The pursuers from behind tried to advance, only to feel the pressure intensify tenfold.
"My legs feel so heavy! I can't move them!"
The Forbidden Gate rumbled, and the sheer will of the two legendary elites pressed down with such force that no one could even lift their heads. Even the Umamusume watching from the sidelines were stunned by the terrifying aura, let alone those still on the track.
Almost simultaneously, an unknown force spread from beneath Kousei's and McQueen's feet. The two energies were not one; upon contact, they erupted into a powerful shockwave.
A mixed, circular Domain began to expand—a two-hundred-meter zone where no one else dared to tread. Ahead lay the Domain of the Lightning and the Monster.
McQueen lowered her stance, every muscle thrumming with a roar that shook the heavens. She was a storm sweeping across the world, leaving nothing but scorched earth in her wake.
Each crater left in the ground was proof of Mejiro McQueen's passage—a brazen display of her power and speed as she soared at the forefront, leaving everyone else in the dust.
Kousei exhaled flames, her breathing now utterly unrestrained. Every breath was for acceleration, every rotation of her Flame Wheels meant to incinerate the Pegasus's wings.
One stride faster than the last, until finally, in the instant before entering the turn, she caught Mejiro McQueen
"Got you!"
The violent collision knocked McQueen off balance, severely compromising her angle into the turn. A prime opportunity! Kousei had to seize this chance to surge ahead!
Suddenly, something felt terribly wrong.
The heavens trembled and fell!
How to describe that kick? In an instant, the earth began to shake, as if warning that the world was tilting before her eyes. From that kick onward, everything changed.
The heaviest kick in history—an extraordinary feat that should only exist in fantasy. The sky seemed on the verge of collapse as McQueen transformed into White Lightning, cleaving the heavens in two.
Super-Heavy Kick! Leaving all others in the dust!
"Kousei!" Just a Way screamed in panic.
"Way? What's she yelling about?" Kousei was still confused when blood suddenly spurted from her left eye. The scalding liquid streaked across her cheek, leaving a scar.
"I can't see?! Was it from the collision just now? No!"
The loss of vision sent Kousei into a brief state of shock. She quickly realized it wasn't the collision that had blinded her left eye. It was the old injury McQueen had inflicted during the Spring Tenno Sho, now flaring up. The Sun Wheel had burned for too long—she had overloaded!
"Damn it! Of all times!"
Her gray-white left eye was now useless. She couldn't keep burning it; the flames of her Gate Technique would eventually consume her.
"I have to find another way! I need a new plan!"
Kousei gritted her teeth, the Flame Wheel in her right eye burning even more fiercely.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Her obsession finally consumed her sanity. A pair of ghostly hands, born from crushing defeat, burst from the belly of a giant serpent, tearing at its flesh. Piercing wails echoed across the mountains and fields as a ferocious demon was born from within the serpent's body.
Kousei had entered a berserk state—
"McQueen!"
She chased after McQueen like a demon possessed. On this green turf, only the two of them existed. Kousei ran and ran, but the distance between them never shortened. McQueen's figure remained as distant and unreachable as it had always been in her memory.
Time slowed to a crawl, and Kousei's mind grew hazy.
Suddenly, memories flooded back: their first meeting on the rooftop, her loss at the Derby, her triumph at the Japan Cup, her defeat at the Spring Tenno Sho. A selfish part of her had always pushed her forward, desperate to prove herself—to prove she was worthy of being Mejiro McQueen's rival.
"Rival? Like Meng Huo and Zhuge Liang? Ha, ha, ha!"
"Kousei? She's not even close to worthy. She can barely win a G1 race. How could she ever compare to the strongest, McQueen?"
"Boring. A mediocre Umamusume, a mediocre life. Utterly boring."
Kousei's eyelids grew heavy. Her body was screaming at her.
"Why, after I've run so far, are you still beyond my reach?"
She flailed like someone drowning, desperate to grab onto anything, but her hands closed on nothing.
"What are you doing?! Hurry up and crush her!"
"Who's there?!"
Kousei instinctively looked toward the railing. A young Umamusume was screaming at the top of her lungs: "Aren't you the world's strongest Umamusume?! Then prove it to everyone!"
The hysterical voice belonged to none other than her younger self. The scene suddenly merged with a memory, and it seemed that the figure she had once admired from the paddock wasn't Rudolf, but her future self.
"Ha—" A sigh, both resigned and relieved.
Of all times, her original dream had returned to look back at her grown-up self. How fortunate she was. Throughout her journey, someone had always been there to lift her spirits when she was at her lowest.
"The brave one isn't me. It's everyone who believed in me even when I was trapped in the mud. So let's hear it one more time—the heart of the world's strongest Umamusume!"
Growth was as painful as having your bones scraped clean, but a young girl must never forget her original dream.
"I'll beat my chest and tell you: you're going to become an incredible Umamusume!"
Longing traveled from the distant past to the present. The figure drawing ever closer from her memories, its name was—
"Kousei!!!"
"McQueen!!!"
They were now within arm's reach. Could their boiling emotions convey the feelings in their hearts?
The scales had tipped, but the victor was still undecided!
The Flame Wheel vanished completely. Kousei's eyes turned a lifeless gray-white; she had lost her sight entirely. McQueen coughed violently, her lungs desperately expelling blood. Even the Umamusume with seemingly endless stamina was now a spent force.
Neither showed a hint of fear. Their fighting spirits blazed, determined to spill every last drop of passion in this final battle of their lives.
