Progress Through Deduction

"That's why you've come here, in this manner."

The Da Shen looked angrily at the four familiar faces in front of him.

"The [Super Vanguard] isn't with me."

"That driver wasn't my creation."

"In the script, I didn't manage to take it."

"My [Primal War God] is not its recognized successor either."

"Even though it has condensed its own [vehicle spirit] without relying on a driver throughout the ages."

"But its cornering skills are just as perfect as the [Sonic War God], and it can also create a tornado like the [Rush God of War] while controlling the wind. Isn't it obvious that its Soul of the Car can only reside in Tsuchiya?"

"Are you saying Dr. Tsuchiya lied?" Aji Ron's eyes widened.

"How could that be?" Da Shen exclaimed in exasperation. "Tsuchiya isn't that kind of person. Can't you guys use your brains for a second? Who had this car before?"

"Okada Tesshin!" Magneto answered quickly.

"Yes." Dr. Ogami nodded. "Perhaps, at the beginning of a certain era, Teacher Tieshin discovered the 'Car Soul' on the 'Super Vanguard.' Then he took it away and nurtured it as a secret weapon."

"It seems that Teacher Tieshin has not given up."

"[The Great Cataclysm] may have originated from it."

"That's right!" Dr. Ogami suddenly looked up. "Your modifications must stop. If the [Great Cataclysm] is really coming, you must keep the vehicle in its original form as much as possible. This will greatly help you master the power of immortality."

"Do we need to cut out the heart?" Magneto's face, which was already half flesh-colored, looked rather grim. "I've already digested most of the [Black Hole Engine]."

The same applies to Susan and the other two; the [Black Hole Engine] and [Time Acceleration Device] have greatly enhanced their abilities, and they have begun to absorb their benefits.

"No need," Dr. Ogami said. "You just can't make any more modifications."

"The Three Kingdoms Group will host the Tōkichi Cup in one month."

"At your current level, this match is enough for you to digest the modified parts."

"By the way, you can also see the real [Victory Rush] and [Pioneer Sonic]."

Seeing that the four of them were somewhat dismissive, Dr. Ogami raised his voice, "Don't think that the [Great Rush] you've seen is all of Gō's strength."

"[Victory Rush] Gō is stronger than [Great Rush] Gō."

"[Great Rush] Gō is dancing in shackles, a form that should never have been reproduced and has long since disappeared."

"Ah~" x4

The four of them began to feel uneasy.

The deductive method, Dr. Tsuchiya's story, and the car's data gave them the confidence that they were about to reach the level of Ancient Driver.

But this is also based on the performance of Ancient Driver in the spring season.

Now, the Dr. Ogami tells them that it is only the basic form.

Take Gō as an example.

The "Rush God of War" also has three other forms: "Victory Rush", "Cyclone Rush", and "Leaping Rush".

What they saw was only the tip of the iceberg.

Unfortunately, they can't make any modifications right now and can only use basic components like the [Black Hole Engine] and [Time Acceleration Device].

The race that the four of them didn't care about—the race between six ancient racers at the Tsuchiya Research Institute —held much greater weight in their hearts.

"That's it?" x4

Inside the Tsuchiya Research Institute.

The four felt they had been scammed.

After waiting for two weeks, this is the result.

They were now in a spacious hall, inside which was a complex and winding miniature race car track.

If it weren't for the five ancient racers currently enacting a story in the hall, the Dash and Dr. Tsuchiya duo, who would definitely be in the competition, would probably have turned around and left.

"Only five?" Ron looked at the five people on the track. "I thought I'd see some new faces. Turns out Kurosawa went to America, and the other driver is Jirōmaru, Ryū's younger brother."

("If Ron inherited Jirōmaru's power, then he—")

("Then he would have already mastered the power of immortality by now.")

(Basil answers Madison's question.)

(Ever since she learned that Susan and Katy were destined to die, she's taken to asking questions like this.)

("That's true. Jirōmaru is also a kind of clown, and his personality is quite similar, just a bit more wicked. He'd be a good match for Ron in the movie." Madison nodded.)

