Snow?
Theory?
In the instant those two dazzling arcs of light erupted, everything like that seemed to be shredded to pieces by savage speed!
Boom—!
Two unyielding lightning whips struck the earth almost at the same time, detonating across a two-hundred-meter gap.
Deep blue and pure silver Domain streams roared and danced with the shockwaves of two top-tier thunder riders.
As if endless violence surged through their bodies, they stepped onto this road of destiny without holding anything back—straight toward the summit!
Behind them.
Flash Forest, the dark horse who had still been calculating her remaining stamina, suddenly realized those lightning whips had already shot into the sky.
That kind of speed…?
In the blink of an eye, those two figures had already passed her.
Not even a trace could be caught. She could not grasp even a sliver of their trailing flame.
"Wow…"
Flash Forest stared at those streaking silhouettes, as if they had abandoned her and the dozen-plus Uma Musume behind her entirely.
A breath caught in her chest, squeezed out by something intangible…
She had no thought of chasing at all.
"Th-… mm…"
In that instant, what rose inside her was overwhelming envy, and a strange sense of acceptance.
With monsters like that existing—
In this era, do we… even need to exist?
…
At the front.
No one cared about a loser's lament.
On the track, Ardan and Creek, one before the other, surged up the slope like two burning comets.
Whoosh—!
Creek pumped her arms with everything she had, her only thought to overtake that figure ahead.
And Ardan refused to yield a single step, standing firm like an immovable fortress.
Hoo—!!
Delicate Domain light poured crazily from the depths of their eyes, and sunlight happened to fall squarely on their backs.
The two of them charged straight into those boundless pillars of Domain light.
…
For these two girls, burning with will and battling each other in this moment—
In truth, they were two children running.
Creek was a natural runner.
From childhood, through her school days, until she truly bloomed as an active Uma Musume, her frail constitution made nearly every trainer keep her at arm's length.
"This kid won't last long."
"Give up. Her body can't handle that kind of intensity."
Those cold verdicts pressed down on her heart like mountains.
Until the day she reached out and took the hand of that trainer—sometimes bright as clear skies, sometimes stubbornly hard-headed, but always sincere.
Only then did her world seem to gain color.
One was a young Uma Musume before her debut.
One was a brand-new trainer who had just arrived at Central.
They supported each other in obscurity, and in countless days and nights, they studied notebooks filled with data together.
At last, at the Kikuka Sho, they bloomed into a radiance that stunned the world.
And because of that, she had reached this place…
"I am still that one and only Uma Musume who started from zero."
The depth in Creek's eyes grew darker. "I'm running on this track with my trainer's wish, with our shared ideals and pursuit!"
"So— I will never abandon it!"
Beside her, Ardan's conviction burned just as fiercely.
Was she not the same?
Born into a prestigious family, yet branded with "glass legs," like a death sentence.
While her peers flew across the track, she could only stand to the side, counting the blades of grass under her feet in envy.
Even for a long time after her True Blooming, no trainer was willing to take in a young lady who might "shatter" at any moment.
Even her training plan—she researched it herself, drafted it herself, and forced herself to complete it with every ounce of effort.
That Japanese Derby that nearly burned her to ash was her rebellion against fate—and it almost destroyed her completely.
But she believed every hardship existed only to repay her with tomorrow's dawn.
And so, she ultimately chose her ultimate move.
She received her redemption and her miracle.
That blazing heat, that dazzling gentleness, that warm smile beneath the "Summer Light"—
They were a beautiful memory she would never forget.
So— I don't think I'm worse than anyone…
Ardan felt the wind screaming past her ears, the stray thoughts in her mind gradually burned away.
I'm just a slightly lucky thunder horse.
Lucky to meet my trainer, and lucky to seize the most important chance.
And because of that, my running isn't only for myself…
I won't care about any slander or outside noise directed at me, or at my trainer.
History is written under other people's feet. I don't care about that either.
But as long as I keep winning, I can prove everything. I can prove it all!
That hope that gave my life back to me— that is what is truly great, what deserves to be carved into the world's memory!
So, to chase this moment—
Is the beginning of the miracle that belongs to me, that belongs to Hinata!
I will use my running from this day forward to answer that— the greatest miracle of my life!
"Gyaaaaaaah—!!!"
The two Uma Musume roared at the same time. Under the force of their will, the entire track seemed to be dragged into a brilliant otherworld!
You surge, I surge. Neither yielding an inch!
Under the might of two era-making Uma Musume, even the slope felt like a toy, torn apart with ease!
"Mejiro Ardan and Super Creek are accelerating! Flash Forest can't stop them at all!"
The commentator howled as he watched the scene. "Yes, yes, yes! In this hellish section of Kyoto Racecourse, they aren't slowing down even a little!"
"Is this what a top-tier battle from Central looks like?!"
Mid-track…
The crest of the slope was behind them.
"Hey—!"
With the reinforcement of Domain, their speed exploded upward again—merging with the sunlight as they dove into the long straight!
However—
At the instant they entered the final straight, Creek's heart suddenly sank.
She realized… she could not catch Ardan at all.
Even though she was giving everything she had, even though she had poured every last ounce of strength into this final sprint—
That white figure ahead was widening the gap, little by little, irreversibly.
So… it really is like this?
Creek smiled bitterly.
In last year's Arima Kinen, she had suffered a loss like this once before.
Her body still had stamina. Her legs could still move.
But she still could not catch up.
It was the pure beauty of speed and explosiveness—an unbridgeable chasm.
"Am I going to lose the same way again… lose like this?"
As she looked at that lapis-like figure running down the final straight, still seeming ready to vanish in the next instant and claim the crown—
Time in Creek's mind flowed backward, freezing on two years ago.
That narrow-road encounter between thunder riders.
Fumino had been crouched on the ground, carefully wrapping thick bandages around her "silver medal" legs.
The warmth at her fingertips… was still branded deep into Creek's soul.
"Creek, once you're better, once you're ready—our story will start a new chapter."
The girl drifting behind Ardan trembled faintly.
She lowered her head. No one could see her face, but in the next instant, her head snapped up again!
Those eyes that had been dim—suddenly blazed with light!
Fumino's high, ringing voice—those words of limitless trust and expectation—became the purest fuel, pouring straight into Creek's body!
"Our story won't end here!"
Creek roared in her heart, determined to scream every regret, every unwillingness, every "I can't catch up" into this track!
No matter what happened to her body afterward, it didn't matter!
Even if these legs were to break in the very next second, she would carve this light into the end of the course!
In this moment— dance with everything you have!!!
Vmmm—
Deep blue Domain light suddenly surged.
Her steps, which had grown heavy under the widening gap, became lighter than ever before.
What surged through her body was not merely strength—
It was the will of that sunlight itself!
At this moment, she took a step—hard.
A footfall heavy as steel drove deep into the earth, leaving behind a clear footprint burning with deep-blue flame.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]