4: Chapter 3: A Final Showdown!
4: Chapter 3: A Final Showdown!
“The runners are entering the final turn!
What kind of performances will they show us?
Number 3!
Number 3 is accelerating!
She’s increasing the gap over second place!
What about the others?
The rest of the field doesn’t seem to be responding!” The race entered its final phase.
Once they cleared the last turn, the finish line would be within reach.
And at that moment…
Nice Nature accelerated again.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster!
She couldn’t hold anything back anymore.
She had to break free from Natsume Reiko’s restraint.
If she got caught again…
It was over.
“I want to win.” Nice Nature said it to herself.
She completely forgot the cold gaze of Natsume Reiko boring into her back.
Only the finish line ahead reflected in her eyes.
Victory.
That was her only objective.
Her desperate will to survive forced her to ignore every outside factor.
The image of Natsume Reiko gradually vanished from her mind.
In its place came the finish line.
Sharper.
Larger.
Closer.
Nice Nature accelerated again!
“Number 3!
Number 3 accelerates once more!
Will victory belong to Number 3?!” As expected of Nice Nature.
Even now she can still explode with speed.
No…
Did she break free from the shackles and then accelerate?
Li Ze could see it clearly.
As the final turn ended, the instant the effects of her skills weakened, Nice Nature’s guts erupted.
She tore through the restraints and accelerated forward.
This was Nice Nature’s true speed.
Everything before this had been nothing more than dancing in chains.
But I’m not willing to give up that easily either!
This is the closest I’ve ever been to victory!
[Front Runner Hesitation] [Pace Chaser Hesitation] [Late Surger Hesitation] [Binding] Invisible tendrils spread from Li Ze’s body.
They continued suppressing the runners behind her.
Number 8, directly behind Li Ze, couldn’t help letting out a miserable cry.
That feeling again!
What even is this?!
Why…
Why does it feel like I’m about to be eaten?!
The fact that she could still hold third place at this stage proved that Number 8 possessed excellent talent.
But at a moment like this…
The more talented an Uma Musume was, the more clearly she could feel the pressure radiating from Li Ze.
Their gift from heaven was no longer a blessing.
It had become a nightmare.
The runners behind her were no threat.
Li Ze had locked them all down.
The only Uma Musume still capable of challenging for first place was Nice Nature ahead.
The invisible tendrils surged forward with only one target.
They crossed the distance and caught her.
They would become invisible shackles around her ankles.
Slow her down.
And then Li Ze would win.
Yes.
From the beginning, Li Ze had never believed she needed to outrun everyone.
It was like encountering a bear in the wilderness.
You didn’t need to outrun the bear.
You only needed to outrun the person beside you.
She wasn’t making herself faster.
She was making everyone else slower.
But then…
Something unexpected happened.
The instant the shackles closed around Nice Nature…
She accelerated again.
The sudden burst threw off the restraints.
And the tendrils no longer had enough momentum to catch her a second time.
Even without looking at the screen, Li Ze knew.
The skill had failed.
Nice Nature…
Was living up to her name.
“Hah…
hah…” Escaping another attack from Natsume Reiko hadn’t been easy.
Nice Nature had poured everything into that sudden acceleration.
Her breathing rhythm completely collapsed.
For a brief moment, her speed actually decreased.
Sweat covered her body.
Part of it was the exhaustion accumulated over the race.
But even more came from the psychological pressure behind her.
She could feel Natsume Reiko nearby.
As her speed dropped, the distance between them didn’t increase.
It shrank.
That calm face began appearing in her mind once again.
No.
Don’t think about her.
Don’t look.
Don’t get dragged back into her rhythm.
Nice Nature closed her eyes.
Then opened them.
Only green turf and the finish line remained in her vision.
She’d escaped the attack.
For the moment, she’d also escaped the mental pressure.
So…
She could do this!
Squeezing the last reserves from her leg muscles, Nice Nature launched her second acceleration on the final straight!
That was first place.
That was victory.
That was…
Freedom!
The line representing everything she wanted was drawn clearly across the turf ahead.
And Nice Nature wasn’t the only person on the racetrack who wanted to be the first to cross it.
She can still do that much?
Is Nice Nature really making her debut today?
Li Ze was shocked.
She could tell that Nice Nature’s previous burst had been made with everything she had.
The slowdown afterward proved it.
So why…
Why could she still accelerate now?!
Was it Guts?
Could Guts really affect someone this much?
Wasn’t that the stat nobody bothered investing in?!
Can I still win?
Her lungs felt ready to explode.
The experience of being a former athletic failure told her exactly what that meant.
Her breathing couldn’t keep up.
Her legs felt impossibly heavy.
