Shirayuki's aura changed in an instant.
Beside her, Orfevre's eyes flew wide.
That pressure, so intense it almost stole the breath from her lungs…
A Zone.
Shirayuki had opened her Zone!
They were still a hundred meters away from the final straight, yet Shirayuki had already activated it.
Empress, have you lost your mind?!
In Shirayuki's perception, the world slowed to a crawl.
The uma musume's arms drifted through the air like frames from a slide projector. Their breathing stretched thin, endlessly drawn out. Drops of sweat fell from their cheeks like feathers floating through the sky, sinking ever so slowly.
And within that slow-moving world, Shirayuki saw it.
Treve lifted onto the tips of her feet.
Her body turned lightly toward the outside lane.
Shirayuki tried to follow. She sent the command through her body, but it took forever for her limbs to answer.
Her nerves had reacted long ago.
Her body simply could not keep up.
This was the gap between her and Treve.
The uncrossable gap carved by talent.
Preemptive timing.
Treve's grasp of timing had already reached perfection.
"Treve and Snow Dancer have begun their sprint!"
The commentator's voice exploded with excitement.
Fujiwara Chiya clenched his fist.
In truth, Shirayuki had accelerated first. Treve had only moved first. Her reaction speed, towering above everyone else's, made the crowd believe Shirayuki had simply followed after Treve.
Behind Shirayuki, Orfevre did not enter her Zone.
She knew it was not time yet.
She was annoyed that Shirayuki had opened her Zone for Treve rather than for her, but there was no room to worry about that now.
In a blink, Treve overtook Helmsman up ahead.
Helmsman's starting acceleration had been dazzling, no doubt about that. But it was painfully obvious she had failed to plan out her stamina. Her ultra-high-speed sprint in the early phase had thrown off her rhythm later, giving the others an opening. Now, she had been dragged down to third place.
Even then, she had stubbornly clung to second place for too long. Her original Pace Chaser rhythm had been distorted into a hunting match, and after one mistake after another, she had almost no stamina left.
After Treve passed her, she no longer had the strength to counterattack. All she could do was grit her teeth and cling desperately from behind.
But Treve paid no attention to the opponent she had just shaken off.
Her entire focus was on Shirayuki behind her.
Shirayuki's move had gone far beyond Treve's expectations. She had known Shirayuki would search for the perfect moment to accelerate and overtake her, but she had never imagined Shirayuki would activate her Zone outright.
Still, even with Shirayuki inside her Zone, she could not break through Treve's sen no sen in reaction speed.
No matter how fast Shirayuki was, Treve would be faster.
And yet, Shirayuki's next move made absolutely no sense to Treve.
The instant she entered the acceleration lane, Shirayuki suddenly left her Zone.
"Wha…"
Treve was stunned.
It was the first time she had ever seen an uma musume voluntarily exit her Zone during a race!
Behind her, Orfevre's eyes went wide.
Empress, you really have gone mad!
Are you kidding me? You didn't open your Zone to overtake Treve, but just to slip around me and enter the acceleration lane?
What are you even doing?!
Orfevre snapped her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, blue-violet flame rose within her gaze.
Flow state.
As the race passed through the final corner, Orfevre entered her flow state. She still did not understand why Shirayuki had wasted such a precious opportunity on a meaningless position change.
But no matter what reason Shirayuki had, Orfevre would give everything she had to defeat her in this race.
The moment Shirayuki left her original position, the hand choking the entire pack suddenly loosened.
The uma musume behind them found their way out all at once, surging forward one after another.
"Uraaa!"
With a roaring shout, the uma musume in the sailor cap came charging up from the rear, cutting against the flow.
The already chaotic formation was torn completely apart. Shoulders slammed together one after another, and the breathing rhythm of the pack collapsed into a mess.
"Now, this is the hour of the final battle!"
Gold Ship threw her head back and laughed.
The middle pack had completely lost control of the situation. Using her nimble body, Gold Ship slipped out from the inside and shot toward the outer lane.
At this point, only the six uma musume at the front still maintained their normal rhythm.
"Snow Dancer, what are you waiting for?! The road is open for you!"
Gold Ship's shout rang out.
Shirayuki's original plan had been for Gold Ship to launch a late charge from the outside in the final phase, interfering with the opponents' acceleration.
She had not expected Gold Ship to outright scramble the entire race.
The rear was in chaos, leaving no threats behind her.
The front had already been adjusted into place by Shirayuki.
Now, only four hundred meters remained until the finish line.
Shirayuki looked at Treve, who was still shaken by the fact that she had exited her Zone, and drew in a deep breath.
Her heart thundered with impossible force.
The pounding was so intense that even the uma musume around her could hear it.
Countless attempts.
Countless memories.
All of it had allowed Shirayuki to use her Zone with ease.
If there was anything about her body worth bragging about besides her flexibility and dual perspective, then it was this.
The ability she had forged through VR training.
The ability to enter her Zone anytime, anywhere!
This is my final trump card, Treve!
Far away, Fujiwara Chiya's eyes suddenly widened.
The wind passed through his body.
His consciousness flew higher and higher, and soon, he was above the racetrack.
He watched the race in silence.
No emotion.
No thought.
He was simply "watching."
Fujiwara Chiya disappeared.
The one here was Snow Dancer alone.
The world became pure black.
Not even a single ray of light remained.
The racetrack vanished.
The spectators vanished.
Only Shirayuki remained, running slowly through the darkness.
Her body was so hot.
It felt as if she might burn alive.
Every cell screamed with a piercing shriek. Shirayuki could see her muscles tearing under the strain of high-intensity movement. She could sense, with terrifying clarity, the pain ripping through her flesh.
But she could not stop.
Because she knew the finish line was right in front of her.
Tap!
A crisp footstep reached her ears.
In that pitch-black world, she saw Treve appear beside her.
Treve's face was drenched in sweat.
The face that had always looked so composed in every race was now full of tension.
Shirayuki saw Treve's clenched teeth.
She saw sweat pouring from her temples like rain.
Tap!
Another step.
Orfevre's figure appeared behind Shirayuki.
"Empress!"
In that perception where nothing could hide, Shirayuki saw it.
The nervous, excited, worshipful smile on Orfevre's face.
Within the black world, the three of them drew closer and closer.
The road… where is the road? I can't see it anymore!
Her body hurt so much it felt like it was being torn apart.
Everything before Shirayuki's eyes was swallowed by darkness.
"The road is right in front of you, Shirayuki!!"
Gold Ship's near-hoarse voice tore through the dark.
Shirayuki's eyes snapped open.
And then she saw it.
The finish line, right before her eyes.
A familiar scene.
A familiar place.
But this time, Shirayuki could feel it.
Her legs still had the strength for one more step.
Blood welled where her teeth cut into her lip.
Shirayuki forced out that final step.
"They cross the line!"
Amid the earth-shaking roar of the crowd, a white figure like a shooting star swept past the finish.