Running a lap around the already large arena and breaking through numerous obstacles on top of that... By the time we got to the end of the middle part of the race, I was pretty tired.

　He was able to turn it around once when there was the Rubik's Cube challenge, but as a result, Megiddo's fighting spirit was ignited and reversed again, and now he was pretty far behind.
　And yet, I'm still just barely........within range....

　From the start until now, I've been watching the final stages of the race. I was thinking about what obstacles there would be and which route would be the shortest one to take as I built up my technique.
　To begin with, me and Megiddo-san have different basic physical strength. Even though my running speed is faster, I don't have the stamina to maintain that speed from start to finish.
　So, yes.........'I knew this would happen'.......

　Megiddo-san goes ahead, and I'm chasing after him. There was only one chance for me to win........
　 That's the only card that has a chance of surpassing Megiddo-san.

　But this trump card is a double-edged sword I don't mind saying it myself, but my magical capacity is hollow. No matter how much I squeeze it out, I can't maintain autopilot for even half of the course.
　That's why the difference between winning and losing was the difference between reaching the end of the course and not being able to catch up.

'Now, there's less than a third of the course left and we're entering the endgame!　The lead used to be Mr. Megiddo. We have a big lead over Mr. Kite!'

　I'm here. They're here!　The distance between me and Megiddo-san is just barely enough to catch up, and whether or not my magic power can hold up.......it's a delicate distance.
　But it's better to have a chance of winning.

'.........Autopilot.

　As soon as I say the key words, my body goes out of my own control and speeds up all at once.
　The fatigue doesn't go away, I feel the pain. But ignoring all of that, the autopilot forces my body to operate.

'Oops!　Mr. Kite is accelerating here!　We're heading to the next gate in one fell swoop!　And now we have a stepping stone for you, Stepping Stone Ver 2!
"You like stepping stones, No.
'It's a classic, after all. But this one is quite big and the course is very complicated. Megiddo took a while to get it right.　Will Kite-san.......................what?

　My running form was based on Yona's. The movement to break through the obstacle I had the best example in front of me.
　The second stepping stone my body jumped to the scaffolding without hesitation, using not only my feet but also my hands to break through.

'This, this is Megiddo-san's move!　No, no, as far as my physical abilities are concerned, I'm faster than Megiddo-san!''
''........I guess he was referring to the movements of the War King. Of course, an opponent who is experienced in sports and has the same physical ability as you is probably the best person to use as a reference, but it's not that easy.
"Whoa, the next wall you're going to climb is going to be insane!　This is great!　We're getting closer and closer to Mr. Megiddo!　Finally, a cornered herbivore has turned on a carnivore!''

　A herbivore........no, well, if Megide-san is a carnivore, then I'm definitely a herbivore.......but...

　And Megide-san, who was likened to a carnivore, turned her gaze once toward me while running, smiled intensely, and shouted loudly.

'Kite oo!　Good, good speed!　It's the best!　Come on!　Let me bite my neck!

　Megiddo is not impatient at all, even though he should be in a catch-up situation. Rather, she has an expression that says she's having fun and can't help it.
　I'm really a battle fanatic to the core........but, well, right now I'm going to.......bite the bullet too.

　My legs are screaming. The breathlessness is also tremendous. Still, my body won't stop, and I continue to force it to perform at its best.
　Even though I'm adjusting my body so that it doesn't break down, this pain is hard... My body keeps moving, but all sorts of thoughts pop into my head.

　How am I working so hard?　Isn't that enough?　Even if I continue like this, I might not be able to catch up to Megiddo-san. In the first place, it's not right to try to beat Megide-san, the Sixth King.

　At first it wasn't a game I couldn't lose. It was just a game, I was just participating in the flow of things.

''Now, Megide-san has crossed the last hurdle, the tightrope walker, and the rest is a straight line to the goal!　Kite, you're approaching the final barrier................................Is this distance too tough?''
'It's quite a long straightaway at the end, but the distance between you and the Warlord is ... tough.

　 Eden-san, Pandora-san, Iris-san.......and........

