Six hundred meters left.
Air Groove accelerated in a way that was different from before as her Zone compressed and grew denser, shooting forward like purple lightning. The gap started closing again from eight lengths to seven, then seven to six, and Silence Suzuka felt it immediately. That pressure between her shoulders again, but heavier this time, more oppressive, like the air itself was pushing down on her while her golden glow flickered in response.
Five and a half lengths, then five.
"INCREDIBLE! AIR GROOVE IS CLOSING THE GAP AGAIN! BUT LOOK AT THE STRAIN ON HER FACE! SHE'S BURNING EVERYTHING SHE HAS!"
The purple Zone was powerful, but it came at a cost as Air Groove could feel it draining her with stamina bleeding away faster than normal running. Her breathing went from controlled to ragged in seconds, but the gap kept closing anyway to four and a half lengths while behind them, both Fight Gulliver's pupils dilated as the world sharpened around her.
Every sound around Fight Gulliver, and every movement slowed into perfect clarity as the roaring crowd faded to nothing and other uma musume disappeared. There was only the track, only the two figures ahead, only prey waiting to be hunted.
Her Zone activated with control and focus, not the beautiful desperate explosion from the Oka Sho, but a predator who'd learned patience while stalking her targets. Golden energy bled from Fight Gulliver's body, thick and heavy and raw with the feeling of being alone in the wilderness with only prey ahead, and the sensation hit the uma musume near her like a physical blow.
One girl stumbled while another's breathing hitched, and several lost their rhythm entirely, but Fight Gulliver didn't notice. Her world had narrowed to a single point, the two glowing figures ahead with purple and gold battling while she closed in from behind with a whispered thought: "Now."
"HYAAAAH!"
Her legs exploded, not in an uncontrolled sprint like Oka Sho but with calculated fury where every stride was measured and every push off the ground was perfect. She'd saved her stamina for this, for these final six hundred meters, while Suzuka and Air Groove had been fighting for twelve hundred meters. Closers lived for this moment.
"FIGHT GULLIVER IS ACCELERATING! FROM THE BACK OF THE PACK SHE'S CHARGING!"
The pack scattered around her as Uma Musume, who'd been running near her, suddenly found themselves getting passed at terrifying speed. One girl tried holding her pace, but Fight Gulliver was past her in two strides, the air displacement making the girl's ponytail whip sideways while three runners fell in five strides and five more in the next seven.
Her breathing stayed controlled in that predatory rhythm of two breaths in and one out with perfect timing, as ten runners passed, then twelve, then fourteen, until only Suzuka and Air Groove remained ahead.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! FIGHT GULLIVER EXPLODED FROM THE BACK TO THE FRONT!"
"WILL THE PREVIOUS RACE HAPPEN ALL OVER AGAIN?! BACK THEN, SAKURA LAUREL MADE A COMEBACK FROM BEHIND THE PACK TO REACH A NECK-TO-NECK SITUATION WITH THE LEADER OF THE PACK, SILENCE SUZUKA?! OR WILL THIS BECOME A THREE-WAY BATTLE AGAIN BETWEEN END-CLOSER AND CHASE PACER?! CAN TWO OF THEM DESTROY THE GREAT ESCAPE RUNNING STYLE?!"
WOAHHHH!!!!
FIGHT GULLIVER! FIGHT GULLIVER! FIGHT GULLIVER!
Five hundred meters left.
Silence Suzuka and Air Groove are still battling up front with purple Zone pressing against golden glow from Silence Suzuka skill, four lengths between them, and the gap shrinking with every stride as Air Groove burned herself out chasing. And Fight Gulliver is closing on both of them from behind as her golden hunting ground expanded and overlapped with purple authority.
Four hundred meters remaining.
Air Groove pulled closer to three and a half lengths now as purple Zone flared. Fight Gulliver closed the distance to Air Groove from ten lengths to eight, then seven, then six, and her golden zone pulsed as something instinctive happened.
"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM ME AGAIN, SILENCE SUZUKA!"
Her eyes locked onto Suzuka's distant back.
But at this time, Hayato who can see other skills, knows what could happen right now.
"Imposible! How can she awaken a Red Skill?!"
Petrifying Gaze activated!: Unnerve runners in focus late-race. (End Closer)
Not a conscious decision but pure predator instinct, the kind that made prey freeze, as golden energy shot forward from Fight Gulliver's eyes. Invisible to most but those who could sense Zones felt it like a shockwave, a predatory stare that carried weight and pressure, the gaze of something that had marked you for death.
It slammed into Silence Suzuka's blue-green domain from behind, and Silence Suzuka's body reacted before her mind could process it with instinctive fear. The kind hardwired into every living thing when something higher on the food chain locked eyes with you, and her speed dropped, not dramatically but noticeably, as the golden glow flickered.
Three lengths between Silence Suzuka and Air Groove, then two and a half.
"What is this?" Suzuka's breathing hitched from pressure coming from behind, different from Air Groove's imperial command. This was primal and ancient, the fear of being hunted, and Air Groove felt the shift immediately as she sensed Fight Gulliver's predatory gaze cutting through the air like a blade.
Without planning, without coordination, without even meaning to, she added her own attack too, like Fight Gulliver just wanna stop Silence Suzuka from reaching the finish line as a great escape running style.
"STOP!" Air Groove commanded as the purple Zone flared brightly. "Stop! Don't dare you to run from me, Silence Suzuka!"
Dominator activated!: Decrease the velocity of runners ahead when positioned toward the back late in the race.
A purple energy shot forward like a spear, layering on top of the golden predatory gaze already pressing into Suzuka's domain. Two debuff attacks of two different types of pressure, both hitting Suzuka's Zone simultaneously, and the blue-green mist cracked as pastoral scenery wavered with chunks of sky falling away and grass withering.
Suzuka's speed dropped harder under the combined assault that was too much to resist.
Two lengths, then one and a half.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?! SUZUKA'S PACE IS DROPPING! BOTH AIR GROOVE AND FIGHT GULLIVER ARE CLOSING IN TOGETHER!"
In the stands, Maruzensky's eyes went wide with shock. "They're coordinating their Zones! Attacking her domain together!"
"Is that allowed?!" Hayato's hands clenched the railing hard.
"There are no rules against it! But I've never seen two runners instinctively work together like this without planning! It seems that their desire to win against Silence Suzuka made them unconsciously develop some pressured attacks that are usually used by foreign Uma Musume..."
Unlike Japanese Uma Musume who always rely on the Zone to win races against others, Uma Musume outside Japan have a stronger physical body than Japanese Uma Musume due to the different track conditions outside Japan, which are much harder than those in Japan.
That is why for Uma Musume outside Japan, the Zone is only for weak Uma Musume who cannot win with their own physical strength, and it is more damaging to the body. Outside Japan, Uma Musume relies more on strong pressure strategies that can disrupt other Uma Musume.
For a foreign Uma Musume, if an Uma Musume has a weak body and cannot withstand strong pressure from their opponents and track conditions, they will not be able to win the match.
---
(This is also one of the reasons why even Uma Musume, who are known to be strong in Japan, are depicted as having a hard time winning matches outside of Japan. This is also proven by 'Obey Your Master' in the anime/manga Gray Cinderella, where the Japanese track conditions are more 'soft' than those in their country.)