The gates slammed open, and dirt was flung into the air as nine umamusume charged forwards from the gates.
"The [Autumn Tenno Sho] has started!"
A moment of silence fell upon the audience, before they erupted in cheers once more. Some had felt a definite confusion when they realized the usual white blur that shot past every other umamusume wasn't present in this race, but their excitement burnt even brighter once they realized that there wasn't anyone who could obviously dominate over the others.
"Dicta Striker takes the lead, with Sakura Chiyono O and Obey Your Master just behind her!"
Dicta Striker took a deep breath.
She hadn't really intended to take the lead—it just happened. She'd just immediately fired one of her {Yellow Bullets} the moment she heard the gates slam open. After all, the most important thing she had to do was to prime her {Railgun}, and she still wasn't quite sure if there was another way doing that without emptying out all her {Yellow Bullets}.
But this wasn't the worst outcome. Having the lead in a race as competitive as this wasn't a bad feeling in the slightest!
"Yaeno Muteki and Super Creek are trading for 4th place!"
Yaeno Muteki frowned slightly as she surged past Super Creek.
She wasn't quite sure what it was, but her instincts screamed that something about this race was off. There was an unseen variable she hadn't considered—something with enough power to tilt the entire trajectory of this race.
Everything seemed as usual. Without Star to tilt the pack forward, everyone seemed to have settled into their usual positions. It was almost a perfect copy of the positions everyone had taken back in the [Takarazuka Kinen].
Yet she kept herself vigilant. Her instincts had rarely been wrong before, and she kept her guard up—she was ready to make any sudden adjustments the moment something happened.
"Belno Light takes 5th place, and Mejiro Ardan is just behind her!"
"Tamamo Cross and Inari One are in the far back! Are they preparing for a Great Chase!?"
Tamamo Cross silently narrowed her eyes as she ran beside Inari One, who'd been grinning ear-to-ear from the moment the gates opened. There wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes, and she gazed forward with a confidence that bordered almost on arrogance. Wisps of flames licked at her calves as she ran, scorching the Turf below her cleats.
This rookie really was scary. The sheer speed at which she improved was unnatural. Not even Oguri or Star had improved as fast as she did. Had she raced against Inari herself just a few months before, she could've almost deceived herself that Inari was a Senior who'd recently returned to the sport.
But she wasn't. She was a rookie through and through.
It made this fox all the scarier.
"They've reached the first corner!"
The second {Yellow Bullet} was fired, and Dicta narrowed her eyes as she lengthened her lead. She was already rounding the first corner, and yet she's only managed to fire her second {Yellow Bullet}. At this rate, she'd empty her barrel by the time the final corner came about.
It was the ideal scenario. By that time, the others should've started using their Domains, and it'd be the perfect moment for her own {Railgun} to make its debut.
Behind her in 2nd place, Obey Your Master reached a similar conclusion as she watched Dicta surge ahead. A faint smirk curled her lips as she narrowed her eyes, and her smirk grew further when she felt a sudden heat wash across the track.
Her foot stomped deep into the ground. She bent her knees forward, letting her body hover almost horizontally across the Turf. And with a deep breath, her eyes sharpened as she suddenly lunged forward.
"Obey Your Master is accelerating!?"
"Dicta Striker's lead is shrinking!"
Dicta's eyes widened as she heard Obey approaching. And before she even had the time to look back, Obey was suddenly by her side, her blue eyes colored gold with the faint outline of stars. "You-!?"
"Obey Your Master has taken the lead as we enter the second straight!"
Obey smirked.「I won't let it be that easy, Ms. Striker.」
She scowled. Fuck, what the hell did Obey just say? She didn't just get called a slur or something, right!?
Tch. Whatever. That wasn't important.
She grit her teeth, and her speed climbed even further as she fired her third {Yellow Bullet}. She raced past Obey, though any satisfaction she felt was doused when she saw the way Obey smirked. And her spirits soured even further when Obey suddenly accelerated, taking back the lead with ease.
「I'm not the one you should be gazing at, Ms. Striker.」She said.
"Obey Your Master and Dicta Striker are closing in on the third corner!"
"Speak Japanese, you-!"
But before she could finish her words, her throat suddenly went dry as she felt a great heat wash over the track. Not a moment after, the hairs on her arms stood up as lightning suddenly streaked across the skies. Then the world itself seemed to darken despite the clear skies above, and Dicta's pupils shrunk as a spiralling nebula suddenly burst into life in front of her.
Domain Awakening—
{Foxfire Flare}!
{Descent of Susanoo}!
{Wild Joker}!
Three Domains burst to life at nearly the same instance. Reality screamed as cracks spread across the skies, and suddenly the veil of mysticism shattered, allowing normal humans to gaze at the blessings of the Three Goddesses.
