"With 500 meters left, Seiun Ryoka still holds an unshakable lead. Roughly twenty lengths behind her is Brittany, who's gone all-out in pursuit and managed to close the gap a little, but still can't catch her. One length behind Brittany is North Wind, and she—"
Seeing just how overwhelming Ryoka's advantage was, the host felt the tension he had been forcing up finally settle back into his chest. His voice still rose and fell dramatically, but anyone sharp enough could hear it: he was no longer expecting some outrageous last-second upset.
But at that very moment, Sanctuary Scion moved.
Having dropped to the very back of the pack because of Ryoka's pace change, she let out a hoarse, all-out cry, then in the blink of an eye blew past three runners and came up shoulder-to-shoulder with North Wind.
"At her side is the suddenly accelerating Sanctuary Scion—no! She's left North Wind behind!" The host sounded as if he'd just been injected with adrenaline, abruptly growing excited all over again, because Sanctuary Scion's burst of acceleration was terrifyingly fierce. And her running style looked strikingly similar to Seiun Ryoka's. Could there still be hope?
The commentator began talking over him at once. "Not just North Wind—even Brittany has been overtaken by Sanctuary Scion! Could it be that this horse girl, who lay low for nearly the entire race, is finally drawing her blade of rebellion against the undefeated queen?!"
What were the host and commentator shouting about? Sanctuary Scion did not care in the slightest. All she could hear was the wind shrieking past her ears. The only thing reflected in her eyes was the lone figure racing ahead of her.
She did not even have room in her mind to wonder whether she had managed to encourage North Wind, who had looked so dispirited.
There was no helping it. Once you stepped onto the track, there was no mental space left for anything else.
Run, then win. That was the wish engraved into the heart of every horse girl, and their one and only objective.
Once they were on the track, there was no room for sentimentality, no room for friendship. What mattered was giving everything they had. Even if it meant making the person they treasured most drink the bitterness of defeat, they still had to seize victory. In their eyes, there was only victory.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Sanctuary Scion completely let herself loose. She judged that this was the perfect moment to make her move.
The stamina she had conserved until now instantly transformed into a dragon breaking free of its chains, baring its fangs and roaring alongside the instinct for racing buried deep in her blood.
This was the hour to strike down the king.
Push off. Swing the arms. Sprint.
The air screamed sharply at her ears. Everything in her field of vision flew backward. Only that one figure ahead was growing larger and larger.
There was no mysterious glow, no roaring flame, no fearsome frost. Only the purest strength and speed. Sanctuary Scion became a sharp arrow flashing with a cold edge, hurtling straight at Seiun Ryoka's back.
Twenty lengths?
How could the distance between her and someone dear to her possibly be that far?
Was it really that far? She was a horse girl, wasn't she? Then all she had to do was cross that distance with her own two legs. Wasn't that only natural?
"U-unbelievable… this is simply unbelievable!" The host's voice shook. Just moments ago, he had thought the race was already over, but Sanctuary Scion had suddenly handed him the shock of a lifetime.
The commentator immediately seized the floor. "With 500 meters remaining, Sanctuary Scion has unleashed an incredible finishing burst! The distance between her and Seiun Ryoka has been cut to fifteen leng—"
"Good heavens! The distance is still shrinking at an astonishing rate! We can't even speak fast enough to keep up with the updates coming in! Without question, she is the deadliest assassin in this field! She is charging straight at the world-conquering emperor herself in a challenge from which there can be no retreat!"
The host and commentator exchanged a glance, then shouted almost in unison:
"This is a duel that belongs to them alone!"
From the look of things, no other horse girl had any chance of catching up to them now, let alone dragging the race back into a chaotic melee. This was a one-on-one duel.
World-class Horse King Seiun Ryoka, and Sanctuary Scion, with her outstanding aptitude for long-distance racing.
Which one of them would take this race?
Most of the crowd believed it would be the former. Still, plenty among them were moved by Sanctuary Scion's grit and fearsome finishing kick, and had begun to like this otherwise understated horse girl. Only a minority wanted the latter to win—and among that minority, a tiny few believed she absolutely would.
Because Seiun Ryoka still had not used her Domain.
Why not? Was it because she didn't want to? Or because she couldn't?
Everyone knew Domains were miracles unique to horse girls—but even miracles had to obey the laws of physics. If a runner no longer had the stamina to activate or sustain her Domain, then she would naturally fall into the predicament of being unable to use it, or unable to keep it up.
