"Good, she's secured a very good position!"
Meisho Doto's start just now earned T.M. Opera O's applause from the stands.
T.M. Opera O had to admit, even she couldn't have done a better start than her.
Meisho Doto had managed to immediately seize a favourable position, which, with her power that surpassed even T.M. Opera O, offered an incredible advantage for her specialty: overtaking.
However, while T.M. Opera O and the rest were focused on Meisho Doto, Fumino Nase couldn't help but unconsciously focus back on 'Depth Collision,' who was at the very back of the pack, seemingly running as an End Closer.
The more Fumino Nase scrutinized this Uma Musume, the more suspicious she grew, her running posture especially making her brows furrow.
'The more I look at her... the more strangely familiar she seems, there is no way this is all just a coincidence.'
'What is going on? Did that Uma Musume secretly take a pupil under her wing at some point?'
'Wait...'
Fumino Nase suddenly looked at the list of participants, realizing something.
"Depth Collision... Depth Collision... Depth Collision?!"
"So that's it! —She's barely even disguised at all! I should've realized it sooner!"
"Hm? Trainer Nase, what's wrong?"
Wada had noticed Fumino Nase's abnormal state, but the crowd was so noisy, he couldn't hear a single word she was saying
However, Fumino Nase didn't try to elaborate further; she simply turned around and said to Wada,
"Trainer Wada, I need to go to the Racecourse organizer's office to confirm something. Please wait for me!"
Fumino Nase wanted to find out how this 'Depth Collision' had joined this Osaka Hai, why she came under a fake name, whether this was a part of Shadai's agenda.
And... what was her purpose for returning? What had allured her to take such risks to return to the racetrack?
'What on earth are you thinking... Deep Impact!'
...Meanwhile, back in the Osaka Hai, the Uma Musume were clueless about this 'impostor' behind them, only focusing on Meisho Doto while neglecting to notice the ordinary looking 'Depth Collision.'
Now, the pack had passed the second corner, which signaled to Meisho Doto that it was time for her to seize the opportunity, as her final spurt slowly began to reveal itself.
"Oh! They have just passed the second corner and Meisho Doto is gradually accelerating! Is she planning to make her move on the third corner just like she did in last year's Tenno Sho?!"
Akasaka Misato's commentary made the fever of the audience rise even further. Everyone felt that Meisho Doto would almost certainly win this race.
Meisho Doto was also very confident. Once she saw the opportunity, she would definitely win this race!
As soon as they reached the third corner, she'd be able to go all out!
'I can win—! No! I WILL win!'
Meisho Doto screamed in her heart as her legs moved faster and faster; the overtaking ability of the Beast of the Racecourse was nearing its release point.
But at this very moment, 'Depth Collision,' who had been at the back of the pack since the start of the race, had a glint shine in her eye.
"Is she starting to accelerate?"
"Then... it's finally time for the plot twist..."
...
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, an End Closer running Uma Musume noticed something strange about the Uma Musume behind her.
The Uma Musume subconsciously looked to her back, only to find that Depth Collision had, at some point, moved from the very back to almost behind her.
'What?! How?! When?! There was no sign at all— '
The End Closer running Uma Musume immediately felt that something was off, and she prematurely accelerated to maintain her position.
But that Uma Musume slowly realized that the gap between Depth Collision and her was not only not widening, but closing even faster!
Yet, Depth Collision showed no signs of accelerating at all!
In the eyes of the End Closer running Uma Musume, this Uma Musume, who had the lowest popularity in this race, was simply casually running the same way as she had from the start!
'What in the Three Goddesses?!'
What this poor Uma Musume experienced for the first time was Deep Impact's proud, undetectable acceleration technique.
Normally, when an Uma Musume wants to accelerate, there will be very obvious tells to it.
But Deep Impact was different; her presence was nigh imperceptible, creating an extreme time lag between her starting to accelerate and people actually noticing.
And by the time people realized what was happening, it would already be too late for them to act.
However, this wasn't the effect Deep Impact wanted to achieve in this race; she needed to draw some attention onto her.
While her technique, which had been engrained into her muscle memory, was currently being counter productive, there are always other ways to draw attention, for example...
"Let's have a pleasant race— Meisho Doto-san."
As Deep Impact's words fell, a presence that sent shivers down the spines of the Uma Musume suddenly erupted!
