Because the race stretched to a full 3200 meters, even after the field had already covered about a thousand, the overall formation remained remarkably stable. From the standpoint of Saint King Halo's growth, her refusal to get impatient was unquestionably a major improvement, but Teraizumi Shinji's expression still darkened a little. He had begun to feel a faint sense of unease about how things were unfolding.
Under the current rhythm of the race, Might Makes Right had very few chances to activate. He could see clearly that Saint King Halo had already prepared for her next move well in advance. As for positional adjustments, when he scanned the runners ahead, he could not find a single one likely to seriously interfere with her.
All he could do was let out a helpless, almost amused sigh.
"She still has her long race ahead of her, but the field remains in an extremely steady formation. Seiun Sky is still leading! Akasaka Misato's voice carried crisply across the track. "Behind her, Seiun Horizon and Special Week are glued close—Special Week has clearly learned her lesson from the Kikuka Sho and has no intention of letting Seiun Sky run away with things this time! The gap between them isn't large at all. Golden Journey is next, then Suehiro Commander. Suehiro Commander has already worked her way into the forward group. On the inside, Mejiro Bright is starting to quicken, and just ahead of her is Stay Funrai—the Kikuka Sho winner Stay Funrai is picking it up too, but perhaps not enough! Mejiro Bright looks ready to pass her!"
A perfect illustration of how spacing could change everything.
Mejiro Bright was reaping the benefits of the contest ahead of her. Just as Saint King Halo had deliberately kept her outside path open, Mejiro Bright had now discovered the line that suited her best.
Of course, the muddy footing underfoot would still cost her extra energy, but in exchange, she had secured a superior path.
Her gaze fixed itself on Special Week. To both Mejiro Bright and Seiun Sky, it was obvious why Special Week had adopted this strategy, and the result was that Mejiro Bright's eyes now burned with competitive fire.
She was last year's Spring Tenno Sho champion.
To ignore her and focus only on the Kikuka Sho winner from the same generation—it was an insult.
That was how Mejiro Bright saw it, and so her eyes shifted again, landing on Saint King Halo, who was holding a similar line to her own. Yet after a brief glance, she looked away. She could sense no immediate threat from the girl running wide.
Might Makes Right: Suehiro Commander, Mejiro Bright (failed)
"The field continues steadily onward. They're nearing the slope before the third corner! Seiun Sky still leads the race, but on the outside Special Week has begun to move! She's pressing Seiun Sky harder now. The runners are about to commit to the climb that will decide their positions into the stretch—no one can afford a mistake here!"
Even Akasaka Misato could hear the strain beginning to enter the race, and the crowd's noise swelled with it.
Then, three skills flared at once:
Quickening StepWorker's SpiritCurve Master
Teraizumi's brows twitched.
Three acceleration skills, all stacked together. In a middle-distance race, the timing might have been ideal. But here, in this race, with the field about to exit the bend and the runners ahead already shifting positions, Saint King Halo had almost no room left to adjust. If she followed that surge and forced herself up into the outside of the stalking group now, he was certain she might even risk stalling in the stretch.
This race was turning out to be an unlucky one.
That was Teraizumi's judgment after watching up to this point.
The race shape, the field, her skill timing, and her rune setup—it all meshed badly. All he could do now was grip his binoculars tighter and wait for the next change in the race.
Then the next trigger came.
Chaos Scion: 1589, 1412, 677, 525…
Successful checks: 9Failed checks: 4
Chaos Scion effect:Saint King Halo gains 18% Domain strength, 9% track aptitude, and 18% collision resistance.She loses 4% stamina. All other runners lose 8% stamina.
The system alert arrived, and a sudden drain rippled through the field. More than one horse girl visibly faltered for a split second. Some looked startled. Others adapted immediately.
That tiny difference alone was enough to separate the mentally strong from the mentally weak.
Saint King Halo's expression did not change.
Her stride staggered for only an instant before settling again.
But luck truly was not on her side today. Even though her top stat was not overwhelmingly high yet, she had still failed only four checks. Teraizumi would actually have preferred several more failures—had Chaos Scion failed more often, the other runners would have suffered far greater stamina loss.
Instead, fortune had not sided with Saint King Halo.
He let out another small sigh, and that caused the others on the viewing platform to glance his way. They did not know how much she had improved in recent weeks, but that sigh alone told them enough: the situation Saint King Halo faced was not a good one.
Even Sayonara Halo, standing not far away, fell into the same realization. Her face twisted with conflict, yet all she could do was keep watching her daughter, who still ran on with stubborn determination.
The field continued its steady advance.
Teraizumi saw Saint King Halo drift outward, then return to her original line after only a few steps. She simply didn't have enough stamina to gamble recklessly. In the end, she had chosen to bet the race on her finishing kick after the slope.
