"First place, Overlord!"
The results were confirmed.
The outcome had already settled.
Although Demon King Gold Ship had brought tremendous shock to the audience in this race, and her performance had been flawless, powerful enough that people once thought she might be the powerhouse who could end the Overlord's winning streak, unfortunately she still fell just a little short. Perhaps it was a gap in strength. Perhaps it was a difference in mentality. In any case, all that could be done now was to pay respect to Demon King Gold Ship's sacrifice. This had been a splendid race.
"I won..."
The Overlord clenched her fist. Only after crossing the line did she feel a sense of relief. Just now, in the previous moment, she could not deny that somewhere deep in her heart she had still worried this Demon King might "revive" again and suddenly appear. That was Demon King Gold Ship's strength. She had indeed taught the Overlord quite a few things.
Power was not everything?
But...
The Overlord's gaze regained its firmness.
I am the victor!
So what if you create miracles and impossibilities? Reality is not a cartoon. As long as power is strong enough, so-called miracles can be crushed too, just like the defeated one before her now. And she would absolutely never become the defeated.
Victory was everything. Power was justice.
This was her way of life.
"Heh!"
A contemptuous snort suddenly sounded.
The Overlord turned back.
The Demon King, who should have been unconscious, had somehow truly "revived" again. There was an incomprehensible smile on her face. She was clearly the loser of this race, yet there was not the slightest hatred or powerlessness on Demon King Gold Ship's face. Instead, her arrogance burned as if she were the victor. Then, while the Overlord watched with complete incomprehension, this Demon King suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
The other runners arriving from behind all turned to look.
Even Tokai Teio and the others in the stands wore strange expressions.
"Has she finally gone mad?"
The Overlord did not want to bother with a loser's madness.
After all, the thoughts of the weak were meaningless.
But Demon King Gold Ship's laughter sounded unbearably grating to her at this moment. And during the race just now, the Overlord had indeed felt unprecedented stimulation and crisis from Demon King Gold Ship. Even if she had appeared calm and had not exposed it for anyone else to see, she could not deceive herself, nor would she do so.
So at this moment, she could not stop herself from paying attention to this "loser."
"What are you laughing at? You lost."
The Overlord, rarely, spoke directly to a defeated opponent.
Incredible.
To her, losers and weaklings were no more than insects unworthy of her attention. Even mocking them felt like a waste of her strength, and looking at them one more time felt like a waste of time.
Yet this version of her had actually taken the initiative to ask a loser what she was thinking?
Even the Overlord felt that her current state was wrong.
Demon King Gold Ship heard the Overlord's question.
After laughing, she looked at the Overlord with an unreadable expression.
Seeing the slight change in the Overlord's face, her mood became even more pleasant. Much of the frustration from losing the race was swept away at once.
"What is this? Your expression right now is so unlike you."
"..."
The Overlord did not understand.
"Are you laughing at me?"
"Haha, don't misunderstand. I'm not laughing at you. This is my very serious evaluation. After all, I am very curious how far you can go. Don't lose before you reach that person."
After the race ended, Demon King Gold Ship was unexpectedly calm. She did not show her bratty side at all. Instead, she genuinely gave off the feeling of being a reliable senior.
Overlord: "..."
She completely could not understand what this person was thinking.
Before the race began, Demon King Gold Ship's terrifying killing intent had undoubtedly been real. She had truly wanted to strangle the Overlord here, to completely crush this little sister called Overlord. But now, the goodwill Demon King Gold Ship was displaying, and the expectation in her tone toward the Overlord, were also not fake.
The Overlord truly could not understand Demon King Gold Ship as a person.
"Enough."
That was enough.
Because the Overlord had understood one thing.
Trying to understand Demon King Gold Ship was foolish. Sure enough, she should never have paid unnecessary attention to this loser.
She turned and headed toward the award podium.
The Overlord reaffirmed her own philosophy.
Behind her, Demon King Gold Ship's smile did not fade.
"Hmph heh heh heh. You really are the opportunity for my evolution. Make sure you enjoy the races to come, my dear disciple."
