Chapter 170: A Stage Called the Golden Generation
Just as she came out of the bend, Seiun Sky didn't need to look back—she could tell something was terribly wrong just from the sounds.
She knew her own abilities very well.
Among her same-year friends who were also her fiercest rivals, if you compared speed, endurance, or strength, she wasn't the strongest in any of them.
If she had to name one thing she could be proud of… it was probably just that she used her head a little better than the others.
In countless past races, she had always been able to foresee the situations that might unfold. Every time, her predictions were right on the mark, eight or nine times out of ten.
But what she could never predict was victory or defeat.
This race was the same. She had already reviewed every past encounter with Special Week and Grass Wonder, analyzed their every race, thought about it for a long time, and discussed it thoroughly with her former trainer before they finally settled on the strategy she was using now.
Was it effective? Up until one second ago, it had worked beautifully.
But now, it was like her plan never existed at all.
She had expected that Special Week and Grass Wonder would likely get caught up in that strange competitive state of theirs and end up locking horns again—but she didn't expect them to keep fighting each other and still charge forward anyway.
Her once 5-length lead might as well have been a lie; the moment she stepped into the homestretch, she caught sight of the two behind her streaking forward like lightning and thunder.
Their figures expanded in an instant, the outlines blurring from their sheer acceleration, like two roiling storm clouds threatening to swallow her whole.
The ragged breathing and heavy footsteps behind her grew sharper and louder.
Special Week's breathing was especially rough—every exhale mixed with a low growl, nothing like her usual airheaded self. She sounded like she hadn't eaten in days, and it was honestly terrifying.
Grass Wonder's steps were even heavier; each footfall pounded like a war drum, hammering against Seiun Sky's heart, making it feel like Grass Wonder might swing down a naginata or some other terrifying weapon at any moment.
The track beneath her feet became a massive drumhead, vibrating with every breath and footstep behind her—each tremor transmitting the overwhelming force of the pursuit closing in.
If that were all, she could have dealt with it.
But in her peripheral vision, she caught not only Special Week and Grass Wonder.
Blocked by the two during their clash, at the exact moment the bend transitioned into the straight, El Condor Pasa found a fleeting opening and sliced inward with a gaze sharp enough to pierce the air itself.
Her entire form was like her namesake—an eagle diving from the heavens to capture its prey, wrapped in sheer, lethal momentum.
Or like a bow that had been drawn to its limit, waiting only for the moment the prey relaxed, firing forth with unstoppable force.
For a brief moment, Seiun Sky felt as though the very air behind her had been torn open.
The gust of wind generated by that strike cut rolled forward, brushing against her back. She felt the air on her skin shift violently—a chill racing up her spine, yet mingled with a blazing, feverish heat.
As the alternating waves of hot and cold crashed over her, she shuddered, and memories of the academy flickered through her mind.
Those days, too, had been filled with that same ragged breathing, those same heavy footsteps, the salty tang of sweat—going to school, going home, training, racing, over and over.
Feeling it again now, she felt as though she had returned to those past race days.
Sigh~~ again and again…
All I ever wanted was to run easy and carefree, not fight you all to the death…
Yeah, right.
Both the memories and the sentiment vanished in an instant.
Her ears twitched from the roaring sounds shaking her chest, and as she caught glimpses of the fast-approaching shadows behind her, her teeth tingled—but her lips curled upward.
"We've known each other this long—of course you already knew I was joking about taking it easy!"
Growling low, clinging to the determination to protect her lead and to see who would laugh last, she gritted her teeth. Strength surged once more into her gradually tiring arms and legs.
"They've caught up! They've caught up!"
The commentator's voice echoed through the broadcast, practically vibrating with applause-like excitement:
"Final stretch—400 meters remaining! El Condor Pasa— she's caught up after all!"
"Seiun Sky's once 5-length lead has shrunk to less than 2 lengths! Behind her are El Condor Pasa, Special Week, and Grass Wonder!"
"But Seiun Sky is still fighting desperately to hold them off!"
"And meanwhile! Further behind!"
"What astonishing judgement! King Halo!"
"Previously blocked by Butterfly Orchid and Erimo Harrier, she had no lane to advance—but when Stay Gold cut inward for position, the two had no choice but to move!"
"In that very instant, King Halo surged forward along the path carved open by El Condor Pasa!"
"Mejiro Dober was a step slower, but she too is following close behind!"
"300 meters! And on the outside—!"
"Matikanefukukitaru's judgement is just as sharp; she's taken the position Stay Gold vacated, and now she and Mejiro Bright are closing in from the far outside!
"In the lead is Seiun Sky!"
"On the inside are El Condor Pasa, Special Week, and Grass Wonder, close on her tail!"
"Right behind them, King Halo and Mejiro Dober!"
"And on the outer flank, determined to capture Seiun Sky who has led since the very start, come Matikanefukukitaru and Mejiro Bright!
"Only 200 meters remain! This dreamlike Dream Trophy is about to reach its conclusion, but—
"This!
"THIS is the stage known as the Golden Generation!"
The stands were already packed, the spectators on their feet, their feverish gazes locked onto the lightning-fast silhouettes racing across the turf. Their soaring, fervent voices poured out every drop of passion they had.
But on the track, the Umamusume sprinting at full speed gradually shut out the outside world, immersing themselves completely in their own velocity.
Special Week's peripheral vision never left the figure beside her.
Grass Wonder was like a shadow she could never shake off—ever since the day they met, she had always been right there, entangled with her.
It was the same now. Their stride rhythms were almost identical; even in the midst of their frantic breathing, she could feel Grass Wonder's breath.
But her eyes were fixed straight ahead.
Seiun Sky still had power left—Special Week finally understood her friend and rival's intentions. It wasn't the same tactic as the old Kikuka Sho, but it was something just as troublesome, something achingly familiar.
El Condor Pasa's surge was too familiar as well—that razor-sharp intensity, that overwhelming force. For a moment, Special Week felt like a helpless lamb on an open plain, snatched away by a lightning-fast shadow.
But the trouble and illusion lasted only a moment.
The next instant, her lips pressed into a stubborn line, and her strides pounded the track hard enough to break it.
She was drawing out every last drop of strength from her entire body, firing it toward the rapidly approaching finish line.
King Halo stared ahead at the opponents she had clashed with again and again.
Old frustration and her unyielding refusal to ever concede welled up inside her.
Born of the same generation, they were like shining stars in the sky—always blazing ahead of her.
And she, always chasing from the darkness, only catching her own light at the very end.
But at this moment, she could see that dawn again. She felt like an unsheathed blade, ready to cut down every obstacle before her and reclaim her rightful place of glory.
Matikanefukukitaru believed firmly that the goddess of fate was smiling upon her. Stay Gold's diagonal shift had opened the perfect space for her—this, she felt, was destiny itself arranging the path, the goddess's blessing shining upon her.
And in Mejiro Bright's perception, she was like a train racing along its tracks—isolated from all noise, immersed in her own rhythm, silently pouring out power as she hurtled toward the finish.
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https://www.patreon.com/collection/1617249?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1617249?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/155512898?collection=1617249
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/155512898?collection=1617249
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1617249?view=condensed