'This heavy pressure... it's the Demon King's Red Skill. But why is it so strong? I've already become stronger, so why can't I shake off the control of this pressure?!' Seiun Sky looked horrified. She couldn't understand the intensity of the Demon King's "gating" skill at all. In the past, she was helpless against this move. Now, having mastered skills, she was still helpless against it. Then what was the point of her hard work? And had she really become stronger, or was that just an illusion?
The Demon King's gating skill made Seiun Sky start doubting her very self.
She was as terrified now as she had been confident before the race began.
"The leading Seiun Sky has lost speed! Is it poor stamina management? No... could this be the influence of a skill too? What a terrifying ability! Aside from the Demon King, every runner's condition has dropped!" the commentator exclaimed in disbelief. He really wanted to ask: Are we sure this isn't a superpower?
Narita Taishin gritted her teeth. 'Damn it! This is the power of that skill. Using this move now... is she trying to say that even if I've become stronger, I'm still just a weakling in front of her?!'
The Skill Manual contained a detailed introduction to Gating Skills (Red Skills).
It mentioned how to break them. Ultimately, a gating skill is just a skill that interferes with the opponent's senses. Although she couldn't understand how such a mystical thing was achieved, she understood that breaking a gating skill required a calm mindset and focus. She had confidently believed that even if the Demon King used a gating skill again, she could definitely withstand its influence. But now, she realized the effect and power of this skill hadn't weakened at all.
In other words, she wasn't strong enough. To the Demon King, she was still a weakling, which was why she couldn't withstand this move. Thinking of this made Narita Taishin feel incredibly bitter.
Just how big was the gap between her and that monster?
Compared to the two in front who were overthinking things, Mejiro Ryan was much calmer.
Because she had learned about "Bewitching" from Mejiro Takamine, she knew the breaking method mentioned in the Skill Manual was actually very difficult to achieve. If gating skills were that easy to break, overseas runners wouldn't hold the power of "Bewitching" in such high regard. Before the Demon King revealed the skill system, the attitude of most overseas runners toward "Domains" and "Bewitching" was completely different. The powerful ability known as a "Domain" wasn't even favored by world-class runners.
At the world level, entering a Domain meant you had the qualification to step onto the world stage. But whether you could achieve good results in world-class races afterwards... the strength of your Domain was meaningless. On the contrary, the power of "Bewitching" was supreme.
Knowing this intelligence, Mejiro Ryan naturally understood that the Demon King's gating skill wasn't easily broken.
In fact, the reason she had confidence to challenge the Demon King was precisely because the Demon King had sealed her own gating skills recently.
The moment the Demon King used that gating skill, Mejiro Ryan knew there was no hope of winning this race.
'Just as Takamine-nee said... the difference in our realms is still too great.'
Mejiro Ryan recalled Takamine's evaluation of the Demon King.
She believed the Demon King's strength was absolutely world-class.
Because the physical stats, Domain, and Bewitching power displayed by the Demon King all possessed terrifying intensity. That title of "Strongest" contained no falsehoods.
And now, Mejiro Ryan simply recognized this more accurately.
Against a Demon King who was "going easy," she had a chance to challenge. But once the Demon King got even a little serious, there was no chance at all.
'Is this... the world's strongest?'
Mejiro Ryan felt a wave of powerlessness.
It must be noted that this wasn't even the Demon King's full strength. Just one gating skill was this strong. The Demon King still had more powerful skills and a Domain she hadn't used. Ryan didn't dare to imagine how terrifying it would be if the Demon King unleashed her full power.
Could she really challenge such a monster?
No. Alone, she could never challenge such a monster, no matter what.
Even if she mastered a Domain later, even if she learned advanced skills later... the gap was too big.
'Then... what do I do to win?'
Mejiro Ryan's mind went blank. She couldn't think of an answer to this question.
Demon King Ship wanted them to understand the logic of "coordination and cooperation."
But Mejiro Ryan and the others couldn't conceive of such an idea.
After all, in horse girl racing, there was no such mode of competition. Ultimately, there is only one winner. The possibility of cooperation didn't exist from the start.
So Mejiro Ryan and the others couldn't imagine this method of challenge.
The "cooperative targeting" that had appeared before was merely a coincidence borne of a desire for revenge after knowing they had no chance of winning. Formal cooperation during a race was completely impossible to them.
This wasn't a team competition or a relay race, after all. How could they cooperate?
It could only be said that the races in Japan were still too relaxed, lacking sufficient cutthroat competitiveness. In some overseas races, fixed matches and underhanded tricks weren't impossible. In fact, these things existed in Japan's past races too, but thanks to Symboli Rudolf's efforts, that dark history had been sealed away. Especially in Central races, such low-down methods were no longer seen. (Though perhaps they could still be found in some local races.)
In short, Demon King Ship hoped her opponents would discard all pride and dignity to challenge her—she wanted "Dark Racing." But for these runners living in the Central circuit, the path of Dark Racing was one they had never even considered.
'See? As soon as this great one makes a move, you all fall down. Stop having delusions of challenging me with your own strength alone. Even if you become "Heroes," you aren't the strongest one. Trying to compete fairly with me... is it you who are arrogant, or this great one?'
Demon King Ship didn't stay at the back for a stroll. She directly overtook Mejiro Ryan and Narita Taishin ahead, and soon passed the falling Seiun Sky.
Now that they were all weakened in stats and stamina by the Demon King's Aura, Demon King Ship didn't even need to use skills to overtake them. But honestly, running like this wasn't enjoyable for Demon King Ship either. The love of running is a horse girl's nature, but Demon King Ship had to control her performance during the race. This resulted in zero satisfaction; even winning gave her no feeling.
"The Demon King has burst out! The Demon King is now in the lead! She has achieved the overtake in the latter half of the middle stage! Do the other runners still have a chance?" The commentator hoped for a miraculous turnaround.
But such a miracle obviously couldn't happen before the Demon King.
These challengers hadn't even recognized their own status. They even fought a civil war before challenging her. How could they defeat the Demon King in this situation? Winning was impossible. No miracle occurred before the race ended.
...
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