The crimson lightning field mercilessly crushed every horse girl.
The range of that domain was simply too vast. Setting aside its specific effects, the sheer size of Symboli Rudolf's domain was extremely rare. Furthermore, her domain was a "gravity field" born from a combination with a "blocking skill". All runners covered by this domain had to pass a mental check. Failing the check would result in being slowed down—"No one is permitted to block the Emperor's path! No disrespect to Chuuou!" That was the Emperor's spiritual symbol, the proof of the strongest!
Commentator Akasaka said in surprise: "Symboli Rudolf is choosing to break out now?"
She was confused.
The race had just begun. For Symboli Rudolf, who runs a "Closer" style, was it necessary to be in such a hurry?
As everyone knows, the earlier an "Escape" runner bursts, the weaker they become later on. Mejiro McQueen and Maruzensky were running so fast now, they would definitely lose speed later. Even if that Mejiro McQueen was the "Great Escape" who won the Kikuka Sho and could last to the end, Symboli Rudolf had no need to burst on the opening straight, right?
After all, this was different from the Kikuka Sho. This time, Mejiro McQueen was not without rivals; Maruzensky was competing with her. For an "Escape" runner, the stamina drain is completely different with or without a competitor.
Besides, for Symboli Rudolf, a "Closer," to charge out now... was she planning to compete directly with Mejiro McQueen, an "Escape" runner? That didn't make sense. Who races like that? In all her years of commentating, she had never seen such a chaotic race. If the one making this choice wasn't Symboli Rudolf, she'd be doubting if this runner even understood racing.
Hosoe said cautiously, "Maybe she just chose the wrong strategy at the start?" For example, maybe she planned to run as a "Closer," but decided to run as a "Leader" after the race began. After all, Symboli Rudolf is also very good at the "Leader" style.
But this explanation didn't make sense. A runner like Symboli Rudolf shouldn't make this kind of mistake. That's the Emperor! Could she not know what strategy to use? And the power she was unleashing was comparable to a final-leg sprint. This didn't look like a change in strategy; it looked like a final-burst state.
But the problem is...
This is still the first section of the race!
The two looked at the male senior colleague accompanying them. He shook his head.
"Just keep commentating. The answer will reveal itself during the race."
"Ahem, the two runners at the very back are Special Week and Gold Ship..." Akasaka quickly recovered and resumed commentating.
Hosoe continued, "We hope these two can persevere and show us a good performance."
You could see that although they were trying to catch up, the pace was too fast. They had no hope of rejoining the pack anytime soon. Anyone could tell these two, who had a late start, were already out of it. Many were surprised that a reliable veteran like Special Week would make the same starting mistake as Gold Ship.
"Aaaah! It's all Maruzensky-senpai's fault for talking to me at the gate!" Special Week was about to explode. She wanted to close the gap, but it wasn't shrinking at all. The others were too fast. She didn't understand! Why was everyone running so hard right from the start?
Aren't they afraid of running out of stamina later?!
Or... have I gotten weaker?
Special Week began to question her existence.
Gold Ship followed behind Special Week.
She saw the gap in front and her expression turned serious.
What should I do? I suddenly don't feel like running.
'We're this far behind... Even with my, the great Gorshi's, ultimate move, I can't catch up. Maybe I should just phone it in.'
They didn't know the "Escape" group was setting the pace. Because the "Escape" group was running so fast, the runners behind them had to speed up, and even then, the gap was widening. It's no wonder they were running so hard. The race's tempo was being completely controlled by Mejiro McQueen.
This is Mejiro McQueen's dominance over a race!
If you don't chase, you're "killed" (eliminated). If you do chase, your rhythm is ruined. The
charm of the "Great Escape" is here: it dominates the entire flow of the race! Its only flaw is that it requires the runner to have overwhelming skill and consumes a lot of stamina. It's not for everyone.
Those who dare use this style are either not too bright and don't care about gassing out, or they have overwhelming skill.
'What incredible steps... her speed is still increasing. It's [McQueen]'s body, but she can accelerate to this level? Is that the power of those "skills"?' Maruzensky watched McQueen's acceleration from behind, astonished. McQueen was performing a multi-stage acceleration. It was an unprecedented technique, a real eye-opener. Simply mystical.
This was information she could only glean from her current distance. McQueen's acceleration wasn't normal. She wasn't just using one burst of energy; she was breaking her limits over and over. It was as if she was shattering her body's limits bit by bit while running. This is something a normal person can't do, but for McQueen, it seemed like an innate instinct, completely effortless.