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, there are various test checkpoints. The rule is to see who can complete eighty laps in the shortest time. If you can't complete one lap in 13 seconds, you will be punished."

Upon hearing the words of the Dash, the four people's eyes widened.

However, it wasn't because of the scene that suddenly popped into my head with the words of the Dash —the track collapsed, and a war god entered the figure-eight tunnel and moved forward.

Instead

"This hall is about the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts," Ron said. "At the speed of Hoshikage Gō, even if they lapped it 80 times, it wouldn't take them a second."

This was even after he had considered that the Dash would use the Soul of the Car Power to reinforce the track.

Magneto instinctively tried to salvage Dr. Tsuchiya's reputation by mentioning "this track."

But the only part of this mini racing track worth mentioning is a 90-degree hairpin bend that's a real death trap.

But this is nothing to Ancient Driver.

If it weren't for the script's limitations, they could even make smooth turns without touching the walls of the track, without needing the aid of guide wheels at all.

"The power of the script is terrifying." Susan used a way of speaking she had learned from Homelander Li Lin. "Hoshikage Gō actually caught a cold. This terrifying life form, on par with the stars, can actually catch a cold, all because of the script."

"Isn't the most surprising thing that their cars need battery replacements?" Magneto said. "The drivers also need to consider energy and warm up the cars. Jirōmaru even swapped his and Hoshikage Gō's batteries because of this, although Ryū swapped them back, no, to be precise, he swapped them back for himself."

"Fate is really interesting. Why does it always find reasons to prevent Ryū from using its full strength?"

"Quiet," Katy mimicked R's aloof tone. "The match has begun."

"The one who took the lead right away was Jirōmaru's War God 600." The commentary for the Dash also started at the same time as the match.

The four people's attention was not on the fact that Jirōmaru's car shared the same name as Acheng.

"So slow," Ron frowned. "Their car."

"The Triangle Arrow is actually falling behind because of battery issues?" Magneto thought in disbelief.

"Could this be the reason why Dr. Tsuchiya specifically reminded us to watch the game?" Susan said. "The script limited their speed."

"Does Dr. Tsuchiya hope that we will observe the Destiny Force through this?" Katy guessed.

("Susan and Katy guessed right," Harry said.)

(From his perspective as Cosmic Knight, all five vehicles are currently bound by chains formed from the materialized Destiny Force, as are their drivers, the Dash, and Dr. Tsuchiya.)

"But I can't see anything." A phantom image of a car had appeared above Ron's head, a phenomenon caused by the full activation of the Soul of the Car Power.

"It would be strange if it were immediately obvious," Magneto reassured him.

"Don't say anything that doesn't fit your persona," Susan reminded her. "You should swear and curse Aji."

"A black guy is a black guy," Magneto the Carrow face changed the subject, "Used to being a farm tool, you've lost your brain, haven't you?"

The moment after he finished swearing, his eyes widened. "Hmm~ I think there's something I can't see attached to this track, no, to these cars."

"Swearing works?" Aji Ron asked in surprise. "Stupid Italian, I like pasta with tomato sauce."

(This certainly angered many Italian wizards.)

(The live stream chat was instantly filled with profanities directed at Ron.)

(Ginny's face turned bright red. "Does he not understand human language? Susan meant to say something that fits her persona.")

"It's no use." Ron frowned.

He hadn't reacted yet.

"Aji, did you leave your brain behind when you escaped from the Da Shen Research Institute?" R-faced Katy mocked Ron while keeping her eyes fixed on the track. "Hiss, I sensed some traces too."

"That idiot Gō, he doesn't care about his health at all for the sake of the competition." Adult Lie's face mirrored Susan's, her eyes fixed on [Sonic War God], "It really works."

Perhaps because she inherited the power of [Cosmic Sonic], she saw more in [Sonic War God], and she even saw some outline of it.

Even Ron, who was slow to react, realized what was going on, but he thought, "What should Aji say?"

"Don't say anything, just stare coldly at the track, your icy gaze ideally carrying a hint of envy, but not too obviously," Susan advised.

She is now Lie, kind, and helpful, which fits the character setting.

"Ah~ a mix of coldness and envy, and yet no one can tell." Ron didn't understand.

