"Runner Gold Ship has burst all the way up! She did it! Despite a massive late start, she completed the chase and has successfully caught up to the main pack! What astonishing explosive power!" The commentator was dumbfounded.
She never expected to see such a mind-blowing performance in a debut race.
"Gold Ship has slowed down. Is she planning to hang back and wait? So calm! This runner is completely unaffected by her massive late start. Not only did she make up the gap... she is now making such an intelligent judgment. It's truly hard to believe this performance is coming from a runner who made such a huge mistake at the gate."
Ooooh!
The audience was also stunned by Gold Ship's burst. What kind of monstrous explosive power was that? From that one glimpse, they were convinced her strength was the real deal. No wonder this girl earned the nickname[Demon King]back when she was a kid. This is a true Demon King! So what if she had a late start and let the others run first for a bit?
Lord Demon King doesn't care about a gap like that!
The race has only just begun, but almost the entire audience has been captivated by Gold Ship's performance.
Because compared to Gold Ship's late start and explosive burst, the other runners' performances today are just terrible. What's with those listless running forms? Are you even racing seriously?! Even if they've temporarily regained some form, the audience isn't buying it. This performance is worse than a candidate student who just enrolled.
Only a few people and horse girls knew that the other runners' performance was entirely because of Gold Ship's influence.
"Why is McQueen in such bad shape today?"
Tokai Teio could barely watch.
Next to her, Symboli Rudolf shook her head.
"Teio, you must watch this race carefully."
"?"
Tokai Teio didn't understand what the President meant.
In the race, Mejiro McQueen had just entered the middle-stage straight when she felt her strength failing. She couldn't control her breathing with her usual precision, but she could faintly feel her stamina draining at an abnormal rate. She felt as if she were running with weights on, and on a dirt track she wasn't good at. But the problem was, she had no weights, and the track was grass in excellent condition. She was completely baffled.
And there was that bastard behind her!
'She's doing it on purpose! Her choice [to stay back] looks reasonable, but she was just stomping loudly on purpose and intentionally staying at the very back of the pack. This girl is toying with me!'
"Hah... hah..."
Mejiro McQueen realized every single one of them was panting heavily. This was too abnormal. If she alone was in bad shape, it was possible she was sick and just hadn't noticed. But if all the runners were like this, there was definitely something fishy going on.
'Could it be... Bewitching (magic)?'
Mejiro McQueen couldn't quite believe it.
As the young lady of the Mejiro family, she knew about "Bewitching."
After all, Mejiro Takamine had raced overseas, and many foreign horse girls had mastered this power. It was a power that could affect an opponent's condition during a race. But Mejiro McQueen really wanted to call Takamine-san and ask: isn't Bewitching only supposed to make someone lose focus for a moment or feel nervous?
If that girl behind her was using Bewitching, then this ability is a complete cheat!
'No, I must calm down wa! Quickly, think, how do you deal with Bewitching?'
Mejiro McQueen carefully recalled what Takamine-san had taught in class.
The essence of Bewitching, in the end, is to interfere with an opponent's vision and affect their breathing. It's the same as techniques like gaze induction or hypnosis. As long as you realize this, force yourself to calm down, increase your focus, and immediately adjust your breathing and pacing, you can break free from its influence.
And Bewitching has its limits.
It's impossible to be affected twice in the same race.
So, once it's broken, the opponent cannot apply it again.
Of course, if your own focus is firm enough, you can be immune from the start. She remembered Takamine-san's advice: practice meditation to improve focus. As long as you can put your entire heart and soul into your run the moment you step on the track, you can be immune to most Bewitching.
But McQueen hadn't taken Takamine-san's lessons seriously back then. At the time, she felt this "Bewitching" was no big deal. Just focus on your own running form and you won't be affected, right?
She truly didn't understand why Takamine-san was so wary of such a "second-rate" tactic.
She had absolute confidence in her own focus.
But now, having fallen for it, McQueen deeply regretted not listening carefully to Takamine-san's teachings.
'No, I must be calm... calm! First, adjust my breathing. That's right. I'm just being interfered with. As long as I can regain my form, that girl, who only uses such underhanded tricks, cannot possibly beat me!'
'Oh?'
At the back, Gold Ship watched Mejiro McQueen trying to break through the influence. The smile on her face grew even more joyous. As expected of Mejiro McQueen. Even if she's not the 'other me', she's still stronger than the average runner.
'Seeing you work so hard, I'll give you a little reward.'
Gradually, Gold Ship's aura weakened a little.
'The interference... it's weaker?!'
Strong fighting spirit re-ignited in the eyes of many runners, including Mejiro McQueen.
"The runners seem to have recovered! The third corner is just ahead! Currently in first place is runner Mejiro McQueen! Because the lead runners lost speed, she, who was running at the front, has taken the lead. And she seems to have regained her form! Do the runners behind her still have a chance to catch up?"
Mejiro McQueen successfully broke the Demon King's restriction.
Although her stamina was severely drained, she naturally had high endurance. After breaking free from the Bewitching, she felt she could still go. At the entrance to the corner, Mejiro McQueen began to accelerate. She would pull away from all her opponents in this corner. That girl at the back was blocked by the others! There's no way she can catch up now!
'I can win!'
Mejiro McQueen rallied.
Although this was all thanks to that girl's arrogance. If she hadn't deliberately slowed down at the back and had caught up earlier, McQueen wouldn't have been confident she could shake her on this part of the track.
But a win is a win!
This debut race... she will win!
"Mejiro McQueen is accelerating! One length, two lengths, the gap is still widening!"
At this point, the other runners couldn't keep up at all. Their stamina had been almost completely drained by the Bewitching. They could only watch helplessly as Mejiro McQueen accelerated, with no way to chase her.
