If we were to say what Zero's biggest change has been since that Factor Inheritance, it would probably be that she has become a bit more mature? After all, that was the memory of her "life" spent in another world, even if it was as an animal, it was still a very long time.
Of course, some things still need to be dealt with, such as the grudges she remembered before.
The day after Special Week stayed over, she proposed to the Emperor that "it's time to send Maruzensky's car in for maintenance", and received unanimous approval from the Student Council except for Maruzensky herself.
"No! You can't do this! I'll die without the Crimson Comet!" Maruzensky hugged her beloved car, unwilling to let go.
"In order to be able to use it for longer, you'll have to bear with it, Maruzensky." The Emperor winked, and Hishi Amazon and Fuji Kiseki went over to pull Maruzensky away from the left and right.
"Then, we'll trouble you." Air Groove then communicated with the car dealership.
You should know that they have received no shortage of complaints about Maruzensky speeding (racing) at night during this period, and they have to think of a way to divert her attention.
After watching the farce with satisfaction, Zero returned to her home to start training.
After all, the Tenno Sho is tomorrow, so she'll bring her condition back first.
However, despite saying that, she actually just did some warm-up exercises and was surprised to find that her body's condition had not deteriorated at all. On the contrary, it had become easier to activate, which is commonly known as "getting into the zone".
[After all, Factor Inheritance also includes physical enhancement]
That's right.
After confirming her body's condition, Zero was also preparing to relax her mood, but she hadn't thought about where to go.
Basically everyone at school is in class. It's not interesting to go shopping alone. The Trainer should be arranging for the team members to debut at this moment... Looking at it this way, it seems like only she is at home entertaining herself?
In the end, Zero still chose to spend her day leisurely at home to welcome tomorrow's race.
The next day, Kyoto Racecourse... "This day has finally arrived, a Spring Tenno Sho with good weather and good track conditions!" The familiar voice of the commentator.
"Yes, but according to the weather forecast, it might rain today, so please prepare rain gear in advance. I am the commentator, Junko Hosoe."
"This is the commentator, Misato Akasaka!"
"Please guide me (bow)." x2
"This day has finally arrived, hasn't it, Miss Hosoe!"
"Yes, I'm sure all the fans have been looking forward to this day for a long time, right?"
"That's right! So, let's take a look at the situation of the competitors?"
"Okay, everyone, please turn your attention to the big screen!"
The participants appeared on the stage, each maintaining their best condition, and the fans of every Uma Musume cheered from below.
As the three protagonists of this race, they naturally made their entrance last.
"Hey, Shiraito-chan, is Z-chan's situation a bit…" Heavy Gun quietly leaned next to Narita Brian and whispered.
"..." Narita Brian remained silent, glanced at Zero, who was resting with her eyes closed, then turned her head back to chew on her iconic blade of grass, waiting for her turn to appear.
She had also heard the news that Zero had undergone factor inheritance the day before yesterday. If it had been an evenly matched race before, this one would be a tough fight.
"It's time to go." She replied to Heavy Gun faintly, signaling that it was her turn.
"Mmm (puffed cheeks), listen to me!" Heavy Gun left discontentedly.
The corridor, once again quiet, Shiro Hito still stared ahead.
"Hoo…"
Zero exhaled behind her, and Shiro Hito, feeling the movement, also turned her gaze.
"Let's go, it's almost our turn." She was still her usual self, but there was a subtle sense of incongruity... Shiro Hito frowned.
"What? Aren't you going?" Zero turned around to ask, her eyes sparkling with a strange light in the dim lighting of the dark corridor.
With a faint hum, Shiro Hito strode forward.
She just wanted to leave here quickly; today's Zero was too oppressive.
Watching Shiro Hito quickly move away from her, Zero merely curled the corner of her mouth slightly, then quickly calmed down.
Since entering the racecourse today, she had been in this state: feeling at ease, feeling exhilarated, feeling fanatical. She needed to calm down as much as possible to ensure she wouldn't do anything strange.
Is it you? She asked herself, but naturally, there was no response.
During the appearance, Zero's abnormal calmness caused the entire venue to quiet down. Some sharp-eyed people noticed her body trembling slightly.
"A warrior's tremor…" The Emperor's gaze turned to Oguri Cap, who was gorging herself on the other side.
Even she could feel the surging aura from Zero. If Shiro Hito and Heavy Gun might have posed a slight threat to her before, facing her now, their chances of winning were no longer great.
"No. 6, Absolute Zero, her condition seems better than ever. Ms. Hosoe, what do you think?" Having been a commentator for so many years, she naturally understood that the tremor was not due to nervousness.
"Yes, it will be an extremely exciting race."
The participants on the track were currently preparing to enter the gate, but some incidents occurred.
Nearly half of the participants refused to enter the gate, showing anxiousness in front of it.
"What an incredible aura, even more so than back then." Tamamo Cross, from the stands, along with Oguri Cap and Oguri Cap, helped to slightly block this aura that permeated the entire racecourse even before the race began.
There was nothing they could do; let alone Uma Musume, even ordinary people could feel the heavy atmosphere at the scene.
"Z-chan feels so scary today…" Teio, at this moment, was holding a plate of yakisoba from Gold Ship, unsure whether to eat or not.
"This is… the strongest of today…" McQueen, beside her, stared intently at Zero, who had already entered the gate.
Every Uma Musume basically understood the Mejiro Family's obsession with Tenno Sho, and no one went to disturb her.
Even Gold Ship wasn't messing around at this moment.
The bright sun was gradually being obscured by thick clouds blown in by the wind, completely disproving the commentator who had earlier said the weather was good today.
As the Uma Musume who refused to enter the gate were semi-forcibly pushed in by the staff, the countdown to the race began.
Inside the gate, Zero still had her eyes closed, her large ears twitching, as if listening to everything on the racecourse.
The wind on the track, the atmosphere of the race, the scent of the grass—all were so familiar.
"There's no difference…" Right? The other one… Click, the gate opened.
Me!
Her eyes, suddenly wide open, and the accumulated aura erupted instantly.
Both the Uma Musume on the track and the spectators outside felt as if they were being watched by a certain gaze.
The thick clouds completely obscured the sunlight, and the light became dim, but when they looked up… "Eek!" Tamamo Cross was so startled that her tail stood upright. After all, she was an Uma Musume who was easily startled.
Following the gaze upwards, it was a creature with terrifying eyes, one they had never seen before.
On all fours, it had perfect muscle lines, as if born to run.
At this moment, it reared its front body, supporting itself only on its hind legs, and let out a whinny.
[In the Name of Absolute]
This was her first time fully opening her domain. The stamina recovery from opening her domain was not needed, because she would not lose, even without that bit of stamina.
An intense sense of oppression descended upon the racecourse. Participants with slightly weaker wills experienced severe delays in starting, and some even lost their composure. Although their start was better than usual, they even forgot their tactics and only wanted to Escape quickly, to leave the central area of that pressure.
This pressure… Shiro Hito gritted her teeth, barely managing a normal start.
On the other side, Heavy Gun also started with a serious expression, then hung back at the very end.
Today's Z-chan… is terrifying. This time, I'll use a chasing running style to conserve as much stamina as possible.
This time, Zero chose to run in the middle, but her current position was very delicate.
Both the leading group and the trailing group had distanced themselves from her. Only the strong-willed Shiro Hito maintained a leading position, while Heavy Gun was a bit far behind because she chose to chase.
And at this moment, she was running on her own, with no one else in her eyes.
Dark flames seemed to entwine her body, obscuring her face, but one could barely discern her very serious expression.
Today's race will only be my stage.
Before the first bend, she immediately started accelerating, aiming directly for Narita Brian.
Catching up? Is she changing tactics? No, absolutely not possible.
Narita Brian gritted her teeth and slightly shifted her position, blocking the breakthrough route from behind without being penalized for oblique running.
But this is an uphill.
The biggest feature of Kyoto Racecourse is the super long uphill starting from the first bend, followed by a downhill bend. Coupled with the 3200m distance of Tenno Sho, it is a huge test of power, stamina, speed, and skill.
[Illusionary Footwork]
Back then, on a series of upright wooden stakes, she would step on the corresponding stakes according to different rules within a set time, while stepping on all the stakes, day after day.
Even with great strength, Zero's petite body was not conducive to competing against taller Uma Musume, but even so, when running in the middle, she could still break through the encirclement, relying on the unreadable footwork and balance she trained back then.
In last year's Sprint Stakes, she even performed a low-stance sprint around a bend, appearing as if she was clinging to the ground from above.
And at this moment, she didn't have to go to that extent, but by changing lanes extremely quickly, an incomplete block was like a thin piece of paper, instantly broken through.
Shiro Hito was naturally not surprised; after all, she had seen this technique many times while studying it. In fact, if Zero had actually been blocked by her in the back, she would have fallen into a state of suspicion.
The race reached its middle stage, and Zero was positioned in front of the leading group, just a little short of the Escape position.
The time had come, and Shiro Hito naturally also unleashed her domain.
