"SHE'S CATCHING UP! T.M. OPERA O IS CATCHING UP!!!"
"What an astonishing final spurt! It's even more powerful than the one she displayed in the Kikuka Sho! Is this the Overlord's full power?!"
"The distance between the Overlord and the Emperor is closing! It's closing! The final straight! The two Uma Musume are almost parallel to each other!"
Akasaka Misato screamed her heart out until even her voice cracked.
However, she wasn't the only one who was excited.
All the spectators, whether they were at the racecourse, watching in person, or those watching from the television in their homes were boiling with excitement.
At this moment, no matter who they were a fan of, no matter what kind of person they were, all of their eyes were focused on the clash of the two giants ahead.
And once the atmosphere reached its boiling point, all of them began to cheer for the two rulers.
"GOOOOO!!! T.M. OPERA O!!!!! DON'T LOSE!!!"
"OVERTAKE THE EMPEROR! T.M. OPERA O!!!"
"YOU ARE THE EMPEROR!!! THERE'S NO WAY YOU WILL LOSE LIKE THIS!!!!"
"SYMBOLI RUDOLF!!! YOU ARE THE PINNACLE OF JAPAN!!!! YOU! MUST! WIN!!!!!!"
From the Nakayama racecourse to the living rooms of households to even the smallest department stores and other places that had screens, all of them were showing this century-defining showdown.
The Overlord, the strongest of the new era VS the Emperor, the strongest in Japan's history.
The sheer intensity of their confrontation caused the audience to instinctively fracture into two factions: those supporting T.M. Opera O and those supporting Symboli Rudolf.
Most of those who supported T.M. Opera O were young people and Uma Musume.
For those young people, they weren't too imprinted by the Emperor's status, and as such, were excited at the prospect of the Overlord triumphantly defeating the Emperor and bringing Japan to a new level.
And for the Uma Musume, the reason was much simpler: if T.M. Opera O could surpass Symboli Rudolf, wouldn't that just mean that the pinnacle of Japanese Uma Musume had become even higher? They would even have a higher goal to chase after as well!
On the other side, the reasons for supporting Symboli Rudolf were much purer.
Among them were those of the older generation who, under the deliberate promotion of the URA, believed that Symboli Rudolf was the pinnacle of Japan.
Many people were unable to believe in the possibility that Symboli Rudolf might lose, nor did they believe a Japanese Uma Musume stronger than Symboli Rudolf could ever exist.
But now, that impossibility was seemingly playing out right before their eyes.
Even if they were unwilling to believe it, T.M. Opera O was truly only a hair's breadth away from the Emperor!
"Comeoncomeoncomeon, Symboli Rudolf! You're the goddamn Emperor! We've hyped you up for so many years now; you can't lose to an Uma Musume who is just in her Classic Year!"
"If you lose, everything will go to shit! If T.M. Opera O takes the top spot, it's over for all of us!"
Meanwhile, the people from Shadai were also nervously watching the race on television, with a large number of executives praying to the Emperor to stop the Overlord's dominance.
Although most people like Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove believed that the Japanese branch of the URA were the ones that promoted Symboli Rudolf to this extent, in actuality, it was Shadai.
It should be known just how much Shadai had invested into Symboli Rudolf in order to achieve their current prosperity.
Their success and influence on the URA were also directly linked to Symboli Rudolf's own success.
Thus, if Symboli Rudolf's pinnacle level existence were to shatter, it would be a devastating blow to Shadai.
This was also the reason why the URA didn't care too much about Symboli Rudolf participating in the Arima Kinen even though Shadai was hounding them during that period.
If Symboli Rudolf won, nothing would happen; if T.M. Opera O won, there would not only be a new influx of attention into Japan's Uma Musume scene, but they would also gain the chance to get rid of Shadai's annoying presence.
The URA has actually long since been dissatisfied with the fact that so many resources were controlled by Shadai.
Although they could forcibly acquire them, it was simply too big of a hassle, so they've always refrained from doing so, instead, forming a cooperative relationship with them.
But now that there was a chance for Shadai to fall into decline, the URA would not mind acquiring them if they did actually fall.
It was also highly certain that the acquisition plan would go through, considering another big player, Yayoi Akikawa, the Director of Tracen Academy, would also strongly support the plan.
Therefore, Shadai was actually Symboli Rudolf's biggest supporter right now.
If it weren't for the special nature of this year's Arima Kinen, Shadai would've definitely rigged it so that Symboli Rudolf would win.
But since they couldn't, all they could do was pray in front of the television, praying that Symboli Rudolf would remain as the invincible Emperor of Japan.
Unfortunately, their prayers were quite inferior considering the individuals who had secretly given a Miracle to T.M. Opera O and Wada.
...
In the last fifty meters was the final straight.
