Under the full exertion of the two Horse Girls, the atmosphere on the track suddenly turned exceptionally dangerous. The air no longer smelled merely of sweat and dust; it had taken on a searing, razor-sharp edge.
Triptych narrowed her eyes. The scorching aura surrounding her body suddenly sharpened, and an invisible ripple expanded rapidly from her center.
A wave of crimson heat swept out in all directions!
It wasn't fire in the physical sense, yet it carried a weight far more oppressive than actual flames.
The other Horse Girls immediately felt as if they had been thrust into a searing cage of fire. A mysterious heat acted upon them, and dangerous tongues of flame licked the air until it began to warp.
In this state, the exhaustion brought on by the long-distance run was rapidly amplified. Unconsciously, their resolve wavered. They began to doubt their ability to win, and a strange sense of irritation was born, swelling within them at an alarming rate.
Their inner anxieties were magnified infinitely, directly impacting their movements: their arm swings lost their power, their stride frequency dropped, and their stride length began to shrink. Their speed slowed down at a pace visible to the naked eye.
More intuitively, a visible yet intangible wave of scorching fire crashed down upon them, relentlessly searing their willpower and disrupting their breathing rhythms and focus.
The running form of several Horse Girls fell into disarray. Their faces twisted with expressions of either pain or agitation; clearly, they no longer stood a chance at the title.
In the stands, Twin Turbo clutched her mouth in shock, crying out, "W-What on earth is that?!"
Wasn't this a Horse Girl sport? Why did the art style suddenly shift as if they had entered a battle manga?! Was it because she had accumulated too much fatigue and was seeing hallucinations? Or was it...
Fujimaru Ritsuka explained, "That is the Domain—or 'The Zone.' Perhaps it is a miracle that only a Horse Girl can trigger. Simply put, it is using mental strength to externalize one's inner landscape, performing an exchange of the internal and external. They use their small inner world to replace or erode the existing reality, allowing them to exert special powers that shouldn't exist in the physical world—making the impossible possible."
Myny immediately shouted, "Wait, Trainer! What kind of setting is this? Why have I never heard of this before?!"
Twin Turbo wanted to ask the same thing. Furthermore, she had a string of other questions:
Weren't the spectators afraid of the accidents such special powers might cause? The wind pressure alone from a Horse Girl's run could injure people, let alone this kind of special ability. If every Horse Girl mastered a Domain, wouldn't the racetrack become the most dangerous place on earth?
Ritsuka was about to continue when the impatient Myny cut him off. He didn't take offense, however, but naturally added: "A Domain isn't something one can master easily. In fact, it's a special power that only a tiny fraction of Horse Girls can grasp. It requires both innate talent and immense effort."
It wasn't quite one in a hundred, but it was close—roughly one top-tier Horse Girl in several hundred might master a Domain.
"Furthermore, ordinary people generally cannot see the Domain's existence. Because the Domain doesn't affect the physical world directly, but rather through the Horse Girl's actions, common people are mostly unaware of it. Even if they see something incredible, they simply attribute it to a 'miracle' performed by the Horse Girl and don't look into it any deeper."
On the track, Southern Jet, who was tailing Triptych relentlessly, refused to back down. A wild light flashed in her eyes.
BOOM! A sudden storm erupted from the level ground!
A physical gale exploded outward from her, slamming violently into the flames released by Triptych!
This wasn't a natural wind; it was a storm of will, savage and sharp as a blade!
This gale didn't just increase the physical resistance for the other Horse Girls; it carried a wild intent of "ramming" and "breaking through all shackles." It crudely battered the spirits of the other runners, overstimulating their nerves.
Those trying to stabilize their rhythm found their focus wavering in the storm, almost losing their balance. Those trying to close in on the leading group were pushed back by the fierce wind pressure; even if they managed a difficult breakthrough, they were stained by the "rejection" intent within the wind, falling behind inch by inch.
Fire and storm—two different yet equally powerful Domains clashed and eroded each other on the final straight, turning the "middle ground" into a chaotic, messy battlefield.
