"The horses are entering the gates soon, but can you hear it?! This thunderous roar from Nakayama!! It's not just Japan; people have gathered from all over the globe to witness the Tyrant, Mejiro Rampage's final run!! The United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, New Zealand, Dubai!! The voices of fans from every country she has raced in are crashing down like a tidal wave!!"
As she performed her warm-up gallop, everyone understood simply by looking at her condition: This is what the world's fastest and strongest Uma Musume looks like. She possessed an aura, an intimidating pressure, and a charisma that convinced you without a single word spoken.
The Uma Musume slowly entered the gates. Usually, it wouldn't be strange for someone to balk at entering, but today, not a single racer showed hesitation. They settled into their stalls with obedient resolve.
"The stage is set!! Will this thoroughbred decorate the path to a new era, or pave the way for a new legend?! The 37th Arima Kinen has started!! Mejiro Rampage is off to a good start!! From the outermost gate, Mejiro Rampage nails a perfect start!! She's going straight for the lead!! But following her with a rocket start of her own is Twin Turbo! Daitaku Helios and Mejiro Palmer are right behind her!! It's the same as last year's Grand Prix, but this time Mihono Bourbon and Ines Fujin have joined the front lines!! What an opening!! We've only just started, yet a fierce battle for the lead has erupted among the runners! And conquering that chaos to take the lead is the Tyrant, Mejiro Rampage!! With her green and white uniform and black long coat fluttering behind her, she takes the lead, heading from the first of Nakayama's six tight corners toward the next!"
"True・Dokkan Turboooo!!"
"Ahahahaha!! I nailed the Turbo Dash too~! Seriously insane~!"
"I knew you were practicing, but are you seriously doing this for real, Helios!?"
Helios stretched out, competing with Turbo, who had accelerated with her signature 'Dokkan Turbo' start. Having practiced diligently, Helios hadn't quite mastered the Dokkan Turbo itself, but she had managed to mimic the start dash, improving her initial acceleration dramatically. Palmer chased after the two of them. That made four Great Escape runners—no, wait. Just slightly behind them, Bourbon and Ines followed. An abnormal spectacle had formed: a leading pack consisting of six escape-strategy Uma Musume.
"And following a short distance behind are Mejiro McQueen, Agnes Flora, and Tokai Teio. About one length back from them is Rice Shower. Following her are Ikuno Dictus, Nice Nature, Mejiro Ryan, and Machikane Tannhauser. They are passing the grandstand now!! The spectators have all been waiting for your run; they have been waiting to see you run here in Japan, Mejiro Rampage!! This is the Last Run, Mejiro Rampage!!"
"Do your best, Turbo-san~!!"
"It's barely started, don't burn out too fast~!!"
The Akiyama siblings had managed to secure a good spot in the front stand. Naturally, they were cheering for Twin Turbo. They were grateful to Rampage for the strange connection she had forged for them. Wataru, who had been more interested in cars, was thankful to Rampage for introducing him to Uma Musume—specifically, to the user of his favorite "Dokkan Turbo." And today, her running would come to an end.
As he watched her back disappear past the grandstand toward the next corner, he heard an excited voice from next to him.
"Kuuuuh, so this is a Japanese race! How magnificent!! Truly the homeland of the Tyrant. That child, Turbo, is wonderful too!! Escape Uma Musume are the best!!"
A foreigner, speaking slightly broken but passable Japanese, was gushing his impressions as if he had just fallen in love with the charm of escape runners. Wataru couldn't help but laugh.
"You've got good taste. Turbo-san's Dokkan Turbo is the best, though."
"Dokkan Turbo? I believe I heard there was an old Japanese turbo engine by that name."
"You know your stuff. Well, just watch. Turbo-san's races are fun to watch."
"Umu!! Then I must pay close attention while enjoying this gourmet food!!"
"...Whatever, but aren't you buying too much food?"
Why did his chest tighten every time they cleared a corner? Because she wouldn't run anymore. With that person, never again... Rampage, who had started from the far outside, had already taken the rail and continued to lead. She hadn't dropped her pace at all, rushing through the course. Perhaps it was because the fastest runner was leading, but the pace generated by these six escape runners was incredibly fast.
