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

However, she bit her lips hard at the last moment before she uttered the word, suppressing it.

The heart is still beating and breathing is still going on.

The starlight in the sky dimmed at this moment, and the girl could not see anything in front of her eyes...

No, there was still something that she was still staring at.

That is the back of the strongest player in this competition - Stardust Illusion, running ahead!

(How can I fall here... The Emperor must continue to move forward and defeat Stardust as his old enemy!)

……

Unable to run.

Even if he aroused the strongest and greatest fighting spirit and filled his whole body with desire, the emperor could not take another step with his right leg.

Why...what did you do?

Take a step, take a step.

Move.

Hurry up, Theo!

It's just a broken leg, don't waste your time here, keep moving forward!!!

however.

Even though the emperor's fighting spirit exploded and completely dispelled the surrounding darkness... this time, no miracle happened.

She wanted to take a step forward. She wanted to run forward with all her might even in this situation.

She wanted to stand at the finish line and say to the stardust illusion:

[Stardust, I’ve caught up. I can catch up, too! ! ]

But, even if I take one more step… I can’t take it.

The final step, the burning determination, completely collapsed after this moment.

The body suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of relaxation, or rather, a sense of loss as if the consciousness had drifted away from the body.

What comes with it is the feeling of being suspended in the air due to the sudden weightlessness of the body.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment. The Emperor of the East China Sea could only stare in amazement at the world that had been turned upside down in front of him, and watch his body flying from the inside of the track to the outside.

Floating in the air, it seemed that at this moment, the emperor was forced to recall the challenge that the opponent had launched against him after his initial debut battle.

And at that time, the Stardust Illusion told her about her awareness of being a loser.

[No matter how many excuses you make for yourself, no matter what the reasons are, if you lose, you lose. In the end, only the one who runs first and crosses the finish line is the winner.]

At this moment, the girl looked at the figure running away in the distance and stretched out her hand blankly, as if trying to grab and retain something.

His face was twisted to show his unwillingness to admit defeat, and the bloodshot eyes were completely covered with hot tears.

The last emperor of the East Sea could only call out that name in his heart, calling out...

The old enemy who was about to reach the finish line and enjoy the glory, running towards the other side where he was not.

(Stardust, stardust... Stardust...!)

At the last moment, the emperor could only stare at the back figure in front of him.

She bit her lower lip, forcing herself not to make even the slightest sound...

The unyielding emperor, the immortal phoenix of hell.

On the final straight track of this neon derby, fell.

----------

Now is the final moment.

The closer to the finish line, the more excited Stardust Illusion's heart surged. Everyone in this arena was fighting desperately against each other, bursting themselves into action in order to seize the supreme shine.

She knew this very well - every horse girl she knew would never give up.

Each of these girls is a true genius. No matter how huge the gap is, they will choose to give it a try.

Especially...the Emperor of the East China Sea.

Just like herself in the past, her past failures have become her most primitive and fundamental driving force. No matter how hard she tries to hide it, from the moment she stands on the field, the emperor will definitely unleash unimaginable terrifying potential.

On weekdays, the one who was in love with the emperor in the academy was himself.

Now, it is also himself who has ignited the fire in his heart to completely extinguish the emperor's hope of victory.

As long as they stand on the field, no contestant has any other choice but to kill all the enemies and climb to the top by stepping on their fallen corpses...

Only then can you hold that shining Top Star!

Stepping on the ground, the final explosion of the stardust illusion has not ended yet.

The uphill slope in front of you is the final runway to help you reach the top of the climb.

(Let me use my final and strongest stance to welcome your powerless struggles...)

boom.

When the horseshoe fell, the grass under his feet burst open with a loud bang, and a large dent was formed on the ground.

[Skill Mountaineer has been activated.]

Let you become the shining stars that surround me!!!

The wind and thunder roared, and a bolt from the blue exploded out of nowhere on the track. The sprinting figure that tore through everything compressed its momentum completely to one point, and even the earth trembled.

Stardust Illusion's acceleration posture has been fully arranged. In this arena, in the next moment, she will burst out with her strongest running style ever.

A true inherent skill called [Stardust Illusion].

Since her debut battle, Stardust Illusion has mastered a special running technique called "Shrinking the Earth" as a horse girl.

Its essence is to cause visual deception to other opponents by instantly moving the body forward, using extremely powerful explosive acceleration and body swinging, thus creating the illusion that she is in an instant.

After that, Stardust Illusion, which accumulated experience and status, further trained and evolved it, thus gaining new skills:

Golden skill Phantom Step.