Instantly, all the Uma Musume turned their heads in horror at 'Depth Collision' behind them, immediately trying to identify just who could unleash such a presence that made all of them fear.
But when their gaze fell upon 'Depth Collision,' they found that the feeling she exuded was now completely different from how she was before.
—The area around her body was surrounded by a dense, blue and black fog, and her originally cold but gentle face had truly become cold; there was even an eerie sapphire flame burning from her left eye!
If Rice Shower had been present, she would have felt that this 'Depth Collision' was incredibly similar to her, but in reality, they were completely different.
Although the black smoke and flame from her eyes may make you think of a possible future version of Rice Shower, the feelings they brought out from people were entirely separate.
A hypothetical fully realized Rice Shower would bring an extreme sense of crisis and tension, before inflicting the feeling of a fatal blow.
On the other hand, Deep Impact was like the deep sea, suppressing and crushing everything beneath it.
This feeling of suppressing, however, was unlike the dominant feeling brought about by Symboli Rudolf or T.M. Opera O; instead it made every single Uma Musume competing against her feel a very strange sensation from the bottom of their hearts.
—I need to avoid this person at all costs.
"OHH!!! IT'S DEPTH COLLISION!!! DEPTH COLLISION IS ACCELERATING!"
"She is displaying strength that is completely at odds with her popularity ranking! One! Five! NINE!! DEPTH COLLISION HAS OVERTAKEN NINE UMA MUSUME IN ONE FELL SWOOP! SHE'S CLOSING IN ON MEISHO DOTO!!"
"!!!"
As the words of the commentator fell, Meisho Doto also snapped back to reality, and just then, Depth Collision was rapidly approaching from the outside with a terrifying pace.
Meisho Doto did not dare to be careless in the slightest, immediately focusing her attention on the racetrack.
Even so, Meisho Doto felt an immense pressure from behind her!
That gradually approaching, intensely competitive feeling, as if wanting to decide the winner right there and then, instantly made Meisho Doto serious.
The next moment, Meisho Doto's eyes turned sharp, and she unleashed her full power without reservations, her powerful Aura swiftly propelling her body, alongside her final spurts, allowing her to resist the physiological impact of Depth Collision's presence.
BANG!
"And Meisho Doto makes her move! Though it seems a bit premature, Meisho Doto is now gradually widening the distance from Depth Collision!"
"But Depth Collision is not letting up at all! She is showing no signs of slowing down!!!"
"MEISHO DOTO! DEPTH COLLISION! THE MOST POPULAR AND THE LEAST POPULAR ARE CHARGING TOWARDS THE FINISH LINE, LEAVING EVERYONE BEHIND!!!!"
"How could this be..."
Wada, seeing this scene, could no longer maintain his relaxed expression.
He watched with extreme seriousness as Meisho Doto, who had unleashed her full power, was still unable to completely pull away from this 'Depth Collision,' sensing that the situation had turned for the worst.
"Meisho Doto can't pull away from that Depth Collision even after she started sprinting... And that circle... is that Zone?! How did this Uma Musume go completely under the radar?!"
"Ryuji, that's not all."
T.M. Opera O, standing nearby, had also become serious, watching Depth Collision's body and saying with great solemnity,
"That Uma Musume isn't at full strength yet. She is still accelerating, much like a final spurt in a long distance race. We don't even know how high her top speed is."
"Rather than an Uma Musume, she's more like a cheetah— an incredibly fast one that can run for a very long distance!"
Though slow, the gap between Meisho Doto and Depth Collision was slowly closing, and they were still at the final straight.
Suddenly, the outcome of this race no longer seemed so certain.
"...Wait, her running style feels a bit familiar..."
As Wada slowly calmed down from his initial shock, he noted Depth Collision's running style.
As a professional Jockey, Wada did not believe that an Uma Musume this strong would be an unknown entity in his previous world.
Although there was a chance that this Uma Musume was a native of this world who had managed to break free of her original fate, from his current knowledge of the history of this world, Wada found it unlikely.
So that could only mean... that this person was using a fake name.
However, Wada wasn't sure who it was yet.
Still, that running style, that posture... it felt somewhat familiar to him.
Wada vaguely sensed that the black haired Uma Musume running in the Osaka Hai was a Racehorse he was well aware of, even if he had never directly competed against her.
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Amogus. (Holy shit Among Us was popular 6 years ago, I feel old...)
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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.