This petite Horse Girl, who always appeared somewhat timid and shy in front of outsiders, actually burst forth with an unprecedentedly loud shout from her small body as she cheered for Mihono Bourbon.
"Rice, you promised Rice! You made Rice your goal, so don't lose!"
Rice Shower's eyes were already misty, and her second loud shout was already slightly hoarse.
Clearly, for her, who was not used to speaking in a high-pitched tone, emitting such a shout was quite strenuous.
Mihono Bourbon's expression finally changed. After a brief moment of astonishment, the corners of her mouth even curved slightly upwards.
"Yes, Rice, I promised you."
"After my Triple Crown goal was broken by you, my goal became to surpass you."
"Now that Rice has already lost to this Mejiro McQueen, if I want to prove that I have surpassed Rice, the only way is to defeat this Mejiro McQueen!"
"Not for Master, not for Rice, but to prove myself."
The world before Mihono Bourbon's eyes began to show spiderweb-like cracks. The cracks grew more and more numerous, gradually filling her entire vision.
Mihono Bourbon felt the surrounding noise of the audience, as well as the sound of the Horse Girls' footsteps as they ran on the grass, disappear in an instant.
Her senses became incredibly clear, and she felt as if she was momentarily cut off from the real world. The flow of the surrounding scenery began to slow, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat and breathing.
And in the next second, a substantial shattering sound, like breaking glass, echoed in Mihono Bourbon's heart, and blue flames began to ignite in her sky-clear, azure eyes.
Mihono Bourbon took a heavy step forward, with such force that the turf and ground sank like a sponge.
For the first time, a clear emotional fluctuation appeared on her rarely beautiful face, an expression filled with determination and resolve.
In an instant, Mihono Bourbon burst out with a speed faster than at the start, rushing forward like a chasing wind and lightning.
"The last four hundred meters! Biwa Hayahide, Narita Taishin, and Nice Nature still have a chance to overtake the frontrunner..."
The Announcer's voice was cut off mid-sentence, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Immediately after, she shouted again, her voice more than twice as excited as before:
"What!!! What did I just see?! Mihono Bourbon has accelerated again!!!"
"She has overtaken Narita Taishin, Nice Nature, and Biwa Hayahide has also been overtaken by her!!!"
"What happened? What exactly happened just now? Mihono Bourbon, who had fallen from the leading position to fifth place, the Mihono Bourbon who finally returned after a year of rest, and who led for over two thousand meters, why does she still have such stamina?!"
"The last two hundred meters! The gap between Mihono Bourbon and Mejiro McQueen is only one horse length, and the distance is still constantly shrinking!"
"Never before have we seen an Horse Girl who led for over two thousand meters, fell to fifth place, and then chased back to the top two, or even first place!"
"A miracle! Will a miracle happen?! Will Mejiro McQueen's four consecutive wins be broken by Mihono Bourbon?!"
Accompanying the Announcer's shouts, Rice Shower covered her mouth with trembling hands, tears welling up in her eyes, ready to fall at any moment.
Mihono Bourbon, just because of her encouraging shout, actually chased back from fifth to second place in an instant!
She was even almost level with Mejiro McQueen, and it wasn't impossible for her to overtake her and win first place.
Rice Shower was the only Horse Girl present who could clearly feel Mihono Bourbon's physical changes.
Because she was the only Horse Girl present who had entered the "domain."
And only an Horse Girl who had activated and was aware of the domain's existence could perceive the domains of others.
Rice Shower, having personally experienced the domain, naturally knew how difficult it was to activate a domain and how much of a burden it placed on the body.
"Miss Bourbon... actually burst out because of me..."
Rice Shower felt both touched and pained simultaneously. Tears slid down her small, delicate cheeks onto her tightly clasped hands, then seeped through her fingers.
Sakura Bakushin O, who had been watching the race leisurely, suddenly opened her azure eyes wide, her gaze filled with shock as she looked at Mihono Bourbon.
"Mihono Bourbon... has she also entered the domain?"
Sakura Bakushin O murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear.
Of course, she couldn't perceive Mihono Bourbon's domain, but for Mihono Bourbon, who had led for over two thousand meters and fallen to fifth place, to burst out with speed in an instant and rush to second place, there was no other possibility except activating her domain.
Mejiro McQueen had already heard the Announcer's voice, but it wasn't until Mihono Bourbon truly began to narrow the distance between them from her second-place position that she felt the immense pressure from behind her right side.
It was as if a long-dormant volcano had erupted in an instant, and the immense pressure transformed into a tangible heatwave that swept over Mejiro McQueen's entire body.
It was even more powerful and terrifying than Rice Shower a year ago.
Mejiro McQueen, who had thought her mind was strong enough, even felt an urge to reach back and grab her tail to flee after feeling the immense pressure now beside her.
This was a primal fear, and Mejiro McQueen was currently directly enduring the immense pressure from Mihono Bourbon, who had activated her domain.
Mejiro McQueen bit down hard, the feedback from her gums dispelling a trace of fear in her heart, and she endured the pressure in her lungs to further accelerate.
White airflow streamed around Mejiro McQueen, tracing a graceful arc and finally converging at her light purple ponytail.
Mihono Bourbon also exhibited the same phenomenon, with the white airflow around her being no less intense than Mejiro McQueen's.
However, the blue flames burning in her eyes were something Mejiro McQueen did not possess.
"Half a horse length... caught up! Mihono Bourbon has caught up to Mejiro McQueen! Mihono Bourbon is now running neck and neck with Mejiro McQueen!"
"What Rice Shower, who broke the New Record a year ago, couldn't do, Mihono Bourbon has done!"
In the Spring Tenno Sho a year ago, Rice Shower and Mejiro McQueen both crossed the finish line simultaneously, and both broke the Spring Tenno Sho's New Record.
"After falling four places from the leading position, Mihono Bourbon burst out with incredible speed again, actually catching up to Mejiro McQueen, known as the strongest long-distance Horse Girl."
"Can she break Mejiro McQueen's four consecutive wins? We shall wait and see!"
"Both Horse Girls cross the finish line simultaneously!"