On the course...
"Haaah..."
Suave Dancer slowly exhaled a plume of white mist, then snapped her eyes open.
Deep within her pupils, a bolt of crimson-gold lightning erupted!
It surged far more violently than ever before, and the streams of light surrounding her multiplied by the second.
Then the dark-skinned girl lowered her body and shifted her center of gravity downward.
Her long, powerful legs began hammering against the turf with even greater brutality.
In McQueen's eyes, the crimson-gold mass of light beside her suddenly began to churn and swell.
A strangely familiar sensation emanated from it.
"This is...?"
Before McQueen could finish that thought, Suave Dancer's wild laughter reached her through the raging wind and rain.
"Hahahaha! McQueen! Let's see if you can keep up with me this time!"
"BOOM!!"
The earth trembled beneath her feet.
Then...
She exploded forward!
Suave Dancer's figure seemed to blur into an afterimage for an instant before tearing through the gale.
Like a rocket roaring to life, she surged forward at an even more outrageous speed!
"Hmph!"
McQueen gave a quiet snort and subtly adjusted her stride.
If this had been inside the game, several golden skill icons would have lit up above the gray-haired girl's head.
The results of all her past training were now being displayed to perfection.
Her extraordinary acceleration came almost immediately after Suave Dancer's, forcibly halting the dark-skinned girl's advance.
"Wha...?!"
Suave Dancer's pupils contracted sharply.
Her current speed had already surpassed the limit she had broken through during the Irish Champion Stakes.
Yet despite catching McQueen off guard with the timing of her acceleration, she still had not achieved the result she had expected.
"What's wrong? Giving up already?"
At that moment, a calm voice drifted toward her on the wind.
Suave Dancer abruptly raised her head.
"As if!"
"Besides, this is exactly how it should be!"
"This is the strength you're supposed to possess, McQueen!"
"And that's precisely why I want to bring you down even more!"
Suave Dancer's laughter exploded across the course.
Behind them, the other fourteen Umamusume had nearly abandoned any thought of catching up.
They simply ran.
They ran with everything they had.
All they wanted now was to finish the course, to complete those 2,400 meters without being left too embarrassingly far behind by the two terrifying figures ahead.
Among them, however, a single blonde figure was fighting against the tide.
"Huff... Hah..."
Generous kept her head lowered as she gasped for breath. Her golden hair was completely soaked, clinging tightly to her cheeks and neck.
She was beginning to tire.
That was almost unthinkable.
After all, they had only run one thousand meters.
For these world-class Umamusume, one thousand meters was nothing. Back in their own countries, they could often run two thousand meters without breaking a sweat.
Yet Generous's abnormal condition was shared by every runner in the second pack.
The two monsters at the front had turned the race into a reckless breakaway, completely distorting the pace.
Moreover, Elmaamul, who was currently leading the second pack, was not a particularly strong front-runner.
This was her first Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and she had been forced into the lead against her will.
As a result, she had been heavily influenced by McQueen and Suave Dancer's rhythm.
Every Umamusume behind her was cruising at a much higher speed than anticipated.
Then there was the torrential rain and the exceptionally heavy going.
With every disadvantage piling atop the others, Generous felt as though she might not even be able to finish the race.
Even so...
Her eyes continued to burn.
Pale-gold lightning flickered intermittently within her pupils.
An incomplete, ancient gate was slowly rising from the lake of her heart.
Little by little, without even realizing it, she had closed the gap to less than one hundred meters.
She was passing them.
She was catching up.
"I... can't let it end like this."
Her voice was so quiet that the rain swallowed it completely.
"I... was once..."
Her final words scattered into the wind, almost impossible to hear.
Generous suddenly raised her head. Her normally gentle face was now twisted with desperation and defiance.
"Suave Dancer! McQueen! You two, stop right there!!"
"BOOM!"
Golden streams of light erupted around her, staining the surrounding curtain of rain with a dazzling radiance.
Domain: Resplendent Golden Feast!
Generous shot forward like a sword drawn from its sheath, accelerating in a brilliant burst.
She swept past the final Umamusume blocking her path with overwhelming force!
"You!"
Elmaamul stared at Generous in disbelief.
They had only just reached the third turn. Why was she throwing her life away too?
"GENEROOOUS!!"
The commentator's voice rose sharply, nearly cracking.
"Generous has begun accelerating after entering the third turn! She has overtaken Elmaamul and is now pursuing the leading pack at an astonishing speed!!"
An earthshaking roar erupted from the grandstands.
Generous's fans leaped to their feet, frantically waving their flags.
That blonde girl had already lost to the two reigning champions ahead of her several times. She was no longer the favorite in the eyes of the public.
Yet when she unleashed her final brilliance amid the mud and rain, no one could remain unmoved.
Whether or not she could win, she would always be their sun.
"Catch them! Catch them, Generous!!"
"You're our pride and joy!!"
"You can do it!"
"Keep going!"
On the course, Generous tore through the curtain of rain, charging madly toward the two runners ahead!
At the front...
Suave Dancer seemed to sense the commotion behind her. She turned her head slightly and caught sight of the rapidly approaching golden figure from the corner of her eye.
She froze for a moment before her lips curled into a broad grin.
"Haha... Hahahaha!"
Her laughter echoed through the downpour, wild and joyous.
"Generous! So you came too!"
"That's absolutely perfect!!"
McQueen did not look back, but the corners of her lips curved upward as well.
No matter what happens, at least you managed to follow us for part of the journey...
Pure white, crimson-gold, and burnished gold.
Three Umamusume and three distinctly different lights raced one after another through the torrential rain.
Although the third light remained far, far behind the other two...
"They're coming out of the third turn!"
The commentator's voice remained impassioned. Even though she could see that Generous was reaching her limit, her fighting spirit had not diminished in the slightest.
"All three Umamusume are emerging from the third turn in succession!"
"What an incredible race! What a magnificent display of perseverance, and what a fateful meeting between these runners!"
"This is the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe!!"
"RUMBLE!"
Lightning exploded across the sky, illuminating the three figures until they resembled deities descended into the mortal world.
The curve swept beneath their feet as the course began to straighten.
"BOOM!"
Amid the thunderous pounding of their footsteps, three streams of light burst from the mouth of the turn.
They tore three openings through the curtain of rain ahead.
Trails of mist stretched far behind them, like the blazing tails left by meteors crossing the sky.
They had already passed the fourteen-hundred-meter marker.
The rain showed no sign of weakening. Instead, it grew even more violent.
Raindrops the size of beans battered the course, thoroughly soaking the turf until it resembled a muddy swamp.
Yet the two figures at the front continued to fly.
Crimson-gold and pure-white light intertwined within the storm, one on either side, resembling two auroras twisting together as they climbed toward the heavens.
Beneath them, a weaker pale-gold radiance flickered like a candle flame.
(End of Chapter)
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