Seiun Sky's figure emerged at the very front.
Putting distance between herself and Nice Nature and Ikuno Dictus behind her, no matter how those two pushed their pace, they just couldn't seem to close the gap on that retreating form.
"We debuted around the same time, so how can the gap be this huge!"
Nice Nature and Ikuno Dictus couldn't help but think it. They knew Seiun Sky was strong, that her natural talent for running surpassed theirs.
But they never imagined the difference would be this vast.
This was the Seiun Sky who, even with a disqualification for veering, still managed to defeat Super Creek!
Whether it was King Halo, Special Week, or Seiun Sky herself, they all seemed somewhat overshadowed by Barbatos and El Condor Pasa, appearing only slightly stronger than the rest.
But only by actually facing them, by truly racing against them, could you understand the real gap between you.
Even if the bright moon is dimmed by the sun's radiance, the chasm between it and a firefly remains vast and real.
How could the faint glimmer of a firefly ever compare to the glow of the moon?
However.
Nice Nature and Ikuno Dictus weren't about to lose heart.
Knowing the gap meant they now had a direction to chase in. Even if there was a distance between them and Seiun Sky now…
Seiun Sky barely trained, so they could bridge that gap by putting in more work themselves.
"Guess we'll have to cut down on our strategy meetings a bit more and make up the difference with extra practice!"
What surprised them was that the usually lazy Seiun Sky was going all out now—at least, in their eyes, she was definitely giving it her all.
Given her relationship with Barbatos, they had originally thought Seiun Sky might go a little easy.
After all, Barbatos probably felt some pressure over this distance too. Pushing too hard risked the leg injury the doctor had warned about flaring up again.
--+--
"So fast!"
Barbatos's gaze was fixed on Seiun Sky leading the pack, even as she calculated her path past Nice Nature and Ikuno Dictus.
This was her second time racing Seiun Sky.
The last time was right after school started, when she, Seiun Sky, Urara, and El Condor Pasa had that impromptu race.
Back then, she hadn't yet acquired "Kassadin," lacked the ability to ignore unit collision, and couldn't go all out on the grass track, leaving her and Urara trailing far behind.
But now… 'I'll catch you!'
Liking Seiun Sky didn't mean she'd hold back during a race.
Respecting each other meant giving it your all, showing your strength, letting the other see your true power.
[Highlander] and [Ghost] activated in an instant.
She didn't need to worry about the strain stacking skills put on her body.
Besides, combining [Highlander], [Ghost], [Predator], and all her passive speed boosts shouldn't be too taxing.
She'd won plenty of races with this combo. Last time, the issue was stacking even more skills on top.
So these three together were probably her body's limit.
It was a decent excuse to reassure Minamizaka, Seiun Sky, and her friends—she just had to leave out the part about the skills.
Barbatos's speed skyrocketed, instantly blowing past Urara, who was running ahead of her. She could tell from Urara's condition that the other girl was already exhausted.
Even though she was at the back, Urara had probably gone all out from the start.
Just like Twin Turbo, who shot to the front immediately. But Urara's runaway style only seemed to land her in last place, almost like she was using the same chasing tactic as Barbatos herself.
'Hang in there!'
She cheered silently for Urara in her heart.
Without slowing in the slightest, she entered the third turn and, boosted by her skills, swept past Twin Turbo, who had already entered her "reverse thrusters" state.
'If Urara can keep this up, she might just pass Twin Turbo before the finish line.'
'Twin Turbo's top speed isn't low, but she can't maintain it.'
'If she could build her stamina through training, she'd have what it takes to compete in G2 races.'
That was Barbatos's assessment. Not that she needed to tell Twin Turbo—Minamizaka had surely analyzed it more thoroughly.
"I'm done for!"
As Barbatos blew past her, Twin Turbo felt utterly powerless.
She wanted to chase, but her legs ached, her lungs felt ready to burst, and she had nothing left to accelerate with.
A gap had also opened between Nice Nature and Ikuno Dictus.
Nice Nature held second place, leading by a narrow margin, while Ikuno Dictus strained to monitor the movements behind her, ready to see if she could somehow mark Barbatos.
The next moment.
Their eyes widened as if they'd been plunged into hell. An immense pressure bore down on them from behind.
That was… a Zone!
In a simple test run to see if she'd fully recovered, Barbatos had unleashed her Zone!
The Zone was still a legendary concept to them, something they'd never truly touched. Even when Barbatos used it in races, or when the Heisei Trio activated theirs during relay marathons…
They could never truly see it. They could only feel the pressure, the aura it emitted, and the speed boost it granted.
But the pressure felt from the stands, the aura sensed from the spectators' seats…
It was completely different from experiencing it on the track.
Cold sweat beaded on Ikuno Dictus's brow. Now she understood why other racers slowed down when an Uma Musume activated her Zone.
It was suppression by pure presence. It felt like the very courage to run at full speed was being stripped away.
A fierce wind roar screamed past her ears. Heavy, thudding footsteps were right beside her, then gone without a pause, without any back-and-forth struggle.
Barbatos's figure flashed past her in an instant, offering no chance for a challenge.
"No way!"
It was the same for both her and Nice Nature.
See the gap between themselves and Barbatos? This was a "Prodigy of the Era"… The difference was even greater than they'd imagined.
Barbatos's terrifying form blitzed past the third and second-place runners, closing in directly on Seiun Sky.
The Seiun Sky they couldn't hope to catch was, under Barbatos's speed, seeing her lead shrink rapidly.
Only 300 meters to go!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.