The appearance of [Overlord Rice Shower] was like a god descending from the heavens.
She brought a terrifying wind of revolution to [Mejiro McQueen]'s world. Her overwhelming power inspired both fear and longing.
Although many umamusume despised her method of stealing her opponents' power and regarded it as a crooked path, such profound darkness was unprecedented. [Overlord Rice Shower]'s speed of evolution had surpassed their understanding. By now, she had truly become unstoppable.
"At this point, I have no choice but to go myself."
Dressed in a white formal outfit, with a red cape draped over her shoulders like a prince on a white horse, Tokai Teio stepped onto today's racecourse against the wind. As she raised her hand, the sun at the edge of the sky suddenly shone brighter. In that moment, the whole world seemed to revolve around her. She lifted her confident face and smiled as if to say, "It's all right, because I'm here."
"Now entering is number 1, Tokai Teio from another world. Veteran spectators should already be quite familiar with this Tokai Teio. She is a legendary powerhouse from the dimensional tournament!"
"What kind of incredible race will she show us today? Can she strike a blow against the momentum of that Dark Overlord?"
The commentator introduced the runners for this race with both nervousness and excitement.
Emotionally, she could not accept these runners from other worlds coming here to smash the field. But as an umamusume fan, being able to witness legendary umamusume like this was worth the ticket price all on its own. How could she refuse a race and runners like these? She simply could not. Being able to commentate this race was wonderful!
"How shameful. We actually have to let that child risk herself to help us."
Symboli Rudolf's feelings were complicated. If possible, she wanted to overcome every difficulty through their own efforts, especially when facing an opponent who was charging at them openly and honorably. But she had to admit that before [Overlord], this powerful dark umamusume, they had no other option now.
They could only entrust their hopes to this Teio.
"Please, Teio. Win this."
This was a race they absolutely could not lose.
Maruzensky and Air Groove, standing beside her, saw Rudolf like this and comforted her, believing that today's Tokai Teio would surely win.
"It'll be fine. Teio is very strong, after all."
Maruzensky smiled.
"Yes. After all, she is the successor recognized by the other world's you, an Emperor entrusted with opening a new era!"
Aside from being a little narcissistic, she was practically the perfect genius.
A genius like that always brought surprises.
Air Groove also believed that Teio would answer their expectations.
"That girl really entered the field."
This world's [Tokai Teio] wore a serious expression.
Other me, can you really win?
She looked at the runners in this race.
Aside from the other Tokai Teio and [Overlord Rice Shower], there were other participants running as well. But from aura alone, one could tell that only those two were different. They were like protagonists standing out in a film. Their unique and powerful presence shook every spectator to the core.
She did not want to say it, but sure enough, even though they had improved a great deal, they still could not touch monsters like these.
"So strong. Before the race has even begun, I can't tell who will win."
Saying such weak-sounding words with effort, [Mejiro McQueen], who should have been full of confidence, was now covered in sweat. Only she, who stood closest to those two, could clearly understand what kind of umamusume they were. They were already like legends that could not be surpassed.
Without outside interference or environmental factors, she could not imagine either of them losing. It was not as if she had never seen the other Tokai Teio lose, but even having seen Tokai Teio's defeat did not affect how she felt at this moment. The aura Tokai Teio was displaying now was simply that powerful.
She could not lose. She would absolutely win!
Only someone with a true belief in invincibility could display such a powerful aura. And now there were two such people on the field. How could anyone not feel excited by that?
"How astonishing."
[Gold Ship] narrowed her eyes.
There was no need to even mention how terrifying [Overlord Rice Shower]'s aura had become. That ZONE which seized power by force was simply too ruthless. It was only natural that such an extreme dark umamusume would be so powerful. Otherwise, she would never have had the chance to become a threat to an entire world.
But Tokai Teio's situation surprised her.
She knew this Teio was strong.
But she had thought of her only as a genius with great strength.
After seeing someone like Mejiro McQueen, [Gold Ship] was no longer surprised by the so-called monsters and geniuses who appeared later. None of them displayed the kind of powerful conviction Mejiro McQueen possessed. They merely had powerful talent and strength.
But now...
This Tokai Teio was showing an unparalleled conviction. She was no longer a genius enjoying a race. She was an Emperor going into battle with absolute confidence in victory, fighting purely to win.
