Final Stretch: Bridge to Glory

Okay, folks...this is it. Win or lose, there's no turning back now.

The final area is upon us. All that's left now is the Ishtar Temple at the finish line. Are you ready, racers!?

？！

All we can do now is watch over everyone on the home stretch.

For this area, each team will be leaving the starting line based on how quickly they completed the rest of the race.

This will of course give some teams an advantage over others, but there's still no way to say for sure how things will play out.

And unlike the other areas, this one is a simple straightaway with a single bridge, so each and every team has a shot at victory.

Got that, everyone? Now that you've made it this far, you're all bona fide cannonball racers.

There'll be no retiring and no giving up!

So give your engines all the magical energy you've got, keep your wheels spinning, and make sure you all leave your marks on this land!

Fou!

All right then, without further ado...

Let the final area of the Ishtar Cannonball Run...begin!

Tch, our tires have lost some of their traction by this point... But we are still on top for the moment!

Once we make it to the bridge, none shall be able to pass us! How fare the other teams, Drama Queen!?

Umu... They remain close behind us! I suppose we should expect no less from our rivals who have kept pace with us this whole time!

Whatever happens, do not take your foot off the accelerator. Is that clear, Trench Coat?

The tires may have worn down, and the smallest vibration may now cause us to skid around a bit, but Red Venus's engine is still going strong!

As its drivers, we cannot afford to hesitate even for a moment! If we should slip off the bridge, so be it!

Of course! Though I am loathe to admit it, you and I are in full agreement, Drama Queen! Once we are past that treacherous bridge, I shall shower you in ale myself!

Babbage, now that we have come this far, we must not settle for anything less than victory!

I know that! Explosive steam turbo boost, go!

UUUUUUhhhhhh! Here we goooooo!

Are we accelerating even faster!?

This form incorporates a secret engine to be used only in emergencies!

Aha, I see!

By the way, would it perchance make use of nitro

JUST STEEEAM!!!

Indubitably!

At any rate, let us give all we have in the final stretch! Hahahaha! Who knew races could be so much fun!

I believe...we have reached the crucial point in this competition!

I am well aware of that, Monk Sanzang. Now is the time to demonstrate my true shadow prefect power!

Is that clear, Kyogoku, my beloved steed? Then run with all your might!

Neiiighhh! (Translation: I'll follow you anywhere, prefect!)

Oh man, they're leaving me in the dust! What's the deal with that horse, anyway?

Well, I can worry about that later! Time to kick it up a notch, Bailong!

Show them what the next great Dragon King of the West can really do!

Snort! (Translation: Leave it to me, Lady Sanzang!)

Snort snort! (Translation: I'll run to the ends of the earth if I have to!)

Now that's what I'm talking about! Keep it up!

I expected no less from you, great monk. Come, let us show everyone that we prefects are not to be trifled with!

Hi ho, Kyogoku!

The emperor and the king are out in front, huh. Looks like they may well cross the finish line first.

But not if Mahatma has anything to say about it! Time to show everyone my Kumara Wheel's ludicrous speed!

L-ludicrous speed!?

H-hold on, Lady Blavatsky! Can you really achieve such speeds on land!?

...No, I can't! Sorry! I just said that because it sounded good!

What!?

But that IS about how fast I WANT to go. And it DOES have a super-acceleration feature, though the g-forces make it a little rough!

But, I'm afraid we don't have enough magical energy to use it. (Glance)

Hahahahaha! That's where we come in!

Indeed! Other teams may not have that sort of energy, but it's not a problem for us!

With our Thunderdome!

Our Thunderdome's true worth lies in its exceptional electricity generation! Now that we are in the heat of the race's home stretch, we will crank it up to 256 times its normal output!

Let me handle converting electricity into magical energy. Don't worry, I just need to invert the standard galvanism.

I do end up taking a significant amount of damage in the process, so I can't make use of this secret technique very often...but for you, Lady Blavatsky, I would be glad to!

As would I, my lady! We WILL have the Thunderdome run at full capacity!

Thanks, guys. I love you both. Okay then... Whenever you're ready!

Indeed!

Naturally!

...Kumara Wheel, Ultra Acceleration!

Thanks to my excellent observational skills, I can tell that now is the time to settle this race once and for all! This is our watershed moment!

Go! Full throttle! Do not let up on the rudder one bit, Mysterious Something-Or-Other!

Hehehe! That car with the two Saberfaces out in front is driven by nothing less than two of my mortal enemies!

I see your unwavering dedication to your goal is as strong as ever! I gotta be honest; it kinda freaks me out!

But, since we've come this far, there's no stopping now! We are inextricably linked! This shall be our Okehazama!

You got it, Nobbu! Go, Altrium!

Surpass your limits, Demon King of the V6 Heaven!

To the skies and beyond! Red Zooone!

Keep going, Pharaoh Legend! By the time this is over, you really WILL be a legend!

Just watch me, Pharaoh Ozymandias, Pharaoh Iskandar, Cleopatra, and every other pharaoh!

Soon, I'll have attained the sort of glory due to all pharaohs by right of birth, with my own hands!

Oh, oh no... We're going too fast... The vehicle's practically shaking itself apart... We're going to die...

Stay strong. We can't slow down now! Because...because, uh...

Because right now, it's like the Legend is swinging around a huge weight! If we stop it too soon, we'll slam against the window and die.

So if you don't want to die, our only option right now is to go even faster and sling the weight even further!

...! I...suppose that does make sense...

(It worked! Hehehe, be prepared for anything, as they say.)

(I knew it was worth taking that Sphinxology correspondence course in case we ever had a Sphinx deficiency.)

(They were dead-on about being able to convince people with any possible analogy as long as you say it with conviction!)

Now go forth, my sun! You are beholden to none but the sky. There is nothing and no one that can stop you!

No surprise here, folks! Every team is going full throttle! Nobody's giving an inch!

Each vehicle is approaching the final part of the race, the bridge spanning a deep ravine, at the same time!

It all comes down to this! Which team will manage to cross this bridge first!?

...Do it.

Wh-what the...!?

What is this!?

Uhhh...! I can't steer!

Something has...cut down the bridge!

Dammit, I can't steer with all this debris!

Now's the time to blast off! ...Eh? We'll just smack into the ground faster at this angle?

YOOOLOOO

Welp, this is how it ends!

W-we're falling... We're falling!

Fou, fooou!

Wha... What was that!?

？！

...!

...I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, because the fun's over now.

You're going to pay dearly for messing up my country!

...

There are so many things I don't understand right now. But the first thing we need to worry about...

...is that everyone fell to the bottom of that ravine!

I'm still picking up Spirit Origin readings for everyone, but none of them are moving anymore.

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but we also lost the signals from all of our nearby relay drones as the bridge went down.

So unfortunately, it's a little hard to tell what's going on!

？！

Agreed! Ishtar, can you help get us to them, like you did when we brought them suppliIshtar?

Huh? Oh, yeah, of course. I'll send Maanna out right away. In the meantime, get all the first aid supplies and stuff ready to go.

Okay!

Fooou!

...

Damn...we were so close. This just became a huge pain in the ass...