...
This time, the starter was Air Groove, and the finish line was Hishi Amazon.
Some might ask again: Why is it Hishi Amazon once more? Probably because the tanned gyaru stands out more.
"On your marks."
"Go!"
...
The race was 2400 meters in total.
Silence Suzuka, forever the frontrunner.
She lowered her posture, gliding close to the ground like a bird in flight, quickly pulling ahead by a significant margin.
As longtime teammates and rivals, Seiun Sky and Special Week both knew they couldn't afford to let Silence Suzuka widen the gap too much.
The terror of Silence Suzuka lay not just in her runaway racing style but also in her ability to maintain her final kick even in the last stretch.
If they tried to chase her down like ordinary racehorses, saving their energy for a final burst, they would suffer dearly.
By that point, they would realize they couldn't close the gap with Silence Suzuka—or overtake her within the limited remaining distance.
El Condor Pasa, who lost to Silence Suzuka during the Daily Cup, likely understood this all too well.
...
"Seiun Sky is lurking on the outside, while Special Week holds the inside lane..." Nishizaki Ryo observed, analyzing the situation on the track. Then, he turned to Lucian and asked, "Are you testing whether Symboli Rudolf can break through the encirclement?"
The way things were unfolding on the track made it seem like they were targeting Symboli Rudolf, which naturally led Nishizaki to such a conclusion.
"Lucian, is this your tactic?" Toujou Hana also noticed the pattern.
"Not me." Lucian grabbed Haru Urara and pushed her in front of himself. "This was all Urara's idea."
Toujou Hana and Nishizaki Ryo both turned their gazes to Urara.
"Eh, me?" Urara blinked before puffing her cheeks at Lucian. "Trainer, you big meanie!"
"Still, thinking you can beat Symboli Rudolf like this is a bit naive," Toujou Hana remarked, withdrawing her gaze.
"I never thought that way to begin with."
Lucian nodded. It wasn't just Symboli Rudolf's prestige that intimidated him.
He had privately studied footage of her races and concluded that, at their current level, Silence Suzuka and the others simply couldn't defeat her.
"But this race should play out like this. I hope Symboli Rudolf can give them a taste of what a peak racehorse feels like."
...
"Following this closely, huh?" Silence Suzuka's eyes narrowed as she glanced behind her.
After the turn, she still held the lead and accelerated once more.
Being only four lengths ahead of Special Week was far from enough for her.
When they reached her specialty—the left-turn curve—she could push even harder to widen the gap.
...
Seeing Silence Suzuka accelerate, Special Week and Seiun Sky also increased their pace.
Their strategy was to conserve energy in the early and mid-stages before going all out in the final stretch... No, they couldn't wait until the very end. They had to push earlier, or they'd never defeat Silence Suzuka!
Special Week, leading the chase, struggled more since she had no one to draft behind and had to face the wind alone.
Seiun Sky, slipping into the inside lane, was like a small boat riding the wake of Special Week, clinging closely to her.
Seiun Sky couldn't afford to stay on the outside and obstruct Symboli Rudolf forever—otherwise, this would truly become a team race, with her as the sacrificial lamb.
Meanwhile, Symboli Rudolf followed calmly, two lengths behind Seiun Sky, her body gradually enveloped in a deep green aura.
...
Left-turn curve.
Silence Suzuka was determined to widen her lead here and unleashed another burst of speed.
Leaves scattered in her wake as she cut through the wind, her momentum like a towering wave.
The trail she left behind resembled a fleeting green carpet, and she herself seemed to transform into a spiraling chain of leaves!
This was her best physical condition yet!
Even under the pressure from Seiun Sky and Special Week, she advanced effortlessly.
"Lucian-kun, I'll carry your hopes and win more honors... Even against the president, I won't back down!"
A drop of sweat rolled down Silence Suzuka's forehead and splashed onto the track behind her.
The floral and leafy trail in her wake was the result of her own efforts and sweat, blossoming into something beautiful.
...
"You won't get away with this!"
Seiun Sky and Special Week naturally sensed Silence Suzuka's intentions.
Silence Suzuka had her reasons not to yield—but so did they!
Ironically, their reasons overlapped: first for themselves, then... for Lucian? And finally, for their cheering fans.
Determination was good, but after the left-turn curve, as they stared at Silence Suzuka's back, a sense of helplessness crept in...
A disheartening voice whispered in their minds: We can't catch up.
The visible gap between them and Silence Suzuka felt like an insurmountable chasm.
But they refused to accept it!
Something's missing! But what?
Seiun Sky, who had burned herself out in the Kikuka-shō, felt it more keenly—as if she were just a step away from touching that boundary.
...
After the final curve, the suspense over the winner seemed to fade.
Just as everyone thought Silence Suzuka would seal her victory, a nimble figure surged from behind.
An overwhelming pressure made the three racehorses of "Dream" feel their hearts stop—the world around them turning gray and colorless.
Seiun Sky's shoulders trembled slightly as the figure swept past like a violent hurricane, kicking up debris and carving a path through the air like a thousand-mile yellow storm!
Yet when Seiun Sky braced to be swept away, the hurricane merely brushed past her—how disdainful...
Special Week felt the same.
Silence Suzuka's back had at least left them with the will to fight, but Symboli Rudolf's back filled them with despair.
...
On the stands, Lucian's eyes widened as he gripped the railing tightly.
Symboli Rudolf's overwhelming dominance stormed through his mind like a hurricane, leaving all in its wake to kneel and yield. Only four words remained etched in his thoughts—Reign Over the World!
Was this Symboli Rudolf's "Zone"?
"Suzuka... do your best."
The least surprised was Toujou Hana, who spoke with a hint of regret. "That girl... if she were at her peak, she could've entered this state much sooner."
"Hana-nee, could you explain it to me in more detail?"
...