The moment McQueen's hoof struck the ground, she knew her old injuries had returned. Yet, driven by sheer willpower, she forced her exhausted legs to lift again. She would risk everything to keep her promise to her dearest friend!
Kousei/McQueen: "This is! The final Gray-Haired Legend!"
To avenge their defeat in the Imperial Capital, they would ascend to the highest tower.
By now, everyone watching was captivated by the two Umamusume on the track. Even rival factions, once hostile, now had eyes only for them, burning their images into memory.
"This is the Spring Tenno Sho that will decide the future... and yet, those two are smiling."
On the racetrack, Kousei and McQueen laughed with abandon. They had forgotten all the grudges and conflicts that had plagued them, pouring their entire beings into the run.
For both of them, there had never been a race so joyous. No missions, no burdens—just two Umamusume running with all their hearts.
To find a soulmate in life is to want for nothing more. The moon shines a thousand miles, illuminating my heart; my endless longing, I confide only in you.
"A mountain need not be high to be famous if a deity resides there. A river need not be deep to be sacred if a dragon dwells within. The Spring Tenno Sho may not be the most prestigious race in the world, but! With you and I clashing here, this place becomes the Peak of Horse Racing!"
Lightning flashed and thunder roared. On the final straight, the Heavenly Horse prepared to unleash her race-ending final leg!
McQueen readied herself, and so did Kousei. She held her breath as sakura petals scattered across the sky.
Whether in the Derby or the Spring Tenno Sho, Kousei had always lost at this final leg. Now, she would redeem herself here and now!
Blood stained McQueen's lightning red, while the flames enveloping Kousei turned a lifeless gray-white. At this moment, there was no difference between them.
White flames surged! Crimson thunder roared
The Celebrated Actress Mejiro McQueen's curtain call—her one and only stage with her lifelong dearest friend!
As the ground thundered the command, the final leg showdown began. The two ran neck and neck, and no one could be certain who the final victor would be.
The crowd could no longer contain themselves, leaping to their feet. They stared intently at the two sprinting figures, praying for their chosen Umamusume to claim the ultimate victory.
An aura threatening to incinerate the heavens erupted. On the final straight, flames blazed a path forward, and everyone could hear her roar—
"You are no longer my ideal! I will utterly surpass you here and now!"
She burned completely, like a phoenix reborn. Flames engulfed her feet, melting her horseshoes as Kousei broke free from all restraints. Her long hair ignited from the sheer speed, the scent of burning strands carried on the wind to everyone's nostrils. Her Personal Racing Outfit burned through, revealing the white undergarments beneath.
I am the Monster. I am the Strongest. The Pegasus falls, the Legend ends!
From long hair to short, from black to white, from Central back to Central. Kousei crossed the finish line one step ahead, her appearance now exactly as it was at her debut.
The longest path was the shortest. To reach McQueen's side, she had truly taken the long way around.
"Well done," Kousei-chan said, excitedly raising a fist.
Kousei's eyes were ashen white. A weak smile touched her lips as she slowly lifted her right hand to fist-bump Kousei-chan.
"I'm glad you were here to help."
Kousei-chan flashed a wide grin before dissolving into the wind. Kousei turned. She couldn't see clearly, but she imagined McQueen must be kneeling.
McQueen couldn't stop coughing up blood, her legs screaming in agony. A shadow suddenly fell over her. She looked up to meet Kousei's gaze, who was looking down at her.
"?"
Kousei's mouth twitched, and then she burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Hahahaha—!"
She laughed with such wild abandon, completely disregarding her posture. It was as if she were finally venting years of frustration, laughing nonstop without a care for the loser's feelings.
"You... you..." McQueen tried to say something, but perhaps infected by Kousei's laughter, she inexplicably started laughing too.
"That felt fucking amazing," Kousei said. She had never imagined that beating McQueen would bring her such pure, unadulterated joy.
She covered her face with her left hand, still laughing uncontrollably. Gradually, the laughter became tinged with sobs. Kousei fought to hide it, desperate for no one to notice, but two streams of bitter tears still slid down her cheeks.
It had been too long. Far, far too long.
[Kousei Defeats Mejiro McQueen for the First Time in the Twinkle Series]
Kousei wept cathartically, her tears a mixture of joy and bitterness. Seeing her so vulnerable, McQueen felt a pang of sympathy. She tried to step forward and embrace her, but her injuries caused her to stumble, tackling Kousei to the ground.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the two of them lay sprawled on the grass in a '大' shape, gazing up at the sky.
"Kousei, can you see the sky?"
"No, but the Central wind feels wonderful."
Silence fell between them. Perhaps the gentle breeze understood, stirring the strings of the young girls' hearts.
History would mock Kousei's life of constant struggle and shattered reputation—a cycle of fighting and losing, only to rise and fight again. But future generations would only remember that on that day in the Imperial Capital, the Umamusume named Kousei challenged Mejiro McQueen and forged a legend of the Gray-Haired Monster that would echo for centuries.
As for her identity? Hmph. That no longer mattered.
She surveyed the shifting world, her presence shaking the Nine Provinces.She conquered countless mountains, her defiant name etched into the Investiture of the Gods.
She had proven herself worthy of being Mejiro McQueen's ultimate rival.
This is how it was always meant to be—
If you are to write of Kousei, you must also write of McQueen. If you are to write of McQueen, you must also write of Kousei.
Write their names into the story. From this day forward, they will be inseparable, forever running side by side in the race called History.