The problem was—
His eyes moved back to Seiun Sky and Special Week. Both were still in excellent condition. Especially Seiun Sky: once she realized she had no chance of shaking Special Week, she had shifted her focus to saving herself for the last part of the race.
The pace was not especially fast, and Saint King Halo was still some distance from the front. She would have to make up that gap in a short stretch against girls who had been preparing for this exact moment all along.
"The leaders are climbing into the third corner! Seiun Sky and Seiun Horizon have already hit the slope, with Special Week and Golden Journey right behind them! Suehiro Commander is also coming forward now. The field is beginning to bunch as they move into the battle for victory!"
Akasaka Misato's call rang out, and Saint King Halo knew she could not hesitate any longer.
She pulled outward sharply.
That single, decisive shift cost her dearly. The last reserves of her stamina started bleeding away, and her breathing wavered.
Still, she forced herself to stabilize.
Launching from the very outside, she accelerated and swept past International Sign and Suehiro Commander. Goyo Lawyer was also beginning her move, but her burst was a beat slower.
Saint King Halo's finishing leg was still sharp.
The problem was that Special Week's was just as sharp.
Because the race had unfolded at such a controlled tempo from the beginning, Special Week had been sitting on her strength all along. The moment they passed the 600-meter marker, she launched, driving straight at Seiun Sky.
On the inside, Mejiro Bright was gathering momentum as well. Her gaze was fixed on the narrow strip of ground between Golden Journey and the rail. She trusted her own legs enough to handle the mud on the inside.
Saint King Halo's face twisted.
Even though the race pace had been the smoothest kind of flow, the long distance and the steady strain had left her stamina more depleted than she had anticipated. Her original plan—to duel Special Week in the final stretch on pure finishing speed—was beginning to collapse.
But she no longer had the luxury of choosing differently.
She forced up one huge breath and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth.
For the final 600 meters, she had already decided: she would run on sheer will.
Once, she had been the kind of horse girl who abandoned races the moment she could no longer see hope. Now, even with herself backed against the edge, she refused to stop.
That unyielding will had been forged through day after day of training, through the grinding reshaping of her temperament. And when she looked up toward the platform one more time, she thought she saw her trainer's face—
and her mother's.
Teraizumi's expression was unreadable, but she could somehow feel his tension.
And her mother—hands clasped at her chest, almost like a prayer.
For one fleeting moment, Saint King Halo was stunned.
So Mother can look like that over my race too?
And that man—always confident, always certain—can feel nervous for me too? Even at the most dangerous point of the Autumn Triple Crown, he had never looked nervous. Yet now, because of her, he had.
How could she let him lose because of her?
"The final 600 meters! The field is entering the stretch! Seiun Sky and Special Week are battling in front—Special Week is already pulling alongside! Behind them, Golden Journey and Mejiro Bright are closing fast! Goyo Lawyer and Mejiro Ryan are coming too—can the Osaka Hai winner keep her Spring Triple Crown challenge alive?! The leaders are fighting furiously, and the pursuers are right behind!"
Her body was reaching its limit. She could no longer summon more speed, and the gap to the front seemed almost fixed, unchanging. Saint King Halo wanted nothing more than to lower herself further, to scrape every last ounce from her body—
Even if she fell, she would accept it.
Then her vision blurred.
And suddenly, the wind that had been shrieking in her ears vanished.
The runners ahead disappeared.
When she raised her head again, she found herself staring into a vast blank whiteness—
and a green figure floating in the sky.
It was the same figure she had once seen perched on Teraizumi's shoulder. Back then, when the bloodlike markings had first been painted onto her face, the sight of that spirit had scared the color right out of her.
Now, fear pricked her for only a heartbeat.
Because the warmth on the figure's face—the gentleness there—drowned out that fear and drew her one step closer.
So she followed her heart.
And took another step.
"Halo…"
The figure looked at the girl approaching him, and the expression on his face turned instantly complicated.
Saint King Halo thought that expression looked as though he might cry. It held guilt, reluctance, regret—
and, beyond all that, deep, overwhelming pride.
It was an expression she had never seen before.
And for some reason, it almost made her cry too.
The markings on her face began to burn hot. Their eerie crimson glow made the green figure sharper, clearer. The floating form slowly descended until he seemed to be standing on the ground itself, watching the girl who had come all the way to him.
"You've already done so well, Halo…"
The voice was familiar.
And in that instant, Saint King Halo finally understood:
The voice that had occasionally echoed inside her heart all this time… had always belonged to him.
"It's still not enough. I…" She thought of Teraizumi then, of the man standing on the platform. "I want to win this race!"
Even now, in her final push, his figure stood in her mind.
