"What… what was that…"
Risen Star felt every cell in her body trembling. She had watched the Domains of two horse girls shatter one after another, watched them be completely devoured, and even she herself had been swallowed by that indescribable, ultimate radiance.
Nothing had actually happened to her, and yet the feeling of being engulfed by that light was undeniably real. It had been like standing inside a torrent of pure luminescence, as though both her body and her consciousness might be burned to ashes at any moment.1GaL2
If Xingyun Liuge had not shown mercy, then every horse girl in this race might have suffered a catastrophic blow and been reduced to little more than the bare act of breathing.
Risen Star felt her footwork fall into chaos, her running posture turn ragged and uncoordinated. Of course it had. After taking such a terrifying attack head-on at point-blank range, what Classic-year horse girl could possibly steady her heart and continue racing like nothing had happened?
Even an older horse girl from the Open division would probably lose all fighting spirit after an attack like that and want nothing more than to get as far away from Xingyun Liuge as possible.1GaL2
That thing was a real monster.
No, a monster among monsters.
What kind of horse girl could unleash an attack that terrifying? Even a full-power Domain Release shouldn't have reached that level.
"Hah… hah…" Risen Star panted violently. A ceaseless ringing rose in her ears, so intense it felt like it might steal her hearing altogether. She wanted desperately to shake it off, yet there was nothing she could do.
All she could manage was mechanically swing her arms and move her legs. She no longer even knew what she was doing.
Was she still running? Could she really keep running, with that Xingyun Liuge as her opponent?
Don't joke around. She would die.1GaL2
Her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Even though she still had plenty of stamina left, it felt as though the blood in her veins had been replaced by molten lead, heavy enough to make her want to give up the race on the spot.
Every horse girl in the race except Xingyun Liuge was in a similar state. They could still run. They still had enough stamina to reach the finish line. But their spirits had taken a horrifying blow, and any one of them might give up at any moment.
At that very moment, the announcer cried out in despair, "Goodbye Halo and Latifah are still trying to chase down Xingyun Liuge, but after that sudden burst of speed, she's opened the gap to seven lengths, and it isn't stable—it's still growing!"
"This is absolute superiority in raw ability! They can't catch her! They simply can't! She's like some tireless machine! There is no sign that the pursuers can close the gap at all. This looks just like a reenactment of that race from eighteen years ago. Five hundred meters remain, but… can a miracle still happen?"1GaL2
What he had originally wanted to say was: But no one can catch her anymore. No one!
Yet this was still America's home turf. As the official race announcer, he could not be the first to surrender to a Japanese horse girl, so he swallowed down the complicated emotions surging in his chest and pinned his hopes on a miracle.
Eighteen years ago, Secretariat had forged her dynasty here with her own two feet. Eighteen years later, could the horse girl called "Secretariat's masterpiece" reproduce that same glory and bring Xingyun Liuge's winning streak to an end?1GaL2
Risen Star's fans had nothing left but prayer. The horse girl they supported most had been specifically targeted by Xingyun Liuge in the middle of the race, and now lay back in fifth, seemingly with no strength left to fight.
Someone cried out in unwilling desperation, "Come on, Risen Star!"
But the voice did not reach her.1GaL2
All Risen Star could clearly hear was the announcer saying: Xingyun Liuge led Goodbye Halo by ten lengths; Latifah trailed Goodbye Halo by a neck, though she might overtake her at any time; Winning Colors was two lengths behind Latifah and still trying to close in…
And Risen Star thought:
It's over. It's already over. No one can catch her. Because that girl is…
An absolute monster.1GaL2
She lifted her eyes toward the very front.
There, silver hair streamed in the wind, impossibly free and effortless.
That was no ordinary grace or elegance.
That was the bearing of a victor praised by all, a living legend every horse girl dreamed of becoming.
But in the very next moment, Risen Star felt something inside her blur strangely. She realized that what she was seeing did not look like Xingyun Liuge anymore.
What she saw was Secretariat—the one she had admired since childhood.1GaL2
Her eyes widened slowly, and her breathing, quite suddenly, began to calm.
She remembered the dream she had once held at the very beginning.
Back then, she had still been small, had not yet stepped onto a track, and knew nothing of the monsters that lurked there. She had stayed by Secretariat's side, full of excitement, chattering endlessly about her future.
When I grow up, I want to become a horse girl as amazing as you, Senior Secretariat! My goal is an undefeated Triple Crown! I'll become a legend among American horse girls, and everyone will call me the second Secretariat!
That childish voice seemed to echo once more in her ears.
Risen Star pressed her lips together hard, trying with all her might not to let the hot, stinging tears blur her vision.
And then she heard Secretariat's reply from back then:
The second Secretariat? I'm touched, really~ But I think you should simply be yourself, Star. If I someday hear other horse girls call you the undefeated Triple Crown Risen Star, I'd be happier than if they said another Secretariat had appeared.1GaL2
She saw Secretariat reaching out again, gently patting her on the head, speaking of the hopes she had for her in that same warm voice.
And at that moment, something deep inside Risen Star began to change.
The salty tears streaked wildly across her face, and a sour ache filled her chest so strongly that it almost stopped her breathing. But what made it even harder to breathe was the realization that she had been on the verge of giving up on the very dream she had started with.
Risen Star regretted it.
She truly blamed herself—for having nearly abandoned the ideal she once held so dearly, all because she had met Xingyun Liuge.1GaL2
She had lost twice. That was all.
If she had been outclassed, then she should have acknowledged it honestly, then found a way to win back what she had lost, instead of saying she would try harder while secretly remaining tangled up in bitterness.
That wasn't "not wanting family and friends to worry," not really.
It was simply tormenting herself, using negative emotions to shackle her own legs.1GaL2
And Risen Star suddenly understood:
If this continued, she would never defeat Xingyun Liuge. Worse, she might never again be able to run freely.
Perhaps that was why she had been unable to use her Domain.
Because she had been afraid of losing to Xingyun Liuge again, she had subconsciously avoided calling upon it.
Perhaps some part of her had wanted to say after the race, I could have won—I just don't know why I couldn't use my Domain, as an excuse to protect herself.
She did not know that Xingyun Liuge had simply placed a silence debuff on her. She believed instead that it was her own subconscious fear of defeat that had rejected the Domain, and that was why it would not answer her.1GaL2
And so Risen Star gave a bitter laugh.
"Haha… I really am… an idiot."
Let go of the obsession with losing. Start over from scratch with the heart of a student. Only then could she run freely and search for the possibility of victory. That had to be it.
And just as that thought settled into place, a cross-shaped star of light suddenly flared to life within the previously quiet cosmic expanse.1GaL2
Xingyun Liuge arched a brow, a delighted smile curling at her lips.
"There you are. I've been waiting for this for quite a while."
Just before Starstring Descends had fallen, Xingyun Liuge had already lifted the restriction on Risen Star.
She wanted to see Risen Star struggle.
She wanted that struggle to become the final act of her American Triple Crown campaign.
If Risen Star had simply lost all fighting spirit under that blow, then this race would have felt far less satisfying.1GaL2
Xingyun Liuge muttered to herself,
"If I can't beat the powered-up Risen Star head-on, then this race would end up a little too boring, wouldn't it?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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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 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
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Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
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 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
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The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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