"No one is born fearless; I only seek a heart without regret."
Rice Shower repeated the phrase like a mantra, her breathing gradually steadying as she calmed. Fear still lingered in her heart, but she faced Sunday Silence with unwavering resolve.
Azure flames ignited in her left eye, carving a path of roses from the deep outer lane.
Dancing gracefully under the moon, her shadow like a forest.Sliding left and right, her movements too swift for the naked eye to follow.
"You can never save Central without defeating me," Sunday Silence taunted. "Come! Show me your true self!"
The phantom shadow struck again, ghostly hands swarming from all directions, threatening to seal every escape route. Rice Shower's focus was absolute. She followed the trail of rose petals, and whenever a hand reached for her, it was incinerated to ash by the azure flames.
Parting the mist to reveal the bright moon.The assassin's dagger slices through the darkness, bathing her in moonlight.
"Got you!" After traversing the endless darkness, she finally reached the specter's side.
Sunday Silence remained as wild and untamed as ever. Her stride intensified, proving that even after leading from the front for so long, she still had another gear.
With a single thunderous step, she demonstrated what it meant to be a [World-Class] elite. Sunday Silence seemed to shift sideways in a near-instantaneous blur, her speed so immense it left afterimages in its wake. Even the darkness clinging to her struggled to keep up, left behind in her dust.
Afterimages multiplied and vanished in an endless cycle. All the shadows were her, yet none of them were. It was impossible to pinpoint her position, as if she had truly vanished from the world like a ghost.
Everyone who witnessed it gasped in shock. Sunday Silence's skill was so far beyond the other competitors that they couldn't even hope to match her.
Rice Shower was instantly left behind, that unreasonable burst of speed loudly proclaiming Sunday Silence's unparalleled superiority. Yet, Rice Shower's face showed no panic. Her focus sharpened as she stared ahead and slowly uttered:
"Mark—"
The vision was indistinct: a human-like figure cloaked in black slowly raised its arm, seeming to grasp the moon in its hand. As the palm gently descended, like a soft caress, an inexplicable chill shot through Rice Shower's chest.
A cold glint flashed—the crescent wasn't the moon, but the scythe in the Grim Reaper's hand!
Rice Shower erupted forward, choosing a bizarre angle of attack. She cut into the buffer zone before the curve, a space no one else occupied. The crowd thought she had lost control, but the next second, a thunderous crash echoed.
From the void, Sunday Silence stumbled out, staggering.
Before entering the turn, Rice Shower had seen through Sunday Silence's acceleration and used the force of the impact to rebound into the curve. The stands erupted in astonishment. The dramatic reversal of fortunes instantly ignited the atmosphere.
To the astonishment of many competitors, Rice Shower used a Second Mark.
After all, Kousei, until now, could only use one Mark. That was why she was always extremely cautious when choosing her target.
"Could it be that Rice Shower's mastery of the Gate Technique has already surpassed Kousei's?" someone couldn't help but wonder.
Not so.
As the saying goes, "Every trade has its master." Rice Shower's expertise in tracking was far beyond anyone else's. Don't forget, it was Rice Shower who had taught Kousei how to track in the first place.
Even a vanishing ghost could not escape the Moonlight Grim Reaper's gaze.
"Haha! Excellent! You're strong!"
Sunday Silence had been utterly defeated by Rice Shower in that curve, but this only ignited her fighting spirit. The trait of growing stronger when facing a powerful opponent was the very reason for Sunday Silence's invincibility!
"My entire life has been plagued by misfortune. Grim Reaper, do you think you can escape me?"
Sunday Silence shifted her stance, changing the way she pushed off the ground. She lowered her center of gravity, coiling like a beast before the hunt. With each step, the earth seemed to grant her power. Each footfall landed heavier than the last, the sound escalating from a whisper to a roar until her feet left craters in the turf like artillery shells.
Sunday Silence was ready
Sunday Silence stopped dead. Her black coat billowed up like a giant maw about to devour its prey.
With a deafening bang, she launched forward. A button, shaken loose, whistled through the air.
In forty meters, she closed a seven-length gap—a black monster tearing through everything in its path!
Rice Shower grunted, unable to match Sunday Silence's speed. Her muscles screamed in protest, her heart felt like it would burst at any moment.
The black monster tore across the racetrack, its endless acceleration driving all to despair. It trampled the dream of being a hero underfoot, grinding it into the dirt. How could anyone possibly defeat such an opponent?
Though utterly exhausted, Rice Shower instinctively used her Gate Technique. Vines shot toward Sunday Silence, only to be incinerated by flames the instant they made contact.
Even so, her amber-blue eyes still reflected the moon's halo. A guiding light in the darkness, she took another step forward on the muddy turf.
A hero never gives up!
Her body, pushed to its absolute limit, still obeyed its first command: Keep Sunday Silence in your sights!
"Even if no one understands your noble ideals, will you still throw yourself into this fight? Even if the ignorant masses still see you as a villain, will you still strive to be a hero?"
Her faltering steps, always pressing forward, were Rice Shower's answer.
Sunday Silence smiled. "I take back what I said, Rice Shower. You've earned my respect."
Having won Sunday Silence's respect, Rice Shower now intended to kill the race.
"What are you muttering about over there?!"
A figure surged down the deep outer lane, bypassing Rice Shower to challenge Sunday Silence at the front!
"It's you," Sunday Silence said, recognizing her instantly.
"Don't act like you've already won! You haven't beaten me yet!"
