The track stretched only four hundred meters more, the race barreling into its final phase.
Every contender had entered the turn, fighting for position, priming for the explosive sprint down the home straight.
Even as a closer, it was time to push. Before the leading pack could clog the path with their jostling, she needed to break free.
"Haaaaaaah—!!"
A glint sharpened in Hishi Amazon's eyes. Flawless from start to finish, she still had plenty left in the tank. Even the brutal, heavy going hadn't hampered her stride.
Her hooves dug firmly into the ground as she gradually shifted her path, moving wide. It meant covering extra meters, a costly choice for any other runner. But on this ruined course, the outer lane remained relatively firm, spared the churned-up morass that risked a twisted ankle during acceleration. And out here, there'd be no blocking her final charge.
"Hishi Amazon! Right after Biko Pegasus, our Amazon Queen, Hishi Amazon, is making her move—!"
The announcer yelled, his voice charged with excitement.
Her long blue hair streamed behind her as the dark-haired heroine began closing the gap on the leaders.
"Oooohhhhh—!!"
"The Heroine! The Heroine!! The Heroine!!!"
The crowd roared, electrified by her bold, heroic surge.
"My rival, face me!"
"I'm not handing victory to you!"
Seeing Hishi Amazon draw near, Biko Pegasus held nothing back. Confronted by the queen's relentless pursuit, the young filly tensed her ankles, gritting her teeth with an audible grind.
'Because I am—'
A hero!
"Biko Pegasus accelerates, Biko Pegasus finds another gear! Unyielding against the Amazon Queen's challenge! Who will it be? Who will seize victory in this [New Zealand Trophy]!? The Heroine, or our Hero?!"
Another wave of cheers crashed over the course. All eyes were locked on the two figures dueling at the front, neither giving an inch.
Then, a low, deep breath cut through the din.
It rumbled like gathering thunder holding back its fury, a pulsating sound that set hearts racing.
Who… who made that sound?
Almost as one, the crowd's attention snapped towards the black Uma Musume who had lurked at the very back of the field the entire race.
A plume of scorching white vapor escaped her lips, as if igniting a fire she'd kept banked for far too long.
In that instant, the whole racetrack seemed draped in a hazy, gray fog.
So dark… how could it feel this gloomy in the middle of the day?
The image of that black Uma Musume was reflected in every eye, a flicker of gold flashing in their pupils like lightning.
"How does a lion bring down an elephant?" mused Narita Brian, standing at the pinnacle of the racing world. "The very premise is wrong." She shook her head. "What stands there is no lion."
It was clearly a primordial beast, one that could swallow heaven and earth, viewing all living things as mere insects.
Hear that?
The beast's stomach groans with hunger.
…
Slow…
So slow…
Biko Pegasus and Hishi Amazon, locked in their desperate struggle at the front, simultaneously felt it. Their every movement, every stride, felt bogged down, mired in mud.
Why this feeling?
As if the world's clock-hand had been stopped by a powerful, invisible finger. In the stands, the spectators' arms waved up and down in slow motion, their mouths agape, excited expressions frozen on their faces like photographs.
No. It wasn't that they had slowed down.
It was that someone was approaching at an impossible speed, and their entire consciousness had narrowed, focusing solely on her. That's why everything else seemed to crawl.
So slow they could hear each other's heartbeats, hear the squelch of hooves in the mud.
Huuuu—
A deep, resonant breath reached their ears.
The eyes of Hishi Amazon and Biko Pegasus widened in shock.
Was that truly a sound a person could make?
So clear.
So utterly terrifying.
Something…
Behind us…
Something is coming—!
BOOM—!!
A soul-shaking peal of thunder seemed to rip across the evening sky, dwarfing the world beneath its roar.
The black figure, conserving her energy the entire race, finally, utterly, exploded into motion.
The sodden ground, compacted under immense pressure, was then utterly pulverized by the raw, terrifying power of her stride. The entire Tokyo Racecourse seemed to shriek under the force.
This was the pure, unspent power, unleashed right before the finish—the unique, true speed belonging solely to the black Uma Musume.
BOOM!
A second concussive blast erupted from her coiled ankles.
Countless spectators gaped.
Look!
Just look—!!
Their hearts screamed.
A black streak of lightning had appeared on the track!
Chunks of compacted soil flew through the air. In a single stride, she devoured the ground, covering the length of four horse bodies. Some spectators' eyes, lagging behind, still focused on where she had been, only to snap forward as the black figure reappeared far ahead.
"Wh-what, what is this!? What is this!?"
The announcer, who had ignored her until now, could no longer contain himself. He cried out in disbelief. Even with his limited experience—no! Even as just that kid who once dreamed of working with Uma Musume—he had never seen anything like this!
Lightning! Lightning has appeared—!
In two strides, she had caught the small group of stragglers at the back.
Hearing the thunderous approach, they glanced back, eyebrows shooting up in astonishment.
She was lengths behind just a second ago!
What did she do!?
After a moment of stunned silence, the trailing Uma Musume gritted their teeth.
Damn it! We won't let you pass so easily!
They began drifting wide, trying to form a wall and block the black Uma Musume's path. It was a move that risked disqualification, but for a runner without official status, the stewards would likely turn a blind eye.
So what if you're powerful!
From the moment the gates opened, you were at an absolute disadvantage.
There's no place for you in this race!
'Ha—!'
She laughed.
The black Uma Musume, trapped behind a wall of three opponents, actually laughed. She seemed to know exactly what expression would maximize the fear in their hearts, a faint, contemptuous smirk curling the corner of her pale lips.
A look of utter scorn. A look of supreme arrogance. An unbelievable, wildly audacious smile!
Then she did something that stunned every single spectator.
Her left hoof slammed down, propelling her sharply towards the outside, towards the spectator rails. In an instant, she had veered far, far wide of the main racing lane.
Her golden eyes flicked towards the Uma Musume who had tried to box her in.
That glance seemed to say:
'Isn't this a much wider road?'
How… how is this possible?
The crowd was struck dumb.
A madwoman? A lunatic?!
No…
This was absolute power. Absolute confidence!
"The extreme outside!! The black Uma Musume has taken to the extreme outside, she's now running where no one has ever dared to tread!!"
"This is unbelievable! This is sheer, unbelievable power!"
The announcer knew he would regret it for life if he didn't pour what he was seeing into words. Leaning on the commentary desk with all his strength, his voice nearly gone, he screamed:
"The Nameless Black Phantom! Right now! Is scorching the earth with the force of a thunderbolt—!!"
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T/N: AURA
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.