Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

Under this life-or-death pressure, the emperor's mind became less cluttered, and his eyes became clearer...

The eyes that were once blinded by countless glories and expectations have now become clear again, or rather, they are completely bewildered.

The meaning attached to this competition was finally wiped away from her heart, leaving only the most primal will of being a racehorse girl.

We must win.

Regardless of the reason, as long as Mercedes is on this track, it cannot tolerate having its shining moments stolen by others.

Running is war.

In war, victory is the ultimate goal!

crunch--

Her expression was almost ferocious, and the girl's upper and lower teeth were clenched tightly, making a crunching sound that made your teeth ache.

This is a situation that only occurs when the force has been pushed to the limit, and even the jaw is in a state of full exertion.

His body began to strain and send out warnings, announcing to the Emperor of the East Sea that if things continued like this, something very bad might happen.

But I can't worry about that now.

Or rather, she believed it.

If my instincts as a racehorse girl call out to me, then I will obey those instincts and never let any so-called injury affect my performance.

My leg bones felt like they were cracking, my heart felt like it was about to explode, and breathing felt like someone was choking me, but...

Even so, I will keep running.

Because I am the Emperor of the East Sea... As an emperor, there is no way I cannot do such a thing!

Whether it was an illusion or not, the Emperor of the East Sea suddenly found his vision brightening.

It seemed as if countless bright particles were drifting past, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an illusion that had never existed.

The monster continued its escape directly ahead, seemingly utterly tireless and painless.

Even though he himself could feel the exhaustion from running and experience the extreme strain that the great escape placed on his body, the stardust illusion—

Even though each female racehorse has individual differences, they ultimately cannot escape common sense.

No one could run like that without feeling pain.

Everyone can feel pain, but monsters can't?

The fleeting thought made the Emperor of the East Sea instantly feel the spreading pain.

No, that's not right!

I shouldn't be thinking about those things now. Since Stardust was able to do what he was capable of, I have no reason not to persevere.

I can do it! I can keep fighting!

"Click...click! Aaaaaaaah!!!"

It was like coughing up blood, a mournful cry squeezed from deep within the throat.

But this mournful cry was also her battle cry as a warrior.

I've been enduring it all from the very beginning, turning that pain into motivation and letting it out completely!

Increase step frequency and speed.

Like shooting stars, the runners, burning like raging fire, illuminated the distant, unreachable stars in the sky.

The runner and the stars seemed to form a strange connection at that moment.

Although I don't know why, my body seemed to regain its strength in that instant.

Immediately afterwards, she suppressed the turmoil in her heart.

There were no concerns whatsoever, and no fear whatsoever.

The star associated with the emperor of the East Sea, Spica.

It suddenly brightened in the distant sky, where no one could see it.

Spica shone its light upon the running girl, showering her with particles that existed only in fantasy and hypothesis.

That's all that's left to do.

--forward!

Move forward faster and more decisively than anyone else, and then surpass them all!

Click, click, click, click, click, click!

A sound like something breaking seemed to reach his ears, yet the steps taken by the Emperor of the East Sea remained firm and unwavering.

Why is she so single-minded at this moment?

That's because, of course, only one belief remained in the eyes of the Emperor of the East Sea.

She gazed intently at the distant stardust illusion, then silently stepped onto the lawn.

I don't want to lose, I can't lose, I absolutely cannot lose!!!

Until the finish line, I must not stop for even a second.

(Stardust... I'm coming to surpass you!)

----------

They opened their eyes wide, not wanting to miss a single moment.

This girl usually seemed very lazy, and she didn't even want to leave her own research room.

But at this moment, there is no trace of that quality.

Even her coffee-loving friend, who knows her well, would probably be astonished to see this.

That research fanatic actually showed such a fervent expression in front of the competition?

Could it be that Alice, who once easily won the Satsuki Prize and left all her contemporaries in her wake, known as the "Phantom Triple Crown," has rekindled her passion for running?!

However, it was not a frenzy for those conditions.

What she was pursuing, however, was the mysterious particle that had just flashed by on the field.

Does it exist? Or is it just an illusion?

Suko could not be sure what she was seeing.

But this ambiguous situation only excited her more.

The inability to confirm whether something exists or not means that a possibility is at play.

In other words... the [Shōko] is not something that absolutely does not exist!

"Looks like coming here specifically to watch this guy's match today was the right decision."

Suko's tone was filled with excitement.

For her, making a special trip here to watch the game was obviously a very inefficient thing to do.

This is something Alice Sotenko, as a researcher who is extremely sensitive to data, would never do.

But she chose to come to watch the race alone, entirely because of the runner Stardust Illusion.

The more Alice studied the body and data of the Stardust Illusion, the more interested she became in the girl—not sexually, of course, but in her wondrous body that even science found captivating.

She will never get hurt, recovers quickly, and even the domain she has activated is different from others.

What Alice saw in the Stardust Illusion was an infinite possibility symbolizing the unknown, something that fascinated her the most.

Therefore, she was willing to make a special trip to watch this crucial match for Stardust Illusion.

However, this belief also brought Alice a satisfactory reward at this moment.

Moreover, this gain did not come from the stardust illusion that Suzume had initially anticipated.

On the contrary, it was her rival, the Emperor of the East Sea.

The illusion particles that Alice once sensed in the Stardust Illusion may have existed have completely activated the body of the East Sea Emperor.

This imposing aura is undoubtedly a sign that the emperor is about to open up a new domain.

However, Alice frowned again, another thing on her mind.

She has devoted a great deal of research to this fantastical particle, which she named the "Tachyon."

However, no matter how many times she had watched other runners open up their zones in the past, she had never felt those particles appear as she did today.

"This isn't normal for activating a domain... What's going on?"

As if blessed by divine intervention, Suko suddenly turned her gaze further ahead, looking at the figure still racing in the lead.

There is no doubt that the East Sea Emperor stepped into the domain at this moment because he was facing the overwhelming aura of the Stardust Illusion.

Despite being confronted by the Stardust Illusion, which resembled a monster and viewed everyone as prey, they continued their pursuit without hesitation.

Transforming this determination into the power of the heart is the key for the Emperor of the East Sea to step into the realm.

This means that the most direct factor in opening this realm is Stardust Illusion itself.

The moment she realized this fact, Alice instinctively held her breath.

(If I'm not mistaken, the reason the Emperor of the East Sea was able to be affected by these illusion particles and exhibit special domain signs... is because the aura of the stardust illusion completely enveloped the Emperor of the East Sea?!)

In that case...

Thinking of this, Alice couldn't help but lower her head and look at her slender legs.

(To truly grasp the existence of [Shoko], one must actually stand on the battlefield and compete with her...?)

----------

"—!"