Was she truly seeing a horse girl...?
Or was she witnessing a Goddess of the Hunt in her divine duty?
This horse girl, lagging at the very back—a closer who couldn't adapt to the heavy ground and had just been overtaken by Platinum—was watching with her own eyes as that phantom image of a goddess drew her bow and loosed an arrow straight toward her!!
Shock! Dread!
It felt as though a sacred, razor-sharp arrow had truly pierced right through her body?!
A torrent of indescribable emotions instantly flooded the heart of this horse girl.
Though her body hadn't actually been pierced, that didn't mean her spirit remained untouched.
In reality, nothing outside of weather and track conditions could ever interfere with the race itself!
That majestic phantom of a goddess, with its overwhelming presence, was more than enough as a special effect—intimidating the entire field, revealing Platinum's pegasus form!
Some inexperienced young fillies, just witnessing this scene, just seeing the special effect of being overtaken by Platinum, would likely be utterly awestruck.
Faced with that Pegasus surpassing her, with that arrow shot by the phantom huntress, this horse girl found herself completely powerless—even her will to fight shattered, her spirit thrown into such disarray that her fighting spirit simply melted away.
Her already weakening strides grew even more powerless, overwhelmed by such reverence for the silver-white figure ahead that she couldn't even muster the thought of chasing her down or resisting.
"I-It's impossible!!!"
Amid that faint, despairing cry, it was declared: Platinum, the deep closer from dead last, had begun her journey of pursuit and overtaking!
'This special effect… is way more awesome than I imagined!'
'This is it! This is exactly what I want!!'
Even the Pegasus lady herself, racing at full speed, hadn't expected this "overtaking effect" to be so stunning and impressive. Platinum was thoroughly pleased.
And this… was only the first victim.
For Platinum, she had only shot one arrow so far.
Weren't there still plenty of arrows left in her quiver?
Time to keep firing until the quiver was empty, all the way to the finish line!
The next instant, as Platinum entered the group of stalkers, her galloping dance somehow accelerated even further.
Now, within the large pack of stalkers, as many as seven or eight horse girls had clearly seen and taken note of the silver-white figure on the inside track.
On this muddy, heavy turf, under this steady, pitch-black curtain of rain!
That silvery-white radiance seemed capable of tearing through everything, its brilliance instantly searing itself into the eyes of these rival horse girls!
"H-How is this possible?"
"Platinum actually… broke through to the inside?"
"Is it really worth spending so much stamina just for that little bit of extra speed?"
"Her oppressive presence is terrifying… Jungle Pocket definitely isn't this strong… Is it Kurofune? Or Platinum?"
"This monster isn't even afraid of the Japanese Derby on heavy ground?!"
"Wait, didn't Platinum's quiver have no arrows earlier? How does it have so many now?"
But the reaction time the Assassin allowed them was fleeting. In the moment these stalkers hesitated to accelerate…
Without even giving them a chance to cry "impossible!!!," Platinum reached their sides and overtook the entire densely packed group of stalker Uma Musume in one swift move!
This time, the pure, sacred phantom of the goddess appeared once again!
The bow held by the phantom was identical to the one Platinum carried on her back. She drew the bowstring and fired again!
But unlike the previous appearance, she wasn't aiming at just one horse girl. This time, nearly a dozen girls in the stalker group all became targets of the hunt.
In the next instant, the goddess phantom, whose form closely resembled Platinum's, loosed another sacred, gleaming golden arrow!
In the eyes of those horse girls, widened to their limits in astonishment, the arrow—bright as a flash, swift as light—pierced through their running forms!
"Guh… Wh-What is this?!"
"Is this an illusion? Was that a goddess just now?"
"The Three Goddesses wouldn't appear on the track… Was that my imagination? But there aren't any goddesses besides the Three Goddesses!"
"I'm done for!!"
"Gwah, this heavy rain ruined my Derby dreams! It's raining so hard I'm hallucinating!"
Not just one or two stalkers were caught off guard; the entire group was left stunned and speechless.
But the race went on. That scene, something that seemed possible only in dreams, made it feel less like a race and more like a grand hunt led by the goddess of the chase!
It was as though those who had fallen behind, overtaken by that Pegasus, had already been pierced by arrows—eliminated by the hand of that unknown goddess phantom!
And now, this once determined and fighting-spirited stalker group fell into hesitation, powerless as that silver-white Pegasus, galloping freely along the inside, pulled farther and farther away.
"Sh-Should we accelerate and catch up to Platinum…?"
"My trainer never told me that if I can't keep up in a race, I'd get shot!!"
"No good, this heavy track demands too much power, and now there's this overwhelming pressure… I'm afraid I'll lose speed if this continues!"
"If we catch up, will we get shot again?"
"That phantom just now… Was it an illusion, or did Platinum activate some kind of domain? Is she really an opponent I can face?"
Amid the endless cries of despair, the Pegasus lady left them completely behind.
This time, the number of arrows remaining in Platinum's quiver rapidly dwindled, leaving only half of what was there before.
Platinum could sense it—as the arrows vanished, they transformed into special effects, shooting toward her opponents and "piercing" each of those awestruck young fillies one by one.
Of course, it wasn't actual damage; horse girl races couldn't turn into item battles.
But for Platinum, each time she overtook an opponent and loosed an arrow, she seemed to hear a voice announcing the feat…
First blood, the Dragon emerges!
Double kill, fame is won in a single battle!
Triple kill, the world is astonished!
Quadra kill, unrivaled under heaven!
That thrill of shooting an arrow at an opponent with each overtake filled Platinum, who should have been a sniper operator, with a sense of near-delight.
For the first time in so long, Platinum felt a rising joy and anticipation whenever she surpassed another!
'There are still so many arrows left in the quiver…'
And not far ahead, just a few lengths away…
Jungle Pocket and Kurofune were within three horse lengths!
'Then, let's keep overtaking them!'
--+--
[Incredible! Truly incredible!]
[Platinum, the endurance powerhouse and favorite to win who should excel at leading, has actually changed her strategy!]
[Platinum has chosen to charge through the most muddy and demanding inner track! Even falling five or six lengths behind, becoming the risky deep closer on this heavy ground, doesn't seem to bother her at all!]
Initially, Platinum was seen as the strongest among the top three contenders, with slightly higher popularity. But after switching tactics and adopting the deep closer style—extremely taxing on the body, especially on heavy ground—
the outcome of the championship suddenly felt uncertain to the public.
Yet, no one expected that once the Pegasus Platinum, running solo on the inside, began to accelerate, she would overtake the entire stalker group!
From the perspective of the countless spectators in the stands, aside from the front-running escapees, nearly all the other horse girls were clustered in the middle.
But Platinum… was charging fearlessly through unclaimed territory, like a monarch expanding her borders!
[It's a strategy and running style that defies conventional wisdom—a Pegasus making a deep charge on the inside track of heavy ground, accelerating earlier than expected!]
[After the second turn, Platinum overtakes all the stalkers, now sitting in ninth place.]
[Her pace continues unrelenting!]
[Jungle Pocket, the second favorite, and Kurofune, the third favorite, are widely considered the strongest rivals capable of challenging Platinum.]
[How will they respond to the Pegasus closing in dominantly from the inside track?!]
As the commentator continued to explain,
In one section of the stands, a horse girl scientist in a white coat narrowed her eyes, her pupils contracting like a predator's locking onto something intriguing and delightful.
"What… is that?!"
As Agnes Tachyon watched the Pegasus lady on the inner turf, and the spectacle that appeared each time she overtook another horse girl—
she couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile. Her regret at not being able to compete instantly gave way to fascination with Platinum.
"I've never seen anything like this before."
"That majestic, dazzling golden phantom of a young girl, shooting arrows?"
"It seems to appear whenever Platinum overtakes an opponent."
"Is it because… of that race uniform she's wearing for the first time? Truly unheard of."
With her keen eyesight and the advantage of being a spectator, Agnes quickly deduced the trigger for this "overtaking effect."
It had never occurred in any of Platinum's previous races.
The surrounding audience, however, only saw the excitement of Platinum's deep charge and overtaking—they didn't witness the awe-inspiring vision of the radiant huntress.
"It seems that scene—[the young girl phantom drawing her bow and shooting]—is likely something like an aura or domain, visible only to the horse girls on the track and those nearby in the stands."
"All the competing horse girls must have been collectively stunned, right?"
"Kurofune herself probably isn't well-suited for 2400 meters, and now with the heavy ground… she's gambled a bit too much as a dark horse."
"And Jungle Pocket, knowing Kurofune has no dominance on heavy ground in the Derby, focused solely on Platinum. She abandoned her best stalker tactics to disrupt Platinum's rhythm—and failed!"
"How interesting… this arrow-shooting spectacle is going to continue."
After sharing her analysis, Agnes turned to the dark, silent girl beside her—Manhattan Cafe.
In truth, Manhattan Cafe was also part of this generation of horse girls, eligible to challenge the classic races.
The supreme honor and influence of the Japanese Derby drove countless horse girls to risk injury for a chance to compete—even on unfavorable heavy ground, even if the distance was a struggle.
But the rational Manhattan Cafe wasn't among them.
This dark horse girl was still growing stronger, far from her peak. She didn't believe she was ready to face Platinum yet.
At least not now…
So, she chose to skip the Japanese Derby, focusing instead on training and preparing for longer-distance races.
Months later, in the final leg of the alternate Triple Crown, the Kikuka Shō, Manhattan Cafe hoped to intercept Platinum's dreams at the last hurdle!
For now, though, she was here as a spectator, accompanying her friend Agnes Tachyon.
As Agnes continued observing Platinum with keen interest, Manhattan Cafe simply nodded slightly in agreement.
