Breathe in, breathe out.
Tokai Teio had lost count of how many times she had repeated this simple cycle inside the starting gate.
Each breath drawn through her nostrils into her lungs only fanned the flames burning in her heart.
A year ago, she never would have imagined that a single Uma Musume's name could linger in her mind for so long.
But now, a year later, the name Dream Weaver had become the nightmare haunting Tokai Teio every night.
An undefeated record and the Triple Crown—these were the dreams that had shaped the first half of her life.
But once the undefeated streak was gone, and even the Triple Crown began to teeter, the very persona that sustained her hopes for the future would crumble into emptiness.
Tokai Teio refused to become that version of herself.
She despised that hollow, future-less self—blank and without ideals.
Just as she despised Dream Weaver now.
Yes, aside from venting her fury at a rival who seemed almost hopeless to catch, there was another reason Tokai Teio loathed Dream Weaver.
In her, she saw that future hollow self.
Perhaps immensely strong, perhaps capable of seizing every victory, but empty at heart.
Tokai Teio was a genius—a prodigy in every sense.
Even her insight and ability to read people were innate talents.
She had been observing Dream Weaver since her debut race, watching her step by step transform into what she was now. And Teio believed she had seen right through her.
All that talk about dedicating glory to everyone, about using victory as motivation for the audience to move forward—it was nothing but self-deceiving lies.
And lies served only one purpose: to mask the hollow self within.
In Tokai Teio's eyes, Dream Weaver was exactly that—A Hollow Person.
She saw no hunger for Victory in those eyes, no passion for racing, not even a shred of desire for the honor of the Triple Crown.
She just kept winning, then used the lie of "bringing hope to others through victory" to sustain herself.
Tokai Teio didn't want to become an Uma Musume like that.
She still remembered the awe she felt as a child stepping onto the track for the first time, the thrill of seeing Symboli Rudolf's majestic figure for the very first time.
If losing her undefeated streak and the Triple Crown would turn her into an Uma Musume who cared about nothing, like Dream Weaver, then she would fight in this Satsuki Sho—for the sake of the naive Tokai Teio of the past.
Breathe in, breathe out.
The cycle she had repeated countless times once again flowed through her nostrils, coursing through her entire body.
A blazing fire ignited in her heart, surging through her veins to her limbs, an unprecedented power wrapping around her.
Her red cloak billowed behind her like flames seeping from her very body.
Beneath the fire, her toes dug into the turf as if using the entire earth as a launching pad—ready to tear the ground beneath her the moment the chance arrived.
The clamor from outside the track was long forgotten.
Now, Tokai Teio could hear nothing but her own breathing, her own heartbeat, and one other sound.
The sound of the gates flying open.
Bang!
The gloomy, damp air surged forward unhindered, crashing into the narrow, crowded gates like a tidal wave—then, an instant later—
It was torn apart by an explosive force.
BOOM!
Tremendous power erupted against the earth, kicking up clouds of dust that nearly swallowed the entire gate entrance.
Within that blinding cloud, a glaring flash of red shot out like a blade—so fast that before anyone could even sense its sharpness, it had vanished from everyone's sight.
No, that wasn't quite right.
It wasn't that they hadn't sensed the blade's edge.
Rather… they hadn't even realized they had been cut in two until it was already over.
Their dreams of championship had been severed the instant that blade gleamed.
Under such unparalleled speed, they didn't even have time to feel fear.
But just as they stood bewildered, another red light burst from within the dust.
This time, the other Uma Musume physically felt a scorching, shuddering heat—as if flames were erupting all around them, burning even the air to nothing.
Yet before the other racers could react, yet another red flash followed closely behind, tearing through the air with unbearable, blazing heat in pursuit.
These two consecutive red flashes left not only the racers on the track stunned, but also the commentator outside.
"Dream Weaver is now in first! An uncontested Great Escape! Is she going to set a new historic record in the Satsuki Sho, just like in the Hopeful Stakes?!"
But only seconds after Akasaka's shout, another red light blasted past on the track.
The repetition left her mind blank for a moment—was her eyesight failing?
Hadn't Dream Weaver already passed this spot?
Fortunately, the experienced Sugimoto Kentaro smoothly picked up the commentary.
"It's Tokai Teio! Tokai Teio is catching up! She hasn't reached Dream Weaver yet, but she's already left the other Uma Musume far behind!"
"But she's never shown Great Escape-style ability before. Is such an aggressive strategy really wise?"
Whether it was wise or not, Tokai Teio didn't know.
All she knew was that if she held back from the very start, she would have no chance of catching Dream Weaver in this race.
So even though she knew this running style didn't suit her, she had to push with all her might.
Only then would she avoid being cut down the moment the gates opened, like the others had been.
But that also meant she had to face the sharp edge of the Divine Blade Zone head-on.
Even though the blade hadn't truly been drawn—only a wisp of its aura had leaked from the sheath—it was more than most Uma Musume could withstand.
Just like Sakura Yamato during the Hopeful Stakes, merely approaching it had pushed her to her limit.
But Tokai Teio had one advantage over Sakura Yamato.
She knew exactly how terrifying Dream Weaver was from the very beginning, so she had prepared herself mentally.
When that spine-chilling sharpness materialized into a lethal blade poised before her, Tokai Teio's heart began to race uncontrollably—a primal, instinctive reaction, the innate fear of any living being facing danger!
But she didn't retreat.
Not only did she not retreat, she even sped up!
"It's just a blade—"
She gritted her teeth, the dancing red figure ahead burning fiercely in her pupils.
How could she possibly stop now, just because of some instinctive fear?
"Who could that possibly scare?!"
The world seemed to freeze.
Not only the sounds from outside the track—Tokai Teio could no longer even hear her own breathing or heartbeat.
In that moment, all she could hear was the roar erupting from the depths of her soul.
"I will absolutely! Never! Yield!"
The next instant, Tokai Teio's own Zone unfolded.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.