Without anyone in the world expecting it, Sakhee had revealed her ultimate trump card.
Even she herself wouldn't deny—this was a blade teetering precariously on the edge of failure, a weapon that had manifested only through miraculous coincidence. Yet despite this, it remained Sakhee's final and most dependable tool.
She'd drawn this dagger upon the very brink of the cliff, determined to prove her worth through an iron grip on the lead for the full 2000 meters of dirt, to seize a magnificent victory over the Uma Musume admired by the entire world.
But Gotham Song had an entirely different plan.
Honestly, Sakhee's surprise attack had indeed startled her considerably, because Gotham Song truly hadn't imagined that any Uma Musume, at a time like this, would choose to use their gate-start speed to secure an initial advantage—and then attempt to crush her underfoot with that alone, all the way to victory.
But after that initial moment of mild surprise, Gotham Song quickly felt nothing else. How to describe it?
Is this all you've got?
Hmm…even just thinking that would probably hurt Sakhee's feelings terribly, but facts were facts: as Sakhee's powerful body broke the wind ahead of her, Gotham Song closely following yet unable to overtake on the straightaway, the stamina she was barely using in the first place remained virtually untouched!
In other words, unless Sakhee truly managed to sustain this blocking tactic for the full two thousand meters, victory would inevitably fall into Gotham Song's hands if things continued this way.
However, wouldn't that story be terribly boring?
Sakhee would surely not last until the end; before long, she'd become exhausted and leave Gotham Song's line of sight, left far behind and forever losing any hope of victory—was that really the script she wanted this race to follow?
Absolutely not, right? After all, Sakhee's efforts and determination, plainly visible to everyone, had clearly been made in earnest. Therefore, Gotham Song could very well respond with something more meaningful, couldn't she?
Truthfully, Gotham Song had faced countless attempts at this sort of desperate blockade before. Recently, there were the challenges from Fantastic Light and Astronomer; going back further, there was the intense pressure from Dancing Brave—each of those instances had been far more dramatic than the current situation. So Gotham Song had absolutely no reason to panic.
The dirt track at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse was certainly intriguing, especially when caught in a situation like this. Apart from the initial 300-meter straight and the final 400-meter homestretch, the 2000-meter course notably featured two enormous, sweeping bends of 400 meters each—!
As long as I accelerate violently along the outer edge at the right time…
Sakhee, I already told you clearly: if I've said I'll hand you another defeat, I'll deliver it to you without fail.
"The race continues—but how surprising! Isn't the pace of this race shockingly slow? Before it started, I bet many contestants assumed this would surely become an ultra-high-speed battle, a desperate two-kilometer great escape, attempting to push their full power and endurance to the limit—even if they had no confidence in actually pulling it off—but!"
"But the scenes unfolding now couldn't be further from our expectations! Gotham Song's famously powerful, explosive strides faced their greatest-ever challenge from the very outset—a truly insurmountable obstacle!"
"In this race, the greatest obstruction faced by our Demon Lord isn't Astronomer, who's come seeking revenge—it's Sakhee, with whom she's never before crossed paths!"
"Can she hold out? Can Sakhee maintain her suppression until the very end?"
"Can she topple the Demon Lord from her throne?!"
Easy enough to talk when you're just watching…! Sakhee cursed furiously in her heart. It was only now, directly on the racetrack, that she truly understood just how terrifyingly difficult it was to block Gotham Song.
It wasn't merely the immense psychological pressure of being chased from behind—no, it was far worse than that. Even though Gotham Song was currently trailing, looking as if she didn't have any real intention to catch up quickly—but still!
Even while seemingly accepting her position behind Sakhee, Gotham Song's speed was actually increasing noticeably—significantly increasing—continuously increasing, surging forward relentlessly!
Sakhee sensed clearly that unless she did something quickly, she wouldn't be able to maintain this fragile lead for much longer. Gotham Song truly would break through sooner rather than later, effortlessly tearing through such a weak advantage!
But… what could Sakhee possibly do at this point?
With massive gaps and shortcomings in both raw speed and endurance, Sakhee's only realistic chance at victory had been to rely on her raw power—but even that…even that wasn't enough?
Exactly what kind of monster—what kind of Uma Musume—could possibly hold back Gotham Song and her brutally unreasonable charge from behind?!
Gritting her teeth, Sakhee pushed onward, still hanging on desperately, though she had no idea just how long she could sustain this effort.
But if she couldn't see the finish line clearly ahead, what choice did she have? There was no option but to keep fighting.
How could she, as an Uma Musume, admit defeat before seeing the final result? Gotham Song…even if you truly are the Demon Lord—let me show you clearly the depth of my pride and dignity!
"The opening straightaway is nearly at an end! The first bend of Meydan Racecourse is approaching—but despite this seemingly slower-paced race, nothing significant has changed on other parts of the course!"
"Currently leading at the front with an escaping strategy is Sakhee. Close behind, attempting to break through, is Gotham Song. And further back, Astronomer is steadily gaining ground, while the rest…"
"In short, this race has already defied all expectations. But will an even more unexpected development unfold now? Will the turning point happen here? Will it come at the upcoming bend?!"
"This first 400-meter bend—the curve where Gotham Song has delivered countless miracles!"
"The bend," or rather, "Gotham Song's bend"—the phrase carried significant weight. Even before Gotham Song had ever showcased her great-escape style to the world, it was precisely at such curves that she consistently created miracles. More often than not, this was the place where she launched her devastating accelerations, soaring away from her opponents in the blink of an eye.
And now, right at the very moment of entering the bend—
Naturally, Sakhee heightened her vigilance to maximum intensity. She remained intensely alert, watching carefully for any sudden explosion of speed from Gotham Song. But unexpectedly, through the first hundred meters into the bend, Gotham Song made no move whatsoever, continuing instead to follow behind Sakhee exactly as she had on the straight, looking as if she'd completely given up on the idea of winning.