''Master!　Good luck!

　His voice was strangely clear, even in the heat and cheers of the arena. I felt some kind of strength in my legs that should have been moving automatically.

　The voice, and the glimpse of Anima's glimpse, really gave me the courage to cut the final joker.

　I broke through the tightrope barrier and arrived at the final straight line, despite the large distance between us.
　At that moment, I deactivated the autopilot once and re-activated it at the same time with the key words.

"Autopilot........limit release!

　I didn't want to use this one if I could. Because it hurts like hell and it hurts like hell but it's Mr. Megiddo. He's not someone I can beat without taking a risk.

　
　The same power I used when I fought Anima when I was a Black Bear in the past.......

　The magic that is activated causes my body to exert an order of magnitude more power.

'What, what!　Mr. Kite has an explosive spurt here!　Fast, fast!'
What?

　My body, whose limiter is off, kicks the ground with tremendous force and starts running at more than twice the speed of the previous one.
　Seeing me closing the distance between myself and Megiddo-san by accelerating rapidly, Megiddo-san, as expected, lets out a shocked cry.

　But.........it hurts!　Ouch itty bitty!　I heard some kind of buzzing sound coming from my foot, or something that's not a good sound for a human body, approximately!
　Or, I'm pretty sure I broke a bone, too!　Well, even if a bone is broken, the magic forces the leg to move!

　Yeah, but my body screamed and caught up with me for that amount of time.......and I finally understood why I was working so hard.
　Of course I can't lose to avoid wasting the cooperation of Anima and the others, but.......maybe I'm more than that.......

''I'm close to the goal!　There is little difference anymore!'

　Mr. Megiddo is truly amazing. This race had a lot of challenges in my favor. The Rubik's Cube is the best example of that.
　Some of them would have been new to me. Nevertheless, Megiddo was able to clear them all and stay ahead of me.

　I was watching Megiddo's movements as a reference for the autopilot, and I was even impressed by the sophistication of his body language.
　Mr. Megiddo is not just a man of strength, he is a real powerhouse who doesn't compromise on his knowledge and skills. I think he's a truly amazing person.

　I guess that's why........I want to win. I'm not sure if that's why.

　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. Not because of Shiro-san's blessing or anything like the first time we met... but by myself!

Grrrr?

　
　It seemed to be in slow motion as the power drained from my feet and my body crumbled down.

　No, don't run out yet........just a few more steps.......squeeze the magic power out of my body, from my body!　Win!　Win, Mr. Megiddo, win!

　The magic power passed through his crumbling legs again, and he recovered.

'Goooooooool!　Now, in a fierce dead heat, Mr. Kite finishes the fight!　What--what?
Kai-chan!

　The goal. We beat Mr. Megiddo!　As soon as those emotions emerge, the autopilot is completely disengaged.
　When that happens, it's a horrible situation of 'at maximum speed, my legs don't move' and my body is thrown out in a forward motion.

　 ...If possible, it shouldn't hurt too much....

　I closed my eyes, prepared for my face to collide with the ground. However, what I felt immediately afterwards was not the pain of my face hitting the ground, but the feeling of being softly and gently embraced.

''........Eh?''
'Huh ... reckless again ...'
...Black?
Oh, you really can't help it, Kite.

　Before I knew it, Black, who had been holding me in his arms, held his hand over my leg with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
　Then my leg is enveloped in light, and the pain I felt earlier has completely disappeared.

"...but, well, congratulations. You did a great job.
Thank you.
But I'll scold you later, okay?
...What?

　I slowly moved my gaze backwards as Black hugged me, and I saw Megiddo-san standing at the goal, clapping his hands with a soft smile on his face.

'Quick, Kite. Megiddo and the crowd are waiting for you.......go ahead. Like a victor, go proudly.
Yeah.

　Dear Mom and Dad--Mr. Megiddo was very tame, and the course was in my favor. It may not be a complete victory, but it's still a great sensation to feel. I'm sure that's because even though I had a lot of help, I was able to seize this victory on my own.