"The race has reached the final turn!"
"1500 meters cleared!"
"Currently still leading is the breakaway Mihono Bourbon, but second-place Mejiro McQueen is only a hair behind! Right behind her is Rice Shower—"
"Wait!"
"Venus Paques! Venus Paques is catching up from behind!"
"Four lengths, three lengths, two lengths... She's only two lengths behind fourth-place Tokai Teio! That explosive power is incredible! Does Venus Paques still have a chance? But Tokai Teio isn't giving ground either—the two are in fierce competition for position! Those two are catching up—what will the leaders do now!"
Continuous skill flashes sparkled across Venus Paques's body. With multiple skill buffs and continuous skill activation, she displayed world-class ability!
Blue lightning cut through the air as Venus Paques's eyes began to glow—the sign of entering ZONE!
I can't lose! I can't lose here like this! I absolutely won't lose!
Electric light in her eyes traced a line through the air. That terrifying presence surged toward Tokai Teio ahead. Even though they were in the turn, Venus Paques's burst showed no sign of weakening. In mere moments, Venus Paques had closed from over six lengths away to just one length behind.
Tokai Teio's expression turned serious as she glanced at the shadow catching up on the grass behind her. Her heart shook violently—this situation was completely beyond her expectations.
Get out of my way!
Damn it! Don't underestimate me!
Their presences clashed violently in the air. Just as Venus Paques looked about to catch up, a burst of red aura suddenly exploded. Tokai Teio, who had seemed about to be overtaken, suddenly accelerated, pulling away from Venus Paques once more.
Although Tokai Teio had originally planned to wait a bit longer before bursting—since McQueen hadn't revealed her trump card yet and Rice Shower hadn't been fully pinned down by McQueen—she absolutely could not accept being used as a stepping stone by this newcomer!
I won't let you catch up!
Right now, Tokai Teio would rather lose to Rice Shower and McQueen again than let her ranking in this race fall below a newcomer who had only debuted a year ago.
Watching her quarry suddenly accelerate and escape, Venus Paques's eyes flashed red as she converted her mental force into binding power and hurled it forward!
You're not getting away!
Though she normally called everyone "senpai" this and "senpai" that, right now Venus Paques's eyes were filled with killing intent.
She had entered this race to defeat The Overlord. Tokai Teio was never her target, but right now this senpai was too much of an obstacle!
The blocking technique instantly locked onto Tokai Teio. The sudden heaviness made Tokai Teio's expression change dramatically. This unexpected interference made her even more disadvantaged. The trump cards she had planned to use against McQueen and Rice Shower were being forced out again and again by Venus Paques.
"What intense competition! Venus Paques and Tokai Teio are surging up from behind!"
Under Venus Paques's forced interference, Tokai Teio had no choice but to activate ZONE early. Though she had planned to save it for Rice Shower, this newcomer wasn't an opponent she could defeat while holding back.
Fighting each other while advancing, the two caught up to the leaders.
"What the hell is with that girl? She fell behind by that much and still caught up to Tokai Teio!"
Daiwa Scarlet stared in shock, eyes wide.
That explosive power was terrifying. Could a newcomer who had only debuted less than a year ago really possess that kind of strength? Even Rice Shower hadn't been this scary when she debuted.
"This is bad—Tokai Teio's been targeted by that girl."
Trainer Okino's expression was tense. Because of this Venus Paques, Tokai Teio's entire racing rhythm had been thrown off. Though she appeared to have caught up to the leaders now, with her skill timing disrupted, she wouldn't be able to match the pace of those three ahead.
On another side, Mihono Bourbon's trainer watched the current situation with tense, clenched fists.
No good! Though she appears to be leading, Bourbon's energy is already declining. As expected of McQueen—to think she could force Bourbon into this desperate situation using this method. At this rate, Bourbon's speed will give out before we even reach the final straightaway!
The large screen showed Mihono Bourbon's breathing had become labored, and she was wiping away sweat more frequently. Clearly her current state was quite exhausted. Though her focus remained in Flow state, physical fatigue and declining energy couldn't be replaced by willpower alone.
"The final straightaway is just ahead!"
The moment the commentator's voice rang out, Mejiro McQueen suddenly burst out from behind Mihono Bourbon. Accompanied by rainbow-colored skill flashes, she instantly pulled even. Seeing McQueen surge up beside her, Mihono Bourbon forced herself to focus and tried to use a skill, but the light that appeared was too weak, nowhere near the original skill's effect. Mejiro McQueen quickly overtook her.
"Mejiro McQueen has taken first place!"
"The final straightaway!"
"Less than 400 meters on this straight—at this pace, it'll be over quickly! Can any competitor still surge ahead?"
"First in popularity—Rice Shower!"
Pitch-black dominating aura swallowed all light.
Both of Rice Shower's eyes became visible in this moment as dark blue and deep blue flames bloomed simultaneously!
Accompanied by the effect of blue rose petals scattering, Rice Shower surged past Mejiro McQueen's left side in an instant. In that moment, Mejiro McQueen nearly stopped breathing.
A split second of lost focus.
Mejiro McQueen screamed!
"DAMN IT!"
Her feet pounded forward heavily, cratering the grass before tearing it up along with the soil.
Power explosion!
At this moment, her brain had stopped thinking. She mindlessly released skills.
Under the effects of multiple skills, she barely managed to catch Rice Shower's slipstream.
"Rice Shower makes her move!"
"But Mejiro McQueen is still fighting to catch up!"
"Is it Rice Shower? Or Mejiro McQueen?"
"It's between these two!"
Given the current gap, it was already certain the final victor would come from between these two.
Though Tokai Teio and Venus Paques behind were also chasing with considerable explosive power, they clearly couldn't close this distance.
Why?
Why?
Why!