"Hahaha, interesting. So this is the conviction of a king?"
Demon King Gold Ship's eyes lit up with delight.
This third-rate umamusume had bared her fangs.
Not for her own victory, but to protect.
Was this your strongest form?
Then let this Demon King witness your royal road!
"The next umamusume to be introduced is the supernova currently drawing intense attention. At present, her origins are unknown. Even the runner's real name is unknown. She first debuted in regional races as an illegal intruder, using wicked power to eliminate every opponent and end the race: the Dark Overlord! Although she is a dark fighter, the running style she displayed was simply too powerful, and so she was granted an exception and qualified as a professional umamusume. Now, as a dark umamusume, she has defeated the strongest star runner in this year's Twinkle Series. Will today be her new beginning, or her end?"
Wearing a coat like heavy armor, with black hair draped over her shoulders and golden eyes like burning flames, she stood before the gate marked with the number 9. Each step seemed as if it could cause the ground to shake. She had done nothing at all, yet a single lift of her eyes seemed to send infinite pressure through the television screen. That was the umamusume known as the Dark Overlord. Her strength was obvious at a glance.
"..."
[Rice Shower] and Mihono Bourbon were watching the race on a phone. Originally, Rice Shower had planned to enter these two races, but the fatigue and hidden injuries accumulated through extreme training, combined with the sudden appearance of this Overlord, had disrupted her schedule.
Looking at the Overlord's appearance, [Rice Shower] was deeply doubtful.
Was this person truly another version of herself from another world?
She had met another self before. Though that self had similar power, her personality and aura were completely different from this Overlord's.
"Unbelievable."
Mihono Bourbon's Trainer spoke from beside them.
"I've only heard rumors, but does such a frightening ability really exist? This girl isn't just powerful in terms of presence. Her body looks as if it has been tempered thousands of times, and I can't see any weakness in it. Perfect is the only word for it."
A body developed to the extreme in every direction. That was not something training alone could accomplish. It was his first time seeing someone so terrifying. This was no longer something a Trainer could raise.
Hearing this, [Rice Shower] felt both dejected and unwilling.
Seeing that, the Trainer said bluntly, "There's no need to feel upset about being unable to enter the race. That girl is not an opponent you can face right now. If you appeared there, you would be crushed in an instant. Even without mentioning her special ability, your confidence would be destroyed by racing her!"
Similar scenes were appearing at many training grounds.
Trainers with sharp eyes all understood that this was absolutely not an opponent the children of their world could face. They were almost ninety percent certain that the Dark Overlord was not an umamusume born in this world. Like that Tokai Teio, she had come from a higher-level parallel world. Only that could explain her abnormal talent and ability.
At the same time, just as the race between Tokai Teio and the Overlord was about to begin, Mejiro McQueen and the others elsewhere also sensed something.
Their reactions differed.
Some, like McQueen and Halo, chose to ignore it.
Others, like Kitasan Black, headed to the venue.
"What happened?"
Kitasan Black felt as if she had missed a great deal.
After entering the race venue, she went straight to the front row of the stands. The crowd was somewhat packed, but with her strength, squeezing through it was not difficult.
When she saw the two girls below, she stared in shock.
"Teio-senpai... Rice Shower-senpai? No, that's..."
Kitasan Black's eyes shook.
That was the Overlord-senpai from Rice Shower-senpai's memories.
She had never personally interacted with Overlord-senpai. Everything she knew about her came from memories inherited from the other seniors.
But how could Overlord-senpai have appeared in the real world?
And that... was not Rice Shower-senpai at all, was it?
Kitasan Black realized it. This was not Overlord-senpai controlling Rice Shower-senpai's body. This was Overlord-senpai, truly manifested in the world. That body perfectly suited Overlord-senpai's talent.
"What exactly happened?"
"Another me..."
Rice Shower was also watching the race.
She looked worriedly at the two opponents.
Although she did not want to see such a cruel race, because this was no longer the shining race it had originally been, she also understood that the other her had to be defeated here.
So she silently cheered for Teio-oneechan.
You have to win, Teio-oneechan!
Inside the racecourse, after all participants had been introduced, the start signal lit up.
Before entering the gate, Tokai Teio turned to look at the Overlord.
