The boisterous roar of the racetrack suddenly fell silent.
Between the two Uma Musume racing forward, something slipped through.
It wasn't like Sirius Symboli, weaving between others side-by-side.
No, this Black figure shot through the narrow gap between two Uma Musume running almost perfectly in line, one directly behind the other.
Fast…
Too fast!
All anyone felt was a gust of wind whip past their noses. The Black-clad Uma Musume, who had been trapped on the inside, had already pierced through the encirclement and burst into the open space of the outer track.
What was that?
More than shock, what filled people's hearts was sheer bewilderment.
Although the Black Uma Musume had already given them plenty of surprises, this… this defied all understanding.
She had slipped between two Uma Musume running at high speed, with barely any space between them.
If Sirius Symboli's move felt 'unbelievable,' then this Uma Musume's action just now could only be described as 'flat-out impossible.'
On the ground, clods of upturned soil flew through the air.
The Uma Musume who had been brushed past felt her gaze snap from the left, to the right.
Clatterclatterclatterclatter—
The sound of rapid hoofbeats, like a frantic alarm bell ringing in her heart, jolted her mind.
It took less than the blink of an eye…
An incomprehensible, extreme burst of speed…
"Uncle."
Kitahara's throat was tight, he could barely force out a normal sound.
"Can you tell me… what in the world… just happened?"
But his question was met with no reply.
Trainer Musaka, standing beside him, gripped his cane so tightly the veins stood out on the back of his hand.
Many years ago, he had been fortunate enough to witness it.
Someone using the same method to break out of a tight encirclement.
She was the representative of her era, the undisputed pinnacle, a legend enshrined in the hall of fame.
Her story was so legendary it was hard to believe.
A speed that transcended her time, the Undefeated Phantom Horse.
Tokino Minoru.
Because of her exaggerated, unbelievable speed, later generations came to regard her as an urban legend, erasing her reality.
But Musaka Ginjirou, who had lived through that dreamlike era, remembered clearly her feat of breaking through a multi-layered encirclement.
Just now, it felt like… a reenactment of that very moment, that legend reborn.
It took a long while for Musaka Ginjirou to snap out of his shock.
Kitahara's voice finally reached his ears, faint and distant.
"It was… a horizontal… dash…"
His voice was hoarser than he expected.
Back then, he couldn't comprehend it, but now, Musaka Ginjirou understood.
This was an ability only a very few Uma Musume could perform—no, in his entire life, after watching tens of thousands of races, this was only the second time he had ever seen it manifested by an Uma Musume.
"Horizontal… dash?"
Kitahara asked, not understanding, just as Musaka Ginjirou once hadn't.
"Right. To avoid being blocked before entering the final turn, Uma Musume will gradually shift towards the outside."
"This process is slow, because the current rules are quite strict. If you obstruct someone's path during the shift, it's a foul."
"But in the past, when the rules weren't so strict, the Uma Musume would shift outwards much more quickly."
"And within that, existed the horizontal dash."
Hearing this, Kitahara began to understand a little.
"But even now, some Uma Musume move out quickly, right?"
"They do, if there's no one behind them, it's possible. But it's rarely used. Do you know why?"
Kitahara shook his head.
"Because the strain is too great."
Lifting his cane, Musaka tapped Kitahara's leg.
"When you change your direction of acceleration, it places a tremendous burden on the shins, which are accustomed to force from front and back."
"The method of accelerating laterally isn't well-suited for Uma Musume to begin with. Their bones have to withstand the force at their most fragile points."
The reason Musaka Ginjirou had been so shocked wasn't just the rare acceleration method, but also her physical prowess.
In that extreme lateral shift, the body's forward momentum and the rightward acceleration all converged onto a single leg.
A load far beyond what an ordinary Uma Musume could bear.
"Unbelievable. Her bones can actually withstand that kind of strain…"
It wasn't that many Uma Musume lacked the ability to accelerate horizontally; it was that their bones would likely snap under the immense pressure from two different directions the instant they tried.
"Just what kind of body… is this?"
Musaka Ginjirou couldn't help but marvel.
Gazing at the track, Kitahara gritted his teeth secretly.
'Oguri…' How will you fight against a monster like this?
"She's broken through! The Black Uma Musume has broken through the enemy's encirclement in an unbelievable manner…!! How on earth did she do it!? Is there any replay footage!?"
The commentator was stunned for a good moment before reacting.
In all her years in this profession, she'd seen many races big and small, but she had never witnessed anything so magical.
Slipping between two Uma Musume running at high speed—in her mind, only a bullet could do that.
"You see."
Narita Brian spoke calmly. "To her, there never was an encirclement. It was just a psychological comfort for those who overestimated themselves."
But no one could answer Narita Brian now. Hishi Amazon stared dumbly at the track, rooted to the spot.
The ability the other had displayed left her unable to think, still lost in the image of that Black Shadow's flicker.
Narita Brian didn't mind. Her own body was trembling incessantly.
Magnificent… simply magnificent!
She was starving, craving recklessly to stand on the same track as her.
The food that had once filled her belly had long since been digested entirely.
--+--
Her breathing felt so heavy.
Thorns surrounded her on all sides.
There's no way out…
She didn't have the stunning footwork of Sirius Symboli.
Nor did she have the unbelievable power of the Black Uma Musume.
In this net of encirclement, Oguri Cap could see no path forward.
The inside and the outside were both sealed shut.
What should I do…
Oguri…
Oguri…
A voice called from far away.
A dreamlike sensation washed over Oguri Cap, pulling her back to that rough, wooden dormitory.
A few girls with nothing better to do gathered together, talking freely without restraint.
She was among them.
"Competing against the entire Central region of your generation…"
"As expected, Oguri's different from us."
"That'll be quite a race to watch."
"We'll be cheering for you from behind."
Then, one day in the future, she left that room forever.
Oguri Cap—!!
"The new star in the sky—!"
"Nothing can hold you back, right!"
"You're the one who, relying on your own power, step by step, made it here!!"
Amid the noisy crowd, three girls shouted at the top of their lungs.
Nothing can trouble you, right!
On her final day before leaving Kasamatsu.
Her trainer, facing the gathered locals, had yelled:
'Haven't you ever dreamed a dream like this!?'
'This Oguri Cap, the country's 'Cinderella,' overwhelming the central elites with her strength!'
'Don't you all want to witness it!?'
She would never, ever betray our expectations—!
Go and fight for it!
Go!
"Oguri, show them who the most dazzling existence of this era truly is—!!"
Fujimasa March gritted her teeth, pouring all her strength into a desperate shout towards the dappled-grey figure on the track.
Thump—!
A heartbeat pulsed in everyone's ears.
She heard them. Everyone's voices.
Thump—!
Another beat, slow and heavy.
The fire of fighting spirit rekindled in the eyes of the 'Grey Monster.'
Like a spark of starlight glittering under the sky, those blue-grey eyes finally, in this moment, found their path.
"Heh."
Musaka Ginjirou adjusted his hat.
"I thought we'd only possibly see it drawn out in the [Tenno Sho]."
"You've never seen it before, Kitahara." Musaka Ginjirou looked solemnly at the track.
"That [Anomaly] hidden within her, impossible for anyone to replicate."
The Grey Monster finally, in this moment, bared her sharpened fangs!
--+--
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.