On the day of the Dubai World Cup, something particularly unusual happened: the famously pristine track of Dubai's Meydan Racecourse was unexpectedly dotted by a drizzle in the early morning.
It truly was just a faint drizzle, yet in a desert city like Dubai, it was rare enough that tourists and racegoers alike were genuinely astonished.
In reality, the Dubai World Cup was merely the most renowned and prestigious race held on Dubai World Cup Day. The reason it was called Dubai World Cup Day, rather than just Dubai World Cup itself—was because it was actually a composite event consisting of several different races, all scheduled one after another from morning till night, running straight through to completion.
Much like America's Breeders' Cup Turf and Dirt events being staggered throughout the day.
But undeniably, among all these races, the Dubai World Cup was consistently the most attention-grabbing every year, especially this year.
After all, there was Gotham Song—the tyrant of internet hype herself.
Even though tickets for viewing the Dubai World Cup live were certainly not cheap, could anyone truly imagine that tourists already in Dubai would somehow only budget to watch one race?
Given that nearly every spectator who made it here surely had no shortage of money, many had even specifically arrived for this race, just to see Gotham Song debuting on dirt, having announced her participation so publicly.
In fact, according to some incomplete statistics online, flights into Dubai from around the world had surged dramatically the night before, selling out rapidly despite inflated prices, while ticket resale platforms and secondary markets saw their prices skyrocket several times over.
One couldn't help but marvel at such a situation.
But Gotham Song herself had a rather absurdly amusing little matter to deal with that morning before the race.
Because today was a race day, she adhered to her usual habits, going to bed extremely early the night before, so much so that after returning from the press conference, she hadn't checked her social media accounts at all.
So, when she was awakened by Donna the next morning, finished washing up, and waited idly for breakfast, she finally picked up her phone—and found herself confronted by a scene that left her simultaneously amused and helpless.
Since Gotham Song muted notifications for likes and such, upon opening her inbox, she was instantly bombarded with an avalanche of frenzied likes and countless questioning comments.
Why did this happen?
Truthfully, Gotham Song never actively managed her social media accounts and didn't really have a follower base to speak of. However, the simple act of herself cosplaying herself and uploading photos to the internet held too great a natural advantage.
And given the current state of the internet—utterly dominated by Gotham Song and the Dubai World Cup yesterday—when a small number of people stumbled upon her uploaded photo the following day, it spread wildly overnight, swiftly piling up to astonishing heights.
Of course, another reason contributed to the virality, though people didn't pay it much mind at the moment—it was the fact that the IP address of Gotham Song's social account was genuinely located in Dubai.
But since many had already guessed the mysterious final participant was Gotham Song, nobody found her location or outfit particularly surprising now.
People simply assumed she was just an Uma Musume enthusiast who decided to dress up as her favorite Uma Musume character for the event, enthusiastically sharing bits of her life—a true natural beauty among Uma Musume fans.
Much like the mysterious cosplayer who'd appeared in New York earlier—who looked even more like Twilight Song but possessed Gotham Song's mannerisms—and whose true identity remained unknown to this day.
Many still stubbornly believed that mysterious cosplayer had actually been Twilight Song herself!
And now, perhaps the cosplayer claiming to be Gotham Song herself had appeared as well.
Gotham Song skimmed the comments. Most were asking if she had any planned appearances, would cosplay other characters, would cosplay Twilight Song, or had come to Dubai specifically to cosplay and watch Gotham Song's race.
In short, most questions revolved around those topics; the rest were inappropriate remarks she naturally ignored—especially the snide ones criticizing why she wasn't wearing the Racing Outfit.
Seen, but I simply won't reply~♪
No one would ever guess—the person they criticized as "not accurate enough" would be 100% accurate no matter what she wore, because the cosplayer was actually me.
Hehe~♪
Setting aside her phone, Gotham Song allowed herself to be fussed over briefly. Mejiro Ardan gently gathered up her hair, performing this ritual grooming just as she always did before they stepped onto the racetrack together.
