As Raven was lamenting why the Crimson Abyss wasn't hot at all, the commentator Otto suddenly appeared and spoke seriously.
"Hey, just to clarify, the Crimson Abyss's high temperatures only affect the Valkyries; other contestants aren't affected."
Contestant Kiana protested angrily at this clearly unfair setting.
"Hey, what kind of weird rules are these!?"
Like Kiana, the entire audience from St. Freya Academy who were all Valkyries were also internally complaining about this rule that clearly discriminated against them.
But when they realized that it was that bastard Otto who was hosting the competition, they had nothing more to say.
"To withstand the heat, the Valkyries had to sacrifice their speed for defensive gear, effectively giving up their previous advantage."
As Rita's calm commentary played, Kiana, having replaced Hannah with a different set of stigmata, slowed considerably and was overtaken by the latter Raven.
"The race has reached the third zone, Pure Bliss... er, no, Frozen Land!"
After crossing the Crimson Abyss track, Otto began reporting the current race progress, lamenting the signs on the field.
"It's freezing here, and the competitors are already showing signs of severe discomfort. Alas, even our camera lenses are showing frost marks!"
During this time, the twins, seemingly at ease in their vehicles, made a brief appearance.
"The race is already halfway through. Who is the person Archbishop is most optimistic about?"
As a well-mannered announcer, Rita, in her spare time, asked a question to liven up the atmosphere.
"Hehehe, my favorite is... Of course, the contestant, which is my granddaughter."
With a wise big eyed expression on his face, Otto chuckled and raised a finger, appearing utterly confident.
"With Judah's help, victory is a sure thing!"
This display of confidence in her made Theresa who was watching feel a wave of embarrassment.
"Uh... what kind of track is this? It's freezing!"
Kiana appeared on screen, cringed, and lamented the course's harshness.
However, with the sound of a zither, she discovered something truly remarkable.
Clad in the attire that Fu Hua so fondly remembered, a person was sipping tea beneath the snow, eating steaming pastries and gazing at the breathtaking snowy scene... a look of peace on her face.
"Captain, lend me your cloak!" Kiana passed by like the wind, leaving only a lingering echo.
The ancient immortal stood up with a kind face, but before she could do anything, her companion spoke up.
"Calm down, Immortal. Let me handle this little matter for you."
"...Is this... Theresa?"
Outside the image, looking at Astrologos who looked almost identical to Theresa, except for her rather unusual clothing, Himeko felt a little strange.
Mei hesitated for a moment, unable to conceal a hint of surprise and amusement. "It seems so, but... she seems... smarter than the principal?"
"Hey, Mei!"
Theresa couldn't help but glare at these words, but because Mei was usually well-behaved and easy on her, she didn't react.
If Kiana had said that, she would have given her a good scolding!
Afterward, Theresa glanced in anger at Mei's comment, at the figure in the image who looked so much like herself.
What do you mean by smarter than me? When it comes to intelligence, this dean won't lose to this old-fashioned guy!
Completely oblivious to the fact that Starlit Astrologos resembled her, Theresa forcibly distinguished herself from the person on the screen.
"This should be related to that magical girl from before..."
Einstein offered some analysis, but when she tried to use the magical girl TeRiRi as an example, Theresa glared at her, so she tactfully skipped over the part.
"Well, anyway, it's a similar situation. It's Ms. Theresa's other-worldly counterpart, right?"
Theresa demonstrated a new use of Judah and taken the lead, but wasn't as smooth as before on the freezing track. Standing on Judah, she folded her arms as the oncoming cold wind made her shiver.
"Ugh, ugh, it's so cold! Judah can barely fly!"
Suddenly, she noticed Kiana running happily ahead, draped in a cloak. Her eyes lit up, and she asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Uh, uh... Kiana, where did you get that cloak?!"
But as soon as she finished speaking, a formation pattern appeared beneath her feet. Along with the sound of a zither, a sudden hurricane swept her away with screams of "Ahhh!"
From an outsider's perspective, considering what Theresa had said earlier, everyone naturally understood what was going on.
Himeko was a little amused. "Is this what they call... ruthless, even when you're ruthless, you won't let go of yourself?"
"But this... the sports meet is a bit of a bummer." She glanced at the ranking list that popped up, looking at the grayed-out names and the only three remaining players, and couldn't help but sigh.
Normal sports meets are all about ranking... but this Great Honkai Games feels like it's all about who can survive to the end.
When Himeko mentioned this, Mei frowned and volunteered, "I remember the title said the winner of this meet was Dr. Tesla, right?"
"But... Dr. Tesla should have been eliminated, right?"
Everyone was stunned.
"...Maybe there's something unexpected. Judging from this ridiculous event, it wouldn't be surprising if anything happened. Who knows, maybe in the end, our Dr. Tesla will follow that Ganesha and take first place in an extremely unexpected way?"
Einstein offered an explanation for this anomaly, but Tesla wasn't pleased. She angrily retorted.
"Screw your unexpectedness! This genius will undoubtedly be the final victor of the Games!"
And Ganesha...
Thinking of that Ganesha who had embarrassed her pretentious self from the very beginning, Tesla's eyes lit up.
If this thing weren't an Emperor-level Honkai Beast, a rare creature, she would have taken the Padrino to vent her anger when she got back!
In the past, a Titan army alone would have suffered considerable losses in defeating an Emperor-level Honkai Beast.
Now? Tesla could unhesitatingly call the living Wodan her destructive power, nearly rivaling that of a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie. If faced with an S-rank Valkyrie less adept at dealing with larger opponents, she could even be overwhelmingly defeated.
The former war behemoth Ganesha is now nothing more than a filling in a bun in Tesla's eyes!