'I think I know why "Little McQueen's" (her world's McQueen's) trainer said this ability was dangerous. It looks simple when she uses it, but its essence is just like Zone: gaining power by breaking the body's limits. If you're not born with this technique like she is, the difficulty of replicating it must be extremely high. And you'd probably end up doing terrifying damage to your body by accident during practice.'
Maruzensky watched McQueen in awe. What a terrifying talent. It was impossible to imagine how dreadful this running style would be in its prime, in McQueen's original body. She felt that if McQueen's physical stats were close to her own, she would have been left behind already. After all, even with such a large stat gap (in her favor), she could only follow behind. To pass, she'd have to use her trump card. But it's a trump card because you can't use it lightly, and the race has only just begun.
'Just where are your limits?'
Maruzensky didn't dare think about it further. McQueen's logic-defying power was too terrifying. Even if someone begged her to learn those skills now, she'd have to hesitate. She'd suspect they were trying to murder her. How could such a monstrous ability be easy to learn?
Mejiro McQueen was still accelerating!
The only ones who could be called "Escape" runners now were McQueen and Maruzensky. Mejiro Zeness (目白善信) could no longer keep up. That wasn't acceleration; whose acceleration has no limit?
Mejiro Zeness even felt the two of them were just playing.
'Are they just... revealing their strength bit by bit? How is this possible? Senpai (Maruzensky) being this strong, I can understand. But how can [McQueen]'s body run this fast? The previous check-ups and training all proved [McQueen]'s body hadn't changed. But why...' Zeness couldn't understand how that McQueen was doing it.
It wasn't strange for Maruzensky to do this.
Because no one knew her true strength; she was an unfathomable senior. But why McQueen? If this was that McQueen's original body, fine. But this was [McQueen]'s body!
After the Kikuka Sho, the head of the family had called [McQueen] back and run a series of detailed check-ups, confirming there were no ill effects, and confirming [McQueen] could not replicate the other McQueen's running style. That's why they didn't dig deeper.
After all, they didn't know the other McQueen's origin. It wasn't until [McQueen] started dreaming that they learned it was a McQueen from another world. But [McQueen] hadn't learned her running style, and they didn't know how to make her reappear. No matter what ideas they had, it was meaningless. They could do nothing.
When this McQueen reappeared, the Mejiro horse girls mobilized immediately, but were stopped by Rudolf. Chuuou (the "central" authority) had to make contact first. The Mejiro family had to wait in line.
Mejiro Zeness and the others were here on a mission to contact McQueen. They joined the race to observe her strength. But now, Zeness was questioning her existence. How could she be this strong?
Is that really just another world's McQueen, and not the Three Goddesses possessing her?
[McQueen], you have to... come out and see! Your body can run this fast!
A certain "Miss Rice Cake" in spirit form: "..."
Hahaha! As expected of me! I'm so strong! Go! Let's seize victory together! The spirit-form [McQueen] waved her little fists. Feeling the power in her body, she had never felt anything so wonderful. With this power, Tokai Teio is nothing!
Neither the President (Kaichou) nor Akebono-neechan (高峰姐) are my match!
The glory of the Mejiro family is me—Mejiro McQueen-da!
Realizing no one could see her in this state, [McQueen] was clearly getting reckless.
Of course, the influence of the great power was also a factor. Even if this sudden power was "fake," it was enough to make [McQueen] swell with pride. No one knew she was acting this way. If they did, she would probably die of social embarrassment.
Mejiro McQueen felt the ZONE aura from behind, but her mood didn't waver. She just maintained her own rhythm.
Under the effect of her ZONE, her skill durations were extended.
Just increasing skill duration might not seem strong, but if you have many skills, you can do things like this—
Entering the corner, before her previous skill's effect had worn off, McQueen activated a new skill! Skill effects can stack. But normally, due to timing and duration restrictions, the number of skills she could stack was very limited.
But now, it was different.
With her Zone's buff, her skill durations were extended. Combined with her increased speed, she could reach the next "node" to activate another skill sooner. And so, just like a combo in a video game...
Mejiro McQueen's "status" was continuously stacking and rising!
And the most terrifying part was: her Zone's duration extension was based on the last skill activated. Meaning, if she stacked a new skill before the previous one expired, the Zone's timer would refresh and extend the entire stack's duration. This accumulated power could defeat any opponent!
This is why Mejiro McQueen felt she was too strong. In the face of this power, who could possibly be her rival?
If not for the fact that stacking skills caused physical damage, she would feel invincible. This wasn't blind confidence; it was a fact.
'Come on, Emperor. I'll show you what it means to be the strongest.'
...
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