"It's a cool summer night here in the Ooi Racecourse!"
"It's the perfect stage for our 7th [Japanese Dirt Derby]!"
The crowd of tens of thousands cheered, filling the night with brimming excitement. The Ooi Racecourse was entirely filled—an oddity, considering that Dirt races were far less popular compared to their Turf counterpart and how late this particular [Japanese Dirt Derby] was being held during the night.
But this [Japanese Dirt Derby] was special.
For the actors that'd come onto this normally mundane stage were anything but mundane.
"The unshakable fortress; an umamusume from the FUA who'd just recently won the [Unicorn Stakes]-!"
"Our 3rd favorite—No.4, Castle Top!"
An umamusume with luscious black hair stepped onto the parade stage, her face entirely without expression. Her G1 outfit resembled that of a knight's—or rather, a deconstructed cavalry uniform. Combined with her lack of emotions, it made the umamusume seem cold.
"The jet with incredible acceleration; having been trained directly by the URA themselves-!"
"Our 2nd favorite—No.12, Gensei Combat!"
Another umamusume stepped onto the parade stage, a cheery smile on her lips as she waved happily to the audience. Her outfit was inspired by the rugged clothes of a fantasy-style adventurer, with the white cloak wrapped around her shoulder serving to hide the sculpted muscles of her arms and legs.
Castle Top glanced at the seemingly cheery uma and turned away, knowing that it was mostly an act. She'd raced Gensei Combat multiple times before—she knew full well the mask the URA had helped her cultivate to ensure she accumulated as many fans as she could.
But then,
"And finally!"
"The great tactician of Kasamatsu; she who turned all of Kasamatsu upside down with her incredible mind-!"
"Our top favorite—No.2, Belno Light!"
Belno Light stepped onto the parade stage dressed in her G1 outfit, and the racecourse shook with cheers. Her outfit perfectly complimented the moniker she'd been given, and the almost-futuristic look her outfit had presented a stark contrast to the G1 outfits of other racers.
Gensei Combat felt her mask slip for a moment as she felt the terrible pressure Belno Light carried. "This is…different." She admitted beneath her breath, her smile becoming sharper. Naturally, she'd studied Belno Light for days on end in preparation for today. She knew full well that she was not to be underestimated despite her origins as a local uma.
But the weight that Belno exuded far outpaced anything she could've imagined. Standing next to her, it almost felt as if she stood in the presence of a Senior who was years ahead of her.
Castle Top was similarly flustered, but her naturally expressionless face hid most of her feelings. She had learnt directly beneath the official umamusume of the Funabashi Uma Association, yet Belno Light's presence easily matched theirs.
Without her knowing, a small smile lifted the edges of her lips.
"All runners are to head to their gates!"
Meanwhile, at the stadium, Oguri Cap was slowly drifting to a nap when a loud snap woke her up. "Hwah…?" She slowly blinked, ears flicking as the cheers of the surrounding crowd finally registered in her mind. "Is the race starting…?"
"It is." Blossom Star said, smiling wryly as she patted Oguri's head. "See? Belno's down there."
"Ooh!" Whatever fatigue Oguri had vanished as she saw Belno enter her gate. "Go, Belno!"
Star smiled, before she quickly held a hand over her mouth to hide her yawn. Oguri wasn't the only one who felt tired; they'd only gotten back to Tokyo just this morning, having flown from their summer camp on a local airplane. They were actually supposed to fly here the day before to give Belno more time to prepare, but a certain trainer forgot to book his own tickets, forcing them to delay their flight by a day.
Which was why Kitahara and Musaka's seats were a few steps below theirs, and she could see Musaka still loudly lecturing Kitahara.
Star stifled her laugh, before she quickly shook her head to keep herself awake.
"All runners have entered their gates!"
Belno Light closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. All the steps she'd laid out together with Kitahara and Star, all the additional details Musaka had helped fill in—she could picture them in the back of her mind. A written recipe, drawn within the void of her own mind.
Without a doubt, this would be much harder than the [Aoba Sho] she'd run against Mejiro Ardan. There were five or six runners she had to actively keep an eye on, and she was certain all the other 15 umamusume she'd be racing against would be keeping their eyes on her.
The thought had inspired some fear when she first realized it. Knowing that she was being actively targeted by literally every single runner in this race—it was terrifying.
Yet now, standing here beneath the night sky, dressed in the G1 outfit she'd drawn herself, accompanied by the distant cheers of the crowd--
She smiled sharply, hazel eyes burning like warm amber.
If they planned to entrap her, then all she needed to do was turn their web into her own.
"The race is about to begin!"
The world went quiet. The wind stilled. Waiting.
One.
Two.
Three--
BANG!
"The gates have opened! All runners started beautifully!"
As expected, Castle Top immediately surged forward and claimed the lead. Two other Frontrunners also tried to take the lead, but Caste Top refused to let them take it, forcing them to run behind her.
At least for the first few seconds, because Belno Light suddenly surged from the inside, overtaking those two frontrunners and settling right in 2nd place, immediately beginning to shadow Castle Top.