But I'm going to win today—because if I miss this, the chance will never come around again.
"Entering the third corner, Mejiro Rampage is still in the lead! But here she comes—Nice Nature begins her long spurt from the back!! She's staking everything on her specialty long spurt! How will the others react? They're trying not to get baited, but is this safe? It looks like the pace is gradually picking up even more!!"
(This is bad. At this pace, the ones in danger are actually us betweener-strategists... I should make my move around here too.)
(Wait, at this rate the real problem is—right, that's it!!)
"Here go Ikuno Dictus and Mejiro Ryan too!! Did Nice Nature lure them out? They're surging forward together. Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, Agnes Flora, and Rice Shower are moving too—but oh! Mihono Bourbon has dropped her pace slightly! No, she's managed to recover, but her form is wavering!! A malfunction in the Cyborg!! Has an anomaly occurred in her precise pace management!?"
"This pace... is abnormal, no matter how you look at it...!!"
"Th-This is totally Yabatan-en painful!!"
"Ah!! And now Daitaku Helios is dropping back!! She's falling from the lead pack, dropping further and further back!!"
"Of course I am!! This pace is totally messed up!!"
The pace was so erratic it made Ines involuntarily curse. After all, Rampage hadn't slowed down in the slightest, Turbo was accelerating aggressively not to lose to her, and Palmer was continuing to contest them both. The situation continued with no one taking a breath. The burden fell heaviest on the other escape runners; despite exceeding their maximum speed, they had no choice but to plunge into that red zone if they wanted to win.
"Wha-whoa!!"
"Guh!?"
"Daitaku Helios is sliding back from the front!! Is Mihono Bourbon struggling too!? They're about to enter the final corner, and the positions are changing drastically! The leader remains Mejiro Rampage, followed by Twin Turbo, Mejiro Palmer, Mihono Bourbon, and Ines Fujin. Then Agnes Flora, Rice Shower, Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, Nice Nature, Mejiro Ryan, Daitaku Helios, Ikuno Dictus, and Machikane Tannhauser!! We are entering the final straight! Will the Tyrant escape as is?! No! Here they come! McQueen and Teio are stretching out!! No, Rice is coming too! Rice Shower is here!!"
"You gave me so many things... That is why the only place I can repay everything is right here!!"
"Here I go, Lan! My running... The Absolute Emperor will defeat the Tyrant!!!"
"Onee-sama... Rice will win!!!"
Using the centrifugal force from the corner to swing their bodies outward, they unleashed their full power at once. The Great Actor, the Absolute Emperor, the Jet-Black Stayer—all challenging the Tyrant. That became the spark that ignited everyone's fighting spirit.
"Here it comes, comes, COOOOMES!!! Full power, open throttle! MAX True・Dokkan Turboooooo!!!!"
"I'm not just... some girl who gets chased by Sunday-san and worries everyone by being scared all the time anymore!!!!"
"This is the showdown, Rampage-san. The conclusion I've waited so long for... we settle it here!!!"
Dokkan Turbo was fired. Turbo accelerated explosively, trying to overtake Rampage. Ikuno, whose late kick had been forged by Sunday Silence, exploded forward, climbing from the very back in a single breath, the pressure accumulated by her precise pacing releasing like a bomb.
"I want to beat you just as much as anyone else!!!"
"If it's just guts, I won't lose to anyone! EXPLOSIVE ESCAAAAAPE!!!"
"Ryan is coming! Ryan is coming too!! Everyone is putting their lives on the line to become the challenger to the Absolute Ruler, the Tyrant!! The World's Fastest and Strongest Uma Musume is intercepting this challenge all alone!!"
Amidst the echoing screams, a shadow surged up from the rear. It was Ryan. The Mejiro Triple Crown had returned. I can't let my best friend's finale end in a clumsy mess, she thought, squeezing out every ounce of power to extend her stride.
"LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
Everything started with you and me.
Her sprint seemed to say that she would be the one to bring it to an end. She climbed higher and higher, the cold wind piercing her skin, reaching out to the friend who continued to run at the front—just a little more!!
At that moment. Someone pulled up right beside her.
"H-Here comes Agnes Flora!! Agnes Flora has arrived in a flash!!! What incredible late speed! She's passed Twin Turbo and Mejiro Palmer in the blink of an eye and is now in third!!"
