Uma Musume, do I have to tell you that I know how to use the Santa Hat special move?

As long as you can gather all the conditions and reach the [correct] location, you will instantly gain a terrifying increase from your original state of having nothing.

Endurance, speed, acceleration, all the qualities a horse girl needs will be provided by this ability.

She didn't even need to think about what state and position to be in for the final sprint. She just had to keep running and wait.

Waiting for the moment when the race reaches the last 777m remaining.

In fact, it has been said many times that Stardust Illusion enjoys a running method called escape.

This has nothing to do with whether it is rational or best for you.

The only reason why she chooses to insist on doing the Great Escape in every race is that her instinct as a horse girl drives her to obtain the supreme scenery that the Great Escape brings.

In fact, all three trainers and Rudolph have thought about this question:

What is the best running style for Stardust Illusion?

The answer is yes, and it is obvious.

That is the chasing method, or at least the central running method.

The tactic called escape is a very risky choice for the regular-season horse girl.

The risks of escaping have been mentioned many times before, so I will not elaborate on it here.

All in all, if we put aside Stardust Illusion's personal interests, she possesses an extraordinary last kick inherited from Oguruma, plus her abnormal ability to steadily draw nourishment from training.

If you are only focused on pursuing victory and looking for a truly reliable method, then the smart thing to do is to become a slow follower in the early stages and then suddenly exert your strength in the middle and late stages of the race.

She possesses the Phantom Step, and up to now, only Qingzhu Huiyi has defeated her in terms of positional awareness, and Qingzhu Huiyi was only able to do so by utilizing the racing experience and training stamina that was 5 years ahead of her.

In other words, the best place to definitely use that last kick is the wide outside field which is almost exclusively for the runners behind.

...This is Stardust Illusion's own choice.

From her first debut battle, she had been consciously learning all the skills of a runaway horse, and step by step had built up everything she has now as a great escape horse girl.

However, the essence will not change.

As a runner, she might occasionally be torn apart, but the real victory would always be the last kick that was enough to match the last kick of the pursuers.

After all, the title that this girl first won came from the runner who broke the limits of his field with his last foot - Oguruma.

Come on, emperor, the moment of decisive battle is approaching.

Let us show everyone what the shine of runners is!

It only takes a blink of an eye to...

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[The Emperor of the East Sea! The Emperor of the East Sea has surpassed the Stardust Illusion and taken the first place! ! ! ]

[The runners have all passed the second straight line and are now in the third bend... Dongshang's transformation is accelerating! Is she going to compete with the two runners in front? ! ]

[The group of horse girls in the back began to get anxious, but this did not affect the three players in the front. The East Merchants' transformation began to accelerate! The East Sea Emperor did not slow down either... No, the East Sea Emperor also accelerated! This perfect running posture is——]

[Ah! The East Sea Emperor is faster!!! This genius who has never failed since his debut, can he still defeat all the contestants today and hold the victory in his hands! ? ]

The host shouted, expressing the thoughts of all the anxious audience members.

Everyone saw this match and witnessed the East Sea Emperor defeating the two players Stardust Illusion and East Business Transformation one after another. No one could catch up with this girl.

At this moment, even if you are not her supporter, you can't help but have some expectations in your heart, right?

Looking forward to personally witnessing the birth of the legendary undefeated triple crown.

In the arena, Stardust Illusion, who was just preparing to face the moment of his decisive battle, was hit in the heart by the sudden footsteps.

boom--

The powerful footsteps of the Emperor of the East China Sea seemed to hit Stardust Illusion's heart directly, interrupting the thoughts she had already raised.

Just as the Emperor increased his speed again and began to move forward past the Stardust Illusion, the Stardust Illusion suddenly felt his breathing stagnate.

The runner beside her was reflected deeply in her eyes.

For some reason my whole body began to tremble.

This trembling was completely different from the trembling that a warrior felt due to excitement before a match. It was simply... trembling due to fear.

fear?

Am I scared?

Stardust Illusion couldn't believe that he would feel this way.

But this feeling is a real thing.

At this moment, my hands and feet felt frozen due to the cold.

The pain of being on the verge of the limit, the state of hypoxia when breathing but not getting enough oxygen, and even the feeling of frustration after being surpassed by others.

These feelings, which should have been thrown behind her mind by the stardust illusion, were instantly transmitted to her mind.

——This comes from deep within her heart, from the fear deep in her bones.

In this sacred arena, when he was about to start fighting with the emperor again to achieve the victory or defeat that had been agreed upon long ago.

But I am afraid...?

What is she afraid of?

Love to race, love to run.

Hungry for victory, hungry for glory.

With such a stardust illusion, what on earth would she be afraid of on the field?

It is incomprehensible, unacceptable and unacceptable.

As a person like me, I should never have any fear.

As for myself... I should have focused all my energy on this competition, on winning the victory, right?!

The fact that this high-spirited figure began to surpass herself and move forward was like a sharp steel nail that pierced directly into her heart.

What is this feeling…?

No, I should focus on running...

[…Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! The Emperor of the East China Sea! Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! The Emperor of the East China Sea!]

Next to my ear, it seemed as if a voice completely different from the host of today's game was shouting passionately.