The Overlord seemed to sense it as well and looked over at the same time.
Their gazes met.
"Overlord, I will stop you here!"
Tokai Teio's thoughts reached her.
"I will win, because this time I absolutely cannot lose!"
That powerful conviction shone like the sun.
Seeing this, even the Overlord fell silent for a moment.
Tokai Teio's strongest form?
It was her first time knowing of it, and her first time seeing it.
But...
"Then let me show you what true ultimate means."
An infinite dark pressure erupted.
Tokai Teio, who called herself ultimate, seemed to see an even stronger ultimate in that moment. But the shock in her heart was suppressed in an instant. Even so, she had a reason she could not lose.
She absolutely could not let the Overlord continue.
Before the Overlord caused a great mistake, while everything could still be saved, as the other girl's older sister, she had to stop her.
With that conviction, Tokai Teio stepped into the gate.
As the gate closed, the voices in the venue began to fade. Carrying the hopes and dreams of countless people, the umamusume who had stepped onto the race with their own wishes were ready.
"All runners are ready!"
"The start signal has begun its countdown!"
"Now, the Takarazuka Kinen officially begins!"
The gates opened.
The runners charged onto the track together.
"All runners have completed their starts. No one has fallen behind."
"Numbers 6 and 4 are front-runners and have begun bursting out first!"
The two Runners wanted to seize an advantage in the opening phase.
The contest for position began there.
The Leaders in the front group also wanted to control the rhythm.
But in that instant, dazzling colored light covered every runner's field of vision in the wind. Like a drop of water falling into a lake, the original rhythm was thrown into chaos by that single action.
Tokai Teio, wrapped in gray-white light, charged out of the crowd with a serious expression. In almost an instant, she broke through the front ranks. Before numbers 6 and 4 could react, she had already rushed to the very front of the track.
"What? The one who seized the lead first is number 1, Tokai Teio! This is beyond everyone's expectations! What is going on?"
It was surprising enough that Tokai Teio had taken the lead in the opening phase.
What was even more surprising was that Tokai Teio's registered preferred running style for this race was Leader. Had she grown impatient after the race began? But that calm appearance did not seem like it.
"Although we do not know what she is thinking, Tokai Teio has enough strength to handle this running style. Let us watch."
The quiet host also spoke at this point.
Tokai Teio's performance shocked everyone.
Even Demon King Gold Ship, who was watching, was somewhat surprised.
"Oh? I see. So that's what you're thinking."
With her sharp mind, she quickly understood.
This girl had not changed her running style.
Normally, a runner's style was affected by factors such as the opponents in the race. For example, someone like Gold Ship herself, even if she had the strength to crush every opponent, would still instinctively choose to follow at the very back of the pack if she entered a race as a Chaser. In reality, with her strength, she could easily surpass all the small fry ahead of her and run straight to the front.
But she would not do that.
That was the basic limitation of running style.
Even with enough strength, one would still be constrained by that common understanding. If one did not follow it, one might be unable to bring out all of one's strength in the race, or might even overturn disastrously.
Demon King Gold Ship looked thoughtfully at Tokai Teio's performance.
Yet this girl had now broken through that limitation.
To the spectators, and even to her current opponents, Tokai Teio looked as if she had changed her original running style, shifting from Leader to front-runner.
But was that truly the case?
No. This girl was still running as a so-called [Leader].
She was simply no longer limited by this race or these opponents.
"Ha! Interesting. As expected of a genius!"
Demon King Gold Ship felt pleasantly surprised.
She had never expected Tokai Teio to bring her this kind of surprise. Although she did not know how Tokai Teio had done it, there was no reason this third-rate girl could do it while she could not.
"Is that... a deeper layer of Flow?"
Kitasan Black could hardly believe it.
She noticed because her destroyer form was, in truth, a kind of Flow state. If domain symbolized power, then Flow symbolized the heart.
Just as Mejiro McQueen had the extreme rationality that pursued victory, and Kitasan Black had passionate ferocity, Tokai Teio was now displaying her own unique Flow.
It was the composure of Sole Sovereign.
The desire to bear everything alone.
What confidence. What arrogance.
This was the symbol of Tokai Teio's heart.
And the ability born from it was precisely this unrestricted running style.
...
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