Such a furious chase couldn't last long, but her fighting spirit burned like a raging fire. Sunday Silence's smile widened. "Fine! Come on! What's your name?!"
"Eternal Halo!"
(Spy-another OC horse? Not sure at this point. It's not King Halo, I think)
"Come on, Halo!"
A brilliant light flared at the front—not from Sunday Silence alone, but from the combined radiance of Eternal Halo and Sunday Silence.
Fighting spirit could ignite the body's energy, but the gap in skill was hard to bridge. In their side-by-side duel, Eternal Halo gradually began to fall behind.
The light seemed to be fading.
"I will win the Spring Tenno Sho! I'll prove I'm worthy of a G1 title!"
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
At first, it was just a faint ember, needing only the right moment to erupt into a blazing inferno.
"That's right! This is how it should be! Enjoy the race, Umamusume! The Shield is just a symbol! The true glory of the Spring Tenno Sho lies in every rival you face!
"If you're going to win, you might as well defeat the strongest opponent! Bathe in the ultimate glory!"
Somewhere along the way, the darkness had vanished. Under the spotlights, everyone was clearly visible, lost in the moment, pouring out every drop of sweat. All distractions were forgotten, their focus locked on their rivals, on the race itself.
Sunday Silence's expression was no longer twisted; she was no longer fading away. It had all been her own fear at work—fear made her monstrous, and her reluctance to confront it made her disappear.
But if you mustered the courage, you'd see that Sunday Silence was just another Umamusume enjoying the race. If you could box her in, she couldn't unleash that ghost-like acceleration.
"I am Sunday Silence, the strongest Umamusume! If you want the Spring Tenno Sho, come and take it from me!"
"Such arrogance!"
At this moment, only victory mattered.
Sunday Silence unleashed her final strike—the decisive Bullet Final Leg!
The race reached a fever pitch!
The final straight was a chaotic mess, with no discernible pattern as everyone poured their last ounce of strength into seizing victory. Sunday Silence led the charge, with the others clinging desperately behind her.
Victory would be decided in an instant.
Wait... has something been forgotten?
"Should I wait for another surge? No! It has to be now!"
An invisible black scythe swung from behind, threatening to slice through the field.
"Rice Shower! What is she doing?!"
Rice Shower's form showed she had abandoned all possibility of changing course or slowing down. She took a deep breath, then held it.
Straight Line, One Breath!
"Is she insane?! There's still a pack of horses ahead!"
The shock provoked instinctive curses. In their eyes, Rice Shower was risking everything for victory.
Sunday Silence laughed aloud. "Come, Rice Shower! Defeat me and become a hero!"
Rice Shower plunged headfirst into the field. Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats, fearing a collision. In a race this tight, a single impact would inevitably trigger a chain reaction, leading to another disaster.
Some covered their eyes; others tensed up, their nerves stretched taut.
But the collision never happened. Incredibly, the Umamusume in Rice Shower's path yielded their positions just moments before impact.
"Wait! They didn't yield willingly! They were just about to move at that exact moment!"
Astonishment far outweighed anger. Such an excellent grasp of the overall situation deserved praise.
[Killer Mindset] × [Multiple Marks]—an inescapable mental trap.
"Stop! Stop it! Don't catch up! This is Cafe's retirement race!"
Even now, her victory was unwelcome. But this time, she was reborn!
Co-Glory Kyoei Bowgun and Mihono Bourbon appeared ahead. They turned back simultaneously, smiling. "Take her down, Rice Shower!"
Finally, the young girl smiled and declared the words she had longed to say.
"I'm not a villain! I'm a hero!"
Hold your head high and charge forward, Rice Shower!
"I will win! I will prove once again that I am the strongest Umamusume of my generation!"
The key to victory had been revealed to everyone from the start: [Both Sunday Silence and Manhattan Cafe].
Sunday Silence suddenly convulsed, two souls intertwining within her.
"If this were Manhattan Cafe, she would have broken down at this point."
The cold, matter-of-fact tone laid bare the truth. The wild, untamed aura vanished—Sunday Silence was gone.
The Black Bullet struck Manhattan Cafe at a speed of 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Once again, the Black Assassin shattered dreams with a record-breaking performance.
A long silence fell as the crowd refused to face reality.
"Why?! Why is it you again?!"
Curses erupted, accompanied by a barrage of thrown objects. Boos and discontent filled the racetrack.
Clap... clap... clap...
Rice Shower turned in surprise. Manhattan Cafe was applauding—or was it Sunday Silence? Eternal Halo also offered her applause without hesitation. One by one, Rice Shower's rivals began to clap for her.
"Huh?"
Faintly, scattered applause began to rise from the stands.
"Rice Shower! Keep going!"
"That was a brilliant run~"
Rice Shower...
Rice Shower...
Rice Shower—
As the young girl who had run with all her might crossed the finish line, countless cheers rained down from the blue sky.
"I..."
Rice Shower couldn't stop crying, the tears so hot they felt like they would burn her cheeks.
"I wanted to win! I wanted to win! I wanted to! I wanted to win so badly!"
She wailed, venting her feelings in a raw, almost accusatory cry.
"I wanted to... I wanted it so badly..."
Those small blessings affirmed her growth and courage.
"Ah—!" she sobbed, unable to speak. The Kyoto wind gently wiped away her tears.
Wings against the headwind, allowing the dream-chaser to finally grasp her dream.Borrowing the roar of boos, to hear a cheer that shakes the very heavens.
Glory crowns the humble hero.