"The winner is… Inari One!"
"She has defeated Fujimasa March by one full length to win the Arima Kinen!"
"She really is the strongest in Central!!!!"
With the commentator's voice breaking from shouting yet still burning with passion, Nakayama Racecourse erupted into a tidal wave of cheers.
"Ooooooooh——!!!!"
"That was incredible!"
"The strongest! The strongest!"
"Inari One, you're the pride of Ohi!"
Applause, screams, chants, all fused into a roar loud enough to rupture eardrums, drowning out the sound of the pouring rain.
The entire racecourse boiled like a giant cauldron. Every corner of the stands was filled with madness and heat.
On one side of the grandstand, the visiting foreign horse girls had all fallen into a long silence.
Even the usually unshakable Toni Bianca had set down her cup of milk tea when she saw Inari One's final, unreasonable burst of speed.
Her sharp eyes locked onto that small, gold-and-red figure at the finish line. For a split second, even her breathing halted.
Clap, clap, clap!
A few seconds later, the silence was broken by a crisp, steady applause.
Toni Bianca was the first to bring her hands together.
Her clapping wasn't loud, but in the stillness beneath all that distant noise, it sounded unusually clear.
Very soon, Moonlight Lunacy, Eve Binty and the others at her side also raised their hands, faces solemn as they joined in.
They were offering their congratulations to this Far Eastern island nation, upon the arrival of a true, unchallenged apex.
"It really was worth making this trip."
Moonlight Lunacy looked toward the finish, murmuring in awe. Then she glanced sidelong at Toni Bianca, the corners of her lips curling up.
"But Toni, didn't you just say it 'wouldn't be that luxurious'?"
Toni Bianca picked her milk tea back up and took a small sip.
"Ah. I did overrate myself," she replied calmly.
Her gaze returned to the petite figure that had crossed the line first.
In the depths of her eyes, a sharp fighting spirit flashed—only to fade just as quickly, dissolving into a faint sigh.
"This horse girl called Inari One… is stronger than me."
Toni Bianca had always possessed a very clear sense of her own strength.
She never exaggerated her abilities, but she also never denied her true level just because of a single defeat.
Last year's loss in the Japan Cup, which ultimately led to her retirement, had been no exception.
After that race, she carried out a meticulous review. The conclusion she arrived at was simple: she had underestimated her opponent, and been too full of herself.
In terms of pure ability, leaving aside last year's Obey Your Master, she was confident she could surpass most of the horse girls running in today's Arima Kinen.
But a loss is still a loss. She had accepted that defeat calmly.
However, even Toni Bianca, confident as she was, had to admit that, in those final few seconds, Inari One had completely exceeded even her own peak.
That utterly absurd, terrifying acceleration—
To catch up those two and a half lengths on that Fujimasa March in the last hundred meters?
If she were the one out there instead, she would probably have shared the same fate as Obey Your Master today, and gone down in bitter defeat…
"Someone like that didn't even run in last month's Japan Cup?"
Toni Bianca shook her head, a faint furrow between her brows.
"I know, I know, Toni-sama!" Eve Binty immediately shot her hand up, answering excitedly.
"Inari One and Obey Your Master are on the same team!"
"The same team?"
The surrounding horse girls all froze for a moment at that.
"That really famous 'Chasing Light'?" Moonlight Lunacy asked, a little unsure.
They had only arrived in Japan a month ago. They weren't racing this season; they'd mainly come just to watch.
So they hadn't done deep scouting on the local competition.
But the name "Chasing Light" was still one even they had heard.
Eve Binty nodded vigorously.
"That's right, Moonlight-onee-sama! And the top five in this race were all from Chasing Light!"
At that, everyone fell silent again.
They looked at one another, speechless.
On another part of the stands, Folkqueen's eyes had widened slightly as she stared at those seven towering streaks of light fading above the finish.
She clenched her fists tight. Then, all at once, she spun around and strode away.
"Queen? What's wrong?"
Ellerslie Pride hurried after her in concern.
Folkqueen paused, turned sideways, and spoke softly.
Her voice carried a firmness Ellerslie Pride had never heard from her before.
"Big sis, I'm coming back for next year's Japan Cup."
Ellerslie Pride hesitated.
"But… what about your trainer…?"
"Then I'll change trainers."
Folkqueen cut her off, decisive as a blade.
Her expression grew overcast. The heterochromatic eyes that had always been so beautiful now shimmered with barely contained anger.
That anger wasn't aimed at Ellerslie Pride.
It was aimed squarely at her own trainer—no, at the vast majority of teachers and trainers at Oceania Tracen Academy.
Her contract already expired this year. She'd been fed up with her trainer for a long time.
It was only her personality that had kept her from actively rejecting things or voicing her true wishes.
But now, after witnessing this race, something inside Folkqueen had suddenly become crystal clear.
If she didn't like something, she'd change it.
