The commentator's voice thundered through the speakers:
"Swift General! Swift General has taken the lead—no, she's committing to a full-on front-running break!"
So you're in bad shape, Eternal Meteor? Then don't blame me for dragging the whole pace into the abyss.
Swift General's footsteps quickened again. She wanted the exact same thing she'd nearly achieved last time—seize the tempo for the entire race, force Eternal Meteor to burn even more stamina, and make her pay for that dismissive look earlier.
And this time, the conditions were perfect.
There were no other escape-types contesting the front. Swift General didn't even need to fight for position—she slid cleanly into the rail, saving energy while her runaway gap began to grow.
Behind her, the rest of the field began to move with an eerie, unspoken consensus.
They hadn't raced Eternal Meteor in person, but they'd all watched the replays.
That monstrous late burst. That absurd endurance.
Nobody forgot it after seeing it once.
Even if she looked off today—fatigued from racing too frequently—who would dare gamble on her not exploding in the final stretch?
So they formed up in pairs and trios, creating layer after layer of "human walls," determined to pen Eternal Meteor in place.
"This is bad! Eternal Meteor has been swallowed by the pack—are we about to see her winning streak end right here?!"
The stands stirred, conversations rising into a worried roar.
"Can she still win? She's completely boxed in!"
"This start feels wrong—how does someone launch that fast and then end up at the tail?"
"Is it because she's racing again so soon?"
"What's her trainer doing? How can they not know her condition?"
Back at the academy, Tokai Teio watched the TV with her hands clenched. She'd been targeted like this before too—she'd only escaped thanks to nimble footwork and threading gaps like a needle.
But Meteor… Meteor had never shown that kind of talent.
Until now, her wins had all been the same principle:
Overwhelming force. Clean domination. Bulldoze the race.
Teio swallowed.
"…Come on, Meteor."
Meanwhile, Rudolf—also watching the broadcast—wasn't worried at all.
She could tell. It was obvious to her.
Eternal Meteor was doing the same thing she'd done in the Sports Cup when Twin Turbo had chased her—holding back on purpose.
Seeing that, Rudolf actually relaxed.
So she really listened. She isn't running herself to death this time.
Her mood lifted enough that she even got up to boil water and make tea, watching the race in the bubbling hush of a kettle.
In the spectator seats at the track, the two young men were the exact opposite.
Especially the one with glasses—so tense he crumpled his now-empty popcorn tub in his fist.
"She has to pass at the turns. She has to!"
"Not necessarily," the other replied. "Hanshin's final straight is the longest among right-handed courses."
"You're telling me she's going to wait until the very end? With Swift General doing a runaway in front?!"
The answer came, simple and absolute:
"Because she's Eternal Meteor."
That single sentence shut the bespectacled man up. He stared forward again, then angrily stole a fistful of popcorn from his friend's tub and stuffed it into his mouth.
The commentator continued:
"We're almost at the second-to-last turn! Swift General hasn't slowed at all! The pack behind is getting restless—they're starting to accelerate!"
As Swift General's gap expanded, the field began to panic. Everyone knew she'd slow on the final straight—no one could hold a runaway at full pace forever.
But if she built too big a lead, it wouldn't matter how hard they chased.
Distance, once lost, doesn't always come back.
The pack crept faster.
Yet even while accelerating, they did not forget their other priority:
Keep Eternal Meteor trapped.
They consciously sealed lanes, locking down the inner lines and choking off any clean route.
Now Rudolf's tea cup stopped halfway to her lips.
Confusion crept into her expression.
We're already entering the latter half… why is she still running so calmly?
What is she waiting for?
The commentator's voice rose again:
"We're entering the final turn! Swift General is beginning to slow—will she be caught at the end?!"
Still running with such ease she could afford to listen to the commentary, Eternal Meteor tilted her head slightly, glancing at the girls surrounding her—each one staring at her like a hunter watching prey.
She spoke to X in her mind.
"X… don't you think they're kind of pitiful?"
"Pitiful how?"
"Pitiful because, in their narrow understanding, they think this can block every Uma Musume… without ever considering one thing—"
Her lips curved.
Then—
Eternal Meteor suddenly slammed the brakes.
A sharp deceleration.
The stadium gasped in one massive inhalation.
"What—what's happening?! Eternal Meteor suddenly slowed down! This is—…my god—"
Before the commentator could even finish the scream, Eternal Meteor snapped outward, slipping free from the encirclement from the rear—
—and then, from the outermost lane, she began to pass.
Not by squeezing. Not by forcing gaps.
Not by "skillfully" threading through.
Simply by taking a line so wide it looked absurd—
—and overtaking them anyway.
One after another. Effortless. Cruel.
The white silhouette drifted past them like a comet refusing gravity.
The entire track fell into disbelief, including the girls she'd just passed—eyes widened, mouths open, watching that back grow farther and farther away.
"Eternal Meteor! She's already up to fifth—no, fourth!!!"
The crowd detonated.
Shouts and screams hammered the air as if the whole stadium had agreed to become one voice, chanting her name at full volume.
And behind her, the moment she passed them, the blocked runners snapped out of their shock and surged, legs whipping harder, lungs burning.
But as they chased, some of the late closers who were also beginning their moves…
started to despair.
Because they realized something that felt fundamentally wrong.
No matter how they drove their legs.
No matter how much stamina they sacrificed.
No matter how badly they wanted it—
They could not close the gap.
Not even by a fraction.
To race on the same stage as her—
to even call it a contest—
was a luxury beyond reach.
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 ( Ending )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"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 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
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 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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