Narita Brian had been taken away.
People watched as the ambulance departed.
Throughout the entire process, not a single soul uttered a word.
An indescribable, surging torrent of emotion battered their minds.
Joy, sorrow, shock, regret…
Simple words were no longer enough to describe what they felt.
Truth be told, they had vaguely sensed it all along.
The more dazzling the fireworks, the more they must consume themselves.
Narita Brian had given everyone a race they would remember for a lifetime.
Her name would be forever engraved in the history books.
Her deeds would be inscribed in the hall of glory.
Toujou Hana stood with her head bowed, hands clenched tightly.
Even confined outside the racetrack, she knew exactly what had happened to Narita Brian's body.
The speed that surpassed a Uma Musume's limits generated immense heat.
Her arms, her legs, all her muscles, after maintaining such superhuman intensity, had stored up a colossal amount of heat from the rapid contractions and extensions.
It would have raised Narita Brian's body temperature to an unimaginable degree.
Dousing her with water continuously was to cool her down as fast as possible.
The absolute limit a human can endure is forty-two degrees Celsius. Beyond that, substances within the body begin to break down.
While a Uma Musume's heat tolerance far exceeds that of an ordinary human, the state Narita Brian had exhibited went far beyond even an Uma Musume's limits.
If luck was not on her side, her legs might very well…
Toujou Hana refused to think further.
Pushing past the spectators standing like stone monuments, rooted to the spot, she no longer paid any mind to the situation on the track.
Turning, she left the racetrack, hurrying anxiously toward the hospital.
Meanwhile, as the matter of Narita Brian concluded, the focus of the entire venue shifted to the black-clad girl standing at the center of the track.
Unlike her usual habit of leaving immediately after a race, she stood there quietly instead.
During the race, people had been too captivated, watching her running form.
But after it ended, when they finally recalled, they remembered her utterly indescribable, bizarre identity.
Over a dozen members of the medical team stood around the girl.
These people should have been detaining her right then.
But no one dared to approach.
No one dared to get close.
They had seen it.
Raindrops passed through her body, splattering on the ground.
Ghost, specter, phantom—people imagined countless words to describe the being before them.
But when they truly witnessed it, all language lost its meaning.
They couldn't speak.
They could only watch silently as she stood there.
Like a mirage cast upon the world from another realm.
Dreamlike and illusory.
"Aren't you going to seize me?"
The girl spoke.
Her voice was so clear, as if spoken right beside one's ear.
This only made her nature seem all the more uncanny.
Gulp…
People swallowed hard.
Their feet seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move.
They had initially taken the girl for a human.
But now, that clearly wasn't the case.
In their minds, this girl belonged to the category of 'the unknown.'
And fear of 'the unknown' kept them from laying a hand on the girl before them.
Seeing they wouldn't act, those golden eyes turned toward the spectators.
She looked at the group of Uma Musume standing in the curtain of rain, hailing from various countries.
One by one, their gazes met hers.
Heh.
She smiled.
"You've all seen it now."
Her voice mingled with the pounding rain.
Drilling into everyone's ears.
"This is only the beginning."
She said.
"The race… is far from over yet…"
Raising her head, the girl looked up at the sky.
What a fine rain this is.
As the curtain fall for the race, nothing could be more fitting.
Lifting a hand, fingertips brushing against the raindrops, her foot slowly stepped into a puddle gathered on the ground.
And then.
Under the watchful eyes of eighty thousand spectators in the venue, her body slowly dissolved into the curtain of rain.
Just as she had appeared.
The girl had left the racetrack.
--+--
"'Ghost' Startles Racetrack! Perhaps Paranormal Events Are Real—"
"This Year's Most Regrettable Winner's Stage, Dubbed 'Everyone Was Just Running Along' by Spectators."
"Fifth Triple Crown Uma Musume in History Born!"
"New Record Set in [Kikuka-sho]; Experts Predict It May Take a Decade Before Anyone Can Break It Again."
"Narita Brian, Admitted to Hospital, Currently in Stable Condition; Trainer Unwilling to Discuss Future Race Schedule, Hinting She May Be Unable to Compete for a Year."
Overnight, the entire Uma Musume racing world was turned upside down.
Countless people fervently discussed the incident of the 'Black Ghost.'
Her extraordinary method of appearance had already sent shockwaves through all sectors.
That metal signboard, after careful inspection by the central authorities, was found to have no issues—no hidden mechanisms, and aside from staff fingerprints, no unidentified ones.
It was confirmed: she truly did emerge from that solid metal signboard where no person could possibly fit.
This corroborated the girl's identity.
The 'ghost' was a genuine ghost!
Not just the racing world, but even the scientific community experienced a rare, massive upheaval.
If she truly was a 'ghost,' this would undoubtedly be a world first!
No matter the cost, she had to be found!
Yet, amidst this fervent hunt for the 'ghost,' many held the opposite view.
It was all just hype.
Those scholars and experts were talking nonsense.
She must have used some sort of magic trick to disguise herself as a 'ghost' emerging from the metal signboard.
The goal was to divert attention, to portray herself as a 'non-existent person.'
All this astonishment was exactly what she wanted.
Think about it: why didn't she appear in her initial races, choosing instead to manifest in that manner at the [Kikuka-sho]?
The reason was actually simple.
It was raining heavily that day, visibility was poor. The 'Black Ghost' used such weather and some magic tricks to appear before everyone.
She just wanted to create buzz, to become famous!
Various arguments clashed endlessly.
Even with eighty thousand spectators present, they were still a minority compared to the entire viewing audience.
Due to the heavy rain, the 'ghost,' already a blurry shadow on camera, became completely indistinguishable.
People only saw Narita Brian break away spectacularly, leaving the second-place finisher a staggering twenty lengths behind in a front-running display, seizing victory in the [Kikuka-sho].
They only cared that Narita Brian had won.
This crowd had no interest in hearing news about a 'ghost' they couldn't even see.
How utterly ridiculous…
In this age of advanced technology, there are still people who believe in such things?
Optical illusions, mirror reflections, disguises, deception, electronic projections—there are countless methods to achieve such effects.
Magic tricks that make people appear out of thin air aren't exactly rare!
Don't attribute things you don't understand to the paranormal.
You just don't know the methods she used.
Overnight, the racing world was bombarded by endless media coverage about the 'ghost,' Narita Brian, the [Kikuka-sho], records, injuries, the Triple Crown.
The world was utterly swept into a whirlwind of public opinion.
--+--
Central Building, Chairman's Office.
Seated at her desk, the Central Chairman looked at the tall, upright girl standing before her, Symboli Rudolf.
"How is Narita Brian's condition?" the Central Chairman asked.
"She is stable. Further examinations are currently underway."
"Is that so."
The Central Chairman adjusted her glasses.
"Her results are remarkable. They may well be the fastest race times we see for several years to come."
"That cannot be guaranteed. After all, at Tracen Academy, there are many Uma Musume who aim to surpass Narita Brian. They are all training very hard."
Rudolf replied with neither humility nor arrogance.
"Regardless, achieving such results is inseparable from the efforts of Tracen and the Student Council. Rudolf, you have done exceptionally well."
"I don't deserve such praise. In managing the students, I still have many shortcomings."
"Oh? Such as…" The Central Chairman narrowed her eyes.
"Symboli Rudolf, let us discuss the main matter at hand."
--+--
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.