They had promised they would climb to the heights of the world together—surpass the level of "first-rate," surpass her mother—
And she had also sworn that one day she would become the ace of the team.
"I want to win this race—no matter what it takes!"
The plea in her eyes was unmistakable.
Teach me.
The spirit froze, then raised a hand and gently traced the beautiful lines running beneath her eyes.
And then he looked straight into the eyes that made his own fill with memory and remorse.
"I don't really have anything I can do to help you."
Saint King Halo stared at him, and though his eyes brimmed with affection, sorrow lingered there too. Still, he smiled at her.
"In the end, the only one who can help you is yourself."
"And really… it has always only been you."
Saint King Halo's eyes widened.
Even as he moved closer, she could barely react.
Her mind was still fixed on one thing alone.
He smiled softly.
"Your eyes are so much like hers…"
Something cool touched her throat.
He removed a necklace from his own neck and fastened it around hers. She did not understand why, but the burning heat on her face instantly subsided.
The world around them began to twist and break apart. The scenery of Kyoto Racecourse returned piece by piece. The wind was starting to howl again, and with it the distant roar of the stands.
Still Saint King Halo kept staring at the figure, now beginning to dissolve into glittering starlight.
She wanted to speak—desperately—but no words came.
The spirit saw all of it.
At last, a single tear rolled down his face.
Saint King Halo saw it clearly.
The tear fell into the turf and vanished into the mud.
So even spirits could cry.
So the missing piece of her childhood had still existed after all—
only in a form forever beyond her reach.
"Happy birthday."
"You've grown into such a wonderful girl, Halo…"
The necklace at her throat began to tremble, as though it wanted to leave with the vanishing figure.
Saint King Halo grabbed it tightly.
The figure disappeared.
Her eyes had gone red, but she was already looking toward the finish.
I will win!
It was her answer to the figure who had vanished.
The necklace stopped struggling. As if it had sensed something in her—some courage, some resolve—it lay quietly against her chest.
The battle at the front of the race was still raging. Everyone's eyes remained fixed on the leaders.
But Saint King Halo could feel it:
A gaze from the platform.
Expectation.
Trust.
Something warm reaching her heart.
Her breathing was ragged. Her stamina had not recovered in the slightest—
but suddenly, impossibly, she felt something else.
The clouds above had fully broken apart.
Sunlight poured down to the earth, crowning her.
The screaming wind vanished in a single instant. Ripples bent through the air like lines in water, then came a sharper, fiercer sound.
The crowd could not hear it.
They were still screaming for their chosen girls—
but the runners ahead could.
Their faces flickered with confusion. Only for an instant, before they forced themselves back into the race. But some vague unease had begun to cling to them.
Because in their ears, they could hear footsteps.
Heavy footsteps.
Violent footsteps.
"The final 400 meters! Special Week and Seiun Sky cross into the stretch first! The leaders are fighting hard! Special Week—Special Week has finally taken the lead! Incredible speed! Behind her are Mejiro Bright and Golden Journey! Goyo Lawyer and Mejiro Ryan are both closing in too—"
Then, abruptly, Akasaka Misato's voice changed.
Because in the lower right of the big screen, a figure had suddenly entered the frame.
That green racing outfit was blazing with impossible brilliance.
Only now did Akasaka realize that Saint King Halo had somehow closed all the way to this point.
This exact angle, this exact kind of return from nowhere—history had seen many famous finishes like this. And for the first time in a long time, the commentator felt something like raw, helpless emotion.
The horse girl she had all but written off just moments before had come roaring back into the picture on sheer grit and refusal to break.
So Akasaka slammed her hand down on the desk.
"Saint King Halo is coming! Saint King Halo is coming! It's Saint King Halo, the Osaka Hai champion! The final 100 meters! The final 100 meters! My god—Saint King Halo has already overtaken Mejiro Bright! Three lengths had separated them, and she's devouring them in an instant! The bearing of a noble house—coming from the far outside, it is Saint King Halo!"
"The final 50 meters! Special Week can't hold her off! Saint King Halo—it's Saint King Halo! She tears apart Kyoto's rain-dulled turf with a finishing kick to crush all doubt! I'll say it again—this is my story, though within it there are also stories of my mother and me! Saint King Halo—Spring Tenno Sho champion! One step closer to the Spring Triple Crown! This spring belongs to me!"
At last, Saint King Halo gradually eased her pace.
On the platform, Sayonara Halo was crying openly.
Teraizumi, at last, had let the tension leave his face.
Saint King Halo lifted her eyes to the sky.
The sunlight blazed there now, and little sparkles still seemed to dance through it.
Just like her, at this very moment—
radiant in everyone's eyes.
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 155)
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 (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
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
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
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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