And so Sanctuary Scion's friends judged that the odds of her overtaking Seiun Ryoka and ending the emperor's undefeated legend were very high.
But in the eyes of the Japanese horse girls, Ryoka's actions pointed to something else entirely:
Boring. Turned it off.
That was almost universally what they thought. Little Seiun / Seiun / Lady Seiun definitely just wanted to enjoy the sheer joy of racing more, and more, and more.
Lose the race? As if.
At the last 200 meters, Seiun Ryoka's ears twitched. She could hear the footsteps and ragged breathing right behind her with perfect clarity.
She could even picture it: icy air pouring savagely into the lungs, bringing with it a scorching pain; legs grown heavy as lead; the exhaustion surging upward no matter how fiercely one shouted.
The corners of Ryoka's lips curled—not because she knew how exhausted Sanctuary Scion was, but because even at the brink of physical and mental exhaustion, Sanctuary Scion still held her rhythm. Her eyes were fixed only on the road ahead, on the track beneath her feet that demanded the strongest possible will to conquer.
Of course, Ryoka believed Sanctuary Scion could see her as well.
Because Seiun Ryoka was the final enemy standing before Sanctuary Scion—before every horse girl in this race.
The host, face flushed and eyes blazing, roared, "Shoulder to shoulder! With 200 meters remaining, Sanctuary Scion has caught Seiun Ryoka! She's caught Seiun Ryoka!"
This was something the crowd had never anticipated. Countless jaws dropped, countless eyes widened, all of them shaken speechless by Sanctuary Scion's astonishing performance.
Before this, hardly anyone had placed such lofty hopes on Sanctuary Scion. Only a very small handful had believed she might become Seiun Ryoka's final rival in this race.
Now, everyone knew.
And because they were so deeply shaken, the roar of the crowd briefly thinned out, as though even their voices had forgotten how to sound. But as the volume dipped, they came back to themselves, and wave after wave of cheers once again became the dominant sound filling the course.
Their voices were like spring tides suddenly breaking free of the ice, booming across the autumn skies above Doncaster.
But to the two horse girls themselves, the powerful beating in their chests rang like great temple bells, drowning out every other sound in the world.
Running side by side, they each caught sight of the other from the corner of their eye.
join here to read ahead.
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo 269
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 430
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Completed)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Completed)
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed)
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 328
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 2/104
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.)
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 135
Supernatural Multiverse 266
My Harem Is Indescribable 120
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 130
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120
What Should I Do After Switchi 85
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Transmigrated as Sukuna 2/70
Checking In in Demon Slayer 105
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 120
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 200
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 90
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 105
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 194
Why did they assign me to Uma 100
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 120
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 240
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! (Completed)
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 85
I'm Definitely Not the King of 245
After Maxing Out Every Class 259
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 229
I, the Elden Sword Saint 90
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 2/35
No One Knows Pokémon Better 75
From Trilobites to Titans 80
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 2/96
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 238
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 110
Honkai: The Fire Devil 3/22
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume3/55
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 207
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 115
At age 8, she co-starred with 86
Honkai: Schicksal Media 185
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 134
Chainsaw Man, but I'm Aatrox Volume2/28
Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 70
DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 191
Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried! 80
Detective Conan: My Whole 70
Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 188
In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 60
Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 70
Honkai: I Really Never Intended to Start a Harem! 76
Becoming a Warrior of Light 68
Ares, the Most Cautious God of War Volume2/71
After the Succubus Armor Turned 60
In Jujutsu Kaisen, Starting Off with Hextech Mayhem 93
Honkai: I'll Just Transform and Punch You 120
Multiverse Anime: God's Corner Café 105
Roguelike Infinity: Why Is My Gacha Pool Full of Anime Heroines? 96
Honkai: Star Rail — Emanator 117
Subaru Natsuki, Returned from Three Kingdoms 56
Honkai: I Started Out by Making Contact with March 7th 102
Honkai: Star Rail, but with a Chat Group 93
Yu-Gi-Oh!: I'll NTR Yours 62
Crossover: The Necromancer Traveling with Elaina 66
In Azur Lane, 720P Isn't About Image Quality 65
Genshin Impact: In Teyvat, I Became Sandrone 49
The Weixing People Join the Chat Group 35
Honkai: Everyday Life with Everyone 35
patreon / Queen_sin