The race was surprisingly close, a dead-heat all the way to the midway point with not a single team eliminated. One might call it a true clash of titans.
The reality, however, was a bizarre spectacle where teammates had zero coordination and students from the same academy were actively fighting each other.
As she watched Makoto endure her fourth plunge into the sea while still stubbornly clinging to the tow rope, Sakurako found herself impressed by her unyielding will. It could only be described as an indomitable spirit.
Watching Makoto, Sakurako was forced to reflect on her own lukewarm performance. With someone else fighting so desperately beside her, was it right for her to treat the race with such a half-hearted attitude?
Perhaps her approach to the competition so far had been a disservice to the opponents she had defeated to get here.
The thought struck her like a bolt of lightning, completely taking over her mind.
'I see. Without realizing it, I have been carrying the sweat, the resolve, and the burning desire for victory of everyone who has been eliminated thus far. An attitude this half-hearted is an insult to them all.'
Sakurako, who had been silent until now, finally brought her rifle to bear.
At that same moment, as Tsurugi sped toward the final checkpoint, Ichika's voice cut through the sound of the wind and gunfire.
"Tsurugi-senpai, from here on out, we're going max speed!"
"Max speed?"
Tsurugi mumbled, her expression blank as she stared ahead. A small smile formed on her lips.
"Kihet."
In an instant, that small smile twisted into a crazed, maniacal grin. It was the kind of horrifying expression that would make anyone who saw it at night scream and run for their life—a face that would only serve to heighten the infamous reputation of the Justice Task Force's president, but that was a story for another time.
"Kehehehehehut—! Kyaaaaaaah—!!!"
At that moment, Tsurugi's mind was repeating only two words.
Max speed. And
gold medal.
Anything that got in her way would be, as always, utterly annihilated. That was the way of Kenzaki Tsurugi.
Seeing Tsurugi's boat roar forward, the other drivers were spurred to increase their speed as well. But among them, the only one with the guts to match Tsurugi's velocity was...
"Ooh~ what's this? This is it, right? A contest of speed. Is that what this is? Ha—hahahat!"
Kasumi.
"Alright~! Looks like things are going well over there, too. In that case, it's time to win that stupid gold medal. Now, Iori-chan~ hold on tight~~~!"
"Hey, you cra—
urk."
Iori, who had been about to curse at Kasumi for her sudden acceleration, accidentally bit her tongue and grimaced. Even so, she quickly pulled on the rope to dodge a bullet aimed at the back of her head and suddenly felt her patience wearing thin.
Why was it always her? Why was she the only one fighting this lonely battle?
Her anger rising, Iori aimed her rifle at the back of Kasumi's head before taking a deep breath, clinging to the last shred of her patience. She had teamed up with this damned terrorist in the first place to win a medal for Hina, and she couldn't just throw that all away now.
However, wasn't there a perfect target for her pent-up rage right in front of her?
Shoving as much of her Mystery as she could into her rounds, Iori steadied her breath. She was a proud member of the Gehenna Prefect Team...
'To hell with that right now.'
The faces of Makoto and Kasumi superimposed themselves over the images of Ichika in the lead and the leisurely-firing Sakurako. In that moment, Iori found a new resolve.
"You've underestimated a Prefect Team sniper for the last time."
Three bullets packed with raw Mystery were fired in quick succession toward the Trinity racers.
"Whoa...?!"
They weren't direct hits, but the shockwave from the bullets striking the water right next to her was enough to make Ichika momentarily lose her balance.
[Oh, is Nakatsukasa Ichika going to be eliminated here?]
Teetering as if she were about to fall, Ichika let go of her gun completely and grabbed the tow rope with both hands. Her rifle was still connected to her tactical belt so she wouldn't lose it, but now she had no way to retrieve it until the race was over.
'This is for the best. I couldn't have endured max speed with one hand anyway. All I have to do is focus and finish in first place.'
As Ichika regained her balance with a sigh of relief, the distance between the two leading teams and the two trailing them began to widen.
[Nakatsukasa Ichika maintains her lead. But she's a toothless tiger now. It seems she's given up on fighting back to focus on securing her victory, but Shiromi Iori hasn't given up yet!]
[The situation isn't entirely in Shiromi Iori's favor, however. The harassment from Utazumi Sakurako, who has now fully entered the race, is still—ah, well, this changes things a bit.]