The Horse Girls following behind them were in agony. They had to struggle not only against their physical limits but also spare their focus to resist the double mental pressure. This wasn't something just anyone could do. Even if they gritted their teeth and gave it their all, if they couldn't do it, they simply couldn't. Shouting "it's no use" wouldn't change a thing.
The Horse Girls looked like they were running through a swamp filled with thorns, unable to catch up to the two leaders. They could only watch as those two "monsters" pulled away. Only Dyna Actress managed to barely maintain her balance, but she was like a candle flickering in a gale, looking as if she might be snuffed out at any moment.
This Japan Cup had essentially become a duel between Triptych and Southern Jet. Everyone else was just a helpless spectator, forced to watch.
Just as everyone's attention was focused on the intense confrontation between the two, Oguri Cap suddenly let out a small "Huh?"
She saw Glory charging from the wide outside path, overtaking the Horse Girls ahead of her one by one, constantly moving up the ranks.
Glory's running posture had undergone a subtle change. She lowered her center of gravity, and her arm swings became smaller while her stride frequency began to climb. Even more striking was the faint, almost ethereal golden dust floating around the petite girl, reminiscent of the warm glow of a sunset hitting glass.
Glory's speed had clearly increased.
Initially, the gap between Glory and the lead group was over ten horse-lengths—a seemingly hopeless distance. After her acceleration, that gap shrank at a terrifying speed: seven lengths, five lengths...
"Unbelievable..." The Horse Girls from Kasamatsu stared with wide eyes and open mouths, unaware they were muttering to themselves.
The distance between Glory and the two leaders fighting for the win was still immense. Though the final straight at the Japan Cup was long, her opponents were world-class Horse Girls. How could she possibly catch up? It defied logic!
And yet...
The announcer Akasaka shouted at the top of his lungs: "She's coming, she's coming! It's Glory! The petite French Horse Girl has made a sudden burst! Charging all the way from the outside, she's passing runner after runner, 'piercing' toward the front! Can she do it?!"
The crowd's emotions were ignited by the announcer. They began to cheer for Glory, hoping she could perform a miracle!
They didn't know that the Japan Cup track had practically become a hazardous zone where fire and storm clashed and intertwined.
Violent power rampaged across the turf. Even just touching the edge of the Domains made the other Horse Girls feel unsteady, as if they were about to collapse into failure.
But right in the middle of this, a petite figure wrapped in a faint golden light cut smoothly and firmly into the battlefield created by the two leaders!
Faced with the threat of the violent mental domains ahead, no fear could be found in the girl's azure eyes—there was only a crystal-clear focus.
A flash of brilliant gold passed through her eyes. Pure white feathers began to flutter down from the sky. The Horse Girls seemed to see a ray of light descending from the zenith of the heavens and heard a melodious, comforting hymn echoing through the clouds!
The light Glory radiated wasn't blinding, but it possessed an incredible power.
The flames that seared the will were blocked by the golden light, their power drastically reduced. The storm that disrupted the mind was smoothed out by this steady glow, turning into harmless eddies.
The interference from the Domains was discarded cleanly!
Glory's speed didn't slow down to fight the Domains; instead, she remained incredibly composed, as if she were completely unaffected. She even began to accelerate further!
She was like a golden longsword tempered through many trials, slicing through the chaotic zone of fire and storm, aiming unswervingly at the source of the obstacle!
"What?!"
"That girl?!"
Almost simultaneously, Triptych and Southern Jet noticed this anomaly. In their fierce confrontation, where neither could spare a thought for anyone else, someone had actually broken into their Domains—and was unaffected?
Facing that warm, resilient golden light, they instinctively felt a threat.
Just a second ago, the two Horse Girls were trying to crush each other. In this instant, without any communication, they reached a startling understanding: Get rid of this one first!
That was Glory, after all—the Glory who could easily win even when racing overseas!
Triptych's gaze sharpened. Most of the Domain's power suddenly shifted direction, rapidly condensing into a searing whip of fire that lashed out violently toward Glory!
