The Winter Dream Cup.
It was the annual clash of legends, the only "out-of-bounds" race in the Japanese racing world and the one that carried the most prestige.
From its inception to the present day, only one name had ever graced the winner's circle: Symboli Rudolf.
"After all that traveling, two years later, I'm finally back."
Barbatos stood at the entrance of the paddock tunnel.
The sunlight spilling through the opening dusted her shoulders, making her look like something out of a dream.
Beside her stood Seiun Sky, El Condor Pasa, King Halo, Silence Suzuka, Grass Wonder, and Special Week.
They weren't wearing their usual racing silks today.
Instead, they wore the specialized uniforms provided for the Winter Dream Cup—a unified design for all the legendary Uma Musume, though each bore a distinct color.
"Let's head out."
The other legends were already on the track, greeting the crowd.
Though these girls were competing in the Dream Cup, they were still active racers, so they had chosen to make their entrance together a moment later.
Walking shoulder-to-shoulder, they emerged from the tunnel in a single line.
They didn't let the deafening roar of the grandstands shake them; they were all battle-hardened veterans now, responding to the fans with simple, confident waves.
"Suzuka-chan, we finally get to race together!" Special Week was practically vibrating with excitement.
To her, racing alongside Suzuka seemed even more important than the trophy itself. Silence Suzuka replied with a gentle, knowing smile.
Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa headed toward the densest part of the crowd to exchange final jabs and "trash talk" with their teammates from Rigil.
Barbatos took Seiun Sky's hand and walked toward the section where Team Canopus was seated.
"Minamizaka," she called out, "I might have to apologize in advance for this one."
"?"
"I think after today, people might still say Rigil is the 'strongest' team. But from now on, the new recruits are going to be flocking to Canopus. You'd better start looking into the specifics for our entry exams," Barbatos smirked.
"After all, the Strongest Uma Musume is right here in Canopus."
Minamizaka was speechless for a moment, but a grin quickly broke across his face. "Just win the Dream Cup!"
He didn't have the usual anxieties of a trainer anymore.
The Barbatos standing before him was the most powerful racer he had ever seen.
If Symboli Rudolf was the definition of "Absolute," then he believed Barbatos was the one meant to shatter that definition.
All he had to do was believe.
"We'll win!" Barbatos pumped a fist, then glanced at Urara thoughtfully. "Hey, isn't there a statue of 'The Emperor' outside the Kochi Racecourse?"
"Huh? Yeah, there is!" Urara, who raced at Kochi constantly, chirped back instantly.
It wasn't just Kochi; the four major tracks and many regional ones had statues of Symboli Rudolf.
"There'll probably be one of me soon, too."
If she beat Symboli Rudolf in the Dream Cup, she wasn't sure about the rest of the country, but her hometown of Kochi would definitely put up a monument.
It would bring a massive surge to the local racing industry; everyone would want to see the birthplace of the world's greatest Uma Musume.
"You seem quite certain of yourself."
Before Urara could respond, a voice drifted from behind—the voice of the Student Council President.
Barbatos wasn't surprised. She had known Symboli Rudolf was approaching; her comments were a bit of intentional pre-race psychological warfare.
"Of course," she said, turning around with a playful grin. "The throne has to change hands eventually. This year, it's coming to my house."
"Besides, this race is a 2000m middle-distance. The advantage is mine."
Symboli Rudolf remained non-committal about who held the advantage. "I'm looking forward to our duel today. I've decided—I'll be using a 'Great Escape' strategy."
There was no condescension in her voice, only a deep-seated confidence and a hint of thrill.
Being the "Absolute" of the Japanese racing world was a grand title, but just like Maruzensky in her prime, racing became a lonely affair when no one could truly threaten you.
"A Great Escape? President, you've never used that style before."
"But against you at middle-distance, it's the only logical strategy, isn't it?"
There was a weight of respect in Rudolf's words, yet her confidence remained unshaken.
They exchanged a few more barbs before the track officials, prompted by the commentary of Akasaka Misato and Hosoe Junko, began guiding the racers into the gates.
As an "out-of-bounds" event, the Winter Dream Cup skipped the modern fluff of pre-race interviews, sticking to the raw tradition of the past.
Barbatos watched veterans like Air Groove and Hishi Amazon enter their stalls, feeling a wave of nostalgia.
She remembered the Takarazuka Kinen last year; she had prepared so desperately to face Air Groove back then. Now, a year and a half later, defeating her felt like a mathematical certainty.
In sports, there is usually no "absolute" when skills are equal. But now, she had opened a gap between herself and the others. Even on her worst day against their best, she knew she would win.
She cleared her mind, fixed her eyes forward, and stepped into the gate.
People might call it arrogance, but she had decided to focus every ounce of her attention solely on Symboli Rudolf.
"The race..."
"Starts now!"
The lights flashed, the gates snapped open, and the turf—which felt as hard as concrete under the sheer force of their launch—erupted in a spray of dirt.
Nearby staff members were nearly knocked off their feet by the overwhelming pressure of the girls' auras. "Zones," usually a rare sight, were triggered instantly by almost everyone on the field.
To the eyes of the racers, the Tokyo Racecourse was painted in a kaleidoscope of visual effects as they surged forward like a flood.
Boom!
The iron plates of the gates rattled violently against their frames from the sheer vacuum left in their wake.
Before the pack could even settle, before anyone could jostle for the lead, one figure tore ahead of the rest.
Symboli Rudolf's fighting spirit merged with her peerless Zone.
The greatest of all time didn't give even the "Otherworldly Front-Runner" a chance to contest the lead.
With absolute starting speed and flawless technique, she seized the front and began her relentless breakaway.