As she stepped on the track, in the eyes of the other Uma Musume close to Shiro Hito, Shiro Hito seemed to smash the ground with a punch, and they fell into the gaping abyss.
Their speed slowed down once again, and the completely frantic sprint at the beginning only made things worse.
Shiro Hito herself also began to accelerate, while adjusting her breathing rhythm.
As a lone wolf Uma Musume, this moment was when she set her sights on her prey.
Wolf packs have the help of companions and will encircle their prey, but a lone wolf cannot; it only has itself to rely on, so every hunt is an extremely dangerous battle. Once a mistake is made, it falls into an irreversible situation.
But even so, the wolf's will would never yield.
The fully expanded domain resisted most of the pressure, and her body felt much lighter.
But she also knew that if she wanted to win, this alone was far from enough.
Following Zero closely, even though the opponent's slipstream was almost nonexistent for some reason, she had to keep a close eye on the opponent.
"Maya Heavy Gun! Breaking through from the very back of the pack!"
The two in the best condition in the entire race, besides Zero, were Heavy Gun.
Both of them are working so hard, I can't relax either!
Even during that Hanshin Daishoten, she felt she had never been this serious, because for her, being this serious was too much of a waste of stamina; she probably wouldn't even be able to play games when she got back.
But today's Z-chan is super ~ scary, she feels like she could be trampled at any moment, so she also has to be serious in response.
Especially this time, with Shiraito-chan not watching her.
And Zero, on her side, also began to accelerate, running all the way to the leading position.
"Absolute Zero has taken the lead position, Narita Brian is in hot pursuit from behind, and Maya Heavy Gun is also following closely. This is only the mid-to-late stage, and the race has already turned into a stage for these three!"
The commentator also didn't stop, continuously reporting the positions of each participant.
In the final bend, Heavy Gun also activated her domain, once again covering the surroundings.
Three domains overlapped, a rare sight even in past races. The Emperor, watching the race from the side, felt an inexplicable fire ignite within her heart.
She retired due to injury back then, but after so long, she had not weakened; instead, due to long-term accumulation, she had become stronger than she was back then. Facing the fierce competition of the three on the track, she couldn't help but want to join in.
The name Rudolph Symbol was not just a symbol of an era, but also a symbol of strength in that era.
Injury was just an excuse; the real reason was that there were too few people who could be considered opponents. Representative Chiaki, who retired at the time, and Katsuragi Ace, who had defeated her once, each counted as one, and Secretariat from abroad counted as one. But all of them had retired at this point, and besides the trivialities of life, there was also the boredom of always facing the same old opponents.
The children who debuted this year were also, without exception, exceptionally talented, and there was also Teio, who would debut later, that child from the Mejiro Family, and that special Uma Musume named Rice Shower... She took a deep breath to calm herself, her gaze once again fixed on the racecourse.
The race entered its final stage.
Both Shiro Hito and Heavy Gun were currently behind Zero. If they wanted to break through, it first meant facing the core area of her pressure, and secondly, facing her skillful blocking.
The world praised her strength, but little did they know that her true terror lay in the skills completely ingrained in her instincts. No one knew how she trained these skills, nor how much she sacrificed for her current achievements.
The final bend was about to end, entering the final straight. Zero also gave up on continuing to block, directly taking the inside lane and starting to accelerate, while Narita Brian and Heavy Gun followed closely.
Shiraito-chan, I'm sorry, Maya has been waiting for this moment for a long time!
Heavy Gun's eyes sparkled with excitement.
[Flash ☆ Landing]
[Splendid Maneuver]
Two colorful skills, her trump cards saved for today's race.
Having seen Heavy Gun's instant acceleration, even Shiro Hito's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but she quickly kept up her pace.
Hmm? What is this?
Cool?
A sudden downpour covered the entire racecourse, making the Uma Musume, drenched in sweat from the fierce competition, shiver with cold.
Especially with the sudden heavy rain, and the accompanying strong winds, which continued to steal their body heat.
And in Zero's eyes, light overflowed.
[Shadow Snipe]
As Zero ran to the inside lane, Shiro Hito successfully overtook her from the outside, closely chasing Heavy Gun.
But her close watch on Zero still hadn't let up; no one could ignore her on the final straight, absolutely not.
A large number of common skills were activated. Heavy Gun and Shiro Hito occupied the first two positions, with only 800 meters left to the finish line.
It's enough.
She was too lazy to even look at the number of skills activated, and at the same time... [Senri Shippu - Shinsoku (Complete)]
[Zettai Shinsoku]
[Flying Over the Afterglow in the Sunset]
Her physical condition was instantly refreshed, with two extremely terrifying accelerations. At that moment, her speed was so great that it couldn't even be captured by cameras.
