Among the horse girls in the front-running pack, Latifa was probably the most innocent of them all. She had only come here to run her race, so why had she suddenly been swallowed up by this black mist glowing green?
"Domain…"
Looking at the sky, now stained a different color, and feeling the surging black fog pressing toward them, every horse girl was thinking her own thoughts.
This was not the first time they had seen Xingyun Liuge use this power. They had long since prepared themselves for the possibility that she would unleash this strange force at a critical moment, and they had all anticipated the chance that they might be pressured into losing speed—or even collapsing outright.
Fat drops of sweat broke out across Goodbye Halo's smooth forehead. She stubbornly fought against the unreasonable black mist, yet her breathing still grew ragged despite herself.
Resolve alone was not enough to oppose this power. One also needed strength worthy of facing it. Otherwise, it was no different from throwing an egg against a stone.
The pink-haired girl could not help letting out a cry.
And yet she did not give up. Her horseshoes struck hard against the black-fog-shrouded track. Even though sweat poured down so heavily that she could barely keep her eyes open, she refused to surrender.
In her heart, she shouted:
Because… this is my dream!
Goodbye Halo hastily wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. Even if her face was flushed red, even if she lost every trace of elegance, she still would not yield.
A fierce light rose in her eyes.
But by then, Xingyun Liuge had already overtaken her and raced onward toward the girls ahead.
"They're about to enter the turn, but neither the front-running Risen Star nor the pursuing Xingyun Liuge shows the slightest intention of slowing down. This race may become a duel between the two of them! Will Winning Colors, just like she did in the Kentucky Derby, transform into an assassin once more?"
What the spectators could not see was that the negative-energy field moving with Xingyun Liuge was harassing the front-running pack. Even Risen Star, who held the lead, was being affected.
Feeling that strange energy creeping up from behind, Risen Star clenched her teeth and drove her beautifully toned right leg into the ground.
It was as if a tremendous boom rang out.
Mud and black mist flew high into the air. In a single burst, Risen Star threw herself three lengths ahead, escaping the influence of the negative-energy field.
A blazing golden light flickered in her eyes, making her seem like a star descended from heaven, dazzling beyond compare.
A cross-shaped starlight burned in the sky above.
Last time, I lost the clash of domains, Risen Star thought. But so what? This time, I'll use the power I forged through effort to defeat them all! Watch my back, Xingyun Liuge!
Risen Star let out a furious roar and quickened her pace again, opening the gap between herself and the girls behind. The exhilaration of having the scenery ahead all to herself thrilled her to the core. She wanted to hold that position all the way to the finish, so she pushed herself harder and harder, unwilling to let anyone catch her.
What she did not know was that Xingyun Liuge was not looking at her at all. Instead, she maintained her rhythm while deliberately using the negative-energy field to harass the other horse girls and wear down their stamina.
Her eyes were fixed on Winning Colors, searching.
"Winning Colors, you're clearly hiding more than this. Show me what you can really do. Otherwise…"
She did not finish the sentence.
She had no intention of getting stabbed in the back later, even if she still had ways to deal with it. Since she already possessed the power to force other horse girls out of the race, naturally she would drag out their full strength now, rather than let them conserve it until the very end.
Xingyun Liuge said nothing, but the negative-energy field bared its fangs more clearly than words ever could.
The surging black mist rolled onward, growing even more terrifying, like a towering wall of water just about to become a tsunami.
Somewhere within it, there seemed to be the rumble of thunder.
As Xingyun Liuge ran, the mist rose higher and higher until, in the blink of an eye, it had become a moving black wall.
But this wall was not there to separate one side from another.
No—it only advanced, unstoppable, with the overwhelming momentum of something that crushed all things in its path, forcing the horse girls ahead to understand what true destructive power meant.
In that instant, the horse girls felt as though they heard a violent, tyrannical voice:
Embrace the gaping maw of death!
The towering tide of black mist crashed down, instantly swallowing Forty Niner, Brian's Time, and Winning Colors alike.
At that moment, the horse girls felt as though heaven and earth were collapsing around them.
In their eyes, that rolling black tide could flatten forests of steel and concrete with ease, reducing them to heavy, dying groans.
Even the most magnificent suspension bridges would be twisted like wire and cast aside beneath that million-ton force. As for everything else—it was nothing more than children's toys, there only to be swept away.
Wherever the black tide passed, it erased everything without mercy.
Forty Niner and Brian's Time, caught dead center in the impact, lost speed on the spot. From that moment on, they were no longer contenders for the championship.
But what about Winning Colors?
What had become of her?
Just as the black tide began to wane, a streak of azure light pierced through it.
It was blazing fire—and at the same time, a surging river of radiance.
"Hah… hah…"
Blue fire wrapped itself around Winning Colors from head to toe, making her entire body glow with a bluish sheen.
But this was not some meaningless visual effect. Enveloped in those fiercely burning blue flames, the fatigue imposed by the negative-energy field eased. Winning Colors felt a portion of her stamina return, enough to keep fighting.
This was the hidden weapon she had only begun to grasp last week, and it was still unstable. In her original plan, it had been a trump card meant for the final three hundred meters, yet Xingyun Liuge had forced it out of her here, in the turn.
So be it.
If Xingyun Liuge wanted to see her true strength so badly, then what was wrong with pushing herself even harder?
Winning Colors threw back her head and roared, and the raging flames around her surged skyward.
In an instant, the wind racing across the course was beaten into submission by the fire, reshaped into exactly what Winning Colors desired.
If Xingyun Liuge's black mist had obeyed ordinary physical laws, perhaps it would have been scattered.
But this was death and despair from the underworld itself. The flames could not disperse it. Wave after wave of darkness still rushed toward the girl.
"Come on, then!"
Seeing the tide of black mist bearing down on her, Winning Colors cried out, not in fear, but in exhilaration, even as her breathing came in harsh gasps.
Blue flames spilled from the ends of her hair. With searing heat, they drove the wind, turning it into a howling gale.
Her voice rang out like tearing silk, and the air around her transformed into a roaring tornado. The heat distortion in the atmosphere was so intense that even the light itself seemed to warp.
In the void, a colossal bird of flame spread its wings and screamed.
At that moment, every horse girl watching saw it clearly:
The racecourse had been split into three distinct domains by three horse girls—three territories, each sharply separate from the others.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin