Only One Year Left—I'll Become a Legendary Uma Musume!

How do you seize the initiative from Twilight Song, who excels at lightning-fast starts?

How do you defeat an Uma Musume whose runaway tactics border on invincible?

How do you push your own advantages to their absolute limit, and clinch victory in a single strike?

At the exact moment before the race began, Dancing Brave had already enacted her plan. The instant the gates burst open, she revealed her hidden trump card.

She had fully embraced and extended Yaeno Muteki's concept—if nobody could match Twilight Song's incredible start, then why not ensure that Twilight Song couldn't execute her start properly?

Admittedly, directly interfering with Twilight Song before the gates opened was nearly impossible. However—

Legendary Uma Musume possessed cards ordinary racers simply didn't.

At the precise instant before the gates swung open, a brilliant, terrifyingly intense aura erupted around Dancing Brave, blindingly radiant.

An aura that ordinary spectators couldn't see—a [Zone] only visible to fellow Uma Musume.

[Dance! In The Spiral Of Eternity!]

Certainly, Dancing Brave's [Zone] couldn't directly incapacitate opponents or overwhelm them at the start, but—

No matter how powerful the opponent, experiencing such overwhelming pressure at the moment of intense focus would surely cause a brief lapse in concentration, wouldn't it?

What if that split-second lapse occurred precisely when the gates opened?

Surging forward like an arrow, Dancing Brave charged out ahead of the pack, utterly alone, sprinting across the track as though nothing else existed. Her pursuit was relentless and savage!

She was no runaway Uma Musume—but for victory, she would do anything. Even if it meant burning her life away, racing to the very edge of the world without pause.

Her [Zone] was her foundation; her key was courage. Even if she died in this race, she would have no regrets!

The worth of an Uma Musume lay in battling the strongest, sacrificing everything for victory. If she could secure that victory, nothing else mattered.

Charge, charge, charge!

The legends spoke only of runaway Uma Musume winning the Arc—but did that have to mean you, Twilight Song?

This victory must be mine!

Dancing Brave's ferocious footprints gouged violently into the muddy turf, her tracks merciless and frenzied, burning stamina and willpower without regard for sanity or limit.

"A-Amazing! Who could have predicted Dancing Brave's shocking start—alone, completely ahead of the others?! What's next? What will happen next? Can the Uma Musume we've placed all our hopes on catch up? Can she turn the tables from this position?!"

Yet even as the announcers voiced their initial shock, Twilight Song had already steadied herself, launching forward like a drawn arrow, relentless and unstoppable.

Such an unexpected tactic… deliberately timed to startle at the very moment of the gate's opening, seizing an immediate advantage to execute a runaway lead.

She truly deserves to be called a legendary Uma Musume—able to secure such an immense advantage with careful preparation alone.

Twilight Song felt every ounce of Dancing Brave's sincerity:

Her will to fight, her courage, her sheer, desperate madness.

So how should she answer this incredible challenge?

Blood boiled inside her veins. Twilight Song exhaled deeply, a white mist erupting in the cold, rainy air.

With equal madness, equal desperation—I'll chase down this challenger!

Twilight Song felt herself nearing the brink of insanity—no, more accurately, she felt herself turning into a monster.

Hadn't she been chased by death for so long, tormented by fear, guilt, and pain until she'd become riddled with wounds? Had she broken completely? No, perhaps not fully.

But, at least in this moment, she felt herself tipping toward madness. Or rather—

Isn't it better to be a complete lunatic on the track?

She was Twilight Song, this generation's Caesar, the unparalleled runaway king standing above all Uma Musume. She was the blazing sun that would be revered for decades, the unprecedented triple crown legend!

Dancing Brave, did you really dare challenge her majesty and authority? Merely relying on your desperate gamble?

Ridiculous!

In the muddy track, Twilight Song unleashed every last ounce of strength. Indeed, this reckless strength was precisely what had propelled her to stand upon the throne.

An unrestrained, wild grin erased the previous seriousness from her face, replaced by pure ferocity. In the rain-swept night, white mist surged around Twilight Song, enveloping her completely as she surged forward in a sudden burst of speed!

For the very first—and perhaps only—time at the Arc, a reckless runaway had truly begun.

Let's reiterate once more: the former goddess Dancing Brave storming at the front, pursued by this era's sole genius—a ferocious predator determined to tear her opponent apart.

A true runaway showdown had begun, spanning from the first curve at 2,300 meters, racing fiercely toward the distant finish line—stretching from the world's beginning to its absolute end!

Twilight Song threw back her head and howled with wild laughter. She embraced madness, storming ahead through the rain and mist, completely surrendering to instinct and passion, free from the restraints that had once held her back.

Who could imprison Twilight Song now? Who could hold back Twilight Song in her final race? Not even death—Death itself was left far behind!

Even Hades is no match for me now!

"She's—she's closing in! Approaching the first turn, their distance is shrinking rapidly! Can she overtake right here? Our empress, our beloved Uma Musume—Twilight Song, Twilight Song! Can she defend her throne? Can she avoid falling here? Dancing Brave, can you withstand this ferocious challenge? Approaching the first corner—will victory be decided here? Dancing Brave is turning and—wait, what? She didn't slow down either?!"

The two front runners had already left every other competitor far behind, their silhouettes lost entirely amid torrential sheets of rain.

Yet the two figures at the front remained fiercely locked in battle. Though Twilight Song's explosive burst had initially shrunk the distance, Dancing Brave's subsequent acceleration maintained their gap stubbornly.

Soon, at their terrifying speeds, the first curve appeared.

Everyone anticipated a critical moment—Twilight Song accelerating around the bend to overtake the slowing Dancing Brave.

But—

Dancing Brave executed a turn exactly like Twilight Song once had—she, too, refused to slow down!

The legendary Uma Musume likewise staked her life on this limit-shattering sprint—!

Burning one's life wasn't merely a saying, after all!