Southern Jet gritted her teeth, her Domain suddenly contracting before exploding outward! Several razor-sharp blades of wind slashed down toward Glory from tricky angles!
A pincer attack! A ruthless combined assault from two top-tier Horse Girls!
A chorus of gasps erupted from both the stands and the track. Maruzensky sat up straight, intense interest surfacing in her eyes. Twin Turbo covered her mouth and closed her eyes, afraid to look. Oguri Cap stared fixedly at Glory; she felt Glory must have a way to break through, and she wanted to see how the crisis would be resolved.
Faced with a joint attack powerful enough to make any Horse Girl lose speed instantly or even drop out of the race entirely, Glory's pious, calm expression finally changed.
She took a deep breath. A spark of pitch-black fire seemed to burst from the depths of her eyes, and then the spark spread rapidly, erupting into a raging inferno!
Without any warning, the warm golden light inverted! It didn't disappear, but its nature underwent a world-shaking transformation! Warmth turned into a pitiless, searing intent; resilience became a surging, violent heart of struggle. A wrathful fire capable of burning everything was born!
Clang!
The petite girl drew her "sword." A cold, sharp glint reflected in her eyes along with the blade's light: "The time has come. Let the Witches' Banquet begin!"
With Glory at the center, a burst of pitch-black flames mixed with dark red erupted! It carried a heavy aura of destruction and rebellion, sweeping out in all directions!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Countless black spears lunged out from the flames, thrusting toward the two Horse Girls like a forest of blades!
BOOM—!
The pitch-black fire slammed into the whip of flames. The latter immediately let out a "hissing" cry of agony and was swallowed almost instantly!
The blades of wind were like birds flying into a bronze wall, shredded to pieces by the black inferno!
"How is this possible?!" Triptych's pupils shrank. The stinging pain from the mental backlash made her grunt, and her running rhythm suffered a momentary, unintended hitch.
"What kind of power is this?!" Southern Jet was even more horrified. In the face of those black flames, her storm actually seemed so pale and powerless? The recoil made her steps stumble, and she nearly lost her sprinting speed.
Glory narrowed her eyes: Now!
Even if the opening lasted only a heartbeat, she would seize it firmly!
At the very center of the black flames, Glory's expression was cold and stern, her azure eyes reflecting what looked like burning ruins. All the flames suddenly snapped back, condensing beneath her feet, and then—
BOOM—!
TOTAL ERUPTION!
A ring of black shockwaves exploded beneath her feet! Her petite body instantly became a pitch-black meteor tearing through space!
Her movements were more violent and more decisive than ever before. Her speed climbed to its absolute peak! In the blink of an eye, she seized the fleeting opening left by Triptych and Southern Jet and "brutally" tore through!
"Tch!!!" The two Horse Girls roared in frustration at the same time, desperately trying to adjust their states and postures to block Glory.
But the opening had been seized, and their rhythms were shattered. How could they possibly adjust back in an instant? Reality wasn't a game; there was no "reset" button!
They could only watch as that black meteor overtook them in a flash, pulling away by one, two, then three horse-lengths!
Final 200 meters! Glory was in a league of her own!
The pitch-black flames protected her at the center, and her unyielding, stern aura had already overawed the entire venue! Her speed didn't slacken in the slightest as she continued her thunderous sprint!
CROSS THE LINE!!!
Time seemed to freeze in that moment. Then, the giant screens at the racecourse displayed a jaw-dropping result:
1st Place: Le Glorieux (France) NEW RECORD!
The venue erupted into a roar that could shake heaven and earth. The crowd cheered wildly for the girl's victory, everyone eager to offer her their best blessings.
Glory slowed down gradually. Looking at her results on the big screen, the girl's azure eyes shone like the clear sky. Using all her strength, she pointed a single finger toward the heavens and let out a soul-felt cry:
"Vive la France!"
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Musume: Oguri Cap Grand Order (119 Chapters – Ongoing)
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