Stardust Illusion instantly understood where the auditory hallucination came from...

Everything in front of me became blurred at this moment, and even the condition of the lawn in front was difficult to confirm.

For a moment, she couldn't even tell whether it was an illusion or reality.

The voice from the debut battle transformed into an unidentified runner, chasing after her from behind the stardust illusion, and mixed with the enthusiastic shouts of the host at the stadium, giving her a splitting headache.

I bit down on the tip of my tongue hard, and the rusty and bloody taste instantly filled my entire mouth.

A strong gust of wind blew towards her face.

The hat on Stardust Illusion's head was blown away by the strong wind, revealing a face that was completely hideous due to pain.

However, even so, the voice of the past still cannot be dispelled from my ears.

The girl had clearly been disturbed to this extent, but she was still unwilling to slow down at all. Her legs and feet, which were already at the limit, were still running at the highest speed, with no intention of slowing down at all.

(What is going on? Is it possible that the phantom from the past is also trying to stop me, like letting what happened in the debut match that day happen to me again?)

The track has reached the third bend. Stardust Illusion, who was supposed to change her running style here, found that the figure of the East China Sea Emperor was becoming blurred in her eyes, and gradually overlapped with the phantom during the debut battle.

Now that we have entered the third bend, there are only 800m left in the race, which means that we have arrived at that position.

Stardust Illusion understood that he should prepare himself here for the moment that would come.

Since the Emperor of the East China Sea has already used a power called domain level, if I want to compete with him, I must also use a running method of the same level to fight back.

However, this sudden hallucination, like a thorn in the flesh, tightly entangled the stardust illusion.

Not only did it interfere with her vision, but it also made it impossible for her to clear her mind again...

(Ahhh, I finally understand.)

Stardust Vision understood.

Why this happened, I don't know.

Why the body falls into a state of fear before the consciousness does.

Why...what is she afraid of?

This discordant sound that prevented the stardust illusion from being in sync with the inner heart chased the runner whose image could not be seen clearly behind the stardust illusion, and finally revealed his true appearance.

That’s right, it’s not what Stardust Illusion had thought before. It’s not because I’m not completely obsessed with victory, shining, and running... that I feel fear.

And it was precisely because she was too obsessed with the victory or defeat with the Emperor of the East China Sea that this happened.

What she feared was precisely failure itself.

The scene before him was like an illusion from the past, which brought back the memory of losing to the Emperor of the East China Sea in his debut battle that had been hidden in Xingchen Illusion's heart.

Seeing such a similar scene, the body began to fear before the brain, afraid that the scene of the debut battle would happen again...

He hurriedly chased after him, trying his best to catch up with the figure of the East China Sea Emperor who passed by him, but in the end he failed completely because he missed by a hair's breadth.

Her obsession with winning the game and striving for the glory... This kind of obsession surpasses that of ordinary people, even ordinary horse racing girls.

Only such an abnormal mentality could turn into a rope that bound her vision, a hand that blinded her eyes, and a clamp that strangled her throat.

That's right, this mentality undoubtedly comes from her instinct as a horse girl that transcends everything.

Because of this abnormal instinct of persistence, the Stardust Illusion has defeated powerful enemies and reversed desperate situations time and time again.

This time, this instinct backfired.

The scenes of the present and the past, the two competitions kept jumping and flashing in front of the Stardust Illusion, and could not be dispelled no matter what, making it impossible for her to truly see everything in front of her.

This abnormal situation was a disaster for the horse girl who was running.

Not being able to see the track ahead clearly means being unable to confirm the status of other runners.

It would be fine if she were still escaping now, but the Emperor of the East China Sea has gradually overtaken her, and the two of them have entered the third bend together.

(What else can I do? As long as I can win, I can do anything──)

The inner instinct was like a contradiction. On the one hand, it drove the body to resist surpassing the Emperor of the East China Sea, but on the other hand, it kept urging Stardust Illusion to think of new ways.

What did you think?

She herself couldn't explain her current state of mind.

If it were her usual self, she would probably say: Just keep running.

No matter what, the fact that the game is not over means there is still a chance of winning.

But in this Gaoyueshang, is it really enough to just keep running?

Facing the third bend, she could no longer use the bend running method she learned from Super Stream.

Even if it wanted to try to speed up again to make up for the gap, it was difficult for the Stardust Illusion to judge whether it would directly collide with the emperor in front.

Desperate situation… ?

The smell of rust diffused into the dry throat, relieving the pain in the throat that seemed to be smoking.

It seemed that the battle was a foregone conclusion and that he had completely lost any advantage that could have allowed him to defeat his opponent.

In this state of complicated thoughts, it is impossible to enter the realm called domain.

However, the inability to enter the realm meant that Stardust Illusion could no longer regain the lead from the realm-level emperor...

"……ha."

However, faced with this extremely depressing situation, Stardust Illusion suddenly laughed.

All problems stem from the current situation where one is in a disadvantageous position.

The Emperor of the East Sea, who opened up his domain and became the absolute protagonist in the arena, could not be caught up by even the Dongshang Reform, who also opened up his domain.

Although we still don’t know exactly where the Emperor’s domain is strong, but…