Strange. Does this even make sense?
The racetrack is so quiet, with only us few Uma Musume running. There's no sign at all that Gotham Song is preparing to make her move. Does that mean… I really have a chance at taking victory in this race?
Wouldn't that be nice? If Gotham Song could just stay quiet like this forever…right?
That'd be great, wouldn't it… No! That's completely absurd, no matter how you think about it!
In that instant, inevitably, a feeling called wishful thinking began creeping into Sakhee's heart. Uncontrollably, she began imagining whether she could indeed suppress Gotham Song for the entire two thousand meters, claiming victory in this way.
Under those circumstances, Sakhee cautiously glanced back—and met the eyes of that petite Uma Musume. She clearly felt the emotion overflowing from within those eyes, undisguised and overwhelmingly intense—the desire to completely devour the opponent ahead.
A malicious gaze filled with playful mockery.
Why does she have an expression like that? No, rather…why do I feel relief instead of surprise?
Ah, it makes sense after all… Gotham Song being unable to catch up or unable to break through… that would've felt even stranger. Those eyes she just showed me were the true answer to everything unfolding right now.
You didn't really think you could defeat me, did you? I've been waiting all this time. Why'd you only look back now?
Well then, shall we speed up this little race, Sakhee?
As the Dubai World Cup entered the second hundred meters of its first bend, the entire stadium suddenly fell into silence.
Not because something disastrous or utterly suffocating had occurred on the track—but rather, because at that very instant, a jaw-dropping scene appeared ahead of the Uma Musume who was the focal point of everyone's gaze.
Silver flames.
Raging, blazing, silver flames.
However, this wasn't an accident on the racetrack at all…!
The brief silence vanished in a flash, immediately replaced by thunderous, earth-shaking cheers, because every single spectator clearly understood what this phenomenon meant.
This was a Zone. A powerful, overwhelming Zone—one so intense and vivid that even humans could clearly perceive it!
It was Gotham Song's unique sign, the omen that this race was about to shift into its highest gear: the Demon Lord's silver flames!
As the flames roared fiercely behind her, Sakhee certainly felt their scorching heat—like the blazing surface of a star—burning at her back. Under those circumstances, she desperately took deep breaths, forcing herself to remain calm as she futilely attempted to intercept every possible route Gotham Song might take.
But would that really make any difference at all?
Under Sakhee's despairing gaze, Gotham Song didn't even attempt a direct breakthrough along the inside of the bend. Instead, she simply slowed slightly, changed direction, and moved so far outward that Sakhee had absolutely no way to block her—initiating her charge from the farthest possible outside path.
A true Demon Lord always does things in such a forceful, unreasonable manner, making moves nobody could possibly stop!
Normally, this kind of maneuver might even be considered a violation, because abruptly changing directions like this risked obstructing other Uma Musume. That would normally result in disqualification due to interference.
However, there was exactly one scenario where such an action wouldn't constitute interference—that is, if the gap between the moving Uma Musume and the ones behind her was so overwhelmingly huge that interference was literally impossible!
In other words, Gotham Song willingly chose to run a significantly greater distance, charging into an utterly unblockable outer path—and from there, launched her most direct, arrogant challenge for victory!
"Ooooh! It happened—Gotham Song has completely broken through Sakhee's blockade in an instant! Sakhee couldn't mount any effective resistance whatsoever?! Unbelievable! So now we can begin announcing it, right?!"
"People of the world, behold! This is the power of the Demon Lord! This is the Demon Lord's arrival! This is the moment Gotham Song reveals her true strength! This is—the highest tempo of this Dubai World Cup, now officially underway!"
"Gotham Song charges forward—no one can block her! No one can chase her! No one can even dream of stopping her strides…!"
"Gotham Song is perhaps already invincible beneath these heavens!"
The silver flames continued to erupt, surging violently as though they aimed to consume the entire racetrack! Unlike the flames she'd previously manifested on turf tracks, these silver flames on the dirt and sand actually seemed physically subdued—but even so, they burned fiercely, expanding aggressively with every step Gotham Song took!
And at the forefront of those flames—at their very origin—Gotham Song herself had already become an arrow of brilliant silver, shining more fiercely than the sun blazing above!
Sakhee could no longer offer even the slightest resistance; she could only helplessly chase Gotham Song's footsteps. Perhaps because she didn't want to accept defeat—or perhaps simply because she feared the blazing flames of conviction rapidly approaching from behind—in any case, at the exact instant Gotham Song began her maneuver outward, Sakhee immediately raised her own speed to the utmost limit, hoping to gain even the smallest advantage, desperately seeking a slim chance to remain in contention.
But such efforts were completely futile! All of it utterly wasted!
In just a brief few moments, Gotham Song's figure surged directly into Sakhee's vision from behind, forcing itself in mercilessly under her disbelieving yet resigned gaze. Then, the overpowering silver flames of Gotham Song occupied the entirety of Sakhee's attention.
There was simply no possibility of victory, not even the slightest chance to challenge her…! This was far too absurd—against such an Uma Musume, was there really any scenario in which victory was remotely possible?!
Yet Sakhee did not despair. She merely ran forward, her strong, powerful body slicing violently through the air, constantly pushing forward—but even so, even as she forced herself dangerously close to her absolute limits…
The distance between her and Gotham Song continued relentlessly to widen, unwavering and unstoppable.
Absolutely no chance of catching up and overtaking remained!
For Gotham Song, breaking through was easy as breathing—but for Sakhee…
…It felt impossibly difficult, as if it might take her an entire lifetime just to discover how to surpass that seemingly endless gap!