"Since you've come to challenge me, I presume you're already prepared to be utterly crushed by me, aren't you?"
"Then, let's have a good, clean beatdown—let me give you a taste of my full strength!"
Although Orfevre had only participated in a single race after her showdown with Curren Chan in the Hakodate Junior Stakes until now, ever since that day when she awakened her potential, her Aura has only grown increasingly intense.
Accompanying this was an even stronger desire for victory.
This was a side of Orfevre that she wouldn't usually show; only during races would she shed her normally sensitive and volatile exterior, revealing the 'beast' within her, becoming the awe-inspiring 'Golden Tyrant' the racing world knew.
And such was the case now; Orfevre's excitement had been building up for a long time, with nowhere to release her pent-up energy.
Now, the three young Uma Musume who had stumbled into her path became the targets for her emotional outlet.
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded: once the gates opened, Orfevre, an Uma Musume with a habit of a slow start, was paradoxically the first to burst out of the gate.
Behind her, Tokai Teio, Nice Nature, and Twin Turbo showed no movement at all, staring blankly into space within their gates.
"—Go!"
"Huh?!"
Ikezoe's sharp shout brought the three stunned Uma Musume back to their senses, and almost by muscle memory, they immediately started running.
Only then, belatedly, did they realize how big their mistake was.
"Oh no—why did I suddenly zone out? I need to catch up to Orfevre!"
Tokai Teio was the first of the three to break free from the influence of Orfevre's Aura.
However, while the race had barely even started, she already experienced her first moment of self-doubt; she had, in fact, committed a slow start purely by her own fault!
As an Uma Musume who favored running as a Pace Chaser, Tokai Teio knew full well that to gain an advantage, getting an almost perfect start to secure a favourable position was essential to win.
After all, Tokai Teio was also well aware that she was a technique-oriented Uma Musume, not a stat-oriented one.
Unlike Uma Musume like Orfevre, who could make up for a slow start, if Teio didn't gain an advantage from the beginning, winning would become infinitely more difficult for her.
And now, Tokai Teio had no advantage; due to her slow start, the gap between her and Orfevre had already opened up by a considerable distance, so she could only try her best to catch up.
"Ugh—Trainer doesn't want me to use my old running style, but now…"
Tokai Teio watched the increasing distance between herself and Orfevre, seemingly feeling that her current speed wasn't enough.
Ever since Imanami became Teio's Trainer, her running style had been altered significantly by him.
By using a scientific running style, Tokai Teio, possessing incredibly flexible ankles, was already a bit faster than most Uma Musume, and the pressure on her ankles was also much less.
However, Tokai Teio seemed dissatisfied at the speeds she could reach using it; she felt that if she used her original running style, she could catch up to Orfevre, and perhaps even overtake her.
But, just as Tokai Teio was thinking this, she couldn't help but recall Imanami's warning to her…
"Don't always rely on your talent, Teio. Your fundamental skills are your key to future victories."
"If you keep relying on your talent; if one day, your talent loses its effectiveness, you will fall far behind other Uma Musume..."
...
"...Ugh—no choice."
"In that case, I'll just look for an opportunity to accelerate as much as I can during the final straight."
Ultimately, Tokai Teio managed to restrain her restless heart, choosing to honestly follow a certain distance behind Orfevre, slowly closing the gap between them.
"Oh? Quite persistent, aren't you?"
Orfevre had noticed Tokai Teio slowly catching up to her, and was quite surprised by Teio's courage to still pursue.
She had initially thought she wouldn't need to go all out, and that just a little bit of Aura would be enough to intimidate these newbie Uma Musume.
But it seemed Tokai Teio was indeed not just all talk, visibly extraordinary…
Orfevre's eyes narrowed slightly, but her legs continued to propel her forward without the slightest hesitation.
"Let me see how many more meters you can last before you collapse under the pressure, Tokai Teio…"
...
"...How strong—no wonder she's called the 'Golden Tyrant'!"
"Indeed, someone like her is leagues above an ordinary Uma Musume like me…"
Behind Tokai Teio, Nice Nature, who had just joined the race on a whim and hadn't even prepared herself mentally, almost failed to withstand her inner fear under Orfevre's intense pressure.
It was only after Ikezoe's loud reminder that she finally snapped out of it.
Even so, Nice Nature felt that her legs were incredibly heavy as if they had been filled with lead, as if she wasn't running on flat ground but struggling up an extremely steep incline.
But, it wasn't as if she couldn't move forward at all.
Nice Nature gritted her teeth, and couldn't help but shout in her heart:
"Don't underestimate—the power of the ordinary!"
Just then, Nice Nature suddenly noticed Twin Turbo disappear.
She instinctively looked behind her and found that Twin Turbo, who was supposed to be a Runaway, was timidly hiding behind her, completely devoid of the self-assured demeanor at the beginning.
"Twin Turbo? Why aren't you accelerating? Not leading the whole way isn't like you."
"I- I can't catch up, Nattie, I can't catch up!"
However, at this moment, Twin Turbo's small face was completely pale.
Who knew what kind of psychological turbulence Twin Turbo had experienced under Orfevre's imposing Aura?
Now, she had completely lost her initial arrogance and confidence; instead, there was only the panicked bewilderment of a small animal encountering a natural predator.
"I can't catch up! T- that girl, that girl isn't an Uma Musume at all! She's a monster! An Uma Musume-eating monster!"
"If I catch up, I'll be eaten! I'll definitely be caught by that monster and eaten until there's nothing left but bones!"
Twin Turbo wasn't even quite sure what she was saying herself, but Orfevre's Aura profoundly affected her already sensitive instincts, causing her to feel such fears.
In truth, Twin Turbo's sensitive instincts were, to some extent, similar to Orfevre's.
Both were prone to overreactions because their instincts were too strong and were strongly affected by external stimuli.
But the difference was that Orfevre's sensitivity manifested as irritability and a quick temper, while Twin Turbo's manifested as fear, and her tendency to run away from that fear which reflected in her desire to run as a Runaway.
However, the fear was simply too much for Twin Turbo to handle, becoming so frightened by Orfevre's Aura that she didn't even dare to get close to her.
One can imagine just how tyrannical Orfevre's Aura truly was.
The presence her Aura emitted was completely different from the feeling of T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto.
Meisho Doto's Aura could make those weaker than her feel immense pressure while T.M. Opera O's Aura could make any Uma Musume feel awe and dare not compete.
But few Uma Musume had ever been like Orfevre, having this tyrannical feeling that made one feel the other party was unstoppable and even afraid to obstruct her.
Even Symboli Rudolf's Aura was not as aggressive as Orfevre's; perhaps only historical legends like Sunday Silence and Secretariat would have Auras with similar properties to hers.
This was an extremely great test for any Uma Musume competing in the same race as Orfevre.
If they couldn't overcome her Aura, they wouldn't even have the qualifications to even wish to be on the same track as Orfevre.
"Twin Turbo… That doesn't sound like something you would say."
"Look, isn't Tokai Teio also trying her best despite everything? We—cannot give up!"
Nice Nature tried her best to encourage her friend not to be overwhelmed by Orfevre's Aura, carefully choosing her words:
"Look, even a mediocre Uma Musume like me can withstand it. Doesn't that mean dealing with Orfevre's pressure isn't that hard?"
"So, let's run forward together, Twin Turbo."
"We might not be able to surpass Orfevre, but let's try to surpass Tokai Teio!"
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If I have a penny every time the author brings up the fear of being eaten, I'd have two pennies.
Which isn't much, but it's weird it happened twice.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.