Just as I thought!
Sea the Stars mused to herself. That streak of crimson light cutting through the grey curtain of rain was simply too dazzling.
Despite the distance, she could clearly see the shimmering silhouette as it tore through the downpour.
Leveraging the acceleration from the downhill slope, she had pushed herself to an unprecedented terminal velocity to tear away from the pack.
That was Dream Weaver's gambit.
It sounded simple enough in theory, but the execution was so utterly insane that Sea the Stars hadn't been able to confirm it immediately.
It should have been impossible.
Every Uma Musume on the track knew exactly how slick the Longchamp turf became in the rain and how heavy the ground felt beneath their feet.
Simply maintaining one's balance without losing center of gravity took nearly every ounce of concentration; in conditions like these, every incremental increase in speed was an invitation to disaster.
To say nothing of accelerating through a corner on a downhill slope with a ten-meter drop.
What if the momentum became uncontrollable? This was a turn; the slightest lapse in judgment and centrifugal force would send a runner skidding sideways or, worse, flying off the track entirely!
It was a preposterous decision.
What was the difference between this and tossing one's life onto the scales as a bargaining chip before the Grim Reaper?
No rational, sane Uma Musume would ever carry out such a near-suicidal maneuver. That was why Sea the Stars had hesitated to believe it.
But she hadn't expected—truly hadn't expected—that Dream Weaver would actually be mad enough to trade her life for speed in such a way.
Watching that streak of red light that seemed to truly glow, Sea the Stars felt her own heart beginning to burn. She couldn't quite explain why.
Perhaps it was the shock of seeing someone gamble everything on a tactic that sent her pulse racing, or perhaps, like all the other Uma Musumes, she had simply been captivated by that form.
But she couldn't allow that.
Even though she had constantly spoken of Dream Weaver's strength to others, Sea the Stars' perspective had always been different.
She never looked at Dream Weaver with longing or adoration; she looked at her as a challenge, a goal to be seized.
Only by defeating her could she truly become "World Class"—the most brilliant star in her mother's eyes.
She knew Dream Weaver inside and out—from her racing tactics and physical stats down to the smallest anecdotes and trivia.
Yet, she stubbornly insisted to herself that this was different from the "longing" a fan feels.
It was evident in her conversation with Equinox after the Japanese Oaks.
What had angered Sea the Stars back then was Dream Weaver's departure from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe—fleeing from their destined showdown.
Unlike Equinox, who was a devoted admirer, Sea the Stars had always viewed herself as a rival. And as a rival, how could she harbor such unseemly emotions toward her enemy?
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you..."
"I wouldn't have sprouted these useless feelings!"
The world seemed to freeze for a moment.
Reflected in the countless falling raindrops were Sea the Stars' eyes, deep as the night sky. Within them, a red light flickered—the shimmer of a star, but not the star she wanted.
What she wanted was to be the brilliance reflected in the eyes of others.
Specifically, reflected in the eyes of Dream Weaver.
Then, in the next instant, her Zone expanded.
A massive domain, large enough to fill the entirety of Longchamp, instantly claimed the rain-swept air.
The standing water beneath her feet was no longer a shackle dragging her back; instead, it transformed into a towering tidal wave propelling her forward.
The rain turned violent, as if the very power of heaven and earth were being funneled into Sea the Stars. In a flash, her speed surged to an unimaginable degree.
The sea is a thing that can be calm one moment and erupt into a devastating surge the next.
This was the explosion of the tide—the breakthrough unique to Sea the Stars.
BOOM!
A roar like a crashing tsunami erupted across the racecourse. Sea the Stars didn't dodge; she didn't adjust her line. She only drove forward.
Before this power—as raw and violent as a force of nature—any Uma Musume in her way was nothing more than a leaf tossed in a raging tide. Against Sea the Stars' impact, there was no room for resistance.
In mere seconds, Sea the Stars had charged from her position in the back straight through the rest of the pack.
She, too, caught the wave of downhill acceleration, reaching a velocity she had never touched before under the surge of her Zone.
Last year, Sea the Stars had defeated top contenders from around the world—elites who had been suppressed by Dream Weaver for nearly an entire generation.
In that final opportunity, everyone had unleashed the greatest power of their lives.
And in that brutal slaughter amidst the rain, Sea the Stars had awakened her Zone—
A domain perfectly attuned to heavy tracks, to torrential storms, and to the Arc itself.
In that race, when Sea the Stars activated her Zone, the lead runner was seven lengths ahead of the pack, and Sea the Stars, sitting in the back, was more than a dozen lengths behind.
But in the final straight, she had become a towering wave. With a near-primeval force, she swallowed every opponent who dared to vie for the crown, eventually winning the Arc by a massive five-length margin and crowning herself as another World Class Uma Musume.
This was Sea the Stars' Zone. This was her closing speed.
In this world where Dream Weaver's strength was waning and Equinox had yet to fully mature, she was the Uma Musume with the most explosive power.
And as the world's number one, riding the downhill momentum, it was only natural that she would consume every runner standing between her and the finish.
Transforming into a great tidal wave, Sea the Stars was now closing the gap between herself and Dream Weaver at a terrifying pace!
It was hard to imagine what the people watching across the globe were feeling.
First, they had seen that red comet tear the world asunder; now, they witnessed Sea the Stars rising like a berserk ocean.
Watching those two streaks of red and blue completely outstrip the field, turning the entire Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe into their private stage, the crowd could only let out a sigh of pure satisfaction.
The history of Uma Musume is filled with legends, some recorded with descriptions so grand they border on myth.
When people read those records, they often lament being born in the wrong era, wishing they could have seen those stars shine on the track with their own eyes.
But now, they would no longer feel they had missed their time.
They might not have met Eclipse, and they might not have witnessed Secretariat, but at this very moment, they were seeing Sea the Stars and Dream Weaver.
"How lucky," they whispered in their hearts.
To encounter two such Uma Musumes in one lifetime, and to see them take to the track together with their own eyes.
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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.