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It hurts…… As my breathing becomes more and more ragged, I feel an unpleasant pain in my side.
The course was a lap around a large arena, and with so many obstacles to overcome…… I was exhausted by the time I reached the end of the halfway point.
I was able to turn the tables once when there was a Rubik’s Cube challenge, but that turnaround only ignited Megiddo-san’s fighting spirit and he turned the tables again, and now, I’m way behind him.
However, he’s still barely…… within range……
From the start until now, I’ve been running with my eyes on the end of the course. What obstacles would be there, which route would be the shortest…… With those things in mind, I constructed my magic technique.
To begin with, Megiddo-san and I have different basic stamina. I may be able to run faster than him, but I don’t have the stamina to maintain that speed from start to finish.
That’s why, yes…… “I knew that this was going to happen”……
Megiddo-san is ahead of me, and I’m following behind him. For me to achieve victory…… there’s only one chance.
Autopilot…… I’m the only one who can use magic in this match, and this is my most powerful trump card. This is the only card I have that had a chance of beating Megiddo-san.
However, this trump card of mine is a double-edged sword…… It’s difficult to say this, but the amount of magic power I have isn’t that great. No matter how much I squeeze out, I couldn’t keep Autopilot running for even half of the race course.
That’s why it was crucial to get to the endgame of this race with a gap that I’m able to catch up with…… and that would be the turning point of this match.
< Now, with less than a third of the race course remaining, we’re finally in the endgame of the race! Megiddo-san is now in the lead. He has pulled apart quite a distance from Kaito-san! >
……It’s here. This is the moment! The distance between Megiddo-san and I is just barely enough to catch up with him, but whether my magic power will hold on…… That would be difficult to say.
However, all I need to know is that I have a chance of winning with this.
[……Autopilot.]
The moment I said the keywords, my body slipped out of my control and I sped up.
The fatigue I was feeling doesn’t go away, and I still feel some of the pain from it. However, Autopilot ignores all of that and forces my body to work.
< Whoa there!? Kaito-san abruptly accelerated! He’s heading for the next obstacle in one breath! And what awaits him is the…… Stepping stones Version 2! >
< You like stepping stones that much, No-chan? >
< Stepping stones are the staple of Obstacle Races after all. However, the stepping stones this time are much bigger and more complicated than before. Even Megiddo-san had taken quite a while in there too! Let’s see how Kaito-san would fare with this…… wait, oh my God!? >
< What is it? >
I used Hina-chan as a reference for my running form. As for how to break through this obstacle…… I had the best model running ahead of me.
Stepping on the second stepping stone…… My body jumped to the stepping stones without hesitation and I broke through, using my hands as well as my feet.
< W- Wasn’t that Megiddo-san’s movement just now!? N- No, because of his superior physical strength thanks to magic, Kaito-san’s movement is even faster than Megiddo-san!!! >
< ……I guess he was using War King’s movements as a reference. Well, since the War King would be using the same physical ability as him, with his vast athletic experience, he would certainly be a great reference…… but it ain’t that easy. ……I guess this means that Kai-chan is getting serious huh? >
< Whoa there, he climbed up the next obstacle, a tall wall, at an insanely fast speed! Amazing! He’s getting closer and closer to Megiddo-san! At last, the cornered herbivore has bared his fangs on the carnivore!!! >
Herbivore……? No, well, if Megiddo-san is the carnivore, that means that I’m the herbivore but……
Then, Megiddo-san, who had been compared to a predator, looked at the running me. As an intense smile appeared on his face, he loudly shouted.
[Kaitooooooo! That’s great! That’s a great speed you have! Isn’t that just great! Come! Let me see you sink your fangs on my neck!!!]
Despite the fact that I was catching up on him, Megiddo-san didn’t seem to be flustered at all. In fact, he looked as if he’s having fun.
He’s really a battle maniac by nature…… but, well, putting the act of biting his neck aside…… I still intend to overtake him.
My legs are screaming. I’m so out of breath that I’m feeling suffocated. Still, my body doesn’t stop, and keeps on forcing me to bring out my best performance.
Even though my body is adjusting so that it won’t break down, the pain I’m feeling is still hard to bear…… While my body continues to move, various thoughts come to my mind.
“How could I be working so hard? Isn’t it enough already? Even if I continue like this, I might not be able to catch up with Megiddo-san. In the first place, it’s strange for me to try to beat Megiddo-san, one of the Six Kings. It’s fine for me to lose.” ……Frantically pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I continued to activate Autopilot.
Right from the start, this was not a game that I could not lose. This was all just a game, so I let myself get carried away by the situation and joined their game.
< Now, Megiddo-san has crossed the final obstacle, “walking through a tightrope”, and the rest would just be a straight line to the finish line! Kaito-san too, has reached the final obstacle but…… Would this distance between them be too much for him? >
< The last straight line is quite long, but with the difference between Kai-chan and the War King…… I guess it would be difficult. >
However, yes…… There are many people who have helped me reach this place. Eden-san, Pandora-san, Iris-san…… and lastly……
[Master! Do your best!!!]
