"Huh!!"
McQueen was left stunned as Tachyon gained distance from her. They are both Pace Chasers. There shouldn't be any more distance between them, or Tachyon might change tactics mid-race and decide to become a Front Runner instead.
Changing your strategy mid-race… What a showcase of high-level adaptability.
McQueen has heard from Ramonu about how there is no single running strategy in the Dream Series. A runner might start with a Pace Chaser strategy, then change mid-race to a Late Surger, and then change again into a Front Runner.
As expected of the assistant trainer!! But I wouldn't falter here!! I have a duty to win this race!!!
"THE RACERS ARE ENTERING THE FIRST CORNER!!!"
"DON'T COUNT YOUR EGGS NOW, FOLKS!!!"
Agnes Tachyon and Little Cocoon activated [Corner Recovery] Level 1
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Corner Recovery]
Mejiro McQueen activated [Hydrate] Level 1
The first corner acts as a flattener for the pack. Excess width got forcefully slimmed down as runners moved into line. For once, the spectators can confidently say who was at the front and who was at the back.
Tokai Teio activated [Corner Acceleration] Level 2
Dantsu Flame activated [My Flame Lights the Way] Level 1 and [Hydrate] Level 2
Agnes Tachyon activated [Straightaway Acceleration] Level 1
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Straightaway Acceleration]
"That cornering technique is really nasty!"
"You were there when we trained, right?"
Once again, Tachyon is reminded of who her boss is. She had seen Team Minaz train on their cornering techniques by the young man. It was a high-level technique that is common amongst the veterans, but still foreign in the lower class.
If Tachyon had not seen their training, she would've been overtaken just now. The perfect timing for acceleration was the only thing she could do to remain at the front.
Mejiro McQueen activated [Straightaway Recovery] Level 1
Agnes Tachyon and Little Cocoon activated [Preferred Position] Level 1
Little Cocoon activated [Straightaway Acceleration] Level 1 and [Straightaway Adept] Level 1
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Ramp Up]
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Your Smile Sparkles as the Waves]
"Finally catching up, huh?"
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Flustered Pace Chasers]
"Say that after you win, Mejiro."
Jungle Pocket activated [Fearless] Level 2
"I'M BREAKING THROUGH!!! OUT OF MY WAY!!"
Manhattan Cafe activated [Chasing After You] Level 1, [Stamina Eater] Level 2, and [A Small Breather] Level 1
"I see you…"
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Pace Chasers Straightaways]
"HERE WE GO!!!! THE LATE SURGERS ARE MAKING THEIR MOVES AS THE FRONT RUNNERS ARE APPROACHING THE FINAL CORNER!!"
"HOLD YOUR BREATH AND SQUEEZE YOUR BUTTS!!! THE ENDING IS IN OUR SIGHT!!"
"WILL MEJIRO MCQUEEN ACQUIRE HER TRIPLE CROWN!??!?! OR WILL SHE TRIP ON THE LAST STRETCH!?!?!?!?"
The sight of the final corner scared Tachyon. She knew McQueen was just waiting to unleash those devastating cornering techniques when Tachyon was at her slowest. Once McQueen gained that advantage, the path to winning was wide open for her.
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Straightaway Recovery]
Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Prepared to Pass]
McQueen has exceptional stamina!! Those front runners would have zero chance of keeping their distance after McQueen decided to dump out everything!!
[For what reason are you worrying about them? You should only focus on your own win.]
"Kuh!!"
The golden footsteps appear once again on the turf in front of Tachyon. Tempting her with victory to put her feet on them and run toward the golden light at the end of the tunnel.
To no one's surprise, the Front Runners weren't following the golden footsteps in Tachyon's vision.
[You really put your hope on others and not on yourself… Pathetic… There's only one winner in a race, and it takes a real runner to win one, not a Phantom.]
Agnes Tachyon activated [U=ma2] Level 1
Shut up. I will show you a winner.
[Yeah… We are seeing one now.]
Mejiro McQueen activated [Corner Acceleration] Level 2, [Corner Adept] Level 1, and [The Duty of Dignity Calls] Level 1
For once in this race, Tachyon can see McQueen's back. She has been seeing her from the side or the front. Seeing McQueen's back like this gives the scientist a wake-up slap.
It is McQueen who is running on the Golden Steps, not her.
Manhattan Cafe and Jungle Pocket activated [Outer Swell] Level 1
"OOH!! You're pretty good, Mejiro!! But I'm winning this race!!"
"Can you see her too, Mejiro McQueen?"
"Enjoy your VIP seats behind me!"
