Astronomer's eyes blazed as if aflame, yet Sakhee was different.
In her eyes, rather than a flame that had just ignited, it seemed as if it had never extinguished at all…!
That was precisely how Gotham Song felt—like the Uma Musume before her was a terrifying, eternally furious war machine, determined to burn through every opponent who dared block her path. For her, stopping was never an option. Either she blasted aside all enemies or transformed herself into the final bullet, completing her so-called mission. It was exactly that extreme.
This was just a feeling. Clearly, ever since losing the Arc to Helissio, Sakhee had relentlessly honed her strength, a tireless monster greedily grinding away her own weaknesses, wringing out greater power to roar out her defiance to the entire world through racing.
But truthfully, Gotham Song's answer remained exactly the same as before. Would she ever care about something like that?
Would she ever fear something like that? Absolutely not—if merely this much was enough to make her bow down, that was purely delusional. Thus, she loftily tilted up her head, giving a reply that was clear, even verging on nonchalant:
"Oh? Is that so? Then, I'm very much looking forward to it."
Looking forward to what, exactly?
Looking forward to seeing just how much trouble and surprise you can bring me.
Yet, facing this response, Sakhee surprisingly displayed remarkable calm. She didn't let her anger erupt here and now, but instead nodded as if it were only natural, quietly returning to her original position.
Did this mean she wasn't angry anymore?
No, certainly not. Gotham Song understood exactly what was happening—Sakhee's anger had absolutely not dissipated. Rather, she was preserving every ounce of that fury for a full explosion on the racetrack.
Since you choose to treat me with this attitude off the track, not considering me a significant threat at all, then I'll leave it until we're out there—so you can experience firsthand the true extent of my strength!
Be careful not to trip up and embarrass yourself, arrogant Demon Lord…!
That was probably the kind of feeling she had right now, something Gotham Song understood fully—and frankly, she loved this kind of personality. Excellent. This was far better than those idiots who grandly boasted before the race, desperate to be recognized prematurely… Now, let me thoroughly witness your so-called strength, Sakhee.
And as for Astronomer?
She had long known exactly what she would say, and after that brief encounter just now, had quietly returned to her own position, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, waiting for what would follow, for the race itself.
Truthfully, none of the contestants were fools. They'd locked onto the identity of this mysterious entrant far earlier than anyone else. In fact, by standard practice, even if it wasn't publicly announced, the full participant list should've been revealed much earlier to all competitors.
But Gotham Song's situation here was truly a complete anomaly, because the initial intention behind such a process was actually meant to encourage and support pre-race preparations. Namely, contestants were supposed to study recordings of other competitors' previous races, looking for habits and such as part of their preparations.
But…!
Under these circumstances, even if they revealed Gotham Song's information to the others, wouldn't it be utterly useless anyway…?!
Exactly as Astronomer had expressed online after the official reveal of the participant list:
「Time to study Gotham Song's dirt-track race footage… Eh? Wait, why can't I find anything?」
For a contestant whose dirt-track debut was taking place directly at the Dubai World Cup, such a move was admittedly risky—but it also yielded the maximum possible advantage, completely destroying the possibility of others doing any meaningful pre-race preparation against her.
As for studying Gotham Song's turf races to find ways to defeat her?
You mean the race recordings where Gotham Song consistently pulls away by massive margins against even top-class Uma Musume like Astronomer herself? Stop joking. Or, to quote Dancing Brave, who was regarded as a master and legend in analyzing these matters:
"Any preparation, experience, technique, or whatever off-track measure you can take is simply to close a gap. But for a monster like Gotham Song, who casually destroys her competition by a wide margin, any further preparation is effectively meaningless."
In other words, if preparations were to have any effect at all, the premise would first be that you possessed comparable capabilities to Gotham Song without those preparations. But obviously…
Does such an Uma Musume exist in this world right now?
Possibly, but honestly—it seems pretty unlikely.
That was basically the situation: attempting any pre-race preparation against Gotham Song was itself a laughable idea, something one could practically pretend didn't exist. Maybe only legendary Uma Musume at their peak would actually benefit from that; otherwise, you're just begging to get crushed.
And under these circumstances, preparing specifically for a dirt-track race was absolutely impossible—because there simply wasn't any footage.
So, would Astronomer, as many people online had questioned, somehow think that Gotham Song couldn't display her terrifying dominance on dirt?
How could that possibly be true…! Although Astronomer didn't think Gotham Song could achieve epoch-making feats like Miss Twilight Song, she understood far better than the casual spectator…
She knew far better than most exactly what kind of Uma Musume Gotham Song truly was—!
Gotham Song would absolutely never force herself into a race—! In other words, if she didn't have a clear understanding of her own abilities and her likely performance on dirt, she simply wouldn't have joined the Dubai World Cup at all.
Perhaps there might be some minor difference compared to her turf performance? That was indeed possible. But only minor—and what did a slightly worse version of "utter dominance" look like? Most likely, it still meant she'd crush everyone by a large margin!
Maybe Gotham Song really intended to establish dominance on dirt as well; perhaps precisely for this reason, she had chosen the Dubai World Cup for her dirt-track debut…
Astronomer even had an absurd notion: if not for the unspoken rule that "on Dubai World Cup Day, one Uma Musume usually enters only a single race," Gotham Song might even have considered a high-intensity challenge—trying to seize the honors of every single race today.
