"If it were you, would you have seen through the trick?" T asked.
"Of course. I figured it out the moment Double Entanglement and the White Grimoire made their first move."
"As expected of the Emperor, possessing such keen insight."
"Heh~" Rudolf chuckled softly. "It's not so much about insight as it is about having encountered this technique before. I earned the title of Emperor by scaling countless mountains and defeating countless formidable foes. Throughout that arduous climb, I witnessed countless ideal forms and the corresponding techniques—this is just one of them."
"Experience, then..." T pressed. "So, did you win back then?"
Rudolf smiled enigmatically, her gaze fixed on the clashing figures on the track.
"Just as I suspected, the problem lies in the distance. Double Entanglement and the White Grimoire have manipulated it somehow," Kousei realized. Though she couldn't immediately decipher their methods, her wild instincts screamed that the distance was the key.
"So they were right after all. You are indeed a bit smarter than the other Generations," Double Entanglement suddenly remarked, interrupting Kousei's train of thought.
"Your movements and patterns of action reveal a mind accustomed to thinking. No wonder, really. After all, sharing a generation with Elite, there likely isn't anyone among your contemporaries who could defeat her head-on," the White Grimoire interjected.
"What are those two up to?" Kousei wondered, slightly puzzled by Double Entanglement and the White Grimoire's sudden conversation. However, being pinned at the center, she couldn't take any immediate action.
"If you're trying to praise me, Senpai, I'll gladly accept," Kousei shifted her tone. "But I'd appreciate it even more if you'd tell me your real intentions."
"Hehe~ Nothing much. I simply wanted to see what kind of existence causes such a sensation among Umamusume. Alas, you seem to be constantly holding back. Show me the legendary Gate Technique—let me witness it!" the White Grimoire replied, seemingly unwilling to answer Kousei's direct question.
Kousei noticed that Double Entanglement and the White Grimoire were deliberately trying to provoke her into using the Gate Technique.
Logically, Kousei's refusal to use the Gate Technique should benefit them, or at least be harmless. They simply needed to maintain the status quo. So why were they so insistent on pushing her to use it?
"T told me not to use the Gate Technique, but my senpai want me to use it. Why?"
Kousei shook her head, banishing the extraneous thoughts from her mind. Her immediate goal was to unravel the secret she couldn't break through, temporarily setting aside any considerations unrelated to the race.
She shifted her gaze from the Umamusume to the grass, where the Umamusume's footprints were clearly visible.
"What's this?"
Kousei suddenly noticed a slight variation in the footprint distribution. The footprints ahead showed a subtle deviation compared to the initial ones.
"Footprints?"
Looking around, Kousei's eyes widened in sudden realization.
"So that's it!"
A grin stretched across her face. "Easy peasy!"
Double Entanglement and White Grimoire sensed the shift in Kousei's aura, their brows furrowing slightly. "She's solved it? This quickly? After just two clashes? Impossible!"
Despite their words, Double Entanglement and White Grimoire lacked conviction. The joy radiating from Kousei's face clearly indicated she had unraveled the mystery.
"Here I come, Senpai!"
Kousei launched her decisive attack. With the Front-Runner Horse setting a relentless pace, the race was already past the halfway mark. Every moment she wasted risked letting the Front-Runner Horse escape and end the race.
A crimson glow flared in Kousei's eyes as she prepared to repeat her earlier tactic. Her scarlet body surged forward like a storm, enveloped in a fierce gale. The White Grimoire and Double Entanglement remained unyielding, their faces unchanged. Relying on brute force again would prove futile.
"You'll be stopped by us again!"
"Hmph~" A sly chuckle escaped Kousei's lips.
Double Entanglement's expression shifted slightly as Kousei's cheek pressed against her shoulder.
A thunderous crash erupted as the two collided violently. Kousei's brute force tore a narrow gap in the previously sealed space, leaving the other Umamusume stunned.
"What's going on?"
Astonishment and confusion rippled through the crowd.
This wasn't Kousei's first collision, yet why was the impact so drastically different from her previous two attempts?
Double Entanglement staggered backward, barely maintaining her balance. Her gaze toward Kousei now burned with wary respect. "Just as I suspected! She's already cracked it!"
White Grimoire's expression turned guarded. "To break our pincer attack after only two clashes... she's even smarter than the rumors suggest. We thought we could force her to use her Gate Technique with this move, but she dismantled it instantly."
"It seems she's discovered the trick," Rudolf nodded approvingly.
T's expression relaxed slightly.
"The key to the pincer attack lies in habit. From the start, I fell into a misconception—I believed I was colliding at full force, but I wasn't.
They did withstand my impact, but before I could hit them, they deliberately moved closer, closing the distance. This made me subconsciously reduce my power. No matter which side I chose, the other would adjust their position accordingly, creating the illusion that nothing had changed from my perspective.
In essence, it was guidance. Their conversation with me was merely a tactic to distract me."
Guidance is also a Gate Technique. Kousei had used a similar principle against McQueen during the Derby, though the applications were completely different.
At high speeds, the subtle differences between racers can be difficult to discern. However, the footprints etched into the grass remain clearly visible.
"In a race, you can't just focus on the other racers. The flowing wind, the ground beneath your feet—everything within the enclosure is part of the competition."
Kousei's inspiration surged, her thoughts flooding like a tidal wave.
Double Entanglement and White Grimoire exchanged glances, their eyes betraying undisguised astonishment. Kousei's dazzling insight and learning ability were staggering. Could an Umamusume truly possess such extraordinary intelligence?
"Not enough! I can do more!"
Kousei bared her fangs in a feral grin, her pupils instantly transforming into crimson vertical slits.
"What's that sound?"
The Mid-Pack Umamusume felt their hairs stand on end as a soft rustling sound reached their ears, like a snake flicking its tongue.
T's gaze darkened. "Narita Brian's influence runs deeper than I imagined."
"Before the turn! A final showdown!"
Double Entanglement suddenly felt a chill crawl down her neck, as if something had seized her ankles. She instinctively glanced back, only to find a crimson python's head pressed against her ear, its scarlet eyes burning into hers, its forked tongue clearly visible.
"!!!"
"Double!"
White Grimoire cried out in alarm as Double Entanglement stumbled, her body swaying erratically as if struck by some unknown stimulus.
"Oh no! Double Entanglement seems to have lost her mind!"
The once-impenetrable formation shattered in an instant, Double Entanglement's erratic movements disrupting the entire group's coordination. The pack dissolved into chaos once more.
Amidst the turmoil, Kousei pricked up her ears.
"Found it! The path to break through!"
Instinct and hearing, after shattering everything, had led her to a new path.
Her dance-like strides blossomed amidst the chaos, an incongruous spectacle of grace.
Draw! Enter the turn in one smooth motion.
Overconfident in her perceived superiority, she failed to notice the glint of cold steel. A rapier thrust out with deadly precision.
"Präzision (Precision)."