The final straight, $350!
Mejiro McQueen entered first, but Gold Ship was still in hot pursuit behind her!
The gap between the two had been closed to about ten lengths!
'I will win!'
The bursting Mejiro McQueen entered the Zone Dash Shine state.
"Last 200$!"
The commentator's voice was excited.
"The leader is still Mejiro McQueen!"
"An astonishing runaway victory!"
"The contestants behind are being left behind! Although the contestants are trying hard, they can't catch up! Mejiro McQueen is too strong!"
"Victory is in sight! It seems no one can stop Mejiro McQueen now!"
Although Gold Ship was still chasing hard, the AI commentator had calculated the speed limits of the two contestants and the distance of the track. According to the system's calculation, this race was already Mejiro McQueen's victory, so the commentator directly made a statement that essentially declared Mejiro McQueen's win.
"Nonsense, commentator! Don't joke around!"
Gold Ship did not concede defeat.
The Demon King would fight until the very last moment!
Her twisted, ugly expression seemed like it could bleed from her eyes at any moment.
As her mind entered a state of frenzy, her speed miraculously increased slightly. According to the system's calculations, Gold Ship's stats suddenly rose by about $50$ points above the theoretical value. Although this number was practically minuscule, it was enough to send the AI's calculation power into a state of shock.
However, the system's logic was not confused because this situation was within the preset logic.
As for the declaration of victory, it was already a certainty.
Although the speed Gold Ship unleashed at this moment was slightly faster than Mejiro McQueen's, the difference was too small, not enough for Gold Ship to overturn the outcome.
Furthermore—
Gold Ship's body had already reached its limit.
Just as Gold Ship closed the gap to six lengths, she suddenly felt dizzy.
The scenery before her eyes was also distorting.
Her body cried out at this moment: 'Damn it, I've hit my limit first!'
Gritting her teeth, Gold Ship stabilized her state to prevent herself from losing speed.
But the physical distress made it impossible for her to continue the dash; she could no longer maintain that extreme speed.
In the end, she could only watch helplessly as that figure ahead of her crossed the finish line.
"Mejiro McQueen completes the line!"
"The winner of this major race is Mejiro McQueen!"
"This contestant has shown us an unparalleled spectacle!"
"Let's congratulate Mejiro McQueen on achieving dominance once again!"
Gold Ship, who barely crossed the line nine lengths behind, hid her face in her hair, utterly dejected.
"Second place goes to Gold Ship!"
"Although she failed to win, she still gave us a breathtaking performance! Let's congratulate her on taking second place in this major race!"
The contestants behind them were all defeated. Even Gold Ship was over $20$ lengths ahead of the third-place finisher. If the robots hadn't unleashed various powerful skills at the last curve, this gap could have been even wider. In fact, if they weren't robots, they should have been 'killed' when Gold Ship unleashed her Zone and aura. Although robots are affected by gate skills, they don't possess a soul, so it's impossible for them to truly suffer a mental breakdown due to being gated.
The moment the race ended, thunderous cheers erupted in the stands.
"That was amazing!"
"Mejiro McQueen is too strong!"
"My Emperor, my Tamamo-san, how could you lose so badly!"
"Invincible! Who else can compete with a Horse Girl like that!"
"Who is Mejiro McQueen's trainer? Does he dare to step forward and accept heavenly punishment!"
"So dazzling! I want to become a brilliant Horse Girl like that too!"
Hearing these voices, Mejiro McQueen looked up at the stands in confusion.
From her position, she could clearly see the members of Team Spica.
[Mejiro McQueen] was looking at her with pleasant surprise.
"..."
No way?
These spectators aren't virtual backgrounds created by the system!
Mejiro McQueen was completely stunned.
At the same time, a female voice rang out simultaneously in everyone's ears.
[Time remaining for this stay: six hours]
[Contestants, please enter the Winner's Stage after five hours of rest]
Mejiro McQueen's mood instantly soured upon hearing this voice.
She just ran a custom race, and now she has to do the Winner's Stage performance?
And if she has to perform, why did the blasted system bring in real spectators?
And aren't you supposed to have no intelligence?
If the system had intelligence, it would surely answer her question now.
But the system truly had no intelligence. All of this was pre-set logic from the start. Unless the system's underlying operational logic could be changed, the users could only accept these early-established foundational rules.
And what's wrong with a custom race?
A custom race is still a race!
Do the system-generated robots not consume energy? Therefore, the Winner's Stage ceremony is necessary!
