Chapter 83. The Encirclement That Was Just for Show [Part 2]
As the field approached the turn, Kaliana suddenly realized she had drifted a step too wide, inadvertently leaving a narrow opening for the greatest threat in the race behind her.
She immediately tightened back toward the rail, correcting the mistake as quickly as she could.
Watching Kaliana trace that brief S-shaped line across the course, Mejiro Dober merely smiled without saying a word.
Although Kaliana had noticed her mistake and corrected it immediately, Mejiro Dober already understood.
She'll make the same mistake again.And next time—I won't give her the chance to recover.
After entering the bend, Mejiro Dober calmly maintained her position, displaying complete indifference.
Brilliance, running alongside her, noticed that attitude and couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Doesn't she realize we're all targeting her?Surely she doesn't think acting unconcerned will lower our guard?
Or does she believe she can simply follow the lane I open later and still come from behind to win?
The more Brilliance thought about it, the more she felt Mejiro Dober was looking down on her.
"I won't let you pass me that easily!"
Biting her lip, she edged another step toward the inside, deliberately compressing Mejiro Dober's running room and forcing her to reduce the swing of her arms to avoid making contact.
That subtle movement did not escape Shuta An's eyes.
"So there's even a technique like this—" the young man murmured, one eyebrow rising. "Restricting an opponent's arm swing to disrupt their balance. That's certainly creative."
Then he shook his head with faint regret.
"But unfortunately, it won't accomplish much against Dober."
The reason, however, was one he couldn't exactly explain aloud.
Mainly because during their countless late-night moments together, Mejiro Dober had developed an inexplicable fondness for challenging all kinds of absurdly difficult positions.
As a result—
Her balance had long since been refined to an extraordinary degree.
—
The 550-meter bend disappeared beneath the pack in the blink of an eye.
Soon they reached its exit.
Kaliana, still following behind the front-running Dust Dancer, prepared to enter the opening section of Longchamp's false straight while sitting in second.
But just before entering it, the leader—having covered the first 1,550 meters in 1:37—finally began paying the price for her earlier exertion.
Struggling to maintain her balance, Dust Dancer involuntarily drifted outward by nearly a full lane.
Almost instinctively, Kaliana followed the leader's slipstream, moving two strides toward the outside as well.
It was exactly what Mejiro Dober had anticipated.
Dozens of meters earlier, she had already begun preparing.
The instant the opening appeared, she leaned her center of gravity forward.
Her stride frequency increased.
Her stride length expanded.
Three explosive steps later, she had completely occupied the space Kaliana had abandoned.
"Damn it!"
The exact same thought flashed through the minds of the three Uma Musume who had worked together to create the opening "encirclement."
How do I fix this?
Kaliana asked herself. The answer came almost immediately.
"Accelerate now. Get back in front of Mejiro Dober!"
She knew perfectly well that making an aggressive move on Longchamp's false straight was almost synonymous with self-destruction.
But she was even less willing to watch the carefully constructed trap collapse because of a single mistake.
"Even if I can't win—I won't let you take victory from Longchamp so easily!"
Driven by almost reckless determination, Kaliana accelerated despite the circumstances, desperately trying to reclaim the position.
The opening false straight stretched roughly 300 meters.
By its end, Kaliana had managed to gain only half a length.
It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
She still lacked the margin needed to cut back in front of Mejiro Dober and seal off her path.
Why...Why could I get ahead of her at the start...But not now?!
Kaliana couldn't understand.
She was confused.
Cumani, watching from the sidelines, understood perfectly.
"The Mejiro Dober from the opening stages wasn't even running seriously," he muttered. "That's why you managed to get in front of her. But the Mejiro Dober now has already entered her finishing gear."
"How could you possibly expect to pull away from her so casually now?"
He understood everything.
Unfortunately, there was no way to convey any of it to Kaliana during the race.
"Sigh..."
"I tried. But in the end—the difference in ability was simply too great."
That was the only conclusion with which Guivani could console himself.
As despair gradually settled over Kaliana, Ridaiyma, Brilliance, and Guivani alike, the front-runner Dust Dancer finally entered the home straight.
She already knew she couldn't continue.
At this point, she was moving entirely on instinct, forcing her exhausted legs forward with the single goal of reaching the finish line.
"The trap served its purpose. But it ends here."
Taking advantage of Dust Dancer's complete loss of momentum, Mejiro Dober accelerated once more.
Within barely thirty meters, she completely detached herself from the rest of the field.
Now hugging the rail, she felt only the cool autumn wind whistling past her ears, mingling with the warmth of the afternoon sunlight.
Everything else disappeared.
Only the finish remained before her.
"MEJIRO DOBER! MEJIRO DOBER! MEJIRO DOBER BREAKS AWAY FROM THE FIELD!" the live commentator shouted. "CAN ANYONE CATCH HER?!"
Instinctively, his eyes searched for a local challenger.
There wasn't one.
Mejiro Dober gave no one the slightest opportunity to close the gap.
As she swept past the 400-meter marker, her speed climbed to its absolute limit.
The distance between her and the nine Uma Musume behind her visibly widened with every stride.
"THREE LENGTHS!"
"FOUR LENGTHS!"
The commentator faithfully announced the growing margins, yet another memory continuously replayed in his mind—
The Yorkshire Oaks.
Will she keep pulling away?Will she widen it even further?!
Unable to suppress himself any longer, he cried out.
As though responding to that question, Mejiro Dober crossed the 100-meter marker—and suddenly remembered something her beloved had told her only a few days earlier.
"Once victory is secure you can ease off a little."
So, before the tens of thousands of spectators gathered at Longchamp Racecourse—
Mejiro Dober actually turned her head while running, calmly looking back at the rivals she had left farther and farther behind.
"This gap is enough."
The undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume reached a perfectly professional conclusion.
As the figure reflected in Shuta An's eyes grew ever clearer, she gradually reduced her pace.
Naturally, she couldn't stop abruptly—that would only invite injury.
But her deceleration was obvious enough for everyone to see.
At the 100-meter marker, Mejiro Dober had led second-place Queen Maud by a full six lengths.
By the time she crossed the finish line, however, Queen Maud had nearly reached the edge of Mejiro Dober's shadow.
"2:27.7."
Shuta An glanced calmly at the finishing time displayed on the board.
"A COURSE RECORD!"
The live commentator's voice exploded across Longchamp.
"SHE HAS LOWERED THE RACE RECORD BY 0.1s AND THIS WAS AFTER MEJIRO DOBER CLEARLY EASED DOWN BEFORE THE FINISH!"
"SHE TRULY DESERVES HER TITLE—"
"THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD—REINE DU MONDE!"