"So I've been spotted."
The Mark might have narrowed Kousei's vision, but she had anticipated Sea the Stars' mid-pack attack from the very beginning. That was why, even while dueling Nakayama Festa, she had kept a close watch on her rival's every move.
Gazing at the Flame Wheel burning fiercely in Kousei's pupils, Sea the Stars finally understood what it truly felt like to face her.
It was a searing flame that burned straight to the soul.
An irrepressible excitement surged through Sea the Stars. Light swirled in her eyes as motes of Stardust began to gather around her.
Facing the reigning King of the Arc de Triomphe, Kousei dared not let her guard down. She unleashed a volley of chains, but as Sea the Stars began to flicker, her figure vanished like a ghost.
"Over here!"
Instead of immediately breaking away, Sea the Stars pressed closer, seizing the exact moment Kousei exited the turn to slam into her. Though Sea the Stars lacked superior Power, she exploited the flaw in Kousei's unstable posture to pin her down. Because they were hugging the inner lane, Sea the Stars' single strike forced Kousei to the very edge of the guardrail.
The two ran side-by-side, practically pressed against each other. With the guardrail on one side and Sea the Stars on the other, there was absolutely no room to spare. Kousei's immense strength was useless with nowhere to unleash it.
"Didn't know I had this move?" Sea the Stars taunted.
"I knew."
The chaotic thunder of hooves filled their ears. When the mist of the initial clash finally cleared, the field had completely surrounded them.
"You prefer to wait at the back because you're not good at navigating the pack," Kousei explained calmly. "You make your move from the outside when the mid-pack descends into chaos. You're Sea the Stars. How could I possibly overlook someone so important?"
If Sea the Stars had stayed at the rear, Kousei would have had no way to deal with her. And in a final-leg showdown against Sea the Stars' legendary closing kick, Kousei wasn't entirely confident she could win.
"I see," Sea the Stars realized. "Your goal all along was to drag me into this chaotic brawl."
From the very beginning, Kousei's target had been Sea the Stars.
"Not good at handling the pack, am I?" Sea the Stars chuckled. They were boxed in from the sides, the gaps between Umamusume too narrow for even one to pass through.
The situation was dire, but on the track, everything could change in an instant. The chaotic field was constantly shifting. All she had to do was seize the moment a path opened.
"Right here!"
Stardust drifted ahead, illuminating the path for Sea the Stars. Following the starlight's guidance, she once again set out on her journey to chase the stars.
Draped in stars and crowned by the moon, she flew across the turf.
Sea the Stars' figure flickered like a phantom, her footwork something out of a fairy tale. Here, she demonstrated why she was destined to be king.
It wasn't that she was unskilled at navigating the pack—it was simply unnecessary.
Standing alone within the field, she was about to break free in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, a Flame Wheel erupted in the sky, tearing through the silent night. Sea the Stars' stride faltered, her entire body freezing as if rooted to the spot.
Yet, the one who had unleashed it was nowhere to be seen. Sea the Stars' eyes darted, instantly locking onto her next move. But the moment she lifted her foot, another Umamusume abruptly occupied the space.
Sea the Stars looked closely—it wasn't Kousei. As she wondered when another Umamusume capable of reading the flow of the race had appeared, she noticed a flicker of annoyance on the other girl's face.
Something's wrong, Sea the Stars realized.
To test her theory, she attempted to break through several more times. But each time she made a move, it was as if her intentions had been predicted.
With this, Sea the Stars confirmed her suspicion.
"They're being herded into those positions. Kousei is the one pulling the strings from behind."
This wasn't the first time Kousei had done this. In the Spring Tenno Sho, she had first attempted to use the field to contain Mejiro McQueen.
The more factors Kousei could manipulate, the stronger she became.
The core of her strategy: a slow, deliberate advance.
Umamusume racing is fundamentally a contest of speed, where competitors strive to maximize their velocity. But Kousei's Gate Technique was the exact opposite—her path to victory lay in dragging the race into a slow, grinding rhythm.
Sea the Stars knew this well, so she decided to deny Kousei any opportunity to set up her board.
She bent her knees, launching forward like a bullet from a chamber. If Kousei could predict the trajectory of her starlight, then Sea the Stars would shatter her opponent's thoughts with a relentless, storm-like assault.
Her running was breathtaking. Whenever she met an obstacle, she instantly changed direction, like a dazzling scalpel carving through the patient known as "the field." Each flash, turn, and leap was accompanied by a shift in the adaptive cage that constantly reformed around her, desperate to imprison the vessel of the stars.
This cage of runners had its limits. No matter how the scorching flames drove them, they could no longer keep up with Sea the Stars' pace.
With this step, the horn of counterattack was about to sound. The scattered stardust gathered, ready to crown her King once more.
"If you want to challenge me, stop hiding! Come, Kousei! I will put you to the test and prove with these legs whether you have what it takes to be King!"
A figure gradually emerged, Sea the Stars' form reflected in crimson, slit-pupiled eyes. The scarlet serpent opened its blood-red maw, revealing its true monstrous nature.
"Bring it on!"
The crimson monster rampaged across the earth. Using the sustained high speed of her Monster Running Style, Kousei steadily closed the distance to Sea the Stars.
"That form! Truly proof that you are a Monster."
The fangs, now inches away, frayed every nerve in Sea the Stars' body.
"Let's see what you've got, Monster!"
Flames and stardust intertwined, leaving the field far behind. The turf was now a stage for just the two of them.
Suddenly, Sea the Stars' legs refused to obey. She was stunned. She had been on high alert for the Gate Technique and couldn't recall when she had fallen into its trap.
"It wasn't the Gate Technique. The trick was in her footwork."
The rhythmic shift caused Sea the Stars' core to shut down. Kousei seized the opening, aiming to snatch the lead in one fell swoop. But to her surprise, Sea the Stars' extinguished engine instantly roared back to a frenzy.
"What?!" Kousei gasped in astonishment.
"Hahahahaha!"
Sea the Stars laughed wildly, her acceleration matching that of a front-runner—from zero to maximum in an instant! Light pierced the pupils, a star falling across the cosmos to land here.
Wild Instinct. Kousei locked onto Sea the Stars' position through sheer instinct.
She tried to intercept her. On the flame-covered path, a ghastly white hand seized Sea the Stars' ankle.
Fire tempered Sea the Stars' edge. She carved a stellar trajectory across the turf, her brilliant halo illuminating every inch of the sky.
King of the Arc de Triomphe, unrivaled!
"Hmm?"
A tail of flame curled upward, scorching the entire sky red. A roar echoed through the clouds—an evil ghost born from karmic fire.
"Bring it on, Ghost of Obsession!"
Sea the Stars knew with absolute clarity: this flame would not be extinguished until it had consumed everything.
A battle to the death