A special running method created by Stardust Illusion, which combines the basic application of shrinking the earth with continuous changes of pace to induce the opponent to misjudge the direction of running.

At the moment of performance, it will create countless phantoms running in different directions in the eyes of the runners who are witnessing it, which is a further visual deception.

And then, what after that?

Stardust Illusion, is there any improvement in the running style created by this horse girl?

The answer is, of course.

It symbolizes her awkward yet simple personality, her focus on the game, and her willingness to give everything she has in the pursuit of glory.

As the inherent skill of the horse girl, it will always be the essence of this horse girl, and it is also the symbol of the runner's transformation into the wind ahead and her true self.

For Stardust Illusion, that was proof of her being a horse girl, and the invincible strength she possessed as an overlord.

Wake up, the real me...

"—?!"

A sudden throbbing in his heart instantly pulled Stardust Illusion out of this state of ecstasy.

[Stardust...Aa ...

The only sound coming from my ears was the strong wind, but in my heart I inexplicably heard a voice that sounded like weeping and wailing, calling my name.

There was no reason, no logical possibility to explain it, but Stardust Illusion noticed it at this moment.

Then she subconsciously followed her feeling and turned around to look back.

Do not……

Why...look back?

Now is the best time to start the final acceleration. Looking back here will not help except to affect the speed.

Did he want to check to see what position the opponents behind him had reached?

……

If you are the one being chased behind, you would never want the runner ahead to be affected in his subsequent run because he wants to confirm his position.

On this sacred and supreme Uma Musume stage, every contestant should do their best and run forward!

but.

Why...can't I control it!

The body's instinct was as if it suddenly had its own thoughts, and it forcibly controlled the Stardust Illusion's neck to turn backwards.

There was no need to turn around and look behind him. As soon as he turned his head a little, the Stardust Illusion saw the situation -

That was... the Emperor of the East China Sea who was chasing after him.

She was running at a rapid speed, but suddenly her right leg went weak and her whole body lost balance instantly. Even though she staggered forward two steps, she still couldn't control it.

Immediately afterwards, the whole person flew sideways to the outside of the track.

In the air, the Stardust Illusion looked into those blue eyes for a moment, but was unable to understand the meaning behind them.

The look was so complicated that Stardust Illusion was unable to think at all.

But even if you don't think about it, the earth's gravity and inertia continue to play their role.

The petite girl whimpered as she slammed into the muddy and heavy horse racing track.

Like a toy doll thrown to the ground by a child, the Emperor of the East China Sea rolled sideways on the ground and finally hit the railing at the end of the runway before stopping.

It wasn't just her right leg that was broken. Even a quick glance would reveal that her arm, which had been bent at an incredible angle, was also seriously injured. Add to that the continuous collisions caused by the rapid fall just now...

It can be said that even if someone announced the emperor’s death now, it would not be surprising.

"emperor--"

Stardust Illusion subconsciously screamed in panic. This was a cruel scene she had never seen before, not to mention that the man was the Emperor of the East China Sea, whom Stardust Illusion regarded as her mortal enemy and close friend!

At this moment, she had completely lost her concentration during the game, and couldn't help but slow down her pace...

No.

At this moment, the Stardust Illusion showed a worried expression and even wanted to slow down.

Floating in the wind... the last words of the Emperor of the East China Sea also reached her ears, completely killing the weakness revealed by the Stardust Illusion.

“Don’t stop—!!!”

The emperor's voice was like thunder, exploding in the ears of Stardust Phantom.

“…Run, Stardust, run…run ahhhhhhh!!!”

By the end, the shouting had transformed into an unbearable wail of pain, and the Emperor of the East China Sea spat out a mouthful of blood.

She trembled and tried to curl up her broken body into a ball, hoping not to block any runners who might run by.

Without having to think about the Stardust Illusion, one could understand how much pain the emperor had endured to be able to shout out those words to him.

(So... I can't let you down.)

"hiss--!"

Suddenly, Stardust Illusion inhaled the cold wind that was blowing on his face into his lungs, closed his eyes suddenly, and walked forward without daring to stop for a moment!

When he opened his eyes again, his blood-red pupils were once again filled with pure and blinding madness.

Stardust Illusion certainly knew what the East China Sea Emperor meant by his final look and cry.

That is the last dignity of the Emperor of the East China Sea as a horse girl and a runner.

She absolutely did not want her accident to affect other contestants, and she did not want the final battle between the two to end in such a ridiculous way.

So… respond to her.

Just as I thought at the beginning, once on the field, no one has any other choice.