Even in the arena filled with heated cheers, I could still strangely hear her voice. With her cheers, I somehow felt like my legs, which should have been moving automatically, gaining strength.
Anima’s voice, and a glimpse of her visage, gave me the courage to bring out my true final joker.
Breaking through the tightrope obstacle, despite being greatly outdistanced, I reached the final straight line.
At that moment, I deactivated Autopilot once and at the same time, reactivated it with the new keywords.
[Autopilot…… Limit Release!]
I didn’t want to use this if it’s possible. After all, using this hurts like hell…… But my opponent is Megiddo-san. He isn’t someone I can win against without taking any risks.
Limit Release…… It is a key word that removes the Autopilot’s restriction of “moving while making sure that it will not destroy my body”.
It’s the same power I used when I fought Anima when she was a Black Bear……
It was a magic that allowed my body to exhibit an extraordinary amount of power.
< W- What a great surprise! Kaito-san dashed forth with an explosive speed! He’s fast! Lightning fast!!! >
[What!?]
With my limiter removed, my body kicks the ground with tremendous force, and I start running at more than twice the speed I was before.
When he saw me rapidly closing the distance between me and Megiddo-san, even Megiddo-san was astonished as he exclaimed in surprise.
However…… This freaking hurts! Ouchingly hurts! I’m also hearing some kind of tearing sound coming from my feet, which definitely doesn’t sound good at all!
I mean, I’m pretty sure my bones are broken too! Well, even if my bones are broken, magic power would still force my legs to move!
Ahh, but as my body screamed in pain, trying to catch up with Megiddo-san…… I also finally understood why I was working so hard.
Of course, there’s also the fact that I can’t lose and waste Anima and the others’ help towards me…… but perhaps, a reason even more important than that……
< The goal is only a few distance before them! There’s hardly any distance between them anymore!!! >
Megiddo-san is really amazing. There were many obstacles in this race that were in my favor. The best example for this is that Rubik’s Cube obstacle.
It must have been the first time he had seen a Rubik’s Cube too. Even so, Megiddo-san was able to clear that puzzle and overtake me.
I’ve been watching Megiddo-san’s movements as reference for Autopilot…… and I was moved by how refined his body movements are.
Megiddo-san is not only powerful, he is also knowledgeable and skilled…… A real warrior who polishes himself without compromise. I think he’s a really great person…… And now, for whatever reason, I am fighting against him.
I wonder if that’s the reason why…… The reason why I wanted to win. His blazing fighting spirit seemed to have ignited my heart as well.
Because Megiddo-san is an amazing person, a warrior who I can truly and undeniably respect…… I want to win against Megiddo-san. It’s not like when we first met, where I somehow won with Shiro-san’s blessing…… I want to win against Megiddo-san with my own power!
[Guhhh!?]
Overtaking Megiddo-san, we are almost to the finish line…… but at that moment, the magic power in my body is about to run out.
As strength slowly loses strength, I feel like I’m seeing things in slow motion while my body starts tumbling forward.
No, not now…… Just a few more steps…… From within my body, squeeze every ounce of magic power out! I will win!!! I will win against Megiddo-san!!!
Feeling magic power passing through my crumbling legs again, I regained my footing and ran.
< Goooooaaallll! Now, in a fierce dead heat race, Kaito-san has reached the goal!!! Eh—— Wha!? >
< Kai-chan!? >
I reached the goal. I beat Megiddo-san! As soon as such feelings come to my mind, Autopilot is completely deactivated.
When that happens, I would be met with a terrible situation where “my legs would suddenly stop while I’m running my maximum speed”, and my body would be thrown forward.
I guess this could only end up with my face smacking on the ground huh…… That would definitely hurt…… Well, it was a suicide mission knowing that I have Fruits of the World Tree with me to begin with, so I was prepared for such a situation…… but I definitely wish for an alternative way where it doesn’t hurt……
Closing my eyes, I prepared for the moment when my face hit the ground first. However, what I felt immediately after was not the pain of my face hitting the ground, but the feeling of being softly and gently hugged.
[……Eh?]
[Haahhh…… You’re being reckless again……]
[……Kuro?]
[Geez, Kaito-kun really won’t change, aren’t you?]
Before I knew it, Kuro was holding me in her arms, and with an amazed expression on her face, she brought her hand over my legs.
Thereupon, my legs were enveloped in light, and the pain I had felt earlier completely disappeared.
[……But well, congratulations. You really did great.]
[……Thanks.]
[……But that doesn’t mean you can escape from my scolding later.]
[……Eh?]
As Kuro held me in her arms, I slowly moved my gaze backward and saw Megiddo-san standing at the goal, clapping his hands with a gentle smile on his face.
[Go on, Kaito-kun. Megiddo and the crowd are waiting for you…… Go ahead. Show your confidence as today’s winner.]
[……Yeah.]
Dear Mom, Dad- Megiddo-san took it very easy on me, and the race course was in my favor. It may not have been a complete victory, but a great feeling still welled up from within me. I’m sure that it’s because, despite all the help I’ve gotten———— I think it’s because I was able to grab this victory with my own power.
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