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Straightaway Adept], [Pace Chaser Straightaway], and [Disorient]
Tokai Teio activated [Corner Adept] Level 2
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Shrewd Steps]
The Scientist has to swallow another painful pill as her fellow genmates overtake her and do everything in their power to win against McQueen. They're fighting against McQueen, and not her.
Dantsu Flame activated [Corner Recovery] Level 2
Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Go with The Flow]
"Don't worry, Tachyon!!"
"Dantsu…"
The Scientist was more taken aback when she saw the rosy-brown-haired umamusume next to her. Tachyon knows her genmates' aptitude for races, and Dantsu is the lowest among the four of them when it comes to long-distance races.
If the umamusume who is the worst in long-distance races is running side-by-side with her, then what does that tell the Scientist about herself?
"We understand what you have been through, but you don't need to keep pushing yourself anymore."
"..."
"You can rest easy!! We will become the new guardians for the Triple Crown!!"
"Rest…"
[In Peace…
It's about time you realized that you truly lived up to your title. You're just a mere phantom that is destined to rest in peace.
You will never become a true runner ever again.
A fading legend waiting for the wave to wash her away.]
…
"Hahaha… Shut the fuck up…"
"Tachyon…?"
Tachyon activated [Phantom-Shattered Stride] Level 1
Dantsu was left speechless as the Scientist returned to the state she was in before finding out about her illness. A creepy smile ran from ear to ear. Her eyes shone as if they were reflections of a glorious but inevitable destructive future.
The Scientist lowered her center of gravity, and with every step she took, her stride grew larger and larger. Her arms swung fast and calculated to keep her balance while not wasting even an ounce of stamina on unnecessary movement.
If someone were to watch her from the side while matching her speed, they would notice something deeply uncanny: the Scientist's movements showed no variation, no deviation. Every stride, every swing of her arms, every shift of her body was exactly the same as the one before it.
It was as though they weren't watching her run at all, but watching a single motion being repeated endlessly like a GIF playing on an infinite loop.
"AGNES TACHYON HAS RETURNED!!!"
"WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The announcer screamed out in incredible joy as the Phantom powered through her competition and quickly gained distance. The distance that the umamusumes fought hard for was turned to nothing in front of the Horse that Run Faster than Light.
Tokai Teio activated [Sky-High Teio Step] Level 1
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Certain Victory]
"Tachyon!??! What about your legs?!?"
"You're chasing after her too, huh?!"
Pocket and Cafe's words fall on deaf ears as the Scientist brushes past them. Her eyes didn't even bother to look in their direction as she overtook them, as if they were pebbles at the edge of a street.
"Yeah… This is what I need…"
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint for [Legacy of the Strong]
McQueen remembered the race she had at the end of the Summer Camp. The race was won by Symboli Rudolf with her buzzer-beater spurt after being pressured by several umamusumes. It was a powerful ace hidden in her deepest pocket, waiting to be unleashed when her win was threatened, with the goal post just in front of her.
McQueen realized that she was lacking that kind of finishing move. She can bring herself to the front of the pack. But if she doesn't have the weapon to secure the advantage in the most dire moment, then the first part of the play would be all for nothing.
She needs a finisher in her arsenal.
"Come, Assistant!!"
"Hehehehe!!!"
The battle for the first is now between the young lady of the Mejiro Family and the Schizophrenic Scientist. The distance between them and the runners behind them isn't that far, but with the speed they are going at, it would be impossible to catch up without the blessing of the Three Goddesses.
And then it comes.
Rice Shower activated [Azrael-Triple Requiem] Level MAX and [Blue Rose Closer] Level 1
"SOMEONE IS BURSTING THROUGH!!! A SMALL UMAMUSUME IS CUTTING THROUGH THE PACK!!!"
"LOOK AT THE SPEED AND ACCELERATION!!! SHE IS GAINING ON THE FRONT!!! THEY BETTER HURRY UP, OR SHE'LL OVERTAKE THEM!!"
The arrival of the long-black-haired umamusume shakes the front of the pack. In the eleventh hour of the race, an umamusume has undergone something that most of them can only be classified as a miracle.
Rice Shower is a Pace Chaser, right?! How can she have this much power behind her kick?!?! Is she both a Pace Chaser and a Late Surger?!?!
"Huh…?"
The looming threat snaps both McQueen and Tachyon out of their trance. The goal is just 10 meters away, but Rice Shower is gaining at a rapid and incredible speed. She is accelerating at a pace that both McQueen and Tachyon are incapable of matching.
BUT!! THE GOAL IS JUST IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!! I WILL WIN AND BECOME THE NEXT TRIPLE CROWN!!!!
I JUST NEED TO HOLD ON!!!!
"How…? You are not meant to be here…"
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
.
.
.
.
.
.
*BBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP*
"WE HAVE A WINNER!!!"