Only this time, unlike previous occasions, Manhattan Cafe joined in as well. With her two elder sisters carefully attending to her hair, Gotham Song's long hair fell perfectly neat around her shoulders. Dressed proudly in her brand-new Racing Outfit, she stood by the door, turning back to the other Uma Musume present with her usual confident smile.
"Shall we go, Trainer?"
"Mm, I'm off to seize victory. Watch closely, Vernal-chan—this is what a truly powerful Uma Musume looks like on the track."
Honestly, Gotham Song felt rather emotional watching Vernal Equinox steadily growing taller each day.
Yes, steadily taller—when the two first met, Vernal Equinox had actually been shorter than Gotham Song. Yet now…now Vernal Equinox had already surpassed her slightly.
How to describe Gotham Song's feelings?
For most Uma Musume, racing head-to-head against a younger rival they had promised to compete with was never easy. Although their Maturation—what Uma Musume called fully blossoming into peak form—could seemingly happen overnight, reality was rarely so idealistic.
In fact, examples like Kitasan Black, whose Maturation extended over a prolonged period, were quite common. And even accounting for peak conditions, few maintained competitive strength long enough to fulfill their promises and run full-throttle against their juniors. Most often, it ended up as it had with Teio and the Emperor.
Tokai Teio had inherited the Emperor's glory, striving tirelessly toward that goal, yet in the end, the two had never truly competed head-to-head to settle who was superior.
Time—time was always the greatest problem. But perhaps for Gotham Song, time wouldn't be such an issue.
One year, two at most, three at the very limit—by then, both Haya of Stars and Vernal Equinox would have matured. When they reached their peak older-mare years, Gotham Song—by then undoubtedly considered a veteran competitor—should still maintain sufficient strength.
Yet, what would Gotham Song herself be like at that point?
Regardless, she had already decided: after racing Vernal Equinox, Haya of Stars, and Treve in earnest, that would be the moment she officially stepped away from the track for good.
"A truly powerful Uma Musume... Vernal will engrave that in her heart."
Vernal Equinox remained as typically blank-faced as ever, but Gotham Song clearly sensed the flickering light of yearning and determined anticipation beneath that seemingly expressionless face.
Vernal-chan was also becoming strong, huh. From initially altering the rhythm of races purely by instinct, she had grown enough to even pressure Donna on certain courses—though admittedly Donna still held an advantage at ultra-long distances.
What about Flightline?
Heh.
That girl's still a long way off.
Let's start by graduating from the title of 'idiot,' shall we?
Sweeping her gaze across everyone present, only after even the habitually rebellious Flightline had shown a serious expression did Gotham Song finally curve her lips upward, turning and departing the hotel. She stepped out onto the street, facing the uniquely bustling scene that was rarely seen in Dubai, and moved toward the racetrack.
This scene basically repeated itself every time Gotham Song raced, a spectacle fans had dubbed "The Demon Lord's March."
In truth, welcoming ceremonies like this were incredibly common—every legendary Uma Musume had received similar treatment. But international impact on this scale was truly rare; the last Uma Musume who'd garnered similar global excitement wherever she went was Twilight Song.
And this welcome was especially grand, unsurprising as it was Gotham Song's dirt debut. Fans worldwide who could afford the journey had flocked to Dubai, prominently featuring familiar faces among them.
Halwa Sweet eagerly held a sign, Vivlos beside her looking even more fervent yet restraining herself, along with their two slightly shy sisters also holding small banners.
This family of four truly was…unbelievable for a broodmare's family…
Suppressing an amused smile, Gotham Song strode forward in her ceremonial attire, towards the heated arena.
Time to see how much trouble you can really give me.
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...
Umu! I am Nero Claudius—the brilliant Emperor of Rome, the dazzling Saber, the one and only performer who can steal a stage with a single smile!
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