The pitch-black dominating aura fully bloomed from that petite figure!
Even without contact, merely witnessing that form instantly conveyed understanding—this was an existence they couldn't possibly defeat. An aura as if from a higher dimension spread outward, the presence emanating from that ZONE conveyed overwhelming, absolute invincibility. This terrifying presence was so powerful it seemed to pierce through screens directly into every spectator's heart!
The moment The Overlord raised her head, her bangs lifted to reveal her right eye—dark blue flames veiled in darkness flared into being.
"So you are the ones who dare obstruct 'me.'"
The cold voice in her heart held no emotion—only absolute, frigid dominance.
The instant she took control, her center of gravity completed instantaneous readjustment. The previously weakened steps became indestructible in this moment. Then The Overlord stepped forward, footfalls like thunderclaps echoing in everyone's hearts!
Like violent lightning, like all-destroying storms, The Overlord's figure appeared at the front of the track. That scene seemed to tear through the track itself—air pressure and resistance were directly ripped apart by the pitch-black aura. This terrifying explosive power alone already completely exceeded every competitor's previous performance, pushing this body's capabilities to absolute limits!
Under ZONE enhancement, even without using skills, the speed displayed instantly surpassed Rice's previous maximum burst. In just a blink, she'd shot out of the pack, opening an enormous gap from trailing competitors!
Every ZONE-wielding horse girl felt immense terror at this moment. That pressure from higher planes weighed heavily on all their backs. Even ZONE's inventor Symboli Rudolf wasn't exempt—her eyes filled with shock, because The Overlord's ZONE felt completely different.
"Could that be the power behind the second gate?!"
Even though The Overlord hadn't truly released that power yet, one could already feel that matchlessly powerful strength. Symboli Rudolf didn't believe ordinary ZONE could possess such power—the only explanation was the undiscovered power deeper within ZONE, the power behind that second gate!
"Rice Shower is making her move at this point!"
"What astonishing presence—is this the Black Assassin's true face?!"
The commentators felt the current Rice was a completely different person from before. Though those familiar with Rice knew her daily demeanor differed from her racing persona, the current Rice felt even more different—not just a different demeanor, but as if she'd truly switched to a different soul.
In the stands, Trainer Kuronuma and Mihono Bourbon were both stunned by The Overlord's emergence. Watching the explosive power displayed in that instant, Kuronuma felt chills running through his body, cold sweat pouring. Though he hadn't used a timer, his instincts told him Rice's current burst speed exceeded Bourbon's maximum!
But how could this be?
How could the Black Assassin possess such strength?
If she had this power, why didn't she use it in her race against Bourbon?
No.
Something was even more wrong.
Why had the Black Assassin waited until now in this race to get serious?
"Is that really Rice Shower?"
Kuronuma couldn't help murmuring.
So unbelievable.
How could she evolve to this extent in such a short time?
Was that rookie trainer some hidden prodigy from a prestigious family?
Holding some secret training techniques?
The P whom Kuronuma had in mind was currently equally bewildered.
Wait—he didn't know Rice had such power?
Was this also ZONE's power? The effect of Rice's ZONE?
ZONE... what an absurd power.
P, knowing nothing about ZONE's true nature, had no idea what was happening.
"..."
Mihono Bourbon said nothing.
She watched Rice's figure in the race.
But something felt different now.
Gone.
Whatever Rice had possessed before was gone.
The desire to win.
The brilliance of someone striving toward a distant dream—in this moment, it had all vanished.
What remained was only darkness—
Endless darkness and absolute power!
After beginning her sprint, The Overlord's dominating aura surged.
ZONE activated—
Fusion's second effect triggered!
Merging skills Pursuer of Blue Roses (Flash), Black Assassin (Flash), and Kiss of the Rose (Flash)—fusion!
Intense darkness shooting toward the heavens bloomed from The Overlord, the terrifying ultimate power revealing a new facet.
Within the darkness, withered blue rose petals scattered—as if symbolizing innocent dreams now shattered.
What remained was only ultimate power and unshakeable victory!
The competitors behind watched that rushing figure, the terrifying speed preventing them from approaching even slightly.
Whether speed or power, the gap was overwhelmingly absolute!
Ultimate darkness, matchless power, unshakeable absolute victory!
This was the bearing The Overlord's figure displayed.
No words needed, no performance required—merely by running, one could feel that presence!
"Simply incredible—it defies description—such instantaneous explosive power is unprecedented!"
"Is this the Black Assassin's charging power?!"
"Strong—too strong!"
Even though The Overlord still had some distance from the leaders, that burst speed could absolutely close it.
No!
Never mind catching up.
If this burst speed could be maintained even briefly, she could even achieve absolute dominance after overtaking!
Powerful, terrifying, dominating!
She was the very embodiment of the word monster.
"Hey, wait, how is Rice doing this? Is this also ZONE?"
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka couldn't help looking at Mejiro McQueen, whose forehead was now covered in cold sweat.
ZONE?
No!
McQueen, who clearly sensed The Overlord's terrifying power, could confirm—that definitely wasn't just a ZONE effect. But she didn't know what it was either, because it did carry ZONE's presence.
Not having discovered the second gate's existence, McQueen couldn't connect to anything deeper.
Only a select few horse girls—
Such as Symboli Rudolf, Marvelous Sunday, and Zenno Rob Roy—in this moment all couldn't help peering into ZONE's depths.
That second gate remained unmoved like bedrock.
But behind it, pitch-black presence identical to The Overlord's aura was indeed emanating.
And that dark presence even faintly suggested an intent to devour everything.
They all sensed that approaching might even consume their own ZONEs completely.
Could what lay behind that gate be not greater power but some kind of calamity?
Symboli Rudolf and others were stunned.
But they quickly recovered.
No.
