Barbatos finished her warm-up and changed into her racing silks.
In typical practice heats, the girls wouldn't bother with their official attire.
But when Symboli Rudolf stepped out in her full regalia, showing just how seriously she took this, Barbatos wasn't about to be left behind.
She had never viewed a mock race as "just" practice.
To her, every run carried the weight of a true championship.
Side by side, they walked toward the starting line of the training track.
"Before the summer training camp, I thought I'd have to wait until the Winter Dream Cup at the end of the year to challenge the 'Absolute' again," Barbatos remarked. "I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"Heh, in a way, I guess I'm just lucky."
As Barbatos spoke, a verdant gale began to swirl around her, centering on her frame as her Zone snapped open.
Facing the Absolute Uma Musume, she wouldn't hold back a single ounce of her strength.
"Who knows? Maybe today I'll plant the seeds for my victory at the Dream Cup."
Barbatos had noticed a pattern: as the year wound down, the physical condition of the Legend Uma Musume tended to dip slightly.
If the Legends at the Winter Dream Cup were at 100% peak performance, they were currently sitting at roughly 97%.
Since the start of the summer camp, there had been a 1% fluctuation—a margin nearly invisible to outsiders, but crystal clear to Barbatos.
This insight was exactly why she reigned as the strongest miler and sprinter beneath the Emperor's shadow.
Even if the Legends returned to full strength by winter, she was confident she wouldn't lose.
She was stronger now, and she would only continue to grow.
Facing a 97% Rudolf, she believed she could seize a victory here in this mock race, planting a seed of doubt in the Emperor's "Absolute" status.
If she could break that aura of invincibility now, she could pave the way for a grand upset against a peak Symboli Rudolf in the winter.
Her Zone bloomed—a pressure so intense it could stun a hornet or leave a grown man breathless.
Yet, to Rudolf, it was nothing more than a gentle breeze. It merely ruffled the ends of her hair, somehow making the Emperor's presence feel even more commanding.
Rudolf simply tilted her head. "It isn't luck. You have the talent to back it up."
"Even for me, at a mile distance and not quite at my peak, a guaranteed victory isn't a given. Therefore..." Rudolf's eyes sharpened. "I'll be taking a page out of your playbook this time."
A majestic, overbearing aura radiated from her.
Unlike Barbatos or other girls whose Zones hit like a physical weight the moment they activated, Rudolf's transition was seamless.
To a human or a girl who hadn't mastered the Zone, she looked the same as she had moments ago. But to those in the know, the title of "Emperor"—the "Absolute Uma Musume"—suddenly felt much more literal.
Standing right next to her, Barbatos felt it most acutely.
The moment Symboli Rudolf unleashed her power, a sense of "unbeatability" clawed at Barbatos's heart. It was a feeling no other Legend—not even Narita Brian or T.M. Opera O—had ever managed to evoke.
This was the Emperor's Zone.
During the last Winter Dream Cup, by the time Rudolf had opened her Zone, Barbatos had already been spent, her stamina drained to zero.
The gap had widened, and the crushing pressure from the other Legends had muddied the experience. She hadn't truly felt the raw essence of the Emperor's domain until now.
"Heh."
Barbatos looked Rudolf straight in the eye, her fighting spirit burning brighter.
This was what the strongest in Japanese history looked like.
This was the Absolute.
There was no room for dread, no fear of another crushing defeat.
She cast the feeling of "unbeatable" out of her mind.
Emperor? Absolute?
That streak would end at this year's Winter Dream Cup. But before facing the Emperor at her peak, she would first claim victory here, in the distance she knew best.
"I'm not losing this time!"
"I've heard that many times before," Rudolf replied with calm composure. She left the second half of that thought unsaid: And no one has ever succeeded.
Before the race even began, the sheer competitive intent between the challenger and the champion electrified the air at the starting line.
"Ready!"
Taiki Shuttle, her breath hitching with excitement, raised the starting flag.
As the next best miler after Barbatos among the active roster, she was about to witness a clash between the strongest of the current era and the greatest of all time.
"Go!"
The two girls, who had been chatting seconds ago, reacted with the instinct of seasoned pros. The moment the flag dropped, they exploded from the marks.
Neither possessed Silence Suzuka's "Flash"-like start that instantly vaporized the gap—even Suzuka herself couldn't pull that off in a heat like this—yet Rudolf still managed to eke out an early lead.
Barbatos tucked in tightly behind Rudolf's shoulder, using her slipstream to reduce wind resistance. Her eyes were locked on the figure in front of her.
Even with her Zone at full throttle and her passive skills providing a steady boost, she was still half a step slower than the Emperor.
But she didn't panic.
The moment she entered the Zone, the world narrowed down to two things: the track and Symboli Rudolf. Her mind was unnervingly clear.
If we maintain this pace, she'll have a three-length lead by the final straight.
I could make that up with skills, but this is the Emperor. She couldn't afford to play it safe or hold back her "ultimate" for the final stretch. To do so would be negligent—a total insult to the Emperor of Japan.
Conservative estimates suggested that even while running within her Zone, Rudolf was holding back at least three bursts of finishing speed, if not more.
The Legends of the past might not have faced the same level of "power creep" as the current generation, but their years of experience meant their stamina was never a weakness.
Under the blessing of the Three Goddesses, they could maintain their peak forms, though it caused their condition to drop faster afterward.
The gap widened.
One length...
One and a half...
Six hundred meters of the 1,600-meter race had vanished, and the distance was stretching toward two lengths.
The spectating girls, including Minamizaka and Toujou Hana, remained silent.
They knew Rudolf's terrifying power, but they also knew Barbatos was just getting started.
"Here it comes," Toujou Hana whispered.
As she spoke, a monstrous, invisible pressure swept across the field.
A blood-red aura surged forth, weaving into Barbatos's verdant gale. Suddenly, Rudolf stopped pulling away. The gap stabilized, then, inch by agonizing inch, Barbatos began to close in.
After two months of mock races, especially within the Rigil base, Toujou Hana had gathered a mountain of data on Barbatos.
She could predict exactly when the girl would accelerate or when she would stack her Double or Triple Zones.
It was an open secret; Team Canopus had similarly scouted the Rigil Legends.
For 99.9% of trainers and girls, such data was useless. Even with all the stats in the world, they couldn't overcome the gap, let alone qualify for the Winter Dream Cup.
But for Canopus? This data was the key to a miracle.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.