When an Uma Musume possesses top-tier Speed, Power, Stamina, and Guts all at once, who can possibly catch her once she commits to a Great Escape?
In that moment, Rudolf truly showed why she was called the Emperor.
Even with other racers trying to keep up, Rudolf's pace was so blistering that the rest of the field looked like they were merely jogging in the midfield.
Silence Suzuka, Seiun Sky, and El Condor Pasa all felt a crushing weight. This was their first time facing the full, unbridled pressure of Symboli Rudolf.
If the gap stays like this, even Barbatos won't catch her in the final stretch! This is what it means to be the Absolute!
Just as that thought flickered through their minds, a shadow blurred past them on the extreme outside of the second turn, moving with effortless grace.
Enveloped in a double Zone, Barbatos bypassed the second group entirely.
Her aura began to bleed into a terrifying, blood-red mist as her speed shifted into a higher gear, gunning straight for the Emperor.
Wait until the third turn to make a move? If this were last year, maybe. But...
"This is my third year!!"
The red flash was faster than a lawless supercar on a highway, as agile as an F1 racer.
She crested the hill and took the corner at the tightest possible angle. By the third turn, Barbatos was breathing down Rudolf's neck.
Rudolf accelerated, attempting to shake her off. Barbatos matched it instantly, her acceleration even more violent, pulling level with the Emperor.
Rudolf kicked again, her eyes half-closed, feeling her muscles scream in protest.
This was her final burst, her absolute limit.
At this velocity, even an Uma Musume's body begins to break under the physical trauma of the impact. The pain was real.
But Barbatos's form was even faster, screaming through the fourth turn and into the final straight without losing a single beat of momentum.
Once she overtook Rudolf, Barbatos became like a dam bursting—faster, more ferocious, unstoppable.
The crowd, which should have been cheering, went silent.
The commentators fell mute.
Decades of "Absolute" dominance were about to be shattered. History was being rewritten in real-time.
"One length!"
"Two lengths!"
"Five lengths!"
"Eight!"
"Nine lengths!"
"And Barbatos crosses the line! A massive... a legendary victory over the Emperor! Symboli Rudolf has been defeated! Barbatos is your Winter Dream Cup Champion!"
Akasaka Misato's voice stammered.
Many had predicted Barbatos might win, but no one expected a slaughter. A double-digit lead over the greatest to ever do it.
At the finish line, amidst the silence that suddenly exploded into a deafening roar of shock and awe, Barbatos looked down.
Her right hand trembled as she touched her legs; blood was beginning to seep through the skin from the sheer internal pressure.
The pain was a tidal wave.
Compared to the Japan Cup, she had grown significantly stronger. In the Arima Kinen, she had given her all to beat Special Week and Grass Wonder.
But today, she hadn't just given her all. She had gambled her life.
Ignoring the structural limits of her body, fueled by two years of grueling "commoner" training and the speed boosts of her System—of course she won.
Otherwise, what was the point of having a "cheat code" in the first place?
--+--
Three days later.
The news of Barbatos defeating the Emperor was still shaking the world. The girl in question, however, was currently lying in a hospital bed.
Her legs were encased in thick plaster casts. The doctors had told her not to even think about walking for six months, and that her racing days were likely over.
After seeing off the parade of visitors from Canopus, Rigil, and Spica, things finally went quiet.
Seiun Sky had fallen asleep, exhausted, huddled at the edge of the bed. The sunlight hit her face, showing a smile of pure relief rather than worry.
Barbatos leaned back against her pillows, enjoying a rare moment of laziness. She pulled out her phone, opened League of Legends, and hovered over Yasuo.
I spent two years training like a maniac without a single break, she thought.
I'll take these six months to slack off and play games.
Then... I'll decide if I want to run again.
--+--
(Main Story End)
Author's Note: The Stars Shine Bright, The Golden Generation
This book has been a journey of nearly two years. When I first started, I knew very little about Uma Musume—I had only seen the first two seasons of the anime and wrote out of pure passion.
So many of you supported this story. It performed much better than my last book, which admittedly made me a bit cocky. But in the end, my writing skills were still lacking. I hit some roadblocks, faced criticism, and even some flame wars in the comments.
For a while, looking at the feedback made me lose the drive to write. But I felt I owed it to those still reading, so I gritted my teeth and pushed through. Yeah, the writing got a bit stiff.
If the first season of the anime was about Special Week finding the joy of running, I felt that finishing this book was my responsibility. It was a long road with many delays. Sometimes, picking up the pen again, I'd struggle to remember where I left off or the nuances of certain characters. I even drafted a massive outline thinking I could hit two million words—covering daily life, more team races, and even a dedicated American circuit arc.
In the end, I skipped it. I jumped straight to the climax. When you write too many races, a certain exhaustion sets in—a fatigue of language. Because after the summer camp, Barbatos was essentially invincible. The races lacked "swing." I love "invincible protagonist" stories where the author keeps things fresh, but I realized I wasn't quite there yet.
So, I stopped here. My energy shifted from pure love to the responsibility of providing a conclusion. It's a bit of a "tiger's head and a snake's tail" (starting strong, ending weak), I know.
During my hiatus, I tried starting new books under different names, but I couldn't commit. A voice in my head kept saying, Barbatos's story isn't finished. Are you going to let your readers down? Writing became a job rather than a joy.
I know the ending is abrupt. But it's out there now. I have so many new stories scratching at my brain, and I think I'll start a new Uma Musume project under a different alias. This time, I want to build a better foundation so the excitement stays high for me and for you.
If my next book does well, I'll come back and write some side stories for Barbatos. I'll give you all a shout when the new journey begins.
--+--