Kasumi's decision to stick close to Tsurugi's boat to minimize Sakurako's firing angle was a good one. As Iori's eyes widened at her teammate's first helpful action, another grenade was delivered right to her face, as if to ask what she was so happy about.
[The grenade misses again! As the boats get faster, it becomes more difficult to hit a target and eliminate them, so this is to be expected. And as for Hanuma Makoto— she is now being dragged behind the boat in a fully reclined position... wait, what?]
Bang!
With one hand on the tow rope, lying so flat against the water she was practically submerged, Makoto fired a single shot that struck Ichika square in the back of the head.
Bang!!
But it wasn't over. A follow-up shot from Iori slammed into Ichika's side.
[Wh-what is this? Are we about to see a major upset?! A shot from Hanuma Makoto is followed by a direct hit from Shiromi Iori! But Nakatsukasa Ichika, despite taking two consecutive hits, has not let go of the rope!]
"Hey, you Prefect Team punk! Can't you do anything but get in the way?! After I so graciously displayed my—
blub!"
Ichika's posture broke, and she was half-dragged, half-flung behind the boat. In that moment, a shot from Sakurako gifted Makoto—who had nearly cost Trinity dearly—her fifth submersion of the race.
'Ah.'
This was a situation she had experienced in practice, so Ichika was able to recover her posture with relative ease. With a disgruntled look, she glared at Iori, who was now much closer, and tightened her grip on the handle.
The two consecutive hits had actually helped her stay in the race. Makoto's bullet had sent her vision turning black and she had almost lost consciousness, but Iori's shot had jolted her back to her senses, allowing her to hold on.
But that was that, and this was this.
Even if Iori's follow-up shot had saved her from being eliminated, it didn't make it hurt any less. With her own rifle out of commission, she had no way of attacking Makoto behind her...
'Can't I just ram into her? As long as I don't touch the rope, it should be fine.'
And there was a perfect target for her frustration right next to her.
Pulling on the rope, Ichika leaned her body and instantly cut through the wake of the boat, closing in on Iori. Iori quickly tried to fire, but Ichika spun gracefully, rendering the predictive shot useless.
Closing the distance again, the blade of Ichika's ski kicked up a massive spray of water directly at Iori. As Iori was blinded and staggered by the impact, Ichika's rifle, still attached to her belt, swung out with the force of her momentum and...
CRACK!!!
"…"
Unfortunately for Iori, it connected perfectly with the back of her knee.
[And Shiromi Iori has let go of the rope!]
"Oh, Iori-chan? Didn't I tell you to hold on tight? Hmmm..."
Seeing Iori cartwheeling away, Kasumi fell into thought. Should she ram Tsurugi's boat and cause some trouble, or should she follow the rules and pull her boat out of the lane?
As she pondered, she glanced at Tsurugi's face and immediately recoiled, erasing the first option from her mind. That one, like the Prefect Team president Hina, was clearly one of those people you should never, ever mess with.
[Just before the final corner, Shiromi Iori has been eliminated. It's a straight shot to the finish line now! Nakatsukasa Ichika's boat in the lead seems impossible to catch, but the two boats behind her are neck and neck!]
Watching Makoto still being dragged through the water, Sakurako gave a wry smile. At this rate, it would be difficult for her to eliminate her with gunfire.
Turning her attention forward, Sakurako witnessed a bizarre sight.
"Hey, Ms. Dove!"
"What is it?!"
"Do you know what this is, Ms. Dove?!"
"It's a coin, is it not?!"
"Fufu, look a little closer."
It was the strange spectacle of Satsuki showing Mine a coin dangling from a string.
As Mine squinted, Satsuki suddenly gunned the engine to maximum speed. Makoto, still being dragged through the water? Eh, she'd be fine. With that thought, the boat shot forward to secure the silver medal.
Realizing she'd been tricked, Mine quickly tried to accelerate, but it was too late to catch Satsuki, who already had a head start.
[Trinity Team 1 is the first to cross the finish line, securing the gold medal. They are followed by Gehenna Team 1 and Trinity Team 2! And that concludes the race.]
[Haaah… This is going to be terrible for Pandemonium's public image...]
Makoto, who had proven that staying submerged could be a viable strategy, had a new rule created in her honor: if a racer spends more than one-third of the race time underwater, they are automatically disqualified. She accepted her not-so-glorious silver medal.
"Mika-senpai, didn't you promise you'd be the one to put the gold medal around my neck?"
And so, Ichika, who had given her all for a single purpose, was left with a feeling of betrayal.
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