Nakayama Racecourse.
The rain drummed rhythmically against the turf, transforming the track into a treacherous, muddy marsh—the worst "heavy" surface of the entire year.
Misato Akasaka kept a sharp eye on the clock, giving a final nod to the officials.
"And now, would the competitors please enter the gates!"
Eishin Berlin took her place in Stall 11, Taiki Shuttle in Stall 1, and Barbatos in Stall 7.
As the rest of the field filed in, Eishin Berlin couldn't help but steal a glance toward the seventh gate.
Though her heart was set on sprinting and she viewed Taiki Shuttle as her ultimate rival, she realized now she might have underestimated Barbatos.
Even Taiki Shuttle seemed to radiate a sense of daunting pressure, as if an impassable chasm stood between them.
A typical girl might have thought Taiki was just playing coy, but having faced her countless times, Berlin knew that the ever-cheerful Taiki wasn't one for mind games.
Which meant... the reality of the situation was starting to hit her hard.
"Ready!"
A low rumble of thunder echoed. Erratic gusts of wind whipped against Berlin's cheeks, and a sudden, terrifying surge of presence made her heart skip a beat.
Two massive auras of pressure erupted from Barbatos. Berlin bit her lower lip so hard it hurt; in the face of that overwhelming power, she could hear nothing but the frantic thumping of her own pulse.
It was Barbatos's [Dual Zone]!
Berlin was certain of it. She and her trainer had pored over every frame of Barbatos's past races, and the "armchair experts" online had dissected her strength a thousand times over.
It seemed even Barbatos wasn't going to take any chances in a G1 sprint under this downpour; she was unleashing her dual-layered pressure before the race had even begun.
The red lights atop the gates flashed.
Clang!
The gates swung wide. As a top-three favorite in a G1 race, Berlin's instincts took over the moment the metal moved. She shoved her doubts aside and exploded forward.
"Barbatos! Barbatos has burst from the pack! What a perfect start!"
Misato Akasaka felt a sense of déjà vu watching the monitor.
"That start... it was almost exactly like Silence Suzuka's!"
"She used that same technique back at the Takarazuka Kinen,"Junko Hosoe chimed in. "But since Suzuka herself was in that race and is more famous for it, most people didn't catch on at the time."
"I see..."Akasaka started, then gasped. "Wait! Look!"
"Taiki Shuttle has abandoned her usual tactics! She's glued herself right to Barbatos's heels!"
"And it's not just Taiki—Eishin Berlin is right there behind them."
"Against Barbatos, especially in a sprint, that's the only move you've got," Hosoe agreed.
Over at the commentary desk, Hishi Akebono stood up, leaning forward.
It was her first time watching from this perspective, and she couldn't hide her excitement.
"Nobody can handle Barbatos's closing speed. If you let her gap you before the final straight, I don't think anyone—save for maybe a few of the absolute Legends—could ever catch her."
Akebono didn't say "the Legends" as a whole; she specified a few. The audience caught the nuance.
Not every Legend could withstand Barbatos's pace.
Air Groove had already fallen to her at the Takarazuka Kinen.
The only ones who could likely give chase were the "Legends among Legends"—monsters like Narita Brian, T.M Opera O, Maruzensky, Oguri Cap, and the Emperor herself, Symboli Rudolf.
"Exactly," Hosoe said. "That's why Barbatos's races always feel like they're being played at double speed."
"Especially on a short sprint track like this."
It was an open secret among trainers and G1-tier Uma Musume alike. They knew the problem, but knowing didn't mean they could solve it.
This wasn't about strategy; it was a cold, hard gap in raw ability.
In the time it took for the commentators to exchange those few sentences, the field had already cleared the halfway mark and was barreling toward the home stretch.
But even at the midpoint, several G1 competitors were already letting out desperate, strained groans. Their bodies were beginning to fail them.
It wasn't that they couldn't run a mere 1,200 meters; it was that they had followed their trainers' desperate orders: Stay on Barbatos. Overlap her. Take the lead at any cost.
Now, simply trying to stay within five lengths of her had burned through their entire reserves.
The first half of the race had felt like the final, frantic kick of a long-distance run—except this "final kick" was lasting the entire race.
Add the "heavy" mud into the mix, and most of them couldn't even exert 80% of their true power.
As they groaned in exhaustion, the pressure emanating from the girl in front of them intensified. Before even hitting the final straight, Barbatos shifted gears again, her speed climbing to a terrifying new level.
Feeling that hopeless acceleration, a few more girls finally hit their limit. "I'm... I'm done..."
Eishin Berlin, still fighting to keep the gap at five lengths, felt her limbs turn to lead.
She poured every remaining drop of her soul into a final sprint, but the two figures ahead of her only grew smaller.
Barbatos's finishing kick? Berlin was giving everything she had just to keep up with Barbatos's cruising speed.
In that moment, she truly understood what the girls at the Oka Sho, the Tenno Sho, and the Takarazuka Kinen had felt.
You can watch the tapes a thousand times. You can have your trainer analyze every stride. But when you're actually out there, all that's left is despair.
This race wasn't about experience or tactics.
From the very first step, it was a brutal display of pure, unadulterated power.
Berlin looked at the flaxen-maned tail flickering ahead of her—her greatest rival. "Go for it, Taiki," she whispered breathlessly.
More cries of "I can't...!" echoed behind her. It was rare for G1 racers to vocalize their defeat like that, but the sheer hopelessness made them feel like rookies facing an unbeatable god for the first time.
"Barbatos is the first into the final straight!"
"Taiki Shuttle is two and a half lengths back! Barbatos is accelerating! The gap is widening!"
"Taiki Shuttle kicks it into gear! The distance—! The distance is still growing!"
"300 meters to go! Taiki finds another gear! Does she have a chance?! No—the gap isn't shrinking!"
"Can Taiki Shuttle find a miracle?!"
"100 meters left! The gap is frozen! It's not changing!"
"Barbatos crosses the line!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.