"Two Great Escapees, locked in battle for the lead!"
"Though we're only at the mid-point of the race, the intensity these two are showing feels like a final stretch sprint—!"
"The currently leading unknown competitor holds a one-and-a-half-length lead over Narita Brian! The third-place runner is six lengths behind Brian—and that gap is still widening!"
The commentator's voice echoed through the Kyoto Racecourse. The spectators' eyes were glued to the track.
Occasional cheers still broke out, but they grew quieter and sparser as Narita Brian fully unveiled her Great Escape.
They watched. They listened. They felt every single thing about the two competitors on the track.
As if the entire world had shrunk down to just them.
These racers, running wild and free across the field.
Annoying, it's all so annoying!
Blinking is annoying, the rain is annoying!
Even breathing feels like an annoyance!
People's hands clenched their umbrellas tightly, the cold turning their knuckles white with tension.
Even if the sky fell right now, nothing could tear their resolve to see this race through.
No technique, no strategy, no method to speak of.
The two were simply running, simply competing… with the most primal form of speed.
On this ancient, untamed field where the railings had long since vanished.
"Incredible…"
Standing in the stands, Special Week couldn't help but whisper.
Even as a freshman who had just enrolled, even having never participated in a race herself, she could still feel it—that infinitely extending straight line that towered before those two.
Not only that. The running form displayed by that black silhouette felt so intensely familiar.
Special Week had seen it.
She'd seen it many times, in fact.
On the training grounds. On the racetrack.
Running ahead of her… was that very silhouette.
Silence Suzuka. Her form was exactly that of Silence Suzuka!
Yet there were subtle differences.
The form exhibited by that runner was even more unbelievable than Suzuka's.
That feeling, as if she were absorbing the very light around her, making it impossible to look away… was something Silence Suzuka couldn't begin to evoke.
She was more complete than Suzuka.
Even so, the strikingly similar running styles of the two were enough to plant a deep question in Special Week's mind.
"Suzuka, who is that person… Suzuka?"
She turned to the orange-haired girl beside her, only to find the other's umbrella had been lowered at some point without her noticing.
Raindrops soaked her hair, tracing paths down her cheeks.
And mingling with the cold rain were her tears.
"Suzuka… are you crying?"
Special Week received no reply.
Bluish-green eyes, slightly reddened, reflected the image of that black figure.
It's you…
Silence Suzuka's lips trembled.
Branded into the memories of her childhood, etched deep into her very soul.
That running style that could never be erased. The person she could never forget.
Have you finally decided to appear before me again?
--+--
Hah… Hah…
Her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
Her muscles screamed in protest.
Every inch of her skin, every bone in her body, felt as if pressed by a searing-hot iron.
Countless ants seemed to bite and tear within her, madly agitating her nerves.
It's not enough. Her speed still wasn't enough.
Lift, fall. Lift, fall…
The girl's feet danced across the grass.
Two simple actions, repeated countless times, had long since blurred into one.
Lift-fall-lift-fall…
How do humans actually run?
Thighs and calves supporting the body, kicking back against the ground to propel it forward.
Everyone does it this way.
Yet, after witnessing this girl's movements, this near-universal, wordless consensus seemed to shift.
Her feet, supple as if boneless, gently brushed the grass. The girl's body advanced steadily through the slight breeze.
One thousand meters, fifteen hundred, two thousand, twenty-five hundred…
The distance grew longer, yet her speed showed not the slightest sign of fading.
From those feet bloomed an energy that her frail-looking frame should never have been able to contain.
Eclipse glanced back at the small figure stubbornly clinging to her heels.
This pace was enough to leave every opponent she'd ever faced far behind, utterly shattering their confidence.
But no matter how far she ran, whenever she looked back, that young girl was still there, chasing.
What terrifying willpower.
This was a race without a finish line. It would not stop until one of them halted, declaring defeat.
"Child, do you still have the stamina?"
Eclipse asked.
Her voice reached the distant girl.
No answer came.
But Eclipse saw it.
The girl's gaze pierced through her, fixed on a point far beyond.
Further than this boundless grassland, further than this endless sky.
Eclipse took a deep breath.
Then let's continue…
The race wasn't over yet.
--+--
"They're closing! The distance between them is closing! It's down to a single length! Can Narita Brian catch up to this unknown competitor?!"
A long, drawn-out howl seemed to split the air over the field. On this vast plain, a pack of gray wolves cried out, charging toward their prey.
Narita Brian launched her attack.
She was the alpha wolf.
A ravenous wolf.
With her instincts fully unleashed, nothing could restrain her body any longer.
Closer, even closer!
Sharp fangs aimed for the prey's neck.
And then.
CRACK—!
The crisp sound of teeth snapping shut reached the crowd.
But there was no spray of blood.
The ravenous wolf's attack found only empty air.
The prey, so close a moment before, had struggled desperately and broken away.
Heh!
A ferocious smile spread across her face.
Run. Run as far as you like. I'll still catch you!
Crouching low, Narita Brian gave chase once more.
"Brian…"
On the observation deck, Rudolf murmured to herself.
Her feelings at this moment were beyond words.
As the 'Emperor,' Symboli Rudolf found herself filled with an uncontrollable sense of admiration for the two on the track.
If only I were out there on that field too…
Such a thought even surfaced in her heart.
Of course, what Rudolf envied wasn't merely their chance to compete in this race.
She envied this battle—stripped of glory, fame, prestige, casting aside everything around them, pure and absolute.
Rudolf could feel it.
The two battling for the lead, their opponent wasn't really each other.
What they were truly contending with was the craving for the run within their own hearts!
Shedding all complicated thoughts, they had plunged completely into their own worlds.
This state of self-oblivion filled Rudolf with envy.
It seemed so deeply desirable, yet utterly unattainable.
Miss Eclipse.
That you did not appear in my era is, perhaps, the greatest regret of my life…
BOOM!
Thunderclouds churned. The rain fell in torrents.
--+--
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.