"Hey, you're not going to be crushed just because you lost once, are you?"
[Gold Ship] jumped from the stands onto the track.
Although she claimed to hate the Demon King, it wasn't genuine aversion. It was just a dislike arising from the difference between the ideal and reality.
In summary, Gold Ship's personality was not the one [Gold Ship] ideally envisioned for herself.
After seeing the precedent set by Mejiro McQueen, the Demon King's childish personality gave her a huge sense of disappointment.
And this childish person happened to possess great power.
That made the situation seem even worse.
This was [Gold Ship]'s view of her other "self."
But after watching today's race, [Gold Ship] had to admit that this person was qualified as a Horse Girl. The burst in the final moments of the race made Little Kin-Fune feel completely fired up.
Hearing the voice, Gold Ship snapped out of it and looked at [Gold Ship].
"...I've sunk so low that you have to comfort me?"
"Hey, hey, what are you saying? You should know that when everyone was distracted by McQueen, only I was paying attention to you."
[Gold Ship] truly focused on her other "self" throughout the race.
She had seen too many exceptional people; no matter how brilliant Mejiro McQueen was, she wouldn't be swayed by her.
Instead, she wanted to know the true heart of her other "self."
What was the [True Thing] hidden in the heart of the person who appeared lawless and believed she was supreme above all others? [Gold Ship] felt she had seen it in this race.
Gold Ship was momentarily stunned by the comment.
Her beautiful expression was momentarily flustered, but she quickly composed herself.
"Hmph~"
"You're thinking too much. I won't be defeated by this level of setback. This is only the beginning."
Besides, wasn't it a pre-determined fact that the Demon King would be defeated by her destined hero?
She had always intended to defeat Mejiro McQueen and reverse this fate, but now she could finally tell the truth.
She actually never had much confidence. All her erratic behavior and schemes in the story mode were ultimately due to a lack of confidence.
She admitted she was the challenger, but deep down, she was unwilling to accept that fact.
Because she always thought she was the [Strongest]! The worldview and perception she had built since childhood were so fragile.
On the day her memories awoke, she trembled upon realizing she was merely a [Clone], and the original Mejiro McQueen was the true strongest.
This feeling of a shattered worldview had nowhere to be vented.
She was indeed excited and joyful, but also fearful and uneasy.
Mejiro McQueen was her ideal; she was her [Strongest] and her [Goal]!
But how could such emotions appear in the [Strongest]?
So, she could only constantly seek things to do, frantically try to challenge Mejiro McQueen, and firmly believe that she would ultimately win!
Only then could she ensure that she was still herself.
But as the World-Wrecking Demon King, no one in her world could truly reach her heart and perceive this.
Her obsession with Mejiro McQueen was because that person should have been [herself]!
Now, tearing away the inner façade and seeing that true side, Gold Ship finally discovered her reality.
"I really... wanted to win."
Victory had always been too easy for her, almost within reach, so she never paid much attention to it, as her winning was simply natural.
But after her first race against the person she most desperately wanted to defeat, after experiencing the taste of defeat for the first time, the [True Thing] within her that she had never realized was finally completely exposed.
[Gold Ship] smiled brightly upon hearing her whisper.
"Yo~ Haven't seen you in a few days. Isn't this our invincible Demon King-sama? How did you get so weak?"
"..."
"Did the invincible Demon King-sama just lose?"
"Aren't you boring!"
"Hmph hmph~ This is a rare chance to see your true face, you childish brat."
"Insolent! You piece of trash! Haven't you lost enough? Be careful, or I'll go to your world and target your races specifically!"
"...Please, your Majesty, spare this humble servant!"
[Gold Ship] instantly cowered after being threatened.
Although the Demon King looked easy to bully right now, she could guarantee that after today, the Demon King would revert to her original confident self.
After all, not leaving the pressure to her next-second self—that's Little Kin-Fune.
Although this brat was childish and aggressive, [Gold Ship] had to admit that this person was 'herself,' just one who had grown crookedly.
"By the way, as compensation, I'll give you this hat. I just bought a new one!"
"Get lost!"
Seeing the ridiculously tacky hat, Gold Ship flatly refused. Although she was a bit eccentric, she was at least a beautiful and cool-looking Horse Girl aesthetically. She didn't want to look like the Alien Weird Horse. She had only lost one important race; she hadn't fallen so far that her personality was completely flipped.
...
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