Leopin stepped out of the Special Training Class Exclusive Rest Area looking refreshed. Even his skin had a healthier glow. The vice principal ground his teeth and glared.
That trash. He had meant to show him the first block of hell, zamasu. He had never expected a cheering section to show up, zamasu.
But the better Leopin felt here, the worse the hell ahead would be, zamasu.
The vice principal looked over at the boys, stretching with grim focus.
This was a fight he absolutely could not lose, zamasu. He had spent a generous cut of the academy's operating funds to prepare, zamasu.
First, the water at this supply station had been mixed with an Endurance times ten potion, zamasu. The students' Endurance averaged over 50, a handpicked elite, zamasu. A few even had parameters beyond a normal high schooler, zamasu.
Now, with the potion, that was 500, zamasu. You could fairly call them tireless, zamasu.
The side effects would be terrible, zamasu. Not his problem, zamasu.
He looked down at their feet.
And that was not all, zamasu. He had made them change into special running shoes, zamasu.
Magic items. Agility times ten, zamasu. Even their Agility was at 500 now, zamasu.
Running ghosts, zamasu. Push it wrong and their feet might vanish and they would become real ghosts, zamasu. Not his problem, zamasu.
He looked at Leopin again and smiled.
These running ghosts would lead him into real hell, zamasu.
He did not know. He might never know.
He had no idea what kind of status the boy tying a new rope around his waist actually had.
The students were linked by the rope again, like beads on a string. Nickbacca, at the center, shouted.
"Then we continue the Hell Marathon! But first, a rule change! Every rest stop from here on is off limits! We run until every last one of you drops! And cheering of any kind is forbidden!"
The vice principal jumped in at once.
"Yes! Which means this is where we part with Domanna-sensei, zamasu!"
Monaka and Kotone, leaning out the window, looked openly unhappy.
"Vice Principal! We were going to follow along and cheer for Leo-kun!"
"Indeed! That is why we put on these cheerleader outfits!"
"No! If you two are there, this becomes a Heaven Marathon, zamasu! That goes against the purpose of this marathon, zamasu! Go home quietly, zamasu!"
The girls still would not let it go.
"Monaka, Kotone, you don't need to worry about me. Go on back ahead. I got your feelings, plenty of them, so I can make it to the finish without another rest. Thank you."
Only after Leopin soothed them did the girls give in.
"Then we'll head back in a hurry! Leopin-kun, hit it hard! Hiyah!"
The carriage Domanna drove left like the wind. Too late, the vice principal cried out in panic.
"If the rest stop is abolished, I have nothing left to do, zamasu! Domanna-sensei! Take me with you, zamasu!"
He chased the shrinking carriage, face desperate. By then Nickbacca had already started.
The Hell Marathon resumed. Everyone but Leopin was doped, so a light jog put them at carriage speed.
Leopin followed behind at an easy pace, thinking they were certainly fired up. With his real earplugs in and nothing reaching him, the students laughed among themselves.
"Heh. You only get to look like that for a little longer!"
"He doesn't even know we're holding back, jogging along with that dopey face!"
"Right now we're a running gale!"
"Think you can keep up with our full power? No way! Agility 500!"
"Come on, we're dragging you down!"
The lead group kicked off together, as if they had planned it. They ran like racehorses, eyes straight ahead.
"Whew, this speed is insane! I've never gone this fast!"
"Of course! We're wearing shoes banned in track!"
"And we're running this fast without getting winded at all!"
"Of course! We drank a potion banned in every sport!"
Nickbacca laughed. "Gentlemen! By now he should be getting dragged around like a filthy rag! Let us enjoy the sight and make this our victory lap! On my mark, we all look back! Ready!"
What happened next hardly needs saying.
The boys in the lead were so shocked their eyes and tongues looked ready to fly off.
The distance to Leopin behind them had not changed since the restart. Even his expression was the same, close enough to be a spot-the-difference puzzle.
A light marathon for a warm-up. No. The fresh face of someone out for a stroll on a day off.
"Wha...!? No way! How is he keeping up!?"
"Our speed right now is beyond a pro track athlete!"
"Wh-what is he!? What is that guy!?"
"N-no! He's just forcing himself! Our Endurance is overwhelmingly higher! Drag this into a battle of stamina and he will break! Run! Keep running!"
Their composure vanished at once. They stopped looking back and ran flat out, eyes forward.
It was wasted effort. Leopin's Agility and Endurance were double theirs.
Leopin was not even thinking of it as a race. He was running at his own pace. If he felt like it, he could blow past them whenever he wanted and drop them to the bottom.
And then that moment came.
"Hah, hah, hah! I-I can't... I can't run! Not another step...!"
"Damn it! That trash is still keeping up!"
"Sticking with us at Endurance 500? Is he a monster!?"
"N-no, a devil! He's a devil!"
The lead group tangled their feet and went down hard. Leopin came up behind them at a light trot.
"Hey, hey. Don't push yourselves."
He hopped over the fallen boys with an easy step and kept running.
The boys were barely breathing, but they wrung out the last of their strength to shout.
"W-wait! Leopin! Wait!"
He had real earplugs in. The voice never reached him.
Then hell began.
The lead group did not just become the last group. They started getting dragged, like a public execution.