"The field has now entered the middle stretch, and still out in front is Number Two, Tokai Teio. Running second and third behind her are Number Four, Honor Guard, and Number One, Kashima Tosho."
"And in fourth place behind them..."
The commentator continued his careful play-by-play of the race, yet even he himself failed to notice that Zhigaotian—the girl he had held some expectations for before the race—had been quietly overlooked by his own narration. Her name was mentioned only in passing.
At the same time, Tokai Teio, who was still maintaining her lead at the front of the pack, showed no sign of joy on her face.
That sense of danger was still there, lodged deep in her heart.
Teio had never felt anything like this before. The unease kept warning her over and over that something was wrong.
And Teio was not some stubborn idiot. With such an intense sense of crisis bearing down on her, even a fool would have realized that something was off.
But when she swept her eyes across the pack once more, the answer she got was still the same:
nothing.
Even so, she had already figured out who the culprit was.
It was that purple figure—the one she had nearly overlooked.
She could not detect anything unusual about the girl, but it was precisely because of that that Teio had found the answer.
If not for the conversation and wager they had exchanged before the race, which had made her pay attention to Zhigaotian again, she really might have been fooled for the entire race.
Realizing that, Teio steadied herself once more.
As the horse girl leading from the very front, Tokai Teio had an absolute positional advantage. The price for that, of course, was having to face the pressure of the entire field.
Well... except for a breakaway frontrunner.
Ordinarily, the other horse girls should not have posed any real threat to her.
But that was only if Zhigaotian was excluded from consideration.
That purple girl was someone she absolutely could not afford to underestimate.
Even so, all she had to do was guard against that one girl.
All she had to do was hold on to the advantage she already possessed.
"Heh-heh... looks like this is Teio-sama's victory after all..."
Tokai Teio declared her impending triumph with complete confidence.
So she noticed...
Lurking within the pack, Zhigaotian picked up on the minute change in Tokai Teio's behavior.
So it was the promise we made before the race that made you remember me—the assassin?
...
A correct shot always hits the target.
If it does not, then that can only mean the shooter has allowed unnecessary feelings toward the mark.
By all logic, a target should have no face, no memories, no family, no friends.
If someone could sense such things, then they were unfit for this work.
And yet, she had still chosen Tokai Teio.
But then again, she was not truly that Zhigaotian—the real assassin.
She had only projected that other self's memories and abilities onto herself.
Still, even so, she was not arrogant enough to expose her own weakness before the race.
True, she was not a professional assassin.
But amateurs had their own ways of winning too.
So she had prepared for this from the very beginning.
Every one of Teio's moves still lay within her expectations.
She held her breath.
All for the sake of bringing down her target in a single strike...
It would all be over soon.
"The race is now past the halfway point, and Tokai Teio still has victory firmly in her grasp... though the other horse girls have not given up."
Or rather...
they had no choice but to keep going.
The pack began to stir restlessly.
No horse girl stepped onto the track without aiming for victory. So even though Tokai Teio's strength was suffocatingly overwhelming to them, as long as even the slightest chance remained, they would not abandon hope.
Tokai Teio shifted more of her attention onto Zhigaotian, becoming more conservative in order to guard against the fatal blow that could come at any moment.
And that caution, that slight restraint, gave the other horse girls—who had been suppressed by Teio until now—a sliver of room to breathe.
Their sense of the overall race had already been crushed beneath Teio's strength, so all they could do now was blindly scramble for that tiny chance.
Even if making the wrong move meant losing speed, it did not matter.
"These girls..."
But in the end, the one suffering most from this was Tokai Teio.
She was no fool.
She knew perfectly well that this was exactly what that purple girl hidden in the pack wanted.
"So you're using the others as shields to block me... trying to force an opening out of me? Sorry, but Teio-sama is not the kind of horse girl you can beat with a trick like that~"
If they wanted to fight over position, then she would let them have it.
She did not believe that after exhausting themselves to seize that chance, any of them would still have the energy left to challenge her in the final stretch.
Tokai Teio had absolute confidence in her finishing kick.
Even if her opponent was Zhigaotian, that would not change.
So you noticed...
A smile appeared on Zhigaotian's face.
If Tokai Teio had stubbornly thrown a childish fit and started fighting the others for position, Zhigaotian would have found that disappointing instead.
From the very start, her goal had been to challenge Tokai Teio in a pure contest of finishing speed.
Everything else was unnecessary.
"Hah..."
At that thought, the girl let out a breath and adjusted her breathing.
"...Fill."
The breathing techniques of the City really were strange. As her breathing settled, her mind became calm, her reactions seemed to sharpen, and even her body's overall performance felt enhanced.
Now the bowstring was fully drawn.
The moment the arrow was loosed, it would strike true and seal the target's throat.
So are you ready, Tokai Teio?
I am here to deliver your defeat.
The killing intent hidden within those violet eyes could no longer be suppressed.
The instant the race entered its final phase, Tokai Teio felt a terrifying pressure.
She knew then that the thing she had been guarding against all along was finally about to reveal itself.
Hmph.
Then let Teio-sama get a proper look at what you're really capable of.
"Is it coming?"
The "senpai" in the stands, who had been watching the race all along, felt that terrifying presence as well.
It was a truly dangerous aura—
almost like killing intent.
Could a horse girl who had only just debuted really display something like this?
Looks like Rudolf's going to be jealous of me.
To witness a clash like this between two young horse girls...
On that track, she saw the future.
"No matter what, I have to make Rudolf lure that girl into Tracen..."
She could not bear the thought of Zhigaotian going astray for lack of proper guidance.
Of course, Zhigaotian herself had no idea that someone in the stands had already set her sights on her.
The purple-haired girl had given all of her attention to Tokai Teio.
And when she saw Teio begin to accelerate as well, Zhigaotian felt it—
Teio's will to win,
and her will to settle things head-on with her.
Then...
as you wish.
Release the bowstring drawn taut upon that great bow.
Of course, victory is mine.
I will not hand it over to you so easily.
At this moment—
One Shot, Certain Death.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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