Up in the Team Rigil section, Taiki Shutle was on her feet screaming, her voice already cracking from the volume. "GO GET 'EM, SUZUKA, Heyo!"
"If this is all there is, the winner will be Air Groove." Rudolf's voice cut through the noise, cool and certain as she sat there with her fingers steepled like she'd already seen how this would end.
Hayato's eyes flicked in that direction.
Rudolf knew something, had clearly done her research on Air Groove's preparation. Very few people knew that Air Groove had studied escape runner tactics extensively, probably had a whole counter-strategy ready to reel Suzuka back in during the final stretch.
"I want to agree, but this Silence Suzuka has gotten way too strong, hasn't she?" Maruzensky's forehead creased deep as her hand shot to her chin, fingers tapping anxiously. Her voice carried an edge of real worry, and for good reason improving her speed, stamina, and power in a month wasn't normal, it was completely unnatural, and anyone paying attention could see that Suzuka had transformed since her last race.
Hayato kept his face blank, refusing to give anything away. Let them wonder, let them build their theories and second-guess what they thought they knew.
"GO, SUZUKA! DON'T LOSE TO THEM!" King Halo was absolutely shredding her vocal cords, her voice already going hoarse from the volume. She grabbed Seiun Sky's arm and yanked her forward hard enough to make her stumble. "SEI-CHAN, HELP ME! WE NEED TO DROWN OUT THEIR VOICES!"
The Air Groove and Heidi sections were going absolutely insane, their combined voices creating a deafening wall of sound that shook the stands and made individual words impossible to pick out.
"Go... Suzuka-chan..." Seiun Sky's voice came out completely dead, utterly lifeless like someone had forced her to read a script she didn't believe in.
Seiun Sky looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else, like King Halo was holding her hostage for this performance. After two pathetic attempts that barely qualified as actual cheering, King Halo shoved her aside with both hands, frustration written all over her face. "YOU'RE COMPLETELY USELESS! I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"
Hayato's attention snapped back to the track as the race entered its critical phase. The real battle was about to begin.
The Triple Tiara hadn't even started yet. This was just the G2, the Tulip Sho, and already over sixty thousand people had packed into the stands. The roar of the crowd was a constant pressure, the air itself vibrating with their energy.
After the brutal early competition, the Uma Musume began settling into their positions, the pack spreading out as the hierarchy established itself. Suzuka held first, the third favorite, somehow leading the entire field. Biwa Heidi clung to second, the top favorite refusing to let her slip away. Air Groove, the second favorite, was right on Heidi's heels, close enough to reach out and touch her.
The turn was coming up fast.
"Acceleration! So fast, so fast! Silence Suzuka is accelerating again, speeding up just before entering the corner!"
The sudden burst caught everyone off guard, heads snapping up in the stands as Suzuka's legs pumped faster. Hayato recognized it immediately. Fast-paced activating, the skill was lighting up in his vision.
Fast-paced didn't directly boost speed the way some skills did. If someone didn't know how to use it properly, it was basically useless, just wasted potential. But when used right? For a set period after activation, any acceleration the uma musume performed placed zero burden on their body.
Suzuka could even activate her zone during that skill, and it'd be fine. With Fast-paced backing her up, she was absolutely unstoppable.
A second explosive acceleration in the middle of the race, who wouldn't panic seeing that?
Watching Suzuka gradually pull away startled the entire field, their formation breaking apart as doubt crept in. Air Groove felt it too, that familiar danger of facing an escape runner, the memory of her last watching silence suzuka race in the video with this tactic flooding back.
This was her first time dealing with a full escape strategy, and honestly, she was worried. The question eating at her was whether Suzuka would still have the strength to sprint later, whether this was everything she had or if there was more waiting in reserve.
If she misjudged this, defeat was guaranteed. An escape runner who could still sprint at the end wasn't unheard of, it'd happened before on this very track. She had to stay sharp, had to trust her instincts.
"You're really something, Suzuka." Air Groove's voice was tight as the realization hit. This move had caught her completely off guard, shattered her entire race plan.
The moment Suzuka accelerated, Air Groove assessed the situation and made her call. She kicked into gear, her own legs driving harder as she closed the distance to Heidi. The instant she passed Biwa Heidi, her Acceleration skill triggered, the notification flashing in Hayato's eyes as Air Groove speed jumped up another notch.
Biwa Heidi couldn't quite wrap her head around what she was seeing. What kind of Uma Musume accelerates before entering a turn? It went against everything she knew about racing strategy.
She didn't fully get it, but instinct took over, and she chose to follow anyway. She'd been keeping her eyes locked on Air Groove this whole time, watching every move, but Air Groove didn't seem to take her seriously at all. That dismissal burned, made her jaw clench with frustration.
She could feel it now, Air Groove was much stronger than last year, had improved in ways that made their previous race look like a fluke. Even more incredible was Silence Suzuka, this rookie who'd come out of nowhere.
When Suzuka accelerated ferociously into the turn, her whole body moving like a machine built for speed, it made Heidi's breath catch in her throat.