"Eternal Meteor! Eternal Meteor has reached second place! She's still closing the gap with Tokai Teio—are we going to decide the winner before we've even reached the halfway point?!"
"But it looks like Eternal Meteor doesn't want to pass Teio outright. Is she conserving stamina for the long uphill stretch before the finish?"
Everyone in the stadium was waiting for these two horse girls to clash. Seeing this, they squeezed every last bit of strength out of their throats, screaming the names of the horse girl they supported, howling encouragement until their voices cracked.
Tokai Teio pushed her speed up again.
But the footsteps behind her didn't fall away. They stayed at the same distance—close, constant.
And yet… they didn't pass.
Eternal Meteor simply clung to her like that—like a hunter with absolute superiority toying with its prey.
Teio knew exactly what it was: Meteor was trying to mess with her head. Especially since Teio had been trained by Meteor herself.
If she wants me to panic, to keep accelerating and burn my stamina… then I'll do the opposite.
Teio stopped increasing speed. She chose to stay steady—responding to change with no change.
She refused to believe Eternal Meteor could hold back forever.
Better to wait for her move and react then.
"Not bad," Eternal Meteor said lightly. "You fixed your mindset fast. That's my student."
"Oh please," X sneered. "You taught her 'resist interference' and now you're taking credit?"
X honestly didn't expect Eternal Meteor to look so proud of "raising" her own competitor.
"Taught her once, she's a disciple. You get it? You get it?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Even while glued to Teio's back, Eternal Meteor looked utterly relaxed—so relaxed she could chat with X while running.
The boost from "full development" was far beyond what she'd imagined. Part of her wanted to roar, Heaven above, earth below, I alone am supreme!
"Game time's over," Eternal Meteor murmured. "Watch carefully, Teio."
Just as Teio predicted, Eternal Meteor couldn't stand it for long. She was already starting to accelerate—
—even though they were still in a bend.
Eternal Meteor's mouth stretched into a wide grin. In those scarlet eyes, stars began to surface.
And for Teio, it felt like some beast from a fantasy had suddenly bared its fangs behind her.
A crimson mist seemed to spread at Teio's feet. Everything around her was drenched in ominous pressure. Her rhythm wavered—steps threatening to break.
But Eternal Meteor's smile lasted only a second.
Because overconfidence brings only ruin.
The moment she activated her Zone and drove her foot into the ground, a force she'd never felt before shot up through her leg.
Crack.
A crisp sound snapped through her ankle.
She lost balance instantly.
Her second step—an instinctive attempt to recover—hit the ground faster than she expected.
It landed on rain-slick turf.
And slid.
Her body tipped forward, uncontrollable, and she fell.
Everything Teio had just "felt"—that beast, that pressure—vanished like an illusion.
In the stands, most spectators sprang to their feet, as if standing up could somehow catch her.
The announcer and commentator's eyes went wide. Their lips trembled, but no sound came out.
They'd seen too much.
They could already imagine the ending—no horse girl walks away unscathed from a fall at that speed.
At best: lifelong aftereffects, never racing again.
At worst—
death on the spot.
Eternal Meteor's eyes, wide and staring toward the grass, dilated further. Time slowed to syrup.
And in that stretched-out instant, she heard a voice again—like an echo from the day after she "fully developed," the doctor's words returning with cruel clarity:
"I'm sorry, Eternal Meteor. You are not suitable to race."
The doctor had held the film for a long time in silence before finally saying it to Rudolf and Eternal Meteor.
"I know it's cruel, but even after full development, your lower-leg bone and ankle are still extremely fragile."
He shook his head, sighed, then raised the X-ray and pointed.
"Look here. It's too thin. This is what we call 'glass ankles'—no, this is even thinner than the usual definition."
For a horse girl whose dream was racing, those words were a death sentence.
Aside from a tiny handful, no one would dare keep racing with the risk of falling like that.
This wasn't some adventure game with safety gear.
This was something that could truly kill you.
In a high-speed fall on a track, surviving at all was already "lucky." Just a little less lucky—and you die.
Almost no one would take that risk.
And their families would stop them from taking it.
But Eternal Meteor was the exception.
She still remembered that all-night talk with Rudolf—ordinary conversation turning into fierce argument, then finally into compromise.
"If you fall on the track, you really won't ever get back up again!"
How could I fall here?!
"Can't you think about your future? Do you want to spend the rest of your life in a hospital bed?!"
My future… I'll write it myself!!!
Eternal Meteor's grin twisted into something fierce.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
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