept forward, sweat began beading on Tokai Teio's forehead.
Overdrive was taking too heavy a toll on her body.
And because of my earlier burst, my body can't handle Overdrive's effects anymore?
How much time had passed in reality? Half a second? One second? Teio didn't know, but this definitely wasn't the limit she could normally reach.
Even though she'd released all her previous skill effects the instant she activated Overdrive, her body still couldn't withstand the strain.
After all, Overdrive wasn't like Clock Up from Kamen Rider Kabuto—it only looked similar.
In reality, it combined mental acceleration with physical acceleration, allowing her body to move in this accelerated world. The strain on the body was nothing short of lethal!
Without going through the system's training regimen to build her body to a certain level of strength, even if an ordinary Uma Musume could comprehend this technique, she wouldn't be able to activate its effects.
What Teio hadn't anticipated was that after sharing experiences, McQueen could also maintain some mobility in the accelerated world.
No—I should have expected this. Why did I assume I'd be the only one who could move in this world?
The accelerated world itself wasn't her ability. Her ability was being able to move freely within it.
In other words, as long as someone could perceive this world's existence and possessed sufficient physical capability, they could potentially break through the accelerated world's restrictions.
And the two who shared her memories naturally had the potential to enter this "world" as well!
Even so, Tokai Teio still held the advantage!
Though McQueen was still running, her current speed was actually much slower than normal.
Teio successfully closed the gap to less than one length.
Almost there!
But at that instant, the frozen world suddenly resumed its flow. They exited the accelerated state.
Mejiro McQueen's speed returned to normal in that same moment. A flash of light spread from beneath her feet, and in the blink of an eye, the distance between them widened again.
And from McQueen's unchanged expression, it was clear—everything had gone according to her predictions. Tokai Teio's performance hadn't exceeded her expectations!
Tokai Teio gritted her teeth. I couldn't grasp the future?
So close.
No.
Was it really just "close"?
She felt like she'd only caught a trace of the future, not truly grasped it.
Overdrive was merely a key, a possibility. It wasn't the future itself!
Tokai Teio understood this deeply in that moment.
The broadcast tower's audio returned to normal.
"What just happened?! I see—that was Tokai Teio's skill! That was Tokai Teio's skill just now!"
Commentator Kojiro, startled at first, quickly checked the system information and returned to calling the race.
"What a powerful technique! But unfortunately, she fell just short—Tokai Teio was so close to taking first place!"
Even Kojiro could see what was happening now. Team [ ]'s members were fighting each other!
After Overdrive ended.
Both Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen quickly entered the final straightaway.
The competitors behind them had been completely left in the dust. This wasn't just a gap of ten lengths or more.
This was the terrifying power of Overdrive—not just an explosive skill, but an incredibly potent field control ability!
Just when everyone thought the race's outcome was decided—
Terrifying footsteps suddenly thundered forward!
The Overlord, wreathed in dark crimson light, shot across the track like lightning—so fast that human eyes could barely track her.
In the next instant, numerous competitors discovered their abilities had been sealed.
Neither skills nor ZONE could be activated. They'd been completely locked down by the Overlord's Domain!
Monster!
Narita Road's expression crumbled.
She'd thought the "Overlord" Opera O on her own team was already an unreasonable existence.
But arriving at this place, she realized there were even more terrifying monsters.
Whether it was the impossibly strong Mejiro McQueen, the seemingly limitless Tokai Teio, or the Overlord who'd just exploded forward again—
All three of them were utterly abnormal beings!
Behind them, Daiwa Scarlet and the other three watched those three figures ahead with bitter frustration.
They'd never imagined Tokai Teio possessed an unreasonable skill like Overdrive, let alone that Gold Ship could move in that world.
They couldn't even react before the Overlord sealed them. Only after their abilities were locked did they understand what that earlier dread had been about.
Who could have predicted the Overlord's ZONE was this type?!
Completely abandoning self-enhancement, purely designed to interfere with opponents—what kind of twisted mentality could awaken such a domain?
And the Overlord's strength wasn't limited to just her ZONE...
That explosive power surpassed even Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio!
"Gold Ship has caught up at this moment!"
"So fast! Such incredible explosive power—even the most advanced cameras only captured afterimages! Can such speed actually exist?!"
Both Kojiro and Musashi couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.
The kitten in Musashi's arms wore an expression of existential crisis that looked almost human.
If one could see attribute values, they would see Gold Ship's speed breaking through the 1200 limit, rising by 100 points per second.
In mere moments, that value had surpassed the 1600 limit that Mejiro McQueen could achieve, reaching 1700 points!
The dark crimson lightning flowing around Gold Ship looked like blood erupting from within her body.
The sight was utterly terrifying—unmistakably the visage of an Overlord from the abyss.
Get lost, second-rate nobody!
The Overlord's presence crashed toward Tokai Teio.
Having already achieved initial mastery of Overload Mode, the Overlord had every right to look down on the still-developing Tokai Teio.
A genius who hadn't fully matured was just a genius in the end. Stand down before this Overlord!
Tokai Teio instinctively tried to use a skill, but the emptiness and stabbing pain from within her body brought unprecedented humiliation.
I've hit my limit?
This is my current limit?
I... actually have limits?
These three questions shattered Tokai Teio's confidence.
Having just failed to challenge McQueen, and now being forced by the Overlord to confront her own limitations—for the first time, the ever-proud Tokai Teio tasted defeat.
Had she really overestimated herself?
She'd done something even McQueen couldn't do. She'd believed she'd mastered both McQueen's and the Overlord's powers. So why couldn't she touch the world where those two existed?
Even if there was a gap, it shouldn't be this large. What was she lacking compared to them?