"I-IT'S HERE!"
"Are you fuckin' kidding me!?" Dicta shouted in indignation as Obey suddenly surged forward with so much speed that even her last {Yellow Bullet} couldn't close the gap. And she grit her teeth as a wall of foxfire suddenly slammed into her, followed by maddened laughter as Inari One surged past her. "Did y'all plan this!?"
"'Course not." Came Tamamo's answer, her entire body hardly visible within the god of lightning that shrouded her. "It's jus' that Inari's a real good timer ta' use." Her voice echoed as she exploded past her.
Dicta scowled as she slammed a fist into her chest. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by the sudden pressure that'd descended across the entire track, and suddenly it felt much harder to try and grasp her own Domain.
She wasn't unfamiliar with the pressure of three Domains; she'd faced it back in the [Takarazuka Kinen]. But there she was at least given some time to adjust to the sudden weight.
But here? She wasn't given the same luxury.
"Sakura Chiyono O has slowed-, Mejiro Ardan and Yaeno Muteki as well!?"
"I-Is the pressure too much for them!?"
Indeed it was. All three of them immediately began falling behind, weighed down by this sudden spike of otherworldly pressure. Their bodies felt heavy, their minds hazy, and their legs refused to accelerate like they'd normally be able to. Such was the weakness of not having their own Domains to shield themselves.
And it was only about to get worse.
The ground below flashed black and white, and streams of white and blank ink seemed to swirl across the skies. Reality seemed to stutter for a moment, before a booming horn sounded from the back of the pack.
Suddenly, the ground began trembling as dozens of steps seemed to pound into the earth at the same time and Ardan's eyes widened as she saw that torrent of white and black morph into a battalion of a dozen armored individuals, each with a spear in their right hand and a rounded shield in their left.
And behind them was Belno Light, her eyes burning like molten coal.
Partial Domain Awakening—
{Phalanx of the Divine General}!
Luckily, by that point the three most affected by the Domains' pressure had fallen behind Belno, and so they were only mildly slowed down as Belno surged ahead.
The same could not be said for Dicta Striker, who stood right in the path of all those spears.
"Oh come on." And barely a second after Dicta uttered those words, her pupils shrunk as she three spears slammed into her back. A dizzying weakness struck her then, and her vision swam. The world turned into an indistinct blur as she barely managed to catch Belno surging past her.
"It's the final corner!"
"Obey Your Master, Inari One, and Tamamo Cross are fighting for the lead! Belno Light is quickly approaching!"
"Only Dicta Striker and Super Creek have maintained their speed! Can they catch up!?"
By this point, Dicta was feeling more than aggrieved. She was completely out of breath, her body felt like it was being chained, and her head was spinning. She was not having a good time.
And so anger burnt. It burnt low in her gut, churning as flames that quickly grew into a raging hellfire as she watched Belno's back shrink further and further into the distance. She'd fallen far behind her expectations—she should've been together with them in the final corner by this point!
That unpleasant burning grew and grew, and it felt as if a second sun was churning inside her body. The feeling of weakness that pulled her down was being overwhelmed, melted away as bright blue sparks began blooming behind her.
And as her yellow eyes glowed bright blue, an enraged grin curled her lips as she roared. "COME BACK, YOU BASTARDS!"
Domain Awakening—
{Railgun}!
The world froze for a moment, and then a sonic boom exploded across the air as Dicta Striker lunged ahead with such speed that she turned into a blur. Her acceleration was unmatched, her power uncontestable. And in just a few seconds, Dicta had closed the gap between her and Belno.
Her grin turned feral, and with a roar she slammed right into the ghostly phalanx that surrounded Belno.
And just like what happened back in the [Sapporo Kinen], her {Railgun} shattered right through the shields those armored ghosts had put up. Belno's Domain trembled as it began falling apart.
Or at least that's what should've happened.
Her pupils shrunk as, instead, she felt herself slowing down. Her powerful acceleration of her {Railgun} helped offset some of it, but that insane speed she'd built up had been cut apart. And she grit her teeth as Belno began speeding up once more, quickly beginning to close the distance between them.
Her eyes widened as she looked back. Because Belno's Domain remained intact. It wasn't as big—those armored ghosts she'd shattered were still gone, but the phalanx defending her was still present.
And now, Dicta was right in her path. If Belno caught up to her, she would get skewered again.
Like hell she'd let that happen!
Dicta roared as she charged ahead with all her might. Blue sparks exploded behind her as she began speeding up once more. Belno smiled faintly as she continued accelerating as well, intent on catching up with the three in the lead.
"Inari One has taken the lead!"
"We're approaching the final straight!"
…
Settled comfortably in 6th place, Super Creek finally smiled as her eyes darkened.