"Meisho Doto has managed to recover! She has overtaken T.M. Opera O and Narita Top Road, and is now in first place!"
"Can she maintain this lea— OH, OH, OH! ADMIRE VEGAAAAAA! There she goes! Admire Vega is starting to push forward! She has already passed the Pace Chaser Uma Musume! She's charging straight towards the front!"
The commentator's voice brought the atmosphere of the entire Racecourse to its peak. As the favorite for this race, many people were hoping Admire Vega could win the race like how she ran in the Yayoi Sho. Although Narita Top Road was the one who won the Yayoi Sho, Admire Vega's three-stage Final Spurt before the finish line was truly eye-catching, giving an extreme thrill to anyone who watched the race.
Though Admire Vega's initial offense against T.M. Opera O did not succeed, it did not affect how she ran during the rest of the race. Admire Vega was an End Closer, a tactic where an Uma Musume conserves stamina at the back of the pack only to unleash all their power at the very last moment. And in a race where there are a lot of Pace Chasers and Front Runners, Admire Vega's explosive power and stamina efficiency would undoubtedly increase as well.
And now, at the final corner, she finally made her move and unleashed her long-accumulating power!
"Hmm? Does she also have..."
At this moment, Wada in the stands immediately noticed the phantom that appeared on Admire Vega, similar to Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O—but the outline was very blurry, almost too blurry to see clearly, only being able to vaguely see two figures... wait, two figures? Wada was momentarily stunned, but he quickly remembered the story of Admire Vega.
"So that's what's happening... She's carrying the shared dream of her twin?"
"Huh? How do you know?"
At this moment, Wada's murmuring surprised Admire Vega's Trainer. She subconsciously asked, "I didn't tell you, right? How do you know about Vega's story?"
"...I heard some things about Admire Vega before. Meisho Doto told me."
Wada temporarily used Meisho Doto as a shield and then asked Admire Vega's Trainer, "I heard that Admire Vega had a twin when she was born?"
"Yes... Vega was born as one of a pair of twins, but... there's a superstition that has been proven many times before... Uma Musume who have twins cannot run fast."
Admire Vega's Trainer had actually not learned this from Admire Vega herself, but through her own research when she was trying to find ways to bond with Admire Vega.
"Her twin sister didn't survive due to uterine compression, and after Vega was born, she, like her mother, was born with a slight deformity... her left leg was curved inward."
"Everyone thought she couldn't become an Uma Musume, but she has carried the dream of her stillborn sister all the way to now, to the GI stage..."
"—She always said that she was running alone, but she... never realized that her sister had actually been running with her all along."
At this moment, Wada's gaze once again turned to the Racecourse. At this very moment, Admire Vega, with the acceleration she unleashed in full force, rapidly overtook a large group of Uma Musume and was now competing with Meisho Doto, Narita Top Road, and T.M. Opera O—the four of them together, running with their full strength on the final straightaway.
This was the final showdown; the victor of this race will be chosen between one of these four Uma Musume. The final straightaway was the grand stage for the final battle!
"Damn it! The pressure from them is crazy! What kind of monsters are they?!"
At this moment, T.M. Opera O and Admire Vega were on the outside, Meisho Doto was on the inside, while Narita Top Road was stuck in the middle, unable to advance or retreat, feeling completely trapped. She also didn't have Aura like the three Uma Musume around her, so she could only rely on her own grit.
However, just as Narita Top Road's Trainer had judged, Narita Top Road no longer had the chance to contend for first place, for her heart had already surrendered. How could one win a race of this intensity with such a mindset?
And in this final straightaway, the side effects of Meisho Doto's premature Final Spurt were also starting to show.
"Ha... ha..."
"It's so hard—how can this be? It's only 200 meters more than the Mainichi Hai... why is just moving my legs so difficult?"
Meisho Doto gritted her teeth, wanting to persevere, but her premature Final Spurt meant that she simply no longer had the ability to accelerate further in the final straightaway. The Aura surrounding her body was also slowly dissipating, seemingly having run out of gas.
This past month, Meisho Doto had indeed improved a lot. Both her strength and speed were stronger than before. However, she had neglected to train her stamina. Her powerful burst lacked the stamina to support it, making her even more exhausted after her burst ended than usual.
Despite not wanting to, Meisho Doto could only watch helplessly as Admire Vega, on the outside, began to overtake her. She tried to accelerate further, but it was to no avail.
"Sorry, Doto, but victory is mine."
Admire Vega also noticed Meisho Doto's struggle, but as she was running to win, she had no room for pity. In her eyes, there was only victory, and there can only be one victor!
Therefore, after a brief moment of hesitation, Admire Vega accelerated again, passing Meisho Doto and taking first place on the inside!
"Admire Vega is first! Admire Vega is now in the lead! Can she continue to maintain this lead? Will victory be hers?!"
"Of course!" Admire Vega cried out involuntarily. She looked at the finish line, which was now only a small distance away, and even someone as stoic as her couldn't stop herself from getting excited.
This was everything she pursued: victory, defeating her opponents, carrying her sister's dream, running alone to the top! Now, victory was just within reach; what she pursued was right before her eyes!
"—That's not necessarily true, you know?"
At this moment, as a voice with a hint of teasing slowly sounded from behind Admire Vega, Admire Vega's muscles suddenly tensed up. She subconsciously looked around but didn't find the figure.
Although she hadn't seen the other person's face, Admire Vega knew who it was just by hearing their voice. T.M. Opera O... Admire Vega bit her lip. She had completely forgotten this opponent, who had not unleashed her power until now, causing Admire Vega to subconsciously ignore her.
But what can you do now anyways? You have no chance at all. You had to battle against Meisho Doto and Narita Top Road while running on the outside just now, there is no way you still have the energy to unleash another bur... "BANG!"
...?
Admire Vega's thoughts hadn't even settled when suddenly, a dull sound was heard. T.M. Opera O curled up slightly, as if a taut spring had suddenly burst forth!
The next moment, T.M. Opera O instantly caught up to Admire Vega under her completely stunned gaze! It had only been a second or two and T.M. Opera O had already rapidly closed in on her!
"OH, OH!!!!! T.M. OPERA OOOOOOOO! Unbelievable! T.M. Opera O has accelerated! T.M. Opera O has accelerated! T.M. Opera O, who had been behind Meisho Doto and Narita Top Road, running on the outside, has overtaken them from the outside!"
"Fast! Fast! Fast! T.M. Opera O is about to completely catch up to Admire Vega—NO, SCRATCH THAT! THEY'RE NOW PARALLEL!"
"—How can this be?!"
Admire Vega gritted her teeth, her pupils trembling as she looked to her side. At this moment, she saw that on the side where there had been no one before, T.M. Opera O's figure was indeed parallel with hers—a golden and pink Aura erupted from her, and Admire Vega also saw the Aura that T.M. Opera O was emitting in that instant of her burst was clearer than when she was giving her all.
How was this happening? Admire Vega didn't understand, but she didn't give up—she couldn't! The race wasn't over yet, and the outcome hadn't been decided!
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These race chapters are always so fun to translate even if it takes me a long ass time to make.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.