However...
...compared to chasing Mejiro McQueen, many runners chose to block the girl at the very back.
You bastard, you were deliberately stomping and annoying us from behind, weren't you?
Since you like messing with us, it's only fair we mess with you back!
"They can't catch up! The front-runners have no way of catching Mejiro McQueen! Do the runners at the back still have a chance? Can anyone break out of the pack and chase her down? Wait! Runner Gold Ship seems to be targeted by the other runners! She has no chance to break out!" the commentator said in surprise. She realized the other runners didn't seem to be chasing first place at all; instead, they had all gathered in front of Gold Ship, forming a human wall and blocking all her paths.
"Bastards! Are these runners shameless?! This race must be fixed!"
Many in the audience roared. They had no idea what had happened in the race. They just saw the runners' unreasonable actions. It's one thing to not chase the leader, but to block the runner in last place? Is this not match-fixing?
"Were all these runners bought by the Mejiro family?"
"I'm definitely complaining to the Committee!"
The audience was in an uproar.
The event organizers and supervisors were also baffled. Don't slander us! Who would dare to fix a sacred race? Do you really think the Three Goddesses are just decorations? But the situation does look like it's fixed. It looks a lot like it. Even they thought it looked fixed. What in the world is wrong with those runners? Did you really take a bribe from the Mejiro family? The Committee staff's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot. If this was true, they, who had failed in their inspection duty, would be jointly responsible.
At this moment, only a few knew the truth.
In the stands, Trainer Okino looked helplessly at Gold Ship's form. He had thought the race was a done deal, but he hadn't expected Gold Ship's earlier actions to incite public anger. Now she was blocked. In this situation, even with all her strength, there's nothing she can do, right? And the Bewitching effect has already passed.
Elsewhere, Symboli Rudolf was also surprised.
'Did she play around too much and screw up?'
She couldn't think of any way to break this situation. Even she would have trouble breaking this with her domain. Those runners were clearly determined to stop Gold Ship; they wouldn't give up even if they were interfered with.
"Huh?"
Tokai Teio also had a look of complete confusion.
'McQueen wouldn't really use such underhanded tactics, right? No, no... that girl would never. Then... just how annoying is that Gold Ship to make this happen?'
Just when everyone thought the race's outcome was set...
Gold Ship suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Good! This is how it should be! The weak must unite and give their all to bite the strong! This great one has felt your determination. I acknowledge that you all have courage!"
"BOOM!"
[Gold Ship's Wondrous Experience (Glimmer)]activates! This skill allows Gold Ship to randomly activate a Glimmer skill used previously in this race. And in this race, she has only used one Glimmer skill: [Demon King's Aura]!
[Demon King's Aura]: Makes a check against all runners, lowering all their stats (including stamina)!
"Come! This is the trial this great one bestows upon you! Only those who overcome this trial can become Heroes!"
The Demon King's "Heavy Track" descended once more!
In an instant, all the runners' minds went blank. A few runners, from losing speed so violently, even fell to the ground.
Gold Ship just pushed forward, and with a light shove of her two arms, knocked the human wall open.
Like a Demon King breaking from the gate, she burst through the blockade and chased after Mejiro McQueen.
Mejiro McQueen was covered in cold sweat.
'No... why can Bewitching activate a second time?!'
This was completely different from what Takamine-san had told her.
And this time, the interference was even stronger. She could barely even see the track in front of her.
Her body was weak, her vision was floating, her head was heavy... This was Mejiro McQueen's current state.
The second Demon King's Aura interference completely drained the last of Mejiro McQueen's stamina.
In reality, Gold Ship hadn't only released two "debuffs." At the start, she had used both the Demon King's Aura and her Domain. Although she later intentionally weakened the intensity to let the runners break free, she had only deactivated the Aura. The Domain's effect was still locked on all her opponents. And at the start, she had only used the domain's first-level effect:
"Forcibly drop the opponent's 'Mood' to the lowest!"
Only now did the Demon King's Domain show its true power.
Demon King's Domain Level 2 activated:
"Forcibly interrupt the opponent's active skills (including sprinting), putting them in an 'Anxious' state!"
Demon King's Domain Level 3 activated:
"While chasing, chance to 'Seal' all of the opponent's abilities! The lower the opponent's condition, the higher the success rate!"
Hit by the first two levels of the domain, plus two rounds of the Demon King's Aura, the runners were now completely sealed by Gold Ship's "Heavy Track."
"What's happened?! All runners except Gold Ship are experiencing problems! The first-place Mejiro McQueen is losing speed! The race is at the final straight! Mejiro McQueen's stamina seems to be completely exhausted! Gold Ship is breaking out! Is there a comeback? YES! Gold Ship is exploding—"
A shining rainbow appeared under Gold Ship's feet. A golden aura flared in her eyes.
[The Unsinkable Ship, Anchors Aweigh! (Glimmer)]
[Gold All-Hail! (Glimmer)]
[Looming Shadow (Gold)]
That terrifying explosive power had already broken the world record. In the blink of an eye, she successfully caught up to Mejiro McQueen!
Her terrifying aura was like a dump truck at full speed. Mejiro McQueen, her face full of panic, watched the figure rush past her.
'What... in the world was that?'
"Crosses the line! Runner Gold Ship has crossed the line! That stunning last spurt has achieved a grand upset!"
The commentator shouted with excitement.
The audience was also stunned by this result.
"Congratulations to runner Gold Ship for completing her debut race!"
After crossing the line, Gold Ship still had the leisure to stand there, dusting off her purple cloak.
...
For every 100 power stones, you get 1 bonus chapter!
Get 20 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"