"Imagine you see Harry and Draco kissing," Susan said.

Ron's ears turned red.

(Because he is now dark-skinned, most viewers didn't notice.)

(But this does not include Ginny, who was also modified by Harry with superpowers.)

(Ginny's eyes are now flushed, especially after she discovered that this actually works on Ron.)

(Harry, standing to the side, was speechless, only hoping that Ginny wouldn't notice him right now.)

"I felt it," Ron said excitedly. "Uh, it's gone again."

"Cough cough, all these cars should be destroyed. [Primal War God JB] is the strongest, why isn't it included—"

"Oh yeah, I should shut up."

30 minutes later.

After the race, the five Ancient Driver left the research institute.

"Children, you all sensed it, didn't you?" Dr. Tsuchiya, who had finally been freed after completing the script, came to the four of them.

"I still prefer you calling us kids," Katy said. "It's a little too affectionate."

"There's nothing I can do," Dr. Tsuchiya shrugged. "As the script progresses, I've regained my manners."

"Why should we let them leave? Can't we stop them and ask them a few questions?" Ron asked. "Ryū once told Susan that they have messages they can't pass on to you, Doctor."

"The drivers are the most constrained," Dr. Tsuchiya said. "They can only play the role they were in the past."

"Only when you're on the field, without your own script, can you say a few words and reveal some information."

"Didn't you and Dr. Ogami ever think of having someone follow them and ask them for information once they were free?" Susan asked, puzzled.

"We never thought of that," Dr. Tsuchiya said. "We never imagined that they, who have always been pawns and have no freedom, would know information that we don't."

"Alright, the fact that you can successfully sense the Destiny Force means that your [Soul of the Car Power] has begun to couple with the immortal power in the [Soul Fragment]. This is a good omen."

"I don't understand," Ron said. "We can clearly sense the Destiny Force, but why can't we feel any of Destiny Force within ourselves?"

"I can only sense that my power has increased, but I have no idea how it has increased."

"Concentration," Dr. Tsuchiya said. "Just now, the Destiny Force was so concentrated that Gō and the others could only drive at such a ridiculous speed."

"And the Destiny Force within you is only..."

(Dr. Tsuchiya made a gesture that enraged the Korean male wizard, who cursed him furiously.)

"Furthermore, sensing the Destiny Force within one's body is inherently more difficult."

"Alright, you can continue watching the video now."

Dr. Tsuchiya was referring to the videos he collected and reproduced of Aji, Carrow, R, and the adult Lie's daily life and practice driving 4WD cars.

"Some of you also made the simple mistake of not realizing that you were playing a taciturn character."

Yes. x4

7 days later.

Da Shen Research Institute.

"We're early." R-faced Katy crossed her arms, exuding an air of aloofness. She looked at Aji -faced Ron, "Aji, welcome back to the Da Shen Research Institute."

She has been in a transformed state for the past few days, and tries to speak as little as possible.

This really helped her a lot.

She is now at least a hundred times stronger than she was before.

However, she also became increasingly sensitive to the Destiny Force in the outside world.

For example, right now, she felt that the air around her was incredibly heavy, as if she were walking through a swamp, but her body was not actually bound by it. This contradictory illusion made her feel as if her period, which had long since disappeared, had returned.

"Sister." Aji- faced Ron also wanted to complain, but due to his character, he could only remain silent.

But to be honest, it gave him the illusion that he was becoming an Eternity protagonist who was being manipulated and unable to decide his own words and actions.

Right now, he feels much sluggish, as if there are invisible chains binding him.

But this force comes from within the body, not from the omnipresent pressure in the air.

("Great!" Harry almost jumped up.)

(Harry thought Ron would be the slowest to progress, given that a talkative person was playing a character who was practically mute and wooden.)

(However, this backfired, making Ron feel unfree. This was not only the lack of freedom that Aji felt during his time at the Da Shen Research Institute, where he could not express himself, but also the lack of freedom that the Aji felt as an Eternity character.)

"Those two idiots are here." Carrow, with his Magneto face, fiddled with a small knife, looking rather shady and roguish.