The wind seemed to have grown stronger, as if rejoicing in its rebirth?
No, they are cheering for my coronation!
The illusion of Absolute Zero as a horse completely shattered, turning into specks of light that merged into her body.
The pressure across the entire track suddenly decreased drastically, but Shiro Hito and Heavy Gun showed no signs of happiness.
No longer suppressing, it wasn't that she couldn't suppress it anymore, but that she no longer needed such strong suppression.
If Rei Zai looked at her ability values, she would see that her speed had already broken through the limit and was continuously climbing.
However, at this moment, she had neither the time nor the inclination to look.
Heavy Gun and Shiro Hito only gained a brief two-second lead on the final straight before she, with her burst of speed, directly overtook them.
The last two hundred meters, only two hundred meters left... Heavy Gun gritted her teeth and began to accelerate, disregarding her physical condition.
Shiro Hito naturally did the same, but... her speed couldn't pick up, she couldn't even further push her body.
Especially for Heavy Gun, this feeling was even more unbearable.
The figure leading in front was getting closer and closer to the finish line, but she could only maintain a speed that couldn't be further increased, watching the other party run further and further away... The shackles on her body were so heavy she couldn't breathe, but even so, she had to catch up.
A golden stream of light flashed in her eyes, and Heavy Gun, mimicking Rei Zai, compressed her domain, increasing the intensity of her resistance, and with that, burst out with even higher speed.
For some reason, Rei Zai's back, running alone in front, seemed exceptionally aloof at this moment.
That's not Rei Zai! She's not alone!
The first time she met Rei Zai, the other party was a very reclusive individual, seemingly afraid of everyone and keeping her distance. Even she was kept out.
But it didn't matter, if the first time didn't work, there was a second, and if the second didn't work, there was a third, and she finally managed to chat with her.
How could she not understand the meaning of a date, Rei Zai, you big idiot! So... "Look at me!" A shout burst from her parched throat.
Under Shiro Hito's shocked gaze, Heavy Gun accelerated once more, catching up to the figure in front.
Gritting her teeth, she also condensed her domain and followed suit.
That idiot, does she not know what consequences doing this will have!?
Shiro Hito instinctively activated her domain in childhood, making her a genius among geniuses, but precisely because of this, her body had always been battered by the pressure from her domain, until Rei Zai provided some medicine later, which improved her condition significantly.
Someone like Heavy Gun, who dared to casually condense her domain right after fully awakening it, truly had a death wish.
But even so, she was shining brightly now, even in the gloomy rain.
Rei Zai naturally heard the commotion behind her, but she didn't turn back.
These guys, what are they all imagining... She sighed in her heart and continued to accelerate.
Anything important would have to wait until later; she'd probably have to take care of another patient soon... After crossing the finish line, she quickly decelerated and turned around, quickly catching Heavy Gun's body as she crashed into her.
To be able to close such a large gap, she truly is something... Her gaze turned to Narita Brian, who had followed closely behind, the other party panting and shaking her head, indicating she was fine.
"First place is Absolute Zero, closely followed by Maya Heavy Gun by one horse length, and then Narita Brian, less than one horse length behind, crosses the finish line!"
The commentator's voice and the gradually displayed numbers on the scoreboard announced the results of the race.
Holding the soaking wet Heavy Gun, Rei Zai felt a surge of complex emotions.
Heavy Gun had played a crucial role in helping her overcome her social anxiety so quickly, so their relationship had always been good, but... she really didn't know what Heavy Gun had been imagining behind her to charge forward so recklessly.
She subtly gestured to Rudolph Symbol, who understood and turned to arrange personnel.
The arrangements were mostly complete, and now... Supporting the slightly recovered Heavy Gun, Rei Zai raised her hand once more.
The cheers from the crowd drowned out the sound of the falling rain.
Afterward, Rei Zai quickly called for Narita Brian, who was still recovering her strength, to help her escort Heavy Gun to the lounge for immediate preliminary treatment.
"How was I, Rei Zai, wasn't I cool just now?"
"Yes, yes, yes. If I couldn't handle you, you'd be in a wheelchair from now on." She playfully tapped the other party's small head, while taking off her shoes and socks, preparing to apply medicine.
Shiro Hito, meanwhile, had a towel draped over her head, and held two other towels in her hands to wipe the heads of the two little rascals.
The peculiar scene left the Spica and Rigil members who followed directly stunned on the spot.
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