Mejiro McQueen looked at that pitch-black figure ahead, questioning herself repeatedly.
Why can't I close the distance?!
She had already surpassed her limits, so why couldn't she break free from that abyss?!
Why couldn't she see the bottom of that darkness?!
She couldn't understand it, couldn't accept it. What on earth was—
Just as Mejiro McQueen was still transfixed by Rice Shower's back, the sudden explosion of fireworks and the sound of crossing the finish line awakened her.
While she had been chasing that back, they had already crossed the finish line.
"Crossing the line!"
"The winner is Rice Shower!"
"She has magnificently dominated this Grand Prix! The legend of the strongest has once again left a bold mark in history!"
"Second place is Mejiro McQueen!"
"Third place is Tokai Teio!"
Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
...
The Takarazuka Kinen concluded.
The highly anticipated overseas exchange student Venus Paques lost with a fourth-place finish, becoming major international news. After all, when the exchange race was announced, everyone had been hyping up Venus Paques, believing her strength could crush all of Japan's active competitors.
At the time, even Rice Shower, last year's world number one in ratings, wasn't favored by fans outside Japan. Everyone thought Rice Shower could only dominate in Japanese races and would surely be put in her place against a world-class monster like Venus Paques—especially after P announced Rice Shower wouldn't participate in the overseas exchange race, when such opinions gained widespread agreement.
So overseas fans had expected Venus Paques to defeat Japan's current strongest before this race.
But the result defied their expectations.
Never mind winning—they never imagined Venus Paques wouldn't even crack the top three.
Currently online, the blogger who had been first to heap praise on one side while trampling the other was now spouting:
"Venus Paques is just a newcomer after all. Losing in a competition at this level isn't surprising."
"Do you really need to make excuses? Venus Paques's performance at the end of this race wasn't bad at all. Are you trying to deny even that?"
"Just accept it. Rice Shower is the current world's strongest. Ratings don't lie. And speaking of race levels, don't forget Rice Shower participated in both the Japan Cup and Arima Kinen last year, and she won both! Finally, do you even understand how impressive Rice Shower's undefeated nine crowns is?!"
"Yeah, just watch Rice Shower's previous race recordings to see how strong the current world's strongest is. It's just a shame we won't see Rice Shower compete in the Arc de Triomphe this year."
"What were you even basing your hype of Venus Paques on before the race? A competitor who just debuted and has only run three races—how could she possibly compete against Rice Shower, Mejiro McQueen, and Tokai Teio? Just because Venus Paques is Legacy World's student?"
"What's the point of comparing number of races and levels? There have been monsters who beat world champions shortly after debuting!"
The internet was in an uproar.
But after this race, Rice Shower's strength was acknowledged by most people worldwide, no longer confined just to Japanese circles.
Though because Rice Shower hadn't competed overseas, some people still refused to accept it.
Meanwhile, at Tracen Academy.
Rice Shower's leave request had been approved.
So she hesitated no longer. That stage clear mission she had been putting off was finally submitted.
There was no confirmation prompt, no system popup—just a feeling.
The moment Rice Shower made her decision, that sensation she'd always carried in her heart suddenly relaxed.
In the next moment, guided by intuition, she reached for the door handle. She could feel her seniors' presence just beyond the door.
The instant she opened the door, Rice Shower's figure vanished from this world.
On the training grounds.
Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio were intensifying their training.
The previous Takarazuka Kinen had once again made them realize something.
The gap between them and Rice Shower remained unfathomable. They didn't even have the qualifications to make Rice Shower get serious.
In the exchange student dormitory, Venus Paques, who had been sleeping in, was dragged out of bed by Legacy World.
Right after losing that race, Venus Paques had uncharacteristically changed her ways—not only stopping her lazy sleeping in, but even training more seriously.
But this state hadn't lasted a week before she reverted to her old self, much to Legacy World's displeasure.
This world continued moving forward. No one could detect that this world had now synchronized with the other timelines, even time itself aligning.
...
System Space.
Rice Shower found herself back in that small rented room.
Mejiro McQueen had just been running a custom race against the system's AI. Upon learning Rice Shower had returned, she immediately stopped the race and came back to the system space.
In another world, Gold Ship, who had been slacking off in the Demon King Corporation's office building, decisively dropped her work and ran to the system space after receiving the system notification.
Tokai Teio, who had only returned to her own world two days ago, also immediately set aside her student council work.
"I'm back."
"Hmph~"
"Welcome back."
"Welcome back, Rice Shower. Congratulations on clearing the stage."
Gold Ship had just lifted her chin and huffed coldly when Mejiro McQueen responded to Rice Shower, followed by Tokai Teio who had just arrived. Gold Ship's expression immediately changed.
"Not bad. You're much stronger than a certain someone."
"..."
Tokai Teio felt like the Demon King was implying something.
"Thank you, but this was largely thanks to your help before, Sisters."
Rice Shower hadn't forgotten that guidance match from before. Without it, she might still be stuck in a mental rut.
Tokai Teio smiled. "Well, since you call us 'Sister,' it's only natural for sisters to help each other."
"Hmph~ Speaking of which, a certain someone has no awareness that she's the little sister."
Gold Ship crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head back to look down at Tokai Teio through her nose.
Tokai Teio's eyebrow twitched.
"Heh, don't forget—going by our original ages, you're actually the youngest among us."
"They are they, we are we. You're not stupid enough to confuse the two, are you?"
Gold Ship had no intention of letting Tokai Teio off. Today she would make this arrogant one recognize her place in the family hierarchy!
She, the Great Demon King, was the second eldest sister in this family!
"..."
Rice Shower watched the two about to argue again, momentarily at a loss.
Mejiro McQueen didn't get involved. She sat at the system computer, preparing to update the next character.