If she didn't want to do something, she'd say so.
I am Folkqueen. The strongest horse girl of the Atlantic.
I've only just set foot on my peak.
No one has the right to criticize me at will, or order me around.
The silver-haired, heterochromatic girl closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, there was an indescribable, triple-layered aura swirling around her.
Then, without another word, she walked straight out of Nakayama Racecourse.
"Queen, wait for me!"
Ellerslie Pride could only follow after her helplessly.
When Folkqueen had reopened her eyes, no one else had sensed that change.
Only Toni Bianca had vaguely picked up on something.
She looked back in that direction, the corners of her mouth lifting in a faint, knowing smile.
"Another one… at the level of the world's very best, huh?"
In her heart, she couldn't help but sigh.
"A new era… it really is getting more and more dazzling…"
…
At the finish line.
"Hah… hah… hahhh…"
The moment she crossed the line, the gold-red flames around Inari One's body went out all at once.
Every muscle in her body trembled, screaming in agony.
Each breath was as labored as a bellows, and the burning in her chest was spreading up toward her vision.
But in those clear eyes of hers, light was shining brighter than ever before.
She'd won.
She'd really… won!
Gasping for breath, she forced herself to look back.
She saw Fujimasa March and Obey Your Master only a short distance behind, legs shaking, hands braced on their knees as if they might collapse at any second.
Behind them, Sakura Chiyono O, Mejiro Ardan and Oguri Cap were already on their knees in the wet turf, completely spent.
In that final instant, Oguri Cap had closed to within half a length of Mejiro Ardan.
That terrifying burst over the last 200 meters had almost put her on par with Inari One and the other two.
Farther back still, the pounding waves and the likes of Yaeno Muteki and Bamboo Memory were staggered around the course.
For a brief moment, the girl from Ohi was silent.
Then her trademark, unrestrained grin suddenly bloomed across her face.
After taking a few steadying breaths, Inari One threw both arms high into the air—then slammed them down with all her might!
"AAAAAAH——!!!"
That shout, filled with unbridled exhilaration and pride, shot through the air like an arrow, piercing straight through the lingering frenzy and noise hanging over the track.
After a heartbeat of stillness, the grandstands exploded again, with cheers loud enough to tear the sky apart.
"Inari One! Inari One!!"
The chant rose like a tidal wave.
Countless flags whipped in the rain.
In the wet curtain of the storm, the spectators had tears of pure excitement in their eyes.
They had just witnessed a race that would go down in history—
One of the greatest of all time.
At the back.
Fujimasa March and Obey Your Master stood there, rain soaking their hair, their legs heavy as lead.
But when they heard Inari One's roar—so full of emotion—they couldn't help but raise their heads.
"Inari… you little…"
Fujimasa March tugged weakly at the corner of her mouth.
Obey Your Master simply plopped down onto the turf, letting out a long breath before laughing.
"If I'd won, I'd definitely be even more obnoxious than you are right now."
At those words, Sakura Chiyono O and Mejiro Ardan couldn't help but smile as well.
They glanced at each other and let out soft, shared laughter.
Oguri Cap stared blankly at the scene for a moment, then simply let herself drop onto the grass as well.
She didn't care in the slightest whether sitting down right after such intense exertion might be bad for her body.
She simply followed her heart, let a small smile rise to her lips, and propped herself up with both hands as she gazed at the sky where the heavy rain was slowly fading away.
She hadn't won this race.
But in this moment, she had found her true reason to run.
For herself.
And for those who supported her and loved her.
It was no longer a crushing burden.
It had become a pair of light, unseen wings.
"Hah… fuu… running really is amazing," she whispered,
Her face glowing with a smile from the very bottom of her heart.
Behind her, Super Creek was also bracing herself as she caught her breath.
She looked at those three figures ahead that seemed frozen in the pages of history, then at the utterly exhausted yet radiant Oguri Cap beside her.
In her blue eyes, there was nothing but disbelief and deep, deep respect.
What an utterly magnificent run.
Rain was still falling.
But now, neither the mud on the track nor the gloom in the sky could hide the impact and emotion this race had carved into their hearts.
"I lost… without even the slightest room to fight back," she muttered to herself.
…
Only at the very back, among those who had just barely managed to stagger over the line, did the mood turn dark.
Faces were gloomy.
Unease hung on their shoulders like lead.
"Damn it, we lost after all!"
"The gap between us isn't even in the same dimension."
"Never mind those five monsters from Chasing Light—Super Creek and Oguri Cap are way stronger than us too!"
"With them around, with Chasing Light around… what's the point of us running in the future? No matter how hard we run, we're just going to lose anyway!"
"..."
"..."
Yaeno Muteki and Bamboo Memory listened to the murmurs around them, frowning slightly.
But they didn't say anything.
They simply looked toward those seven brilliant silhouettes ahead, shining as if they embodied the very spirit of this era—
And sank into deep thought.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]