Her muscles were screaming that they couldn’t sustain this exertion anymore.
Should she keep going?
Did she really need to keep going?
In that instant, countless memories flashed through Li Ze’s mind.
Staying up late the night before the college entrance examination.
Giving up on himself during high school.
Quitting during middle school.
He had given up too many times.
So many times that surrender had become habit.
After graduating from university, when he looked back on his life, he saw a person who’d relied on a little cleverness but never truly worked hard.
One step at a time…
He had walked toward an ordinary life.
He always told himself he didn’t regret anything.
But whenever he looked back at his parents’ faces, already no longer young…
He couldn’t stop regretting how little effort he’d made.
But what use was regret?
This world had no “what if.” So…
I don’t want to give up.
I’ve already come this far.
I’ve endured this much.
My entire body is screaming.
If I give up now, then what’s the point of the price I’ll pay when I go home and spend several days unable to get out of bed?
The runners behind me are sealed by my skills.
That means nothing.
If I don’t take first…
Then it isn’t victory.
“I want to win.
“I want to win!” Nice Nature’s earlier roar echoed in her ears.
Nice Nature wanted victory.
But the Uma Musume named Natsume Reiko…
Wanted victory too.
If Nice Nature could accelerate through sheer guts…
Why couldn’t she?
If we’re talking about guts…
I don’t think I’ll lose!
Forget the burden on the body.
There was only one thing she needed to think about.
Accelerate.
Accelerate.
Accelerate again!
“Wait!
Number 1!
Number 1 is accelerating too!
Can she catch Number 3?!
Number 1 and Number 3—who will cross the line first?!” The commentator’s voice grew heated.
Even a tiny debut race had spectators.
This was Uma Musume.
Yet while everyone outside still saw an undecided contest…
Li Ze already knew the answer.
Because she saw the skill panel change again.
Her unique skill…
The one that had remained grayed out until now…
Finally turned vivid crimson.
Then take this, Nice Nature!
This is my unique skill.
The system says…
It’s time to go!
[Tyranny of the Unyielding]—Activate!
If someone had been capable of seeing that intangible aura, they would have watched boundless darkness explode outward from Li Ze’s body.
It spread rapidly.
Greedily devouring everything.
As the Uma Musume behind her became enveloped by the aura, the darkness accelerated even further.
It transformed into ropes.
Into enormous invisible hands.
They reached toward Nice Nature.
Caught her legs and prevented them from lifting.
Caught her arms and prevented them from swinging.
“Number 3!
Number 3 is slowing down!
Her speed has dropped dramatically!
Has she exhausted her stamina?!
Number 1 is closing in!
Closing in!
The finish line is right ahead!
Is Number 1 going to complete a miraculous last-second comeback?!” Even with her back turned to Natsume Reiko…
Nice Nature could feel that suffocating presence.
That calm face appeared before her mind.
A faint smile gradually formed upon it.
Failure lay ahead.
She was going to lose.
Nice Nature understood that clearly.
But…
She couldn’t accept it!
Her legs didn’t stop.
So what if she’d slowed down?
The finish line was directly ahead.
There wasn’t much distance left!
Even if I have to drag a mountain behind me…
I’ll keep moving!
I’ll give everything I have!
The finish line approached.
Finally, the two ran side by side.
Yet neither looked at the other.
There was only one thing in both their eyes.
Forward!
Until they crossed that line…
Nothing else mattered.
Not even their lives.
“AAAAAH—!” Nice Nature squeezed out one final roar.
All the suffering she’d endured.
All her persistence.
In that instant…
Turned into triumph.
Even the exhaustion consuming her body couldn’t suppress the joy and exhilaration erupting from the depths of her soul.
With one final scream…
Nice Nature ended the race.
“They crossed simultaneously!
The difference cannot be determined by the naked eye!
We will need the photo finish to decide the final result.
Please wait for the official ruling!” The young commentator’s excited voice came through the broadcast.
Even though she tried to suppress her emotions and speak calmly…
She couldn’t contain her joy.
A real commentator wasn’t someone who coldly described who stood first and who stood second.
A real commentator poured their soul into the race.
They felt the emotions of the Uma Musume on the track.
They felt their desire for victory.
Their refusal to yield.
“What an incredible race.
It feels as though I’ve just witnessed two new stars rising into the sky.” The older commentator spoke softly.
Perhaps she couldn’t sense the aura.
Perhaps she couldn’t see skills activating the way the system could.
But she could still feel the blazing passion in those two Uma Musume during the final charge.
Victory and defeat.
Who had won?
Who had lost?
As seconds slowly passed…
The answer drew closer.
At last, the broadcast came alive again.
The commentator delivered the final announcement.
The result of the race.
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