While Tokai Teio doubted herself, Gold Ship mercilessly overtook her and used ZONE's power to completely seal her.
Then the Overlord's gaze returned to the hero ahead.
So you've mastered that power, Gold Ship.
Mejiro McQueen felt a chill.
The speed Gold Ship displayed in Overload Mode had surpassed what she understood as the limit.
Even entering the highest level of Flow couldn't achieve such speed.
Even if one could express 100% of their body's power, such speed was impossible.
Like Tokai Teio's Overdrive, Gold Ship's Overload Mode was a technique outsiders couldn't comprehend.
Even with their shared memories, Mejiro McQueen couldn't understand it.
The physical limit for Uma Musume was 1200 points.
With skill bursts added, McQueen calculated speeds around 1400 points.
Her ZONE, when activated, could push that value to between 1500 and 1600 points.
Tokai Teio's multi-stage skill stacking could touch the 1500 threshold, but her biggest problem was maintaining that state.
As for Overdrive—rather than an explosive speed technique, it seemed more like a control skill.
But in truth, as long as one could clearly perceive that world mentally and achieve sufficient physical attributes, they could maintain activity in that state.
Of course, moving as freely as Tokai Teio normally did was still impossible.
What exactly was missing? Even Mejiro McQueen didn't know.
Gold Ship's Overload Mode was the same.
Another technique McQueen understood in principle but couldn't comprehend or master.
How could one generate power that didn't exist in the body?
Such a thing should be impossible, yet Gold Ship had done it.
And the answer from Gold Ship's memories was singular.
Willpower!
Powerful will could transform the impossible into possible—even drag gods down from the heavens.
But this explanation—Mejiro McQueen couldn't comprehend it.
The Uma Musume world wasn't exactly scientific, but wasn't this purely spiritual ability going too far?
Hahaha! This feels amazing! This is the realm you reach after surpassing the strongest! Thanks to you, I can touch this realm, McQueen!!!
Though her entire body screamed with tearing pain, Gold Ship ignored it completely, immersed in the overflowing sense of power. Right now, she felt invincible!
I don't need to wait for later or someday—right here, right now, I'll bring down the whip of complete defeat! Prepare yourself, McQueen!!!
The final 100 meters. Gold Ship had caught up.
It looked like McQueen couldn't escape.
After all that targeting, her skill pool was essentially depleted. Her stamina was exhausted too—she was only locking in her stamina state through her inherent skill's effect.
Her ZONE's unparalleled explosive power after activation still wasn't enough against Gold Ship's Overload Mode.
And Gold Ship clearly wouldn't collapse at the end like last time.
Everyone watching held their breath.
One hundred meters—for these two right now, it was a distance that could be crossed in the blink of an eye.
Soon, two figures—one white, one red—crossed the finish line side by side.
The finish line cannons fired. The results were about to appear on the big screen.
But at that moment, a brand new ZONE erupted from behind.
Everything began to rewind!
Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship's figures returned to where they'd been three seconds ago.
And the cause of all this was—Tokai Teio!
Blazing with radiant light, transformed into something like the sun itself, Tokai Teio gazed at the world that had stopped and even reversed, lost in thought.
How unexpected. So this is my ZONE's effect? And though it's late to say this now, it seems my ZONE was complete from the very beginning.
Time reversal complete. Both Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship's expressions froze for a moment.
Though they had no memory of what had just happened, instinct told them something was wrong.
For some reason, they both had the strange feeling they'd just crossed the finish line.
But footsteps suddenly thundering from behind gave them no time to think.
Tokai Teio had caught up. This surprised both of them.
She broke through my seal?!
Gold Ship frowned.
Her ZONE—even McQueen couldn't escape once it hit.
The reason McQueen could ignore her ZONE was because it couldn't lock onto McQueen, meaning it couldn't hit her. Not that McQueen was actually immune!
But Tokai Teio had been hit by her ZONE and still recovered.
What was going on?
The answer lay in Tokai Teio's ZONE. It wasn't simply rewinding the world by three seconds.
After all, even if you reversed time, you couldn't change the future. So Tokai Teio's ZONE came with another effect: refreshing her own state.
Not refreshing skills. Not recovering stamina. Refreshing her state.
Stamina didn't increase. Used skills didn't return. But all negative effects on her—including seals and fatigue—vanished due to the state refresh.
This was Tokai Teio's ZONE. This was what it meant to be ultimate.
The future was in my hands from the very beginning. Now I finally understand what that phrase means. Before, I was too focused on you two, which kept me from concentrating on my own running style!
Why hadn't she wanted to awaken ZONE? Tokai Teio's previous answer had been: she wanted to use the ZONE awakening ritual to gain power that surpassed those two.
But that thinking was wrong. The "Emperor" from McQueen's world had already given the answer—wanting to defeat your opponents by gaining power to counter them was completely wrong thinking.
What mattered wasn't how to defeat opponents. What mattered was wanting to win. Opponents didn't matter at all. What mattered was what you needed to do to win!
Don't set opponents for yourself. Don't set limits for yourself. Such things only restrict your possibilities!
Win no matter the circumstances. Race with that resolve, and the future and victory will answer your call.
So she shouldn't have been thinking about any of this. Since ZONE's power was already in her hands, what reason did she have not to use it?
There was no such reason. So she stopped hesitating and reached for that door.
And the moment she chose to grasp the future, the future answered her call, delivering victory into her hands.
Even facing such a desperate situation—
You can create entirely new possibilities!
This was the future's answer to Tokai Teio.
That's right. The race isn't over. I haven't lost!
Tokai Teio burst forward with skills once more!
Less than 100 meters to the finish line. For all three of them, that was a distance they could cross in three seconds!
...
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