Symboli Rudolf and T.M. Opera O could both see each other out of the corners of their eyes, and the gap between the two Uma Musume was truly minuscule.
Neither of them was certain of who would win the race.
All they could do was to forcefully push out every last ounce of their strength to reach for victory.
Yet, in Symboli Rudolf's heart, she perhaps already knew who would win.
"So that's it... I didn't lose to T.M. Opera O, but to all of you...?"
Symboli Rudolf had naturally also noticed the rapidly dissipating humanoid figure on T.M. Opera O's Aura.
And at this moment, she already understood that she had lost to T.M. Opera O.
Not in terms of strength, but in terms of embodying the true essence of an Uma Musume.
The Emperor who sat alone on her throne was ultimately defeated by the Overlord and her subject, who walked together and supported each other, hand in hand.
From this point on, she had completely lost, whether as an Uma Musume or as a role model for others— for she had underestimated her opponent.
"Well, surpass me then, T.M. Opera O. I believe you can do it."
"This era— it belongs to you!"
"THE FINAL TWENTY METERS! T.M. OPERA O AND SYMBOLI ARE PARALLEL! T.M. OPERA O AND SYMBOLI ARE PARALLEL! WHO WILL WIN THE ARIMA KINEN?! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?!"
"RRRAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!!!!" X2
Symboli Rudolf and T.M. Opera O alongside Wada charged forward with everything they had as they roared their hearts out.
Every last bit of strength, every skill they've engrained into their bodies, every little trick they've learned.
Their everything had been put on the table and they sprinted towards the finish line.
Finally, right at the last step, T.M. Opera O took it milliseconds faster than Symboli Rudolf!
Just then, everything seemed to freeze again.
Only T.M. Opera O and Symboli Rudolf remained as they turned their heads towards each other.
And as their eyes connected, they truly understood each other.
"I won."
"Yes, you won—so, I'm leaving everything to you."
In an instant, time flowed again, and the two Uma Musume crossed the finish line, causing a strange silence to spread throughout the racecourse.
It was then that Akasaka Misato, the commentator, broke the silence:
"O- okay! Please remain calm as our judges examine the video footage! We guarantee that no matter who ultimately wins, we will report truthfully!"
After her announcement, everything returned to silence, with only quiet chatter and the ambience breaking the silence.
Soon, Air Groove also passed the finish line which was quickly followed by the other Uma Musume.
As soon as they crossed the finish line, their placements and other information were displayed on the screen, with only the first two remaining unannounced.
However, right then, whether in the real world or in Wada's Mind World, the announcers' voice from both worlds came simultaneously!
"T.M. OPERA O! VICTORYYYYY!! THE WINNER OF THE ARIMA KINEN IS T.M. OPERA O WITH A GAP OF TWO CENTIMETERS!!!!!!"
"TWO CENTIMETERS!!! A MERE TWO CENTIMETERS!!!!!!"
"UNBELIEVABLE! THE EMPEROR SYMBOLI RUDOLF HAS BEEN DEFEATED BY THE NEW CLASSIC TRIPLE CROWN UMA MUSUME, THE OVERLORD, T.M. OPERA O!!!!!"
"T.M. OPERA O HAS TRIUMPHANTLY DEFEATED THE PINNACLE OF JAPANESE UMA MUSUME, BREAKING SYMBOLI RUDOLF'S DECADE LONG REIGN! BECOMING THE NEW PINNACLE!!"
"THE OVERLORD HAS CLAIMED THE TITLE OF THE STRONGEST IN JAPAN!!! AND HER NAME. IS. T.M. OPERA O!!!!!"
Accompanied by the voice of the commentator, the entire venue, which had been silent, finally erupted with long-accumulated passion.
The entire venue let out a deafening roar, making it feel as if the very ground was shaking.
Whether it was T.M. Opera O in the real world or Wada in the other world, they both belatedly raised their hands and waved woodenly, seemingly not yet having recovered from the shock...
And then, Wada's consciousness, under a swirling sensation, returned to reality...
"Ah!"
As Wada returned to his body, not even realizing he had returned to the real world yet, he murmured quietly:
"Did I... did we win?"
{{—You won, Wada Ryuji. Congratulations on achieving the end you wished for.}}
And in his mind, the voices of the Three Goddesses gently responded to Wada:
{{We applaud your effort and love for your Uma Musume; this time, you did not disappoint her expectations of you.}}
{{Now, go and enjoy your victory with her. Don't forget, your destinies are bound together.}}
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Maybe this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but imma be honest, this is prob one of my least favourite races in this fic.
It was way too obvious that T.M. Opera O would win before the race even started: Rudolf was constantly dropping red flags about 'passing on the era to the new generation' and Wada was literally blessed by God herself, it didn't feel suspenseful at all.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.