She genuinely was the type of Uma Musume who might pull off such a crazy thing—!
Astronomer shook her thoughts clear, listened to the announcer's voice outside, took a deep breath, and trotted out slowly, showcasing her confidence and strength along the path in front of the spectators.
The audience enthusiastically cheered Astronomer's name. Just moments ago, she'd still been struggling to confront the crushing, almost terrifying pressure from Gotham Song—but now, standing in front of the whole world as she emerged from the contestants' tunnel, she'd already pushed away those nearly overwhelming thoughts.
Now, she was Astronomer—the Astronomer the world awaited, the immensely powerful Astronomer, the Astronomer confident she wouldn't lose to anyone—!
Thinking about anything else at this moment was pointless, wasn't it? Right now, there was only one simple thing to do: run. To run with all her strength…
Forget Gotham Song. This time, I'm here for revenge—I'm here to surpass you!
Astronomer had fully entered the competitive state…!
In this Dubai World Cup, she ranked third in popularity, just slightly behind Sakhee, who held second. Stepping onto the track where the previous race had just ended, Astronomer took her steps slowly, executing her grand appearance!
Next was Sakhee's appearance—once again looking as if she was determined to trample the entire world beneath her feet, tense-faced and blazing fiercely like a living flame.
In fact, Astronomer's Racing Outfit was mostly white and gold, looking elegant and dashing like the princely image every Uma Musume dreamed of—rarely among racing outfits, hers featured pants instead of a skirt.
Surprisingly, Sakhee's attire was similar. True to the fiery symbolism of her name, Sakhee wore striking red and black colors, accented with gold patterns on a cape that seemed aflame. Matching Astronomer's style, she too appeared in form-fitting pants, unexpectedly creating a coordinated pair.
However, at this moment, what was truly drawing all eyes across the entire stadium?
Of course, it was the mysterious contestant who still hadn't appeared—hidden until the very last moment, just as she'd been concealed until the final announcement of the participant list.
"Next up is the Uma Musume whose appearance at this Dubai World Cup can truly be described as coming out of nowhere, sparking immense excitement in everyone—! And here's a bit of information we can now share openly: actually, Miss Gotham Song didn't originally apply for this race herself. Rather, she was invited by the race organizers and only entered the list after accepting."
"Moreover, even though her participation was announced only at the last minute due to circumstances everyone already knows, Miss Gotham Song immediately skyrocketed to first in popularity, decisively surpassing Miss Sakhee, who occupies the second place. Isn't that simply too unbelievable?"
"Oh, oh, oh! Everyone, from my vantage point, I can already clearly see her silhouette emerging from the contestant tunnel—but first, allow me to finish speaking, and let's savor this moment of anticipation."
"Now approaching is—the winner of the Irish Champion Stakes, first place at the Japan Cup, Yasuda Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Kikuka Sho. She utterly dominated the entire world, turning last year into her own personal show, the annual Ruka Voice of the People Best Uma Musume, Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Turf Horse—Gotham Song!"
Following the commentator's words, the stadium fell into hysterical excitement. Indeed, among the achievements mentioned, perhaps only the Voice of the People and the Champion Stakes were internationally renowned. But even so, nobody hesitated to shower Gotham Song with cheers as she stepped forth.
Because everyone clearly understood one thing: an Uma Musume capable of achieving such staggering results across so many races certainly possessed the power to dominate any world-class race. She simply chose not to enter more races for personal reasons—perhaps holding back her true ferocity.
Or perhaps… she'd merely been sharpening her fangs all along?
Look now—wasn't she already standing on the stage of the Dubai World Cup?
Moreover, this race had an extra-special bonus—this was the adorable Miss Song's very first dirt-track race, debuting her brand-new Racing Outfit!
Thank goodness she finally switched to an elegant dress-like outfit, hehe. It's almost like Miss Twilight Song herself has returned.
As Gotham Song slowly stepped out from the contestant tunnel, moving quietly past the spectators, the entire world seemed to tremble. Clearly, the audience's frenzy had reached an even deeper pitch, yet Gotham Song's behavior was completely unlike any other contestant who greeted the fans.
She simply walked forward slowly, silently, without running or passionately responding, as if lost deep in her own thoughts—a Demon Lord untouched by anything external, stepping confidently down the narrow path before the grandstands.
Had this been anyone else, people might've loudly accused her of arrogance, criticizing her disregard for fan sentiment. But this was Gotham Song, petite yet powerful Gotham Song.
Instead of feeling slighted, the audience simply called her name louder, convinced she was deliberately testing their passion.
Wave after wave, cries surged like a tsunami. Yet Gotham Song never once turned her head to acknowledge them. Finally, just as she was about to step onto the presentation stage, the Demon Lord stopped under the gaze of the entire world.
Facing away from the audience, Gotham Song tilted her head up slightly as if deep in contemplation.
Absolute silence filled the stadium, and within this profound quiet, Gotham Song slowly raised her hand.
Even until the very end, she didn't turn around to look at her fans directly. But in truth, she simply responded to their anticipation differently:
She raised her hand high, clearly forming the number one with her finger.
My dirt-track debut, the first true step onto the global stage.
My first race responding to all of your expectations.
And finally, the first race truly belonging to Gotham Song—free from old bonds, free from past entanglements, stepping forward into my new story…
Everyone, keep your eyes wide open and watch closely.