Far behind in eight, Gensei Combat narrowed her eyes as she saw Belno run just behind Castle Top. It was a deviation from what Belno tended to do—her previous races indicated that she'd normally take the lead and take control of the race's pace that way. Just what was she trying to do this time?
"We've reached the first corner!"
"Castle Top remains in the lead!"
At first everyone had been carefully watching for what Belno Light was about to do, but seeing as she continued to shadow Castle Top, they began taking their chances to try and block Belno Light's maneuverability. One by one, working together and not, they began crowding around Belno. Two runners at her left, a runner on her right, and four runners directly behind her.
It seemed, just as the race reached the second straight, Belno Light had found herself surrounded, and the announcer was quick to notice this as well.
"Oh!? It seems Belno Light has been completely surrounded!"
"Are all the runners trying to slow her down!?"
As if!
Gensei Combat grit her teeth as she remained in tenth place. By her predictions, Castle Top should be much farther, and Belno Light shouldn't have been able to be cornered like that. Her instincts were screaming. Something was clearly wrong!
And then she noticed it.
Why…was she keeping so much attention on Belno Light? In fact, the moment they'd entered the second straight, she found herself incapable of looking away. Her umamusume instincts told her that Belno had to be watched, and without her knowing, her eyes had complied.
It wasn't just her; nearly every runner experienced the same {Dazzling Disorientation}, with only Castle Top and the two End Closers at the far back left unaffected.
That wasn't to say that Castle Top wasn't being pressured.
Her expression became severe as she felt her chest burn. It wasn't exhaustion per se—rather, constantly having Belno Light's eyes bored into her back made her body itch. Her instincts desperately wanted her to escape, but she forced herself to maintain her speed to conserve stamina, unknowing that doing so only worsened her exhaustion.
"We're about to enter the third corner!"
Belno's eyes flashed as she heard the announcer's words. A pulsing electricity arose within her chest, and the silver lines decorating her outfit seemed to pulse along with it, as if a battery was nearing its threshold.
On the other hand, most of the runners who'd surrounded Belno found themselves far more tired than they should be. This was only a 2000 meter race—they should still have far more stamina as they entered the third corner.
But keeping Belno Light caged was no easy task. From the very moment the barricade formed, Belno had prodded the defense, both subtly and not-so-subtly moving left and right to disorient her blockers. They had to match her seemingly unpredictable dance, causing them to expend more stamina then they should.
Yet, just when they thought things couldn't get worse--
"The runners have entered the fourth corner! Castle Top begins her-!"
Belno took a deep breath, and with eyes that burnt of fresh bronze, she raised her foot and stomped. The dirt below trembled, startling the runners who'd been blocking her all this time, causing their barricade to shift slightly, creating just big enough of a gap to try to take the lead from the inside.
She didn't do that.
Not yet.
The silver lines of her outfit pulsed once more, but this time, something was different. Though no one could see what happened, the ground around them suddenly refused to cooperate. Castle Top felt this most keenly, suddenly finding herself incapable of accelerating in the slightest, as if her legs had been {Dominated} by an invisible tether.
"It's the final straight! We're-"
Belno Light bent her legs low, causing her body to become nearly perpendicular to the ground. Her unclasped gakuran fluttered in the winds, and a sharp grin lifted her lips as she raised her leg.
Behind her, having accelerated all the way to fifth, Gensei Combat's pupils shrunk as she saw the familiar posture Belno had taken. For a moment, if she looked right, she could've sworn she could see Oguri Cap's phantom hanging just next to Belno, as if Belno had somehow taken Oguri's strength as her own.
Then-!
Her foot slammed into the dirt, and burst forward with immense power, immediately making use of the small gap she'd created moments earlier, rushing right past the still flustered Castle Top.
"Belno Light has taken the lead!"
Gensei Combat grit her teeth as she accelerated further, passing the flustered Castle Top as she tried to catch up to Belno Light.
Yet, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't match the powerful late burst Belno had displayed. The power couldn't be compared to Oguri Cap's, but it still seemed like an impassable wall. Even now, having reached her maximum speed, the gap between her and Belno Light continued to grow.
Thus, the inevitable occurred.
"Belno Light crosses the finish line first!"
"The [Japanese Dirt Derby] has a new victory!"
The crowd exploded into cheers as the scoreboard lit up, showing that Belno Light had won with an incredible lead of 4 lengths! An incredible showing, considering she'd faced an umamusume directly trained by both the URA and FUA.
Belno glanced at the cheering crowd, and for the first time, she performed the action that she'd later become famous for.
She took hold of her admiral's cap and tucked it lower, casting a shadow over her face, causing the burning amber to shine ever more brightly.
And so that was how Belno Light achieved her first G1 victory.
.
.
.
AN: For anyone curious, the Skills Belno used in this race are {Dazzling Disorientation}, {Dominator}, {Prepared to Pass}, {Homestretch Haste}, and {Leading Charge}.