The gray-haired silver horse girl stared out at the distant wilderness, trying to ease the fierce nausea brought on by the long flight.
She had taken motion-sickness medicine, but calling it a drop in the bucket would have been generous. It had barely helped at all. She still felt awful.
"Hey, March, are you okay? We've still got a ways to go," Norn Ace said. For some reason—whether the medicine had worked spectacularly on her or whether sheer excitement had drowned out the discomfort—she was the most energetic horse girl there. Naturally, she had taken it upon herself to look after the other four.
Of course, the trainers were helping too.
With both hands on her hips, the long-haired blonde Kawamura Hiyori asked suspiciously, "It's a good thing you're fine, sure, but everyone else is dying here, so why are you the only one okay? That's really suspicious. You didn't overdose on the meds or something, did you?"
She cupped her chin in one hand and found the whole thing even stranger the more she thought about it.
On the other side, Norn Ace's two friends had already collapsed over their chairs and were out cold. Southern Actress was doing slightly better—but only slightly. She was clutching the armrest, her whole body limp. Compared to them, Fujimasa March was doing remarkably well. At least she could still stand on her own.
But no one had expected Norn Ace to be the toughest of the bunch.
"Hah?" Norn Ace barked, then planted her hands on her hips and protested, "I didn't do anything weird!"
That was the truth. Norn Ace herself had no idea why she was the only one holding up so well. Maybe she was just naturally built different.
Since the horse girls were showing the classic symptoms of transportation sickness, and since the sun was blazing overhead, the Kazamatsu group decided to rest at the airport for a while before heading to the hotel they had booked.
The travel expenses had been covered by Kazamatsu Tracen's chairwoman, and the Tokai Regional Racing Association had even contacted the American Central Tracen in advance to make sure their people could get to the hotel safely and smoothly.
Plenty of other horse girls had wanted to come too, but between the limited budget and the fact that Xingyun Liuge's social circle was actually very simple, bringing more people would not have served much purpose. As travel parties went, this one was just right.
Xingyun Liuge, meanwhile, knew none of this.
She was under the blazing afternoon sun, locked in a duel with Winning Colors.
It was already past noon, yet the sun still beat down mercilessly, pouring heat onto the little mock Western town as though it wanted to reduce the whole place to scorched earth. Even the wind seemed afraid of the ferocity of the weather and did not dare stir.
At one point, a weathered wooden sign by the roadside creaked under the assault of the heat, like the final count of a countdown timer.
At Buckpasser's suggestion, Xingyun Liuge and Winning Colors slowly stepped out from the shadows at opposite ends of the street.
Their horseshoes struck the blistering gravel with slow, heavy taps. Neither girl showed any expression, and neither spoke a word.
When they were about fifteen paces apart, they stopped at the same time.
In that brief span alone, sweat had already begun to slide down their temples, bringing with it an almost unbearable discomfort.
Still, neither moved. Their eyes remained fixed on each other, cold and sharp and utterly unwavering.
Buckpasser's gaze moved slowly between them, taking in the holsters at their waists and the way each hand hovered near the grip.
She could almost see it: the veins beneath the pale skin on the backs of their hands, pulsing under taut flesh like snakes ready to strike.
For some reason, it reminded her of the glory days when she used gate tricks on the racetrack. As the referee, she actually narrowed her eyes, and at a glance, it almost looked like she was dozing beneath the shade of her parasol.
Time seemed to stretch on forever, every second heavy enough to suffocate.
Sweat crept into the corners of their eyes, stinging sharply, but neither blinked. In that maddening silence, the only thing they could hear was the pounding of their own pulses in their ears.
Under the pitiless sun, the dust in the air was so clear it seemed suspended at the boundary between life and death.
And then—
Ding!
The brass coin flew high into the air.
Whoosh!
The sharp sound of both guns being drawn tore through the thick, stifling air almost at the exact same instant.
Their motions were as quick as lightning, like instinct refined in countless duels between life and death.
The girls watching the match were startled by Buckpasser's complete lack of sportsmanship, but none of them had the time to worry about that. All they cared about now was whether the girl they supported would lose because of that abrupt, unannounced signal.
The guns spat fire.
The thunderous report swallowed the whole world in an instant. Thick white smoke spread beneath the vicious sunlight, carrying the acrid smell of sulfur and death.
Relentless Pursuit.
Xingyun Liuge's feet moved in quick, tiny steps as she slid sideways. Two bullets brushed past her shoulders, one in front and one behind, then vanished into the distance.
Her composure never wavered.
She had two guns, but she only pulled the trigger once.
Ardent Blaze.
"!"
For an instant, Winning Colors felt as though the bullet hurtling toward her had transformed into the shape of a cross. Her brow twitched. Cold sweat drenched her back in an instant.
She wanted to say, What the hell, sister? Is your gun custom-built or something?
But she understood almost immediately that the gun was not the issue.
Xingyun Liuge had imposed pressure on her, forcing her to see something only she—only a horse girl—could perceive.
Without question, it was the manifestation of spirit itself.
A domain.
That realization made Winning Colors sweat even harder.
This was just a silly cowboy duel at a festival. Did she really have to take it this seriously?
She gave up on appearances at once, threw herself into a tactical roll, and dove behind a barrel, firing back as she moved.
But did that actually help?
Piercing Light.
Two shots rang out.
The bullets became the scythes of death—no, not death, but holy light sharp enough to tear through flesh and shatter bone.
They punched straight into the barrel and burst out the other side.
Red "blood" blossomed across Winning Colors' shirtfront.
Her body jolted as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer, all color draining from her face. Her lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to suck in life-saving air, but the only sound she could make was a ragged wheeze.
The revolver slipped from her limp hand and hit the scorching sand with a dull clatter.
Then she toppled backward, twitched twice, and went completely still.
Goodbye Halo: "..."
The burning air was thick with the reek of gunpowder, harsh enough to sting the nose, but Xingyun Liuge seemed utterly unfazed.
She lowered her gun, carefully pinched the still-hot ejector rod, and pulled it back.
A few gleaming brass shell casings spilled onto the sand at her feet, ringing with clear, hollow metallic chimes.
Then she reset the cylinder and slipped the gun back into its holster.
The whole sequence flowed as smoothly as water, with the practiced calm of a consummate professional.
Goodbye Halo: "..."
At this point, she did not even know what to say anymore.
Why did every single one of these people love acting so much?
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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