"Don't think you're the only one!! If we're talking about feelings for that person... I'm the one... who wants to win... MORE THAN ANYONEEEEEE!!!!"
A scream filled with her whole soul carried Flora even further beyond. Passing Ryan—Rampage's greatest best friend—it was Agnes Flora who seized the right to challenge the Tyrant.
With one length to go, Flora remembered the Shuka Sho. The only race where she had been able to pass Rampage. That might have been her peak. That was precisely why she ran now, believing this was the time to surpass it.
"Agnes Flora is coming! Agnes Flora is here!! The Thoroughbred who fought through the Tiara route is closing in on the Tyrant!! Just a little more! She's closed the gap to half a length!! How is Mejiro Rampage?! Is she struggling?! Is it impossible for the Tyrant to maintain this super-high pace any longer!!?"
Amidst the roaring commentary, their eyes met.
Words were unnecessary. They synchronized in their desire to settle this.
And then—their mutual feelings crystallized.
O Departed Soul, let us rampage together.
The legs of god-speed, finally attained.
The Great Flower, longed for.
"Mejiro Rampage is stretching out!! Mejiro Rampage is still going, she's still going!! Acceleration that says 'Don't underestimate the one who conquered the Arc and the BC Classic!!' But Agnes Flora is following her!! Terrifying speed! It is completely a world of their own!! Less than 100 meters remaining!!! Will the Tyrant Mejiro Rampage conquer the 37th Arima Kinen?! Or will it be Agnes Flora?! Neither is giving an inch! They're stretching, stretching out!! Agnes Flora won't let Mejiro Rampage escape!! Can she extend?! Can she do it?! Can she?! No—Mejiro Rampage! World, look at this! This is the Tyrant's Flower Path, having conquered the world from Japan! The Coronation of Final Gloryyyyyyy!!!! MEJIRO RAMPAAAAAAGE!!!"
Until the very end, the Tyrant remained a Tyrant.
From start to finish, she ran through without ever yielding the lead.
30 Races. 30 Wins. Undefeated.
At that run, everyone screamed. Nakayama Racecourse screamed. Japan screamed. The World screamed.
"The world is screaming!! The world is applauding!!! She is strong! This is the World's Fastest and Strongest Uma Musume, Mejiro Rampage!!! Second place is Agnes Flora! Third place is Mejiro Ryan—!!? Mejiro Rampage's Last Run, Nakayama Racecourse, Turf 2500m, Track Condition: Good. The time is————!!!"
[2:28:4]
"She has achieved a World Record in her final coronation!! What a way to bow out!! What strength, Mejiro Rampage!! And—Agnes Flora's time is 2:28:5!! She also delivered a run capable of smashing the World Record!! The 37th Arima Kinen has undeniably become a legend!!"
"——Tch."
I lost... again.
But strangely, she felt refreshed. Her legs throbbed with a dull pain from running beyond her limits, but she didn't care... When Rampage, standing in front of her, turned around, Flora almost burst into tears. She held them back—but then, a hand was held out to her.
"Flora. That was the best race... Thanks. For being my rival."
"...That's unfair. That is so unfair... You wait until you retire... to finally say that to my face... RAMPAGE-SAAAAAAAAN!!"
Letting her overflowing emotions and tears break the dam, she leaped at her. Usually, Rampage would dodge, but this time, for once, she didn't. She caught her. That only made the tears flow harder.
"Ryan. I'm grateful to you."
"If that's the case... there's no need to say it, right?"
"Yeah."
They bumped fists, then immediately shook hands. No extra words were needed between the two of them. This is enough, she thought—but immediately after, Rampage was jumped on, one after another.
"LAAAAAAAAAN! I don't want you to retireeeeeeee!!!"
"Onee-samaaaaaa..."
"Even I... even I get lonely sometimes, you know!!"
"Seriously, sameeeee!!"
"Lan-saaaaaan!!"
As she was embraced one after another, Lan tumbled onto the turf. Watching the scene, Nature and Ikuno looked on with teary eyes.
When she naturally looked up at the sky, it was terribly clear and beautiful.
She would likely never forget that view for as long as she lived.
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