Although losing the race had indeed made her very unhappy, she had truly obtained a new power.
And it was a power that belonged absolutely and exclusively to her.
That's right. This power was proof that she would be the strongest. It would be the key trump card for defeating McQueen!
However...
"Tsk. The Three Phantom Gods really are too against the rules. Since that kind of cheat cannot be used by me, I still need to find a way to seal it. My good disciple, go scout the road for your teacher first."
Demon King Gold Ship smiled sinisterly while still finding excuses to comfort herself. She did not believe she had lost. This was all the Demon King's scheme. She had deliberately allowed herself to be backstabbed by her disciple.
Yes. That was the truth of the matter.
She had convinced herself.
As for the Overlord's danger?
That was something she, the Demon King, needed to worry about.
Besides, she felt Tokai Teio and the others were making far too much fuss. She knew clearly that the Overlord's final target was McQueen, so from the beginning, she did not believe the Overlord could succeed.
Although Demon King Gold Ship was very displeased about always being suppressed by McQueen, she herself was also the firmest member of the McQueen faction. In her heart, she believed McQueen would absolutely never lose to anyone, not even the Overlord, who possessed [Fusion].
So... since the Overlord's conquest was destined to end in failure, why continue targeting this adorable disciple?
Demon King Gold Ship, who had gained plenty, decided to take her leave.
The things she wanted and the things she wanted to see had already been obtained and witnessed. What she had to do next was wait for her next stage appearance at any time. At the moment when the strongest Mejiro McQueen once again defeated a powerful challenger, she would reappear before everyone as the final boss and reclaim the crown that belonged to her.
McQueen, you have occupied my position for far too long!
Heroes were supposed to have a "lifespan" limit.
This Demon King had already "revived." How could she allow a cheating person like you to continue occupying this Demon King's throne? At that point, who is the Demon King? This Demon King, or you, the hero?
Our battle is not over!
Opening the [Crossing Gate (self-named)], Demon King Gold Ship returned to her own world. As the final boss, she felt she still needed an "army" capable of supporting her stage presence. Simply put, she needed to assemble a team. This team had to be powerful and stylish enough, and it had to be loyal to the great Demon King Gold Ship.
After Demon King Gold Ship left, Tokai Teio hurried to the door.
"So she went back. Looks like that girl really is fine. But from the look of it, she seems to be scheming something again. I really hope she can settle down a little and stop tinkering with dangerous things."
Tokai Teio felt exhausted. After all, the three divine powers Demon King Gold Ship had stirred up last time had been a major problem. It was only because the Three Goddesses were magnanimous and did not mind. Otherwise, she felt that Demon King Gold Ship's disrespectful attitude toward gods alone would have been enough to provoke divine wrath.
Ignoring Demon King Gold Ship's troublemaking, Tokai Teio was currently more concerned about the Overlord.
After all, although Demon King Gold Ship would pull off major stunts, Tokai Teio had great confidence in her ability to protect herself. The Overlord's side, however, was not quite the same. This child could now be said to have an outsider's identity in this world, so Tokai Teio had to keep an eye on her.
And with the Demon King's defeat, the Overlord's momentum had been established. Her powerful figure became a nightmare for who knew how many umamusume and Trainers. As soon as they thought they might become one entry in the Overlord's record, they felt the urge to flee this country immediately.
September. Three months had passed since the Demon King's defeat.
The Overlord now maintained an intense career of one race per month. She seemingly ignored the grade of the race and the opponents she faced, simply maintaining a terrifying degree of domination and forcing everyone to understand just how frightening a dark-style umamusume she was.
Of course, that was the view of those at Japan's Tracen Academy who knew the inside story, as well as Tokai Teio's group.
In reality, many simple-minded umamusume had not thought that deeply. The evidence was that, as the Overlord's reputation grew larger and larger, fewer runners avoided racing her. Some overseas runners even came specifically to compete with the Overlord, though the results were quite miserable.