ZONE's power was inherently dangerous.
It had always been a double-edged sword.
So what lay behind that gate should be the same—enormous danger, but also enormous power!
Unfortunately, even forcing themselves through that fear to touch the stone gate, the second gate remained immovable.
As if declaring—
You do not yet possess the qualifications to enter this realm!
This made many suspect Rice had already passed through the second gate.
Otherwise, the power she displayed and the presence from the stone gate couldn't be explained.
Back to the race.
After The Overlord executed skill fusion and displayed this new power, the trailing competitors were all stunned.
"What kind of power is that?!"
This power is too overwhelming!
Not only had it devoured interference skills—
It displayed such terrifying speed and explosive power.
And even more outrageously, it seemed to have recovery effects too.
Actually, the devoured interference skills had nothing to do with The Overlord's current burst—that was merely Fusion's passive effect. The Overlord could choose to fuse anything, including but not limited to opponents' attributes, experience, and skills. Rice herself could also trigger this effect, but her current output ceiling might not reach The Overlord's ceiling.
The Overlord's second Fusion effect—fusing her own skills to create new skills, obtaining power transcending limits—only The Overlord could currently use. Rice didn't lack qualification; she lacked the experience points to master this advanced technique, since she hadn't even mastered Fusion's basic effects.
Pursuer of Blue Roses: Increases speed and acceleration based on willpower!
Kiss of the Rose: Absorbs opponent's stamina, increases speed!
Black Assassin: Greatly recovers stamina, increases speed!
The new skill fused from these three Flash skills—
Though still Flash-tier, its power was extraordinary!
Because the skill was only Flash-tier simply due to Flash being the maximum skill tier.
Shattered Dreams, Withered Blue Roses, Peerless Pursuer: Recovers stamina, continuously absorbs stamina from all opponents ahead, increases speed and acceleration without limit based on remaining stamina (skill duration: 12 seconds)
What does "outside all calculations" mean?
This was it!
An ultimate skill combining recovery, interference, and burst!
And terrifyingly, its duration exceeded 10 seconds!
Yet even this terrifying skill was merely a small application of Fusion.
Theoretically, Fusion had no limits.
Only the horse girl body's limitations restricted The Overlord's output.
Otherwise, even if the target were The World itself, given sufficient bodily capacity, it could be fused.
What is ultimate darkness? Now witness it with your own eyes!
The Overlord had no intention of deploying Fusion's true power against these insects.
Because they weren't worthy!
More importantly, she didn't want Rice to fall into fear because of it.
Because all she wanted was to pluck the flower named Victory and present it to Rice.
Yet even this mere fragment of The Overlord's power had already shattered everyone's worldview.
Power that would be top-tier even in the system's cross-temporal grand races—in this world, it was dimensional devastation!
The local competitors behind all wore expressions of disbelief.
Especially Taiki Shuttle, who'd raced against Rice several times as her contemporary—her eyes were now wide.
Rice was this strong?
Such rule-breaking power appearing in Rice made her feel like her classmate had suddenly been isekai'd—or like those light novels where someone becomes invincible in another world and then crosses back to the current timeline. How else could such more-than-cheating progress be explained?
She didn't think the previous Rice wasn't strong.
She just felt the current Rice was unrealistically strong!
User Friendly, still frustrated about being overtaken, suddenly felt a terrifying presence surge from behind and engulf her. Her tail instantly went rigid. Her flushed face from exertion rapidly paled. This sudden mental shift threw her condition into even worse disarray.
If her pre-race condition had been "Normal," she'd now been hammered down to "Worst Condition."
A dark figure flashed past User Friendly's side. The Overlord didn't deign to spare her even a glance. Those cold eyes were hollow and deep—seeming to observe nothing yet seeming to have fused everything. Insects as insignificant as her weren't even worth The Overlord's attention, because mere aura release could effortlessly crush such existences.
That dominating presence tore through air, the terrifying footfalls seeming capable of shattering opponents' hearts.
Tokai Teio and Naturalism ahead now also sensed something wrong. Gritting their teeth, they burst forth, but their feeble candlelight couldn't even produce a splash before the endless darkness. Those powerful footsteps didn't weaken at all—instead drawing ever closer at speeds beyond per-second measurement. That speed had transcended mere limit-breaking!
And what was their limit (1200) was, for The Overlord, merely starting speed.
"Caught up!"
"Final straightaway—Rice Shower has broken through!"
That duration might have been merely a blink to some, yet Rice had already surged from behind to the absolute front. Whether Tokai Teio or Naturalism, neither could obstruct that dominating figure even slightly. The overtake was effortless, followed immediately by an unwavering charge toward the finish line.
Until The Overlord crossed the line, everyone's expressions remained frozen in shock from The Overlord's emergence.
"Crossed the finish line!"
"Completing this Japan Cup conquest is Rice Shower!"
"A devastatingly powerful super rampage—after the undefeated Triple Crown, Rice Shower claims another crown! With such a powerful horse girl, can anyone possibly defeat her?!"
"Second place finished with an enormous gap—unfortunately failing to place! The crowd favorite Tokai Teio and second-favorite User Friendly both exit this race in crushing defeat!"
The commentator loudly announced the race results.
But the spectators couldn't emerge from that race for a long while.
The Overlord's terrifying figure was deeply branded into their hearts.
Everyone shared one feeling.
They had been conquered!
Completely conquered by that peerless running!
Black Assassin?
No—such a title couldn't describe even a fraction of this horse girl's magnificence.
That was no assassin.
She was absolute royalty, supreme dominance, the ultimate seated at power's pinnacle!
The Peerless Overlord
Perhaps only such a title could barely capture a glimpse of the bearing she displayed.
At this moment, every spectator present had submitted their hearts before The Overlord's absolute power.
...
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