Suddenly—
Manhattan Cafe seemed to remember something and spoke up.
"By the way, Tachyon, what about that Dr. Lin?"
"Didn't you have me buy an extra ticket to invite him?"
The question made Tachyon's excited, focused gaze waver slightly.
A complex expression flickered across her delicate features before she replied softly.
"When I gave him the ticket two days before the race…"
"Dr. Lin said he couldn't make it on Derby day. Two horse girls he's been close with since his time in the States have races scheduled those days."
"So, he'll be watching those instead."
Manhattan Cafe tilted her head slightly, pausing in thought.
In her mind, she recalled a scene from a recent dream—her injured self being gently treated by the young doctor.
For Dr. Lin to choose watching other races over attending the Japanese Derby, the most popular race in Japan…
Those two horse girls must be very important to him, right?
For some reason, though it had nothing to do with her, the silent dark-haired girl felt an inexplicable flicker of irritation.
"Which two horse girls?"
Manhattan Cafe rarely pressed for details about unfamiliar horse girls unrelated to herself.
Similarly feeling a bit unsettled, Tachyon didn't pay much attention to her friend's reaction and answered casually.
"One's a dirt specialist, the other turf."
"Dahlia!"
"Secretariat!"
The names meant nothing to Manhattan Cafe. She didn't recall either winning any international G1 races recently.
"Are they… strong?"
Tachyon immediately shook her head.
"No, they're… beyond just being strong."
"A year from now, when you look at the world rankings for turf and dirt horse girls, you'll find their names at the very top."
In an instant, Manhattan Cafe froze.
The very top?
The strongest on turf? The strongest on dirt?
That meant they were contenders for world number one—if no other monsters appeared out of nowhere.
"The top… so there might still be other horse girls who could surpass or come close to Dahlia and Secretariat?"
The dark-haired girl couldn't help but press further.
"On turf, there are three super rookies—like Lammtarra, another called Sea the Stars, and… Platinum!"
"They all have the potential to rival or even surpass Dahlia, right?"
"And on dirt, there are two super rookies—Outlaw and Flightline."
"But no one could possibly surpass Secretariat. Ruffian and Flightline might come close, though."
Tachyon delivered her final assessment.
"Secretariat is practically… a beloved steed blessed by the Three Goddesses, an absolute legend destined to reign over dirt racing history—a true [Divine Horse]!"
"Unless—a second Pegasus emerges on dirt, as special, powerful, and radiant as Platinum! Only then would there be a worthy challenger to Secretariat's divine reign!"
But… that was impossible, right?
"The [Big Red · Secretariat], with no rivals, is invincible!!"
--+--
On the turf track, approaching the third turn.
Jungle Pocket frowned slightly, deep in thought.
The deadly, fierce Jungle Pocket, who seemed like a wild beast, was not some horse girl without strategy, only knowing how to lead from the front.
In her analysis, Platinum should have been well-suited for front-running or pressing tactics.
And on heavy ground, which naturally disadvantaged those coming from behind, Platinum on the far outside should have had to angle inward and accelerate.
So why… even past the halfway point, was Platinum still not here?
'Platinum is truly living up to her reputation. She probably saw through my plan and didn't angle inward—instead, she switched to a mid-pack stalker strategy.'
'Powerful and cunning… what a dangerous monster. Even Tachyon might struggle against her.'
'It seems she plans to accelerate and break through in the final stretch…'
Before the bay-haired girl could finish her analysis, her heart suddenly raced, and her pupils contracted sharply—as if she'd seen a ghost.
On the outside track she'd been watching, the silver-white figure still hadn't appeared. But on the inside track—which she'd never worried about—
Pegasus Platinum was coming?!
And she was charging fearlessly through the most challenging, physically demanding part of the track—the heavy, muddy inner ground?
'Guh… You've got to be kidding me!!!'
'I can't let Platinum pass me here. If she does, catching up will be impossible.'
Reacting with lightning-fast, beast-like intuition, the horse girl gritted her teeth and pushed her legs hard, choosing to accelerate early at all costs.
To avoid being caught by that silver-white pegasus charging dominantly on the inside, Jungle Pocket—now outmaneuvered—had her rhythm disrupted and was forced to accelerate prematurely!
--+--
On the inside track, the silver-white girl instantly noticed Jungle Pocket's move.
It wasn't just Jungle Pocket; other horse girls ahead were also sensing the danger, some already accelerating as well.
Platinum's calm expression didn't change. She felt no regret or tension. Now that her fighting spirit was finally stirred, she didn't want to overtake only those energy-conserving stalkers.
She would overtake every single one of them!
'Only half the field left. If I don't use my skills now, I might end up like in the Oaks—unable to activate them before the race ends…'
Platinum remembered many skills from horse girl mobile games, and she was curious which one would activate this time.
'Then, let's begin!'
The decision made, the lazy assassin's cold eyes seemed to blaze with immense power.
What she activated was—
[Pegasian Sight]!!!
--+--
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.