It would not have been an exaggeration to say that, in this state, Secretariat had every right to cry out, "Storm, rage!"
And yet, this was only one footnote to her strength.
When Xingyun Liuge had crossed paths with Secretariat before, she had seen two outward expressions of that power: wind and flame. But neither of those was the true attribute of her domain.
Why was Rising Star called Secretariat's Masterpiece?
Not merely because she was strong, but because her attribute was exactly the same as Secretariat's.
Star.
The star enthroned high in the heavens was the true manifestation of their spirit, and the true conduit through which they interfered with a race. Wind and fire were only two possible expressions of that force. They could not endure, nor were they the true core of that attribute. They were only mutable forms.
That was why Secretariat had never been regarded as the first horse girl to wield multiple domains.
That was why she valued Xingyun Liuge so highly, and wanted so badly for her to transfer to America.
When a horse girl who had only just brushed against the threshold of multiple domains encountered one who seemed to have actually mastered them, how could she not be stirred to an almost feverish excitement?
But on the track, that excitement became the sharpest of blades, aimed straight at Xingyun Liuge's legs and throat.
Xingyun felt no fear whatsoever.
She did not even use a skill.
She simply plunged headlong into the crimson storm.
Her silver-white hair was whipped into chaos by the gale, like duckweed without roots, as though it might be swept from this world at any moment. The exposed skin of her face, especially her cheeks, stung under the wind's assault, as if she were standing under the arc of a descending blade, forever a heartbeat away from spraying a line of blood into the air.
But the stronger Secretariat's phantom appeared, the hotter the battle-lust burned in Xingyun's eyes.
She would not be frightened by this level of power. On the contrary, she would use the power on display before her to prove her own.
Against the weak, become stronger.
Against the strong, become stronger still.
That was the way a horse girl survived.
Only by showing an unyielding spirit, only by showing the tyrannical strength of one's stride, could one win a grueling contest and seize victory!
Xingyun Liuge smashed straight through the howling storm with her body alone, shattering it into tiny whimpering whirlwinds!
The phantom had taken the lead with overwhelming force, intending to cast every opponent far behind her, but Xingyun latched onto her tail the instant the race began, crushing that ambition before it could breathe.
Every cell in her body rejoiced in this struggle. Every one of them hungered to defeat her opponent and snatch victory from her embrace.
No matter how dazzling the star above might be, no matter how overwhelming its power, the task before her remained unchanged:
Keep her eyes on the finish line, hold to her own rhythm, and win everything.
When her ironshoe crashed down, the ground itself seemed to tremble, as though declaring: The hoofprints carved here are our glory—run on to the ends of the world!
The two horse girls clashed on the dirt without giving an inch, and the violent pressure of their collision birthed gusts of wind out of nothing, only for those same gusts to be annihilated in the next instant by the roar of impact.
For a single moment, the sound of the wind, the thunder of ironshoes, the trembling of the ground, even the racers' own breathing—
all of it seemed to recede from the world.
What remained was only the pounding of two hearts beating as if they would burst through their chests.
Sweat streamed down their faces. Their stamina ebbed exactly as calculated. Gate skills collided and canceled one another out. Proud finishing kicks and terrifying bursts of extra speed strove directly against each other.
And then, for one brief instant, their peripheral visions crossed.
Each saw the fierce, savage, magnificent grin blazing across the other's face.
The star fixed high in the center of the heavens erupted in a dazzling red-gold radiance—
and then abruptly collapsed inward.
It was the ultimate brilliance called miracle: bringing forth radiant hope, yet also bestowing dreadful despair!
Xingyun Liuge heard, or thought she heard, a deep humming from within the star-core itself—a countdown to its appointed moment of annihilation. A terrifying pull followed.
That red-gold star became a streak of light, plunging down from the sky!
Wherever it passed, light bent, air was driven away, and it transformed into the deepest form of despair.
The falling star was so immense that, for an instant, Xingyun wondered whether Secretariat's phantom had chosen mutual destruction.
But if her thoughts were truly identical to the real Secretariat's, would Secretariat ever use a tactic that ended in both sides' ruin?
It did not take Xingyun long to notice the countless tiny, shining motes of stardust streaming in the meteor's vast tail. Those were clearly the orbital traces Secretariat had woven—protection for herself.
This was not mutual destruction.
It was a special technique that hindered her opponent while strengthening herself.
Xingyun tried to avoid that beautiful road of death, but the invisible gravity was overwhelming, as if it wanted to drag her into it, break her down completely, and scatter her into primordial particles.
A bead of cold sweat traced its way down her brow.
Clenching her teeth, she muttered, "Hey, hey… this is a little ridiculous, don't you think?"
In that instant, Xingyun finally understood the pressure ordinary horse girls must feel when they stood against her.
"Even so!"
Her right foot slammed into the ground.
The track itself could not endure such force. Jagged cracks shot outward with ferocious speed, and from above they would have looked like a spider's web spreading across the earth.
Her entire body drew taut like a fully strung bow. Golden motes of light drifted toward her from every direction, unhurried, almost leisurely, as though strolling through a garden.
They gathered into the faint outline of a giant dragon, head held high.
And then—
A silent ripple spread from the dragon's enormous jaws, as though it had uttered a low growl of displeasure.
Within that ripple, tiny particles of light began to appear, and then swelled at breathtaking speed.
That was the inner core of the stars unleashed in full glory—
the true radiance woven by generations of horse girls from dreams, sweat, and struggle.
Starstrings Descend from the Heavens.
It was as if the Milky Way itself had been overturned.
A flood of light burst upward from the earth!
And it met the star falling from the sky in a collision so world-shaking—
and yet utterly soundless.
Light clashed with light, devoured light, and perished alongside it.
At the point of impact—or rather, before the two truly touched—an immense repulsive force and an immense attractive force twisted together, spiraling slowly inward until they collapsed into a single massive black hole.
It radiated cold, absolute finality, becoming for one fleeting moment the great devourer at the center of the battlefield.
Xingyun's vision began to blur, as though something were dissolving it. The blood racing through her veins felt like molten lava. Each heartbeat struck like a war drum, heavy and agonizing, while every bone in her body let out a shriek of protest beneath the pressure of that monstrous force.
And then—
black light swallowed everything.
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 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
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 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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