Looking at the news, where photos of the Overlord occupied large sections almost every day, the office was filled with gloom. Symboli Rudolf sat in silence, her serious eyes focused as she seemed to be thinking of countermeasures. Tokai Teio, beside her, said nothing. Right now, even she could not think of many ways to restrain the Overlord. Even if they sent Rice Shower and Kitasan Black up, she felt there was a high chance they would merely go over and give the Overlord an "extra meal."
Rather, perhaps that was exactly what the Overlord was hoping for.
Hoping that people like them would continue challenging her.
After all, although the Overlord had become very strong after absorbing both her and the Demon King's power, if she wanted to challenge that person, if she wanted to challenge the strongest (McQueen), there was probably still a considerable gap. The current McQueen was in an unprecedented strongest state.
Her own original strength had already been terrifyingly strong, and now she also had the boost from the three great divine powers.
Hah... sigh.
Honestly, was having a rebellious little sister always this troublesome? By comparison, a "child" like Demon King Gold Ship was actually easier to coax. But no matter what, she was still Tokai Teio's little sister. Somehow, Tokai Teio had to find a way to keep watch over her. If there truly was no way to stop the Overlord, then she could only protect the Overlord and prevent her from crossing the line.
Tokai Teio flexibly adjusted her bottom line.
It was true that she was quite universally loving, but if she had to choose between the Overlord and everyone else, then she did not need to think at all. She would choose [herself]. After all, this relationship was even closer than "family."
While Tokai Teio was still here at the Student Council, Rice Shower and Kitasan Black had also returned to their own lives.
Because Rice Shower was worried about the Overlord, she chose to spend most of her time in this world. However, she would basically make time every day to return to her own world. Over there, her Trainer had already obtained the qualification and recognition to form a team and was currently recruiting and training newcomers.
Kitasan Black, stimulated by the two seniors' consecutive crushing defeats, ran back to add more training for herself. It seemed she had even shamelessly gone to McQueen and asked her for special lessons. Everyone felt this change in Kitasan Black was a good thing.
Unlike Tokai Teio and the others, who had already fallen into a certain bottleneck, Kitasan Black should still have greater room to rise. Her talent should still be able to grow stronger. It was just that this girl truly lacked motivation and a sense of crisis. Even though her desire to win had increased now, the effect of her training was still average. She needed the stimulation of certain events to draw out her potential.
As for the remaining person...
Mejiro McQueen herself was not actually as heartless as everyone thought. She simply saw things too clearly. She knew that no matter how much the Overlord made trouble, the Overlord would eventually be delivered before her. That was why she chose to let things proceed. Besides, no matter what, this was still the worldview of umamusume. She truly did not think the Overlord could cause that much trouble.
Although the Three Goddesses liked to watch drama, they were no false gods. Their power was enough to stabilize every incident in this world.
Therefore, she would uphold elegance and simply wait in the palace for the later challenger. When the time came, she would guide the other party as a senior.
And as for the Overlord, although McQueen had not met her many times and had not spoken with her much, she actually quite liked her, because she liked that obsessive gaze of the Overlord's.
How exciting. Who will be the one who finally stands before me? Will it be you (King Halo), or you (Overlord)? Or will you come together?
No one knew that Mejiro McQueen, standing at the highest point, was also looking forward to someone challenging her.
Because she now had a certain feeling.
Her long period of invincibility had already limited her.
And then there was the power of those three.
They were clearly external things, yet she could not expel them through her own will. They were also so powerful that they had completely affected her own strength. She now felt as if she had been restricted to this position. If she wanted to break through this predicament, she needed someone to help her rise from this position, or someone to crash through it.
Of course, even so, she would not take the initiative to admit defeat. Or rather, doing so definitely would not work. This was no longer the event tournament. Even if she lost in a race, the divine powers would not transfer from her body to the victor. If she wanted to expel these influences, she would probably still need an intense race and a complete defeat.
But would such an opponent truly appear?
Mejiro McQueen did not know.
But she looked forward to the appearance of such a successor.
...
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