Pair after pair of hands entwined around Narita Brian, transforming into jet-black patterns.
As the black patterns spread, Narita Brian's face twisted into a ferocious grimace, the shadow-shrouded monster baring its fangs.
At that moment, Narita Brian looked utterly monstrous, letting out a ferocious roar. Simultaneously, the monster within Kousei's mind roared back, sending a jolt through her heart.
This wasn't a Gate Technique, yet its impact rivaled even the most powerful Gate Techniques.
It unleashed a mental shockwave similar to a Gate Technique, simultaneously shaking the mind.
Within the Mist, several shapeless monsters emerged, more elusive and impossible to discern than the Mist itself.
These are the monsters Narita Brian sees!
The strange dissonance vanished completely. Narita Brian's heavy hooves dug into the turf, and with a surge of power from her right leg, the crushed grass blades shot skyward like a storm of arrows.
The jet-black monster broke through, its posture menacing, its speed transcending the souls of all living beings.
Anyone who witnessed this scene would be left in stunned disbelief. They had used the term "monster" to describe Narita Brian based on her overwhelming dominance over her peers. But now, Narita Brian truly looked like a monster incarnate, her chaotic, rage-filled form radiating boundless destructive energy.
One couldn't help but wonder: Is that really still Narita Brian?
Kousei couldn't see the monsters directly, but she could vaguely sense their presence through the state of the Mist.
"Damn it! So noisy!"
The monster in her mind continued to shriek incessantly, its voice bone-chilling. Narita Brian's speed increased relentlessly, accelerating wildly as if she had lost control. Yet her stride remained perfectly maintained, her chest rising and falling in sync with her movements.
Though the monster's expression was ferocious, its actions were precise and destructive.
It was strangely beautiful.
Her heart pounded violently, impossible to suppress. Any attempt to restrain it would immediately be met with an almost suffocating pain.
So she let it race on, let it hunger.
-
"When I was little, I often chased after my onee-san. Our kindergarten teachers would always praise us, saying we'd become the greatest Umamusume someday. As young Umamusume, we didn't understand the deeper meaning—we just wanted to run.
Onee-san was always faster. I could never catch up to her.
One day, during our usual race, I watched her pull ahead. A fierce desire to surpass her welled up inside me. Perhaps because of that longing, I saw the black monster.
It gazed at me with a knowing smile, and instinctively, I responded.
When I came to, my onee-san lay collapsed before me, clutching her ankle in agony."
Frozen in place, I stood there, utterly bewildered. Mocking laughter rang in my ears; the black monster was actually laughing.
"Huh? My onee-san is injured. What's so funny?"
-
Let it torment me, let it devour me.
The clatter of horseshoes reverberated across the racetrack, enveloping me entirely. Though only two of us were racing, Kousei saw a phantom crowd surging forward.
The chains snaked out, attempting to ensnare the pitch-black monster.
"Restrain her—even for a second!"
She couldn't let Narita Brian pull ahead on the straightaway!
Narita Brian didn't even glance back, but the chains ground to a halt as if blocked by an invisible force.
At the same moment, the monster in Kousei's mind swelled relentlessly. The crimson chains were gradually consumed by blackness, twisting around to bind Kousei instead!
"What?!"
Kousei had never encountered such a situation before. Watching Narita Brian's figure recede into the distance, she made a snap decision.
"Get out of my head!"
Twin Flame Wheels ignited in her eyes, and the pitch-black monster erupted in roaring flames. With a piercing shriek, it dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
Beneath the Flame Wheels, blood-stained vertical pupils glared back at the monster racing ahead.
Kousei snarled, baring identical fangs. Narita Brian's eyes burned with predatory hunger, black veins already covering half her face.
"When the time is right, I'll personally bite through your throat."
The monster that taught her longing now craved to devour her.